Believe It or Not!

The Arc of Abilities gang worked hard and played hard this week!  From volunteering in the school to a lively game of musical chairs to a visit to a local tourist spot...Believe It or Not, our week was great!

Even though Tuesday brought another day of rain for our area, we made it to Freedom Park and the Botanical Garden for our time with the Master Gardeners.  They were able to bring the activities indoors while keeping them fun and engaging.  We made plant pots out of newspaper, learned about dill (and sampled "dilly bread"), and made new friends as a group from Colonial Behavioral Health joined us.  It may have been dreary outside, but our Master Gardener friends made it cheery on the inside!

Since it was rainy, we headed back to AFCC after our gardening class instead of taking a walk.  That gave us some time to prepare a Jello, fresh strawberry, and pretzel salad that would need to chill overnight so we could celebrate National Pretzel Day on Wednesday! We crushed pretzels and sliced strawberries before using our "oven" (aka Pizzaz Pizza Machine) to bake the crust and then top it with the Jello, whipped cream, and strawberries.

And while we enjoyed our pretzel salad on Wednesday, and found it tasty and refreshing, it turns out the Pizazz Pizza Machine isn't very good at baking a crispy crust.  The pretzel crust was soft, but the flavor was there and we decided we would have to try the recipe again later in the summer...when we have fresh blueberries!  

Not to be deterred, we knew from previous experience that our Pizzaz Pizza Machine could bake up a perfect hot dog wrapped in biscuit dough...so on Wednesday we also celebrated Pigs in a Blanket Day (a few days late...but we don't mind)!

And even though we had gotten a good workout that morning with our Tai Chi class...

...we knew a rousing game of musical chairs would give us a little more exercise (when the music director keeps the music playing...and playing...).  This is another case of finding our "inner child" to be worthy of tapping.  So much fun!

 In the end, it came down to Chris and Nancy, and Chris prevailed!

Thursday is our day to volunteer for JRES.  Everyone was involved this week on tasks including working with students, filing papers, shelving books, organizing the clothes closet, and a new task - preparing discarded library books to be given away.  All associates and staff members were BUSY and we didn't get any photos of the new task...actually we didn't get many photos at all.  (Sometimes we wish we had a dedicated photographer!)  Here are a couple of shots of the guys helping to organize donated uniform clothes.

Volunteering each week in the school is something we look forward to because it's fun, and it gives us a wonderful sense of purpose. Each week we find more and more staff members taking note of our efforts and complimenting and thanking us.  But more than being fun and purposeful, this work also gives our associates training in tasks that could be transferable to potential employment opportunities in the future.  Volunteering at JRES fits well with the AoA's goal of providing pre-vocational training!

After a morning of working hard, we made time in the afternoon on Thursday for a game of Bingo.  Our guys love Bingo and this week we finally got to introduce some recently donated prizes.  In our version, everyone wins! 

Without a doubt, the most fun we had this week was on Friday when we were treated to a visit to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum!  Carol's son Matt works there and he lobbied with his manager. Bill, to give us a complimentary visit.  We met and thanked Bill...and had a great time not only in the museum (the "Odditorium"), but also on the mini-golf course after lunch!  Thanks. Matt and Bill!

Posing with the world's tallest man...

...or the world's largest man!

Inside this frame are portraits of the US presidents that are painted on gull feathers!

Drew and Chloe aren't sure what to think about the "Junk Art Mother and Child" but Sam seems to like it!

Here, Josie, Drew, and Alexis play a memory game.  Working together, they found all the matches before time ran out!

By far the most popular attraction in the whole museum was this fake bathroom.  When the door was pushed open, the backside of a "man" became visible and a voice boomed out, "HEY! Shut that door!"  Our guys could not get enough of this!

About to watch a movie in 4D - we experienced being sprayed with water, snowed upon, tickled, and treated to interesting odors!  If you look closely, that's Matt on the top row in the green jacket.  He provided plenty of expertise about all things at the museum!

 Believe it or not, there was an artist there who made "masterpieces" out of dryer lint!

And of course, we made new friends along the way!

After lunch at nearby Kiwanis Park, we returned to the museum's mini-golf where we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the very warm temperatures.  Everyone cheered for each other...and everyone won!  :-) 

Devin golfs with his Daddy...check out this form!

Chris was about to make a hole in one!

And Alexis was surprised when she made one, too!

We traveled in Arc style on Friday!  The Parks & Rec vans were not available, so we used The Arc's recently acquired new vehicle.  Several of our friends were not able to join us on Friday, so it worked out that everyone could fit in this beautiful 15 passenger van (Nan met us at the museum) which has...much to our great comfort...excellent air-conditioning!  

Finally, we want to show off our Zumba girls!  Alexis, Meghan, and Kacie joined the fun last Saturday during the Zumbathon at New Town and they report it was, "so much FUN!"  Don't they make it look easy?!

There is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming week.  Here's what you need to know...

Sunday:  Several of us will be at Veterans Park (Kidsburg) at 2:00 for Tai Chi with Michael.  Join us if you can!

Tuesday:  Bowling and pizza lunch!  Please wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  Dress for Tai Chi!  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  Lunch on your own.  Afternoon trip to CW's Abby Aldrich Folk Art Museum.  Wear Arc shirts!

Friday:  Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated as we prepare our own Mexican fiesta! 

Sunday, May 7th:  Dream Logic performance at 2:00 at the Kimball Theater.  If you haven't already, let Lisa know by Monday if you would like free tickets!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan

A New Friend and a New Job!

It was, as usual, a busy week at the Arc of Abilities.  We were excited to add a new member to the family, return to bowling, celebrate two more birthdays, and take on a new job for Eaton Corporation!  Take a peek at our fabulous week!

We welcomed our latest associate, Sean, and his family, who have recently relocated to the area from New Jersey.  Sean brings a lively personality, with a great sense of humor, to our group.  He was a little hesitant at bowling, since it had been a long time since he last bowled, but with a little help from Kacie's dad, Frank, who joined us this week, and lots of encouragement (of course) from his friends, he bowled two great games (107 and 109)!

Thanks, Frank...we enjoyed your company and your help this week!

It had been 3 weeks since we last bowled and everyone was happy to be back!

Yes, Drew picked up a spare on this turn!

So Kacie and Kate decided they needed to do the same!  Meanwhile, in the background, Devin was cheering for the spare he just got!  No one seemed to have lost their touch during our bowling hiatus.

Tuesday was a gorgeous day so we took a walk around one of the loops at the Rec Center.  We hope the weather will stay springlike and not get too hot or sticky too soon...  

Wednesday was a day of interesting celebrations...Bo's Birthday and Garlic Day!  We made cards for Bo and enjoyed a scrumptious cake after lunch.  (We also enjoyed that cake the next day!  Yum...leftovers!)  To mark Garlic Day, we learned about the "stinking rose" and how to utilize fresh garlic in cooking as we added some to our pasta sauce.  But for our garlic bread, we stuck with the powder form!  

Wednesday morning began with Tai Chi.  We have learned four steps of an eight step routine!

This week our friends at Eaton brought us a new job to try, and we were successful at it!  This one involves screwing a plastic plate into place on a large piece and then adhering stickers to the underside of the large piece.  We found that setting up an assembly line worked very well and at various stages of this task, everyone was working on something!

Meanwhile, we are thankful to have Drew's grandmother, Meemaw (aka Nancy), on hand a couple of days a week to work on other Eaton jobs...like sticking gaskets on parts.  You may recall that Eaton makes things called pedestals that are used at marinas and campgrounds and each one has several parts that need gaskets attached.  Pedestals are where boats and RVs hook up for power.  Spring and Summer are Eaton's busy seasons.  We have been told they are making over 4,000 units a week and our help is essential to keep them on track!  Wow!

Did you know that April 20th is Lima Bean Respect Day?  It's touted as a day for those who may not have liked limas as a child to give them a second chance as adults...so we did!  We discovered that they are excellent sources of both fiber and iron.  Our simple recipe did not add fat as a seasoning (with apologies to the South)...instead we only added some chicken bouillon and they tasted great.  Most of us enjoyed them...but we know they aren't for everyone!

On Thursday, Sam returned from his trip to Boston where he cheered for his dad, Tim, in the Boston Marathon!  Sam and his family enjoyed several days in Boston and saw fun sights.  Sam shared some of his souvenirs with us and gave everyone a button from Bean Town!  Thanks, Sam!!  And congrats to Tim, who successfully completed his 4th Boston Marathon!

We also worked in the Grove Community Garden on Thursday.  It was quite warm but we got a lot done, including weeding, breaking up bread for the birds, and spreading mushroom manure!

On Friday we finally got around to planting the snap pea plants we got last week when we worked at the Botanical Garden in Freedom Park.  According to our research, these should be ready for harvest by late May or early June.  We decided to try planting these in containers instead of in the garden so we can watch the growing process more closely from our room.

We also planted some sunflower seeds.

We topped off Friday by celebrating Kate's birthday.  Her mom treated us to subs and cupcakes for lunch, and they hit the spot!  Kate has the last of five birthdays that we celebrated in April.  What a fun month it was!

The upcoming week looks just as busy, so please keep these details in mind...

Tuesday:  Please wear Arc shirts and bring a bag lunch.  We will travel to Freedom Park for work with the Master Gardeners, a picnic, and a hike.  We will still go, even if it's raining.  In that case, our class will take place in the Interpretive Center and our picnic and hike will take place back at AFCC...indoors!

Wednesday:  Dress for Tai Chi!  We will celebrate Pigs in a Blanket Day (April 24)  and Pretzel Day (today) by making our own lunch of pigs in a blanket and pretzel salad.

Thursday:  We volunteer in the school and so lunch on our own...no time to cook!

Friday:  Field Trip to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum!  We are being treated to this adventure (including mini-golf) by the manager of the museum who employs Carol's son!  We are excited for this outing!  Please bring a bag lunch as we will picnic at Kiwanis Park before returning to the museum for mini-golf in the afternoon.

Sunday:  Since the weather for April 23 was forecast to be rainy, the outdoor Tai Chi class with Michael has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 30.  We hope to see you there!

Have a great week,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan