As the school side of the building began to stir with the return of teachers from summer break, we took a day to celebrate the hard-working custodians, Heike, Severina, and Luis. They have dual areas to clean throughout the year as they are the main crew for both the school side and the AFCC side. We were happy to celebrate them on Thursday, and thank them for keeping our side of the building so clean! We also celebrated learning new things this week as we had a great lesson for Navajo Code Talkers Day, and visited Jamestown Settlement to see the amazing costumes on display in the Ruth E. Carter Afrofuturism exhibit. It was an exciting week!
Saturday, August 10
Before we jump into our regular week, we want to recognize some AoA friends who came to the Ice Cream Social/School Supply Drive sponsored by the Women of the Moose (WOTM) on Saturday. They asked for our help in serving ice cream sundaes, and we delivered! Thanks to Patrick, Alexis, and Devin who were able to join WOTM as volunteers for the length of the event.
These were just some of the supplies donated by Arc of Abilities families; more came in later as others arrived after we took this picture.
Haley and Jordan were spending the day with Alexis, so they helped serve ice cream sundaes, too.
Drew stopped by to make a donation of school supplies, so we put him to work handing out napkins!
Yummy! Devin was in charge of crushed cookie topping!
Patrick was generous in adding tasty toppings to the guests' sundaes!
Alexis added gummi bears to this student's sundae and then asked if she wanted more! The answer was, "Yes, please!"
Liz and her mom, Lise, enjoyed sundaes and dropped off a donation, too!
Before all was said and done, Kate and Michelle also stopped by with donations!
Thank you, Shelly, for asking the Arc of Abilities to help today! We enjoyed helping the WOTM with this kindess project!
Thanks, AoA friends, for your generosity and help at the WOTM School Supply Drive! We're so proud of your service in our community!
Tuesday, August 13
Today we went to Jamestown Settlement to see the Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design exhibit and it was incredible! Carter, who graduated from Hampton University, is a costume designer who won multiple Academy Awards for her design work on the "Black Panther" films for Marvel Studios. Many of her costumes from "Black Panther" as well as costumes from other films and television series are on display. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing them with our friends/guides, Jay and Lara (Jay is in our master gardener group, too). They told us interesting behind the scenes stories about the costumes!
Before heading to the museum, we watched an interview with Ruth E. Carter and learned that while in college she worked as a costumed interpreter in Colonial Williamsburg. That helped inspire her love for history. She based the costumes in "Black Panther" in part on what she learned about the culture of the Angolans who were brought to Jamestown in 1619 as enslaved people.
We watched a trailer from "Black Panther" and wondered if we would see this particular costume?! (Spoiler alert: We did!)
We were greeted by Jay and Lara, who work for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and have become our "go-to" guides when we visit Jamestown Settlement. We are so grateful for their help so we can better understand what we see on our visits!
Before heading upstairs, costumes that Carter designed from Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America" can be seen in the downstairs area. Many of our guys recognized that movie.
Right at the top of the stairs is this costume that LeBron James wore in a movied called "Fortnite."
As soon as we reached the "Black Panther" costumes, we recognized them from the movie trailer! It was cool seeing real costumes that the actors wore. Lara said there are usually multiple costumes made, but she assured us that these on display were worn by the actual actors portraying the roles.
There is a short video we watched that showed highlights from all of the movies and television shows represented by the costumes in the exhibit. Besides "Black Panther," there are costumes that Ruth E. Carter designed from "Macolm X," "The Butler," "Amistad," "Selma," and more. This is a must see exhibit!
There is also a hands-on station where we got to try our hands at fashion design!
Isn't Laura's colorful design stunning?!
Thank you, Jay and Lara, for this wonderful experience! We enjoyed our time with you! Hearing the stories about the costumes made things much more interesting! Wakanda Forever!
It was a nice day for mid-August, so we got to enjoy a picnic outside and then a walk around Jamestown Settlement. What a delightful start to our week!
Wednesday, August 14
It was an exciting morning as Liz used one of our new laptops for the first time during our dance warm up! She's transferred the folder filled with our favorite music to the browser on the new computer. Great job, Liz!!
Lisa took a group to GCOC today and they were so busy, she forgot to take pictures! The space was tight since there were tables filled with school supplies in the work area. Plus, there was a LOT more food to put in bags today, so we were scrambling to fit in us, the extra tables, and the extra food! We did a great job under pressure and when we finished, our sweet friend Ursula had baked chocolate chip cookies, so we got a special treat. Thanks so much for the cookies, Ursula. We loved them and we love you, too! 🍪🍪🍪
We did grab a picture outside at the van when Lisa realized we didn't have any from inside...
Our days for using the gym are winding down as school will be starting soon. We played a game of Kickballs (using 2 balls) on the bright, shiny floor today!
We're also celebrating our custodian Luis' birthday tomorrow. We wonder if he's ever had pie for a birthday treat?!
We also got in a short walk this afternoon, and checked on our herb garden.
Today is Navajo Code Talkers Day, so we learned that the men from the Navajo Tribe who served in our military during WWII were significant in helping us win major battles, including the one at Iwo Jima. The story of how they used their Navajo language to confuse the enemy is very interesting, especially considering that at the time their language did not have a written form. Their codes were never broken! Click the picture below if you want to see the video we watched.
Sam has a great connection to the Navajo Code Talkers. His Aunt Debbie (married to Teri's brother, Jay), is the daughter of a Navajo Chief, and that makes her a "princess!" Her great-uncles were Code Talkers. She does not speak the Navajo language, but her father does. They recently traveled to a Navajo Reservation to attend the funeral of a Code Talker. Her father always translates for the family when they visit the "Rez." Thanks Teri, and Sam, for sharing this wonderful connection to the Navajo Code Talkers with us! So cool!
Before the day ended, we prepared lemon meringue pies for tomorrow's dessert. We haven't prepared meringue often, but we always have to remind our guys that it's not whipped cream!
Thursday, August 15
Whenever we have a celebratory luncheon, it's a busy morning of preparations. We took turns working on brain work and cooking portions of our meal. We also used the gym but forgot to get pictures. By noon, we were ready for Heike, Severina, and Luis!
Bryan and Abraham were preparing to saute chicken.
Alexis and Michelle cut colorful peppers for our Aloha Chicken recipe.
Devin sauteed the peppers and onions.
Later, Devin also helped Carol and Liz hang a birthday banner for Luis.
We had a crunchy Asian salad that consisted of lettuce,cabbage, and carrots with a homemade sesame dressing, too. 😋
Happy Birthday, Luis! We hope all your wishes come true!
Friday, August 16
Time for another productive work day at Eaton! There was sorting, unpacking, and gasketing to do, but we only got pictures of two of those tasks...you will not see Alexis, Liz, Kate, Erik, or Emma because Lisa forgot to circle back to their work stations and take pictures! Oh no, shall we fire her?! 😆 She sends her apologies. 💙
Annmarie and Xavier moved some new parts we've never seen into tubs.
We appreciate our tub movers like Sam!
And our trash guys, like Devin!
Xavier, Bryan, Drew, and Kevin had thousands of parts to empty from the big bins. They worked from top to bottom and side to side!
Laura and Abraham also helped unload the big bins, and then later they sorted a lot of the parts!
We returned to our center for lunch, followed by an extended period of Choice Time in which we voted to "chill" and forgo corn hole. Lisa read another chapter from our crime drama, and then, to wrap up the week, we took a trip to Wendy's for Frosties with Friends! $1 Frosties! It's been a long time since they ran that deal! Most of the gang tried the summertime flavor, Triple Berry, and said it was good!
Unfortunately, Liz got picked up early and didn't make it to Wendy's with us, but here is a great shot of Erik, Kate, Emma, and Alexis to make up for them missing out on the Eaton pics!
We can't think of a better way to end the week than with a Frosty Field Trip! Now, we're ready for the weekend. Next week will be here in a few days, and here are our plans:
Tuesday: Our guys love movies, and it's not often that we can attend one at the theater, but this summer Movie Tavern has showings at 11 a.m., so we are going for it! The movie is called "Wonder Park" and we have never heard of it, but we're up for an adventure! Please bring $10 for movie, popcorn, and a drink. Lunch will be late today, so popcorn will be our snack. Also bring a bagged lunch. The forecast looks good for a visit to Freedom Park to have a picnic and check the garden after the movie! Please wear Arc shirts.
Wednesday: It's Therapy Dog Day!! We'll celebrate our 2nd anniversary of working with them with reading, games, and light refreshments. We'll also have a craft activity and use our new laptops for some"back to school" brain work activities...in recognition of the teachers and students who are gearing up for a new school year! Besides, we are lifelong learners! Lunch on your own. Microwave available.
Thursday: Today we'll have lessons on geography and map skills, a topic we enjoy but haven't worked on in a while. The forecast looks promising for a visit to New Quarter Park for lunch outside and a scavenger hunt in the afternoon! Bring a bagged lunch!
Friday: We celebrate Laura's birthday today, and work at Pet Supplies Plus, so please wear PSP shirts! Laura's family is providing groceries for our Cooking Crew to make chicken tenders and fruit salad to go along with homefries #2 (from our harvested potatoes) for lunch. They are also joining us for lunch and providing ice cream for the birthday dessert! Thank you, Palmers! Laura has requested a game of Disney Trivia followed by "Moana" yoga with Jaime, so dress to stretch, too!
Have you signed up for the 5k yet? Click the pic for a link to the registration page, and join the Arc of Abilities and Friends team, if you'd like! Remember, Arc clients can register for $20. Use the code CLIENT at checkout!
Have a great weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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