Celebrating Life's Passions

Meet Nansi Janes: Artist, Nurse and Innkeeper in Residence

Many years ago, a fine young nurse immigrated to the United States from Wales.  Life in America afforded Nansi opportunities to care for people in many ways.  In addition to giving care through her trained profession, she and her husband hand-built the Wilderness Lodge in Wattsburg, PA.  Nansi recalls moving many loads of stone from a nearby creek to build Pennsylvania’s first ski touring lodge.  Nansi also expresses her creativity through her passion for painting.  She is an accomplished artist and is happy to strike up conversation about her works anytime.  Nansi’s subject matter includes nature scenes, plant life, herding sheep and community life in Wales, to name a few.  We are proud she is a member of our community.  Here are a few photos of Nansi and her beautiful paintings. 

Welcome New Beginnings: January Events

It is hard to believe how time has flown and we now, once again, welcome in a new year—2014! This January, as part of our Alive in All Seasons program we will be celebrating the magic of music. Music has long been recognized as a healing tool in the writings of Pythagoras, Aristotle and Plato. A quote by Plato helps us understand the enormity and power of music; “music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything”.

Music is indeed part of our souls, our imaginations, our lives. It is no wonder that people love music; it inspires us, sparks our minds, taps into our creativity, heals our souls, motivates us to dance, to laugh, to cry. This January we will celebrate music in all its glory!

We will be hosting several open events at our community this month. Please join us for a special concert with the First Baptist Church Choir and Kidz Club at 2:00 pm on January 5^th, our Juniper Jinglers performance at 4:30 pm on January 9^th, our Happy Hour with the Happy Music Duo at 2:30 pm on January 17^th, and our Country-Western Pub and Grub at 4:00 pm on January 22^nd. We encourage you to review our calendar for other offerings and attend any or all of the activities that are of interest to you.

It’s going to be another great month here at Juniper Village at Meadville. Let us join together in music and “Welcome New Beginnings”. 

Wonderful Wine Making!

The aroma of sweet berries wafted through the Lafayette Tavern. The Juniper wine has been bottled and was enjoyed by residents and families at the Alive in All Seasons Family Holiday reception. Connections Director Wendy Vaughn invited her friend Rhonda Hershelman in to create two batches of wine and due to popularity, Rhonda has been called upon for an encore!  Rhonda has become a part of our Juniper Family and has given back to our Residents on so many occasions.  We cherish Rhonda as an honorary "Juniper Berry" in recognition for her fun and successful wine making class!

Juniper Village at Meadville is proud to hold these social events in the Lafayette Tavern in the former David Mead Inn.  Residents and families enjoy the opportunity to celebrate in such a festive environment!  Stop by on Wednesday's pub and grub from 4-6pm or happy hour on Fridays at 2:30pm to try a taste of the vino from "Juniper Cellars."

Holiday Happiness

Residents, Families, Friends and Associates all gathered for our Annual Alive in All Seasons Holiday Reception. Over 200 smiling faces were entertained with the sounds of a brass ensemble in the ballroom and the piano music of Reverend Joel Diangi in the lobby. The Tavern was full of fellowship and food! The culinary associates put their heart and soul into the dining experience. Families and Residents were greeted with the voices of the Juniper Leadership team as they belted out popular Christmas carols to end the evening. Joel kept up with the requests as they were shouted his way. It was an evening to be remembered, for we serve the best generation ever...and it is our privilege to be able to slow down, take a moment and celebrate little things! We look forward to more posts as the photos pour in from our families and friends.

Celebrate Little Things: December Event

"The more you praise and celebrate your life,

the more there is in life to celebrate" ~Oprah Winfrey

 

This December, as part of our Alive In All Seasons program

we will be focusing on traditions. Traditions play such an

important role within our lives by providing a shared identity

and sense of belonging, comfort and joy. Traditions allow us

to tap into our deep and rich cultural, family and religious

heritage. Our Alive In All Seasons tagline this month of

"Celebrate Little Things" reminds us that these traditions,

many of which are small, little things, can serve as the glue

that binds us together and makes our lives great.

 

Celebrations will be abundant this holiday season here at

Juniper Village as we share memories from our residents,

families and our associates about traditions, beliefs and

customs that have shaped our lives. We will learn about how

other cultures celebrate winter holidays, complete with the

singing of carols and the sampling of some delicious ethnic

treats. We will gain respect and insight into each other as

we reflect upon our unique and cherished traditions, and;

maybe create some new ones along the way!

 

You are cordially invited to join us in celebration for our

AIAS Holiday Reception for Family and Friends, and a Brass

Ensemble Christmas Concert on December 12th; a Christmas

Musical with Cookies and Ornaments by the Saegertown

United Methodist Children on December 14th; the Birthday

Bash and Ice Cream Social with The Happy Music Trio on

December 23rd; evening outings to see Christmas lights on

December 17th and 23rd; an Origami Christmas Workshop

on December 21st and our New Years Eve Party on

December 31st.

 

So, this holiday season please stop

by and celebrate with us as we

"Celebrate Little Things"

Center for Family Services

 

Center for Family Services hosted their 150^th anniversary meet and greet event at Juniper Village at Meadville.  We learned that this event needed a location at a recent United Way function this summer. In the distant past, the David Mead Inn had been host to many organizations and service groups through out the years such as Talon industries, Kiwanis, Rotary, and other community groups as well as wedding parties and social functions.  However, not more than 5 years ago, Allegheny ballroom was used for storage. The Meadville Leadership Team saw the vision in the room and put in hours of their own sweat equity to restore the room to its original beauty. Today, the Allegheny Ballroom, can be offered to the community for such monumental events as 65^th plus wedding anniversaries, baby showers, birthday parties, work anniversaries and many more community events.

As Community Board members of CFS, leaders of our community and supporters of CFS all arrived at Juniper Village, they descended the stairs to be met with the sights and sounds of the original Lafayette Tavern hopping with activity! Juniper's weekly Pub and Grub event for Residents, Friends and Family was happening! Home made soup, salad bar and beverages were all being enjoyed by the folks attending the Pub and Grub.

As they continued, the Ballroom was laden in Fall festivities and tables of all of the facets of CFS were adorned with information and treats! A history of the 150 years of existence of CFS was outlined, as well as all of their programs. Juniper was honored to host this event and the timing was in tune with the upcoming kick off of Juniper Village's annual food drive. Juniper strives to meet their goal of 1,000 pounds of food raised to donated to CFS. The food drive runs from November 1-30^th and nonperishable items can be dropped off at Juniper Village 455 Chestnut street. Please call 333-4400 for further details.

 

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 Food Drive benefiting those less fortunate through the Center for Family Services all month, our Gentleman's Quarter's Lunch for our Veterans featuring delicious home cooked "stick to your ribs" fair with an educational presentation on the Veteran's aid and attendance benefit plus special giveaways including one just for female veterans on November 13 at 11:30 am, and our Polymer Clay Workshop using a special type of hardening clay to create personalized tree ornaments or jewelry on November 16 from 1 pm until 4 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!