Submitted by Panorama residents, Karen Romanelli and Judy Murphy – April 2020.
Need a DIY project? It’s for a good cause!
Runway Redux is coming in October, so why not get started on an
outfit today?
Use whatever you can find around the house. Buttons, scrap
fabric, plastic bags, old sweaters, jeans or costume jewelry can all be used to
up-cycle that pair of pants and shirt or dress that was headed for the bin.
Need inspiration? Just
type phrases like “fashion ideas with buttons” or “using old jeans to up-cycle
clothes” or “accessories from plastic/aluminum” or “recycle clothing” into your
browser and you will find websites with plenty of ideas.
Remember, this is a fundraiser for the Benevolent Fund so please
plan on walking the runway or coming to enjoy your creative friends and
neighbors. More details in months ahead.
Questions? Contact Karen Romanelli or Judy Murphy (contact information is available to residents through Kya or the Resident Directory).
Submitted by resident organization, Panorama Benevolent Fund – April 2020
Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor A Pandemic…
has prevented the Panorama Benevolent Fund from bringing residents the personal support they need.
The Financial Assistance
volunteers: Kristine Bartruff, Cynthia Daniels, Jay Felzien, and Georgia
Vincent, have continued to work (by phone) with grant recipients to assure that
their grants were processed as usual. With access to the Benevolent Fund Office
down to once a week, Don Whiting (BF Treasurer) followed through with the financial
details to make sure grants were received on time. The central thread to the
Benevolent Fund’s successful operation at this disruptive time is Connie
Cameron, Administrative Assistant, who is in the office every day to help volunteers
and residents.
What better time to have
emergency access to medical help with the SARA alert system than during these critical
days of heightened health concerns. In March alone, 22 residents received
assistance from the fire department and 7 residents were transported to
emergency care (not COVID-19 related). Your SARA is your personal safety net at
unexpected crucial times.
Sponsored by the Benevolent
Fund, 3 experienced and caring Social Service Advisors: Tiffany Martin, Corrine
Wasmundt, and Sara Wasser, are available every day to give person-centered support
to residents as we move through the many phases of aging. These are disorientating
times. If you are having difficulty with the disruption of your normal
every-day life, please call a Social Service Advisor at x7557 or email socialservices@panorama.org.
As many of you know, the sales
activities of the Benevolent Fund were shut down March 11, putting our hard
working, dedicated volunteers out of work until management gives an “all clear”
signal. The result is that the Acquisition Team is unable to clean out vacated
residences and apartments, a major resource of merchandise for sales at Encore
Furniture and Books, the Stiles-Beach Barn and the Patio Sale. Consequently,
the smooth running sales system the volunteers developed has come to a complete
halt—no merchandise, no revenue. And the
story continues…the 2020 Patio Sale has been cancelled.
As with economies all over
the world – countries, corporate, small entrepreneurs, and personal – losses
are being felt. The Benevolent Fund, also.
Please consider making a donation to the Benevolent Fund to support the
promise the Fund intends to keep…even during a pandemic.
Submitted by Panorama resident, Alice Falter – April 2020
We all like
to hear about making a change, and about something moving forward. I think this
story will put a smile on your face.
New sign created by Dave Taylor and Larry Pratt.
C & R
Garden needed a new look, something different and exciting to show off the
beautiful flowers that are grown in the raised boxes. Cathy Smith and I, Alice
Falter, started last fall to plan the updates to be ready for spring 2020.
Phase1. We started with renaming the gardens,
“Blue Zone Gardens”.
Phase 2. We asked Dave Taylor and Larry Pratt from the Wood Shop to create a new sign, and they did a beautiful job. Thank you Dave and Larry for all your time and hard work, we love our new sign for the garden. It really helps to sharpen the new garden look.
Paintings by Neil Harris on the new privacy curtain.
Phase 3.
We then followed what Pam Burdick did out in her Pea Patch garden and
that was to put up a privacy screen around the back fence which makes your eye
stop at the black privacy curtain and look at the beautiful gardens. Thank you
Pam for the great idea. Cathy ordered the curtains and when the weather allowed
us to, we put up 100’ of our new privacy curtain on the South West end of the
chain link fence, behind the Garden House located out in the Pea Patch.
Paintings by Neil Harris on the new privacy curtain.
Phase 4. But, an exciting phase was yet to be accomplished. We asked Neil Harris, last fall, to paint large flowers on four boards 24” x 24”and two boards 24” x 30”. He agreed and worked over the winter and created six eye-catching paintings of different flowers. We gave him free range of what flowers to paint and what colors to choose. Neil did an amazing job; the paintings are bright, cheerful and full of love. We hung these pictures up on the privacy covered fence and they are truly works of art. This was an interesting way for Neil to show off his talent and for us to update our garden area. Art work and flower boxes, who knew that would be such an uplifting experience for all to view and admire? Thank You Neil.
Phase 5.
Look for a new painted little potting shed…as weather permits.
Name plaques are being created in the Clay Arts Studio for individual gardens (this work is on pause until the studio reopens).
Phase 6. Name identification plaques are being made in
clay arts for the gardeners who tend the individual garden boxes. This is a work
in progress, and as soon as the clay arts room opens again, I can finish the
name identification signs for the boxes.
So, you can see we have not been idle out in the Blue Zone Gardens. We love our flowers and love seeing smiles on faces of people walking around our garden boxes. If you are out enjoying the sunshine, come and see our new garden area (while social distancing!), enjoy the intimate feeling our curtain brings and enjoy our private art show. Truly, this is a one-of-a-kind experience for an adult senior living community. This garden speaks volumes; we can heal together, work together and laugh together. That’s what a Blue Zone is truly about. Take a walk and enjoy the Pea Patch; you won’t be disappointed.
Flowers are
donated to:
Friday Share
New Mother’ Day at Food Bank
Senior Day at Food Bank
Meals on Wheels 2020
Assisted living
Special Occasions – C & R
Friends in Recovery
Flower arrangements, and decorative pumpkins are sold in the Gift Shop to help fund our garden projects.
Submitted by resident group, Panorama Green Team – April 2020
Plastics
There is a difference between what is RECYCLABLE and what our current recycling service will accept. The numbered triangles on the bottom of many plastic items only indicate the type of plastic; they do not indicate what our current recycling service provider can take.
What is acceptable here may be different than what you are
used to and may change as markets for recyclables change.
You MAY put in the recycling bin: plastic bottles, jugs, and jars (no caps or lids); dairy tubs and yogurt cups (no caps or lids); plastic buckets (no lids or handles).
You may NOT put in the recycling bins: any plastics numbered 1-6 other than the above items. Do not put in the Recycling Bin: clear deli containers, frozen dinner trays, plastic takeout containers, plastic bags of any kind (including such things as bubble wrap, plastic-lined mailers), plastic egg cartons, plastic lids, plastic utensils. Unfortunately, all of these must be put in the trash.
Pay attention to the posted signs at the recycling centers,
and if you are not sure about an item, put it in the trash.
Submitted by resident group, Panorama Green Team – April 2020
Many of us are asking: “What can
I – and my community – do as a positive response to climate change?”
The Green Team is considering how
Panorama residents might shrink our carbon footprint while meeting our transportation
needs. The goal is ambitious: we want Panorama to be seen as a leader in
meeting its transportation needs in a sustainable manner. The Green Team is
forming a work group to consider this and bring a plan to our community. We
invite interested persons to join us.
What might such a plan include?
We believe education is the key. Could we help our neighbors make smart choices
to reduce fossil fuel use? This could include shifting to hybrid or electric
vehicles, as well as improved access to alternate transportation. What are the
questions we need answered to make wise choices?
We hope to collaborate with
Panorama management in this effort. Could new or remodeled residences include
outlets to recharge electric vehicles? Is there a cost-efficient strategy to
begin providing vehicle recharge stations at our apartment buildings? In the
longer term, could there be opportunities for Panorama to convert its vehicle
fleet to electric power?
We know that transportation is a
highly significant source of carbon dioxide emissions that accelerate climate
change. We want to do our part to reduce our impact – and to educate the larger
community if we can lead by example. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
If interested in joining this work group, call Cleve P. (contact information available to residents on Kya and the Resident Directory).
The
Panorama Dream goes something like this. Give our residents a pleasant
environment and plenty to do — dozens of self-governing interest and activity
groups served by first-rate workshops and facilities — and they’ll stay healthy
and happy.
Now,
the COVID-19 Pandemic is testing our dream in a way few of us could have
imagined — the threat might abate if we stop doing what we do best — stop
demonstrating our interdependence; and stay away from each other. ‘Til further
notice.
And
yet, look how quickly we’re adjusting:
Like
all campus activities, Panorama TV has suspended meetings and most production.
But PTV has a part to play during this emergency — the vital information part:
“INSIDE PANORAMA” shows continue (11AM, 3PM and 10PM on channel 370
and on demand via Kya.panorama.org) — our leaders, explaining
community process, emergency rules and policies. We also stepped up with
a new show, “The News with Lu” (8:00AM, 12PM, 6PM on 370, on demand
on Kya) where residents can see the latest official updates. And, safety first,
we’ll also be recording in a new way — everyone involved in production will be
physically separated.
Actually, this forced break is an opportunity to take stock of the Panorama TV dream. We’re working on new shows that demonstrate how Panorama works. We’re dreaming about new cameras and clearer pictures on your TVs, tablets and smart phones. Our dreams are full of new on-demand features for the Kya resident web portal. To make sure it’s accessible to all, we’re working on additional methods for services like closed captioning.
This is a great time to get involved — subscribe to our weekly Highlights email; watch our cable channel (tell your new Xfinity voice remote “Channel 370”). Look us up on Kya.
When
the danger passes — and it will — we’ll dream up more fresh neighborhood
TV…Panorama TV.
Submitted by Resident Emergency Resources Group – April 2020
Map Your Neighborhood and the other
Resident Emergency Resource groups have been helping Panorama residents prepare
for natural disasters for many years, never thinking that we would find
ourselves in the midst of a pandemic. Yet here we are, surviving the
unexpected! Here are some ways in which we can all help and care for each
other in this difficult time.
Contact your neighbors by email or phone to stay connected and make sure that everyone has what they need.
If you find that a neighbor is struggling in any way, please contact social services to let them know of your concerns. There is also a group of resident volunteers who have professional experience in helping people in times of distress. This Emotional Support Team is available to answer questions or just chat – call x6006 to leave a message and one of them will return your call.
Remind your neighbors that Jerry Gjovaag, Resident Council President, is the person to contact if you have any questions or concerns about what’s happening here at Panorama: councilpresident@panorama.org For residents without internet access, the Emergency Hotline has the most current messages: x7777.
If you are able to support our neighbors outside of Panorama, donations to Thurston County organizations such as the Food Bank, Interfaith Works and the Thurston County United Way Covid-19 Response Fund are always welcome.
We would like to offer a standing
ovation to the wonderful Panorama staff who are going “above and beyond”
every day to help us through the current crisis. We greatly
appreciate each and every one of you!
Written by Panorama resident, Mary Jo Shaw – April 2020
Every story is different when
handling this Coronavirus, even here at Panorama!!
Years ago, my grandfather
passed his strong, dominant, germ-freak gene down to my father. Being Dad’s
oldest, I inherited the largest dose of that gene.
However, my father was a bit
stingy. My thumb and forefinger don’t open doors, but I do cringe and
wash my hands or use sanitizer at the very next chance. Guess I have a
jump-start on assassinating germs! For many years, I’ve carried Purell to
execute them after reading a menu, or after singing/reading from church manuals
before Holy Communion, and especially after handling money. Eeeuu! We should
have had stock in Clorox and Lysol.
So, am I bored here in our
1,000 square foot apartment at Panorama? The day that our local news reported
Washington state had the first case of Coronavirus, my ears perked in shock. It
was in a nursing home, and residents would be quarantined. I figured Panorama
would keep us safe and ahead of the game with top notch suggestions and
restrictions. They did and still are, at this date, April 2, 2020.
I made a list of things to do
during the extra time of confinement:
1.) Start writing a third
book. Goofies and Goodies. I sent out notices to Panorama residents
to pass the word to friends and relatives, in-laws and out-laws for their
one-liners, or paragraphs or longer stories of embarrassing moments, teacher
stories, funnies, unusual happenings, unexpected job offer, handling the virus
restrictions/confinements etc. However, the info must be original and true.
I’m thrilled with incoming varieties of narratives and tales.
2.) Make crafts to
sell in our Gifts, Etc. when it opens up again: design another line of my all
occasion cards, and crochet Christmas stockings.
3.) Practice piano:
keep reviewing the huge stack of pieces I’d been playing all over the campus. I
know from experience that if I don’t, I’ll be reteaching myself. Dyslexia
definitely doesn’t do that without difficulty. I teachmyself pieces
I’ve always wanted to learn, but didn’t have time to do.
Chris, in his recliner and
remote, is backed up to my piano chair. I hear the news, Gomer Pyle, Carol
Burnett, or Bible preachers, as I play with low volume, and no headset.
Actually, I can still focus on my piano and improve each day. I’ve discovered
that late night practice helps me focus and retain if I go to bed right away
after practicing. Someone wrote me, “I just hope when this stay-at-home is
over, and you play the new pieces of music all over your Panorama campus, you
don’t start speaking the news reports at the same time!”
4.)
Read. I wanted to read resident Candy Berner’s, new book, Timothy Ridge,
hot off the press in my free time. She strolled over to the
Quinault with her walker. I met her at the entrance with my own walker and
stepped 6+ feet away for her to lay her book on my walker’s seat. We were happy
to see and visit in person. (This was her first novel and a real
page-turner, by the way. I couldn’t wait to get to the end, but didn’t want
it to end!!)
5.) Increase time for dailydevotions. This takes priority, first time in the morning. However, we realize man proposes, and God disposes. He did last Sunday, when the phone awakened me. (I’d been treating myself to a late rise, after practicing piano till 2 a.m., and then reading a good book another 2 hours.) My iPhone text read “Good morning! Your order of groceries will be delivered to your home in one hour.” YIKES! We had been told it would be delivered anytime in the next 4 to 5 days. Surely, not on a Sunday…so we thought!
Shower,
wash hair, get dressed, get breakfast, and be downstairs with a large, orange
shopping cart provided by Panorama in an hour? Yes. Only half of the $220 large
monthly order for two people was available in stock. After delivery, I
sanitized each item well with large Clorox wipes, set them on the counters and
glass-top stove to dry, then took note of the items not available to put onto
the next list. A challenge, but thanked God for my safety and firm restrictions
care at Panorama.
Not
enough hours in each day, to scratch off each item on my want-to-do list!!
We’ve
heard we are not stuck at home, but safe at home. (At least we are not stuck in
a safe!)
N.B. A Panorama Staff Parade! Residents waved from front
doors, driveways and/or patios as staff drove their cars with balloons of all
types, streamers, signs, tooting horns. That is another way that our community
sticks together! If the parade didn’t pass our home, we will be able to catch
it soon on our closed-circuit Panorama Channel 370.
Panorama has financial reserves set aside for times like this, and is re-purposing employees into jobs needed in other venues on the campus.
The Coronavirus will
eventually come to an end. However, with the dedicated, loving, employees,
staff, residents and prayer, we will all be the better for it. Because we
are in this together, in every aspect.
I say thank you, thank you, Panorama. God is with you
and with us always.
Written by Panorama resident, Bob Bowers – March 2020
Recently, on a lovely Saturday afternoon, the Panorama
Community gathered to pay honor to one of our own, Jo Love Beach. She and her
partner, Diane Stiles, moved to Panorama City (that was its moniker then) in
November 2000. They became active in the Benevolent Fund bringing a spark of
new energy to its work of helping those in the ebbtide of life have the
resources they need for living. It is no secret to those living at Panorama
that life in our fourth quarter often has some uncertainty:
Will we have enough to live our lives without fear?
Will our health continue to be robust?
Will we find something to do besides sit and wait?
Who will care when we age and need assistance with
living?
Jo Love was active in helping others allay their fears about the future. Testimony was given by many at the memorial gathering concerning Jo Love’s involvement in making Panorama among the best places to age in our country. The memorial gathering was our way of saying thanks to Jo Love: Thanks for her leadership…thanks for her involvement…thanks for her positive personality. Volunteering and leading is the way residents of Panorama can add to the richness of the community. There’s a place for everyone. As one who has lived here for 19 years, I can testify that it’s a dynamic place, full of energy and life. I can also say that Panorama will never be finished just as life is never finished.
The memorial gathering itself was marvel. I’ve seen
and participated in many memorial gatherings but this one in honor of Jo Love
outdid them all. In an easy, relaxed atmosphere those of us who attended shared
with each other around elegantly set tables in the Seventeen51 Restaurant. We
remembered Jo Love and honored Diane. We got to know the Beach family as they
told us about their mother and grandmother. We shared with each other and went
home with a quiet inner feeling of satisfaction, knowing that this is a good
place to be at this time. Thanks, Jo Love, for having lived and worked among
us. Your life is a challenge to our own to do what we can to make our world a
better place.
Written by Panorama resident and Yoga Instructor, Charles Kasler – April 2020
We greeted the year with a silent meditation + tea on New
Year’s Eve, and a free class on New Year’s Day. We held our spring meditation
retreat in the lovely chapel. Connie focused on new scientific research in
meditation in her dharma talk. Charles began working with interested yoga
students individually outside of class.
We have temporarily discontinued all classes while we
shelter in place until the virus threat passes. Likewise we cancelled our
spring equinox gathering, the first time we have missed a gathering since we
began. Needless to say, we are all looking forward to practicing together
again. In the meantime, there are audio and video classes for students to
follow at home.
The original purpose
of yoga was for inner peace. That’s still true today but there are also many
side benefits, among them pain management. One of our students said that her yoga
practice is like medicine. So true! Regular practice can lower stress
and can have a feedback effect to improve chronic pain.
“Yoga can teach you how to focus your mind to change your
experience of physical pain. It can teach you how to listen to your body and
take care of your needs so that you can participate in the activities that
matter to you. It can give you back the sense of safety, control, and courage
that you need to move past your experience of chronic pain.” – Kelly McConnogal,
Stanford University
Practicing yoga on a regular basis can affect your response to pain, decreasing your level of perceived suffering. The increased flow of oxygen to the brain and muscle tissues improves energy level and sense of well being. Combining breath awareness with the physical movement of yoga helps release muscle tension in your body. For people with arthritis, moving joints through their range of motion and stretching muscles can decrease the intensity of pain, or relieve it completely.
You can manage pain in two ways:
Symptom Improvement – reduce pain for conditions that
cause acute or chronic pain, such as low back pain, or recovery from surgery.
Adjunct to Western Medicine – aid in treatment of
conditions that have pain as the main feature, such as fibromyalgia, arthritis,
chronic headaches, and cancer treatments.
The level of pain you feel is influenced by how your brain
perceives the experience. Several factors can influence pain perception,
including:
Age – As brain areas degenerate with age so does
brain circuitry, so older people have lower pain tolerance and it may be harder
to deal with pain.
Memory – Our past experience dealing with pain
can influence our neural responses to it, causing us to be more sensitive to
pain.
Acute vs. Chronic Pain
Chronic pain differs from acute pain in three ways:
Your body can become more sensitive to the threat of pain, leading to fear and anxiety.
Your brain can become more likely to interpret situations as threatening, and sensations as painful.
With the experience of repeated reactions to pain, your ability to differentiate between the many aspects of the pain response may become blurred.
Chronic pain is challenging because it goes beyond the
physical presence of pain, and affects your mind-body connection. Chronic pain
can affect your daily functioning due to changes in:
Breathing. Your breath can become more shallow and shaky, making exercise and even normal physical activities more challenging.
Muscle Tension. Because your body is in a constant state of alert, muscle tension can increase. This will limit your range of motion, which in turn can worsen stiffness.
Movement Patterns. As you try to protect the area of pain, your movement patterns can change dramatically. Some people stop all nonessential movement, limiting what they can do in the short term and causing stiffness and weakness in the long term. Other people grit and bear the pain, only stopping when the pain is so intense that they can’t continue, but they may be creating unhealthy movement patterns that result in uneven physical wear and tear.
Body Image. How you view yourself can change from physically capable to weak and incapable, which makes you less willing to take on physical challenges or even to keep exercising.
Thought Patterns. Chronic pain can cause you to become less optimistic about pain and your life in general.
Emotions. Your emotions may become more volatile, leading you to become angry, frustrated, tearful, and overwhelmed.
Although chronic pain can cause each of these issues, they
are all problems that you can treat with yoga. And as you consciously address
your chronic pain, you can improve or reverse the physical, mental, and
emotional damage it has caused.
