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 all month, our Veterans Day Celebration: The Colors of Honor to give special recognition to Veterans and First Responders who give so much for the freedom of others through special music and light refreshments on November 11 from 10 am until 11 am, and our Spearly Golden Harvest: Thanksgiving Feast featuring turkey dinner with all the fixings on November 28 from 12 pm until 2 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!

Spearly Fun At The Pumpkin Patch

 

On Thursday October 24th, Spearly Residents headed out to Hill's
Harvest Farm for their annual visit to the pumpkin patch. It was a
beautiful fall day, Colorado style: crisp, warm weather, bright red,
orange and yellow leaves adorning the trees, and a view of the Rocky
Mountains in the distance. Residents were buoyant with anticipation
as they headed north for this special outing.

Residents were greeted with a field of pumpkins that seemed to stretch
on forever. After wandering freely and picking out bright orange
pumpkins that varied from small and round to large and pointy,
residents hopped on board a flatbed truck for a traditional hay ride.
Horses were running free as the truck meandered through the fields.
Bernie, Wayne and Loyd- all seasoned ranch hands- felt right at home,
hollering at the horses as they galloped by.

Unlike most outings, the fun didn't stop once they returned home.
Rebecca and the rest of the Connections staff used the small, round
pumpkins for pumpkin bowling. Residents made Jack-O-Lanterns with the
larger pumpkins to add to the fesivities for one of the most favorite
holidays of the year: Halloween.

Looking back on that fun filled day, Rebecca said it best; "To see
them outside and so happy is what made the day special."

3rd Annual Spearly Center Tailgate Party: Rock Your Colors

Picture enjoying a clear, crisp autumn day outside, the smell of hot dogs sizzling on the grill, and live entertainment playing everything from Rock n' Roll to Rythm n' Blues. Add to that two Denver Broncos Cheerleaders, an enthusiastic crowd decked out in blue and orange, and a home team with a 7-1 record, and you've got the 3rd Annual Spearly Center Tailgate Party: Rock Your Colors!

 

 

 

 

 On Tuesday October 22nd, the weather was perfect for outdoor festivities. The entire Spearly community congregated on the front lawn, enjoying all that is special about living in Bronco Country. Residents enjoyed tasty treats, mingled with each other and their Spearly Sidekicks.

 

 

 

 

Every resident has a staff member who is their Spearly Sidekick, which provides advocacy, support and companionship. Everyone posed for pictures and received autographed posters from the Broncos Cheerleaders. As the party went on, students from a nearby school joined the festivities, embracing the Spirit Of Life that so defines The Spearly Center. A great time was had by all!

 

 

Friendship

Residents at the Spearly Center celebrated Frienship: Spread the Joy, September's Alive in All Seasons theme with a day of sunshine, food, and live entertainment on Monday, September 16th. Enjoying afternoon

snacks on the patio, residents mingled, listened to the music of entertainer Don Garcia, and enjoyed the company of each other.

The highlight of the afternoon was a Pinata contest. Each resident had a turn at hitting the guitar shaped Pinata, which had a picture of Justine Beiber adorning the front. The final blow was delivered by resident Tim Leslie, scattering candy and other goodies for all to enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Juniper Village 25 Year Anniversary At Spearly

Juniper Village celebrated 25 years of excellence and being committed to nurturing the spirit of life in those we serve and to each other earlier this May. Excitement filled the air as friends, family, partners in caring, and community members marked this momentous occasion. Smooth sounds from the saxophone, specialty desserts and cool sunglasses were enjoyed by all. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock officially proclaimed May 13th, 2013 as "Juniper Village The Spearly Center Day."

Lynne Katzmann, founder of Juniper Village, wrote, "At this special moment, I want to thank each of you for your dedication to our mission, for your loyalty to our Juniper family and for helping us create a new vision of aging in America." Lynne, The Spearly Center would like to thank you for 25 years of extraordinary compassion, leadership, and devotion to humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Skiing with Spearly

March is typically the snowiest month in the Colorado Rockies. What better time to enjoy spring skiing? The Spearly Center, working with the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center's Adaptive Ski Program, hosted two ski trips in March. Seven residents hit the slopes and had an exhilarating time skiing at one of the most popular ski areas in the world. The weather was sunny and beautiful, the mountain air was clean and crisp, and the views were spectacularly breathtaking. Breckenridge, about 60 miles from Denver, is located in the White

River National Forest in Summit County, Colorado. Base elevation is 9,600 feet, while top elevation is almost 13,000 feet.

Awaken Your Passion: 4th Annual Spearly Art Show

"A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires." -Hedy Lamarr

The Awaken Your Passion: 4th Annual Spearly Art Show was held in our cozy Country Store on February 21st and was a great success! A wide
variety of individual and group art pieces were on display, including sketches, paintings, oil pastel pieces, charcoal drawings and velvet art. Residents, associates and family always look forward to this fun and colorful event. Over 25 residents submitted numerous art pieces in this year's show which represented abstract, impressionism, expressionism, primitivism, surrealism and realism.