Crossroads Senior Living Courier Newsletter - Northglenn, Colorado - August 2021

at Northglenn

Come Home to Crossroads Peace of Mind Senior Living

AUGUST 2021

In This Issue 2 | Featuring Betty Brewer 3 | Executive Director Bulletin 3 | Wellbeing 4 | Resident Life

Occasions

Celebrate Northglenn’s Winning Streak Your unwavering support of Crossroads at Northglenn has extended our winning streak to a 5th year being awarded “Best of the Best” for Assisted Living, Retirement Community and Independent Care!

5 | Join Us

So we want to celebrate you. Please save the date of September 10,

5 | Birthdays

2021, and join us as our sincere thank you for supporting Crossroads

6 | Upcoming from Maranatha

at Northglenn year after year. The festivities begin at 4 pm and will

6 | Cookery

include delicious hors d’oeuvres, beverages, entertainment, prizes and

7 | Pastimes

some good ‘ole socializing!

We promise it to be a grand

f

event so look for our invitation

@Crossroads.Northglenn

that will be arriving in your

Northglenn: (303) 252-1118

email inbox soon!! Hope to see you then! And if we don’t have your email, follow this link to subscribe. See you on the 10th!

Scan here for a virtual tour

Assisted Living www.crossroadsalc.org

Featuring Betty “Trouble” Brewer I was sitting in Michele’s office one day when an energetic woman on a mission stepped through the door. She said to me, do you know who I am? Before I could reply she said.

“My name is Betty, but I’m known as Trouble.”

Maybe it was Betty, as a child, peeking at her Christmas presents in the cedar chest before they were wrapped. She calls it the “Worst Christmas ever!” Or perhaps it was Betty, delivering her precious daughter, breach. Sure, all of that spells trouble. But it is hard to square the nickname with this seemingly always animated and always cheerful neighbor I now know as Betty “Trouble” Brewer.

You may not know Betty yet, but you are sure to have seen her. She might have sped past you on one of her four daily walks around the perimeter of the building. If you smell chocolate wafting through the air—probably Betty is nearby. She loves chocolate. (And she loves giving it away!)

Betty grew up in Denver. She met a young man named Bill while ushering people to their seats at the Oriental theatre. She coyly sat he and his buddy in the two seats next to

where she was sitting. A date ensued. They took the bus downtown to the Paramount theatre and saw Snow White. Bill brought her home afterward, walked her to her door and gave her a peck on the cheek. As she says, a “perfect gentleman.” The two were married six months later, becoming best friends for life. Betty was working in fashion, and Bill, after a couple of years in the Coast Guard, started a multi-decade career in the Sundstrand corporation. They were married more than four decades when Bill suffered a massive heart attack and died.

Betty’s son and daughter found Crossroads at Northglenn for Betty when she needed just the right assisted living family. They fill in for their dad, Bill, these days, continuing to spoil her and keep her refrigerator filled with goodies. She also enjoys being a grandmother and great-grandmother. Three things she loves about Crossroads is her spacious private apartment, huggable Mike, the maintenance director, and Colt, one of Northglenn’s dog regulars.

Next time you see Betty, ask her for some chocolate. But really, she’ll be expecting you to say—“Here comes trouble.”

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David Brillhart

Executive Director Bulletin: Staying Happy and Healthy at Crossroads Many seniors desire to hold on to the feeling of youthful euphoria that they have experienced in their early life. But this can be difficult due to the physical and mental exhaustion that typically comes along with aging. No matter what life may bring to you, with a positive attitude, enthusiasm, and the right resources, it is possible to bring excitement and youthfulness back.

1 . E AT I N G H E A LT H F U L LY You know the saying “you are what you eat”? Well, if that’s the case, then consuming nutritious meals full of vitamins and proteins will supply your body with energy and strength. At Crossroads, you will experience home-style cooking with fresh choices prepared daily by our wonderful kitchen team.

Wellbeing

Eating foods that consist of all the nutrients your body needs will help you feel your best and enable you to live your best in retirement.

2. SOCIALIZING One of the easiest ways of feeling young is by socializing with people around you. Interacting and building relationships strengthens your mental health and allows you to feel youthfully exuberant. At Crossroads, we offer various activities everyday so that you can engage with residents and staff while participating in activities that you enjoy! You can find all the planned events and activities on our monthly activity calendar, which is provided to all residents. Gloria even provides a weekly enlarged calendar.

3. EXERCISING The benefits of physical activity are endless. Modifying a physical activity or exercise routine keeps the

Continued on next page

Attitude and Your Health There is some evidence that an optimistic, positive attitude can actually help keep you healthy. A number of studies suggest that having an optimistic attitude—the general feeling that good things will happen—may improve cholesterol levels, boost your immune response, and lower your risk of death from conditions like heart disease. Even if you’re not a particularly positive person, here are four ways to help boost positive thinking.

A lot of people naturally turn to friends Good luck! We’ll be trying out these SHARE and family for support when things go strategies ourselves! wrong. But how about when things go GOOD

BE GRATEFUL

IMAGINE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE SELF

Every day, spend a few minutes thinking about—or writing down—the people and things you’re grateful for.

Some people do this in bed before going to sleep. Some research shows that focusing on gratitude can make you feel happier and reduce stress.

Think about how you want your life to turn out—in terms of your personal life and relationships. Write it down as a story. Then spend five minutes each day imagining that possible future. One study found that people who did this every day for two weeks became more positive in their outlook.

NEWS

right? Make an effort to share the good news in your life.

PUSH BACK AGAINST NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

When something doesn’t go as planned, is your first thought to blame some part of your personality? Next time that happens, stop yourself and come up with a more specific explanation. For example, if you didn’t exercise like you planned last week, don’t just call yourself “lazy.” Think about what was going on and how it was hard to fit in exercise.

Studies have shown that explaining events by focusing on specifics (what you had to do last week)) instead of bigger issues that are harder arder to change (your personality) can help elp improve your attitude.

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Continued from previous page body and mind refreshed, and it can help prevent several diseases. You can get your blood pumping at Crossroads at our daily exercise classes. Ask Roger, our Resident Council President, how many laps around the interior and exterior total a mile. You might be surprised!

4. LEARNING Stimulating your mind is one of the most exciting parts of youthful living. The feeling you get when you learn or discover something new is extraordinary. You can continue to learn with resources found at Crossroads library. Diving into an educational book offers a getaway into the excitement of learning new things.

July brought us several opportunities to enrich our love for sweets.

We celebrated World Chocolate Day and enjoyed one of the best parts of summer— Peaches and Cream.

Some say age is just a number. As long as seniors engage in all the wonderful parts of life, they will continue to feel young at heart!

Crossroads offers endless possibilities for living young in senior living.

Michele Strauch Executive Director

We even threw our own “Garage Sale” of sorts with our Trash to Treasure affair.

ResidentLife

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Join Us

Do you like museums? Our first activity of the month is an outing. On August 2nd, we are headed to the History Museum at the Arvada Center for the Arts. This is a free museum with minimal walking.

On the 5th we’ll return to one of our favorite’s, the “Black Eyed Pea,” a very popular restaurant serving home-style southern cuisine.

Dining out at El Mirador

Take a journey into the past at the “Old Wagon Antique Store.”

Experience excellent opportunities for browsing and reminiscing on August 11th.

We’ll attempt to win back our losses from July when we visit the Black Hawk Casinos again on the 13th. We depart at 9:30am and be back home around 3:30pm.

August 13th is also “International Left-Handed Day”. Gloria will challenge you with left handed facts and trivia, famous left-handers, writing and coloring left-handed, pouring and measuring liquids or cutting with a pair of scissors. See just how right brained you are.

Betty aka “Trouble” at Penny Pokino

On the 18th we are welcoming our newest residents with a “Welcome New Resident” social. All residents are invited to attend.

We’ll learn a little about each other as we share our stories. This is a great opportunity to meet and make new friends. Root beer floats will be served.

We are going to the Anythink Library again on the 19th and we really enjoying this outing!

Our August picnic is on the 26th at the Squires Park in Westminster.

Gloria will barbecue up some burgers and dogs and who knows, we might even take a little stroll around the park after our bellies are full.

So much to do at Crossroads Assisted Living!

Birthdays Maureen relaxing with coloring

8•16 | Dorothy H. 8•16 | Marcia S.

8•2 | Donnarae C.

8•19 | Duane J.

8•13 | Eloise W.

8•22 | Agnes R..

8•14 | Patricia W.

8•29 | Addie S.

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Cookery

Update from Maranatha

Penne with SunDried Tomato Pesto

Peru Welcomes First Volunteers in 15 Months Elmer Barbosa was nervous.. In just a matter of days, 11 volunteers were scheduled to arrive in Lima, Peru, where he is Maranatha Volunteers International’s country director.

He was anxious because this would be the first time he and his team would welcome volunteers to Peru after a 15 month absence.

“It was supposed to be crazy in 2020. We were ready to receive about 400 volunteers during the months of March and April alone,” says Barbosa, the memories of preparation still fresh in his mind. “But then it was interrupted.” The interruption, caused by COVID, lasted for well over a year.

On June 17, when Barbosa caught sight of the very first Maranatha volunteer arriving at the airport, he couldn’t stop smiling. “It was awesome to finally see them coming back.” The small team, composed of brand new and veteran volunteers, began immediately. They worked quickly, finishing the back wall of a large school that doubles as a church and community Center in Ica, a town in southern Peru.

Unexpectedly, the team even finished work on a second wall! When completed, the school will be called La Tinguiña.

Then, before he knew it, the project was over. Volunteers were packing up to head home or over to the excursion at Machu Picchu. On the last day, after receiving negative COVID tests for all the volunteers, dropping everyone off at the airport, and waving their goodbyes, the team in Peru exhaled.

“Having [the volunteers] back was special and at the same time it was a great responsibility,” says Barbosa. The team’s texts to each other said it all. ‘Yes we did it!’ God kept everyone safe. It was nice to finally be back.”

From 2004-2006, more than 3,000 Maranatha volunteers landed in Peru, constructing nearly 100 churches and schools. In 2019, Maranatha returned to Peru. Profits from Crossroads Senior Living supports this premiere non-profit and the short term mission opportunities it provides people of all ages. Learn more about Maranatha at

maranatha.org.

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Here is a dish that is perfect for a sunny summer day. Add this Mediterranean special to your summer fun.

INGREDIENTS 12 ounces penne pasta 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil 2 garlic cloves Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS 1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and basil in a food processor and blend until the tomatoes are finely chopped.

Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.

3. Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten.

Season the pasta to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve.

Recipe courtesy of G i a d a D e L a u r e n t i i s .

Pastimes Crossword Puzzle

Crossword puzzle from w w w . o n l i n e c r o s s w o r d s . n e t

Peace of Mind Senior Living | w w w . c r o s s r o a d s a l c . o r g

You can find the answer to this puzzle in the next Crossroads Courier or on our Facebook page on August 15th. facebook.com/ crossroads.northglenn

www.crossroadsalc.org

Crossroads Courier

AUGUST 2021

Updates | Resident Life | Leisure

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Peace of Mind Senior Living

Northglenn: (303) 252-1118 | Lakewood: (720) 925-5569 | Delta: (970) 874-1421

451 Malley Drive | Northglenn, CO 80233