The number 2 featured twice this week with 2 cafes and a 2nd anniversary!

June cafes

Cafe Alexandria- June 18
Mary Lee Anderson, Executive Director of Senior Services of Alexandria (SSA) joined us this month to talk about the services her organization offers. The people of Alexandria are very fortunate to have this organization in their area! When it comes to food, SSA offers Meals on Wheels and Groceries to Go (volunteers deliver pre-ordered groceries for free), and there’s also AniMeals on Wheels for pets. DOT Paratransit provides transportation for disabled residents for only $3.00 within city limits and up to 5 miles outside city limits, and $5.00 for trips over five miles outside the city – both fares are one way. There’s also a Silver Service Card for discounts at participating businesses. Through their Friendly Visitor Program, volunteers visit socially isolated seniors for at least an hour each week – a special and personal way to help connect people with each other and the world around them!

In addition to the programs offered by SSA, we also learned about Smart911, a service which allows residents to provide information such as medical issues, emergency contacts, and more, in advance so that emergency responders can better assist them. For more information visit alexandriava.gov/911. For more information about the many programs Senior Services of Alexandria offers go to seniorservicesalex.org.

Cafe Fairfax – June 20
This week we celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our first Cafe Fairfax at Insight Memory Care Center! Because donuts are a key part of our cafes, we munched on a yummy giant chocolate donut cake.

Our conversation was about hobbies and things we do, or did, in our spare time, and led to a bit of a history lesson. We began by hearing the stories behind some of the paintings an artist brought. Then we learned about the art of making baskets and a handmade broom, and how to transport 400 lbs of broom corn! We also learned how pewter spoons and bowls can be made, and felt the weight of the molds. Next, we learned about the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland, as well as some of it’s considerable history given that it has been in operation since the 1300’s.

Some other activities we talked about were gardening, photography, and procrastination baking. Have you heard of the latter? It’s when a person chooses to bake in order to avoid doing something else they probably should be doing. When I looked this up on Google I learned a new word – procrastibaker. I think that’s how our giant donut cake came to be!

Thank you to everyone who shared their interests with us! Although Parkinson’s is what brings us together, we have so many interesting and fun things about living our lives that we can share and learn from each other.

Hope to see you out and about soon! How about Cafe Ashburn or to hear the Inova Movement Disorders Team next week? Check out our Community Events page for new events!

Cheers,
Sonia
email: Sonia@ParkinsonSocialNetwork.org