This week we were excited to take a field trip to Freedom Park for some outside time! The fresh air just seems better at the park, and the Botanical Garden, too! It was a sunny and much warmer day for our Wednesday group, but the Thursday group made a slight change in plans. We hear it's only about 20 days until spring arrives...bring it on! Here's a look at our final week of February, 2021.
Friend Update: We are missing our friend Cameron at the AFCC for the second week in a row as he and his family quarantine in preparation for his sister to give birth. Cameron will be a first time uncle when Kaitlyn and her husband, Andrew, welcome the baby...any day now! Meanwhile, he's chilling at home! Congratulations to Cameron's entire family, and we wish Kaitlyn and Andrew the best!
Tuesday
The post just prior to this one is called "Retro Day - Special Edition!" because we celebrated Retro Day during Zoom today, and had soooo many great pictures of our guys sharing retro memorabilia, that we put them in an extra blog post. Retro Day 2021 is actually today (Feb. 27)! It was created as a way to remind us to disconnect from devices and spend time talking and interacting face-to-face, sharing memories and taking things a little slower, if just for one day!
Here's a picture of Sam during our Zoom session, sharing action figures of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble that he played with as a kid! Check out our special edition post for more great pics of things that bring back memories to our guys. Happy Retro Day, everyone! (After you finish the blog, disconnect...and connect, for one day! 😉)
WJCC Schools are back in session so that means "Fire Drill" time!
It was a nice morning for a fire drill. We took advantage of the time outside to pose for a picture with Lilly!
Monday was Cook a Sweet Potato Day, and we love sweet potatoes! Lilly gave us a great lesson about them that included an interesting segment about George Washington Carver, who found many uses for the sweet potato. He also helped farmers develop crop rotation, which helped them grow both their sweet potato and cotton crops better!
We then made sweet potato muffins using Dr. Carver's 100 year old recipe! The girls' team of Nancy, Liz, and Alexis were careful to follow the recipe exactly.
The boys' team of Sam, Kevin, and Patrick worked with Lilly to also follow the "retro" recipe. We were making these for our exective director Pam's goodie bag. Her birthday is this week!
Lunch was the highlight of our day! Nancy's brother and sister-in-law, and our friends, Randy and Sally, treated us to a delicious turkey-chili meal! Nancy said that Sally is a great cook, and we can definitely second that! The chili was hot and flavorful, and best of all, made with a healthier alternative to beef, ground turkey. 😋
Randy and Sally also included fresh veggies with ranch dip (yum!), mini-cornbread muffins, and bottled water. It was soo good! (We had extra mashed sweet potatoes after making our muffins, so we added a side of them, too.)
For dessert, we had Nancy's favorite cookies, Cats Cookies for People, from Trader Joe's. These are NOT your basic animal cookie. They pack a big punch of chocolatey flavor! Thank you, Randy and Sally, for our tasty luncheon! It hit the spot, especially after we smelled the aroma of the chili all morning! We appreciate your thoughtfulness!
Tuesday afternoon found us busy. We began a study of the world's continents and oceans. This week, we focused on North America, our home! We learned that it is the 3rd largest continent, and consists of 23 countries.
We ended the day with Eaton work. It's been a while since we worked on assembling photo-cell plates. Carol showed Kevin and Lilly how to do it, and they got to work!
Nancy very patiently cut open packs of small plastic parts. She then removed the parts and tossed the packaging. Having the parts already removed from the bags saves workers on Eaton's assembly line lots of time!
Patrick took inventory of these parts. There were 217 in that box! Behind Pat, Sam was sorting pieces that will have gaskets applied in the coming days.
Liz and Alexis unpacked light bulbs for Eaton, but we forgot to get a picture, so here's a cute pic of them cuddling with Liz's new pup, Nelly, instead! Nelly rode over with Liz's dad at dismissal time.
Wednesday
We had a flip-flopped Wednesday! We had almost two hours before we needed to leave for our visit to the park, so we made good use of it. After our dance warm up, we made thank you cards for Randy and Sally, who treated us to a wonderful chili luncheon yesterday. We also made "Thinking of You" cards for our friend Michelle, who is in the Thursday/Friday group. Her beloved dog, Seamus, crossed the rainbow bridge on Monday. We are heartbroken for her and her family, as we know how much Seamus meant to them. 🐕💙
We'll miss the delightful stories Michelle told us about Seamus, too. Here's a picture we shared during the holiday season, of Seamus "guarding" Michelle's gifts. We're sure the family has a lot of loving memories of their time with Seamus.
Since we wanted to Zoom with Bette Faye and the Arc later in the day, we also had yoga in the morning! It felt just as good, too!
By midmorning we were ready to go to Freedom Park. We were delighted that Devin (from our other group) and his parents met us there. Devin and Sam are in different groups while we stay "safe," and they miss each other. It was nice to see them catching up while checking the Fairy Garden!
Our master gardener friends have been busy in the Therapeutic Garden area of the Botanical Garden. A lot of old growth has been cut back, and it seems kind of empty right now!
We can tell where the MGs planted lots of bulbs, though, because crocuses and daffodils are in bloom!
Tracy was able to spend some time with us, too. She introduced us to her dogs, Gizmo and Pepper! It was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny, and mild day!
Everyone enjoyed visiting and chatting! Devin's parents, Scott and Roxanne, are on the right, talking with Carol and Nan.
We ran into Judith, who is the chair of the Williamsburg Botanical Garden (WBG) board, and she wanted to snap a group shot of us. We are happy to help great organizations like the WBG share the news of ways they support the community. We appreciate the WBG and the Master Gardeners for the enriching opportunities they provide for the AoA!
We were also delighted by another friend who joined us for lunch: LAURA!!! Laura and her mom Lisa, on the left in this picture, met us at the picnic area. We chuckled when Laura told us we were "late," which is one of her signature comments at the AoA! We miss you, Laura. Thanks for always making us smile!
Cole and his person, Chris, spread the word that having a disability isn't an inability, it's a superpower!
It was interesting to learn about all the places Chris and Cole visit, and how Cole helps teach people about empathy! Way to go, Chris and Cole!
Thursday
We had a great Zoom group on Thursday morning! We checked in with Cameron and his mom, Stacey. They are heading to Staunton, where his sister Kaitlyn lives. The baby is due on Tuesday. Safe travels, Cameron and family!
National Polar Bear Day is on Saturday. What a fun topic for Zoom! We learned many things about these carnivores, such as they are the largest bear, their fur is not really white, but looks that way when it reflects light, and they can run as fast (but not for as long) as horses! They eat seals, have 42 teeth, live in the Artic region, and Canada has more polar bears than any other country.
After Zoom, it was time for this group to go on our "Fresh Air" trip. We had hoped the weather would be as mild today as it was yesterday, but it wasn't quite! It was sunny, but much cooler and a little bit breezy. We changed our plans and instead of going to Freedom Park, stayed closer to AFCC and went to Colonial Williamsburg to walk at the Visitor Center. They have nice tables for eating outside there, and if the wind was too wild, we could easily return back to AFCC for lunch.
It turned out to be a good plan, as Nan was at the Visitor Center around that time, getting her second Covid vaccine! Instead of having Gdad bring her to meet us at Freedom Park, we picked her up after her shot. In this picture, we tried to zoom in close to show the sticker she's excited to have. It says she's had her vaccinations!
Our plan was to walk over the footbridge at the Visitor Center and into the restored area, but there was red tape across the bridge entrance, so we turned around and just walked on the sidewalk that surrounds the building. We found a couple of nice spots for photo ops! The fountain was pretty, and the water glistened in the sunshine. We commented on the flags being flown at half-staff in honor of the over 500,000 who have lost their lives due to Covid.
We all agreed our day roaming around the grounds of the Visitor Center was FUN! We saw the health department's vaccination site, which led to interesting conversation. We gained insight into what goes into setting up such a site, as we saw police and emergency medical vehicles parked at the back entrance. There were inclines and steps for us to traverse on our walk, so it turned out to be a worthwhile adventure!
The picnic area at the Visitor Center is nice! We were happy that the wind had let up enough for us to eat outside in the sun. The tables, while low to the ground (!), are clean and plentiful for spreading out, and the pine trees surrounding them gave it a park like feel. We enjoyed our lunch!
The girls were also working on a batch. We couldn't make some for Pam, and not ourselves, because we always taste test before giving our culinary creations away!
Don't our mini-loaves looks great?! They tasted just as good as they look! (Did we mention it is Chocolate Chip Banana Bread?!)
We ended our day with Choice Time. Kate and Lilly were in another room working on an assignment for Lilly's class that Kate is helping her with, Xavier had a couple of puzzles going, Michelle and Abraham were using computers, and Alexis and Devin wanted to do Eaton work. Something for everyone!
Friday
We had a special project to finish today. Throughout the week we have been planning a surprise for our Executive Director, Pam's, birthday, which was Wednesday. We made banana bread to include in her goodie bag yesterday, and today, we made bananas to use as decorations on the front of her big card. Michelle worked on painting her contribution.
A big part of our morning was spent on Eaton work, which we love to do! We cranked up the tunes on Pandora and sang along as we worked. Alexis applied gaskets and behind her, Kate unpacked parts.
Carol, Xavier, and Devin also unpacked parts. There were hundreds of little bags to empty today!
Michelle took inventory on assembled pieces we had finished earlier this week, and Abraham...unpacked parts! It was a productive and satisfying work morning for us!
This group finally got to make up our Chinese New Year lesson, which had been postponed twice due to inclement weather days! Here, Alexis led us through a slide presentation about China's most important holiday. You did a great job, Alexis!
While we waited for Nan to pick up our lunch orders, we had fun with the Chinese Zodiac. 2021 is the Year of the Ox. Devin was born in 1996, the Year of the Rat. He was surprised to find out that his horoscope for 2021, based on being a "Rat," was that he will be "spending money on his home." We interpreted that to mean he might add something cool to what he calls his "man cave" at home. Maybe a new tv, or game system?! LOL!
Kate and Xavier patiently posed for a lunch picture before enjoying their sweet and sour chicken (Kate) and pepper steak and onion (Xavier). Happy Chinese New Year! It doesn't officially end until Saturday, so we're still legit!
This may spoil Pam's surprise, which Lisa will deliver to her on Monday, but we wanted to document her card in our blog. Abraham is our card model! 👀 We combined our fun with Banana Bread Day (front of card)...
Another card we wanted to highlight, but hope it doesn't spoil the surprise, is Drew's birthday card! Our buddy will be 30 on Tuesday!
We all miss Drew so much, and can't wait for him to be back with us at the AFCC. Everyone wrote him a special birthday message for the card, and on Tuesday we are having a 30th Birthday Party on Zoom! It's going to be awesome, just like Drew!
Ahh, Friday afternoon yoga! And look who has a session called "Betsy Banana." It's Jaime!
Reaching and stretching feels so good. We followed it with a mellow "Peace Out" session, and sent our guys home in laid-back mode. It was the end of another fantastic week!
Next week we will welcome the month of March! Here's a peek at our plans:
Tuesday / Thursday: As always, we're looking forward to Zooming with our friends at home! On Tuesday, we will celebrate Drew's 30th Birthday! Come ready for dancing, jokes, surprises, and fun! Thursday's session will combine National Pig Day with Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss's Birthday). You'll need the pig handout! At the AFCC, we'll also work on the March calendar, spring decorations, and celebrate Peanut Butter Lovers Day with lunch of peanut butter sandwiches (w/ bananas, optional), fresh veggie sides, and chips.
Wednesday / Friday: We will study the continent of Australia this week, with a special presentation (and treat!) from Elizabeth! Her uncle lives in Australia and she has visited; she's excited to share her love of this continent. For lunch, we will prepare Shepard's Pie, with a recipe provided by Liz's mom! We will also work on Eaton tasks and celebrate Employee Appreciation Day!
Enjoy the last weekend of February!
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
