Winter Musings by the Queen 

What can I say?  It has been a while but I am just one busy cat!  For many folks, the end of the year is a restful time but not for us at SCI!  Over the holidays, we hosted a Thank You Party for our many volunteers (lots of good pats for me from these good eggs!)  We also had special Holiday lunches at each of our neighborhood centers in Thunderbolt, Port Wentworth, Hinesville and Darien.  Not to mention all of the fun activities at our Adult Daytime Centers.  I was just worn out from all of the fun!

 One of my favorite things that we did this year was working with the YMCA to have some of our seniors “adopted” for the holidays.  I know that I’m really lucky to have all of my crew here at SCI, so I was really glad to hear that some of our friends who aren’t as lucky felt loved at Christmas. One of our seniors needed a warm coat and I wish you could have seen her cry when she saw her beautiful coat on Christmas.  One of our clients just wanted a home-cooked holiday lunch which he got thanks to one of the great families that took his name off of the YMCA tree.  Now that is what I call Sharing the Holiday Spirit!

 January brought the kickoff of our annual Blanket Drive.  Here is a photo of me checking out the booty!  So far, we have given away more than 300 blankets. Good thing we had the kind support of Georgia Natural Gas and Target to buy blankets.  I keep hearing people saying that they love the free coffee that Starbucks offered for each blanket.  Me?  I take coffee with cream – hold the coffee!



So now it’s February…Valentine’s Day is upon us.  Mom Patti says that I can’t have chocolate.  Even though I’ve licked some and don’t really like it (unless you can get a tuna infused chocolate), I don’t like not being able to have it.  But, since she has said no, if you’d like to send me a Valentine, may I humbly suggest (ok, I’m a cat…there is nothing really humble about me)…anyway, check out our Facebook page and give to our Have a Heart campaign.  It’s a great way to tell a senior you love them.  Don't forget to "like" us (whatever that means) and "share" the site with your friends.

 Until next time. Oh, feel free to come by anytime and give me a pat!

Today is Georgia Gives Day!

Today is Georgia Gives Day!

The Georgia Center for Nonprofits (GCN) announced today its inaugural statewide day of giving – Georgia Gives Day – on Dec. 6, 2012. The purpose of Georgia Gives Day is to bring the state together as one community, to raise as much money and awareness as possible for Georgia nonprofits within a 24-hour, flash mob of giving. One hundred percent of proceeds will go directly to participating nonprofits by donating through www.GAgivesday.org.

Georgians across the state are taking part in the awesome initiative designed to make giving easy and to encourage folks to take that leap. The fun part is that the push is for 24-hours!

Please take a moment to visit Senior Citizens, Inc's page on the Georgia Gives website - https://gagivesday.org/c/GGD/a/seniorcitizens-inc 

Of course we'd love for you to give to Senior Citizens, but if you’d like, just do a search for your favorite nonprofit… any amount will make a big difference!

Please share this information with all of your friends.  Let’s show the rest of America what Georgia can do!

Squirrels

‘Tunia, here.  It’s been a while since I blogged but we’ve been so busy here.  It’s all I can do to get my napping in!

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year.  I can nap on our big front porch (Yep, that's me in a flower pot) without getting too hot and when I’m awake, I scoff at those silly squirrels hiding nuts.  Even though I occasionally chase them, I do always take a moment to remember how lucky I am that I don’t have to worry about eating in the winter since I came to live here at Senior Citizens.  I hear people say that SCI helps me and about 1,800 other old cats eat everyday with their Meals On Wheels program.  Much better than trying to remember where the nuts are buried!

 

Besides looking down my nose at the squirrels, I have been very busy helping with our events.  We had a really fun activity last week as part of the Senior Safari called “Bikes and Brews”.  Some really cool guys with long hair brought their big motorcycles to the front yard and some of my friends gathered to listen to Terrie Mathews sing and drink beer.  There was a lot of fancy dancing going on.  One couple danced just for me as I lay on the porch.  Much more entertaining than the squirrels!

One of the best parts of this time of year is the start of a new Learning Center semester and I just love having all these kind, head patting folks around.  I sat in on a class about Ernest Heming way (a real nut) and one about the largest natural disasters in America.  My friend, Roger, said that a big hurricane hit Galveston and one even hit Savannah many years ago.    He told me not to worry though.  Senior Citizens has already distributed a box of food to our friends to use just in case we have to leave town.  He also said that we also keep a list of folks that don’t have families like I do to help them leave town.  This list is given to the police so they can help them move to safer ground.  Maybe I’ll tell the squirrels about the list….after my nap!

Catching Up with Summer

Petunia, here.  Yep, it's been a while since I've been able to blog.  Summer has been a busy time for this cat, but let me catch you up.  I have really been enjoying my time with our newest Summer Angels.  This is a camp for kids who spend their summer with me and helping older folks in the community.  They deliver Meals On Wheels, visit folks at our Centers in Thunderbolt and Port Wentworth and even do yard work.  Here is a picture of me with two of my new friends.  They were relaxing after a hard day of volunteering...me?  I was relaxing after a hard day of being petted by visitors.

Also this summer, I've been trying to get the word out about our annual Fan Drive.  Each year, my people here at Senior Citizens give away electric fans to my older friends who don't have air conditioning.  (Whew!  I just came in from an outdoor adventure and I can't imaging what it's like to not have a/c!)  They are good folks here at SCI...but we've already given away our stash!  If you'd like to help us, just bring me a new box fan or give me a donation.  Our friends at Target are letting us buy fans at cost so we can stretch your donation even further.  I hope you can help!

Well, that's about it for right now.  It's time for my nap..but stop by anytime and give me a head rub...ahh...nothing better!  Till next time...love, Petunia

 

I don't know if you've ever heard the joke about the mice that go to heaven.  Well, it seems that they were good mice and Saint Peter decided to grant them a wish.  They ended up asking for roller skates since they had spent their entire life on earth scurrying around trying to avoid getting caught.  Later on, a cat makes it to heaven (of course!) and after a few days he runs into Saint Peter who asks him how he likes heaven.  The cat replies that it's better than expected and he really loves the Meals On Wheels.  I know....that's the only kind of "good mice", but that's another joke.

Anyway, I heard two of my friends telling the joke in the lobby today and I started thinking about how lucky I am that I don't have to worry about food anymore since I moved in here.  (In fact, I have two food bowls in the building so I'm never far from a treat!)  Patti (one of my Mom's) told me that one out of four older folks in Georgia always have to worry about their next meal!  That's why we work so hard on our Meals On Wheels program.  Not only are we always trying to improve the taste of the meals (they are D-licious!), we're always trying to get money to feed more older friends.

To help with this, SCI is hosting it's 2nd annual Miles for Meals 5k Race.  The proceeds go directly to pay for meals for these hungry seniors.  I'm not sure what a 5k race is, but if it involves food...I'm there!  Won't you join me?  You can sign up on our website.

I know what you're thinking...what a cool cat I am! 

Yep, that me, Petunia, Biker Babe, posing with a b---n' motorcycle owned by my friend, Scott.  Scott even let me sit on it after I promised not to claw the custom-stiched leather seat with the skull on it.  Scott and some of his other friends are coming to Senior Citizens for

Bikes and Brews

Friday, April 27th at 4:00. 

It's going to be on our front lawn and folks can come drink some craft beer (is there a catnip beer?) and sit on, admire, talk biker talk with some other cool bike owners.  Just trying on the leather jackets makes it worth the trip!  To learn more, call me at 912-236-0363.

Bring your camera...heck, I'll even pose with you as your biker babe if you want!

Titanic

I have gotten a lot of questions regarding whether or not I am really the blogger.  Well, as you can see from this photo, I am hard at work!

It's hard to believe it that St. Patti's Day is over (One of my Mom's, Patti, told me it was spelled this way...I'm just indulging her!) Anyway, we are all hard at work here on the big Titanic event.  Did you know that April 14th is the actual 100th anniversary of that great ship sinking?  That evening, The Learning Center is having a dinner to commemorate it.  My Pal, Roger, said it will be at the Chatham Club and will be very educational and yummy...the menu is based on what was actually served on that fateful night.  Roger said I would like the food (I hear there will be quail!), but I'm not allowed to attend.  I'm not sure if it's because they didn't have cats on board or not. 

If you want to know more about the dinner, give Roger a call at 912-236-0363.  I won't be there but I promise to keep working hard on my blog.