United Presbyterian Home

Ruth Zehr celebrated her weekend birthday with cake in the Town Center on Monday morning with friends and neighbors.

A performance of love songs was held in the Health Center, compliments of Gwen Ying on the violin, Martha Chalupa on the piano and vocalist, Sara Bartlett. "My Funny Valentine," "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," and "In My Merry Oldsmobile" were all familiar songs enabling the audience to join in. There was a surprise guest appearance by Gwen?s husband, Ying, who sang a Chinese love song to the audience that he sang to his bride on their wedding day. He sang this song in the Chinese language and the audience loved it.

Chinese egg rolls were prepared for everyone dining in the Main Dining Room on Monday, Feb. 9, in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Chong Ying began almost three months ago planning for the event when he approached Chef Cory with the idea of the traditional Chinese food on this date. Having worked as a chef in the past, Ying prepared the egg rolls himself and shared with everyone at lunch.

Ying gave a brief insight into the Chinese New Year celebration, also known as the Spring Festival, when the Chinese culture celebrates last year?s harvest and begins to prepare for the coming year. The date of the Chinese New Year changes each year as dictated by the lunisolar calendar, beginning this year on Feb. 9, and ending Jan. 27, 2017. Each year is characterized by one of 12 animals on the Chinese Zodiac. This year is the Year of the Monkey. Festivities start New Year?s Eve and last for 15 days. Elaborate parades of huge colorful dragons manned by maybe 40 men, monstrous drums and a lengthy horn, taking several people to carry, announce the arrival of small communities coming together for the celebration. A single dragon long enough to be seen entering and exiting a house at the same time is thought to rid a house of evil and bring in good fortune.

Julia Gamon celebrated her birthday on Tuesday in the Town Center with the morning coffee and exercise crew. Julia brought treats to share with everyone.

A Mardi Gras dinner in the Main Dining Room fattened residents up prior to the beginning of Lent. Chef Cory and his staff prepared gumbo, fried okra, New Orleans red beans, shrimp and sausage jambalaya and Cajun-seasoned chicken. Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season in the south that ends just as Lent begins.

Kerr Hall residents met in the Main Dining Room on Tuesday, Feb. 9, for their monthly lunch social. Carla Carter and Mary Meeker served as hosts for the event with a valentine theme. Dorothy Koehler provided sweetheart piano music prior to lunch and Herb Yoder gave the blessing. Betty Gipple should have won a prize for the best dressed valentine in her red-and-white attire.

The girls from Simply Spa set up shop at the United Presbyterian Home on Wednesday. They were booked with appointments for manicures, pedicures facials and massages. Everyone wants to look and feel their best for Valentine?s Day.

Ezra Jones? daughter, Marilyn Crandall organized a birthday party for her father on Wednesday. Many of Easy?s coffee-drinking friends stopped in to wish him a happy birthday and share a few stories over coffee and doughnuts. A shower of cards arrived throughout the week with birthday wishes.

The Rev. Kitch held an Ash Wednesday service in the Main Dining Room for residents of all denominations. The service included responsive readings, Scriptures, hymns, prayer and the imposition of ashes. Julia Gamon provided beautiful piano music. Lenten booklets and reading material are available for all to pick up in the Town Center.

A Campus Breakfast was held on Thursday morning. Chef Cory has a new cast-iron waffle maker and residents were happy to try out the waffles along with the rest of the breakfast buffet.

Classics Et Cetera for Feb. 11, 2016, included the overture to ?The Capulets and the Montegues? by Vincenzo Bellini; special Chinese music to celebrate the Year of the Monkey, featuring the erhu, a ?Chinese violin;? ?Beautiful Dreamer? by Stephen Foster; ?Be My Love,? performed by Mario Lanza; 1st Movement of Symphony No. 6 (?Pathetique?) by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; ?Our Flirtations,? march by John Philip Sousa.

The Sixth Symphony (?Pathétique?) of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), like his earlier symphonies, deals with his obsession about an implacable Fate haunting his life. He was unusually secretive about this symphony. ?Let them guess it who can,? he wrote a friend. It was to be his symphonic masterpiece, but was not well received at its premiere. He died of cholera nine days later, at age 53. With his final symphony and especially its final movement, a lament, he had perhaps written his own Requiem.