And the Leaves Came Tumbling Down

Looking Back to September.

(Ladies Luncheon at Elmer’s)

(Walking around Conifer Blvd). (National Chocolate Milkshake Day)

(Country Drive to Finley National Wildlife Refuge) (Barbara at Avery Park)

(Jerry, Syd & Jackie at Avery Park) (Osborn Aquatic Center Sing-Along)

(Snacktivity) (Carl Baker and his Band)

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

Alan R.

10/25 Gloria E. G

10/26 Arleen S.

10/27

Conifer House Residential and Memory Care.145 NE Conifer Blvd. Corvallis OR 97330 (541) 575-2444

Fun Facts about the Month of October • The name of the month of October comes from the Latin “octō”, meaning “eight”, because in the Roman calendar October was the eight month of the year. With the adding of January and February at the beginning of the calendar after the Julian calendar reform, October became the tenth month of the year, as we know it today. • The Anglo-Saxons called October “Wintirfyllith”, meaning

“fullness of winter” because it had the first full moon of the winter season. • Another fun fact about October is that, according to folklore, if the deer have a gray coat in this month you should expect a hard winter. • The holiday of Halloween, celebrated in October, comes from “All

Hallows’ Eve” or the night before “All Hallows” day (“All Saints” day) as in old English “hallow” means “to sanctify”. • The zodiac signs for October are Libra (September 23 – October

22) and Scorpio (October 23 – November 21). • Famous people born in October include Angela Lansbury,

Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Julie Andrews, Hugh Jackman, Katy Perry, Alfred Nobel, Anne Rice, Arthur Miller, Auguste Lumière, Friedrich Nietzsche, Christopher Columbus, Johannes Vermeer, John Keets. • The birthstones for October are the tourmaline and the opal.

Tourmalines display a wide spectrum of colors, such as yellow, pink, blue, red, green, black or brown and they are believed to help you stay calm under pressure, bring peace and tranquility and defeat emotions like anger and jealousy. Opals exhibit different colors (green, white, yellow, blue, pink etc.) depending on the conditions under which they were created. Opal gemstones are believed to cure eye infections, strengthen memory, calm nerves and enhance creativity. • The traditional flower of the month of October is the calendula,

symbolizing comfort, healing, protection and grace. • Special holidays in October include Halloween (October 31st), Columbus Day (the second Monday of October), Yom Kippur, Diwali, International Peace Day (October 2nd).

October 2019

Management Team

Cheryl Voigt, RN

Executive Director

Chad Cummings, RN

Health Services Director

Scott Hanson

Community Relation Director

Hannah Combs

Resident Care Coordinator

Deanna Smith

Business Office Manager

Linda Gutierrez

Food Services Manager

Adrian Razo

Activities Director

Todd Lange

Maintenance Director

Goushea Shaik

Scheduling Coordinator

October 2019

Office Hours

Monday – Friday 8:00 – 5:00

Upcoming Events

John Powell 10/02 Charlie Movie 10/09

LuAnn’s Music 10/16

P.A.W.S. 10/24

Halloween Party 10/31

Ancient Origins of Halloween

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

Funny Riddles Why don’t skeletons like parties? Because they have no body to dance with. Why didn’t the vampire have any friends? Because he was a pain in the neck! What did the ghost teacher say to her class? “Watch the board and I’ll go through it again.”

Why don’t mummies take vacations? They’re afraid they’ll relax and unwind. Why did the witch refuse to wear a flat hat? Because there wasn’t any point to it!

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in

many countries of the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who set sail across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a faster route to the -The Far East only to land at the New World. His first voyage to the New World on the Spanish ships Santa María, Niña, and La Pinta took approximately three months. Columbus and his crew's arrival to the New World initiated the Columbian Exchange which introduced the transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and technology between the new world and the old.

October 2019

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room

temperature 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (homemade

preferred, but you can also use canned purée)

2 tablespoons honey 1/3 cup hot water For the maple cream-cheese frosting: 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room

temperature 8 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

PREPARATION

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two standard cupcake pans

with twelve paper baking cups each, or grease pans with

butter if not using baking cups.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice,

nutmeg, and salt on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper

and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with

a handheld electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy.

Stop to add the sugar; then beat on medium speed until well

incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Mix in the pumpkin puree and honey. Reduce the speed to

low. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture,

then gradually add one third of the hot water, beating until

well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture,

followed by one third of the hot water. Stop to scrape down

the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed

by the remaining hot water, and mix slowly until just

combined. Take care not to overmix the batter so the

cupcakes will bake up light and fluffy.

Use a standard-size ice-cream scoop to fill each baking cup

until just combined. Take care not to overmix the batter so

the cupcakes will bake up light and fluffy.

Use a standard-size ice-cream scoop to fill each baking cup

with batter, so the wells are two-thirds full. Bake for 25 to

30 minutes (start checking at 20 minutes) or until a

toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out

clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted

with the paddle attachment; beat until well combined. Be

sure to beat on high speed for at least two minutes at the

end to ensure that the frosting is light and fluffy.

Did you know? One quarter of all the candy

sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for

Halloween.

By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority

of Celtic territory. In the course of the 400 years that they

ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were

combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of

Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the

Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the

dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman

goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the

apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into

Samhain probably explains the tradition of bobbing for

apples that is practiced today on Halloween.