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March 2010 Issue
Greetings from the Editor
Don’t forget to turn in a form each month for our Employee of the Month. You can get a form by the punch clock (Residents and Families can ask an employee to get one for you) and turn it in to the Nursing office, in the middle of the building. These forms are taken very seriously, so please remember to turn one in!
Welcome to Spring! As of the 20th, Spring has officially begun. A lot of people look forward to flowers blooming or warmer weather or Spring cleaning, but my husband and I will just be thankful for increased daylight! Sleeping with the windows open will probably wait another month, but that will be nice, too, when it comes.
Here at the Pillars, you might see our turtles start to come out on the front patio. They hibernate underground in the winter, but they love Spring, especially if there’s lots of rain! If you see them, offer them some bread or scraps of fruits and veggies. They’re probably going to be hungry!
If you’re walking or wheeling around out there, be careful not to trip on them or step on the babies. Baby turtles are very small, as small as a nickel or a quarter, so keep your eyes open! Also, we’ll start putting fish food out there again, for those of you who like to feed our fish. We have quite a few fish, and maybe some baby ones, waiting for the cold weather to leave us. How many can you count?
Activities Basics
Families, remember you are always welcome to join your Resident in attending our Activity groups. It may encourage them to become more active!! Check our calendars for activities you might enjoy with your Resident. All are welcome to participate in our ongoing book exchange program. We have books in the tv room for anyone who wants them. We just ask that if you take a book, you bring another one in. That way, we always have new books for our Residents to read! Or bring them back when you’re finished reading them.
Got new activity ideas? Don’t be shy. We’re always looking for new ideas. Maybe it’s something we’ve already tried and didn’t work, but maybe it’s something we’ve never thought of before! Let us know if there’s something different that you’d like to try! Residents, if you need something to do, we always have movies to loan, books and magazines, board games, cards, word puzzle books, jigsaw puzzles, drawing paper and art supplies, crochet hooks and knitting needles (and yarn), and lots of other things to do. Just come to the Activities office or one of our activity groups and ask! Or if you can’t (or we’re not available) ask other staff or look in the tv room. We always keep some leisure supplies in and on the entertainment center there. Once again, bring them back when you’re finished, please. We also have adaptive equipment such as magnifying glasses, card holders, & so on. Just ask!
If you’re having trouble doing something you used to enjoy, let us know. We may have a solution for you! If you’d like to learn how to do something new (such as play soduku or spades or backgammon or mancala) just say so! We have a crochet class every other Friday after lunch, taught by one of our own residents. Anyone is welcome to come and learn. Materials are provided.
Looking to do some Spring cleaning? The Activities Dept. can always use: current copies of magazines, clean and gently used ladies’ and men’s hats, magnifying glasses, craft supplies, playing cards and other games or game pieces, VHS tapes and DVDs, cassette tapes and CDs, greeting cards (used and unused), hard-bound books, hand-held games, small musical instruments (such as maracas, tambourines, drums, bells etc.) and sheet music, crochet hooks and knitting needles, discarded or unwanted mementos from special events (such as party favors, extra wedding invitations, duplicate photos of babies or graduation or other milestones, vacation souvenirs, etc.), small sporting equipment (such as balls, a glove, a small golf club, a baseball bat, etc.), gently used toys or dolls, those extra buttons that come with new clothes, clothes pins, large-print books and magazines, extra or old kitchen gadgets, old hand tools (not power tools), costume jewelry, gently-used purses or wallets, and clean plastic bottle caps.
If you have things you think we could use, let us know! You’d be surprised what we do with things
that no one else wants!
What'dya Know?
It’s Women’s History Month!
- In 1948, Gretchen Fraser won the Olympic gold medal in skiing, the first American (male or female) to do so.
- The world’s first novel, the tale of Gengi, was published in Japan around 1000A.D. by female author Murasaki Shikibu.
- The current average height and weight for American women is 5ft. 4in. and 163lbs. That’s a size 12, ladies, not a 2.
- Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote (1869). It didn’t become national through the 19th amendment until 1920. The first country to grant women the right to vote was New Zealand in 1893.
- In 1931, Jackie Mitchell became the first woman to sign with a professional baseball club. She pitched against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and struck them both out.
- Today, 71% of Moms with kids under age 18 work full time Windshield wipers were invented in 1903 by Mary Anderson.
- Ruth Graves Wakefield was the inventor of the Toll house Cookie.
- In 1977, Janet Guthrie competed in the Indianapolis 500 race, as the first female NASCAR driver.
- 1/3 of all female workers are in education, social services or social assistance.
- The Circular saw was invented by Tabitha Babbitt in 1812.
- 57% of college students today are women.
Do You Remember? By Dewayne M.
The crocodile is a reptile that has been celebrated in story and song around the world. A survivor, it is believed, of the time of dinosaurs. Fossils have been found showing a very similar animal from that time period with only slight differences, such as size. The animal is found in both fresh and salt water, in Africa, Asia, South America and Australia. Their relatives, the Alligator, is found only in North America and China.
Many people believe that both lions and tigers live in Africa. Lions do live on the plains of Africa. But no matter what Tarzan movies showed, tigers are native to the jungles of Asia. Lions often hunt cooperatively, but tigers are solitary, but in hunting and day to day life. Tigers are actually larger than lions.
Marsupials are mammals that have pouches where they carry their young. Australia is the home of most marsupials, such as kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats. Wallabies are often mistaken for young kangaroos. They are actually relatives of the kangaroo, but their own animal. Kangaroos are extremely aggressive, and are used in boxing matches against humans. The opossum is the only marsupial native to North America. At one time, they were a prime source of meat for early settlers. But they can deliver a strong bite with their razor-sharp teeth or gashes with their large claws.
Animals, even tame ones, can be dangerous. The animal that kills more than any other in Africa is the human. After that, it is the cute, tubby hippopotamus. The hippo isn’t necessarily a man-eater, but people get too close, and they are very territorial. Although large, the hippo is extremely fast. Because of its size, the adult hippo has very few natural predators. When was the last time you went to the zoo and saw one of these animals?
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