Holiday Wreath

From Linda Gabrielson's endless supplies, every member was able to create their own one-of-a-kind wreath for the front door or elsewhere in the home. Beautiful job, everyone! You can see some of the creations below.

Angel Ornament

As we move into the holiday season, Linda Gabrielson started us off with three different angel ornaments. Beautiful addition to your tree or as a gift. See some of the pictures from class, below.

Australopithecus to MinDat: Mineralogy Through the Ages

From making tools to identifying new minerals with the latest equipment, Nathalie Brandes, geologist, discussed the history of mineralogy. The Australopithecus afarensis is the earliest known human species found to have used cutting tools about 3 million years ago. Since then, humans have been discovering minerals for their function as well as for their form. We learned about some of the colorful characters involved in the history of mineralogy, as well.

You can view Nathalie's presentation here.

Water, Water Everywhere... Or Is It?

Kendra Penry of the Heifer International shared with us the current state of clean, safe drinking water around the world. Water is expected to become, and already is, a very important commodity leading to conflicts this century. Kendra discussed some of the ways we can work to ensure water is available for generations to come.

You can view Kendra's presentation here.

Korean Rice Bowl

ALL Member, Lou Master, was back again with another wonderful dish. This time, Lou showed us his take-off of the famous Korean Bibimbap dish. It is a combination of seasoned ground beef topped with sauteed carrots, zucchini and mushrooms and a fried egg, all served over rice. The class also sampled some Kimchi. Another delicious meal enjoyed by all.

You can find Lou's recipe here.

Music Appreciation

Dr. Brian Herrington, CyFair Music professor, gave us a great introduction to music in our first of three classes. We learned some of the basic music vocabulary and several of the instruments found in an orchestra. Through videos and the piano, he demonstrated what we can start listening for now that we had some idea of meter, tempos, dynamics and tone. The next two classes are Wednesdays, Nov 14 and Dec 5 in ARTS 102 (Recital Hall) at 2.30pm.

You can view Dr. Herrington's handout here.

The Bonus March

After WWI, veterans wanted to redeem their service bonuses early and put a lot of political pressure on Washington and President Hoover by invading the city. Tom Kelly, History professor, gave us the background leading to the march and discussed the impact on future veteran benefits that came out of the Bonus March.

You can view Tom's presentation here.

Tsunami Hazards

There are many causes of tsunamis not just earthquakes. Nathalie Brandes, our favorite geologist, gave us a great explanation of how tsumanis may be created as well as a review of some historic tsunami events.

You can view Nathalie's presentation here.

Fire Safety for Seniors

We had a very interesting discussion with Mike Naglieri, Fire Safety Chair at LSC-CyFair, regarding safety for seniors. We covered both fire and ambulance calls during our discussion. Some of the takeaways include:

• The two most common incidents for seniors are falls and kitchen fires.
• Have a smoke detector in each bedroom, hallway and in the kitchen.
• Smoke kills most people, not fire.
• Stop, drop and roll if on fire. Hug the ground when trying to exit house.
• In case of fire with grandkids in the house - if on the second floor and can't get out, open/break window and throw out toys so fire fighters will know someone is there.
• Practice EDITH - Exit Drills In The Home and pick a place to meet (mailbox, front yard, etc.)
• Keep a fire extinguisher, type ABC, in kitchen near door, not near stove.
• Please don't use candles.