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September 4 -- Plowing On

Day tripping is one of my favourite activities at Walker House, which says a lot because we do so many wonderful things here.

Sign up to go with us to Kemptville for the International Plowing Match on September 22^nd. You will have to pay your entrance to the fair but the air conditioned coach is on us. If I have your name on the list by September 6^th, I can pre-purchase tickets for $21; after that, they will be $26. Either way, I will do a bulk order so you can just here and get right to the fun when we are dropped off. The coach departs Walker House at 9am and will starts back at 2pm. Brockville pick ups can be pre-arranged.

I have some shuffling going on the coach on Oct 19th to the Thousand Islands Playhouse to see Jersey Boys ($67 for the theatre/$30 for casino option) so reach out if you are interested in joining us for the day.

We have our souvlaki lunch here on Sept 2^nd at 11:30.  $10 will get you chicken or pork souvlaki, rice, Greek salad and potatoes, and a frosty dessert. Our book club meets after the lunch at 1pm to discuss our Jeffrey Archer book and make plans for the fall.

Seniors Centre Without Walls has a strong calendar for September. Frank Taker is here on the 6^th to read two of his short stories, PC David Holmes had to take a call last week so he will be trying again on the 8^th to deliver his presentation on (appropriately enough) telephone scams. Coming later in the month we have author Deborah Dunleavy, Prescott’s new librarian, Anne Gillard, and Donna White from Green Things will join us to discuss pruning and winterizing your plants. Returning favourites include Rev Tracey phoning in from the Rock, and Una brings us her effervescent Monday Morning Mindfulness. As always, there is no fee, and no computer or internet needed – phone in to 1-866-279-1594 a few minutes before the start time of your session and enter 595056# when asked for the passcode. 

The pool is wrapping up after a fantastic season but aqua fit in the river will take place daily at 10am (except for Tuesdays) as long as the water stays warm. By then Tim will bring our intrepid fly fishers down to the river to test their new skills!

If you’d like to be in the loop, check out our new web address www.prescott.ca/walkerhouse or call me to get on my newsletter list 613-925-5300. 

July 9  Swimming

So the good news is that you are going to be burning calories running all over town, but the bad news is that we have another new schedule for our aqua fit lovers. Wait a minute though, doesn’t this all just improve our flexibility? So it’s all good…

Here is our final schedule (for now anyway) for our water babies:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the group will be attending aqua-fit with the Y in the Prescott Pool at 12:15.

Tuesdays are still a day off (although there is adult swim at the pool at 12:15) and then

Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10am there will be aqua-fit in the river. That means you have 6 opportunities each week to get fit while floating with some of the best gals I know. Come and give it a try if you can keep track of it all ;)

We have a venue change for strength training for women over 50 for this week only and class will be at the Ruth Evanson room on the second floor of our municipal building. Enter through the main doors and instead of going left to the library go up the elevator to the second floor for 10:30. Bring your exercise band and your water bottle.

Our Bunka Babes have set up a beautiful silent auction in our main room for a couple of weeks with bidding closing on the 21^st at 10am. There are framed bunka pieces, lovely shawls, Swedish weaving projects and even some craft supplies if all of these gorgeous pieces inspire you to get working on something yourself. The money raised will go to support Kingston 4 Paws in their work training and placing service animals with people in need.

We have seen a lot of groups choosing to use our new lawn chairs and meet under the shade trees for their events. I keep a key for the chairs in the house so you can easily access them and don’t need to bring your own chair and can make the call as you arrive based on the breeze and the rain. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I’ll see you at the amphitheatre for Shakespeare and songs!

July 1 Happy Canada Day 

Hello everyone. Despite the grumblings I hear about it being too cool for summer, it is in fact here and our co-operative aqua fit in the river has returned. The water is still a wee bit chilly, but if the sun is shining, you will find our intrepid mermaids at the beach every Monday at 1pm, Tuesdays are their day off (cause you know the groceries won’t buy themselves, am I right?) and from Wed-Sun at 10am. All you need to do is show up with a pool noodle, a smile, and have fun. Strength Training for Women over 50 continues at the Leo Boivin C.C. on Mondays at 10:30 with Lesley with the exception of holiday Mondays.

Our wood carvers have added an open air session on Monday afternoons here so you have two chances each week to join in. During rain, of course, Mondays will be skipped, but Thursday afternoons continue indoors rain or shine.

Another addition to our calendar for July is a return to Seniors Centre Without Walls. Joan Rupert Barkley is working with me to reach out over the summer months to new participants who maybe were not aware that this free program is so easy to access over the phone. Watch for new programs over the coming months and some returning favourites like our Weekly Faith Lift with Rev Tracy (yes – LIVE from St Johns!)

Please share it with your friends.

June 24 Hang your Stocking for Christmas in July

Join us Friday, July 22^nd at 11:30am as we deck the halls for a festive summer feast of cranberry turkey wraps with tossed salad, crudites, and chips. Dessert is one of our favourites – layered chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake and all for just $10. Sign up in person, phone Susan at 613-925-5300, or email walkerhouse@prescott.ca.

Everyone is welcome to participate in our sock exchange as well. The premise is simple: buy a beautiful pair of socks and use one as a stocking and place a few fun treats inside it. I will have the mate of your sock in a basket and people will pick a sock and match it to their stocking. If you are a man, then do your stocking for a man and vice versa. Keep your budget to the $15 range. Not interested? Don’t worry –just come and enjoy lunch.

Watch for Joan and I on Cogeco this week. We made a guest appearance on FYI with Doreen Barnes to talk about our mid-summer outreach with Senior Centre Without Walls; a phone based program offered free throughout the region.

We are thoroughly enjoying our Strength Training for Women over 50 with Leslie on Mondays at 10:30 at the Leo Boivin CC. This will continue through the summer except for holiday Mondays.It’s a challenging course that also offers easy modifications for all body types and fitness levels, so I encourage you to come and try it out. The river is warm enough so we will soon be meeting on sunny days at 10:30 for a fun aqua fit with friends. All you need is a pool noodle and a beach towel to improve your muscle tone and your tan at the same time!

June 10 Director's Chairs 

It’s been a great week and our new outdoor director’s chairs are getting well used under our shady trees.  It gives us the added bonus of choosing between central air or river breeze so money well spent, I’d say!

In our gazebo, I have some lovely veggie plants (roma tomatoes, celery, peppers, and eggplants) and a few tiger lilies brought in by members who are thinning their gardens. Please feel free to drop in and take a few to plant at home.

We are having work done on our alarm system and keys so you will notice that you need a new key for the back door but don’t worry – your key still works at the King St door. Once we are all finished, I’ll set everyone up with our new system.

Its summertime, but we won’t taking it easy around here because all of our regular activities continue through to the fall. If you don’t have a schedule, then please call Susan at 613-925-5300 or email walkerhouse@prescott.ca to get on our email list and stay up to date with special events.

Yoga is signing up a new semester after the last day of our current session with Maggie Jordan. Rates will continue at $30 for six sessions for members or a drop in fee of $10($6 for members).Strength Training for Women over 50 will continue on Mondays at 10:30 at the Leo with Lesley taking over as instructor after Mary’s last day on the 13^th. It continues to be free for Walker House members, but other women are welcome to drop in for $5. As with most of our activities, we have equipment for you to use if you don’t have your own.

We have a variety of Welcome Signs to paint on the 28^th of June and our book club is planning to meet at 1:30 on the 29^th at Katarina’s to discuss “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” by Kate Mortonover a late lunch or a sweet treat, and I have copies here to borrow. I wonder if we will be even more clever than usual with a book in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other?

I’d like to thank Sharon for jumping in to be convenor for euchre in September, but she is going to busy volunteering with the St Lawrence Shakespeare Festival so we are looking for a new person or persons to open for euchre on Friday afternoons at 1pm. I’d like to hear from the players how you’d like to structure things going forward but in the meantime, just come and play.

June 4 Update on Cricut

I’m sending a quick update of upcoming events before the weekend and am including our regular summer schedule as well.

First off, we postponed our book club meeting this week to Wednesday the 8^th at 3pm. We’re meeting to discuss, “A Gentleman in Moscow” and pick up our next book and all who have read it are welcome to bring their two cents. Our Cricut 101 workshop with Johanna is taking place on Tuesday the 7^th and 14^th at 10am. Please bring your Cricut machine, mats, accessories, and the tablet or laptop that you plan to install the program on.

The woodcarvers have had fun painting porch leaners and I have a few leftover if members would like to come and paint on Tuesday the 28th of June. We have two smaller welcome sign kits as well (one with a truck motif and one is a wee gnome) they both have seasonal items to swap out through the year.

I have a sign-up sheet on our bulletin board and ask that you pay in advance as these may prove to be quite popular. There will be a $10 fee which includes all the pieces, paints, gesso and varnish. We have some brushes, but please bring your own if you have them. 

I have 8 of each of the kits and 5 sets of cut-outs for the porch leaners that you can choose from.

Our trip to Jersey Boys is booked up for now, but I can reach out for more tickets from the playhouse if there is interest. Don’t forget we have room on the coach if you just want a seat for $30 to go and spend the day at the casino too.

We have two more strength training sessions with Mary on Monday at 10:30 and if the weather cooperates on the 13^th, we would like to take a walk after class down to the marina for a treat and to bid Mary farewell as she heads off on her cycling adventure. Our last yoga class of this semester is on Friday the 10^th at 10am and details of Maggie’s next semester will be available then.