Senior Connections Looks Ahead to October Programs
October brings us a little bit closer to cooler weather! We have had a few breezes from the north, making us dream of warm drinks flavored with pumpkin spice and the fun of people-watching during the Halloween season. Church festivals come to a close, but harvest festivals offer weekend entertainment. As our family, which we call Senior Connections, grows with the addition of the La Grange location and more opportunities to meet new people and connect with old friends, you have the chance to run into them at all these social functions. It is wonderful to see these bonds grow through our daily programs, monthly adventures, and art classes.
Let’s look ahead to what is happening the week of Oct. 5-9. Doors open at 9 a.m. at all locations, and we are open until 1:30 or 2 p.m. each day. Mornings start with coffee and warm smiles from volunteers, with lunch served at 11:15, with lineup at 11:30, except on Wednesdays. Get there by 11 a.m. or earlier to get a good seat if you are coming for the meal and bingo.
Join on Monday, Oct. 5 at 1111 Bohlmann Ave., Schulenburg. Tater tot casserole is on the menu. Connie Koopmann Catering will provide this dish. This meal will be complemented by our house salad along with garlic bread and members will provide desserts.
Mike Stroup and Annie Ross will entertain members from 12-1 p.m. Brenda McMahon with New Century Hospice will call Bingo at 1 p.m.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, meet at 301 W. Saint Charles St., First United Methodist Church. We are now collecting home-baked cookies at each of our locations, not just Schulenburg. We then package and label these home-baked goodies and give them to our amazing Bingo callers and speakers who join us, helping provide fun and enrichment to our programs. If you like to bake and would like to bring some to the Weimar gathering, please do. On the menu is turkey pot pie made by Amanda Kridel served with cranberry relish and, of course, our house salad. Desserts provided by members.
After this holiday-inspired meal, Chyla from Wellsential in Hallettsville and her team will be in the house to show us chair exercises for healthy living. Allyssa with First Texas Home Health will join at 12:30 p.m. for bingo.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, join us back in Schulenburg and La Grange. Because this is such a popular day, we recommend arriving before 11 a.m. Koopmann Catering’s enchilada casserole is on the menu. Volunteers will prepare rice and beans to complete the meal, and our members will bring desserts. We go straight into bingo on Wednesdays. Kelley Sobotik with Crown Hospice of Victoria will join us for that exciting game.
Join us in La Grange at 653 E. Pearl Street, Building A, in the Randolph Rec. Center. Today’s meal features pulled pork sandwiches from Amanda Kridel. Potato salad and fresh fruit will complete this savory retreat, and guess who is bringing the desserts? Members. The lunch-andlearn program and the bingo caller are the same, Deborah with the Texas Quilt Museum will serve double duty, talking about the amazing quilt museum La Grange is lucky enough to be home to, and then she will call bingo.
On Friday, Oct. 9, join at 1206 Lyons Ave., the Arts for Rural Texas classrooms. Artful Friday classes continue, featuring Fernanda Kirkwood in acrylic painting and Diana Chafin in assemblage art. These classes run from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., and we serve participants a meal after class. Many students stay after lunch to continue working on their projects because they can’t stop. You do have to be signed up for these classes, and we do have a waitlist. But do not be afraid to add your name to the list, because people often cannot attend, and this lets us move people from the waitlist to the participant list.
The Ageless Artistry Showcase online auction closes on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. All the funds from this auction go to our building fund. We plan to have a large classroom space and art gallery in our new building. But we could not do these art programs without our partnership with Arts for Rural Texas.
Our October adventure to Festival Hill and PawPaws Restaurant in Carmine is currently full, with a waitlist. If you are on the list and cannot make it, please let us know so we can make room for other attendees. This will be a fascinating tour of the architecture at Festival Hill Music Institute in Round Top, including their concert hall, Menke House, two museum rooms, and the chapel, which was once the Methodist Church in downtown La Grange before it was moved to the grounds and expanded.
The next adventure in November will be on Nov. 5. Gary Carpenter, beloved member and tour guide for the Painted Churches for the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce will fascinate us with the history of two of our beloved painted churches. The agenda includes Dubina and High Hill churches. We will also visit Bella Sara, an Italian restaurant, for lunch in Schulenburg. There will be a fee to attend the tours. The chamber will charge $18 per person for the tours. Senior Connections will pay $8 of this fee, and attendees will pay $10 when they sign up.
For more information, you can call (979) 743-3227. You can also reach Denise Roberts at (832) 641-8733, who directs the La Grange location, and Stephanie Shroyer, at (979) 702-1246, who directs all other campuses, for a more direct response. Visit online at srconnections.org.