Garlands gardener Cathy Nardo holds a lemon verbena, “Herb of Enchantment,” that holds a wonderful lemon scent when dried for use in teas, perfumes and other scented products. As much as she enjoys growing herbs, Garlands member Cathy Nardo’s passion really blossoms when talking about herbs. “Every herb has a story!” says Cathy.… Continue Reading Spilling the Tea on Herbs – Cathy Nardo
With pen in hand, Garlands member, Vivian O’Neill, 93, took a leap of faith during COVID-19 and entered a poetry contest sponsored by Barrington’s White House on the topic of “House and Home.” She hadn’t written poetry before but, in the spirit of ever-growing and learning, she thought “Why not?!” Vivian scored a spot… Continue Reading COVID Accomplishment: Writing – Vivian O’Neill
Garlands member, Charlie Foos’s grandfather built a workbench to house the magnificent wood-carving tools he curated over a lifetime. Upon his passing, the workbench went to the only family member who showed the slightest interest: high-school student Charlie, whose only qualification was that he had taken a shop class once. The workbench remained untouched… Continue Reading COVID Accomplishment: Charlie Foos – Carving
On the Need for a Project I am working on the theory that having a project makes people happier. By “project,” I mean something that requires a person to make plans and carry them out. The plans are for something they do freely rather than being assigned or forced to do. I first thought… Continue Reading On the Need for a Project
The Garlands COVID-19 task force continues to meet regularly to discuss new federal, state, and local guidelines, our current safety precautions, and lessons to be learned from outbreak areas throughout the U.S. and world. The following are highlights of the current policies put in place at The Garlands as they relate to the pandemic (additional… Continue Reading COVID-19 UPDATED GUIDELINES
Photographic Exhibit at The Gallery at The Garlands Garlands member Bill Lawton got his first camera in junior high, and he hasn’t stopped taking photos since! “There is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t take a photo of something,” says Bill. “If I haven’t taken a picture, it hasn’t been a… Continue Reading Through the Lens of Garlands Member and Professional Photographer Bill Lawton
A guy like Garlands Member, Sam Jeffers, who, for example, designed warheads for the Pershing II and Trident weapon systems, is unlikely to sit around watching movies all day during a global pandemic. As soon as he saw PPE shortages on the horizon, Sam set about engineering effective, comfortable, cool, and good-looking face masks for… Continue Reading Engineering Peace of Mind
A Sneak Peek Garlands of Barrington Author, Dorothy Winsor, shared a reading of the first chapter of her soon-to-be-released fourth young adult novel, The Wysman, virtually via Zoom with her friends and peers at The Garlands. The book is about a street kid turned advisor of a king who is determined to hunt down the person… Continue Reading A reading from The Wysman by Dorothy Winsor
Residents of The Garlands of Barrington lined up in their Cubs wear to hear the Cubs’ national anthem singer. Holy Cow! The Cubs resident national anthem singer, John Vincent, knocked it out of the park at The Garlands of Barrington with three live, mini-concerts. John spoke and sang from the heart to honor Garlands members,… Continue Reading Cubs Singer ‘Spreads Some Love’ at The Garlands
Thank you to all the members and family members who “Shared the Love” with Garlands essential workers during these difficult times. We truly appreciated your words, cards, and thoughtful gifts. Please take a moment to listen to this touching tribute to Garlands Essential Workers submitted by Garlands members and family members, compiled by The Garlands… Continue Reading Members and Families Share the Love with Garlands Essential Workers
Garlands of Barrington Author, Dorothy Winsor, Publishes Fourth Young Adult Novel Barrington, IL . . . At age 72, Dorothy Winsor moved to The Garlands and took up a second career as an author writing young adult fiction. She has published three books and is releasing a new young adult novel, The Wysman, this… Continue Reading Dorothy Winsor Publishes Her 4th Novel – The Wysman
The Garlands of Barrington’s New Director of Hospitality A career healthcare and hospitality professional, Nancy served in many seniors housing capacities, including activities, social services, sales, marketing, administration and operations. Prior to The Garlands she oversaw new construction, hiring and leadership training and developed the assisted and independent living side of a family-run, Illinois- based organization… Continue Reading Meet Nancy McCaffrey, The Garlands of Barrington’s New Director of Hospitality
Dorothy A. Winsor Sometimes writing is easy. You’re in the zone. The words pour out. Good words! But sometimes, writing is so difficult it feels impossible. You have the dreaded writer’s block. There can be different reasons for writer’s block, and overcoming it depends on why you have it. Fear, boredom, and unarticulated problems with… Continue Reading OVERCOMING WRITER’S BLOCK
Transparency and communication with Garlands management and members is key to successful ongoing relationships. Even in the times of COVID-19 and social distancing, Garlands leadership and residents share “coffee and conversation” and engage in productive dialog . . . albeit virtually. The content of this month’s Zoom meeting was, as one might expect, primarily related… Continue Reading Even When We are Apart, We are Together at The Garlands!
Mahjong is a tile game that originated in 19th century China and links back to Confucius and his love of birds. The “twittering of the sparrows,” or shuffling and tinkling of the tiles, signals the start of the game. At The Garlands, the Mahjong bird metaphor continues, as in “birds of a feather flock together” to… Continue Reading The Ancient Art of Mahjong and Friendship . . . in Virtual Times
Dorothy A. Winsor In February, I went to a Chicagoland SFF conference called Capricon. Among the engaging panels, I attended was one called “Book Reviews vs. Literary Criticism: But is it good?” Panelists included a publicist, a couple of writers, and a book reviewer for a newspaper. The topic they started with was the difference… Continue Reading SHOULD I REVIEW THIS BOOK?
THE BEST ADVICE I EVER GOT Dorothy A. Winsor Back when I was writing academic books and articles, I conducted a five-year ethnographic project at an engineering center. My area is professional communication, so I hung around the center watching engineers try to communicate in their natural habitat. It was a lot of fun, and… Continue Reading Be BRAVE
SupercalifragilisticexpialiCOVIDocious! A “spoonful of sugar” from Dr. Sandra Sieber, The Garlands Inspirational Wellness Advisor We all remember P.L. Traver’s books and the beloved movie, Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. But have you seen the more recent rendition, Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda? As with the original, the… Continue Reading A Spoonful of Sugar
You want to know what I’ve learned about writing during a pandemic? It’s hard. And for me at least, maybe impossible in any sustained way. That’s what I’ve learned. For the first couple of weeks, I felt guilty because I had all this extra time while I was locked down at home, and yet I… Continue Reading WRITING DURING A PANDEMIC
Like most of you, Garlands of Barrington members are closely following CDC guidelines and referring to local, state and federal protocols as we hunker down and shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As difficult as this situation is for all of us, over the course of the last few weeks we have… Continue Reading We’re All in this Together . . .