What a surprise when we arrived at WISC for our walk on Tuesday to get out of the vans and spot trees with leaves already beginning to change color! We're gearing up to welcome fall, and Mother Nature gave us a couple of signs that it's coming, between the leaf colors and some cooler temperatures by the end of the week. On Friday morning, the heat kicked on at AFCC!
Tuesday
The Arc's 2021Virtual 5k is underway, and folks are asked to walk on their own and submit pictures, so here are some pictures of our gang (minus Laura who was at the OBX this week) as we took another practice walk. Our AoA for the 5k Team's alternative event is taking place at Veterans' Park on Saturday, October 2nd, so we've got to make sure we're ready for the challenge!
We were at the WISC recreation area for today's walk, and that's a great place for our gang to get in some steps. You can design lots of different routes because there are a lot of paved areas on which to walk. In our case, we all started off at the same time, but as different paced walkers emerged, we were able to let them split off and go for extra steps. Here, Alexis, Kevin, Devin, Liz, and Xavier cut through an area beyond where the others were walking, giving them additional steps.
Patrick, Abraham, Drew, Sam, Michelle, and Kate headed on this straightaway and the others caught up with them at the intersection! Annmarie and Nan had made a turn earlier. Win-win for us all!
Nothing like a picnic with friends on a very nice day after a brisk walk!
Our day was just beginning at WISC. After lunch, we joined Christina at the Art Museums of CW for another interesting, educational, and fun visit! We noticed this new display in the entrance area, and Christina told us it was about archaeology, which is basically studying artifacts that are dug up so we can learn about the past. We also learned that across the street from the new entrance to the museum, a new archaeology building would be going up soon! It's going to be fascinating and we can't wait to visit!
Our primary lesson with Christina today was to look for objects in the museums that featured patterns. We found many instances of patterns on our walkabout: in the way the tall case clocks were arranged, and on wallpaper, ceramics, and textiles, as shown here.
Christina pointed out that we love patterns in our modern-day clothing, too. Even though most of us (in our Arc shirts and solid shorts/pants) were not wearing patterns today, Sam had on plaid shorts and plaid is a type of pattern!
This is a beautiful quilt, and the pattern looks like a lot of flowery designs. We learned that this is a "piece quilt" and it's pieced together by hundreds, if not thousands, of hexagon shaped pieces of cloth that are each about an inch or so in diameter! It's stunning to see all the hexagon pieces up close!
The hexagon quilt inspired our lesson in the education center today. Christina gave each of us a "blank slate" of hexagon designs, and urged us to get creative with coloring/drawing patterns.
Most of our guys went with what teachers would call an AB pattern, meaning it consists of two colors, designs, or other variables. They then repeated the AB pattern many times.
As usual with our projects with Christina, no two were alike, and each one was perfect in its own way! We forgot to get a group picture, but they were all colorful and pretty. What's more, our guys really enjoyed the quiet coloring time with Christina! Art therapy?! xoxo
Wednesday
Our country of the week was Kenya. For lunch, we were making a Kenyan bean/corn stew called githeri. During our dance warm up, Annmarie sauteed a big bowl of chopped onions so we could get a head start on the stew!
Later, we added canned beans and tomatoes, and frozen corn. The magic happened when Devin and Michelle added the spices: curry, garlic, and smoked paprika!
This crew finished up the easy to make stew, which we learned is a "trendy" dish among younger folks in Kenya! We liked it, even though our guys wondered where the chicken was?! This was a vegetarian dish, and the curry/garlic/paprika spices gave it a unique flavor!
It was also Elephant Appreciation Day, and we learned that African elephants are a vulnerable population. Countries in Africa, like Kenya, have taken steps in recent decades to curb the hunting and poaching of big game animals like the elephant, rhinos, and lions, so their numbers are increasing.
Liz brought in a small elephant that had been carved out of ivory. It belonged to her great-grandmother, so it was from many, many years ago.
To help celebrate Elephant Day, and learn about Kenya, Liz, Michelle, and Kate brought stuffed animals and dressed for the day! We love their spirt!
Right before lunch, Nan gathered Kevin, Liz, and Sam to help her fry cornbread. This was going to be our side dish with the Kenyan githeri. Nan simply mixes cornmeal with a bit of sugar and water, then fries up cripsy pieces of yumminess! She learned this recipe from Gdad's mom, back in the day!
Along with fresh pineapple, the fried cornbread made a nice accompaniment to our Kenyan stew. It was a reasonably healthy meal, too!
We were excited to hear Devin's news today. He plays Buddy Baseball on Sunday afternoons, along with Drew and Patrick. Last Sunday, Devin hit an "over the wall" homerun and he brought in the ball to show us! WOW, Devin! What an arm you must have! Congratulations!! ⚾⚾⚾
Autumn arrived today so we talked about the autumnal equinox, which is the day when we have about 12 hours each of daylight and darkness. The amount of daylight will be getting shorter now as fall comes on and leads to winter. We also made a small wreath using pretty fake leaves. We're going to be decorating one of the walls to welcome the new season!
But probably the highlight of our day was celebrating National Ice Cream Cone Day! We felt justified in having a chocolate dipped cone to celebrate since our lunch had consisted of such a healthy stew. Michelle, Kevin, Annmarie, and Abraham, along with their friends, patiently sat through a video that explained how cones are made, and then dug into the chilly treat! We had popsicles for our friends who avoid dairy, so everyone was happy, and it was a great ending to our day.
Thursday
Today was such a fun day! We celebrated National One-Hit Wonder Day and Open the Magic Day, both of which are on Saturday. Listening to songs that everyone knew, but didn't know who the artist was because they only had the one hit, was a big hit with our guys! You should have heard them singing! Open the Magic Day is about the joy and magic in reading, so we spent a lot of time with books for that. Reading is something we enjoy at the AoA, and we always love book theme days to see what our guys bring to share!
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What we didn't spend much time doing today was taking pictures! Even though Lisa kept saying to remind her to get certain shots, we got so wrapped up in the music and books that we just forgot. So, here's what we ended up with...along with a lot of great memories!
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a one-hit wonder for Bobby McFerrin. What a fun song that was! We learned that it was the first a capella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and that Bobby McFerrin has remained in the music business...just without other "big" hits.
Our movement activity today included a game of One-Hit Wonder Musical Chairs. We had so much fun with this, that we took a couple of short videos! Here, the gang was listening to "Hey, Baby," a one-hit wonder by some dude from the early 60s named Bruce Chanel! Look how serious they are as they play!
A more recent one-hit wonder was "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men. This is one that stays in your head for a while!
Devin, who also knew EVERY one-hit wonder we played all day, prevailed as the musical chairs winner! That kid loves to sing, and his friends enjoyed his enthusiasm for our game!
One book Alexis brought for Open the Magic Day was a yearbook from when she was in 4th grade in 2001-2002. She was in Becky's 4th grade class! Everyone enjoyed seeing a picture of Becky and Alexis from "back in the day," as some said. 😂 We sure miss seeing Becky now, in the present day!
During Choice Time, some of the guys chose to keep reading. Devin also brought a yearbook, and Sam brought a biography of one of his favorites, Bruce Lee. Devin showed us pictures of him and his brother, Christian, when they were "young," and we had time to read Sam's book aloud. Alexis was still looking at her yearbook, and beside her, Drew was enjoying a computer game. Kevin was working a puzzle, and in the background, Kate was reading a chapter book at her table!
We want to give shoutouts to others who shared great and magical books today, too. Annmarie had a very cool step-by-step cookbook with easy to follow pictures and yummy recipes! Abraham brought a fun story that we read aloud about a dragon who was too nice to be ferocious! Drew brought a story about Pete the Cat, and a Halloween joke book that we want him to bring back for our party! Liz shared a website on her iPad that has stories you can read and then take a quiz! She enjoys doing that. Patrick brought one of his many prized books about baseball, and we learned about his favorite player, Chipper Jones! We truly enjoyed our celebration of Open the Magic Day, and we heartily encourage anyone to grab a book and read, be read to, or read to someone! 💓📚🔮
Friday
Another one of our favorite days to celebrate each year is Johnny Appleseed Day, which occurs on his birthday, September 26th. There are so many fun things to do that involve apples, so here we go! (And we have pictures today!!)
We made apple-themed bookmarks! This was a fun and easy craft for our guys that the master gardeners ran short of time to do with us when we last saw them. Krafty Karen, who assembled all of the darling "kits" for us, told us to bring them back to AFCC and make them when we had time. Today was the perfect day!
Pat was so proud of his bookmark!
Thank you, Karen, for putting all the bits and pieces of this bookmark craft into individual kits for us. Assembly was easy, and that's always a victory with us! We enjoyed making them, and talking about what a fun and "Krafty" person you are! 🍎🍏🍎🍏 (Can you tell that Alexis already has hers marking a page in her book?!)
Check out this gorgeous blue sky! We went outside and actually enjoyed the weather for the first time in a while. It was cool and not muggy...and plenty of sunshine. Kevin practiced his shot!
We have game and equipment options when we go outside, but today, most of the gang just wanted to walk and talk.
Sam gave Xavier a high-five when they crossed paths!
We tried a new "one-pot wonder" recipe today. It consisted of sauteed chicken, bacon, sweet potatoes, onion, green beans, and APPLES! Alexis, Patrick, Drew, and Sam cooked it, and when they added in the cinnamon and thyme, our room smelled so good! It was a dish that made us of think of fall, since it was colorful and hearty, and a couple of the guys asked for the recipe!
Devin, Abraham, and Kate helped Nan make her delicious sweet tea (a rare treat for us), and they also made decorative napkin rings for our place settings! We should have gotten a close up of the napkin rings, which were colored with pretty apples!
Our side dish was cinnamon apple bites, made with crescent roll dough. Kevin, Liz, Xavier, and Michelle helped create these, but for Xavier, they made a gluten-free bagel half, topped with the apple/cinnamon mixture. Everyone loved these!
Jaime even got in on the apple fun with us! She has a yoga routine about an ant who hides inside of an apple and ends up on a journey to becoming an astronaut.........you had to be here! 🐜🍎
We stretch tall and try to maintain our balance in tree pose.
This is rocket pose, which is similar to tree pose, but the feet are spread apart.
Yoga is always a relaxing way to end our busy time together. We will be very busy next week, so we're sure to look forward to next Friday's yoga session! Here's what we'll be up to as October comes around the corner:
Tuesday: We are returning to the Botanical Garden today for another session with the master gardeners. We're excited to take a Tree Walk with them today! Back at the center, we'll work on adding decorations to our "Welcome Fall" wall. Please wear Arc shirts and bring a bagged lunch.
Wednesday: National Dumpling Day was a couple of days ago, so we are going to learn about the country of Korea, where dumplings are recognized as a signature dish. We'll have mandu (Korean style dumplings) for lunch along with rice and steamed veggies.
We'll also begin preparations for a couple of special events this week: Custodians Day (Friday) and the AoA for the 5k Fun Event (Saturday).Thursday: Today we will continue making preparations for our special events, and we will celebrate National Manufacturing Day (Oct. 1) by delivering some homemade goodies to Eaton! We'll have lunch on your own (can order Pizza or Deli Sandwich from cafeteria). After lunch we will take a walk at New Quarter Park and then stop by Eaton for the special delivery.
Friday: Today we are celebrating Custodial Workers Recognition Day, which is Saturday. We'll prepare Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad for lunch, and invite Heike, Sevarina, and Diane to join us! It's also yoga time, so dress to stretch!
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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