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 our How Caregivers Can Participate In Activities workshop at 3:00 pm on January 9^th, our 5th Annual “All Shook Up” Happy Hour at 3:00 pm on January 17^th, and our Come And Learn: Music Is Therapy workshop at 11:00 am on January 24^th. 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 Cape Coral. Let us join together in music and “Welcome New Beginnings”. 

Recognition is a Tradition at Juniper Village

Lynne Katzmann, founder of Juniper Village, recently came to our Cape Coral community to personally thank our staff for their dedication and caring through the annual Giraffe Awards. Juniper Giraffe awards are given once per year at each community.  They are the highest associate award given at Juniper and are only given by our founder and CEO, Lynne Katzman.  To receive a Juniper giraffe is the highest honor for our associates.  Juniper Communities chose the symbol of the giraffe to signify our highest honor for several reasons.  The giraffe is a symbol of sticking your neck your neck out and being willing to go above and beyond to serve others.  Also the giraffe has the biggest heart of all the mammals – and our honorees have the biggest heart too!

Celebrate Little Things: December Events

"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 as we

welcome back the return of Turner Talents. Be prepared for

a transformation of our dining room to a winter wonderland

as the talented performers truly take us on a magical journey.

Don't be surprised if you see Santa himself. As we keep our

troops near and dear to our hearts, we invite you to stop in

and drop off signed holiday cards. Lee Memorial Military

Outreach will be assisting us with sending these cards

overseas to our troops.

 

So, this holiday season please stop by

and celebrate with us as we

"Celebrate Little Things"

God Bless Our Veterans And Our Troops

 

At Juniper Village of Cape Coral we are proud to share that we have many veterans that reside here. It is always with honor that we salute our heroes when any opportunity arises. Sharing many stories of their experiences during the war was almost like taking a trip back in time. Each spoke with great pride and thorough details of how these life changing experiences made them the person that they are today. 

 

We did not forget the ones who are no longer here and in their honor we placed a "White Table" in their memory. 

This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone. It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that some are missing from our ranks.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.

The black napkin represents the sorrow of captivity.

The single red rose in the vase, signifies the blood that many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep the faith, awaiting their return.

The yellow ribbon on the vase represents the yellow ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted - they cannot toast with us at this time.

The chair is empty - they are not here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.

 

God Bless Our Veterans And Our Troops !!!!!!

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 Harry Chapin Food Bank all month, our Cherishing The Journey In Our Golden Years educational workshop about handling the challenges or stress of daily life including light refreshments on November 7 at 2:30 pm, and our "1^st Annual" Surviving The End of Hurricane Season Celebration featuring "virgin" New Orleans style hurricane cocktails and goodies plus a raffle for door prizes on November 14 from 4 pm until 5 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!

Afternoon Fall Tea Party

Juniper Village of Cape Coral was a sponsor with Tony Rotino Senior Center. It was a delightful afternoon tea with a fall theme. Everyone was serenaded by the sounds of the Joy Duet while enjoying delicious teas, finger sandwiches and delectable sweets. Fun and games were enjoyed by all who attended, as they were informed of all that Juniper Village has to offer. We continue to nurture the spirit in our community outreach.

 

  

 

 

FW: Aloha Juniper Style

 

 

As we welcome the month of friendship, we celebrate it Hawaiian style here at Juniper Village. Pina Colada orders were taken and decorated with the little umbrellas. Everyone looked amazing in their Hawaiian style attire.  And most joined in to try the limbo. The true spirit of Hawaii was in our building, as we all joined in to sing "Tiny Bubbles".

Don Ho would have been very proud of how wonderful we all sounded!







Lovely "Hula Hands" group dancing demonstration was a success with many our residents doing their best to join in. As the afternoon came to a close our guests, family members and friends all shared how much of an amazing time everyone had !!!!

A True Hero In Our Eyes

Recognizing our Hero here at Juniper was not a difficult task at all. Being a husband, a father, and a business owner was a handful of duties. However, this hero also found the time in his busy schedule to volunteer at his local fire department. Otto Liebl at the young age of 18 joined the fire department as a volunteer in Lindenhurst, New York.  Responding to emergency calls throughout the 24 hours of any given day. And yes, Otto saved lives on many occasions. Speaking with him, Otto would share many stories of his past during those years. For his services our Cape Coral Fire Department wanted to show their appreciation for the outstanding services Otto gave. A presentation on the history of how the fire department had evolved over the years was given by Firefighter Christopher Moore. A plaque of recognition and appreciation was presented to Otto. Wiping the tears from his eyes Otto graciously accepted his new treasure. However, the afternoon was not completed until Otto got to for one more ride on the BIG RED FIRETRUCK. Memories of the past seemed just like yesterday. We are proud of our hero and honored to know him.

 

 

 

 

Our Senior Prom

As another school year comes to an end our friends at Oasis Charter High School asked if we would be interested in starting a NEW tradition. "Of Course!!!" was our response. The students shared that they would like to have a "Senior To Senior" Prom. The news spread quickly throughout the building. Our residents were excited and looking forward to this wonderful event. A few of our couples were reminiscing of their Senior prom,and shared that they were each others date for the prom during high school. Residents shared their fond memories and experiences during high school with the students. We are thankful to Oasis Charter High School for this great opportunity. We wish the graduating class of 2013 the best in their new venture. Juniper is looking forward to another new year with our upcoming seniors.

 

 

 

 

 

Best Show in Town!

Come one, come all and be prepared to see the BEST show in town. Our residents made sure that they reserved seats for the families and friends for one of the best programs held here at Juniper Village. Stuart has performed for us in the past and has left our minds and hearts wanting more. As the room filled very quickly the show was ready to start. Stuart always has audience participation in the show. Hands were held up high and "Victims" were chosen. However, for volunteering you were rewarded with a souvenir. Our young volunteers were pleased and proud to show to off their "Magician Assistants" badges. Everyone was  amazed and stunned as how he was able to pull off these magic tricks. And, yes Stuart did pull a rabbit out of his magic box.  As the show came to a close, he was kind enough to have everyone greet  his magic rabbit. Stuart will be returning to Juniper Village in January, so I suggest you call and reserve your seats in the very near future. Thank You Stuart for another great show.