It was Ebenezer Scrooge, from Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol, who famously uttered, “Bah, humbug!” London publisher Chapman & Hall released the book on December 19, 1843, and it became an instant success. Scrooge, the central character of the book, is a bitter miser and a hater of Christmas. But after being visited by a series of ghosts, Scrooge eventually learns to love and appreciate the holiday.

Holiday Humbug

An Enlightened Idea

Despite his change of heart, Scrooge has always been remembered for saying “Bah, humbug.” To this day, anyone not in the Christmas spirit may even be called a “Scrooge.” Christmastime should be a joyous season, but let’s face it, buying gifts, visiting family, cooking dinners, and hosting parties can be stressful. For that reason, even the most enthusiastic lovers of Christmas may find relief in muttering “Bah, humbug” on

December 21, Humbug Day. The term humbug is actually unrelated to Christmas and dates back much further than

continued on pg. 4

Alpine Meadows

1695 S. Locust Grove Road, Meridian, Idaho 83642 208-888-0090

Alpine Meadows 1695 S. Locust Grove Road Meridian, Idaho 83642

December 2016

Postage

Information

Holiday Humbug continued from pg. 1

Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles Dickens. A humbug is a hoax or a sham. Some speculate that the term comes from the Irish uim-bog, referring to soft copper coins that are monetarily worthless; or perhaps from Hamburg, in reference to the city in Germany from which many worthless coins entered England during the Napoleonic wars. Others think that the term originated in Italy with uomo bugiardo, which means “lying man.” Regardless of its origins, the word humbug was not only used in A Christmas Carol but also in The Wizard of Oz, where Oz refers to himself as “just a humbug.” So when Scrooge says, “Bah, humbug!” he is effectively saying, “Christmas is a sham.” The overwhelming evidence suggests that the

holiday, indeed, is very far from it.

Bingo’s

Birthday

December 2

Radio Days

presents:

Frank Sinatra’s

Holiday Show

December 3

Christmas Bells

December 14

Holiday

Harmonies with

Jubilation

December 15

Christmas

Party

(all invited)

December 20

The Story of

jolly Ms. Claus

December 23

Christmas

December 25

News Year’s Countdown

December 31

December Birthdays

Those born between December 1st and 21st are Archers of Sagittarius. Archers are both confident and lucky, so they often find success. Their infectious enthusiasm attracts friends. Those born between December 22nd and 31st are Capricorn’s Goats. Capricorns are independent, detail-oriented, and self-sufficient. These qualities help the sure-footed goats achieve stability.

Bette Midler (singer) – Dec. 1, 1945 Walt Disney (animator) – Dec. 5, 1901 Frank Sinatra (singer) – Dec. 12, 1915 Margaret Mead (scientist) – Dec. 16, 1901 William Parry (explorer) – Dec. 19, 1790 Ava Gardner (actress) – Dec. 24, 1922 Mary Tyler Moore (actress) – Dec. 29, 1936 John Denver (singer) – Dec. 31, 1943

Happy Birthday Harold Johnson – Dec 1st

Home Cookin’

Nothin’says love like baking homemade goodies for friends and family. And it wouldn’t be the holidays without pie! Here our ladies are hard at work making individual pumpkin pies for everyone to

enjoy for dessert. Just like ole times!

P A G E 3

The games we play and the friends we make Resident of the month: Elva Scott

P A G E 2

Elva Scott was born January 27th, 1931 in Levesque, Arkansas. She is one of 18 children and went to school in Birdeye, Arkansas. Elva was very active and loved making friends. In her late teens she met Hairl Scott and they fell in love. They were married on August 26th, 1948 in Parkin, Arkansas. Together, they have two children, a son named Ronnie and a daughter named Teresa. Elva has always been a hard worker and has had a variety of jobs. She picked cotton in Arkansas while raising her children until 1958 when the family moved to California. Hairl left first to find work and a place to live. Elva and kids followed later on the train where they met the actual Three Stooges! After moving to California, Elva worked at Burbank Community Hospital in the kitchen and then moved on to IERC (an electronic company that worked on equipment for the first American manned space ship in 1961). The company stopped work the day of the launch so all of the employees could watch. Later she worked at San Fernando Electric, where her department worked on one of the first pacemakers. In 1974 Hairl’s work transferred him to Boise and the family moved once again. And they lived happily together (a total of 61 years!) until Hairl’s passing in 2009. Elva’s passions include her love for the lord, her family, (10 grand kids and 9 great grand kids and several great grand fur babies!). She also loves sitting around with family and friends enjoying a good meal and having great conversations. Here at Alpine Meadows, Elva enjoys board games & bingo, doing puzzles, arts & crafts, making goodies, going to the movies and out to lunch, taking bus rides, participating in discussions and keeping up with current events. And after all this time, she’s still great at making friends!!

There’s no shortage of fun activities and friends to make here at Alpine Meadows. And around town too! At top we are making holiday door décor (we love glitter). Next, we are in a Wii Bowling tournament! Each month we play against another team for the coveted trophy! And third we are playing musical twister! Guess the song and throw the bean bag on the right color for the win! And down below, we are sharing a wonderful lunch at Café Ole’. Heavy on the nachos but light on the margaritas. Finally at far right, our folks are showing off masquerade ball masks (with LED lights!) Be sure to join us for the Holiday party on Dec 20th. The festivities begin at 6 pm with food, fun, music & Santa!