The "Choral Arts Society" of The Highlands

At the Christmas party at The Highlands in December 2009, Bill Bellows, Don Aikens and Stan Sylvester "sang" a parody of "My Favorite Things" utilizing words used by Julie Andrews at her 65th birthday party at Radio City Music Hall.

If you click on the arrow in the middle of the photo below and turn your sound up loud, you can appreciate some of the fun we had that day.

The actual words are:

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in strings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs, cataracts, hearing aids, glasses,

Polident, Fixodent, false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When my knees go bad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so sad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heating pads, hot meals they bring,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains and slow brains, and no need for sinnin',

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,

When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache,

When the pipes break,

When the eyes go dim,

Then I remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad,.

Walking at The Highlands



Louise Cornman, left above, moved to The Highlands from Sunnybrook Village in Brunswick because of the limited opportunities to walk at Sunnybrook. Here are Louise and Jeannette Wootton on a late March stroll.

  

Pat Knoll and her daughter, Heidi, are walking outside the Maine Lodge on a sunny March day.





Carole Todd out for a stroll. Those colorful gloves look great, Carole!



The champion walker of all is John Tyler who walks over to Brunswick and back almost every day

We are so fortunate to have the Highlands Trail System, too!
 


Jeanne Whitten and I hiked on the Ravine Trail, marked in red on the map below. Here is Jeanne, holding my walking stick, waiting for me to get started.

It is so good that we have this series of walking trails through the woods near the Estates portion of The Highlands community. If you decide to explore these trails, be sure to take a companion and a cell phone with you.




And nearby we have access to the Cathance River Nature Preserve with fine trails for more adventuresome walkers

Here is a group of Highlands folks on a hike around the Heath Trail in the Cathance River Nature Preserve on August 30, 2010




Donna Wagley, a Maine Lodge resident, is in the white blouse, second in line



Our leader, Sally Von Benken from Highland Green, explained the points of interest

 

Pat Knoll from the Maine Lodge and Heidi Krahn from Reed Street in The Estates take a breather




Grethe Goodwin who lives on Governors Way is at the left with red cap and white blouse, Pat Knoll and Stan Sylvester from the Maine Lodge are next, Pat with red blouse and Stan with his mouth wide open, Heidi Krahn has the yellow and blue striped top, and Kay Bell from Cadigan Lodge is wearing a light blue top, second from right



Can the Red Sox win this year?

 With players like these from our residents and staff at The Highlands do you think we stand a chance in 2011?

No, despite what the back of the uniform says, this is not David Ortiz.  It is Mariah Pennell, a member of our housekeeping staff who is also one of the kind people who deliver newspapers in the Maine Lodge on weekday mornings.

Could Mariah become the designated hitter for the Red Sox such as Ortiz has been?

No, Mariah couldn't fill that position because here is Cadigan resident Helen Warren all ready with her Red Sox bat in hand.

Helen's greatest interest in life is the Red Sox.     Football? No . . . only baseball and only the Red Sox!

Jean Sylvester received this Red Sox shirt from her daughter as a recent birthday present. Her not-so-smart husband didn't realize the significance of the number "90" until someone pointed out to him that it represented Jean's ninetieth birthday.

Jean is conferring about the team's possibilities with stalwart Red Sox supporter, Don Crandlemire.

 




Maybe, just maybe, nosey Milo, the white Sylvester cat could be bat boy for the team

 

Christmas Cheer 2010

One of the fun events of last year's Christmas season was an "ugly sweater" social.

Here are some of the folks who attended with their varied selections:

If prizes were awarded, first place would go to K. Schmidt, back row, right, for her innovative apparel.  Pat Aikens, back row, left, has once again brought forth her "least-Christmas-like" blue sweater.

Front row: Helene Linenthal, Roma Cook, Selma Blatt, Maggie Cook, Frank Farner.
Back row: Pat Aikens, Doris Bailey, Nina Brown, Dot Simonson, Jeannette Wootton, Marilyn Crandlemire, Dorothy Farner, K. Schmidt.

This is a group of folks from The Estates who spread good cheer to the residents of the Governor King Wing as they entertained by singing Christmas carols.

Proud University of Maine Alumni at The Highlands

The Winter 2011 edition of the almuni magazine of the University of Maine contains a photograph of several of our stalwart residents of The Highlands:

Speaking of "special people," one of the very best is also pictured below. I am referring to George Andrews who is the most senior male in the Maine Lodge. I look upon him as a role model for those of us following him. Many of us have become grumpy old men or, like myself, a curmudgeon, but George retains all of his grace and charm and wit. It is both fun and stimulating to interact with George. Below is a photo of Vera Halter and George at Captain Mike's Restaurant in Brunswick:

And George is fun. Here he is performing, pretending to wear a pair of Christmas tree decorations as earrings at the 2009 Christmas party at The Highlands:

St. Patrick's Day 2011 at The Highlands

Daffodils were sold in the lobby of the Maine Lodge to benefit the American Cancer Society. Joe Atlass was one of the first customers, being helped by Stan Sylvester in his special St. Patty's Day hat:

Pommy Hatfield replaced Stan in selling the daffodils at noon. Stan is turning over one of the vases to Pommy:

Dot Papiernik and Helen Atkinson are properly attired for St. Patrick's Day:

Corinne Melanson borrowed Stan's hat for the occasion:

Ruth Grand, Alice Rossiter and Janet VanOrden all dressed up in green:

Marjorie & George Parker celebrating with St. Patrick's Day grog and proper attire:

And when we reached the dining room, there was our hostess, Valerie, to greet us:



The Highlands Residents' Executive Board, 2010-2011

Here is a photo of the Executive Board taken in December 2010:

Front row: Peg Fischer (North I), Dot Simonson (Maine Lodge), Louise Carolan (Maine Lodge), Stan Sylvester (Maine Lodge)
Second row: Barbara Goodwin (North II), Deane Lanphear (HFH/BP/THV), Jeanne Whitten (Maine Lodge), Elise Horsfall (North IV), Ellen Miller (Maine Lodge), Jean Jangraw (South), Katharine Bell (Cadigan Lodge)
Back row: David Kilpatrick (North III)

The Annual Meeting of the Association at which new members are elected or announced is in April of each year.

Why did we move to The Highlands?

Why did we move to The Highlands?  Pretty simple answers: Jean retired from her work at age 86 and we were tired of worrying about snow, freeze-ups, lawn care, precipitously increasing property taxes, housekeeping and so on. So we looked around at the independent living alternatives and chose the Maine Lodge of The Highlands because: 1) We could pay rent instead of buying in, 2) There is central air conditioning as opposed to a window unit, 3) The swimming pool is right here on the premises, 4) Since this is the largest of the area retirement communities, there are more entertainments, more trips, more activities, and 5) The friendliness of both staff and residents is outstanding.

We turned down the first apartment offered because it was near a lot of traffic and seemed dark. We were delighted with the offer of apartment 105 in the Maine Lodge. We think the first floor location is great, our being right next to one of the side doors. It is sunny, comfortable and convenient. We have a full kitchen, living room, a screened porch which we and our cats enjoy, two bedrooms, a full bath and a half bath, two large closets and two smaller ones, plus a basement storage area. Here is the floor plan of our apartment:

Do we have a guest room? No, but when our children have visited, we have used the guest suite at the Holden Frost House which we think is a great bargain at $50 per night. It is nearby but affords privacy and comfort for the visitors. Would we like to have more space? Sure, we'd like to have a room by itself for our desks, computers and associated hardware. But by making effective use of the existing space, we do fine. I mentioned our cats. We appreciate being allowed to have them here. They seem happy, just as we are.

How much does all this cost us?  Right now (March 2011) the rent per month for one person is $3,433 and for the second person $550, so our total is just under $4,000. Our only regular extra bills are for electricity, cable TV, telephone and Internet connection. One big plus of living in the Maine Lodge is the fact that we are served one excllent meal a day, evenings on weekdays, noon on Sundays.

In our period here, Jean and I have interacted with most everyone. We know every resident of the Maine Lodge by name, as well as a lot of the residents of the Estates, Benjamin Porter, and Holden Frost House. We will gradually become acquainted with the new residents of Town Hall Village.

Photos of Jean & Stan at The Highlands

Here we are at the front door of the Maine Lodge and below in matching blue Highlands T-shirts which we found at a yard sale: