A Photo a Week: The Moorings

This week, Nancy Merrill’s theme for A Photo a Week is In the Neighborhood.

My husband and I moved to Arlington Heights three months ago. We live in a senior community called The Moorings and we really love it. Everyone here is very friendly and there are lots of activities. I have met a lot of people and even remember some of their names! So far, I’m participating in a Great Decisions/Foreign Policy Roundtable group, an art class, an exercise class, the photography club, and the choir. These groups represent many of my interests. Besides these, there are groups that play games, like Bingo, Mah-Jong or Bridge, two books groups, and much more. There are often concerts and lectures, and a movie is shown every Saturday night. There is so much to do here that it’s getting harder to coordinate our inside and outside activities!

Here are some photos I’ve selected to give you an idea of our community.

Every month a different country or region is featured, which means that there are lectures and slide shows about that country, a buffet of that country’s foods every Tuesday evening, and other events. The country celebrated in October was Germany. One of the things they did was have an “Oktoberfest” with samples of German food, beer, and a German band! Here one of the band members demonstrates his alpine horn. (Yes, they wore lederhosen!)

Holidays are also celebrated. For Halloween there was a costume contest and a pumpkin decorating contest. Some of the pumpkins are shown here and everyone had a chance to vote for their favorite.

This month we are exploring the Caribbean. Residents are invited to display or give a show of any experiences they might have had, so I put out the scrapbook I made of my trip to Cuba in 2001, for everyone to look at.  On Tuesday, there was a concert by a young woman who plays the steel pan. She also demonstrated what her instrument looks like and how it works. Every Tuesday this month will feature Caribbean foods for dinner.

I look forward to enjoying many more experiences with my new friends at The Moorings!

I’ve been taking walks in the neighborhood outside the campus, also, and my next post, Thursday Doors: New Neighborhood, will feature some of the houses in the neighborhood!