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Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving

Hi All! 
It's holiday time and we are raking up the leaves on our lawns, residents are riding  the Canterbury van to the grocery store and our cook is cooking up a storm in our kitchen because TONIGHT we have a BIG Thanksgiving dinner in our dining room!
Come on over to our sing-a-long in between!  We also have a Wii game planned for 3:00PM and chair exercises at 4:00PM.
We are grateful to have each other and our residents are grateful for our services and for the activity-filled days they have here at the Canterbury.
Hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Monday!  Also, If I don't get back here again before Thursday, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It is a time to connect with people we don't usually see and to appreciate. 
Be well,
Emily

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Step up.

Hi all! 

 Did you vote yesterday?  Our van ride to the polls was at 3:00PM, after we returned from Hometown Buffet and the Grocery Store.

Did you call CL&P when your power went out? 860-947-2000. Once I knew Canterbury residents were safe and sound, I volunteered for a town Emergency Operations center.  We were almost in constant touch with a CL&P representative, who explained that the workers get in their truck and look at their screen and go to where they see a cluster of calls coming from.

I found a random paper that had me pondering about good deeds.  Then storm Albert hit Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and some of New Hampshire.

The coming of winter usually brings prospective residents to visit. Usually it's our busiest time, as people ponder another season of shoveling, or moving here to easy living.  While Canterbury plays a vital role in the community, when a storm of Albert's magnitude hits, this home can be life saving.  I am from the "City of Good Neighbors" Buffalo, New York.  We are friendly and we know we have each other during our big snow storms.  Similarly, Canterbury residents who didn't have family available to help them could rely on someone here to help meet their needs during storm Albert.

The Holiday next door, and their cook Norma, made us three meals a day (and so much more) for six days, as we dealt with the inconveniences to our modern conveniences (WOW!). So many people stepped forward and did something to improve the lives of our residents, and several staff members came in and volunteered just to help us out.

We have a "thank-you note table" in our lounge and our residents are writing to the many individuals who helped out during the storm.  In this time of crisis people showed true compassion and selfless service, and it made a difference.  These storms can bring up people's vulnerabilities and fears.  "What's winter going to bring for my single elderly mom"? one asks.  We here at The Canterbury witnessed so many people, government officials, town and Cl&P workers, property managers, family members, employees...the list is endless....step right up.

A BIG THANK YOU!
Fondly, 
Emily