Cheese It Up with the Cheesiest Cheese Balls In Town!

Somewhere in our understanding of what is important in our work here at Juniper Village at Louisville, we may have stretched the boundary of importance to include being cheesy and making sure that everyone has a good time.

Sometimes when we're coming up with ideas for celebrating at our community, we specifically aim to achieve this goal. Fortunately, there are national days of celebration; such as, Cheese Ball Day that really enable us to do this type of an event rather easily (thank goodness that somebody, somewhere thought this should be a day to celebrate cheese balls, because we here at Juniper are on top of making this one of the most amazing days ever!)

So, with this in mind, we set out to have a cheesy day (which included cheesy attire…check out the picture of some of the leadership team members…kitty leggings, St. Patrick's Day cupcakes a full month later, sequin skirts, tulle skirts…florescent colors…if that is not the epitome of cheesy, then we don't want to know what is!) We also decided to tell cheesy jokes (not necessarily just about cheese…my personal favorite is: What did the Mama Tomato say to the baby tomatoes…catch up, catch up!) Then, we played a cheesy game with cheese balls (which is also a personal favorite). We had the staff sit with a shower cap on, which then had shaving cream placed on top of it while the residents threw cheese balls, with the aim of getting them in the shaving cream and sticking…needless to say, fun was had by everyone!

Please join us for any of our upcoming cheesy events, where we guarantee that fun will be had! Our next event is our Mother's Day Tea on May 10 at 10:30 a.m.

Whimsical, Whacky, Seussical Clapping

This is the second year in a row that we have celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday. He would have turned 101 this year, and last year was the big centennial, with everyone jumping on the bandwagon to celebrate all things Dr. Seuss…this year, we might have been one of the few, but we still had a GREAT time celebrating this wonderful man and his cherished children's stories.

Our play is really quite a bit of fun. We treat it more like it's an award show, and in between getting awards, our characters put on little skits from each of their respective stories. We, of course, had the Cat in the Hat along with Thing 1 and Thing 2 who caused a raucous amount of fun. Horton and the Mayor of Who-ville were there and they taught us that people are people no matter how small. The Lorax, our favorite environmentalist, and the Grinch, who likes to pretend like he doesn't care about anybody or anything, went around and met some of the audience. And, of course, the characters from Green Eggs and Ham taught us that sometimes we need to try something new.

It was fun as we celebrated the characters who have taught us and others so many morals to guide our life. If we're lucky, next year we will be able to have some new characters added to the play such as Sneetches and maybe a scene from the Butter Battle Book (because in this writer's opinion…it's the best Dr. Seuss book, however, most people are completely unaware of it!) We hope you enjoy the photos from this event…also, let us know if you have a favorite Seuss book that you would like to see us re-enact!

Easter Brunch and Egg Hunting

We love being able to celebrate with our residents and families. This is a traditional celebration in which Brunch is the central focus (because Brunch is amazing, and it really should be added as a mandatory fourth meal to the day).

We decorated the tables with confetti, lumineries, and paper bunnies. Then our masterful chefs came up with a wonderful selection of food; such as, fruit, pastries, muffins, croissants, eggs, quiche, sausage, bacon, waffles, and more. It really was wonderful and there was plenty of food for everyone. After we sat and ate while enjoying each other's company, we decided it was time to send the kids out into the courtyard on an Easter egg hunt.

The kiddos did an excellent job finding all the eggs and enjoying the treasures that they found.

Thank you to everyone who made our event a success today!

Thank You!

We want to take a few minutes to say thank you to our amazing families.  Here at Juniper Village at Louisville, we strive for excellence in all that we do. We truly want to set the bar for how a Memory Care Community should be run. For us, this isn’t just a job, it’s our livelihood, and because of that we say thank you to our friends and families who make it possible to do the work we love.

We have recently received a letter from a family expressing their gratitude for the love and care that their family member received here, and we thought it was worthwhile to share it with everyone else. Thank you for noticing the work that we do. Even if it goes unnoticed, we will continue to work diligently in caring for the residents who live here with us, because we are truly passionate about what we do!

Believe in Yourself: April Events

April, the month where we play innocent pranks on April Fool’s Day; celebrate Springtime and Easter with egg hunts, brunches, and church; pay homage to mother earth on Earth Day; and welcome the return of America’s favorite pastime – Baseball. This month we embark on a new quarter in our Alive in All Seasons calendar where we celebrate Healthy Aging and will “Let Wellbeing Thrive”. Throughout April our focus is on the brain and honoring the theme “Believe in Yourself”. Did you know that activities that are good for your heart are also good for your brain? The American Heart Association tells us that protecting memory and brain health is a matter of keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy. Regular cardio exercise and a healthy diet not only keep your heart happy, but your brain too.

This month’s offerings include activities and events that will keep our bodies and brains healthy and renew our faith in ourselves. Educational opportunities will cover brain health topics such as brain booster activities and ways to keep fit. We will rejoice in our individuality and celebrate ourselves through life affirming reminiscent and creative activities while reminding each other to “Believe in Yourself”.

Please join us here at Juniper Village at Louisville for our Easter Brunch on April 12^th from 10:00 am to 11:30 am; our Cheese It Up Cheese Ball Day celebration on April 17^th from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm; and our Pulse of the Office Event on April 23^rd from noon to 1:30 pm (RSVP to 303-665-3722 for a free massage or drop by for lunch and drinks). See our newsletter calendar for a complete listing of events and come visit us during any that suit your fancy!

H'Art and Soul of Dining - New Menus with Delicious Recipes!

We are proud to announce that on April 5th our revitalized spring/summer menus will begin for our H’Art and Soul of Dining Signature Program at all of our communities.  This new signature program will help us improve quality of life and whole person wellness for the individuals that call Juniper Village home.  We are very excited this season since the offerings will feature a delicious 5-week entrée select option featuring fabulous new choices using some of the fresh products available through our food vendors. Also, on our updated menus, we have added many lighter alternatives as well as recipes specific to each community that take into account special diets, regional tastes, food committee requests and our resident’s special needs and personal requests.  These changes to our meal plans significantly increase the variety of selections provided for our residents while focusing upon scratch made offerings and heart-healthy meals.  Furthermore, in celebration of our AIAS spring quarter “Healthy Aging,” our Grill Menus will be re-vamped to highlight healthier offerings throughout the season. In addition we will be implementing an innovative hydration assurance program served from our “Oasis Carts,” featuring a variety of flavored waters using citrus or mint or cucumbers, fresh brewed iced tea, lemonade, punch, smoothies and juices as well as nutritious snacks.

Below are some of the recipes featured on our new menu:

Carrot-Currant Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (to measure, spoon into a cup and level)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup carrot juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried currants
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together butter, egg, milk, carrot juice and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and gently fold just until moistened. Fold carrots and dried currants into the mix. Scoop batter into the muffin pan and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan (cool on a wire rack if you have one).

Yellow Squash Soup

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup diced yellow squash

3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can diced no-salt-added tomatoes

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Little Musings

So...in our humble opinion, we have one of the best jobs in the world. What does that mean...well, we get to come to work every day and spend our time with some of the most fascinating people in the world; our residents. Our residents have such varied backgrounds, and rich stories to tell about things that they've experienced in their lives. It's incredibly enviable, as I am only all to aware that I will not have such rich life stories to tell when I'm their age...just fascinating.

But beyond their life stories, they are these amazing people, and every day we catch these glimpses of how incredibly caring and loving our residents are, and it really is touching to see them. So today, we want to show some pictures that we captured around the building that made our hearts warm and fuzzy just to see how our residents interact with one another. Every day is varied and lovely, and we wouldn't trade this experience for all of the most wonderful experiences throughout the world. These are the moments that make us unique.

At Juniper, we see things differently, and we think that you'll notice when you come by to visit. Please do not hesitate to come by at any time. We are always looking for volunteers too, if there is any interest out there!