FEBRUARY 2018 Meet Your New Neighbors… John & Marilyn Sykas Welcome to Westview Meadows John & Marilyn Sykas! John was born in Barre, VT but only lived there a short while before moving just a stone’s throw away to Montpelier Marilyn was born right here in Montpelier and has since lived here her whole life John & Marilyn met while attending Montpelier High School and have been inseparable ever since After high school John joined the military at just 17 and served for ½ years After his service John worked in the family restaurant with his father, before moving on to working for the state John also served on the Vermont Employee Credit Union’s Board of Directors for 12 years, and was the President for two of those many years Marilyn stayed home and raised their three children; once the kids went on to school she became the assistant director for the areas senior centers that helped set up the organizations around Vermont After that she moved on to working at a local doctor’s office Upon retiring they both enjoyed getting in their car and going out for trips, like finding the best place to get a burger in Vermont They even took a trip to Greece with some of John’s brothers and their wives to see where his father was born Before moving to Westview they lived just down the road on Freedom Drive They also had a beautiful camp right on Lake Champlain in Grand Isle that they would spend their summers at enjoying the lake and tending to their gardens They said if you can garden anywhere it in Grand Isle, the elements are perfect for gardens! They have three children; Jack who lives in Burlington, Lynn who lives in WA, and Laurel who lives in Jericho Between their three children they have six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren They enjoy reading and working on puzzles these days, when they were younger they did a lot of gardening and golf John would tend to the vegetable garden while Marilyn tended to the flower beds John also is a master wood worker and has created much of the beautiful furniture in their apartment while Marilyn spent many years enjoying working on crafts So far their favorite thing about Westview Meadows is how marvelous, friendly, and kind the residents and staff are, one can feel the welcoming atmosphere everywhere Metropolitan Opera Series Cosi Fan Tutte Friday, February 2nd 1:15 pm Country Kitchen La Boheme Friday, February 16th 1:15 pm Country Kitchen February Activities February 2nd- MET Opera February 4th- Glorybound Singers February 4th- Super Bowl Party February 6th- Origami Creations February 9th- Images From a Polar Frontier February 13th- Mardi Gras Social Hour February 14th- Baron Wormser My Life in Poetry February 14th- Judi Byron, Harpist February 16th-MET Opera February 16th- Chinese New Year Dinner February 19th- Meet & Greet/Social Hour February 20th- Backyard Birds w/Maeve Kim February 21st- Farmer’s Night “Vermont Headstones” February 22nd- Out to Lunch: Sarducci’s February 22nd- Birch Tree Paint & Sip February 23rd- Restoration of the American Elm February 26th- Movie & Popcorn “Wonder” February 26th- Loss & Grief Support Group February 27th- Cooie DeFrancesco Performs February 28th- February Birthday Cake For times and locations please refer to calendar The Meadows Westview Meadows * 171 Westview Meadows Rd * (802) 223-1068 * Fax:(802) 223-3233 * www.westviewmeadows.com XXIII Winter Olympics Friday, February 9th – Sunday, February 25th Celebrating February Groundhog Day February XXIII Winter Olympics February 9–25 Mardi Gras February 13th Valentine’s Day February 14 Chinese New Year (Year of the Dog) February 16th February Birthdays Gloria Keefe February 2nd Shirley Hartson February 11th Connor Spencer February 12th Christina Gosselin February 13th Lisa Blais February 17th Helen Amadon February 20th Bob Watson February 23rd Lena Hutchins February 24th Chris McAfee February 26th This year’s Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea, this is the first time that the Winter Olympics have taken place in South Korea In total, 13 venues, split between PyeongChang and neighboring Gangneung, will be used during the 17 days of the Games Six new venues have been built, and additional venues have been renovated for the Games There will be a bulletin board in the Santa Maria Lounge loaded with profiles on the various Vermont Olympic competitors, facts about the mascot, and much more! Westview will also be keeping track of all of the medals Team USA wins along with the top five other countries This year a record 102 medals will be awarded in 15 disciplines Every day Westview will broadcast the games as they come on in the Main Dining Room on the big screen There will be a posted schedule of what will be playing for the day located next to the Dinner Sign-Up Sheet so you can come down for your favorite event and cheer on team USA! February 2018 Glorybound Country Gospel Singers Sunday, February 4th pm Main Dining Room Gospel music is a genre of Christian music The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace Super Bowl Sunday Party Sunday, February 4th 5:30 pm, Kick-Off at 6:30 Main Dining Room It’s the New England Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 2018 There will be a pre-party starting at 5:30 with snacks, beer and soda Then stay and watch the Super Bowl on Westview’s big screen with kickoff starting at 6:30 pm “Cracking the Shakespeare Code” Documentary Monday, February 5th 1:15 pm Country Kitchen Follow code-breaker Petter Amundsen and historian Dr Robert Crumpton as they investigate the secrets buried in Shakespeare's first folio and decipher a coded map that may lead to one of history's greatest treasures Origami Creations Tuesday, February 6th 4:00 pm Country Kitchen As an addendum to last month’s movie “Between the Folds”, Nicole will lead a workshop teaching participants how to create balloons and cranes from small pieces of paper There will also be a video about origami for those who missed the movie Images From a Polar Frontier By North Branch Nature Center Friday, February 9th 7:00 pm North Branch Nature Center Montpelier teacher and Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Susan Koch will share her images and experiences from a journey to Arctic Svalbard on National Geographic’s “Explorer.” Join Susan as she offers impressions and lessons about Arctic wildlife and sea-life, polar ice, and the impact of climate change on this remote area Baron Wormser “My Life in Poetry” Wednesday, February 14th 1:15 pm Main Dining Room Baron Wormser will read from his nine books of poetry and talk about the nature of poetry and his own career Wormser is the former poet laureate of the State of Maine and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation He is the author/co-author of sixteen books He teaches in the Fairfield University MFA Program and gives workshops throughout the United States Backyard Birds with Maeve Kim Tuesday, February 20th 1:15 pm Main Dining Room Maeve Kim from the University of Vermont will talk about the surprising behavior, astonishing skills, and uncommon knowledge of “common” birds! She will have lots of photos and stories (and even some sounds) Farmers Night “Vermont Headstones” Wednesday, February 21st 6:30 pm Vermont State House Vermont Headstones is a cycle of 12 songs by Stanley Charkey, performed by baritone Don Wilkinson, oboist Mary Cicconetti and violist Anya Shemetyeva Using poetic inscriptions from historic Vermont cemeteries the lyrics poignantly bring to life quiet moments from Vermont’s history The work celebrates the contributions of early Vermont farmers, settlers, soldiers, sailors and others to the rich tapestry that is Vermont Out To Lunch: Sarducci’s Thursday, February 22nd 11:30 am Montpelier Sarducci's is a Mediterranean style Italian restaurant Using the freshest available ingredients and offering a gluten free menu, they cater to families, special occasions and travelers alike Sarducci's is long renowned by the community for great food at reasonable prices Restoration of the American Elm Friday, February 23rd 1:15 pm Main Dining Room Prior to the arrival of Dutch Elm Disease, the American Elm was once the biggest, most abundant, and longest-lived tree on our northern floodplains Now, it rarely survives to maturity, leaving an important ecological niche unfilled The Nature Conservancy, along with the US Forest Service, is working to change that Thousands of experimental elms, containing the genetics from over 80 survivor elms are being planted in floodplains across northern Vermont and New Hampshire It's an ambitious project whose goals include improving floodplain function, enhancing resilience of floodplain forests through restoration of native diversity, and the return of a beloved species Gus Goodwin of The Nature Conservancy will provide an in-depth tour of the project, discussing natural history, ecology, conservation, and the cultural connections to elms that fuel the work Movie & Popcorn “Wonder” Monday, February 26th 1:15 pm Main Dining Room Entering fifth grade will be momentous for Auggie -because at last, he'll get to be ordinary While his facial deformity has previously kept him from attending regular schools, Auggie is determined to make his classmates see beyond his face Cooie DeFrancesco Performance Tuesday, February 27th 1:15 pm Main Dining Room Local blues and folk singer Caroline is a Vermonter Now she travels all around Vermont playing in different places and sharing her music with people Loss & Grief Support Group Monday, February 26th 3:30 pm Private Dining Room Losing a loved one is life changing Losing anything meaningful in your life is difficult to accept Grief isn’t just about a death Grief encompasses any kind of significant loss One could be grieving the loss of a loved one or the loss of an ability (to drive, to see well, hear well, work, etc.), a change in a living situation Each person is at a different stage of the grieving process But, we all have similar goals; to find or maintain meaning in life, regain happiness, to help others and find our way forward Come and support one another and discuss life’s changing events and help each other find or maintain goals