We don't usually stay at the center on Tuesdays, but this week, the weather was windy, chilly, and cloudy, so our master gardener friends decided to come to us for the lesson! The Interpretive Center at Freedom Park wasn't available, and they didn't want to miss time with us (or us with them), so we tidied up and welcomed them to our place. Later in the week, we celebrated two more birthdays!!! We are nearing the end of the spring birthday bashes, but we're making the most of the ones we have left! Here's a look at our wonderful week!
Tuesday
Since we weren't able to check the progress on our plants in person at the garden, Karen sent us several pictures she had taken yesterday. We were able to see how the beans, radishes, and potatoes are doing, and they all looked great!
Since we didn't go to the garden, we couldn't see these beautiful paver stones Krafty Karen created around the fairy bed. We had accidentally seen them last Tuesday when we stopped by, but we were going to act "surprised" today. Karen stenciled beautiful pictures on them and her husband Steve assisted with placing them perfectly in place. They spent hours on this amazing project. 💚 The pictures don't do them justice! We can't wait to get close up pictures the next time we visit.
Thank you, Karen, for this labor of LOVE! Your handiwork is so pretty and we really appreciate the time and effort you put into these creations. And, a big shoutout to your husband, Steve, for the assist with digging the placement holes, and everything else he did to get them set perfectly in place! What a great job on BOTH of your parts! 👏👏💚💚
The MGs taught us about companion gardening today! It's a simple concept that produces amazing results. MG Liz has a great book called Carrots Love Tomatoes and it's packed with useful information about which plants enjoy the companionship of each other, and will help each other grow better in the garden! For example, we learned that garlic and onions are good companions for most everything, but potatoes are not! A lot of this has to do with which plants attract "pests" and which ones don't. It's very interesting, and Liz highly recommends the book!
Kate stepped up to help Karen, Diana, and Barbara explain to us that they were going to plant a "pizza pot" to leave with us today. That got our attention! The three companion plants that went into the pot were chocolate sprinkle cherry tomatoes, oregano, and basil! We were told to keep it watered and in a sunny spot, and we should have tomatoes in about 50 days! In addition, the tomato plant will grow "kind of wildly" and we may need to stake it, but it should produce delicious tomatoes for most of the summer! We also learned how to cut basil so that it will keep growing and reproducing. We cannot wait to make our first pizza using the bounty from these companion plants!
Everyone was happy when the MGs pulled out their Vegetable Bingo game! They even brought prizes, and our guys were stoked to play. The MGs were on hand to help us, but they quickly realized we know most of our veggies! Here, MG Rick and Michelle were assisting Annmarie as she searched for Brussels sprouts!
MG Angela gave us lots of information about the herb of the day, basil! She told us that it is easy to grow, as long as it doesn't get too cold, and that it is a great addition to so many dishes. She had our mouths watering as she mentioned Italian food, chicken and fish dishes, salads, and pesto!
In fact, Angela had whipped up some homemade pesto which she incorporated into a super tasty snack for us today. Look at this pesto and pasta salad! Sooo good...and, Angela gave us the recipe! This will really motivate us to keep the basil going in our pizza pot!
We got a shot of Liz giving the pesto pasta a 👍, and trust us, she wasn't the only one! 😋 Thank you, Angela, for taking the time to make pesto from scratch and bring us samples of your fabulous dish! (AND, we forgot to get a picture, but Karen also brought us a homemade basil recipe...salad dressing! Stay tuned, as we will be enjoying it at tomorrow's lunch! Thanks, Karen!)
After the MGs left, we ate lunch at AFCC and hoped we would be able to go to CW for a walk. Alas, it was still very breezy and chilly outside, so we stayed put and listened to our read-aloud and played Disney trivia games. We also did a bit of spring cleaning! The group consisting of Devin T., Laura, Annmarie, Kevin, and Drew wiped down door knobs, gaming tables, and cabinets.
Sam and Michelle were part of a team that made sure the ovens, microwaves, tables, and counter in the kitchen area got a good cleaning.
The other two on that team were Xavier and Alexis, who proudly showed off the storage closet that is now free of a lot of dust bunnies! 🐰 This team moved things out of the way in the closet and the kitchen so they could get to all the nooks and crannies!
We had a team working in our multipurpose room that included Liz, who removed all the stuff from these two carts and dusted them thoroughly. She also dusted the printers, and even wiped off the game boxes that are used to prop up Lisa's computer!
Also in this room were Kate, Erik, Patrick, and Abraham, who moved things from tables, window sills, and cabinet tops so they could be dusted. Everyone did a wonderful job, and we all recognized how easy a big job is when we divide up the tasks!
It wasn't the kind of "celebration" we usually enjoy, but we were cleaning today for a reason! We wonder if anyone continued "celebrating" when they got home... 😀😀😀
Wednesday
Today, we kept ourselves busy with activities that were new to us, and others that were familiar. May 10 is Twilight Zone Day, and we had never explored that concept, or the iconic show from sixty-some years ago. We watched a video clip from a Twilight Zone episode, and talked about science fiction. We learned that it is often set in the future and involves advanced technological "gadgets" or characters like aliens!
We also watched a clip from the Disney/Pixar film Wall-E, which most of our guys were familiar with! In that movie, Wall-E is a robot trying to clean up the world so mankind can return. It's set seven hundred years in the future and has a lot of sci-fi elements in it. We followed it up with a sort of scientific activity. We made paper robots and fashioned them with a pulley made of yarn, and tried to figure out the best way to make them move. Devin T. and Drew were trying to figure out how much tension they needed to apply to get the robot to move along the string.
Kate and Sam hung their robots on the knobs of the foosball table, and were easily able to move them up and down. Sam also added robotic sound effects! No one could understand him, but we appreciated his extension of the activity! 🤖
By late morning, we were ready to celebrate Eat What You Want Day. Since we had voted to make our "famous" blueberry grilled cheese sandwiches, we first had to dance to an old classic. No one recognized this tune from Fats Domino, but they enjoyed dancing to it!
We place the buttered sides of the bread back to back, and add cheese, blueberries, apple slices, and a drizzle of honey for the next step, which Annmarie, Liz, and Laura handled for us today.
Alexis and Erik had the job of grilling the sandwiches, and they gave it a great shot. What they found is that it's hard to flip the sandwiches without the blueberries rolling out, so after we took this picture they called for Carol to help them! (No worries, guys. Carol loses a few blueberries, too!)
We had a small package of chocolate chip cookie mix on hand, so Michelle, Abraham, and Patrick mixed it up and there was just enough for everyone to have one cookie at the end of our gourmet meal!
We gave Erik the first sandwich, since it was his first time trying blueberry grilled cheese. Krafty Karen's basil dressing is shown in the jar...it was very tasty on our veggies! Thanks so much for making it for us, Karen. We will definitely make it again in the future!
Here are a few of our flags laying out to dry on top of the computers. We're going to decorate our entry wall with a patriotic theme for Memorial Day, Flag Day, and July 4th.
Thursday
Happy Birthday to Michelle today! After our dance warm up we got busy making cards for her. Sam was quite focused on the message he was writing in her card. All of our friends write the nicest birthday messages to each other!
The drizzly weather kept us inside, but 1/2 of the gym was available to us today! We got Liz to crank up our playlist and we walked laps for 15 minutes.
While we were excited for Michelle's mom and sister to arrive with lunch, we still had work to do. In Michelle's honor, we studied dinosaurs and sharks today! After the video clips on each species, we had Michelle guide us through a quiz. She knew all the correct answers, of course!
We worked in partners. On the dinosaur quiz, Patrick had marked the answers at the top of the page and Laura took over to finish the ones at the bottom. Michelle said they, and everyone else, earned A+ on today's quizzes!
It was so nice to be treated to lunch from Panera by Michelle's mom, Susan, AND to get to hang out with her sister Meagan, who is home from UVA for a visit! Thank you, Susan, for this delicious lunch! It felt so "fancy" when everyone got their own box. We loved it and really enjoyed chatting with you and Meagan, too!
There was a luscious chocolate chip cookie in each box, and Susan added small cups of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, too! 😋 What a great party!
This was the first time we had the birthday honoree blow out a candle stuck in a cup of ice cream!! Happiest of Birthdays to you, Michelle, and we hope all your wishes come true!
Believe it or not, it's time for the Arc mailing to go out again! Check the calendar and be sure to sign up for some fun events coming up in JUNE!
May 12th is National Limerick Day so we watched a Homeschool POP video to learn about this fun type of poetry! We have celebrated it before, but a review is always good. We learned that limericks have 5 lines, follow a specific pattern, and are often silly.
Edward Lear was known as the "Father of Limericks," and he wrote some funny ones. In 1846 he published A Book of Nonsense, which made limericks popular.
After the video, we were inspired to write our "annual" limerick. Brace yourself! (Our guys definitely got the "silly" part!)
There was a busy lady named Nan,
Who put lots of trash in the can.
The smell reeked like poop,
But it sure wasn't soup...
She ran like a cheetah to her van!
Friday
Happy Birthday, Xavier! Today, we celebrated his special day with a fun visit from his mom and Steve, who cooked for us! We'll get to that soon, but we also have to celebrate another successful work day at Pet Supplies Plus! We sent a crew to work, while the "Cooking Crew" stayed at AFCC to decorate and assist our guests. We were all busy this morning!
It didn't take the PSP Crew long to head out with lots of product to place on the shelves! Alexis, Kate, Laura, Erik, and Patrick were today's team members.
Tracy stopped by to help, along with Karryna (who missed our pics somehow), but it looks like Erik, Kate, and Laura had things under control. Still, we really appreciate the support from Tracy and Karryna!
Just for fun, our guys each selected an item from the aquarium section that they would choose to place in a fish tank. They want us to let you know that PSP has lots of supplies for fish, and every other pet you may have! Check them out for your pet supply needs! ✅
Four of our friends were absent today, so after the PSP Crew of five left, we had these six remaining at the center. They didn't have to cook today, so we gathered around Xavier, the Birthday Boy, and snapped a picture with Shrek, one of Xavier's favorite characters. Then we learned some interesting facts about Shrek, such as he doesn't have a last name and at first he was going to be an ogre in sandals!
Soon Steve arrived, Xavier's stepdad. He and Xavier's mom (she stopped to pick up cupcakes) were treating us to a homemade, gluten-free, pancake luncheon! Steve decked himself out in apron and chef's cap, and got to work cooking the pancakes!
Clearly, Steve, a New Orleans native, loves the Saints football team, but we LOVE Saint Steve for whipping up delicious pancakes, sausage, and bacon for our lunch. It's one of our very favorite meals, and it was all the better because we didn't have to do the cooking, and it was for our friend Xavier's birthday! Thank you, Steve! Your bubbly personality is matched by your excellent culinary skills, and we loved having you "in the house" today!
Awwwww! There is no question about who Xavier's favorite girl is. He loves him mom, Leah! We asked her to tell us about when he was born, 27 years ago. She described a rather typical birthing experience, but stressed how amazed and blessed she was by her sweet bundle of joy. 💓
Just because we had a smaller group today doesn't mean we didn't party!! Look at the beautiful gluten-free cupcakes Leah brought us. They came from Smallcakes Bakery, and they were very, very good! (We recommend!) We could choose from chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry, and the decisions were tough. Thank you, Leah, for finishing off the fun party that Steve started. We really appreciate both of you for the gift of today's birthday lunch for Xavier. It was so much fun!
Your friends are very happy for you, Xavier, and we hope all of your wishes come true!
We couldn't let Leah and Steve get away without a dance party! When they first treated us to a pancake party in 2019, we had a blast dancing to "Shout" by The Isley Brothers. Today, DJ Liz made sure we did it again! (Traditions!)
We finished the day with a combination lesson/yoga session about astronauts, since we ran out of time for it last week. May 5th is Astronaut Day, because it marks the date in 1961 that Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space. We had a brief lesson about space travel during Shepard's time, and looked at old footage of launches and splashdowns. We also talked about how important our area, with NASA Langley, was to the early space program.
We wanted to make sure we talked about astronauts and space (Space Day is May 6), because our online yoga teacher, Jaime, has new episodes in which she introduces us to an astronaut from the European Space Agency. Her name is Samantha Cristoforetti, and she was just sent for her second stint on the International Space Station (ISS) a couple of weeks ago. Before going, she reached out to ask Jaime to create a yoga plan for her to use in space!
Jamie created a yoga plan for Samantha, which we also tried today. It involved a lot of stretching to help lengthen our spines, because astronauts who spend time in space sometimes experience poor posture due to the lack of gravity.
Of course, lots of stretching on Earth is good for us, too!
Jaime's plan for yoga in space kept us moving today, and we think Samantha will enjoy it. Jaime mentioned that Samantha will probably have to be tied down somehow while she practices! We're looking forward to a future episode with Jaime where Samantha checks in to let us know how it's going on the ISS!
Tuesday: Happy Birthday to The Arc's longtime and devoted Office and Special Events Coordinator, Bette Faye! She is 75 years young today so we will be stopping by the office to (hopefully) see her on our travels! Speaking of travels, we are going to the garden to check on our plants and have lunch, and then we will head over to The Art Museums of CW for a visit with Christina. It's going to be a delightful day! Please wear Arc shirts and bring a bagged lunch.
Wednesday: We'll have a lesson on killer whales with Mystery Doug today and add another decoration to our patriotic-themed entrance wall. It's National No Dirty Dishes Day, so for lunch we'll have a peanut butter sandwich bar (your choice of ingredient to go with the peanut butter). We will be on the road Thursday and Friday, so we'll move yoga to today. Dress to stretch!
Thursday: Today we get to visit with Mike at The Watermen's Museum in Yorktown! We're hoping for nice weather after our lesson so we can enjoy a picnic by the river, play bocce and corn hole, and maybe jump on the trolley for a ride. Wear your Arc shirt and bring a bagged lunch.
Friday: Today is an Eaton Work Day for us. Wear your Eaton shirt and bring a bagged lunch. The forecast calls for a warm day, so we'll stop at Wendy's for a Frosty treat on the way back to the center! 🍦
This weekend the Community Pickelball Challenge kicks off with first-round events at Kingsmill and Governor's Land. If you're in the area on Saturday, stop by and cheer on the teams. Governor's Land plays at 9 and Kingsmill plays at 2.
Next weekend, another first round event will be on the 21st and the final event will be on the 22nd, both at Veterans Park. Stay tuned for more info about attending OR volunteering to help. The Arc of GW is excited to launch this new FUNdraiser!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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