Recently Brightmore had two back-to-back “End of Summer” concerts with local musician Jerry Powell singing a variety of songs to end the Summer season. We sang and danced in our seats, while others even stood to dance, as Jerry sang a variety of beach music songs along with some hand-clapping, foot-stomping tunes! He had us all saying, “Good-bye Summer, and welcome Fall”!
Brightmore has been waiting for some beautiful Fall weather, and the first day of Autumn did not fail us at 72 degrees! It was a perfect day to enjoy a fall snack of apples and caramel…a reminder of the many times some of our residents traveled to the North Carolina mountains to stop at an apple orchard to pick their own! Who doesn’t enjoy the tasty bite of a caramel apple from one of our many NC State Fairs or Fall Festivals or a caramel apple pie on Thanksgiving Day with family and friends? Great memories of what the season of Fall is all about, and we started our celebration as we ate apples and caramel outside enjoying the beautiful weather with our friends and neighbors.
It’s so exciting being able to begin small “hands on projects” for the residents to be a part of, allowing them to use their own creativity. For our first Art Class, the residents made an “End of the Summer” Sand Art Terrarium. As we created our terrariums, it was fun to hear that no one in the room had ever done sand art before, and they could now check that off their bucket list! They also were very grateful that the succulents we used were artificial, so they did not have to have a “green thumb” to keep them thriving. It’s the little things in life that make you smile!
The theme for this year’s National Assisted Living Week at The Kempton was “Caring is Essential”. They kicked it off on Monday with a special brunch for lunch. The menu included made to order omelets, pancakes, bacon, breakfast potatoes, fruit medley and assorted scones. In addition, the residents received mimosas and a special “Caring is Essential” gift bag.
Staff also dressed up as the Kempton Care Bears mid-week. Residents enjoyed comfort food for lunch, received sunflowers, and were greeted by The Kempton Caring Cart in the afternoon.
Moreover, who doesn’t love a good hand massage and manicure after a busy week? That’s exactly what The Kempton residents received! Everyone had a wonderful time celebrating “Caring is Essential” National Assisted Living Week!
Residents at The Commons continued their journey on Route 66 Tuesday with a stop in the “Show Me State” of Missouri, which is known for its history of hiding infamous criminals like Jesse James and Bonnie & Clyde. Bonnie & Clyde were known for their bank robberies and their ability to escape the police. They robbed numerous banks and gas stations in Missouri and lived in the city of Joliet.
With all the talk of lawlessness, our Activities Department became honorary deputies and began patrolling the hallways. We found quite a few breaking the law, and they were taken in for mug shots and issued citations. We are glad to say that law and order has been restored!
To celebrate National Assisted Living Week, residents and staff at The Commons have packed their bags and are headed down historic Route 66. Route 66 is an historic stretch of highway that begins in Chicago, Illinois and ends in Santa Monica, California. Along the way, we anticipate stopping for great food, games, amazing landmarks and maybe even a bit of mischief as we travel through the beautiful United States.
Our first stop was in Joliet, Illinois and the famous Route 66 racetrack. Our hallways became Drag Race Strips, and our residents transformed into race car drivers as their cars zipped down the track! In the afternoon, we stopped by the famous Cozy Dog drive-in where our residents and staff were treated to hot corndogs right out of the fryer. We are so excited for our adventure and hope that you follow along!
Since the start of Covid-19, residents at The Kempton have been having “Sit and Stretch” exercise class without their normal instructor, Paula; and, they have missed her greatly. Recently, she was able to come and lead an exercise class outdoors. The weather was lovely, and everyone enjoyed having Paula back! We will be looking forward to seeing her and exercising outdoors every Wednesday!
“Fresh air and exercise. That's all you need to stay slim and feel better about life”. -Katie Hopkins
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The Kempton has many residents with different talents, and one of those residents, Bettie Morrow, is an excellent piano player. She plays all of her music by ear and loves playing for the other residents, taking requests while playing her favorite tunes. Everyone loves listening to Ms. Morrow play and sing along to the music! Thank you, Ms. Morrow, for sharing your beautiful talent with us at The Kempton!
“The piano keys are black and white, but they sound like a million colors in your mind.”
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Oktoberfest is Autumn festival held in Munich, Germany, in late September and early October. The very first Oktoberfest was held on October 12,1810, to celebrate a royal wedding. Oktoberfest might have been cancelled this year in Germany; however, here at The Commons, we are keeping the spirit alive! Our residents learned German phrases, did trivia, and had some of Oktoberfest’s most famous food, soft pretzels and beer.
"Auf Wiedersehen" ('til we see you again) from your friends at The Commons!
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The Kempton residents have been enjoying the cooler weather outside now that Fall has arrived, and we are excited to have live entertainment again! Yesterday, The Rocky Start and the Big Finish Band (which includes one of The Kempton’s resident’s son and daughter-in-law) played old-time music out in front of the Kempton. “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato
Spending time outside connecting with nature makes you feel more alive, and research backs up that good vibe. Residents at The Commons are lucky to be able to walk around our beautiful campus! We love traveling around the pond getting fresh air, seeing the geese, ducks, and turtles, and the beautiful plants. On today’s walk around the pond, residents stopped to rest at the fountain and soak in the sunshine on a beautiful Fall day. We encourage you to get outside, take a walk, and appreciate this amazing weather!
#fall #walking #nature
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The residents of Brightmore Independent Living definitely got in the spirit of the Fall Season as they thoroughly enjoyed creating a whimsical Fall-colored Owl for their doors yesterday! No experience was needed and each owl had its own personality by the time the resident was finished!
Directions:
1. Purchase Owl Cutout, Fall leaves and Fall Sunflowers from the Dollar Store.
2. Cut Flowers with wire cutter to glue for the eyes.
3. Map out your fall colored leaves for the wings, feet and ears.
4. Use a glue gun to affix leaves to the owl in any pattern that you desire. You can even cover the whole owl in leaves and it will look adorable!
5. Cut ribbon for the hanger and glue to the back of the owl.
6. Hang on your door for a fun fall decoration!
On Election Day, residents at The Commons wanted to celebrate the right to vote by honoring all things presidential. Did you know that William Taft was the first known president to take up the sport of golf? Or that Barak Obama had the white house tennis court converted to a full basketball court? Our residents talked about this great country while taking part in some of our former president’s pastimes. We ended the day with Presidential trivia games, and we had a blast doing both physical and mental exercises on this very important day.
Every year The Kempton Assisted Living has a Costume Contest and Party to celebrate Halloween. This year Duke Ladd came and played music outside while residents received goodie bags filled with candy and voted on the best costume. Winners Janice Montaque and staff member Crystal Fox dressed as the King and Queen of Hearts, but everyone had such great costumes! The Kempton residents always look forward to Halloween and can wait until next year’s celebration! Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!
Brightmore Independent Living and The Kempton are getting into the Halloween spirit this week! Brightmore residents spent time using their artistic side to decorate pumpkins, and residents at The Kempton used their creativity when carving them! As you can see, we have some real talent on the Brightmore campus!
A little history of carving pumpkins: It has been in practice since the 19th century, and it was originally done to scare away evil spirits. The Irish would set the carved pumpkins or turnips by their doors and windows in hopes that they would protect them.
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Fall is officially in full swing! Sweaters are being pulled out of closets, and the leaves are begin to change color. As the air becomes brisk, the only drink that can really satisfy the season’s cravings is apple cider. The residents at The Kempton enjoyed some apple cider and ginger snaps recently with the Fall Apple Cider cart. While apple cider is a yummy fall treat, it also has some health benefits such as helping to improve cognitive skills thanks to its high level of antioxidants; it also contains a small amount of iron, which is necessary for brain and blood function. Did you know that one glass of cider also contains 135 milligrams of potassium, about 4 percent of your daily needs, which is important for muscle and heart health as well? The residents enjoyed the Fall treat and are excited for the season!
"Gardening adds years to your life, and life to your years." - Author Unknown
Residents at The Commons always look forward to our seasonal planting groups. Gardening boosts our resident’s mental sharpness, motor skills, and helps with balance and gait. We use raised planters for easy access, and our residents are able to get their hands in the dirt and do the actual planting.
This week we spent several hours in our courtyard enjoying the beautiful weather and doing some seasonal planting. We tilled the soil and then planted beautiful mums, pansies, snap dragons, and even some purple kale. We can’t wait to watch our garden flourish!
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The residents of Brightmore had their second visit with “Paws4People”, an assistance-dog training program for children, adolescents, and adults living with physical, neurological, psychiatric, or emotional disabilities. Paws4People dogs, Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, start their training in the prison system where they go through a rigid training of learning over 200 commands. From the prison, the dogs then work with UNCW student volunteers, usually those in the Recreational Therapy program, until it is time for them to switch over to client-dog training. Then they move to their new home. However, when not in training, the dogs need to go out in the community and socialize with others, and that is where Brightmore comes in. Two times a month we get to visit with these beautiful dogs, pet, hug and love on them while learning about the program and watching the progress of the dogs with their trainers. This time is important to those residents who no longer have their pets and to those who are just animal-lovers. The love each resident gives to the dogs is just as important as the love the dogs give right back to the residents.
We’re excited to announce that our community is actively working to schedule and hold onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinics for our RESIDENTS and STAFF!
We realize that there are a lot of questions with regard to the vaccine. The attached pictures show our document (titled “COVID-19 VACCINE CLINICAL QUESTIONS”) which provides answers and additional resources about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
To download the PDF, and for more information and updates regarding COVID-19 and the COVID-19 Vaccine, please visit our website at https://www.brightmoreofwilmington.com/covid-19-update
We want to wish you a Happy New Year and for 2021 to bring you more joy, prospect, and happiness!
Each year the residents of Brightmore look forward to helping make our community as festive as possible for the Holidays by decorating their front doors so that the hallways glow with the Christmas season! Every year we also hold a Door Decoration Contest, and the residents get the opportunity to walk the halls and vote on their three favorite on each floor. This contest is very competitive and very close, but so much fun! This year our winners on the 1st floor were Bea Stewart, Elizabeth Slagle and Phyllis and Pete Ambler. The most talked about in that group was the Ambler’s as they had their whole family send them pictures of themselves wearing their favorite mask during this COVID Christmas Season. The winners for the 2nd floor were Jean Brock, with her doorway of Nutcrackers, Pinky Stokley and Sarah O’Brien. Last but not least, the 3rd floor winners were Norma Dixon, Doris Reiss and Ed and Judy Colwell, with their fun hanging Santa! Congratulations to our winners, and we look forward to continuing the tradition next year!
Everyone knows the story of the Grinch and how he attempted to steal Christmas. This week, the Grinch attempted to break into The Commons and steal some of our Christmas spirit. Our residents were prepared with Nerf guns and did some Grinch target shooting. We are happy to report that the Grinch has officially found his Christmas spirit with the help of our residents! He even stopped to pose for Christmas pictures with residents and staff afterwards. Happy Holidays!
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Starting December 1st, The Kempton residents participated in a Christmas Door Decorating Contest. Residents decorated their door with festive Christmas ideas, and they were judged by the residents and staff on December 21st. The first place winner of the Door Decorating Contest was Bettie Morrow! Second place went to Janice Montague, and third place went to Jane Burchell. Thank you to all the residents that participated, and Happy Holidays!
One of our favorite activities on Paraklay Way is our Reminiscing Programs. Reminiscence Programs consist of sharing life experiences, memories and stories from the past. Often people with dementia lose short-term memory, but they are still able to recall older memories. This week we encouraged residents to share some holiday memories. We used pictures, stories, Christmas ornaments, music and filled the air with the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies to trigger memories of the holidays. We learned our residents' holiday traditions, heard funny stories about Santa, and even talked about cooking our favorite Christmas treats. Happy Holidays from the residents on Paraklay Way!
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We have a hero in our midst! 🏆
Our own Beth Turner, Director of Services at The Commons of Brightmore, was awarded the honor of "Senior Care Hero of the Week" by Pam Palanza of Carefinderz, Mike Hartmann from Assisted Living Locators, and Sue Fryt from Cranville, Sumner & Hartzog Law Firm.
Beth received this recognition for her service to the residents and staff of The Commons of Brightmore.
Way to go Beth!
Did you see the news? Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 6 more weeks of winter ❄️
Keep your coats handy and stay warm this winter at Brightmore of Wilmington!
At the Commons of Brightmore, we offer two living arrangements with large closets, private and companion rooms, providing enough floor space for personal items and design touches. Companion rooms share one full bath. If desired, we will furnish a bed, dresser, and nightstand at no additional charge. Personalized placement of our built-in emergency call system assures help is always close by.
We all recognize how important dining is to the enjoyment of our day. Brightmore of Wilmington recognizes and responds to this aspect of life with good food and good service amidst lovely environments.
For lunch or dinner, choose to eat in our main dining area, The Carolina Cape. Enjoy choices of delicious entrees, vegetables, soups, salads, and desserts that are constantly changing to pertain to the season and stimulate your palate.
