Casa Mia Winter Newsletter 2016

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Christadelphian Aged Care W I N T E R N E W S L E T T E R

CASA MIA Address: 28 Alma Road, Padstow NSW, 2211

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Kindness is like snow It

beautifies

everything it covers

Phone: (02) 8707 6010

Email: admin@chomes.com.au

Manager’s Message

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Welcome to Casa Mia

Dear Residents and Families, It is hard to believe that Winter is here! Let’s hope that the warm days continue!

We have all but finished administering the Flu Vaccine to our Residents. Most of the staff have had them too. Whilst prevention is better than cure, having the Flu Vaccine does not guarantee that you won’t get sick. For that reason we ask that visitors stay away when you are unwell.

Federal Election - for Residents who wish to vote, we will have a polling booth here on the 21st June from approximately 2.30pm to 4pm. If you haven’t changed your residential details or would like to be removed from the electoral roll, please see any of the Activities Staff and they will provide you with a form that will need to be completed.

Please note that these are best completed prior to the election to avoid a fine.

If you have any concerns that you would like to raise please do not hesitate to see me, my door is always open.

Regards, Sharon Fletcher

Wash me, and I shall be

whiter than snow - Psalm 51:7 -

News & Upcoming Events UPCOMING EVENTS JUNE JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

1 Djoka S

6 Diane W

9 Phyllis H

3 Bev H

8 Sophia K

12 Amy J

3 Pat D

9 Lorraine D

12 Dmytro I

7 Robyn G

10 Bruce R

14 Phyllis A

8 Valda W

11 Alexios K

15 Joyce T

14 John D

26 Carmel W

18 John B

16 Olive C

20 Biruta U

17 Margaret W

20 Coralie M

20 Lola D 24 Jessie G

9th - Kris’s Feathered Friends 15th - Entertainer: Stan 21st - AEC: Voting for Residents 25th - Entertainer: Lauren 30th - Pet Therapy

JULY 7th - Secondhand Sale Day 13th - Entertainer: Dominique 21st - Pet Therapy 26th - Entertainer: Lauren

AUGUST 10th - Entertainer: Stan 23rd - Line Dancing 25th - Pet Therapy

Activity Reviews ANZAC SERVICE - Tuesday 19th April The Padstow RSL was kind enough to conduct a service of remembrance for our residents on Tuesday afternoon, 19th April.

Bruce Knox reminded us of the young men of Australia and New Zealand who sacrificed their lives so that today we can have peace and liberty.

“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun, and in the morning We will remember them.”

THE QUEEN’S 90TH BIRTHDAY - Thursday 21st April Casa Mia celebrated our oldest and longest reigning monarch in style on Thursday 21st April. The residents had high tea surrounded by British and royal memorabilia as well as appropriate regal music. The highlight of the morning (apart from the delicious cake!) was a visit from the queen herself, accompanied by her bodyguard.

Activity Reviews MORNING TEA - Friday Morning Tea, Mother’s Day & Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea Friday Morning Tea has become an event at Casa Mia and you’re most welcome to come and join your loved one in our beautiful gardens. Weather permitting, Friday morning tea is held outside and the kitchen bakes something special – cake or hot snacks or both. The last Friday of the month is Birthday Morning Tea when we celebrate all those who’ve had a birthday during the month. We have balloons and candles on one of Rune’s special sponge and cream cakes. Mmmm… it’s good!

This month, we also had Mother’s Day Morning Tea on Friday 6th May and everything was pink: table clothes, balloons, lollies – you name it! And we even had guessing games, lucky door prizes as well as our big raffle draw for all the Mums.

May was a busy month: we had Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea to fundraise for the Cancer Council. Thursday 19th May was set aside for families to take their loved one for a cuppa and cake, in the dining room decorated in the usual yellow and blue theme.

Activity Reviews PRINCESS PAT - Monday 9th May A special resident at Casa Mia was given the royal treatment on Monday 9th May to celebrate her 40 years at the nursing home.

As someone who has lived there longer than most other residents, "Princess Pat" was pampered by the staff and was even given a tiara to wear throughout the day. Our hairdresser popped in specially to give Pat a brand new hair-do and she had her make-up and nails done, along with a massage.

Everyone wore Pat's favourite colour blue on the day, including the staff and she was served her favourite food and was even treated to a piano recital to celebrate her special day.

Old Age is Golden

Old age is golden so I’ve heard said,

But sometimes I wonder as I crawl into my bed,

With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup My eyes on the table until I wake up.

As sleep dims my vision, I say to myself:

Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?

How do I know my youth is all spent?

My get up and go has got up and went But in spite of it all I’m able to grin

And think of the places my get up has been.

Resident Story - Jack Brown Jack was born in Toronto, Canada to British parents and he was the eldest of three children. His dad had fought in WW1 at the Battle of the Somme and married his mother after he returned.

When Jack was 5 years old, they moved to Australia where they settled in Five Dock and Jack went to school. During the Depression, the family moved to Little Bay, where Jack finished his schooling and became a professional boxer. He joined the ar my during WW2 and was stationed in Bougainville, New Guinea organising supplies for the 42nd Landing Craft Company.

When he came back from the war, Jack decided to take a government job and worked for the Dept of Education as an internal auditor visiting schools. He met his wife, Mary at a dance and at the age of 42, got married. They bought a block of land in Padstow for 200 Pounds, which they had to clear before having a house built where Jack lived until he moved to Casa Mia. They only had one child, Phillip.

Sadly, Mary died of cancer when they’d only been married for 23 years and Phillip was still at school.

When Jack retired, he took a cruise on which he attended beginners classes for painting and when he returned, he enrolled at TAFE for 3 years to study further.

He is helping us with art classes for our residents n o w, s o Tu e s d a y afternoons is Painting with Jack!

love

1 John 3:18

Pastoral Care

Let us not with word or speech but with actions and in truth

ONE DAY AT A TIME

A frail, elderly woman fell and broke her hip. The doctor set the bones as best he could, but he knew that she would have a long and uncomfortable recovery. The next day when he visited her in the hospital, he found her in great anxiety. “Oh, Doctor,” she asked, “how long am I going to have to stay in bed?” He thought about her question and then with great wisdom and kindness said “Only one day – one day at a time”.

And that was a good piece of advice, something we need to think about. Very often we worry about life and feel we can’t cope with too much. Not like the committed Christian lady who had learned a lot about life. She said “I’ve had a lot of trouble in my life - and most of it never happened!” It was imaginary, like so many of our worries.

You may know the story about Sir William Osler, the great doctor and teacher at John Hopkins University. His medical students were getting tired and stressed out, and he said, “Learn to live in day-tight compartments.”

What is a day-tight compartment? You know what a water-tight compartment is. You put some water in a jar, screw on the lid, and when you tip it over the water doesn’t leak out. Osler instructed his students to circle each twenty-four-hour period and live within that period, with their full focus and energy. If a day seemed too overwhelming, he suggested circling an hour and coping with that hour.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow; God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Living Bible). It seems to me that Jesus is saying to us this is the way we should live – live in bite sized pieces in 24 hours segments.

We each have got the present time. That’s all I have. That’s all I have to give to this world. Not next hour or next month but right now. That’s the gift that God has given to me so I ought to use it. Just because the future is uncertain and unsure and brief, doesn’t mean you get all uptight and get paralysed with panic and worry. It’s the motivation to trust God more.

You put your trust in God. That’s how you face the future. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.” That’s what counts. David said in Psalm 35:15 “Lord, my days are in your hands.” In Psalm 37:5 we read “Let the Lord lead you and trust Him to help” Writing to the Christians of Ephesus nineteen centuries ago Paul says, “Make the best use of your time.”

Ephesians 5:16 There are two reasons why we should do that: 1. It is God’s time each day that we are using and enjoying, or wasting and letting slip by. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NIV) 2. Kipling had the idea in his famous poem “If ”. “If you can fill each unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run…” There is so much we can do for God, and so much God has given us to enjoy, that to waste time is like throwing a precious gift out the window.

3. But there is a more sombre thought: Today could be your last day in this earthly life. That is a possibility no-one wants to think about, but which nobody can deny. That very practical Christian, James, wrote: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” James 4: 13-14 (NIV) If this were your last day on earth, how would you use it?

There was a commercial years ago on TV that said “It doesn’t matter how long you live if you’re not doing anything with your life.” We worry about the duration. How long are we going to live. God worries about the donation. What are you doing with it. Am I making my life count or frittering it away on non-essentials, things that aren’t going to count? God says, Make your life count - do it now! - By Chris Witts

Bereavements

Our deepest sympathies have gone out to the families who have lost their loved ones over the Autumn period.

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Volunteer Corner National Volunteer Week is the second week of May and Christadelphian Aged Care chooses to recognise and thank all their NSW volunteers at an annual lunch, held this year at St George Sailing Club on Tuesday 10th May. A group of Casa’s volunteers joined in the festivities, good food and lucky door prizes.

It was a wonderful afternoon and I would like to add my thanks and appreciation for the hours of love and care our volunteers give to our residents so selflessly.

If you are interested in joining the Volunteer program, please do not hesitate to contact me: Cathy Strachan on 0435 814 411 or cstrachan@chomes.com.au Volunteer & Pastoral Care Coordinator

Read, Rest & Relax!

Creamy Corn & Bacon Soup • 20g butter

• 1 leek, pale section only, coarsely chopped • 2 bacon rashers, finely chopped • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 4 corn cobs, husks and silks removed • 1 brushed potato, peeled, coarsely chopped

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the leek and bacon, stirring, for 5 mins or until leek softens. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 min or until fragrant.

2. Use a large sharp knife to cut down the length of each corn cob to remove kernels.

Add corn kernels, potato and stock to the leek mixture. Bring to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 mins or until potato is tender.

• 4 cups (1L) chicken stock or vegetable stock

3. Carefully use a stick blender to blend until smooth. Stir in cream. Season.

• 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream

4. Ladle soup among serving bowls. Top with chilli and thyme.

• Finely chopped red chilli, to serve

Chilli popcorn: Toss 3 cups freshly popped popcorn with a mixture of 2 teaspoons icing sugar, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes and a pinch of sea salt flakes, then process in a food processor until chopped.

• Thyme sprigs, to serve • Chilli popcorn, to serve (see ->) Serves 4

Disclaimer: All photos and stories have been published with consent of relatives and residents involved. Thank you for your submissions.