This week's birthday celebrations for Abraham and Erik were postponed due to Abraham being under the weather on Thursday and our day at Eaton being filled with work and crafting on Friday. We were slightly disappointed, but we also want to make sure we take time to celebrate our friends without distractions. It's a challenge sometimes to fit all of our celebrations in, especially when they come in waves like they are now, but we won't waver on the importance of celebrating each other's special days! It's too important to us, and a key factor in our bonding process.
In other news from this week, we learned about birds with our master gardener friends, volunteered at Grove amidst their ongoing renovations (and did great!), welcomed Arc board members for a visit, and both worked at Eaton and had a blast decorating pumpkins with our friends there! Here's a look at how our week played out:
Tuesday, October 8
We gathered at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden on this cool and sunny morning where our MG friends were ready to teach us about birds! They had beautiful, colorful pictures of many kinds of birds, their nests, and their young, and the MGs (plus Lisa and Carol), took turns sharing facts about their favorite birds.
Carolyn told us that despite it's reputation for being aggressive, she likes blue jays because they are her favorite color. We had to agree, they are a pretty color! A couple of fun facts about blue jays are that they are related to crows, and they like to eat acorns!
Lisa shared facts about the northern cardinal such as it's very popular for birdwatchers due to it's bright red color (the male, that is), and it's the state bird in 7 states! Carol gave us the scoop on the Carolina chickadee. She said it's call sounds like "chicka-dee-dee-dee" and that if it senses predators in the area, it will continue saying "dee-dee-dee" to warn others. We see lots of northern cardinals and Carolina chickadees at our feeders at AFCC.
Our newest MG, Craig, shared a great story about why the robin is his favorite bird. He grew up in Michigan, where he says the winters are long and cold. Every year around the end of March or early April, he would look for robins to start returning from places like Virginia, where they had migrated for the winter. That meant he could celebrate that spring and warmer weather were coming!
MG Pat chose the goldfinch as a favorite bird. She said that like most birds, the male goldfinch is the brightly colored one. Females are duller in color so as to not attract predators. Pat also said that goldfinches like yellow flowers, and they love seeds, so sunflowers in the garden will often attract them!
MG Rick's favorite bird is the mockingbird! He said that they, too, can be aggressive, but it's often in response to defending themselves or their families. Rick says when mockingbirds aren't feeling threatened, all they love to do is sing! They can mimic the songs of other birds, so they are always fun to listen to...
After our bird lesson, we visited the garden where we saw those little caterpillars (tiger swallowtail) we saw a couple of weeks ago had GROWN! We also noticed purple flowers beginning to appear on the sweet potato plants, which is a good sign! We spotted a pretty bird-shaped feeder hanging over the trellis bed, too. Krafty Karen gave us the supplies we will need to make our own. 🐦🐦
We were thrilled to welcome Carol's son Adam and her grandson, 4 year old Dylan, to hang out with us today! Carol showed Dylan the caterpillars on the parsley. He was curious, but a little too nervous to touch them!
Thanks so much, Master Gardener Friends, for time spent with us today learning about birds and checking the progress of plants and critters in the garden! We learned things about birds we didn't know, and now we'll try to spot some of them or attract them to our feeders. Thanks also to Krafty Karen who harvested pineapple sage last time and used it to bring us delicious...and we mean very delicious...pineapple sage pound cake which we enjoyed at lunch time! We also appreciate the donation of small plant pots and glass yogurt jars from MG Pat that we will put to good use in the future!
Here are some other wonderful pictures, and a summary of our lesson, in MG Carolyn's beautiful journal update page! 👐
From the garden, we decided to go to Jamestown Beach for lunch since the summer crowds are now back at school! It's a favorite picnic spot of ours, and we get a good little walk from the vans to the tables nearest the bathroom, which we ate at today.
There was a slight breeze and tons of sunshine at the James River. We enjoyed our lunches, and Karen's pineapple sage pound cake, and then delighted in watching Dylan play at the edge of the water. He reported it was "still warm" as he threw stick after stick into the water only to see the gentle waves push some of them back to him! We enjoyed this most excellent fall day!
We also enjoyed visiting with Adam and Dylan. Adam serves in the Coast Guard at Yorktown. He had today off, and decided to bring Dylan to visit Carol and her AoA friends, and we're so glad they did! Carol was beaming the whole day, especially when Dylan said, "Hey, Grandma!" It was special! Thank you for your service, Adam! Keep up the great work! Please visit us again, sometime. We'd love to share another fun day with you and Dylan!
Wednesday, October 9
Busy. That was the word for the day! We sent crews to volunteer in the library and at Grove. Another crew stayed at the center to work in our "card" factory. Allison was back volunteering today, and after helping us with cards, she had a ghost craft for us because we simply MUST start decorating in earnest for our Halloween party! We also welcomed Arc board members for a visit! All that was just in the morning, and it was all we got photos of, too! 😏
Some of their friends who also volunteer were either absent (sniffles going around) or had not arrived when they had to report by 8:50, but Liz, Laura, Bryan, and Alexis got the job done!
There was a shortage of volunteers at GCOC today, too. Our group of 7 worked with just Joel and Peggy to set up the assembly line and get the USDA food bags filled for distribution! What a team effort!!
She didn't have to, but Peggy made us these delicious and HOMEMADE peanut butter cookies. She made enough to include all of us, and we love her for it. Thanks, Peggy, for a delicious treat. You (and Ursula) really spoil us! 💖💖💖
Patrick made sure our colored pencils were nice and sharp as we worked on birthay greetings for Kellie (Arc office) and thank you notes for the master gardeners. Allison helped us create watercolor prints for the MG cards, which we will give them in a couple of weeks on our last visit with them for 2024.
Another part of our card making includes writing thoughtful messages. Sometimes everyone writes their own personal message, but today we created a group poem for the MG cards. Alexis read the final draft before the team approved it!
Drew brought his ghost to life by gluing cotton balls to the pattern. He was trying to hard not to get glue on his fingers!
Arc board president Sue Hassan visited today. She relished in Annmarie's joy at making the ghost! Annmarie loves crafting of any kind!
We went online with our new laptops to play puzzles and games. Michelle introduced Thomas to one of our favorite sites, DigiPuzzle, where they chose Halloween-themed activities.
Arc board member Jay Colley visited for the first time today. He enjoyed getting to know us, taking a tour of the center, and checking out Thomas and Michelle's progress with their puzzle. Since it was lunch time, we ordered him a spaghetti lunch from the JRES Cafeteria, which he said was very tasty!
Thank you, Allison, for the ghost cookies, AND for including a gluten-free version for Xavier!
Allison also loves to make jewelry. Today, she brought ghost earrings and zipper-pull Halloween charms for us...just because! Annmarie thanked her with a hug! We all thank her for her dedication to working with us each Wednesday, and for the loving treats and surprises she shares with us!
Thursday, October 10
Unfortunately, Abraham wasn't feeling well so we had to postpone his birthday celebration to next week. We made his birthday cards this morning, and sent him a video birthday greeting, which his mom said made him smile! 🙂
It was a cooking day so we divided the tasks. Erik took orders for plain or cheesy "pigs in a blanket" which amused Emma! She thought he would make a good server if he worked at a restaurant!
Patrick grilled the hot dogs, which we like to do before wrapping them in the dough, so they will be very well done!
There were 3 mini-teams who worked well together. Bryan, Drew, and Kevin washed and prepped fresh green grapes so everyone would have a serving cup. Michelle, Alexis, and Thomas prepared a fresh veggie tray. Once the hot dogs were grilled, Beka, Liz, and Devin rolled them up in the dough so we could pop them in the oven!
We'd like to thank Kevin's mom, Debbie, for giving us Fall Leaf chips! She spotted them in Trader Joe's and knew they would go fast. Well, we can say they did! 😂😂😂 But we still have a couple of bags left for another day!
Along with the Fall Leaf chips, our veggies, grapes, and pigs in a blanket made for quite a tasty lunch! 😋
Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day is for real...the National Day Calendar says so! We hung out with these childhood comforts all day. That, along with our deep breathing, made for a very mellow atmosphere around here today!
Bryan and Alexis shared funny Mad Libs they created. Our day was complete!
Friday, October 11
We were curious about what our Eaton work day might be like since we heard there would be mini-pumpkin decorating! We ended up doing work for about an hour, and then we decorated pumpkins and ceramic ornaments with the help of Business Operations Manager, Mark Mosser, and his wife, Carrie Anne, along with several other Eaton coworkers.
There was plenty of unpacking to do, moving parts from the large bins to smaller tubs.
We applied gaskets and clipped small parts off of bigger pieces.
Always a smile when Rosemary stops by!
Work was busy, and we really enjoy it, but the real fun began with the crafting! Business Operations Manager Mark Mosser and his wife, Carrie Anne, supplied all the materials we needed to decorate small pumpkins and paint ceramic Halloween figures. We loved having them, and additional Eaton employees, assist us with our creations. This was the second year we have done this with Mark and Carrie Anne, and it's a tradition we like a lot! Just look at the fun we had!
Thank you, Mark and Carrie Anne, for organizing such a fun morning for us! We love giving our guys "blank canvases" and seeing what they come up with, and today's masterpieces were stellar!
Thanks, Eaton, for bringing us a lot of joy today! Most of us left our creations at our center as part of our Halloween decorations, and they look amazing in our room! We appreciate a little "time off" for fun, but we also appreciate every opportunity we have to do work for you, and we are proud of the skills we have mastered over the years.
What a pretty day for walking among the loblolly pines!
We have good news about Tessa this week! She was discharged from the hospital and is now continuing her recovery at a rehabilitation hospital. There is a lot of hard work ahead of her, but isn't it great to see her sitting up and smiling! Keep up the great work, Tessa! We love and miss you!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 26, and stop by AFCC for Tracy's fun and free event! ALL ages are welcome, so bring your family and friends. Wear your costume (or not!) and visit the vendors as you collect treats. Lisa and Carol will be at The Arc's table, and we hope to see many of our friends, too!
We'll be back for another great week at Arc of Abilities next week. Here are our plans:
Tuesday: Our friend Erik turned 30 over the weekend so we will celebrate him with fun and games this morning before heading over to visit with Christina at the Art Museums after lunch. Please wear Arc shirts. Lunch on your own. Microwave available. JRES Cafeteria is serving Pizza, Beef Taco, or Taco Salad. We'll enjoy cupcakes for Erik's special day, too!
Wednesday: Today we celebrate Abraham's birthday with cake and ice cream, dancing, and corn hole in the afternoon! In the morning, we'll welcome our therapy dog friends and celebrate National Dictionary Day as we read and play word games with them. We'll make another Halloween craft with Allison, too. Lunch on your own. Microwave available. JRES Cafeteria is serving Popcorn Chicken Bowl or Hot Dog.
Thursday: We're excited today to welcome our friends from Grove Christian Outreach Center for a visit, tour, and lunch so we can get to know them better! It's National Pasta Day, so for lunch we'll make our specialty Chicken and Pasta Caesar Salad. We'll add JELL-O with fruit as a side, and a cookie for dessert. We'll also learn where scarecrows come from as we watch a Mystery Science episode, and we might even finish our read-aloud, Skink, No Surrender!
Friday: It's a Pet Supplies Plus work day, so please wear PSP shirts. While the PSP crew is at work, the other crew will handle cleaning and organizing tasks at the center. The forecast looks nice for spending time outside, so we will plan to order lunch sandwiches from Jersey Mike's and have everyone meet at WISC for a picnic and walk. (The center crew will also pack chips, fruit, and drinks for lunch.) Please bring $10 for lunch.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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