What's Cooking?

The Pines senior living community at Brookline recently was host to a feast of Asian fare during an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State (OLLI) cooking class. "Guys' Gourmet: Asian Influences” was led by instructors Steve Gentry, Hodge Barton and John Stevens, and featured foods from the Far East like potstickers, barbecued beef, and amazing almond cookies.

Juniper Village at Brookline is an official satellite site of OLLI, which offers year-round continuing education courses for the State College area community. Subjects range from history and science, to art, music, and dance. Brookline residents are offered discounted annual dues and course fees, which normally range between $10 and $30. “Asian Influences” brought in around 20 area community members, all of whom raved about their experience. Said one, “I just love these opportunities… I attend an OLLI class at least twice a month!” And we at JVB love the opportunity to have you here!

P.S. The potstickers were delicious!

Happy 100th Oliver!

There was great cause for celebration this week at Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline, as Pines resident Oliver Runde turned 100 years young! Oliver’s daughter, Debrah, joined her father and a room full of his Juniper friends to partake in cake & ice cream, and a spirited sing-a-long led by local entertainment legend, pianist Ray Fortunato. Oliver told tales of his service in the US Army, and his work as an industrial engineer, and his time as President of Federal Glass in Columbus, Ohio. He fondly recalled his life in Florida with his late wife, Martha, and affectionately paid tribute to his three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. At the end of the celebration, he was presented with special centenarian commemorative certificate from the Pennsylvania Senate.

When asked his advice for living a long and healthy life, his daughter sighted his unwavering positive attitude. Oliver said that we should all “live life the way it’s meant to be”, adding that we “be honest and take care of [ourselves].” Simply put, he shared, “I always just did what they told me!”

Happy birthday, Oliver, from your Juniper Village family!

Welcome New Beginnings: January Events

Welcome to 2015! What a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and forge ahead with new beginnings. January is a time for change when we make and sometimes break our New Year’s resolutions and focus on what we want to make better in the coming year.

January is also the month that Juniper Village begins our Winter Alive In All Seasons theme of Creative Expressions: “Explore Your Creativity” where in January we will focus on music! Research shows that music can help us physically by easing pain, helping us sleep better, eat less and enhance our blood vessel function. It is also suggested that music can help us mentally by reducing stress, relieving symptoms of depression, elevating mood, decreasing anxiety and improving cognitive performance. Hospitals are using music to help cancer patients manage stress and anxiety and to ease recovery in stroke patients.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Harp Therapy as part of New Year, New You Day of Wellness with  the heavenly sounds of Certified Harp Therapist Ellen Slingerland who showcases how her music can have a soothing and comforting effect on listeners in the Second Floor Dining Room at Brookline Rehabilitation and Skilled Care (1950 Cliffside Drive) on January 5^th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; our ReMarkable Music with Grace Between Us to dazzle and inspire you with traditional hymns that are sure to impress in the Gathering Room at Wellspring (610 Whitehall Drive) on January 12^th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm; our Winter Warm-Up Happy Hour with JT Thompson  for an evening of drinks and hot tunes by this Bellefonte native who is  a regular on the State College music scene in the Pines Piano Lounge at Brookline Senior Living (1940 Cliffside Drive) on January 14^th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm; our Alive Inside Screening of the inspirational and emotional film dramatically portraying the power of music and memory that left the audience humming and cheering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in the Willows Dining Room (1900 Cliffside Drive) on January 22^nd from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm; or our Virtual Dementia Tour and Create Your Playlist Event an interactive, experiential journey into the realities of dementia that allows you to “walk in the shoes” of your loved one, enabling you to better understand their needs and behaviors, at the end of which you can create your own personalized music playlist and participate in an iPod and MP3 player donation drive for musical tools to utilize throughout the community in the First Floor Lobby at Brookline Rehabilitation and Skilled Care (1950 Cliffside Drive) on January 28^th from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm!

Look through our calendar and join us this month as we explore our creativity through music with outings to local musical performances, Elvis’ birthday celebrations and concerts by our Joyful Noise Choirs. We invite you to Welcome New Beginnings at Juniper Village and make a habit of joining us for activities and events throughout the year!