We had a great time celebrating our friend Sierra, who recently received her doctorate degree. We helped her with a research project!
It was another cloudy week with a little bit of rain, so we relied on our experiences to brighten our days! They didn't disappoint. We visited with the master gardeners, volunteered at GCOC, had a pizza party celebration, laughed and laughed with Laughter Laura, and wrapped up the week with a great Eaton work day! Why, we hardly noticed the lack of sunshine... Still, we hope it returns soon!
Tuesday, September 24
We began our last week of September with a visit to the Williamsburg Botanical Garden at Freedom Park where our master gardener friends were hopeful it wouldn't rain for our tree walk. MG Rick was ready to be our guide, and luckily, it only rained before and after our session!
Rick is a Master Gardener Tree Steward, and he enjoys taking us for tree walks each fall. Here, we were setting off with him to see what we could learn about trees in the garden!
The first tree on this year's tour was the loblolly pine. Rick pointed out that it has shorter needles and told us to remember that, because we would see a pine with longer needles later.
When we found a red maple, Rick explained that the yellow-bellied sapsucker woodpecker loves to work its way around the bark to get lots of sap, and also ants. One tree provides the woodpecker energy from the sap and protein from the ants!
This tree has a trunk that grows in a crooked fashion. It's a sourwood tree, which Rick says got its name from its edible, but sour-tasting leaves! (We didn't taste them to make sure!)
Behind Rick is a longleaf pine, which has needles much longer than the loblolly pine needles. Rick mentioned that the longleaf pine is native to the southeastern United States, but during colonial times, it was almost logged out of existence. Thankfully, there are efforts underway to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem in the south! Thank you, Rick, for taking us on an informative and interesting tree tour! You know a lot of cool things about trees! We enjoyed your stories!
In the next part of today's session, we filled the gardeners in on our projects with dried flowers, and also checked the ones Karen put in her press a couple of weeks ago. They were flat and dry, and she gave them to us to use for decorative purposes!
The gardeners had onion bulbs, or sets, for us to plant. We are looking forward to harvesting them in a few months, as we love to cook with onions! Thanks to our MG friends for another wonderful lesson!
Patrick placed onion sets in the soil. He's not a fan of onions, but we're glad he helped plant some for the rest of us!
Joanne assisted Drew as he planted two onion sets!
Can you spot a little critter in the bug box, that isn't a bug?!
As always, we appreciate our time with the master
gardeners! Here's Carolyn's beautiful Journal Page that also summarizes
the wonderful experience we had today!
We thought the rain would hold off so we could eat outside, so we walked back to the Interpretive Center to wash our hands. The tables were a little bit wet, so the ranger gave us paper towels to dry them...and as soon as we finished, it started to sprinkle! Oh no! You know our guys were starving by now...it was 11:45! Never fear, the ranger reminded us about the shelter near the playground, so we ended up having lunch at the park after all! We didn't get to take a walk, though.
After lunch we returned to the center for Choice Time, and then we checked last week's blog post. Lisa also read another chapter from Skink, No Surrender, and then it was time to prepare for dismissal. We had a great day, even without the 🌞!
Choice Time activities today included using our new laptops, working puzzles, listening to music on Drew's iPad, and scrolling on our personal devices.
Wednesday, September 25
Today began with our library workers helping make Ms. Ortega's and Mr. Nonnemacher's work loads a little lighter! The staff members who wave to them each week noticed Bryan is now in the mix, and renamed them the Library Leaders. We like that!
When our volunteer group got to GCOC this morning, they noticed some changes in the big work room. Renovations are taking place to move all of the food pantry operations to this room. Grove Christian Outreach Center serves a large number of families, and they need more space for this part of their program. We're excited to see how the changes will look!
Old carpet is being removed and the floor was a little bit sticky!
Devin is standing just outside the back door near the new outdoor freezer.
The delivery truck was running behind so we set up tables and got a chance to chat with Peggy.
Soooo much food to pack into bags today! We enjoy working with Peggy, Ursula, and Joel. Ursula's husband, Thom, was missed as he had a dental appointment, but another Tom (moving a box) was there today!
Ursula (behind Kate) treated us to brownies! Thank you, Ursula. You sure know how to make us smile!!
Meanwhile, back at the center we had a group that was getting ready for our celebration with Sierra, a former graduate student (now Dr. Sierra!) who was treating us to a pizza party because we helped her with a research project last fall! We harvested basil from the herb garden and made a delicious batch of fresh pesto to serve alongside the pizza. We forgot to take an after pic, but you can imagine how good the pesto turned out from the looks of this gorgeous basil!
Drew wiped down the white board so it would look fresh and clean.
Michelle colored the front of one of the graduation cards we made for Sierra.
We were ready by 11:15, so we headed outside for a pre-pizza walk.
As always, it felt good to stretch and get fresh air after a hustle and bustle type of morning.
We noticed that a lot of leaves are falling, and as we walked under some of the trees, water dripped on us. That was funny!
Everything was going well and we had our eyes peeled for Sierra's arrival. Laura gave the signal for "One more lap." And then...not long after Lisa snapped this photo, Laura took a tumble. She was very brave, and didn't even want a bandage, but Lisa and Carol knew the gash on her knee was serious as they cleaned her up and yes, applied a bandage. They called her parents, too!
Long story short, Sierra arrived and the pizza party took place with Laura included. Her dad, Tom, even joined us before taking her to the emergency department where she ended up with 5 stitches and a brace (to keep her knee from bending)! And all the while, Laura never wavered from not wanting a bandage! (The doctor disagreed with her!) Oh, Laura, we are so sorry about your accident, but so very proud of your bravery. Things got really hectic, but your calmness while Lisa and Carol were very worried about you truly helped the situation. 💖🙏🩹
Thursday, September 26
Today we enjoyed a lesson that we come back to each year. Johnny Appleseed was born on this date in 1774, so it's National Johnny Appleseed Day! He was a real American folk hero who traveled westward from Pennsylvania through the Ohio River Valley and even into Wisconsin and Michigan planting apple and pear trees and helping folks grow healthy orchards. We enjoy watching the 1948 Disney film about him each year!
We also enjoy having apples and peanut butter for a rare morning snack...it's gluten-free so everyone can nibble, including Xavier!
In fact, everyone did well on their assignments today!
At noon, Lunch Lady Liz delivered tasty meals from the JRES Cafeteria. Devin had a chef salad today and Drew got pizza!
Everyone chipped in to color pictures and letters to make a card for our Watermen's Museum friend Mike's birthday, which is next week. The theme was apple pie since we had learned about apples with him on our last visit. We're going to see him next week on his actual birthday, October 3rd, and we'll wish him a "Hap-Pie Birthday" in person!
The highlight of our day was a visit from Laura Beach, aka, "Laughter Laura" who came for a session of laughter yoga! Unlike traditional yoga, which uses whole body positions to help with stretching and relaxation, laughter yoga uses...laughter! It also incorporates deep breathing and positive affirmations. Laughter truly is the best medicine, and laughter, even when "forced," has proven health benefits!
Drew was so giggly while he brushed his teeth! He got a great dose of endorphins today!
When Laura had us roar like lions, we learned that it takes a good breath to get out such a great sound, not to mention how it made us laugh even more!
Laughter yoga takes a little getting used to, but usually by the end of the session, most of us are giggling and breathing better than we were at the beginning.
Laura winds us down with slow and steady breaths, and a visualization that helps us relax further.
Thanks for a fun afternoon, Laura! We appreciate your dedication to helping us work on relaxation and self-empowerment. Thanks for sharing links we can use to continue on this journey, too! We can't wait to work with you again!!
Look who stopped by Eaton to see us...it's Jorie! She's the one who got us started on our partnership with Eaton "back in the day" (2016). She works offsite now, and in a different Eaton division, but still checks in to see what kind of work we are doing. In fact, she has an idea of another job she may send our way! Bring it on, Jorie! It's always great to see you, and as always, thank you for believing in us. Working with Eaton has been amazing for us!
Speaking of working, here are some pics of our work morning. We had 8 boxes of doors to assemble, and 3 bins of parts to move into smaller tubs.
Patrick and Drew moved smaller parts in this bin to the gray tubs. There were larger parts in the same bin, so they had to focus on just taking out the smaller ones.
Kate and Devin transferred yellow lenses into smaller tubs.
Annmarie repacked these lids neatly into a smaller tub so we could use the larger one for other parts.
Thanks to Sam and Bryan, the door assembly line kept moving at a steady pace!
Liz inserted the amber colored lenses before the doors moved on to get labels.
"Label Ladies" Nan, Alexis, and Beka were great with the sticky situation today!
After the doors get labels, Kevin and Xavier insert 4 sets of nuts and bolts to help secure the amber lenses.
Erik tightens the nuts and bolts with the electric screwdriver, and a door is done!
It may have only been a couple of hours, but they were busy and productive! We do great work. 👏👏
We decided to return to AFCC for lunch since our area was under a tornado watch. It was cloudy outside but not windy, so we weren't too worried, but better safe than sorry.
After lunch, Lisa read another chapter from Skink, No Surrender. We're getting close to the exciting conclusion!! We followed that with a great yoga session, starting with Jaime's Minions and then a "Zen Den" mindfulness segment, and ending with a relaxing "Peace Out." By dismissal, we were all calm and settled, and ready for the weekend!
We'll be back on Tuesday, and here are our plans:
Tuesday: Unbelievable, but it's the first Tuesday of the month so we are going bowling! We're also welcoming a new member to our group, Thomas! We'll have pizza and fruit for lunch, courtesy of an anonymous donor (thank you, beloved friend of Arc), and we'll keep an eye on the forecast before deciding whether to eat at the park or return to the AFCC. Arc shirts optional. It's going to be a big day for kicking off October!
Wednesday: Today we'll have one group update the calendar for October while we send another group to volunteer at GCOC, so please wear Arc shirts. We'll also bake apple pies to share with Mike on his birthday tomorrow! It's National Smarties Day so we will learn some trivia about that iconic candy, probably have a sample, and definitely do some brain work because we are some of the sweetest smarties around! Lunch on your own. Microwave available. JRES Cafeteria is offering Popcorn Chicken Bowl or Hot Dog.
Thursday: We're visiting with Mike at the Watermen's Museum today where we will (unbeknownst to him) celebrate his birthday! The weather forecast looks gorgeous so we will plan to spend the afternoon outside for a picnic lunch, followed by our usual activities of taking a walk, playing games, and/or riding the trolley. Arc shirts optional and please bring a bagged lunch.
Friday: We'll work first, at PSP and the center (cooking, cleaning), and then celebrate Lisa's birthday with a taco luncheon! Fall Birthday Season has officially arrived! We'll end the week with a session of yoga with Jaime, so dress to stretch and make sure your shirt is your PSP shirt!
Have a great weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.