Vista Hermosa celebrated the Holidays with respect for Santa Fe’s ancient Christian traditions including a live Nativity.  Yolanda our Director in training, brought her sons; Ivan and Ernesto who portrayed St. Joseph and one of the three kings or wise men.  Estefani our lovely caregiver’s children played Mary and a second king, while Laura’s son Joshua was the third king.  Bonfires lit the way as many invited guests gathered.  Our friend and neighbor Connie, a native of Picuris Pueblo, shared stories of growing up at Picuris with bonfires on Christmas Eve and was enamored that we would have roaring bonfires.  Our elders, their families and our wonderful Vista Hermosa friends and neighbors ate delicious traditional foods, listened to live music, danced and shared the special friendship of Christmas, Winter Solstice, Kwanza, and Hanukkah! Our beautiful antique menorah was lit each night for Hanukah, followed by delicious latkes.

It is the time of year to count the angels we all have in our lives and remember how much kindness there is out there.  It is a true blessing to be surrounded by the ladies in this picture.  The caregivers at Vista Hermosa are a special group of hardworking, creative, intelligent and exceptionally loving women.  Each one of them brings something special to the work they do every day. It can be too easy to see the darkness in this world and too easy to forget to be grateful for the angels in our midst. Our caregivers, elders, families and friends all give light and life to our small part of this world. Thank you. Muchas gracias.  Much love and many prayers to every one of you.

Alfred celebrated his 94 years young birthday with pizza, family, friends and dancing.  Alfred is always there to share a smile, dance to good music and make everyone feel welcome.  His daughters Dani and Tracy both inherited his warm personality and generous spirit, surprising our Vista Hermosa elders with pizzas and cake.  This was served with Hermosa’s homemade horchata.  Happy 94th Birthday, Alfred!

Vista Hermosa elders worked on beautiful handmade cards that were mailed to their children this past week. Irene, Lucy M and Lucy Romero, Joan and Virginia all created cards with handmade paper, drawings and origami paper. These cards are a creative way to express love, appreciation and connection. The process of picking color, texture and pattern becomes a conversation.
Our elders are also helping take this idea on the road for the Hospice Education Day on November 10th .

Vista hermosa will be sponsoring an open art workshop focused on cardmaking as communication and meditative journaling. We are thankful to Ambercare Hospice and coming Home connections for inviting us to bring our creative space to the day long education, comfort and support of our Santa Fe
community.

We welcome All our trick or treaters, children and grandchildren to visit Vista Hermosa on Halloween at 3:45pm after school to trick or treat.
Candy, Drinks and snacks will be served to all; Princesses, ghouls, superheroes and Goblins.

Please come in costume!

Vista Living will be taking over the air waves on August 4th 2018 at 2:30 pm. Yolanda Arrey, MSW and Ruth Dennis MA were interviewed for the first in a series of discussions on aging, Alzheimer’s and healthy living. Our host is Jewel Cabeza de Vaca, producer of the Healthy Woman at KSFR 101.1 FM Santa Fe Public Radio.

In this initial show we discussed a wide range of issues related to Alzheimer’s and how to care for yourself while caring for someone you love. We will follow with discussions on specific topics that all of us who are young-at-heart face.

Vista Hermosa will keep you posted!

Vista Hermosa’s beautiful apricot tree is simply loaded with delicious apricots.  On Tuesday, Laura, our elders and caregivers harvested two large baskets of fruit.  Elders and caregivers then spent all afternoon in Vista Hermosa’s kitchen making jam and apricot cake from scratch.  The smell from the kitchen is simply irresistible.  The cake was delicioso in Robert’s words and all our Vista Hermosa family ate very well.

We harvested at just the right time.  Our much-anticipated kitchen remodeling adventure started promptly at 8 am last Wednesday.

Father’s Day is a time to remember how much all the men in our lives matter.  Our elders Robert Sandoval, Ron Coss and Alfred Lutz celebrated Father’s Day at Hermosa with flowers, homemade desserts and the loving company of family and friends.  These amazing guys make all our lives at Vista Hermosa better.  Robert brings music, candy, faith and family to our home.  Ron shares wonderful dining room table discussions and the addition of his big, beautiful family to our home.  Alfred is always there with a joke, a dance and an amazing smile to make the day bright.  We are also honored by the memory of all the men who we have had the honor of caring for.  Thank you.  And on this Father’s Day we can’t forget the skill, intelligence and support offered by Luke, Gary, Allen and our amazing volunteer Craig. Thank you.  You are all special.  Vista Hermosa also honors the gifts of all the husbands, brothers, sons and grandsons who make life better for all of us.   

Thank You to; Carolyn and Ellen Benson for donating art books, photo books and a great selection of novels to our new library.  These gently loved books are a beautiful way to spend a lazy summer afternoon.

Thank You to ; Bettina Milliken and Santa Fe Clown Care Group for donating inspirational books but also for nearly 20 years of bringing laughter, music and joy to elders in the City Different!  You have touched the lives of so many and we at Vista Hermosa are proud of the work you do!

Thank You to; Margaret Harrach for donating an awesome selection of art books to our library.  Thank you for your support.

Thank You to; Velma Arellano and Deb Nachtrab for your design, décor and remodel skills.  The first stage of our project is a true success.  You Rock!

Vista Hermosa elders are exercising their freedom to choose daily activities, events and priorities through the creation of our monthly calendar.  Alfred is working with the “Big Pen” to create this month’s calendar.  Each month our elders work as a team with Laura, Yolanda, and our awesome caregivers to line up parties, volunteer work, creative projects and wellness exercises to embrace life at Hermosa.  Our handwritten calendar allows us added spontaneity by being able added last minute pizza parties, ice cream socials and other fun.