Opera DVDs Needed

Do You Own Opera DVDs?

Since the inception of the weekly Saturday Opera program, the Opera Committee has screened 70 operas on DVD, including a few works in different productions. 

The committee is fortunate to be able to draw on one member who has a vast collection, but we are open to an even wider range of works, or new productions, to be presented to our residents.

If you have operas on DVD with English subtitles, we would appreciate receiving a list of titles, principal singers, orchestras, conductors, and directors, to see whether you have treasures that are not already in the existing inventory.  If you own such DVDs, we hope you would be willing to share them for a screening.

If so, please contact Ursula Hahn.

Saturday Opera at Kendal

The Saturday Opera at Kendal Program has a great performance scheduled for September 4 at 1:00 pm. in the Gathering Room.

Residents will be treated to Goya by Gian Carlo Menotti.

It is a largely fictional account of Spanish painter Francisco Goya's life. Placido Domingo sings the title role; Michelle Breedt is the Duchess of Alba, Goya's love interest.

Emmanuel Villaume conducts the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in a 2004 performance at the Theater an der Wien, and you don’t even have to buy a plane ticket to Vienna to see it.

Zoom Talk: Midwifery

On Monday, August 30 at 7:30 pm, the Kendal Education Committee will host a Talk on Zoom by Marcy Andrew who will discuss “Addressing Health Disparities through Place-Based Midwifery Care”

Len Andrew’s daughter Marcy, who is President of the National College of Midwifery (NCM), will discuss the systemic maternal health crisis in our country.

Statistics reveal that African-American, Native American, and Alaska Native women are about three times more likely than white women to die from causes related to pregnancy, and that other racial minority groups are also negatively affected. In communities of color that hold unique cultural heritage and a lack of economic resources, standard healthcare models often do not translate into sustainable practices and do not genuinely meet the needs of the community.

The National College of Midwifery, established in 1989, has employed a community-based apprenticeship model of education to train hundreds of midwives throughout the country. Based in Taos, NM, it is now working to create a model birth center that addresses health disparities through place-based and culturally attuned, evidence-based midwifery care.

Join us on Aug 30 as Marcy discusses NCM’s process of deep community questioning, visioning, innovating, and resource-gathering grounded in ancient midwifery traditions and untethered from mainstream medical expectations and norms.

All residents will receive a Zoom invitation.

Excursions

WAVE HILL RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 29

The Wave Hill trip has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 29. Persons in the first 12 places or on its wait list do not need to sign up again. Since residents on the cancelled July 7 trip have priority, they should cross their names out if they can't make the new date. Priority does not extend to individuals who cancelled the trip. Consult the sign-up sheet if you have any questions about your status.

Wave Hill has 28 acres in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, is renowned for its vista of the Hudson River and the Palisades and its trees, shrubs, flowers, lawn and woodland.

PRIDE OF THE HUDSON CRUISES SECOND TRIP OCTOBER 6

A second trip on Pride of the Hudson, cruising from Newburgh on Wednesday, October 6, gives priority to those on the wait list for the August 11 cruise. Residents already on the wait list do not need to sign up but should cross their names out if the new date doesn't fit their plans. Anyone who cancelled the trip for medical reasons should sign up again.

The 130-passenger ship sails south to the Hudson Highlands taking in Washington’s Headquarters, Mount Beacon, Bannerman Island, Breakneck Mountain, Cold Spring and West Point. The ship sails rain or shine. The gangplank is not wide enough for wheelchairs to board, and restrooms are down a flight of stairs.

Trips Report: Met Opera HD Live

The purchase of Met Opera HD Live priority tickets in the coming season starts Thursday, September 2, for residents using the van for transportation to City Center Cinema in White Plains. Sign-ups start Saturday, August 28 from 10:30 am to noon in the Residents Lounge, to permit us to collect payment for the tickets.

There is no charge for van transportation at this time but a charge may be added later at less cost than in 2019.

WATCH FOR MET HD LIVE SIGNS ON BULLETIN BOARDS.

To ensure the Met Opera HD Live performances extend to a broader share of the Kendal population, the Trips Committee is trying something different this year.

Residents may only sign up initially for 2 of the 4 operas scheduled for van transportation during the 2021-2022 opera season. Anyone signing up for 3 or 4 operas will be disqualified from using the van for opera performances. The third or fourth sign-ups for the first 12 places and/or waitlists will be allowed two days later.

In the last opera season, all available seats in one van were filled, and the waitlists were substantial within 45 minutes. Two Kendal vans were used for 2 of the 4 operas.

The Saturday matinees selected are:

October 9 - Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, the best-known of Russian operas with Rene Pape as Boris;

Oct. 23 - Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in my Bones, a contemporary opera chosen for opening night, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and the Met's first opera by a Black composer;

May 12 - Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, starring Lise Davidsen in her HD debut;

May 21 - Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor with bel canto fireworks by Nadine Sierra and Javier Camarena.

Both the operas chosen by the Trips Committee and the entire list of 10 Met HD Live performances are in the Trips Book under Opera. Tickets for the general public go on sale on September 8.

New Library Collection

The Craft Library has now been added to the list of Library Collections. It includes books on weaving, quilting, needlepoint, embroidery, and knitting, as well as rug hooking, macrame, and other lesser-known arts.

The Craft Room is on C-level opposite the Art Room, open 24/7, and the bookcase is at the left as you enter.

Feel free to borrow and return. Questions? Contact Marilyn Bottjer,

The Table Talks (Yet Again)

Dear New Friends,

You may have heard of me; I am the Give and Take Table, located on the Terrace Level of Mary Powell, just steps from the elevator.

Bert Pepper originated me more than 10 years ago, and I’ve helped Kendalites reallocate their no-longer-needed belongings ever since. It’s a neat way to get rid of that ______ (fill in the blank) that you never use but don’t know what to do with.

Some items are NOT welcome: FOOD, CLOTHING, and SHARP OBJECTS*. Please don’t bring me medicines or supplements, linens or towels, cosmetics, hats, shoes, or compression stockings. Do bring me (in small quantities —I’ll be back next month) books**, CDs, and DVDs. You should know that if an object isn’t claimed by week’s end, it will be disposed of.

Please come visit me during the first week of September. I am on the job from 8:00 am on the first of the month until 5:00 on the 7th.

Looking forward to meeting you,

The Give and Take Table

* There are organizations that will happily accept some of these and I will give you more info on these next month. And, no, that extra can opener you have doesn’t count as a sharp object.

** Check with the Library staff first to see if they can use them.

So sayeth Kendal’s Give & Take Table.

COVID - 19 Update

Staff Vaccination Requirement

We continue to keep COVID-related infection control a top priority. While we have had overwhelming success in mitigating COVID at Kendal on Hudson to date, the pandemic continues to evolve, and the Delta variant is now spreading in our area. CDC has declared Westchester County an area of “HIGH” COVID transmission. We are looking at the scientific research to determine how best to protect our entire Kendal on Hudson community.

For the protection of all, based on the demonstrated safety of the COVID vaccines offered and based on the current threat of the spread of the Delta and other variants, we have decided that our safest course of action is to require COVID vaccination for all staff.

Effective October 14, 2021, all Kendal on Hudson staff must be fully vaccinated.

“Fully vaccinated” is defined as two weeks after receiving the last dose in a two-vaccine series or two weeks after getting a one-dose vaccine. Therefore, the final dose must be received no later than September 30, 2021.

Unvaccinated staff have been apprised of this new requirement and are being asked to attend informational sessions to learn about the details of the policy.

One-to-one meetings will also be scheduled with unvaccinated individuals. The purpose of the private meetings will be to better understand the employee’s status, aid in scheduling a vaccination appointment or provide information on how to apply for an exemption from the vaccination requirement due to religious or medical reasons.

Booster Shots for COVID-19 Vaccine

CDC has released information regarding booster doses of COVID-19, citing that moderate to severely immunocompromised individuals qualify. Based on the criteria, it is anticipated that less than 3% of the population falls into this category.

Please note, age alone is not sufficient to qualify for a booster of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Qualifying criteria include:

• Having had an organ transplant and are taking medication to suppress the immune system;

• Being currently treated for solid tumor cancer or cancer of the blood (i.e., lymphoma or leukemia);

• Having had a stem cell transplant in the past two years or taking medication to suppress the immune system;

• Having advanced or untreated HIV infection;

• Currently receiving active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress the immune system.

Boosters can be given 28 days after a second dose of Moderna or Pfizer for those who qualify. Booster shots may be Moderna or Pfizer.

If you are unsure if you qualify for a booster based on the criteria, please contact your primary care physician for guidance.

Transportation Reminder

Our drivers do everything they can to get you to your destination and back.

 BE ON TIME: If you are running late, please call extension 1068 and let the driver know.

 Sign up at least 24 hours in advance and provide the correct address.

 If you make a late-afternoon appointment, bring cab money in case you cannot be picked up.

 When shopping, please be mindful of the pick-up time.

Postcard from the Give & Take Table

There are not many institutions that have a talking table, especially one that actually sends postcards. However, Kendal’s Give & Take Table is one of the many interesting oddities one finds at this unusual community. We have recently received the following communication from our very own talking table.

Dear Kendalites,

Having a wonderful time … I’ve visited my cousins, the Pool Table, the Poker Table, and the Smorgasbord (she’s Swedish and doesn’t like to be called Buffet Table).

Next week I’m attending a lecture on the Periodic Table of Elements, the better to identify those unusual objects you bring to me.

See you Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 1st .

XOXO,

The Give and Take Table