Christmas house a popular
destination for Pleasant Meadow residents
Tuesday, December
19, 2006 -- Craig Anderson
A Christmas-themed house that is adorned with
more than 35,000 lights has proven a popular nightly
destination for residents who live at Pleasant
Meadow.
The house, located in Seymour, is
owned and maintained solely by local resident
Betty Ellis. The home is a labour of love that
costs a whopping $2,000 a month in hydro fees
to stay aglow.
As well as its external lighting,
every room in the house features Christmas ornaments,
trees, memorabilia and other holiday symbols.
Karen Coulter, life enrichment coordinator
for Pleasant Meadow, has been conducting nightly
post-dinner forays in the OMNI van with different
groups of residents.
“It’s just magical,”
she says, “it’s breathtaking.”
“The residents are just mesmerized.
It’s cheery for Christmas.”
The Christmas house, a thirty minute
drive from Pleasant Meadow, has been drawing visitors
from as far away as Toronto and Hamilton, says
Coulter.
Although it runs for six weeks from
November 25th to January 1st, the home’s
shining moment occurs on Christmas Eve, when more
than 1,000 people from the town and surrounding
area congregate to sing carols and celebrate the
season.
Visits to the Christmas house are
but one of the myriad ways the 61-bed, Norwood-based
home celebrates the season.
Recently, residents were entertained
by the Norwood high School Band and participated
in an annual bazaar. At the end of November they
kicked off the season with the “Family Social,”
which featured hors d’oeuvres and a sing-a-long.
Coulter, who joined the home as
LEC in August after working as a PSW/supportive
measures specialist at Burnbrae Gardens, reflects
on 2006 as a challenging year, both personally
and professionally.
Having fought through cancer and
returned to work, Coulter now takes greater delight
in activities like these nightly visits to the
Christmas house, reveling in simple pleasures.
“I look at it as challenging
– and a learning experience,” she
says. “It makes you appreciate what you
have.”
Getting back to work after an extended
layoff has helped her both physically and mentally.
“I love being here, and I
have a lot to learn and contribute.”
“And the philosophy that OMNI
has taught,” she says, referencing Robin
Sharma, “works in my personal life too.
It’s given me a lot of strength.”
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