Reed moved to Kendal from a 110 acre Tree farm on north mountain in November last year. A long time DIY’er, he has had a shop most of his life. He writes, “One of my interests is the framing of pictures for family and friends. When I moved here, I converted the storage area in the garage into a small shop and I brought my framing materials with me. Using a “lauan” door and two saw horses, I convert the garage into a workshop for framing pictures.
As with many, when I moved here I offered surplus pictures to my children. They each wanted the pictures of my wife and me when we were toddlers. I set up the framing stuff and made each of them copies of the pictures”.
Enid virtual birthday
Virtual 99th Birthday Party
Kendal at Lexington is truly an amazing place to live. The staff, the residents, the administrators go to great lengths to do the best they can for the community and for everyone associated with it.
Nowhere was this more evident than on April 7 (in the midst of the pandemic), when my mother, Enid Holmes, celebrated her 99th birthday. She was in her room in Webster with all her children — one in California, one in New Jersey, one in North Carolina and one in Florida — singing Happy Birthday as she blew out a candle secured in a cup of vanilla ice cream (her favorite).
The “angels” in Webster had made sure she was beautifully dressed and elegantly coiffed. Birthday cards had been culled from her mailbox and the envelopes slit open. We tried to get her interested in opening them, but the ice cream was too enticing. We chatted with each other, enjoying being able to see and hear each other — being together, almost forgetting we weren’t really in her room.
This miracle was made possible by Zoom and the expertise of Kendal techno-wizards and by the teamwork of all the beautiful people (we call them “angels”) on the Webster nursing staff.
We cannot say “thank you” enough. We are deeply grateful that our Mom is privileged be be in such a secure, safe and caring place.
AP Smith for Enid Holmes and Family
Dance Hall and Honkytonk
Take a tour of resident Tom Whaley’s beautiful music room in his Sunrise Ridge cottage to learn a bit about Old Texas Dance Hall and Cajun Louisiana Honkytonk music.
Caring Residents
“I’m so impressed with the caring residents at Kalex. Not only did they make masks for those of us who don’t have sewing machines. But they recognized that people with hearing aids or dangling earrings may prefer cloth ties instead of elastic ear loops. And they washed them before they delivered them! And then, because of the windy conditions today, they didn’t want to leave them by our front door. So, they waited until the mail was delivered and then put them in our mailbox! I love mine! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”- Karin
With Gratitude for Staff
“You all are doing a fabulous job looking after us— Thank you for taking all these precautions to keep us safe. “
“I am extremely impressed with the food organization, so thanks to all involved!”
“By the way, please tell Mina that I am really pleased with the door-to-door service of our one meal a day. I think the staff is doing a magnificent job of preparing and delivering those meals. Frankly, I may be eating too much!”
YOGA- On The Lawn and On Your Screen
The fitness staff encourages you to boost your immunity and release stress with an easy to follow along 20 minute yoga practice. Yoga can improve flexibility, build strength, lower blood pressure, and improve posture and balance. We couldn’t think of a more perfect location than on the lawn of Kalex’s Sunnyside House to include the added benefits of spending time outdoors. Remember -the more you move, the better you feel!
I think we can clearly say this was a case of false advertising!
Resident Karen M. shares, “I ordered ten rolls of toilet paper from Amazon about a month ago for some absurd price. It arrived today IN AN
ENVELOPE in our mailbox. The 8 Oz jar of mustard shows you how big the rolls are. Now LiLiane is guarding the tp so no one can steal it! LiLiane is a very small cat so this gives you another idea of how small the tp is!
I’d be mad if it weren’t so ludicrous! Stay safe, Karen”
Artist at Work
Kendal’s Stay Home/Stay Safe practice does not prevent Jo from finding a subject to sketch… The giant Ant sculpture she is drawing lives on the patio outside Jo’s Kalex apartment.
Thanks for Delivered Dining
Thought we’d share this gracious thank you note from a resident. As many know, residents have long been awaiting the opening of our new dining room, which was just about to happen. Unfortunately, due to coronavirus concerns, we had to move to door delivered meals. Though disappointing, it’s good to know there are reasons to be positive. Here’s Elsa’s note:
“I can’t begin to imagine the stress you have been under in recent months, only made so much worse with the onset of coronavirus and everything that has had to happen in dining services because of that. And I have no doubt that you have had to field complaints because given the circumstances little things tend to upset people who normally never fuss about anything.
So I wanted to let you know first of all that from my perspective meal delivery came off wonderfully today! And though I now miss eating with all our friends in the dining room, I have to admit it is delightful to eat on REAL PLATES with REAL SILVERWARE! ? I thought the process of selecting each day’s menu on SurveyMonkey couldn’t have been more simple. You and your staff, on what must have been extremely short notice, came up with a system that I feel is working amazingly well.
Many, many thanks! Elsa”
Virtual Visits
We absolute love resident Anita’s creativity and out of the box thinking when it comes to planning “visits” in this time of physical distancing.
Anita shares, “I was told that in the first year at Kendal, lots of friends and family would want to come to visit. In March and April, we had three different groups of friends planning to stay at Sunnyside House. The first couple was able to visit just before the restrictions began to be implemented. As plans for the other friends disintegrated, I decided to create an imaginary visit for two close friends coming from Ohio and Florida.
On Saturday, at about the time they would have been arriving, I created an email itinerary for Saturday through Tuesday noon when they would have departed. Activities that would have been on campus were accompanied by photos I’ve taken over the three months we’ve been in our house. For the other activities, e.g., Stonewall Jackson House, Lee Chapel and Museum, Sweet Treats Bakery, Bistro on Main, Southern Inn, and Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe, I added links to the websites. Lee Martin and the Jive Cowboys were supposed to play at the Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-off, so I added a photo of Lee. I wrote about walking the streets uptown and visiting the locally-owned shops, etc.
One of my friends totally got into the “trip” by sending emails every day commenting on what we had “done.” She and her husband are in Florida under restrictions, so it provided an outlet for her to use imagination as well. The other friend did not respond with a lot of emails but did seem to appreciate the “trip.”
I don’t know if others might consider such an activity but I found it fun to go to websites and add information.
Thanks,
Anita”
Compost Tumbler Fun!
Resident Renata C. is staying busy in her cottage garden. “I am about to dig ‘good stuff” out of my compost tumbler, a messy job. How inspiring is that? -Renate”
With Gratitude for Staff
YOGA- On The Lawn and On Your Screen
Teeny Tiny TP
Thanks for Delivered Dining
Virtual Visits
Compost Tumbler Fun!