Sweetwood Living

Curl up with a good book!

bdi — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:57:44 +0000

The Sweetwood Library is open 24 hours a day and you are always welcome! There are no due dates or overdue fee, but it is very important that everything taken from the room be signed out in the notebook on the desk. (There is a separate notebook for videos on the shelf there.)

When returning a book or video, please put it into the box on the library desk and make a note of the date of return in the notebook – on the line where you signed it out. If unable to find the entry, please leave a note.

If help is needed, just ask any member of the Library Committee or the librarian, Mary Ellen Pattee.

Forever Fit!

bdi — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:42:52 +0000

The schedule for the Forever Fit exercise group has been changed. It will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Saturdays at 9:00AM in the Auditorium.

Staff Luncheon – good food, good friends, good fun!

bdi — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:19:08 +0000

Good food, good friends, good fun at the staff luncheon

Thanks to the Bernadette and her talented kitchen staff, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch of broasted chicken, shrimp and succulent spare ribs! This was accompanied by salads, dips, breads and desserts galore that the staff brought in to share. It was a fun way to spend some time together as a group, fill our bellies, and take a bit of time to share stories and laughs.

Thanks, Bernadette, for pulling us all together!

Birthday Celebration!

bdi — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:24:06 +0000

Last Friday, January 22nd, one of our residents celebrated her 99th birthday! Esther Christensen was joined by her daughter, Jane, and eight of her Williamstown friends, for a lovely luncheon in The View, the dining room at Sweetwood. Balloons, cards, gifts, flowers and delicious food provided a festive atmosphere, and everyone sang happy birthday to a very happy and lovely Esther! Next year’s party will be even bigger, for sure!

Esther and daughter, Jane, at her birthday party

Upcoming Events

bdi — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:50:29 +0000

Mount Greylock Regional High School Students to Visit
Students from our next door neighbor, Mt. Greylock Regional High School, would like to come to visit and bring their acapella singing group with them. We are thinking about a Friday afternoon program prior to Social Hour and have invited the young people to stay to visit for a while during social hour.

The Williamstown House of Local History
Ellen Burstein from the Williamstown House of Local History will come to speak about local history and the gathering of the history of an area, with the idea of inspiring Sweetwood residents to write short reminisces of the areas in which you grew up. We would then have an interesting melting pot of diverse local histories

A Hawaiian Party in February
It will be too cold to don grass skirts and leis, so our friend and photographer, Roger Hart will provide a luau atmosphere with a beautiful multi-media presentation of Hawaii.
* Perhaps the dining staff will provide festive umbrellas to dip in the poi for that evening*

Speakers from Williams College
There are quite a few members of the Williams College Faculty who have agreed to lecture at Sweetwood this spring. It will be a pleasure to welcome them as their schedules allow.

Lots to look forward to and we will keep you posted on dates and times.

The holidays are in full swing!

bdi — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:08 +0000

The holidays at Sweetwood have begun with beautiful decorations everywhere you turn. Thanks to Cookie, the little elf who seems to know just what to do, the foyer and living room are bedecked with sparkles and bobbles, and outside the lights brighten the night sky.

The residents are in a festive mood too!

Jack looks like Mr. Christmas himself!

Phil and Verne sharing a festive moment

Join the Sweetwood Swimming Group and get fit!

bdi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:25:51 +0000

If you are interested in going swimming, please speak with Dedee or leave a message at the front desk. The Northern Berkshire YMCA in North Adams tends to be very quiet most days from 1:00pm until 3:00pm. It is feasible for our schedule to be flexible if Tuesday is not a good day.

* All reports indicate that exercise, especially low impact exercise like swimming, is wonderful for all aspects of human health – memory and organizational skills included! ☺

Ghosts, goblins and goodies at Sweetwood!

bdi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:49:26 +0000

Halloween was celebrated in ghoulish style this year with decorations galore in the living room. Cookie kept everyone out while she worked her magic, and no one was disappointed!

Entertainment was led by Del Rae and Judy Polkow, and dinner in The View featured Baked Bat (Cornish Game Hens) and Broiled Sea Monster (Haddock Filet). The staff dressed for the occasion and fun was had by all!

At Images Cinema: “Bright Star”

bdi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:33:49 +0000

Wednesday October 14 –leaving Sweetwood at 4:00 pm – Dinner afterward at the 1986 House (Please sign up in the Activities Book)
BRIGHT STAR (2009)
Director: Jane Campion
Rating: PG * 1 hour 59 minutes * Drama/Romance
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Paul Schneider
London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, and outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’ younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’ best friend Brown realized their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensation, “I have the feeling as if I were dissolving,” Keats wrote her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats’ illness proved insurmountable.

Paintings Here and About by Phyllis Blair

bdi — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:29:10 +0000

Many of us at Sweetwood had the pleasure of attending a showing of paintings by one of our residents, Phyllis Blair, and it was a wonderful treat! Her art is beautiful, painted mostly in our own region, with watercolors and oils of the local farms, sunsets, flowers, animals, and homes and the people of this part of the Berkshires.

Residents touring the Sheep Hill Farmhouse

Set at Sheep Hill, a renovated farmhouse owned by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, room after room was filled with her work. Phyllis presented a delightful walking tour with comments on each piece of art, explaining where they were, why she had chosen to paint them, and how she had always loved this area so. Many of the paintings are for sale, and the proceeds will go to the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation.

Sweetwood is fortunate to be home to many of her paintings as well. Take your own walking tour or our halls and enjoy the fine work of Phyllis Blair on your own.