Stone Gardens

The Future is Here

2012-01-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

G-d bless the Internet. When all of our electronics are working properly, and all the stars are aligned perfectly, magic can happen. Welcome to the future - the George Jetson Future!

Over the past couple of weeks we've helped some of our residents Skype with family members all over the world . (From Wikipedia: [Skype] allows users to communicate with peers by voice, video, and instant messaging over the Internet. Phone calls may be placed to recipients on the traditional telephone networks. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free of charge.)

Here's one of our residents "playing" with his great grandson in Chicago, IL.

And here's another resident with her daughter talking to her family in London, England. That's our resident's great grandson on screen.

And this is George Jetson (seated) talking to Mr. Spacely, circa 1962, on what looks like Skype, about 40 years before Skype was invented.

George Jetson, modern day prophet.

Me? I'm still waiting for Rosie.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-22T21:05:00.001-05:00

Still catching up on blogging...

Here are some images from our New Years party:

This is one of my favorite shots from the evening. I'd ask you to come up with captions, but I think it speaks for itself.

The fabulous Logan Wells performed and provided some special lighting effects for one or two numbers,

I probably have footage on the Flip camera. One of thesed ays I may even download it and publish it here.

Finishing up Chanukah

2012-01-21T00:37:00.000-05:00

Catching up on my blogging...

Just a few more images from Chanukah:

The 8th Annual "Rock For All Ages" Chanukah Concert

with Noah Budin and the Promised Band

I had a little dreidle,

I couldn't make him go away...

The last night - always bittersweet.

Food For Thought

2012-01-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

Our Yachad program, "Food For Thought," continues.

Yachad (the word means "together") is a group of special needs young adults and high school volunteers who meet once a week for Jewish themed activities.

It's a National organization with local chapters, and Sarah Taub has been this chapter's director for 25 years. Once a month, for the past 12 years, Sarah has brought the group here for inter-generational programming.

Our theme for this year is "Food for Thought," where we discuss the upcoming Torah portion for the next time they will be here, and create a "recipe" based on that portion. The recipe is more like a list of ingredients, and those ingredients are not necessarily based on any foods literally mentioned in the portion. They are based on a theme or an idea found in the portion.

(This is my daughter Rachel, an excellent baker and artist. She volunteered to decorate our food for this program, an essential element in this month's recipe, as you'll see.)

December’s Torah portion was the end of the Joseph story. The theme that emerged was the quality of something being hidden. Joseph’s identity is hidden from his brothers; Joseph hides a golden cup in Benjamin’s sack.

We talked about foods that have a “hidden” quality to them. Eggrolls and sushi, for instance, are wrapped foods, hiding some ingredients within. Carrot cake and zucchini muffins are sweet, dessert-like foods that “hide” unexpected savory vegetables in the batter. The “recipe” that we came up with was “Joseph’s Many Colored Sushi Cake,” and the mandatory ingredients were rice, zucchini, carrots, coffee and sprinkles.

The chefs came up with a cupcake recipe using the first four ingredients, and Rachel and Marla decorated the cakes using sprinkles, frosting and candy to mimic the look of sushi.

Here is the finished product.

Here are some other moment from the evening:

Here is January's recipe:

And this is Breezy (the blonde on the left), one of the best dogs I know. Breezy is a therapy dog and comes to almost every Yachad program.

Can we get a little privacy please?

Chanukah Prep!

2011-12-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

We've been busy here at Stone Gardens getting ready for the Holiday.

We made Chanukah and Holiday Cards:

We made Chanukah treats:

We learned how to press olives olives into olive oil like our ancestors did (thanks to Rabbi Friedman from Chabad's Living Legacy program):

And we're setting up the menorah's for the first night of Chanukah...

Any resident is welcome to bring their menorah to the Ivy Room for lighting every night (the menorahs can stay in the Ivy Room for the duration of the holiday). We hope to have many more menorahs so we can bring as much light into the world as possible this season!

Chag Sameach and Happy Chanukah From Stone Gardens!

2011-12-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

Last month we commemorated Veterans Day, as we do every year, with a program in the Ivy Room consisting of patriotic songs, readings and prayers, and recognition of every vet in the room. Each vet got a chance to speak, and we got the opportunity to thank them for their service.

http://youtu.be/KKvUvhoWhq8

A Doggone Correction

2011-12-06T22:02:00.001-05:00

As I looked at my last blog post, dear readers, I realized I left out one photograph.Under the passage that read "The picture below has to do with the story of Joseph for next month. Those are the inspirations and ingredients I'm going to work with to come up with "Joseph's Many Colored Sushi Cake," I posted a picture of two of our residents petting Breezy the therapy dog. I, of course, did not mean to imply that either the residents or the dog would be included as ingredients for the next recipe.

The photo should have been this one:

That breeze you feel is one Golden Retriever's sigh of relief.

Also, thanks to Wendy Gray for taking that lovely photo of our snow frosted pond.

Yachad, Bingo, Winter

2011-12-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday we had our second Yachad program of the season. Yachad is a group of special needs young adults and high school volunteers who meet every Wednesday night during the school year. Sara Taub has been this region's coordinator for over 20 years. (She recently received a prestigious Professional Service award from the national organization in NYC.) On the last Wednesday of every month, Yachad comes to stone gardens for a very special intergenerational program. Each year we have a theme. this year's theme is "Food for Thought."
We discuss the Torah portion for the upcoming month - in November we discussed the portion for December 28th - and then we talk about foods that may symbolically represent some idea in that portion. Last month, we discussed this weeks story of Jacob going on a long journey (mainly to get away from his brother), and we talked about foods that might sustain you on a long journey. The list included, nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips and honey, so we came up with "Yakov's Holy Whole Wheat Energy Bars." I gave the list of ingredients to our chefs, and they created what you see above. Well, that's what was left after the program. I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful untouched tray before the program.
The picture below has to do with the story of Joseph for next month. Those are the inspirations and ingredients I'm going to work with to come up with "Joseph's Many Colored Sushi Cake."
Yeah. I know. Don't ask.

These are two of our residents at the Yachad program with Breezy the therapy dog. Breezy belongs to one of the Yachad parents, and comes almost every month.

Switching gears...this is Jocelyn. She's 12 years old and the great granddaughter of one of our residents and she's volunteering every Thursday night for Bingo. She started out as a card checker, but quickly graduated to caller. She's Terrific!

We've had our first snowfall here. It hasn't really stuck, but look out...winter's on the way! In the meantime, we can enjoy this idyllic photo of our pond at our side entrance.

(I didn't take this photo, but I don't remember who did. Sandy, was it you?)

Postcards

2011-11-22T17:23:00.000-05:00

Harvest Moon Ball 2011

2011-11-03T18:29:00.018-04:00

Here are some images from last week's Harvest Moon Ball.

Our entertainer was the always popular Jerry Simmerer.

Our young volunteer is Jocelyn, and she's a great-granddaughter of one of our residents.

http://youtu.be/V6UMusxmzug

Here, again, is my favorite gourd. It came in from the sukkah to decorate our Harvest Moon Ball.

It is now decorating our front lobby. Come and see it in person.

Fall Holidays - Tashlich and Sukkot

2011-10-19T21:42:00.000-04:00

Taslich is a ritual performed between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur which involves throwing bread crumbs into a natural body of water to symbolize the casting away of our sins.

Every year, weather permitting, we offer a Tashlich picnic at Coulby Park in Wickliffe, OH. This year the weather was permitting and we did our thing.

There is a little bridge there that most of us went up on and tossed our bread (and that's not a euphemism.)

Luckily, we had a scholar with us and he was able to read the required texts and explain the meaning of what we were doing

The ducks were more than happy to eat our sins

Meanwhile, in the Sukkah...

This is our Sukkah at Stone Gardens. We only had about three or four nice weather days this year for eating in the Sukkah, but we had a loyal group who did whenever possible.

This pumpkin (below) is my pride and joy. We went on an outing to Patterson's Fruit Farm where the residents could buy fresh apples, cider, Amish-made jams and jellies, and fresh baked apple pies among other things.

My job was to procure some decorations for the Sukkah which can carry over into the rest of Autumn and adorn our Ivy Room. I bought some corn stalks, gourds, Indian corn, a hay bale...and this pumpkin. There were rows and rows of pumpkins outside of all shapes and sizes. But there was only one like this one. I had to have it. When I took to the register, one cashier looked at the other one and said, "Oh, he's got THAT one!" Inasmuch as one man can love a large gourd, I love my pumpkin.

We also used some of the herbs from our own garden to decorate and add a nice scent to the Sukkah.

Residents in our Art Studio made the decorations that hung from the ceiling.

Here's a view of our Sukkah from the back. That's our garden which, as it has done since we put it in, has produced a bountiful harvest of fresh herbs, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers.

200 Years at the Ballpark

2011-09-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Amy Vedova-Phillips at Menorah Park, I had the opportunity to take two of our 100 year old residents to an Indians game. We were the Cleveland Indians' special guests and treated lie VIPs the whole way. We met a player just outside of the Indians clubhouse, we had our own private suite, we were visited by Sharon Hargrove (wife of Mike Hargrove, a player in the 70's and managed us to two World Series in the 90's), and got lots of gifts. Here's a little slide show:

http://youtu.be/7gvB54nluaY

Aging Resources

2011-09-19T14:57:00.001-04:00

Don't forget that Menorah Park now has an
Aging Resources Website,

www.menorahpark.org/arc,

which provides comprehensive information

about every stage of aging at your fingertips.

Topics include:

Insurance and Social Services, Financial and Legal Information,

Healthy Aging Information, and more.

All information is provided by professionals in their fields.

We ask readers to visit this user-friendly site to see all of the

topics addressed. If information you seek cannot be found,

please contact Beth Silver at bsilver@menorahpark.org or

call 216-839-6678.

Celebration!

2011-09-15T15:55:00.002-04:00

This week was National Assisted Living Week. The theme this year was "Forever Proud." We celebrated on Tuesday with a big party for the residents and staff - lots of music, singing, dancing, cake and pie.

And there was much rejoicing.

I'm still editing the videos and photos from that. In the meantime, I'll share this little slide show video I made and showed at the party.

(I still feel like this video is a work in progress. I may make some edits at some point, and repost it. One of the things I should have done is added end credits so the viewer would know that the music is "Lift Me Up" by Kate Vogel and "I'll Be Your Water" by Keb Mo.)

http://youtu.be/z31CdE0ktAs

Summer Fun

2011-09-11T19:34:00.000-04:00

More photos from some of our summer activities:

Our Cruise on the Goodtime III:

(Below) TV personality Kristi Kapel with one of our residents.

They were filming a segment for "New Day Cleveland."

The Captain and Arlyne.

Picnic and Cleveland Orchestra Concert at Blossom Music Center:

Good Times!

2011-09-06T16:58:00.001-04:00

In mid-August we took our annual lunchtime cruise on the Goodtime III. We sailed the mighty Cuyahoga River (Yes, that Cuyahoa River. And, no, it hasn't caught fire since 1969.) and out on to Lake Erie.

I have video of our own that I'm working on editing, but, in the meantime, let me share this with you. It just so happened that on our cruise, the TV show New Day Cleveland was filming a segment. My friend Herb Thomas, long time producer and cameraman for channel 8, was there and got some of us on film. We made it into the televised segment, which aired on August 23, but we werent identified by name. You can see us for a few seconds during the interview with the captain (at about 3:12 in the video).

Here's a link to the video: http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/97b35092-ce22-4d91-ad20-4b8563c42d6d/Entertainment/Goodtime-III-Cruise

Art Show

2011-09-06T16:11:00.000-04:00

Whew! It's been a busy summer, and I owe you a few blog posts. I'll try to get a bunch of them posted as fast as I can over the next few days.

I'll start off with our "Meet Our Resident Artists Art Show and Reception." This program was conceived and executed by Activities staff member Marla Papcum, who is an artists herself and has a Masters degree in Art Education.

There are no captions for the slides, but they speak for themselves. Marla and Ellen Themes, our Art Therapist, gathered all of the residents who participate in our Art Studio, and some who do (or have done) art projects on their own, gathered some of their art work, and labeled and displayed them all. Many artists chose to offer their works for sale, and most of the proceeds benefited our Art Studio. Great Job, Marla!

http://youtu.be/jWwkANq9nTI

New Website and Exciting Fall Event at MP!

2011-09-02T12:29:00.003-04:00

24-7 Access to Complete Information

Menorah Park is pleased to introduce its Aging Resources website, www.menorahpark.org/arc,

which provides comprehensive information

about every stage of aging at your fingertips.

Topics include:

Insurance and Social Services, Financial and Legal Information,

Healthy Aging Information, and more.

All information is provided by professionals in their fields.

We ask readers to visit this user-friendly site to see all of the

topics addressed. If information you seek cannot be found,

please contact Beth Silver at bsilver@menorahpark.org or

call 216-839-6678.

Grand Day on the Grand River

2011-07-18T12:11:00.001-04:00

So, a guy walks into a restaurant and says, "Do you serve crabs here?" The waiter says, "Sure, sit down. We serve anybody!"

This past week we went on a lunch outing to Pickle Bill's in Mentor. Pickle Bill's is a seafood restaurant just blocks away from the beach we went to last month (see "A Day at the Beach" about five posts back) and sits right on the Grand River. It's a grand and goofy place - locally owned and one-of-a-kind - with lots of great menu items and crammed with funky decor and kitch galore.

I've add a new tool to my blogging arsenal - a slide show. Enjoy:

http://youtu.be/58m35u9vLI8

Know a (Noah) Good Building Contractor?

2011-07-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

These guys were doing some work at Menorah Park so I snapped a couple of photos.

There's a chance to win a prize - see below!

On your mark, get set...GO:

They send their crew in two by two.

They promise to get the job done in 40 days and 40 nights.

They can build a great deck.

Better hurry. They're flooded with calls.

In this recession, they've managed to stay afloat.

When they run out of lumber, they send someone to gopher wood.

Can you think of any? You have until Friday, July 15th to send me your best (or worst?) puns to caption the above photo. An independent and totally neutral panel of judges* will award a prize to one person for their effort - Lunch for Two at Stone Gardens!

Send entries to nbudin@menorahpark.org.

(This contest is not open to Menorah Park staff members or private caregivers hired by anyone at Menorah Park.)
Good Luck!

*My fingers were crossed when I wrote that part about the judges.

Artist of the Month

2011-07-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Activities staff member Marla Papcum for conceiving and realizing this terrific idea for our bulletin board just next to the side door near the mailboxes. Every month she will feature an "Artist of the Month" from our 2nd floor Art Studio and display their work with a few words about it.

As you can see, this month's Artist is Iris Bialosky.

If you are unfamiliar with our Art Studio or our art program led by Art Therapist Ellen Themes, come on in and check it out! Ellen prepares projects for anyone of any ability, and for every level of art experience (or inexperience). Great job Marla, Ellen and Iris!

Buy me Some Peanuts and...Little Pink Booties

2011-07-08T12:33:00.000-04:00

Two miracles happened on Wednesday night.

First, the Indians beat the Yankees 5 - 3. The Indians pitcher Justin Masterson pitched a three hit shutout through eight innings and Rookie Lonnie Chisenhall hit his first Major League home run into our section about 10 rows in front of us. Everyone had a great time.

Then, Sarah's daughter gave birth during the 6th inning. Well, not at the game. She's in Indiana. She was 10 days past her due date (which was making Sarah very nervous), but the call came that she had given birth to a nine pound (!) baby girl. A minute later, Sarah got a picture of the baby on her cell phone. Modern technology! Thank G-d - Sarah was then able to relax and enjoy the rest of the game. Mazel Tov!

Here's some video of the event (the baseball game, not the birth):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KhGaLjfOss

Oh Dear, Oh Deer

2011-06-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

We had our first Campfire of the season on Wednesday night. I preserved my unbroken sting of one-match-fires and, as usual, we sang songs, told stories and roasted marshmallows.

At the end of the program, when almost everyone had gone in and I was about to put out the fire, I looked up and saw a deer and her fawn. I grabbed The Flip Camera and shot. I tried to get close, but mom went into protective mode and looked like she might charge. Then, someone came walking down the road and spooked her. She jumped the fence leaving her fawn behind! I watched for a while, but didn't see when (or if) they reunited. My wife has already rescued and brought home a baby goose this summer (we took it to a sanctuary), but I wasn't going to try to corral the dear into my Toyota Camry. Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwmkGK0q_6M

A Day at the Beach

2011-06-29T21:27:00.001-04:00

Some days, my job is no picnic at the beach.

And some days it is very literally a picnic at the beach.

Stone Gardens Teamed up with Wiggins Place for a day at Mentor Headlands. Many thanks to Tracy and Jenna for making all of the arrangements and bringing the food!
(Make sure you scroll all the way down and see the video.)

After warnings of thunder storms, the weather turned out to be perfect. We ate in a reserved pavilion, and then set up beach chairs on the sand. Most people walked on their own to the chairs.

Mentor Headlands also provided us with a special beach wheelchair which enabled us to move some of our residents over the sand easily. The chair looks like a funky little dune buggy or moon rover.

A couple of brave residents - one from Wiggins and one from Stone - put their bare feet in the cool waters of Lake Erie.

And here's about 3 minutes of video. The wind made it a little hard to hear some of the audio, but I think you'll get the gist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jPpvoG1zXw

A Night at the Office

2011-06-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Part of the reason is that I've been on vacation, and part of the reason is all of the office switching and makeovers we've been doing. None of the reason is that we haven't been doing things at Stone Gardens. That is to say, we have been doing a lot! And I will catch up on blogging over the next few days.

In the meantime, I'll show you some pictures of the office. I'm still in the same space I was in before (first floor across from the Ivy Room). But the whole space has been cleaned out, repainted and rearranged. And I now share the space with David Walker, our Dietary GM. Or maybe he shares it with me.

If you've ever been here and seen my office, you may remember the angels. (Yes, I meant angels and not angles.)

They've been there since before I got here seven years ago. They were the decorating inspiration of my excellent predecessor Kathleen Betlejewski, currently the very excellent Assistant Director of Activities and head of the Creative Arts Center at Menorah Park. You can see in photo above where I tried to peel them off seven years ago. They insisted on staying, so I lived with them.

But now...

So, the office has a new look. We're still working on the finishing touches, but here it is at the moment:

Outreach

2011-05-24T23:48:00.000-04:00

Whether you are a resident or tenant on the Menorah Park campus , are a family member of a resident or tenant, or are not connected to Menorah Park but are in need of resources and information about aging, then Menorah Park is the place to look.

Aging adults, family members of any age, and care givers can count on Menorah Park as the best possible resource center in the community for issues on maintaining the highest level quality of life as one ages.

New programs and educational materials are currently being added and upgraded to provide you with the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible information possible.

Watch for new seminars and workshops, print materials, website enhancements, social media outlets, and contact information to be made available.

The enrichment of our educational tools will help you:

· Prepare for life changes.

· Understand ways to support health and wellness.

· Find tools and options to assist with independence at home.

· Plan for a crisis.

· Gain financial and legal knowledge.

· Develop a life care plan that works best for you.

Don’t forget to visit our Adaptive Living Shoppe for vital and unique products designed for the aging adult.

If you have any questions, want more information, or want to suggest a topic that you would be interested in exploring, please call Ross Wilkoff, Stone Gardens Administrator, at 216-896-1105.

Miracles and Snack Food

2011-05-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Israel! On Tuesday, the modern state of Israel turned 63. It's important to celebrate her milestones and achievements.

I was born in 1960. For me, and people in my generation, there was never not an Israel. For our residents, 1948 looms very large. Israel is a modern miracle, and we must always remember that and be thankful for her.

We celebrated in style here, with a "Made In Israel Fair." We asked residents to loan us any items from their apartments that were made in Israel. We got quite a few items. They were displayed and each resident got a chance to tell us about their items - where and when they got them, the significance of them, and so on. Then we shared some Israeli snacks, and sang some Israeli songs.

Here is one of our newer residents showing off a shofar from Israel. Not only could he explain it to us, but man, that cat can blow! We may have to start calling him Izzy Gillespie.

Here are some of the items people brought.

And what Jewish celebration is complete without food? The package on the left is an Israeli snack called Bamba. It is the "potato chip" of Israel. In other words, it's ubiquitous. And, apparently, it is marketed to Elmer Fudd's soccer playing grandson.

Our dietary Department came through with flying colors (an expression which must make absolutely no sense in Hebrew) providing falafel and tahini to go with all of our other Israeli snack foods.

Real World Fairytale

2011-05-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

If the past week's events weren't so serious, one might say that it had been created by Disney: a prince got married, and an evil villain was done away with.

We chose to celebrate the former. On the night before the Royal Wedding, we had our own Royal Ball. I'll let the photos and video speak for themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptRnqJFdDeM

BTW, I had go to England to get most of the decorations for this. Well, I ordered from England on line. I asked, but Stone Gardens wouldn't send me to go and pick them up myself.

Fire and Food

2011-04-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

Last week we went on a dinner outing to a Japanese Steakhouse called Wasabi. Wasabi is a Benihana type restaurant where the chef prepares your meal at the table. Unfortunately, the Flip Camera's batteries died before the meal prep began, so all I have is footage of us entering the restaurant and walking to the table. Fortunately, I also had the other camera with me. (Yes, I travel like paparazzi acting on a Lady Gaga wearing a meat dress tip on these outings.)

Here we are sitting at our table waiting for the chef.

The chef arrives.

The chef disappears in a pillar of fire. DeMille would have been proud.

The chef reappears to prepare our meal.

The ever-popular Onion Volcano.

Steak, salmon and chicken were our entrees of choice. We had a great time and a wonderful meal.

Bicycles and Chickens

2011-04-08T17:07:00.001-04:00

We're getting in shape for bikini season. Spring is here, so summer can't be far behind, right? Some of you may have seen that red bicycle (large tricycle, really) sitting by the Ivy Room door. That bike was acquired because of someone's dream several years ago. (If you don't know about our Dream program...well, I guess that's a blog for another time.)

We decided to get the bike out again, pump up the tires and let people scare the staff and other residents by riding around in the hallways. (Nobody was really scared - it was all very well staffed and controlled.)There were several riders and I caught two of them on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2oSwrz_xuk

Also - this is sort of two blogs in one - I wanted to share some video with you of one of our residents reading to some children. In case you didn't know, Menorah Park has a day care center for employees' children. We get visits from them twice a month. Usually we sing together. Lately, a couple of residents expressed an interest in reading to children. A match was made!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8zjhoRbF0E

In the Wilderness

2011-03-27T23:06:00.000-04:00

Here's video from our trip to the Cleveland Zoo RainForest. The video is one of the longest I've posted, but it really zips by. I'm getting better at editing and I think this will hold your attention. There are a lot of quick cuts, and it's pretty amusing. So, go on. Give it a shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCmBCh_cRk8

Purim!

2011-03-22T13:39:00.000-04:00

The photos and video speak for themselves!

Maybe this one speaks a little too loudly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwgGSFRi07c

My three favorite lines of the day pertaining to my costume:

1) In the morning at home. Me (to my daughter Mariah): "Mariah, honey, please come here and help me with my tiara." Mariah: "Why can't I have a normal life?"

2) Rabbi Rosie Haim at The Temple Tifereth Israel: "Noah, you outdo yourself every year. Or, maybe you just out yourself."

3) An eight year old girl: "I have a REAL tiara at home." (pointing to my chest) "And I can tell THOSE are fake."

Oh Today We'll Merry, Merry Be...

2011-03-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Chang Sameach! Purim is just about here and we have been getting in the mood. One of our chefs, Matthew Bauman, held a Hamentashen baking session with residents in the Art Studio (which also has a small Milchig kitchen) the other day. I've got some photos and a 4 and half minute video montage to show you. (Be glad I've learned how to edit Flip camera footage - four and a half minutes may seem like a lot, but I really edited edited the raw footage. A lot.)

And here I am taking a picture of myself using the Flip camera to video the event (which you can see below). How do I do it!?

Thanks to David Walker, our Dietary Manager, who took most of these pictures. And now, here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muoVTVsFkVc

Have a Happy Purim!

Winter Talent Show

2011-03-10T21:49:00.000-05:00

Here's some footage from out winter talent show. We have one four times per year. I'll let the video speak for itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIbTldpAmec

Just Because...We Could

2011-03-02T23:38:00.000-05:00

Here's some footage from out trip to the Polka Hall of Fame last month. Cleveland is, after all, the home of America's Polka King, Grammy winner Frankie Yankovic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvCCFtHOMr8

And now, for those of you who have seven and a half minutes to listen to Polka music, which I, of course, do not because I'm at work, here's a video of Frankie Yankovic performing a couple of Polka tunes including his biggest hit "Just Because." Enjoy it for me, will ya?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqOPfRelGG8

Winder Wonderland

2011-02-23T17:48:00.000-05:00

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Well, it's not really so bad. We had a little rain, and then a little snow, which turned the rain into ice, which is still clinging to every blade of grass and tree branch. Thanks goodness the roads are all clear and we can all get to work. Hurray.

As one of my Facebook friends said: It's so beautiful outside today, like a magical fairy realm. After I teased her about that, I went right outside and took some pictures. These photos were taken in the immediate vicinity of Stone Gardens.

As Mark Twain said: "Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it!" I use instances of bad weather to remind me that, in the big picture, I'm not really in charge. And to find the beauty in it.

What A Mitzvah! Temple Emanu El Visits SG.

2011-02-22T14:45:00.000-05:00

Last month, we were visited by 4th graders (and parents and teachers) from Temple Emanu El. They came prepared to interact and be the lucky recipients of hundreds of combined years of wisdom that our residents have to offer.

Some found relatives who live here.

Our rresident Jokester and Lollipop Giver was in his element.
Here he is astounding the children by "removing" his finger.

And here he is preparing a new generation of finger removers and mood lighteners.

As Rabbi Baroka in the Talmud said:

A clown may be first in the Kingdom of Heaven,

if he has helped lessen the sadness of life.

Here is budding artist Sonia learning from a master.

Teen Philanthropy

2011-02-17T17:11:00.001-05:00

This is Barbara Gross. She works with the Foundation here at Menorah Park. (She raises money.)

She also helps give money away. When I give money away, I don't smile that big.

But, she gives it away for good purposes. Actually, she gives other people's money away. (OK, I guess I'd smile, too.) On the day that this picture was taken, last Sunday, she spent her entire day at work locked in a small room with about 20 teenagers. She's also very brave.

The teens are members of the Teen Philanthropy Board.

Barbara Gross

Here are most of them.

Every year, any department on campus can submit grant requests to the Teen Philanthropy Board. The teens consider all of the grants, make follow up phone calls, and then hear pitches from all of the people who submitted grants. That's what they were doing this Sunday.

They will meet again to determine how to divide the total sum they have. It's a difficult job. The total sum of all of the grant requests always exceeds the total sum they have to give. They need to make some hard choices and award grants to the projects they deem most deserving. It's difficult because, pretty much, all of the grant requests are deserving.

In this way, Menorah Park is not only serving our elders, but helping to shape the future. We are helping today's teens become tomorrow's leaders by giving them the tools they need to understand some difficult financial concepts, and the importance of giving. We are helping to cultivate a generation of philanthropists as their grandparents did for their parents.

L'dor v'dor.

Always Check Snopes!

2011-02-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I apologize. I was duped. And by my own mother!

The clip I posted yesterday was not a 92 year old Ginger Rogers. It was, in fact, a 75 year old Sarah "Paddy" Jones dancing with her Salsa instructor. Here's the Snopes link: http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/salsadance.asp

(Snopes is a terrific hoax debunking website. I use it often. Apparently, not often enough.)

Still, at 75, Sarah "Paddy" Jones moves much better than I can at 50. Who am I kidding? Much better than I could at any time of my life.

Here is the real Ginger Rogers who passed away in 1995 at the age of 83.

And here is a real Ginger Root, which can aid digestion. (It just came up in my search for Ginger Rogers, so thought I'd...honestly, I don't even know.)

Everybody Dance Now

2011-02-15T09:56:00.000-05:00

Just had to share this with you. It's the incomparable Ginger Rogers dancing at age 92! And I mean DANCING. It starts out slow, but stay with it. It's inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O-o5gwi4HI

BTW, I first saw this on Facebook, posted by my mother, who will be 88 years old this year. Thanks, mom!

Ivy Room Makeover

2011-02-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajikVmIEt5Q

Winter Ice Cream

2011-02-11T13:10:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week, we had a unique opportunity to preview two new ice cream flavors from Pierre's. Pat Lehrer, a Pierre's rep, dropped by with a short video about the making of Pierre's Ice Cream, lots of stories and history about the company, and lots of free samples of the product!

Pat Lehrer

Pat Lehrer and David Walker, Stone Gardens Dietary Manager

The two new flavors we samples were Banana Cream Pie and Rays Root Beer Float.

Family Fun Day

2011-02-11T13:01:00.000-05:00

Skippy and Dave paid us another visit for our Family Fun Day this year. They were a big hit last year, and were enjoyed just as much this time around. They drive down from Michigan to do this performance for us, but it's not so bad because they share the driving.

Congrats to Larry and David!

2011-01-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

Two of our managers received major awards. Congratulations to Larry Betlejewski, our Director of Environmental Services, and David Walker, our Dietary Manager, each received the Ohio Assisted Living Association Honoring Excellence Award for outstanding work in their respective fields.

You can see them, and other Menorah Park stories, on Ohio.com at this link http://videos.ohio.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=39540431&item_index=1&query=menorah

New Years - Part 2

2011-01-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the Ivy Room (our activities room) is getting a makeover and will be closed for about 2 weeks. Many of our activities have been moved to the Bluebell Room on the 3rd floor for the duration of the work. So far, so good! Residents are finding us, and everyone is dealing well with all of the temporary changes to our schedule. It'll be over before we know it, and, to paraphrase Gloria Gaynor, we will survive! (OK, put on your disco pants and get ready to boogie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faf1ch7Q9XE

Oh, and here's the rest of the video from our New Years Party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-9dj4mqTG0

You know, I should take some of our New Years footage and sync it to the Gloria Gaynor soundtrack. Yeah. Like I have time to play on the computer.

Shocking New Video

2011-01-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

So, I was able to sneak into Ross's office with my flip camera, and I caught part of a private meeting with Linda.

Go to the blog to watch if you do not see it in your email: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

New Years Party - Part 1

2011-01-07T11:02:00.002-05:00

Here's some of our New Years video. More on the way!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUO75vUf7tE

Blog: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

100 Posts!

2011-01-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

I just realized that we reached a milestone. Yesterday's post was our 100th! And we only just started blogging in May. I'm looking for close to 200 posts for the entirety of 2011.

Happy surfing! And here are some photos from our New Years Party. Video coming soon!

Botanical Gardens, Parts 2 and 3

2011-01-05T22:22:00.003-05:00

Here's more footage from our outing to the Botanical Gardens. I posted part 1 last week, here's part 2 and 3. Part 3 is around 6 minutes long, but that's edited down from mostly one take that was almost 15 mins. long. I'm learning.

Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8V-MhRwouE

Blog: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

Here's the YouTube link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W00MBqgt9ok

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

I'm a little behind in my blogging. This video post is from last week's outing to the Botanical Gardens. It's actually only part 1. Videos are very large files and take a while to edit and upload. Plus, there's that whole learning curve thing.

I do have video (and photos) from our New Years party. With any luck, we should be seeing that one by May.

If you are a subscriber and are reading this in your email inbox, and you can't see the video, here are the links:

YouYube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snX7aWnpZpE

Stone Gardens Blog: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

Video Blog - Bingo!

2010-12-22T16:41:00.000-05:00

Still learning the video blog ropes here. I'll admit that this is not one of our most exciting activities, at least not as a spectator, but I'm just trying stuff with the camera.

What I've learned so far is that this blog site does like very large files, and videos are generally large files. I even found a program that converts and compresses video files, but even after using that, the site wouldn't let me upload.

So, YouTube it is. Which is fine. The only people this really affects are the people who are reading this in their email right now - the subscribers. So, any time I post a video I'll share the link to the blog and to the YouTube site. Just click on either one of those and you'll see the video. .

If you're on the blog site right now, the YouTube video should be visible just below and you should just be able to click and watch.

Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fpdKc8UyJU&feature=recentf

Here's the blog link: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

First Video Blog

2010-12-20T21:14:00.003-05:00

So, I got the Flip camera. Recording on it easy. Posting to this blog proved to be a bit harder. However, I was able to upload the video to YouTube and then post the YouTube video on this blog. It's below.

I realize that not everyone who subscribes can see the video in their email. So, here are two possible solutions:

1) Go to the blog site and view the post there: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

2) Here's the youTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq3IdWi4vAU

Before you watch the video, here are a few pieces of information and disclaimers:

1) This was my first time using the Flip camera.

2) The video is 4 mins. and 24 seconds long. You are not obligated to watch the entire thing.

3) I will learn how to edit soon.

4) I will learn how to aim the camera at myself so you are not looking up my nose.

5) If there were anything unsightly about the inside of my nose, I would not have posted the video. Don't worry.

6) Now that I told you that, you will probably only be looking at the inside of my nose.

7) There is probably a way to post the videos directly to this blog without going through YouTube. I am working on that.

8) Please feel free to email me at nbudin@menorahpark.org with tips about shooting and posting with the Flip camera.

OK. Enjoy the video.

Videos on the Blog

2010-12-17T09:50:00.004-05:00

Some subscribers cannot see YouTube videos posted to the blog in their email versions. To view the video, go to the actual blog site: http://stonegardensmenorah.blogspot.com/

I do plan to start video blogging soon using a pocket digital recording device. I hope subscribers will be able to view those videos in their inboxes. If anyone has any advice about which digital device works best, let me know!

Thanks.

Still on Jury Duty

2010-12-16T10:10:00.001-05:00

I was able to sneak a camera into the courtroom yesterday. The following is footage from the trial:

Justice Continued

2010-12-15T11:14:00.006-05:00

For those of you who might live out of town, or even out of the country, I didn't want you to think that yesterday's post pictured our actual Justice Center.

Here's a real view of Cleveland's Justice Center. It's the large square building center right:

Here's an aerial view of Downtown Cleveland.

And here are the two places where I spend most of my time.

BTW, in case you were wondering, in my 2 and a half days of jury duty so far, I've convicted 6 people without ever have gone to trial.

Justice, Justice, I Shall Pursue

2010-12-14T12:05:00.005-05:00

Dear Readers -

I am on jury duty this week and will not be taking any pictures at work to post, and I did not bring my camera to the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland, although I was able to download a picture of it.

Be assured that there is still a lot going on at Stone Gardens! We'll resume blogging soon!

Chanukah, Oh Chanukah

2010-12-11T16:44:00.008-05:00

Chanukah has come and gone. Here are some pics from over the holiday.

This is our 7th annual Rock For All Ages Chanukah Concert with one of my favorite musical groups: Noah Budin and The Promised Band.

FUNdamentals

2010-12-11T16:38:00.008-05:00

Twice a month we get a visit from some of the children from our FUNdamentals day care center. Mostly, we sing. But the children love to interact with the residents.

We Got Culture

2010-12-11T16:25:00.008-05:00

Last week we went to Cleveland's legendary Silver Grille in the Higbee Building on Public Square. The restaurant is no longer functional, but the room is used for special events.

We heard four brilliant piano students from CIM perform pieces by Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Scarlatti. All of the pianists have competed in, and won many, international piano competitions.

After the concert, we were served a nice lunch.

We were brave and hearty souls. While cozy inside, this is what it looked like outside.

A Little Music, A Little Schmoozing...

2010-12-10T13:31:00.007-05:00

Cantor Kathy Sebo brought her Community Choir from The Temple-Tifereth Israel to sing for us before Chanukah. The chorus is made up of congregants who get together and rehearse and take their show on the road to Jewish nursing homes and other Jewish organizations a couple of times per year.

Shaker Lakes

2010-12-10T12:46:00.005-05:00

I'm catching up on some blogging.

Here's an outing we took last month to the Shaker lakes nature Center to do some birdwatching.

We actually did see birds. Here's a Redheaded Woodpecker.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Resident

2010-12-10T11:07:00.005-05:00

Here's RA Karen Gilbert doing what she does best...well, one of the things she does best.

She sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to this resident for his birthday. And, as you can see, went above and beyond the call of her job description! Karen goes above and beyond often for our residents. This is why she's won Employee of the month twice in recent months!

Amazing Story! The Real Steven Tyler of Aerosmith called Menorah Park Campus resident today!

2010-12-03T11:37:00.005-05:00

Dear Readers:

I'm sharing this email I got yesterday from Sherry Gavanditty in Public Relations. This really is an AMAZING story. I'm just reprinting Sherry's email here word for word.

You can also check out this article from the Cleveland Jewish News from a couple of weeks ago. http://cjn.org/articles/2010/11/19/news/local/doc4ce5837b34f24654365636.txt

Amazing Story! The Real Steven Tyler of Aerosmith called Menorah Park Campus resident today!
SERIOUSLY! REALLY! And it was “Amazing!” Steven Tyler of Aerosmith called my
office phone today to talk to a Menorah Park Campus resident! By now, most of you have heard the story of Susan Marshall, a former model from New York who now has Lou Gehrig’s disease. At 72 pounds, she can’t use her arms or legs, or even talk, but she can communicate through a computer monitor and a metal dot pasted to her forehead, which she directs letter by letter until sentences are formed. Susan recently began working with Rabbi Ephraim Karp because it was her dream to become a Bat Mitzvah. After much hard work and tenacity, Susan’s dream of a Bat Mitzvah is coming true this Sunday. It’s miraculous that technology can help her speak the thoughts and words that cannot escape her lips. During her rehearsals, a short while back, she confided in us that it was also her dream to have Steven Tyler attend her Bat Mitzvah. (Her parents and his parents knew each other in New York many years ago, and his parents even attended her wedding!) And now, part two of Susan’s dream: Today, Steven called her! He was sad that he couldn’t make the ceremony,
because he’ll be playing for Oprah Winfrey in Washington D.C. that day, but he talked directly to her through a speakerphone for about 20 minutes, as Susan listened with a huge smile on her face and a pool of emotions running through her. Those of us in the room were wide-eyed with astonishment and happiness for Susan. It was truly heartwarming to see that in the busy world of a Rock Star as huge as Steven Tyler, he made time to let Susan know he loved her and wished her a happy holiday season. He even spoke a bit of Hebrew to her! Wow! What a true miracle we’ve experienced for Susan on this first day of Chanukah! Menorah Park is all about making our residents happy, and about helping them to know how much they are loved -- and appreciated; and that their dreams matter to us. On this Campus, we see miracles, large and small, happening all around us, everyday! Today was no exception, just ask Susan!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Sherry

Sherry Gavanditti

Public Relations & Media Specialist

Menorah Park Campus

27100 Cedar Road

Beachwood, Ohio 44122

Phone: 216-839-6687

Email: SGavanditti@MenorahPark.Org

Web: http://www.menorahpark.org

Shine On, Shine On...

2010-11-17T17:16:00.017-05:00

...Harvest Moon.

We held our annual Harvest Moon Ball last week (one of the four annual dances we have here).

This is the Ivy Room (our activities room) starting to get dressed up for the party.

And here we are getting the party started. That's Ray Kasl at the keyboard, who brings an entire orchestra with him. We couldn't see the orchestra, but we could hear it.
On the right is Sarah. She's either growing an extra hand or is dancing with a resident. I vote for the extra hand because we could use one around here.

We got dressed up (You can't see me because I'm taking the pictures, but I'm actually wearing my $3800 Bottega Veneta suit. Or maybe it was just a tie with pictures of cows on it.), danced the night away, sang along, and were treated to donuts and hot, spiced cider. (It was spiced, not spiked.)

Veterans Day

2010-11-17T16:57:00.010-05:00

Last week we recognized our veterans at Stone Gardens with a moving ceremony. Each vet got a moment to say a few words and tell us his or her branch of service, rank and where they served. The ceremony also included readings, patriotic songs and a video tribute to our men and women in uniform.

There are two women at Stone Gardens who are vets.

This is one well-loved vet!

We have many extraordinary men and women here at Stone Gardens and we are profoundly grateful to all of them, our staff members, and all of our family members and readers of this blog who served our country.

2010-11-15T16:25:00.006-05:00

We were privileged last week to have had a visit from concert violinist Yvonne Hsueh (pronounced like Shoe) from Oregon. She was in town to play pieces from the movie Schindler's List with members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Columbus, and here at The Temple - Tifereth Israel (a.k.a. Silver's Temple) in commemoration of the anniversary of Kristallnacht. She was looking for places to play while in town, and Cantor Kathy Sebo put her in touch with us!

She was accompanied by Eric Charnofsky from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Contest Winner

2010-11-12T15:22:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Ellen Botnick for getting every single one of the answers to the Name the Painting and Artists contest correct! Ellen won a pair of movie tickets.

Here are her answers (you can scroll down tot he blog post below to see the pictures. If you are getting this as a subscription and are not on the actual blog site, you can get there by clicking here):
1. Monet - Water Lilies
2. Degas - Frieze of Dancers
3. Pierre Puvis de Chavannes - Summer
4. Van Gogh - The Large Plane Trees
5. Picasso - La Vie
6. Jackson Pollock - November 5th 1950
7. Krasner - Celebration (Pollock's wife)

Congratulations again to Ellen.

Keep watching this spot for more contests and fun.

Warning: This Blog Contains Nudity!

2010-11-02T11:49:00.017-04:00

Well, not really. But, look closely and you'll see what I mean.

This blog post IS a contest, however. With real prizes.

These are photos from our recent trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art. I was going to cite the artists and picture titles as you scrolled down, but what fun would that be? (I mean, for me...it wouldn't be fun. It would be work.) I thought it would be more fun to see who amongst our readers and residents can correctly name the most pictures and artists. The winner will get a pair of movie tickets. There will be one pair for our on-line winner, and one pair for a winner from inside the building (I will print out the pictures for those without Internet).

Send me your answers at nbudin@menorahpark.org. You'll have until Monday, Nov. 8th, 12 noon EST. The email with the most correct answers and the earliest time stamp will be the winner.

So, do you know your Monet from your Manet? Get ready...GO!

Here's our good looking group getting ready to explore the galleries.

Here's our resident artist Hy Snell looking at a famous painting. I think there's enough of it visible in this picture for you to identify. This is #1:

This is one of my favorite paintings (and a pretty good resident, too!). This is #2:

I hope you can see enough of this one. If you know your art at all, you should be able to at least be able to identify the genre. (Oh, and there might be nudity in this painting). It's #3:

OK. At least give me the artist for these two. The one on the right is #4:

Here's more nudity. #5:

This is Super Volunteer Arlyne with a resident. There is no painting to identify here.

I love this artist. It's not to everyone's taste, but this one of my favorites in this museum. And no, your children can not make paintings like this. If they could, they would be hanging in a museum. The pictures, not your children. #6:

Here's the last one. I've included a second shot with more of the painting visible. Extra points if you can tell me the relationship between the last one, #6, and this one, #7:

So, there are seven paintings in all to identify - Title and Artist. Remember, send me as much information as you can about each one by Monday, November 8, 12:00 noon, and you could win movie tickets! Good Luck!

The Mayor of Stone Gardens Celebrates a Birthday!

2010-11-01T16:50:00.005-04:00

The Day the Cow Ate My Shirt

2010-10-21T16:24:00.019-04:00

This wasn't the cow that ate my shirt. That picture comes later. But this is one of the cows at Lake Farmpark. We went there last Wednesday on our weekly outing.

First we took a tractor ride up to the Well Bred Shed.

These piglets were only 10 days old. They were born on 10/10/10.

Here's a turkey. And he's looking at a big bird of some kind.

Sheep:

These baby goats were 3 weeks old.

They were making us feel welcome by reenacting a Stone Gardens staff meeting. (Just KIDding).

Here's a one month old calf named Ulysses.

And Here's Ulysses eating my shirt. (Worth the wait, wasn't it?)

"MacDonald's Revenge"

And finally, we got to milk one of the cows.

Dancing Wheels

2010-10-21T15:50:00.013-04:00

We had a visit from our Scholars on Campus this week - Dancing Wheels.

The Dancing Wheels Company is proud to be recognized worldwide as America’s first and foremost physically integrated dance company. In 1980, Founding Artistic Director Mary Verdi-Fletcher revolutionized the concept of physically integrated dance, opening the doors for thousands of artists with and without disabilities to perform together on an equal basis. For more than a quarter of a century, The Dancing Wheels Company has reached audiences of over 3.5 million people with school assembly programs, workshops, residencies, story ballets and main stage concert performances worldwide.

Click here to see an excellent 2 and a half minute video about Dancing Wheels.

A Visit From The Lt. Governor

2010-10-19T13:04:00.009-04:00

Lee Fisher, the Lt. Governor of Ohio and candidate for the U. S. Senate made a campaign stop at Stone Gardens today. He came during lunch and went from table to table.

Mr. Fisher was already on the bus to go to his next stop when we told him that this resident (below) wanted to see him. He jumped right off the bus when he heard her name, came back in and gave her a hug. Apparently, she was good friends with the Fisher family and she known him "since kindergarten."

(We do not endorse any candidate. All candidates are welcome to come to Stone Gardens (and the Menorah Park campus). When a candidate requests it, we make room on our schedule and let the other candidates know that they are welcome, too.)

Where in the World Are You?

2010-10-08T15:20:00.006-04:00

I recently stumbled upon some statistics about our little blog. I can't vouch for the accuracy of them because I'm not really sure what I'm looking at - and that's pretty much par for the course. But, it seems that this blog has been viewed in several countries besides the United States.

I wasn't surprised by the hits we've gotten in Israel; we have several family members there, and I know they're avid readers of this blog. Here's a big shout out to my Yerushalayim Chaverim! Yo! (Which is really just "Oy" backwards.)

I wasn't even surprised by the hits in Sweden. The Budin family here in America has made (virtual) friends with a Budin family in Sweden via Facebook. In fact, there's another Noah Budin in the world. He happens to be a blond, 10 year old, non-Jewish Noah Budin in Sweden. The Swedish Budins seem to follow the American Budins' lives here in America with keen interest, at least as much as Facebook will allow.

This is Swedish Noah Budin holding one of my CDs.

The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?

However, I was surprised by much of the rest of the list. Here are the other countries where our blog has been viewed:

Canada
India
Argentina
Ireland
Russia
China
Germany

If you are in any of those countries, or anywhere else in the world, and you are reading this blog, we'd love to hear from you! Drop me a quick note at nbudin@menorahpark.org and let me know where you are and why you happened to log on to our little slice of the blogosphere.

Also, feel free to "Friend" me on Facebook. But, when you search for Noah Budin and all of the profile pics come up, I'm not the blond one.

Tales From the Sukkah

2010-10-06T18:40:00.017-04:00

We had a busy - and joyous! - Sukkah holiday. Below are 15 photos from various Sukkah events.

The first 11 or so are from our Sukkah Hop outing where, every year, we are welcomed by Rabbi and Mrs. Rennert to their Sukkah for a meal, learning, shmoozing, singing and delighting in all of the children.

Here's a picture of our volunteer (Volunteer of the Year!) Arlyne and the Rabbi learning how to shake the Lulav. Arlyne was learning. The Rabbi already knows how.

The Rabbi is the one with the beard.

They sang to us on the bus as we were leaving.

Most Authentic Sukkah Award

2010-10-01T12:17:00.000-04:00

You Say Succos, I Say Sukkot

2010-09-27T12:00:00.009-04:00

Sukkot is here and we are celebrating!

Menorah Park sponsored a "contest" in which all of the buildings and units submitted a model sukkah. They're all on display at Menorah park in the "Fish Tank" lobby. Guess which one is ours.

This is Ellen Themes (on the right) our Art Therapist, and M. E. Kuzma, an Art Therapist intern from Ursuline, with one of our residents who worked on the sukkah. The "awards ceremony" is tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll let you know what happens.

Here's one of our residents decorating our real sukkah. The weather was great (even a little hot as it got near 90!) for eating in it the first two days, but Saturday it dipped down into the 60's. We do have a heater in there, so it's doable for the brave hearted.

Apparently, It IS Easy Being Cheesy

2010-09-20T16:54:00.006-04:00

Our dietary department has been working on a cheese recipe. Our Sous Chef Matthew whipped up this homemade Mozzarella cheese and let me sample it so I could write about it. (I love this job.)

According to Matthew, it only took about 45 minutes to complete this cheese. And it was delicious! I think there are some plans to share this cheese making process with the residents in some kind of programmed format. I'll let you know.

They have already done a cheese sampling in the dining room. The herbs and tomatoes were from our garden. (The pictured tomatoes are store-bought.)

Chag Sameach!

2010-09-20T12:11:00.005-04:00

All of us at Stone Gardens wish all of you a Happy, Healthy, and Sweet New Year!

Here are some lessons I've learned here over the years:

Embrace life! Live every day as fully as possible.

Don't take life too seriously all the time. Make sure you take a least a few moments out of every day to laugh (or, at least, smile).

You can do anything in the appropriate setting with the right encouragement.

Milk it for all it's worth.

Another Reason Every Apartment Has a Safe

2010-09-16T20:47:00.003-04:00

A resident shows off some jewelry she got at a grandson's bar mitzvah.

Lots of Talent

2010-09-15T14:08:00.014-04:00

Four times a year we have a resident talent show here at SG. We have some very talented residents! Here are some of the pictures (I rarely publish names of our residents on the blog for privacy and safety concerns, but enjoy the photos!) There were some perennial favorites and some surprise performers as well.

This resident is either trying to remember the words or, more likely, trying not to look at me.

Here are some of the audience members laughing heartily at...

...who else?

We always end with a performance by our very own Stone Gardens Singers led by music therapist Katie Gardner. Katie spend the months and weeks prior to the talent show writing original words to familiar songs with the residents, and then rehearsing them.

She has also taught them how to play chimes while singing!

Caption Contest

2010-09-14T12:47:00.005-04:00

Caption this photo and send your entries to nbudin@menorahpark.org.

The winners (and, hey, you're all winners in my book) will get their captions published on this blog. Hooray.

Volunteer of the Year

2010-09-08T10:30:00.004-04:00

Stone Gardens is proud to announce that the Menorah Park Volunteer of the Year award went to Arlyne Rosen.

Arlyne has been a volunteer here at Stone for over ten years. She started when her mother, of blessed memory, was a resident here, stayed on when her mother moved to Menorah Park, and even after her mother passed (she lived to 100!). Arlyne goes on nearly every outing with us - she knows the residents, how to get them on the bus, how to buckle them in, and how to accommodate them in any situation. She also volunteers twice a week in our studio. In short, she is Superwoman.

(Center: Arlyne Rosen. L - R: Noah Budin, Ross Wilkoff, Sarah Taub)

We have been nominating Arlyne for several years and the competition is stiff. We are so happy that she won this award. Arlyne is truly deserving of it.

Fall Blossom

2010-09-07T11:12:00.010-04:00

We went to Blossom Music Center on Sunday August 29th to hear the Blossom Festival Orchestra perform a program of music from the 1940s.

Fist we picnicked on the beautiful grounds. The woman standing is the terrific Kathy Pahr, the Orchestra's group sales coordinator. She has helped to make our visits to Blossom this summer so successful and enjoyable! The entire staff - in sales and at the facility - is phenomenal. We really appreciate their attention to detail and human kindness. It's wonderful to see such good customer service being practiced in this day and age!

These two lovely ladies (below) look like best friends but they just met that moment. The one on the left is Mary, the outstanding bus driver we've had for both Blossom outings.

We just happened to run into Logan Wells, another terrific person and one of our favorite Stone Gardens entertainers. She recognized us and came over to say hello. She's on the right.

Here we are walking to the tram.

The tram takes us all the way down to our seats.

This is WCLV founder Robert Conrad introducing the program.

Here's the conductor, Loras John Schissel.

Here's a link to the Cleveland Orchestra's blog.

Adaptive Living Shoppe

2010-09-01T15:26:00.002-04:00

Menorah park recently opened the Adaptive Living Shoppe. The store carries items for sale and rent that can help people in every area of day to day living.

There's a new video up on YouTube about it. Seeing is better than reading in this case, so click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhdwGZZW0Cg

DriveWise

2010-09-01T11:55:00.002-04:00

Maybe you've heard about our Menorah Park DriveWise program.

This isn't it.

But if you have a loved one who is still driving and you'd like to make sure they stay safe, check out the Drive Wise link here: DriveWise.

Assisted Living Tip of the Day

2010-08-31T10:59:00.004-04:00

Also:
Don't run away from walking water.
Don't stand in standing water.
Don't sit in frozen water.
Don't walk away from Running Water especially if "Running Water" is a Native American. It would be rude.
Don't swim in the Cuyahoga River water.
Don't drink the south of the boarder water.
And never walk away while passing water.

Call Us Ishmael

2010-08-29T14:53:00.024-04:00

Here are some images from our outings on the Goodtime III over the last two weeks.

The Goodtime III is an excursion ship here in Cleveland. We took the lunchtime cruise and guided tour of the Cuyahoga River. We also went out onto Lake Erie for a bit. The weather was perfect for both days of our outing, and some of us went up onto the second deck to get a bird's eye view of Cleveland.

The Captain came and sat with us for a while.

Me at Work. Again.

2010-08-29T14:52:00.000-04:00

She Had Them Kvelling in the Aisles

2010-08-26T16:51:00.007-04:00

Sharon Daniels, the daughter two of our residents, lives in Florida and is a professional performer. While here visiting, she graced us with a show of unparalleled splendor. Sharon is a singer, comedienne and does impersonations.

I have never seen our Ivy Room fill up so quickly and so completely. We opened the wall and the dining room was filled half way back. Sharon did not disappoint!

Here she is as Joan Rivers.

She had the entire audience laughing and clapping for an hour.

Here she is as Dr. Ruth.

The best part, though, was watching her parents. The kvel factor was high that night!

Me At Work

2010-08-22T15:35:00.004-04:00

Correction

2010-08-22T10:29:00.005-04:00

I included a link in my last in my last posting about Hy Snell. I identified the link as a link to an article in the Sun Press about Hy's recent Art Show at Stone Gardens. It was a link to an article about Hy Snell and his art, but it was from a February article. Here is the correct link http://blog.cleveland.com/sunpress/2010/08/menorah_park_resident_92_to_di.html
We do not really regret the error since Hy, at 91 years old, seems to be a very busy artist, and we think that's pretty good. In fact, we are constantly inspired by our residents.

Tiny Bubbles

2010-08-20T09:55:00.012-04:00

We had a Hawaiian themed day on Tuesday this past week. It included a Hawaiian style BBQ for lunch, and a "Tiny Bubbles" Cocktail party out on out Lanai (aka the Rose Garden).

Wine and Roses and Our Artist

2010-08-20T09:33:00.008-04:00

Last weekend was our resident artist Hy Snell's Art Show here at Stone Gardens (See the post from last week).

So, to kick it off, we had a Wine and Roses reception in our Rose Garden.

Here's the artist dancing (yes, we had music out there) with Dee, another resident's daughter.

The Sun Press ran a very nice article about HY. You can find it here: Hy Snell Article

And here's Hy with his daughter, Amy.

Here are two of his works that were shown on our walls. Hy's work is for sale, and he sold a few pieces last weekend. I'm sure he'd be willing to talk to you about a beautiful addition for your den or office!

Stories and Music

2010-08-19T15:15:00.008-04:00

Catching up on some blogging! There's so much going on here. it's hard to keep up!

On August 11th we were fortunate to have a visit from nationally known Jewish storyteller Corinne Stavish. Corrine is from Michigan and was in for a Jewish Educator conference at the Siegal College of Judaic Studies. We were so glad to be ale to get her to come and do a program for us.

On Tuesday, Aug 10th, Sarah took a group to the Beachwood Aquatic Center for an outdoor concert. As you can see, a good time was had by all.

Me at work

2010-08-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

Frog Blog

2010-08-13T18:31:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Sandy Waters who sent me this picture of a frog that has taken up residence in the pond in our Garden (just outside the side door on the south side of the building).

Lots of Photos!

2010-08-13T15:04:00.014-04:00

These are all photos from August 3rd.

Here's Matt (L) and Anthony (R), our chefs, preparing for the BBQ dinner for that evening. It might be safe to say that corn on the cob was on the menu.

Before dinner, we had a cocktail hour.

Linda agreed to be a guest bartender since I wouldn't know a mixed drink from mixed doubles at Wimbledon.

Dee, a family member, was there and volunteered to help also.

Here's Dee with her father.

David (our Dietary Manager) did give me a quick lesson in mixology and I did pretty well. Rum and Coke anyone? I can do that one.

Here are two happy customers at the BBQ dinner later that evening.

The dinner was finished off with root beer floats (parve, of course).

Concert in Our Rose Garden

2010-08-03T11:53:00.006-04:00

Bert Stratton (of the Yiddishe Cup Klezmer Band) played an outdoor concert for us last week. The Garden was filled to capacity and everyone had a great time. Thanks, Bert!

Picnic at Edgewater

2010-08-03T11:46:00.010-04:00

The title says it all!

Artist at Stone

2010-08-03T09:49:00.004-04:00

Stone Gardens resident Hy Snell has been a professional artist most of his life. He has worked in 3 dimensional and 2 dimentional media, and continues to paint into his 90s.

Some of Hy's works will be featured in a mini-show here. From August 12 - 15, Hy's work will be displayed in our main hallway on the first floor. All of the pieces will be available for sale.

Stop in and check it out!