Wisteria Place Newsletter December 2020
Festive Greetings!
December 2020 is here! Way to go everyone. We made it thus far, COVID-19 and all!
At Wisteria Place, we are committed to joy. We want you to know we are challenging each other to not let COVID-19, winter, limiting social “bubbles,” or ANYTHING take away our festive spirits! We are going to do what we can to keep ourselves and each other in as good a place as possible.
We have put together a list of ideas to ensure we find ways to maintain and boost our spirits, no matter what! If you have other ideas please send them to Gurpreet or me. We love to hear from you but we also want to continue collecting recommendations and ideas that bring about positive living experiences for people. We are all different, and different things bring joy to different people.
Keeping Spirits Bright - the Wisteria Place way!
Festive Must-Do List
❄️ Set an intention to make it a great month – no matter what! Remind yourself whenever you need to.
❄️ Think fun and positive thoughts to combat sadness, loneliness, and other negative thinking that doesn’t help much of anything. Catch yourself when you need to change your thinking. This can bring more cheer to your Christmas and even change your life!
❄️ Send more Christmas cards than usual or make daily calls. This will boost your spirits while letting others know you care about them too. Who can you reach out to today? A neighbour, a long-lost friend or family member?
❄️ Play happy music and sing along if you feel the urge. Be it Christmas carols or other favourites, singing is really good for us: in the shower, in your home, any time, any place! 😊 Sing like no one is listening!
❄️ Walk, dance, move. Outside with fresh air is great, but keep it up on rainy or cold days. Challenge yourself in your home or call a friend and do it together on speaker phone. It's known to improve moods and bring love to your ticker!
❄️ Put up a favourite decoration (or two or three.) Don’t avoid holiday traditions just because it may be different this year. Be creative and manifest joy regardless!
❄️ Write/journal. Even if you don’t feel it, write about favourite happy memories and past events, or notice even simple good things in your day. Dwelling on these can lift your spirits in no time! Poetry? Never too late to try. Gratitude journal? Start one!
❄️ Watch fun, uplifting programs and/or read inspirational positive articles, magazines, or books. Absolutely be mindful about what you feed your precious self/soul! Limit the news and tragedy and COVID-19 counts: once a day instead of twice? Replace them with something that brings you a good chuckle or joy! Nutrition for the soul.
❄️ Connect with others whenever possible, as we are meant to be or interact with others: get on some Zoom chats, even on your phone, have patio visits (remember your blanket and gloves), reach out to help others ward off loneliness ,or reach out to keep yourself connected: it’s a win-win!
❄️ DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Be creative if you can’t do what you have done before. Of course you can teach an old dog new tricks! Where there is a will there is a way, it just might need a few adaptations.
Have a great festive season. We look forward to connecting in January when we will have a Wisteria Place presentation of suite floor-plans and rates, and even start allocating suites with deposits. Exciting times a-coming!
May your days be merry and bright!
Maureen Fakaro
Community Relations Manager
(604) 338-5280
4388 Garry Street
Richmond, BC, V7E 2V2
wisteriaplace.ca
An OPTIMA LIVING Community
Upcoming Events
❄️ You are invited to Wisteria Place’s ZOOM Christmas Party – December 10 at 10 AM!
❄️ Wear your favourite Christmas sweater, socks, hat, or be creative!
❄️ Come with a festive beverage of your choice
❄️ Brush up on your Christmas trivia
❄️ Be prepared for a carol or two (you can choose “to mute or not to mute”)!
❄️ Be ready for a surprise performance from a local school group prepared just for you!
❄️ Surprises, prizes, and fun are in store!
Join on Zoom by clicking here.
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❄️ Our December webinar is called Community Engagement for Healthy Living. Watch the premiere on the Optima Living Facebook page on December 17th.
❄️ Optima Living is hosting an online Christmas concert on December 22nd! Watch our social media for details.
🤶 The Development 🤶
A bird's-eye view of the Wisteria Place construction site and the beautiful neighbourhood of Steveston.
Construction is progressing nicely! Each of the many tradespeople that work here every day are keeping safe and fully following all COVID-19 regulations. Wisteria Place will open in Spring 2021.
Flu season is here. This year, COVID-19 is making it all the more important to ensure we stay healthy. Don't forget to get your flu shot so we can stop the spread before it begins.
Click here for your provincial vaccine information.
COMING SOON: A safe flu clinic for you! Wisteria Place is working with a local pharmacist to help you get your shot before Christmas. Stay tuned for details!
Webinar: Reimagine Ageing
Optima Living and our knowledge partner Dr. Adrian Wagg—the Alberta Health Services Chair in Healthy Ageing and Optima Living's knowledge partner at the University of Alberta—are rethinking what it means to age. Watch our webinar from November 19th, when Dr. Wagg discussed how ageing in the 21st century has been reimagined with more vibrancy, activity, and purpose, and how you can take part.
Like the Optima Living Facebook page and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great resources for seniors.
Wisteria Place Remembers
In this conversation, we share from the heart memories and experiences from wartime. This reflection time is for connection, learning, and honouring those who suffered and lived through very challenging times. We have a moment of silence and time to reflect on such wartime journeys and experiences.
🎁 Wisteria Place Coffee Chat Prize Winner 🎁
Coffee Chat participant Ryoko Ward won a fall bouquet by Steveston’s Super Grocer during Gurpreet’s Surprise Giveaways in our fall Coffee Chat. Fun times! Come join us for great connections and surprises.
COVID-19 Questions With Dr. Adrian Wagg
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, Optima Living is keeping you updated with the latest information. Watch our newest series of COVID-19 questions with Dr. Adrian Wagg, the Alberta Health Services Chair in Healthy Ageing and Optima Living's knowledge partner at the University of Alberta.
Click here to see our most recent video instalments.
🎄 Did You Know? 🎄
Our Community Relations Coordinator Gurpreet Pannu is our tech-savvy helper, and is here to help seniors join our Coffee Chats, whether by laptop, tablet, or by smartphone! Contact her at 604-339-5670 or
🎅 Community Connections 🎅
New friendships are forming and opportunities arising to connect at a time when socializing is harder than usual. We at Wisteria Place are so happy that our community has been growing with our Seniors Zoom Coffee Chats. People are joining our Interest List and planning for a vibrant life at our new site from late spring 2021!
In November, Wisteria Place Remembered with a special chat for Remembrance Day. People shared memories, experiences, and memorabilia from wartime, mostly in Canada: imagine young students knitting squares for afghans that were sent overseas, making coffee from chickaree, making butter and margarine from lard and a yellow substance, food rations and stamps, blackouts, fathers and uncles and brothers going overseas, a sister acting as a plotter in Nova Scotia, and much more! These people shared great, important stories.
We also talked about rations and food stamps, boys learning to knit up a storm, and students of all ages knitting socks and blankets for women to put together and send overseas for soldiers. Chat participants shared these thought-provoking memories. We even saw an Airman doll that was knitted intricately by Charlie. See a sample below:
Feel free to contact us should you have questions, want information, or would like help to join our events. We hope you have a lovely winter and are looking forward to the festive season with joy!
Wishing these blessings to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!
Maureen and Gurpreet