Author: Homewoods

This month we are eagerly looking forward to three big celebrations.

On Saturday, November 2, the Homewoods resident council will be hosting their annual holiday bazaar. Betty Reynolds, our chairperson for the bazaar, has outdone herself this year by bringing in more outside vendors than ever. There will be lots to see, buy, and taste at this great event that starts our holiday season. This year we will be holding the entire event, complete with the pie sale, upstairs on the east side of the dining room. It will be a beautiful setting with breathtaking views of the fall colors on display in our courtyard. I would like to personally extend a huge THANK YOU to all of the people, staff and residents, who have helped to make this event a success.

Next, on Saturday, November 16^th, we will be hosting our traditional harvest festival at 1 p.m. The harvest festival is a longstanding Homewoods tradition. For those who are new to our community, let me tell you what I learned last year: the harvest festival marks the beginning of belt loosening. Chef Jessica likes to dazzle us with more enticing goodies than I can describe. They must be seen and tasted to be appreciated. You will not want to miss this fun afternoon party with so many delectable finger foods. Bon appetit!

Then, on November 28^th we will be serving our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at 12:00 p.m. Homewoods food is always excellent, but I have to say that of all the fabulous meals this team delivers, the Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite. It is traditional with all the trimmings. I hope that you will plan to join us.

For our Homewoods staff, November also marks the time when we turn into elves as we make ready for the many festivities we enjoy here at Christmastime. We will be making our lists—taking inventory in actual fact—of Christmas lights and holiday décor. Right after Thanksgiving we will be decking the halls in preparation for our tree lighting ceremony on Decemeber 6. Homewoods’ tree lighting ceremony is another annual tradition that is very important to all of us. As I said last year, nobody does it better. I think it brings out the child in all of us.

Martie is planning lots of outings for us in December too! In fact we will have more than usual as we take part in some of the fun and exciting things to do around the Milwaukie and the greater Portland area this time of year.

The holiday season brings a feeling of nostalgia when we think especially of loved ones that have shared these days with us over the years: our children when they were small, parents, friends, spouses, and grandparents who have graced our lives and given us so much love. We think, too, of our extended and beloved Homewoods family. This is a special community and everyone here makes it what it is. When we remember these times in the future and when people remember us, we will remember a season in life in which we were uniquely blessed. For as the many celebrations, outings, and festivals this month show, we are indeed living well.

Homewoods community members are having their annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, November 2,  from 10:00am to 3:00pm.  All proceeds go to the resident council  who donate them to the staff scholarship fund and to the Alzheimer’s Association for research.  All of the funds in our Homewoods community are used to provide affordable retirement living for our local seniors.  If you have any questions, please contact Betty Reynolds at 503-656-6496, or the Homewoods on the Willamette office at 503-659-3600.

This year the transition from summer to fall has felt especially dramatic. The good news is, we love the fall! It gives us a chance to celebrate and ready ourselves for all kind of wonderful seasonal celebrations.

Resident appreciation week started things off. We had such a wonderful time. Thank you all for your participation and for the many cards and thank you notes that you sent to the staff. We feel blessed to work here. It was an honor to celebrate you during your special week.

Looking ahead, Karen has cooked up an especially inviting slate of October activities. You will have the opportunity to visit the Pendleton Woolen Mills, the pumpkin patch at Firpoint Farms in Canby, and a quilt show in Aurora, to name a few of the highlights.

Another item related to the season has to do with our grounds. We have a beautiful setting that we all benefit from every day. I am pleased to let you know that Tom McCoy will be dedicating more of his time to the care and tending of our plants and trees. This additional help will allow us to take greater advantage of some of the specialty services that Proscape, our contracted grounds maintenance vendor, can offer. We are currently planning to add more perennial color spots throughout the property, heavier pruning of the Leland Cypress on the north side of the building, and more regular ivy removal in our wooded area. I am also delighted to let you know that Karen has forged a relationship with the forestry students from Sabin Center located here in Clackamas County. They have taken on Homewoods for the annual classroom project and will be “blazing” new trails for us down in our wooded area adjacent to the lawn. They will remove ivy, invasive non-native species, and old firewood, as well as create a new walking trail. I am looking forward to their presence here on our grounds throughout this school year.

Because we do love to celebrate our beautiful setting and pursue what it means to live well, I wanted to share a poem that Alice Deming wrote in the writing class last month and shared with the staff. I think it is beautiful, and it sums up life here better than I ever could.

The Rose

A pink glow on the clouds

As the sun rises at dawn,

A quiet morning without crowds,

No activity, no birds on the lawn.

Peaceful thoughts conjure in my mind,

Favorite old rocking chair for sitting.

Looking out on the deck, joy I find,

Humming birds sipping and flitting.

The rose, shimmering thread it weaves,

A gift from the staff at Homewoods.

Colors, stillness and the shape of the leaves,

Whisper to residents, soothe many moods.

Rose stands in her vase, so proud, so tall,

“Be patient, be kind, have no fears,

For when my bud will droop and fall,

Nature is what it is, shed no tears.”

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