All Posts in "Month: October 2014"

Northwest Native Plant Garden at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma celebrated its 50th anniversary Aug. 9.
The garden has displayed and maintained native flora of the Pacific Northwest since 1964 on 1.5 acres that includes a water fall and a pond.
Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma Garden Club hosted garden tours, a kids’ scavenger hunt and educational activities during the event that also included a dedication of the newly restored Mary’s Meadow in the heart of the garden. With help from a grant funded by Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, the meadow was officially named after Mary Williams, a former native garden volunteer.

srmedia by — October 8, 2014 in Lifestyles

Tacoma Housing Authority will host its first Senior and Disabled Handmade Craft Fair on Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Salishan Family Investment Center.
Senior and disabled residents of Housing Authority (THA) homes will be selling their handmade crafts to the public, with 25 percent of vendor profits being donated to a local food bank. Vendors will be selling a variety of handmade merchandise, including: knitted items, recycled art, jewelry, wood carvings and Victorian finger purses. One resident will be selling copies of her self-published book of poetry.
The site of the craft fair is at: 1724 E. 44th St. in Tacoma.
Additional information is available from Caroline Cabellon, THA’s elderly and disabled program specialist, at 253-720-6784 and ccabellon@tacomahousing.org.

srmedia by — October 8, 2014 in News

Decisions made in haste or under pressure are most often not the best decisions. This is particularly true at the passing of a loved one. Given these circumstances it’s not unusual for families to purchase services or overlook things that would not have been in line with the wishes and values of the deceased.
“Things I Want My Family to Know: Advance Planning for Funerals” is a free overview of the many practical, immediate decisions that must be made when a person dies. The presentation also provides information and resources to help individuals consider all the details that face families at the time of death.
The presentation will be held:
• Oct. 13, 12:10-12:50 p.m. at the Pierce County Annex Main Meeting Room, 2401 S. 35th St. in Tacoma.
• Oct. 14, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at King’s Manor in Tacoma.
“If we could make life easier for our families, why wouldn’t we?” asked Aaron Van Valkenburg, manager of Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources. “Some things happen without any way to anticipate. But death is inevitable for all of us. Doing some advance planning for our own death lifts a huge burden from the shoulders of our families. It’s a special gift for each person to think about final arrangements – what we want and what we do not want – including possible organ donation, funeral ceremony, final disposition, obituary and the like.
“Things I Want My Family to Know” will be presented by Pamela Maddess, a family services advisor at New Tacoma Cemeteries and Funeral Home. Participants will be provided a copy of the “The 86 Things to Do after a Death” as well as consumer protection materials from the Federal Trade Commission and other resources.
The workshop is an information-only. It’s free and open to the public, and no RSVP is required. More information is available at 253-798-4600.

srmedia by — October 8, 2014 in Everything Else

Eight-foot high-definition TV, special seating for fans, great snacks, and a great big Seahawks logo on the front windows. Sounds like a sports bar, doesn’t it? It is not. Celebrating their 20th anniversary in a large, sparkling clean, modern building is the Country Rose Cafe in Spanaway. It has plenty of seating in the large bright dining room, and you can watch the game from anywhere or just visit for a nice meal.
We stopped for breakfast, something rare for us, and really enjoyed ourselves. Our server, Dana, was helpful getting our group seated, and good coffee and menus came quickly. Deciding what to have was fun, since they have a full menu (available all day) and there were a lot of good-looking choices.
We decided to try the senior menu, which was limited, but we wanted eggs and it had a good list of egg dishes. I am also looking for a really good sausage in this area and decided to try the German sausage, from the side order list, with the senior omelet at $8.75. The sausage added $1.50 to the price of the omelet. We also had a Senior 1 Egg with Sausage at $8.75. I was amused that an omelet had an egg as an addition, which my companion ordered “hard.” When the egg came, over easy and cooked all the way through with no moisture left, she was pleased. Each omelet was made with three eggs, breakfast sausage came with the Senior 1 Egg (very good), and the German sausage was chopped into the senior omelet and was excellent with lots of seasoning without any spiciness.
We had toast on the side, since we wanted to check on the quality of the basics of breakfast, and we were satisfied. The omelets were big, fluffy and done perfectly to our taste and were stuffed with onions, peppers, shredded potatoes and mild seasoning.
IF YOU GO
The County Rose Café is an a strip mall across the street from the golf course at Sprinker Park. Lots of parking.

Carolyn Augustine writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene.

srmedia by — October 1, 2014 in Food, People