By the end of this week I will probably be at home! But before I leave here, I would like to share some with you about the Valley Inn.
I’m very appreciative – they have been very nice and helped my recovery. The building was built in 1992 and 1993. It’s a large, spacious building all nicely decorated and maintained. Full-time residents have private rooms decorated usually with their own furniture and collectibles. Part-timers like me also have private rooms that are cheerful and comfortable with TVs and furnishings.
The dining room is spacious, and the kitchen provides an interesting variety of meals, with the menu being changed every five weeks. Each table is served by the wait staff, and meals actually are fun and enjoyable. Yesterday, friends stopped by, and we watched football and had a lively dinner – good food, good talk and lots of laughing.
Kassidy, the activity director, is full of laughter and fun and has a full schedule for all with bingo, poker, games, a weekly church service, visiting musicians and lots of other fun. There really is not much time to be bored.
The month is October, and Halloween is celebrated big time here on the 31st. In preparation, every day this month, Kassidy and volunteers are spending time decorating the whole place – spiders in webs on the walls, pumpkins decorating the halls, etc. I understand that they buy $1,000 worth of candy and hand it out to the patients so about 450-500 kids can trick or treat every room. Great fun for all. I was talking with a woman today who has been bringing her kids here since the youngest was 3 years old – he’s now 14!
Some of the residents have bird houses outside their windows and each day go outside to feed them. Many, many birds surround the Valley Inn and help make it a friendly, comfortable and pleasant place.
Around town: the press, a pig roast and new workshopsIn town, the Mancos Common Press building is getting a face-lift. A vacant lot separates it from Carrie Baikie’s real estate office. Drive down the gravel and look at the back wall. Brad Goodell will be painting it with the art pictured here. A grant has been received by the press for a complete restoration of the building, adding studios for artists-in-residence. Kids and adult kids will be able to take classes to learn about the older methods and machines used for printing. May 17 has been set aside as the finishing date.
Last Saturday, Oct. 8, the Mount Lookout Grange had a “pig roast” fundraiser from 3-6 p.m., and by 4 p.m., they were sold out. Congratulations!
On a sadder note, one of our Mancos businesses is gone. The Heritage Hometown Collectibles, with lots of antiques, art, jewelry and the happy smile of Nancy Hensley is no longer in business. We will miss you!
Last, the Mancos School of the West has some upcoming workshops:
Shibori Dying with Shar Short on Oct 15, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.Make A Blacksmith Rose with Steve Williams, Oct 15, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.Ocean Drum Gourd with Janice Reich, Oct 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.Details and sign-up for each of these can be found at www.schoolofthewest.org.
