January 2015 Rekai Reporter – Sherbourne Place 345 Sherbourne St Toronto, Ontario M5A 2S3 Tel:(416) 964 -1599, Fax (416) 964-3967 Celebrating January Adopt a Rescued Bird Month Mentoring Month International Creativity Month Universal Letter Writing Week January 8–14 Vocation Awareness Week January 13–19 Buffet Day January 2 Twelfth Night January 5 Midwife’s Day January 8 Cut Your Energy Costs Day January 10 Belly Laugh Day January 24 Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day January 26 New Year is here! Hello everyone and Happy New Year! We had a fantastic 2014 year. Now January 2015 is here and will be filled with newer and more exciting programs for everyone to attend and enjoy . December had been a very busy and trying month with a lot of changes taking place. Our three Christmas parties were a big hit and would not of been successful without the help from our wonderful LE department, nursing department, maintenance department, kitchen aids department, Management and of course you the residents and family members. Thanks to all who participated. Our outings for the month of January are as followed: January 21 – Spadina Museum January 29 - Concert at the Metropolitan United Church LE department will be coming around in the month of January to help recruit potential candidates for Resident Council 2015 Resident Council will be holding elections for all positions on January, 12th, 2015 @ 10:30am in the Crafts Room. Be sure to keep your eye out for the flyers around the home advising major events. I wish everyone a healthy safe and Happy New Year, Nicole Joseph Director of Residents Programs December 2014 Creative Writing The following are some of the works done by members from our Creative Writing group; we are writing enthusiasts who meet up once a month to share stories, thoughts and inspirations through written words. 1969 - Coming to Canada Crazy Canadians put vinegar on their French Fries. My first day in Toronto, I flew up from St.Louis. When I got here I took a cab from the airport to Yonge st. and Dundas ave. I went to a movie on Yonge st.: “Medium Cool”. It was about having a detached objective view in all your observations. Something I found abhorrent. I thought that one should never be detached. One should always be engaged, involved intimately with everything one observed. If your heart was not in it, then you had nothing to contribute to its understanding. In 1969, the Eatons store at Yonge and Dundas was the centerpiece of the Eatons’ Empire. In those days everyone talked hockey. The Toronto Maple Leafs were Toronto’s team and they performed well these last decade. With the Montreal Canadians they were the premiere team in Canada, but they had become the source of much frustration since their last Stanley Cup victory in 1967. - Michael Please show your support to our residents by attending our annual bake sale on January 20, at 10:30-3:00 in the main lobby. We appreciate all donations suitable for the event, please contact the Life Enrichment Department for further details. My Life I am originally from Turkey. I was an accountant in Turkey. I have wife and 2 children. Now my daughter is 30 years old and my son is 25 years old. My children are very important to me. I also have 2 brothers and 2 sisters: They are living in Turkey. I am alone here. I love Toronto, Ontario, Canada.I love my friends and I love everybody. Ugar Lost and Found Attention Residents, Staff and Family Members: There are two items that have been missing if you have seen these items please inform the LE Department in the Basement. Below is the description of each item: 1. 3 - 81/2 ? X 11? black framed photos in black and white, of resident and his sister, including graduation pictures 2. A hard-covered strong plastic , dark- brown book , pages are plasticized , like photo album, inside with typed poetries with drawings authored by resident. Thank You, LE Department -Resident ProfileDavid David was born in Toronto at Toronto Western Hospital in the early forties. He had his schooling in his own hometown and he basically liked Math and Science. In addition, he had great interest in arts and participated in many art activities and programs while he was in school. He had interest in literature and wrote some good poems as well. Gradually he developed his interest in art into a career. He went to a College of Arts for four years. Then he worked for CBC television as a graphic designer (artist) for a long time. He says that now he can be on his own as he has a different type of mind - set. David believes that he can see things differently as an artist. David enjoys watching television and mostly prefers programs about cooking. He says that he liked cooking and often cooked for himself in his bygone days. He reveals that he was fond of travelling, and he has visited all parts of the world except Africa. David still recalls some of the memories of his visit to Japan and China. He primarily speaks English language only; however, he never found it difficult in adjusting to new places during his journey. David states that he does not have a particular dish as his favorite one but he enjoys any food that has been well cooked. He enjoys nature and all seasons are good for him. David does not like to pick up any particular thing as his favorite; rather he thinks that all things are good for him in general. David finds it interesting that Toronto has changed so much since his early days. He remembers those days when he used to watch cattle grazing on the lawns through the windows of his residence. There were hardly any high-rise buildings at that time, but now he finds skyscrapers all around and the city is really crowded. David has interest in music, and enjoys classical ones the most. However, he enjoys listening to all kinds of music provided that it is well played, and he says that music played by the learners bothers him. Regarding his close family, David has a sister named Gale living in the north of Toronto (New Market). He used to have cats as his pets. Growing up and living in the city of Toronto, he always used public transit. In fact, he never drove for himself and he did not even learn how to drive. Regarding his living at the Rekai Centre, David says that he is happy because ‘I can stay warm inside my room while it is snowing outside”. - Written by: Ram Adhikari, Social Service Placement Student, George Brown College December is fading away there's a new year coming your way all frustrations drowned with the chill of cold air around as the new year rises array everybody say hip hip hurray! Do you remember the things that made you laugh, cry like a calf? never forget the luck you had the whole year; if you didn't have any, don't moan saying' "oh dear"! 'cause there's more to come in the new year! There comes Santa with yummy goodies for the sweet charming little buddies. Goodbye is what is said to this year expecting more to happen in the next year. Have fun everyone! and Artists’ Corner The Expressive Art Therapy groups are held in the Chapel on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week. The group provides an opportunity for residents to experience the joy of art making and creative expression. Autumn in Allan Gardens - Medium: Soft pastel on paper No Title - Medium: Soft pastel on paper Healthy Living Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to January 2015. January Birthdays Bing January 6 Shuai Bi Zhen Anna Agnes Kari January 7 January 9 January 18 January 22 January 23 It's that time of the year where a lot of us make new year's resolutions about getting healthy, especially after all the holiday lunches and dinners over the past month. However, for the most part, many people eventually revert back to eating poorly and not exercising. This month, I just want to give a few suggestions that have worked for me in trying to stay healthy and active. First, set realistic goals. This applies to both eating and exercising. In terms of eating, it is tough to expect people to just start eating cleanly right away. So start slowly. Bring some extra vegetables or fruits for lunch. If you drink pop, then only drink half the can. Or only eat half the chocolate cookie you brought and give the other half to a friend. These are realistic goals. As for exercising, start with 4 minutes of workouts and try to increase it slowly. For example, do 2 minutes of squats and 2 minutes of push ups. These two exercises target the biggest muscles in your body and help increase your metabolism very quickly. That can be your workout for the day. The point is to make it a habit to be active for at least a few minutes a day. Last but not least, try to find something active that you enjoy doing. Whether it's taking a brisk walk in the park to site see, swimming, yoga, learing to skate, find something fun. When you're doing something that is active and fun, then it will not really seem like working out. Anyway, good luck to everyone on their journey to a more active and healthy lifestyle. See you all in February. - By: Elgene Bautista-Chan, Rekai’s Physiotherapist