It is hard to miss the beautiful quilts for sale in front of the arts and crafts room. These quilts are hand made by residents here at Parkway Place. The Parkway Place Quilters have been making quilts for over 8 years. They make about 250 quilts every year, Half of those quilts are donated, either to Child Advocates, other charities or to Skilled Nursing here at Parkway Place. Every new resident in Skilled Nursing receives a new blanket from the Parkway Place Quilters.

Their goal and purpose is to sell enough quilts to be able to buy more fabric and make more quilts! Jane Wulf expresses her gratitude by saying “We appreciate people buying the quilts because we can carry on with the program.” Ruth Frederickson also says “They make great gifts for your children, grandchildren and friends!”

Suzanne Ronne from Child Advocates says this about the quilters “Thank you so much for making such beautiful quilts for our kids. You have brought smiles to their faces. We really appreciate the time you give to do such beautiful work.”

One of the purposes of HealthAbility is to help residents realize that there are many ways to stay well and engaged in life. One of the dimensions of HealthAbility is Community well-being, which is reaching out to help others by providing support and sharing your experiences and talents with others. Parkway Place Quilters do a great job at staying well with their community. Jane Wulf states “Parkway Place Quilters is great because we are doing something we enjoy and serving our community here at Parkway Place and the outside community as well.”

Parkway Place Quilters include: Janet Hermann, Madelin Speights,

Jan Wulf, Ruth Frederickson,Lena Pinckney, Joanne Cornelius, Henrika

Lowe, Joye Shelton, Rosie Wilcox and Ellen Good

For more information on how to get started in HealthAbility, please

contact Rachel in the Wellness Center at 281-677-5956. 

Independent Living Residents enjoyed entertainment by Mary Anne Burkhalter on Monday, November 7th.  She spoke on the subject: Remember When--The 1920's. 

Independent Living Residents at Parkway Place in Houston were treated to a “Happy Days Social” on Friday, September 9^th.  Staff dressed up in Poodle Skirts and other 50’s clothing.  Phillip brought his motorcycle and there was a “Greaser” and “Girl in a Poodle Skirt” for photo ops.  Rodney Rasberry played 50’s music, while Residents and staff did the Hand Jive, Bunny Hop, and other 50’s dances.  There were also Hula Hoop demonstrations.  The Cabana Room was decorated like a 50’s Malt Shop serving mini cheeseburgers, French fries, and Root Beer floats.  Everyone had a great time!

Our Healthability spotlight is Mary Nell Benson. Mary Nell was born in Hillsboro, Texas. She moved to Houston in 1951 with her family and has been here ever since. Mary Nell has 2 children and 4 grandchildren. She was a school teacher for 2nd and 3rd graders and taught for 27 years.

Mary Nell moved to Parkway Place in 2007. When asked how she’s enjoyed her stay at Parkway Place, she said “I love it here. The people who work here are especially nice and I’ve enjoyed the people who live here.” 

Mary Nell joined HealthAbility after her children suggested it would be good for her. Mary Nell said “I have enjoyed the socialization and meeting others who are facing the same problems as me. I feel like I belong here.”

Mary Nell participates in the physical dimension of HealthAbility by participating in the Total Body Fitness class two times a week. “I am prone to fall, I was falling several times a day before coming here, since I’ve been here, I’ve only fallen 4 times. The classes are paying off!”

She also participates in the intellectual dimension of the wellness program by doing the Brain Teaser on the Dakim machine, going to the Giant Crossword puzzle once a week and going to Bingo 3 times a week. “I also read a book a day, it’s important to keep yourself  engaged in life. Even though I don’t leave Parkway Place much, I still vote, and keep up on current events. It would be easy to become a hermit and stay in my apartment, and just eat and sleep. However I am much happier because I am choosing to be active and staying engaged in life. Parkway Place is a great retirement community where it’s easy to stay active.” 

When asked what advice she would give to those contemplating joining HealthAbility she said “ Come and try it out, you never know, you might find the thing you like the best.”