It's Mid-October!

Even though the weather can't make up its mind, we know it's fall by the calendar.  October is halfway over already!  Before we know it, the holiday season will be here.  For the AoA, the holidays begin with Halloween, and our guys are already revving up for our annual party! 🎃👻  

This week we made the beautiful centerpieces shown above with our master gardener friends by adding dried flowers to mini-pumpkins.  They are so pretty, and will definitely add a touch of fall to wherever they end up!  We also returned to Eaton for a busy work day this week.  We learned about another amazing country and laughed at Lucy and Ricky, too.  But there was more!  Here's our week in review...

Tuesday

Our outing today was to the garden to work with the master gardeners, but before we headed over, we had our dance warm up and then Lisa shared an email message with us.  We had written to Linda last week.  She's the MG who recently moved to Massachusetts, and we were curious as to how the move went.  She told us that she and Ed are almost settled in their nearly 100 year old house, but that they brought a bit too much stuff!  She also shared beautiful pictures of the Berkshires, nearby Lake Mansfield, and the bird feeder we gave her!  What a gorgeous place to live...and yes, they will get snow!  It was great hearing back from her!

At today's gardening session, the MGs taught us about fall and winter types of squash!  Karen showed us an informative poster, and several of the MGs spoke about the different types, and showed us examples.

After Angela told us about the very nutritious butternut squash, AND shared two yummy recipes with us, Rick told us about spaghetti squash.  He had cooked some this morning and brought it in to show us why it's called "spaghetti" squash.  We're going to cook spaghetti squash this way on Wednesday as a side dish for our lunch!  (We're going to make butternut squash soup next week, inspired by Angela's recipes!)

Barbara told us about pumpkins, and that there are the bigger ones, which are better for being jack-o-lanterns, and smaller ones, called "pie pumpkins," which are better for cooking.  The last squash we learned about was the acorn squash.  It is so "nice," it lets you know when to pick it:  the bottom part that lies on the ground will turn orange when it's ready!  Karen also reminded us that squash can be cooked "sweetly" if you add honey or brown sugar and spices like cinnamon or nutmeg!   All of these varieties of squash are nutritious, and come with so many cooking options!  😋😋😋

Soon, it was time to craft, and Angela and Xavier were ready to see what we were making!

Everyone got their own mini-pumpkin and a supply of dried flowers.  As always, there were lots of MG friends on hand to help our guys, as Carolyn is doing here with Abraham and Alexis.  We are grateful for that!  Some of the dried flowers were a bit fragile, and getting them to stick into the foam was tricky at times.

Angela was nearby to assist Sam and Kate, and Annmarie and Laura.  The MGs are very supportive of our guys' ideas about creating!

Rick was on hand to help Drew and Liz with their finishing touches.  We would like to thank Linda, our beloved MG who recently moved to Massachusetts, for leaving these beautiful dried flowers for us to use.  We know she reads the blog, and we hope she loves these as much as we do!  We miss you, Linda. 🎕💚

Each one of our creations is different and beautiful, and together, they are stunning!  Thank you, MGs, for doing this lovely project with us.  We know our families will love adding this touch of fall to their homes!

We decided to head to WISC for lunch, as we thought the covered picnic shelter would be dry.  Out of all the tables under there, just enough were dry and we enjoyed our lunch in the outdoors!  Before getting on the vans to head back to AFCC, we took a picture under the same tree we last saw a couple of weeks ago. We're pretty sure it's a type of maple.   It's changing colors beautifully, along with a lot of others just like it in this parking lot near the baseball diamonds.  They are really going to be pretty in a couple of weeks!

Everyone was up for Choice Time when we got back to the center...no surprise there!  After time spent on computers, reading, coloring, and listening to music, we split into groups.  We didn't get a picture of the trivia group that played a game in the big room, but this group went to the kitchen area and assembled the Arc's November mailing.  Be sure to check the calendar, complete your sign-up sheet, and get it back to the office by October 22nd.  The Fall Costume Ball AND Bingo are BACK!

Wednesday

Today was National Fossil Day, which alone would be fun to study.  But it also led us to study the country of Argentina.  Why?  Because a fossil, belonging to possibly the largest land animal ever, was found there in 2013! 😮🦴

We learned that Argentina is in South America and is the 8th largest country in the world.  It's a family-friendly country, and parents don't think twice about keeping their babies and young children out past midnight if they are all having fun!  Argentina is also known for beautiful waterfalls, including Iguzau Falls, some of the most dramatic and monumental waterfalls in the world!

Next, we learned that the dinosaur fossil of a titanosaur was discovered in Argentina in 2013.  Scientists believe it may be the largest land animal ever to walk on earth!  It was as long as 3 school buses.  Wow!

Annmarie brought fossils to share with us!  The small ones are ammonite fossils.  Ammonites were mollusks in the octopus and squid family, and they died out over 65 million years ago.  The larger fossil is from a large scallop, and has the scientific name Chesapecten Jeffersonius, after Thomas Jefferson, who was an early champion of palaeontology and has been dubbed by some as the "Father of Palaeontology" in the United States!  He had a vast collection of fossils and was fascinated by what we could learn about our planet from them.  Thank you to Annmarie's family for sharing these amazing fossils and great background information with us!

We watched a video that explained how most fossils are formed as layers of earth settle over them for millions of years.  We also learned that 99% of all fossils found have been fossils of marine life, like shellfish and sharks, and not dinosaurs!  To add a sensory element to Fossil Day, we made playdough and used plastic insects and spiders to make fossil prints.  Drew and Alexis are checking out their bug imprint.

Michelle made two fossil prints side by side in her dough!  That would be a cool one to find!

Liz pulled up a song about fossils, too!  Michelle grabbed her dinosaurs and sang along with Devin and Sam.  It was a fun and informative song!

Our lunch today was empanadas, which are a type of baked or fried turnovers, filled with various ingredients, that are popular in Argentina.  We were making baked chicken and cheese empanadas with chimichurri sauce, along with refried beans and rice as sides.  We decided to cook the spaghetti squash the MGs gave us instead of the rice.  Lisa, Nan, and Carol discovered that spaghetti squash is very hard to cut, and were worried about losing fingers if the knife slipped!  Nan suggested we try Gdad's technique, which is to pound the knife with a hammer to get it to go through the squash.  It just so happens that there is a hammer in the closet at AFCC, and it worked!  Good idea, Nan (and Gdad)!

Once the squash was sliced, Carol followed MG Rick's recipe exactly...drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper!  Next, we popped them into the Nina and baked them (turning once) for about 30-40 minutes.  

Once the squash were baked, it was easy for Laura and Liz to removed the stringy, spaghetti-like insides, while Abraham stood by for a taste test.  His (and our) verdict:  YUMMY!  Thanks Rick and all of our MG friends for great recipes and inspiration!  😋😋😋

Empanadas before...

Empanadas after... Another tasty lunch at the AoA!

We were quite busy working on Eaton tasks after lunch, and didn't get many pictures.  There were several things we needed to have ready to take back when we work onsite tomorrow.  We got it done while singing along to Halloween songs!!

Thursday

Oops!  Our wires got crossed with Jorie and we weren't supposed to be at Eaton until 10:30, instead of our usual 9:30.  There was a meeting taking place in "our" room.  😉 So, we got to take a walk at nearby New Quarter Park!  What a delightful surprise! 

Most of us ended up at the end of a short, but slightly steep and downhill trail that leads to the floating dock on Queen's Creek.  We saw a sign indicating oyster beds are being grown here!  Yay!  

Nan stayed up the hill and she, Laura, and Annmarie walked laps around the basketball courts.  There was a little bit of playground time, too!  It was nice to see the 🌞!

After our dose of fresh air and sunshine, we returned to Eaton and got to work.  There was unpacking to do today, and Laura, Drew, Annmarie, and Patrick got right on it.  They zipped through several boxes!

There was more unpacking and Abraham and Devin got on it, too!  They had to remove just one piece from the bag, and discard the rest.  Focus!!

The rest of the gang assembled PowerSlide doors.  They get such a great flow going with Sam being the unpacker and runner, Michelle inserting gaskets on the amber lenses, and Lexi, Nan, and Liz applying labels.

Finishing up the job, Xavier and Kevin worked efficiently at the nuts/screws table, and Carol tightened everything with the electric screwdriver.  We have a great work crew, and it was a successful work day!

Friday

As usual, we began our day with a dance warm up, and before long, we spotted partner dancing! 

We like to take "Memory Lane Blog Walks" sometimes, and in today's we were reminded of that time we celebrated Angel Food Cake Day (Oct. 10).  So what else could we do, but celebrate it again today, even if it was a few days late!  Here's a throwback shot of our friends (who have since moved and are missed) Chris and Devin T. doing the baking chore back in 2017!

Our recipe is simple, and not too decadent.  Add a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple to the angel food cake mix, bake, and enjoy!  Our bakers today:  Kevin and Drew.  Give them a hand, guys! 👏

They were very proud of their masterpiece!

 
During morning movement, we did another chair workout with Donovan, who energized us in just 7 minutes today!  We followed that with a couple of Halloween dance videos!

Hopefully, we "earned" this!  Simple elegance, and oh, so moist and tasty!

We put our thinking caps on today to celebrate Train Your Brain Day!  First, we did some "paper puzzles," which consisted of breaking codes, solving riddles, and spelling words based on tricky hints.

Carol said her group enjoyed finding letters and exchanging them with other letters in order to break the code for the answer to a riddle about a monkey!

After paper puzzles, we used the computer and worked more puzzles and words games.  Annmarie and Laura played several rounds of a Halloween-themed memory game.

We also "celebrated" I Love Lucy Day, although our guys weren't quite sure why this is something to celebrate!  😄 They may not have understood why this is worthy of a national day, but they sure thought the video clips we watched were funny!

We ended the day with Jaime and yoga, and all was right with the world!  Time to enjoy the weekend!

Here are our plans for next week!

Tuesday:  October 18th is National No Beard Day, but we're going to learn about beards (whatever is there to learn?!) when we visit with Christina at the Art Museums of CW today!  Sounds very intriguing!  Weather permitting, we'll also visit the garden and check the fall foliage status on the trees we learned about with MG Rick, and have lunch outside.  Back at AFCC, we'll begin Halloween crafts today, as we will need several spooky items to decorate with for our party next week!  Please wear Arc shirts, and bring a bagged lunch.  

Wednesday:  We'll be busy today creating special thank you cards for our master gardener friends, and cooking more of their yummy recipes using the winter squash they gave us last week.  For lunch, we'll prepare a hearty butternut squash soup with French bread, and an acorn squash "dessert."   

Thursday:  It's time to celebrate Reptile Awareness Day for 2021, so we'll enjoy learning about reptiles, and make a Halloween inspired snake to use for party decorations.  We'll also check out one of Mystery Doug's new episodes and explore why we can't remember being babies!  Lunch on your own.  JRES cafteria is serving Domino's Pizza or hot dog...tough choice! 😜  After lunch, we'll take a hike at Newport News Park.  We want to enjoy the seasonal weather as long as we can!

Friday:  We're celebrating Color Day and Nut Day!  We'll paint rocks with Halloween colors and make plans to hide them at the garden when we go on Tuesday.  For lunch, we'll make healthy quinoa with toasted pecans and dried cranberries, and add a side of grilled veggies.  We'll also (hopefully) finish our read aloud about Natalie, the aspiring Broadway star who happens to use a wheelchair. Don't forget it's yoga day, so dress to stretch!

👻🎃 NOTE ABOUT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29:  We will have our annual Halloween Party!  The gang is always more excited about this than almost anything else we do all year.  Costumes are optional.  It's also a yoga day and we're planning to do Jaime's Halloween session, so think about bringing your costume and changing here, just for the party time! 👻🎃

FALL SERVICE PROJECT:  The Arc of GW, including the Aktion Club and Arc of Abilities, is partnering with the JCC Police Department and Arc friend, Master Officer Ben Woodhouse, for their "Stuff the Cruiser" Food Drive.  We're asking for donations of non-perishable food items to be brought in over the next two weeks, and we will make sure they get delivered to the main event to be held at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on November 6th.  Thanks in advance for your support! 

We're coming up on that "holiday" time of the year.  Here is how our schedule at the Arc of Abilities will look in November and December:

Thanksgiving Week - November 22-26:  This is the only time all year we are OPEN on a Monday!  We will meet on Monday and Tuesday, November 22 and 23, and be closed Wednesday-Friday, November 24-26.  We will inform WATA of this schedule change, and families who use WATA, please follow up. 

Winter Break:   We will close at the end of the day on Friday, December 17, and reopen on Tuesday, January 4.  We're looking forward to family time, and maybe a little rest! 

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang