By Rose Chavez | PREVIEW Columnist
The Pagosa Senior Center is continuing its annual tradition of providing a local discount card for those ages 60 and better.
The discount card encourages seniors to support local recreational, restaurant, medical and retail services. These local businesses provide a discount ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent off services.
For more information, visit our website, http://www.psseniors.org/discount-club.html.
Legal services
presentation
The Archuleta County community is invited to a public meeting on Wednesday, March 15, at 9:30 a.m. at the Senior Center to listen to an overview on free legal services available for seniors in southwest Colorado and how to apply for Colorado Legal Services programs.
There will be a Q-and-A session about the programs and resources available, but no legal advice will be provided as part of this presentation.
Homesteading essentials workshop series:
Sourdough lesson
The Senior Center is kicking off our homesteading essentials workshop series with a sourdough basics course on March 20. A free class will be put on by local baker Alison Braun.
The course will include history and health benefits of fresh, local sourdough, tools you really need for bread making, starting and maintaining a starter, fermentation tactics/times, details for mixing and proofing, and sharing of favorite sourdough formulas. Registration to attend is required, so please call (970) 264-2167 to put your name on the list. Limited seats are available.
Future workshops will include composting, food preservation, growing dome and backyard gardening, herbalism and more. We are looking for local experts to share their knowledge in this series supporting self-reliance and sustainability in our community. Please contact us if you are interested in leading a class or participating.
Free seasonal art class
The next free art class at the Senior Center will be Tuesday, March 28, at 1:15 p.m. No reservations are required, but space is limited so be sure to be there by 1:15 p.m. The class will last approximately an hour and a half.
Have you ever wondered how lilies came to be at Easter? In this class, we’ll be exploring that answer as well as making some lilies from paper. No art skill is required for this class, just a desire to have fun and learn something about the history of the Easter lily while making your bouquet. All materials will be provided including the scissors, paper and glue. Templates will be provided to trace and cut out the various parts that go into making this lovely lily.
All ages are invited, so find a friend and bring them along. Our teacher will again be Denise Fisk, who is a retired elementary art teacher from Iowa. So, come and hear about the traditions around the lily and help us bring springtime to life in this special way.
COVID-19 test
kits available
Stop by the Senior Center to pick up a pack of six free COVID-19 tests kits for your personal use. These kits are available to anyone in the public who needs affordable access for health promotion and disease prevention.
Text reservations
Text us at (970) 264-2167. Don’t forget that we also offer a convenient texting service for you to communicate with us. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are calling to cancel a reservation, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel.
Texting services are available for dining-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.
Mobile food pantry service available for seniors
The Senior Center would like to remind the community about our mobile food pantry services we provide in partnership with Archuleta County MET to seniors age 60 and older throughout most areas of Archuleta County.
In order to participate in this program, community members must visit with Barbara Noriega at the Senior Center, located in the Ross Aragon Community Center, to fill out an application to qualify for the mobile pantry service.
The application, called the dining assessment form, is also available on our website at the bottom of the Community Cafe page: http://www.psseniors.org/community-cafeacute.html. For more information, contact us at (970) 264-2167.
Mahjong
Mahjong is a 19th century Chinese tile-based game that is commonly played with four players. Each player receives 13 tiles with a goal to make matching sets and pairs (like poker). To win, a player must form four sets and one pair. Come to the Senior Center to learn or play every Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.
Bridge
The longest-played bridge game in Archuleta County takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. We have eliminated Monday bridge due to lack of consistent participation and will be replacing it with different programming.
Bridge is a four-player card game with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. It is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. Come alone or bring a partner.
Engaging pictures
Engaging pictures are needed from seniors and their families who live, work and play their best lives in Archuleta County. We are looking for pictures that convey people’s active lifestyles, families, culture and more. We would like to use these pictures in our grant applications, on social media and on our website. Please email all pictures to rosa@psseniors.org or feel free to drop them off.
Community Cafe menu
Thursday, March 9 — Mushroom rigatoni with sauteed squash, dinner roll, green salad, fruit and milk.
Friday, March 10 — Hawaiian shrimp skewers, coconut rice, pina colada fruit salad, garden salad and milk.
Monday, March 13 — Vegetable lasagna with white sauce, garlic bread, garden salad, fruit and milk.
Tuesday March 14 — Chicken Dijon, asparagus, garden salad, fruit, milk and cherry crisp.
Wednesday, March 15 — Teriyaki beef with sauteed peppers and onions, brown rice, snow peas, garden salad, fruit, milk and chocolate cake.
Thursday, March 16 — Pork posole, cabbage, radish, onion, lime, tortilla, garden salad, fruit salad and milk.
Friday, March 17 — Corned beef with Irish colcannon, minted peas, garden salad, chocolate Baileys cupcake, milk.
Grab-N-Go meals
Grab-N-Go meal reservations and cancellations are required. Please call or text by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $10 helps to sustain our program. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10.50. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.
Meals on Wheels
We deliver fresh Meals on Wheels five days a week (and provide frozen Meals on Wheels for weekends) to homebound Archuleta County residents. Call or text us at (970) 264-2167.
Requesting donations
Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI) has an immediate monetary need to support ongoing operations and programming that provide critical services to some of the most vulnerable in Archuleta County. Please consider donating.
You may mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs CO 81147 or please visit our website: http://www.psseniors.org/. Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd.
For more information about ASI, please visit http://www.psseniors.org/.
