Cedar Village was filled with the wonderful sounds of big band music on President's Day.  The New Horizons Band, some 45 pieces strong, entertained with patriotic music as well as show tune medleys.  They are a wonderful group and the Wilbur and Mary Jean Cohen Religious and Cultural Center was packed full.  It was a great way to recognize the holiday!

Monday afternoon, after the concert, was also one of my favorite activities and that is the book club that I have the pleasure of facilitating with our residents.  Some of us heard Lee Woodruff speak at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon recently and the suggestion was made that we read her books for our book club selection. This month the book was "In An Instant" which she co-authored with her husband Bob Woodruff. It is the story of Bob's terrible injuries while covering the news in Iran, his recovery and their family.  We had some great conversation about it.  Next month's "pick" is her second book, "Perfectly Imperfect" and I am sure that will make for a lively afternoon's discussion as well!

On Wednesday, we had another in our series of wellness month programs.  First, we had a seated Tai Chi class which was a great success.  There is quite a bit of research about the benefits of Tai Chi with older adults and it was wonderful to see our residents participating in that.  We followed that with a thought-provoking lecture by Dr. Anthony Checroun. Dr. Checroun, an orthopedic surgeon, focused on how we can prevent injuries-a message we all need to hear!

New activities are also underway with our apartment residents.  We've now extended Opening Minds through Art, the very successful program we do in conjunction with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University, to these folks and it is going very well.  We're also doing, with the help of some other Scripps folks, a session of TimeSlips, a program of "story weaving" that has also been a great success elsewhere at Cedar Village.  Those are both Thursday morning programs-stop by and check them out sometime!

We're already deep into planning for the upcoming holidays.  Our Purim shpiel this year is a new one (at least new to us).  It's called "Megillah on the Roof" and yes, it is a parody of Fiddler.  We'll be "performing" (believe me, we use that term loosely) the shpiel on Purim afternoon, March 8, followed by the Megillah reading and, of course, some delicious hamantaschen.   

Speaking of hamantaschen, we will be baking hamantaschen with our residents in Health Care on Wednesday, March 7.  And don't think we take any shortcuts!  The residents make the dough, roll it, fill it and shape it and, while baking, we share wonderful holiday stories and memories.  If you're interested in joining us, let Marcia Westcott know. You can email her at  mwestcott@cedarvillage.org.  We'd love to have you with us!  

With Purim fast approaching, Passover is not far behind.  We will have a number of Seders here at Cedar Village, including our community Seder on Friday afternoon, April 6.  Reservation forms will be in the mail next week.

All the best,