Kathleen Gest: Senior Focus
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Senior Focus: How you react is most important
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Senior Focus: Make friends, eat worldly food
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Senior Focus: Interlochen's own center
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Senior Focus: Role reversal
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Senior Focus: Celebrate American Indians
- Saturday, October 22, 2011
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Senior Focus: World War II vet to be honored
- Saturday, October 1, 2011
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Senior Focus: Talk about 'what ifs' now
- Saturday, September 17, 2011
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Senior Focus: The knack of using coupons
Seniors on a fixed income need to stretch their money as much as possible and using coupons is one way to do it. Any embarrassment about couponing should no longer be relevant — you shouldn't feel bad about being a smart shopper. Focusing on meal planning and setting a spending limit also is advisable, so a senior doesn't get caught up in a "coupon use game" that leads to buying too much salad dressing and not enough salad. The Traverse City Senior Center is offering a class in coupon basics. The class will be taught by Maria Nunez who will talk about sources for coupons, knowing each store's policy, clipping and organizing your coupons and matching a store's coupon with manufacturer's coupons.
Continued ... - Saturday, August 27, 2011
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Senior Focus: Computer classes this fall
Computers have become an integral part of our lives. You have to really work hard to avoid coming into contact with them. Yet, research shows that there are many older Americans in danger of being cut off from participating in this modern way of communicating, mostly because they lack computer skills. So, a concerned Senior Center Network is offering computer classes this fall at all locations — Traverse City, Kingsley and Interlochen.
Continued ... - Saturday, July 30, 2011
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Senior Focus: Stay calm in an emergency
Emergencies happen when we least expect them. Are you the kind of person who panics or do you take a deep breath, count to 10 and tell yourself you can handle the situation? You will be able to make a quicker and more intelligent decision if you have learned what to do beforehand. That's where Camp 911 comes in. Camp 911 is a one-day, hands-on learning experience for seniors that helps prevent, prepare for, respond to and cope with emergencies and difficult situations.
Continued ... - Saturday, July 2, 2011
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Senior Focus: Cruise Europe in spring
The Traverse City Senior Center Travel Alliance is organizing a European cruise in April 2012. The "Tulip Time Cruise" explores the beauty, history and culture of Holland and Belgium by cruising their legendary waterways. The cruise takes you through the densest network of inland waterways in Europe — with as many as 269 waterways in the Netherlands alone. A presentation about the trip is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, at the Senior Center, 801 E. Front St. To reserve a spot for the presentation, call 922-4911 or email lwells@tcseniorcenter.com. The trip leaves April 14, 2012, for an eight-day cruise, returning to Traverse City on April 22.
Continued ... - Saturday, June 18, 2011
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Senior Focus: Thompson made us laugh
Have any of you noticed the bright yellow Volkswagen "bug" scooting around town? It's painted with flowers, ladybugs and has the inscription on the back "May the Lord bless you in a special way." It's usually parked in front of the Traverse City Senior Center. This car should give you some insight behind the personality of the car's owner — dramatic, attractive, friendly, energetic, welcoming, helpful, knowledgeable, good sense of humor, compassionate, outgoing, travel savvy and wisecracking. These are some of the words friends use to describe Pat Thompson, past travel and program coordinator at the Senior Center. Oops, I forgot hard working. Unfortunately for those seniors whose lives she has touched, Pat is no longer at the Senior Center. She left at the beginning of June to spend more time with family and friends. (Pat, I didn't say "retired.")
Continued ... - Saturday, May 28, 2011
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Senior Focus: Y looking into new softball league
In Traverse City, the YMCA and the Senior Center offer adult softball, basketball, soccer, racquetball and Pickleball. "We have the men's senior league going at the Y now, which is 55 years and older," said Barb Beckett, YMCA program director. "However, there are a certain number of the guys that would like to play more than one day a week "¦ and they would like to play in a league for 60 and older men." The YMCA is interested to find out how many men want a new senior men's softball league. Forty men, 60 and over, are needed to start the league; the YMCA would then be the organizer and facilitator for the teams and games.
Continued ... - Saturday, May 7, 2011
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Senior Expo has resources, infos
The 10th Annual Ideas for Life Senior Expo offers some answers. The expo, sponsored by the Bay Area Senior Advocates, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Traverse City Civic Center.
Continued ... - Saturday, April 23, 2011
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Senior Focus: Bowling without a ball
Walk into the Traverse City Senior Center on a Thursday morning and you might hear the sound of bowling pins scattering and shouts of "Come on, get a strike!" For two hours each week, the Walt Room is transformed into a bowling alley — by means of Nintendo's Wii sports gaming system. Besides league play, the Senior Center hosts a night of pizza and Wii bowling Thursdays at 4 p.m. Any Senior Center member is welcome and no experience is necessary; $4 covers the cost of pizza, salad and dessert.
Continued ... - Saturday, April 2, 2011
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Senior Focus: Learn Skype
Some people know what Skype is, some of you may even use it, but if you want to learn more about Skype, you will have the opportunity at a Traverse City Senior Center Lunch and Learn presentation at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 20. Simply put, Skype is an Internet phone. Technically, it is a peer-to-peer communication software application that allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet. Skype is pretty easy to install and use — depending on your computer experience. In the words of Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype, "If you can use a Web browser, you can use Skype."
Continued ... - Saturday, March 19, 2011
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Senior Focus: Watercolor class offers 'little victories'
Charles Murphy's watercolor class at the Traverse City Senior Center is designed for painters of all skill levels. Although the watercolor class was offered at the Senior Center in the late 1980s, the configuration is different this time around. The cost is pro-rated and the curriculum is put together so people who can only attend periodically aren't left behind. "I call my tips on watercolor painting 'little victories,' because you need to establish small triumphs over the medium," Murphy said. "It has always been regarded as one of the more, if not the most difficult painting medium — it's very unforgiving "¦
Continued ... - Saturday, February 26, 2011
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Senior Focus: Laugh for no reason
Laughter helps combat stress among other health benefits. A new Laughter Yoga session, at multiple locations the second Monday of each month, helps with breathing, fun and laughter. The leader, E. Gail Robinson, is a certified Laughter Yoga teacher and speaker.
Continued ... - Saturday, January 22, 2011
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Senior Focus: Traveling solo, but not alone
Solo or single travel does not mean you have to go alone. More and more singles are embarking on group travel as a way of benefiting from an organized tour, for safety reasons, sharing their experiences or to meet new people. "We've been matching interested solo travelers together for several years, but this year we took it to the next level," said Pat Thompson, program coordinator. "By having the Solo Traveler group meet four times a year, usually for a luncheon, we actually bring people together; discover where each individual's interests lie and where they might like to travel for the coming year."
Continued ... - Thursday, December 30, 2010
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Lunch and Learn topics cater to seniors
The Lunch and Learn program at the Traverse City Senior Center is tailor-made for seniors, scheduled just before the lunch hour. Lunch and Learn is informal, yet enriching. The timely topics are designed to provide insight into what seniors need or want to know.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 23, 2010
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Senior Focus: Knitting back in vogue
Everyone has a theory about the resurgence of knitting, but according to a national survey, one of knitters' top motivations is relaxation and stress reduction, allowing technology-saturated brains to relax.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 16, 2010
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Senior Focus: Kingsley center opens
A new network is taking senior services and programming into outlying areas — and the first location is already rocking.
Continued ... - Thursday, December 2, 2010
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Senior Focus: Rebalance, refocus
If you want to feel better and perhaps even live longer, join the new Pilates class coming to the Traverse City Senior Center in January.
Continued ... - Thursday, November 25, 2010
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Senior Focus: Touch consoles, heals
Our need for human contact is vital. Research has found that touch is essential to our emotional, physical and mental health, regardless of age. Touch can reassure, relax, sooth and comfort. Touch diminishes stress, lessens pain, moderates the difficulties of life and gives rise to optimism.
Continued ... - Thursday, November 18, 2010
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Senior Focus: Happiness in a basket
This year, Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging will be offering its 13th annual "Baskets of Bounty" program. The gift baskets are put together with a combination of items from the Commission on Aging and donations from the public.
Continued ...
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