January 2019 The Messenger 415 River Street W. Tweed, ON. K0K 3J0, P. O. Box 200 www.moiraplace.com Telephone: 613-478-5524 Message from the Administrator Celebrating Welcome to 2019! I hope that you’ve been able to ring in the New January Year in style, comfort and health. We are looking forward to another year of providing high quality care and services to you and your loved ones at Moira Place. We have a fabulous team here and our Mission focuses around the people who live in our Home. Our Mission states: “AON Long-Term Care Homes are dedicated to New Years Day creating a ‘new tradition of long term care’ by combining a January 1 comfortable environment with flexible programs tailored to individual needs. We will provide a supportive, home-like environment that ensures the maximum independence, dignity, Art Entertains safety, and wellness of every one of our residents.” January 3 On December 12th we had our 2nd Indoor Santa Claus Parade. Our thanks go out to all of the Moira Place staff who put together floats to entertain our residents, along with Bryan Skillen and his miniature Pub Night horses who pulled Santa Claus throughout the home. The parade was January 9 a great success and was extremely well received by our residents, visitors and staff. A special thanks to Santa Claus for taking time out from his busy schedule to join in on the fun. Mike Entertains Continuous quality improvement is a journey that we undertake daily January 16 and if you have any suggestions for helping us along this journey, please don’t hesitate to share with us. One forum for assisting here is the Family Council. This is a council that the Ministry of Health & Manning Brothers Long-Term Care encourages in all long-term care homes across the Entertain Province. A few of the duties of the Family Council as laid out in the Long-Term Care Homes Act are: “1. Advise residents respecting January 23 their rights and obligations under this Act. 2. Advise residents respecting the rights and obligations of the licensee under this Act and under any agreement relating to the home.” There are a number Birthday Party of other duties / obligations of the Family Council as specified in the January 30 Act and we would ask that you consider volunteering to sit on this Council. As we have not had an active Family Council for some time, we will be holding meetings twice per year to see if people would be interested in joining and assisting us. Look for information posted in the Home and in the next newsletter regarding a meeting in February that you are welcome to attend. 2019 will see us celebrating our 10th anniversary, which is really hard to believe. Stay tuned throughout the year as we’ll be celebrating along the way and looking for your input. All the best of 2019, Michael O’Keeffe Administrator Gentle Giant Robert Homme, children's entertainer (born in Stoughton, Wisconsin 1919; died at Grafton, Ont. 2 May 2000). Bob Homme was known to generations of preschool Canadian children as "The Friendly Giant." The CBC television program established Homme as one of the country's earliest, most beloved and memorable entertainers of young people. The premise of the show was very simple: a drawbridge would be lowered at the beginning of each epi- sode, inviting young viewers to enter the castle of their mild-mannered host. They would be shown to their choice of seats ("one little chair for you, a bigger chair for two to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair"). Once figura- tively nestled by the fire, they would be instructed to "Look up...way up" and would proceed to be entertained with conversation, stories and music. Partaking in the fun were Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster, both performed by puppeteer Ron Coneybeare. Musical sequences featured Homme playing various wind instruments such as the clarinet, recorder and tin whistle, accompanied by Jerome singing and Rusty on the harp. Children were introduced to varying styles of music including a weekly appearance by a duo of bopping feline puppets known as the Jazz Cats. After 26 years on the air, Homme had created more than 3000 episodes of The Friendly Giant seen in Canada as well as in the US on various PBS affiliate stations. In 1984, the program was cancelled as a result of budgetary cutbacks at the CBC. The show ceased production in March 1985. In honour of his lifetime achievements, Homme was presented in 1998 with the Order of Canada. Numerous pieces from The Friendly Giant set, including the castle, miniature chairs and puppets Jerome and Rusty, are on display at the CBC Radio and Television Museum in Toronto. They are visited each year by generations of Friendly Giant fans who were delighted and comforted by the gentle giant. Marion & her family. Food Committee Meeting. New Year, Lasting Traditions Another new year begins, and all around the world people will be popping champagne, singing “Auld Lang Syne,” and kissing loved ones at the stroke of midnight. But just why, exactly, do we repeat these New Year’s traditions year after year? Bubbly champagne is the drink of choice on New Year’s. Its invention is often credited to Dom Perignon, the Benedictine monk who oversaw the wine cellars of his abbey in the year 1697. While others saw bub- bles as a problematic sign that wine had spoiled, Perignon perfected the production of this new fer- mented drink known as champagne. From its begin- nings in the abbey cellar, champagne was regularly used in religious celebrations such as consecrations and coronations. It then made the natural transition to secular celebrations, most notably at the soirees of the French aristocracy. As champagne became cheaper and more accessible, it became the classiest beverage to offer during the holidays. Diane & Floyd working on a puzzle. Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns penned the words to “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788 and sent them to the Scots Musical Museum, requesting that his lyrics be set to an old Scottish folk tune. The phrase auld lang syne roughly translates to “for old times’ sake,” and, fittingly, the nostalgic song is about preserving friendships. The tune was often sung at funerals, farewells, and other group celebrations. It finally made it to America in 1929, when the Guy Lombardo Orchestra played it at a New Year’s celebration in New York’s Roosevelt Hotel. No New Year’s party is complete without a kiss at the stroke of midnight. In ancient times, the winter darkness was the domain of evil spirits. At New Year’s masquerade balls, scary masks were torn off at midnight, and a kiss was shared as an act of purification to chase away malign spirits. For centuries, New Year’s has been a time of celebration, nostalgia, and hope. Jane is waiting for lunch. Notice The Salon at Moira Place will be introducing new pricing to the residents of Moira Place, under the homes “Unfunded Services” agreement, effective January 1, 2019. Salon Services Shampoo & Set- $23.50 Men’s Cut- $17.00 Ladies Cut - $21.00 Beard Trim- $10.00 Shampoo, Cut & Set- Waxing- $10.00 $37.00 Manicure- $20.00 Perm, Cut, Set- $65.00 Colour, Cut, Set- $60.00 *Applicable taxes will be added to all services. Elizabeth poses for a picture with her daughter. Attention all Family Members When you bring in new clothing for your loved one, please be sure to leave it with the staff at the front desk. They will ensure that it gets labeled with the Resident’s name and then returned to their room. This helps to keep clothing from going missing. Edie is ready for dinner to be served. January 19th is Popcorn Day The Full Wolf Moon The January full Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of moon rises on the 21st. In the grass family. Popcorn differs from other types Native American and of maize/corn in that it has a thicker pericarp/hull. early Colonial times, the The hull allows pressure from the heated water to build and eventually bursts open. The inside starch Full Moon for January becomes gelatinous while being heated; when the was called the Full Wolf hull bursts, the gelatinized starch spills out and- Moon. It appeared when cools, giving it its familiar popcorn shape. wolves howled in hunger There is no such thing as “hull-less” popcorn. All outside the villages. popcorn needs a hull in order to pop. Some varieties Traditionally, the January Moon is also known of popcorn have been bred so the hull shatters upon as the Old Moon. popping, making it appear to be hull-less. Most pop- Moon Folklore corn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: A bright first Moon promises rain and a snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in bountiful harvest; a red-tinted Moon means movie theaters and ball- a dry year. parks because it looks and A growing Moon and a flowing tide are pops bigger. Mushroom is lucky times to marry. used for candy confections A halo around the Moon predicts wet or because it doesn't crumble. stormy weather. The world’s largest popcorn ball, according to Guinness World Records 2015, was created in 2013 at the Indiana State Fair. With the help of Pop Weaver, Snax in Pax, and Indiana's Family of Farm- ers, the popcorn ball weighed in at 6,510-pounds, 8 feet in diameter.