Cupcakes and Fruit Carvings

Our Dietary Department was shining on Thursday, November 20 with
Cupcakes and Fruit Carvings!

In an attempt to select the perfect gourmet cupcake gift for our
professionals this holiday season, Juniper Village's Dietary Manager,
KenMiller and the Dietary Staff brought the management team together
for a blind tast testing. The Dietary Department created 6 different
gourmet cupcakes from which to choose. After rating the delicacies on
taste and overall appearance, the winners selected by majority vote
were Chocolate Mint and Dream Sickle!! What a delicious holiday
treat!

For the past few years our residents and guests have admired the fruit
carvings our Dietary Manager, Ken Miller displayed at our special
events. Many of the residents and their families had been asking how
was it done and was it something they could do? So this year as part
of our College of Lifelong Learning courses we scheduled Chef Ken to
teach a class on fruit carvings. Over a span of 2 evenings visitors
learned how to create beautiful flowers and carve intricate designs.
Along with the class, Chef Ken also demonstrated the art of Fruit
Carving for the residents. So, the next time you join us for a
special event, be sure to take a look at his beautiful fruit and
vegetable carvings on display.

Veteran's Day 2013

Veteran's Day originated as Armistice Day on November 11, 1919,
the first anniversary of World War I. In 1926 congress passed a
resolution for an annual observance to occur on November 11 and since
then, our country and many others around the world, have been
remembering our fallen soldiers and thanking all of those who have
served. Here at Juniper Village, Veterans from all branches of
service received recognition and thanks from their fellow residents,
Juniper Village employees, and staff members of both Promise Hospice
and VITAS Hospice. It was a poignant celebration, in which our Veterans
shared their stories and reflected on their sacrifices.

Forest Hills Halloween Party

Magic Was In The Air At Juniper Village

Magic was in the air this year for Juniper Village at Forest Hills'
annual Spooktacular Halloween Party. Mermaids, monsters, fairies,
and crayons, along with all of the residents and their guests, enjoyed
a delicious lunch of Mummy Dogs, Dracula's Liver, French Fried Potato
Fingers, Blood Oranges and Graveyard Moose. After lunch, the crowd was
mesmerized by "The Magic of Politos" quick hands and how did he do
that magic show. The afternoon was topped off with a costume contest
where the winners received a cash prize for the best costumes! As you
can see, it was a spooktacular Halloween bash!!

Cherish the Journey and Keep the Spirit of Family: November Events

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and, it is indeed a perfect time to celebrate with loved ones; so it is not surprising that our Alive in All Seasons focus for the month of November is families: Cherish the Journey! Matsuo Basho wrote "every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home". These beautiful words remind us of the importance of cherishing this journey of life through celebrations that bind us together; family and friends, nurturing our spirits and fulfilling us in deep and meaningful ways.

This month as we celebrate our Alive in All Seasons theme of family: "Cherish the Journey", we will be hosting many wonderful activities and events with our focus on family! We will be working with residents, families, associates and friends to create family trees and start autobiographical journals. We will enjoy rich and meaningful activities utilizing the traditions, customs and skills of many of our family members, friends and all the significant people that have impacted our lives. We will reminisce about favorite family recipes, learn about families in different cultures, and join together in giving thanks. These activities will foster the development of deep connections with one another, thus, allowing us to cherish and celebrate each others' lives. We will enjoy the opportunity to create and relish more memories of delightful moments along this beautiful journey of life together!

We invite you to join us as we celebrate the beautiful gift of family, sharing some of your time treasured stories, traditions, customs and wisdom gathered with your loved ones on your journey together! We are filled with gratitude as we give thanks for yet another year bringing joy to the lives of all those on our path! We wish all of our families and friends a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday overflowing with rich abundance! All this month we will also be hosting several highlighted family and community events that include: our Fall Food Drive benefiting those less fortunate through the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank all month, our Veteran's Aid & Attendance Benefit Presentation that will explain how the program can help you or a loved one pay for your long term care on November 11 at 6:30 pm, our monthly Caregiver Support Group Meeting where we will discuss how everyone in the family needs to help when it comes to caring for a loved one on November 13 at 1:30 pm, National Memory Screening Day featuring free confidential memory skills tests as well as memory care education, and our Thanksgiving Day Celebration featuring a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings for a $10 donation to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank on November 28 from 11 am until noon plus desserts and music at 3 pm. We encourage you to review our calendar and join us for any or all of our events as we celebrate families and Cherish the Journey!