Hello Everyone,
Today is December 6th and in many parts of the world, it's a holiday: the Feast of St. Nicholas. Nicholas was a Bishop in ancient Myra (southwest Turkey) and was known for his generosity. He was so popular that he ultimately became the patron saint of Greece and of Russia, as well as of children and sailors. When I was a small child in Austria, my two grandmothers made sure that my shoes were placed on the windowsill the night before the sixth, so that when St. Nicholas and Krampus (an Alpine folklore character who scares naughty children) came strolling by at whatever hour in the middle of the night, they would fill them with treats if I'd been good, and coal, If I wasn't. I hardly slept those nights due to the agony of it all, but sure enough, I always found a red and white crepe paper bag full of tangerines, walnuts, and gingerbread cookies tucked into my shoes the following morning.
Whew!
St. Nicholas ultimately morphed into Father Christmas in England, and in the 19th century, he crystallized into Santa Claus here in the United States. Hence, the gift giving tradition at Christmas.
With all these festive vibes in the air, it feels right to have Chef Christina and her team back in our kitchen, wielding their magic. Music and chatter can be heard every morning as pots and pans clank in happy rhythms. Next week's menu has been posted and we look forward to your orders!
Please let us know if you intend to pick up your lunches after 12:45 PM because we will keep them off the cart and place them directly in the fridge. Please remember that meals will need to get picked up by 4:00 PM on the same day. If we need that space in the fridge the following morning, they will be discarded. Our new walk-in units aren't arriving until January, so space in our fridge is at a premium.
There's a big exhibit coming to town and it has to do with the upcoming total solar eclipse we are expecting on April 8th. Artist Tyler Nordgren has completed an amazing selection of eclipse posters and the Perinton Community Center will be hosting the entire collection! January 6th will be the opening day for this exhibit and the PCC will be full of activities for all ages. You will be able to purchase copies of these posters. I have invited Rosemary Irwin to give a presentation in the 55+ Lounge on all the eclipse related events happening in the greater Rochester area, so that as we move into the new year, you will be informed of all the ways you can participate celebrating this historical eclipse event. There will also be pizza and ice cream vendors and eclipse merchandise for sale. You'll also see the HUGE model of the eclipse viewing glasses, on loan from the Rochester Museum and Science Center. So save the date because it's going to be a fun Saturday afternoon on the 6th!
This past Monday we had a cancellation of a session in the Caregiving and Ageing series due to the instructor having fallen ill. Since these seminars don't need to be in any particular order, we have placed that session at the end of series, adding it in April.
Below you will also find the 2024 schedule for the Driver Safety classes. Please be aware that with more and more folks taking this class online, we may sometimes not have enough people to run a class and it will need to get moved to the following month.
There is still space in Friday's Chickadee painting class, Monday's Blue Jay painting class, Tuesday's mall trip, and for Saturday's trip to the New Horizon concert in Brighton.
Please don't forget that until the end of the month, the gift certificate promotion will give you an extra $10 for every $50 you spend. That's a great deal to purchase future fitness passes or registration fees!
Now is also the time to renew your fitness passes, so to make things easier, we have included a link in this newsletter so you can take care of that renewal online.
I am in the process now of setting up trips and events for January and beyond. If any of you enjoyed some of last winter's events and excursions and would like to see them again, please respond to this email and let me know which happenings you are interested to see again. Since the weather won't allow many outdoor walking opportunities, I am also looking for suggestions about places where you can safely, and enjoyably, get your steps in without wearing 20 pounds of outdoor gear.
Have a wonderful rest of the week!
All the best,
Anke
