Deck the Halls!

Here's wishing every one a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful Holiday season!

We were visited by some wonderful Christmas Carolers from Crossroads Church over the weekend. Of course, we all sang along!

Later in the day, at our annual Ridge Christmas Party and gift exchange, we had a suprise visitor all the way from the North Pole.

A Safe and Prosperous New Year to all!

On Common Ground

Several years ago, I met with Reverend Danell Wheeler from Common Ground Corona. She wanted to do something for Peppermint Ridge. From this meeting, the monthly birthday celebrations were born. For well over three years, Danell, Jean, Karen, Trina, Terri and several others from the Common Ground Interfaith Spiritual Center threw a party for the Ridgers every third Friday of the month. We danced, played bingo, ate wonderful food and had an amazing time with wonderful friends. Volunteer Trina created beautiful handmade birthday cards for each Ridger celebrating a birthday that month. The birthday celebrations were looked forward to by all!

As often happens, Danell became stretched thin with the demands of running Common Ground. Volunteers were unable to commit as the day to day challenges of their own lives became more pressing . We were facing the heart breaking possibility of discontinuing our Monthly parties.

And as often happens, God stepped in. At the same time, we were contacted by Saddleback church. They were looking for a way to serve. We had just the opportunity for them! Common Ground sadly hosted their last birthday celebration in December 2010- and without missing a beat, Saddleback Church picked up the reins and hosted their first monthly birthday celebration in January 2011. They put their own spin on it, while keeping the feel and flavor of the celebrations alive. These parties are all about celebrating our fabulous Ridgers and enjoying the company of our wonderful friends.

I am so grateful to Common Ground (who are still very active with Peppermint Ridge) and Saddleback Church for starting and continuing our parties! We couldn't do it without our community! We are all truly "on Common Ground."

Spring Time!!

I am so excited to welcome Spring! I can feel the excitement and anticipation of new life, new hope, warmer days and second chances. We are planning many fun activities for the Springtime, including our continuing Monday Night Fitness program, where we will take our workout outside on nice evenings, Our Venturing Crew program, with the help and support of our Sister Crew, Crew 107, and don't forget parties, parties, parties!!!!
The horseback riding program is going STRONG, with 21 riders now! We have a fabulous group of volunteers, including Tracy P who leads an arts and craft project every month. She recently ran into an "Angel" at the Cajalco Michael's Craft Store. This woman, who wanted to remain anonymous (her first name is Judy..that is all the info she gave), upon hearing the mission of Peppermint Ridge, donated $100 on the spot to purchase arts & crafts supplies for our program. Good people are out there!!!! I will post further updates about specific programs here at the Ridge very soon!

Norco Therapeutic Riding Center @ No Drama Ranch

Our equestrian team has a new home! We are now riding with Norco Therapeutic Riding Center, located at No Drama Ranch in Norco CA. Under the direction of coaches Katye Smith and Donna Hyde, the new program has the goal of becoming THE premier therapeutic riding center in the Inland Empire.

Coach Katye is a graduate of the University of La Verne, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training. She has fourteen years of experience with horses and several years' experience teaching riding lessons. Coach Donna, owner of No Drama Ranch, has 30 years of experience working with people who have developmental disabilities; ten of those years were spent operating a community care level 4G home.

Katye and Donna lead an experienced group of dedicated volunteers each week. Katye has designed and is implementing individual lesson plans for each riding student. In addition, Katye and Donna study at a Premier NARHA center, The Shea Center, in San Juan Capistrano.

Come on out to lessons, every Saturday morning beginning at 8AM, to see this quality program in action! No Drama Ranch is located at 3659 Pedley Street in the city of Norco, CA (horsetown, USA!)

Summer, Summer, Summer!

"In summer, the song sings itself" ~William Carlos Williams

It is the little things that make me smile. A warm breeze, a butterfly, a moment of quiet reflection. Ridgers have many opportunities to enjoy the lazy days of summer in any way they would like. We have taken the train to the beach, where the most exciting moment was when I dropped my phone in the ocean. We cool off in the pool, with free swim time and scheduled aqua aerobics classes. This last week, Ridger Raymond worked with the instructor, used a kick board and swam across the pool twice. That was a smile-worthy moment. We have had the opportunity to sit in our beautiful garden to enjoy the beauty of nature-flowers, trees, breezes, birds and butterflies. We have celebrated our most patriotic of holidays, July 4th-Independence Day. As Ridger John will affirm, we are all Proud to be Americans!

Kevin Rolly come to the Ridge

Los Angeles artist and photographer Kevin Rolly will be coming to the Ridge tonight to begin work on his latest oilgraph based on the last supper. Many of our residents will be models for this piece. What an exciting night. For more information on Kevin Rolly, please visit his website:

http://www.kevissimo.com/

Love Walk 2009!

It is that time of year again! The 4th annual Love Walk for the Ridge will be held this Saturday, November 14th at Crossroads Church in Corona. Last Friday, the Ridgers decorated some of the Love Walk signs that you will see at the event. The Activities Department will have a booth at the walk...come by and decorate your very own tote bag!

This is an event that we look forward to every year..I hope to see everyone there!