SmartHome Residents Make Zucchini Bread

These photos were taken Monday night at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder before the residents went to their computers to keep tabs on the Bronco game.  Some of the residents and staff member Claudette decided to make some zucchini bread using zucchini they grew in the SmartHome garden. Making the bread was quite the team effort as the photos show.

Staff member Claudette holds a measuring spoon while
Rebecca carefully fills the spoon with vanilla.

Gerald encourages Donna
while Donna stirs the zucchini bread batter. 

Staff member Claudette (left) holds the bowl while Rae (in white) helps
Gerald stir the batter, and Donna takes a short breather from reading
the recipe to the others. 

Rae admires the thick consistency of the batter while stirring it,
and Donna steadies the bowl for her.

From the left, staff member Claudette, Gerald, Rae, and Donna.
Claudette and Rae are helping Gerald stir the batter while
Donna reads the recipe and lets them know what will be
added next.

No TV, No Problem For SmartHome Residents

This blog post came to us during a visit to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder last Monday night during the Denver Broncos versus Oakland Raiders football game. The residents have been without TV since the flood, but their computers are working and they took advantage of that to keep tabs on the Bronco game. The photos demonstrate that being without a TV has not dampened their spirits. We hope you enjoy the photos and captions below.

Before the football game, Gerald and Donna wanted their picture
taken by the donor plaque in their home. They celebrated their
fourth wedding anniversary this month. 

Lana is standing behind Donna and Gerald, all eyes focused on
the screen to see what was going to happen next.

Donna shouted, "WE ARE WINNING!  YEA!" 

At this point the score was Denver 10 and Oakland 0.
The score is displayed near the center of the screen with an orange background.
Below the score it gives where the ball is, what down it is, and how many yards
to go for a first down.

If you look closely you can see that the score had just changed
to Denver 17 and Oakland 0.  Go Broncos!

John Thanks SmartHome Flood Volunteers

This photo came to us last night during a visit to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. John wrote a thank you note to the people who came by to help clean up the basement of his home after it was damaged by four feet of water.

The note says, "Dear guys, T(h)anks for working in the basement in the SmartHome.

John's thank you note to the volunteers who came by to clean up
flood water from his home's basement. 

John Writes To Say He's Safe

This blog post came to us from John in an audio email. John is a resident at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, which received significant damage in the basement (about four feet of water). John wrote to let us know that he and his housemates are safe.

Hey Gary, The water on the basement was downstairs after the heavy rain that fell. Iris Street got a bit of flood. I know it’s really crazy but right now the basement is fixing up so I just got to let you know what’s going on. I am home safely, so that’s the good thing. I wonder how your place is. I just want to say hello to you and I hope that you have a good day. 

 I got a little joke. How to you stop a skunk from smelling? You pinch its nose. 

 All right, bye.

This is Imagine! staff member Matt Barnert who was
one of many volunteers who showed up to help with
the flood damage at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome.
Good ole' Matty, covered in mud from head to toe and still smiling. 

Bob Writes About Nature

This blog post came to us in an email from Bob. He has been working on writing emails in a CORE/Labor Source class and this is the first email from Bob's own email address. Bob's email has already received a thorough reply from us about our experiences with nature and such.  Please note that Bob goes by both Bob and Robert, so if you follow his posts you'll see even him using both names.

Hello, It’s me Bob. Just wanted to fill you in on a few things that we haven’t talked about really lately…Nature – Deer, Antelope, and Turkeys. Let’s start out with deer. I talked to my aunt and my aunt said that she hasn’t seen any deer for a long time, but every now and then they come up to the front porch and look inside the house. For antelope, she only sees them once in a while, but that’s to be expected. For turkeys she talked to me and she looked outside the door and she was real surprised. Her yard was filled with turkeys and she couldn’t believe it so she filled me in on it. She said, “Boy those turkeys are ugly.” She hasn’t called back since, but we still keep in touch. On the deer, one day she came home and the left side of her field was filled with deer and she had to get those corralled up and get them to move on. So she has been kind of busy up in the mountains and she has had some excitement. Oh, by the way, my aunt lives up in Left Hand Canyon. Well, that’s kind of where I’m at. If you will please write back I would really appreciate that. Thanks.

Robert waving his flag as he prepared for the 4th of July holiday. 

Lana Was In Her First Parade On Labor Day

This blog post came to us last week during a conversation with Lana at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder. Lana had been asked if she had a good time being in the Louisville Labor Day Parade. Lana and three of her housemates (Gerald, Donna, and Rae) along with two SmartHome staff members (Alex and Phil) were in the parade helping to represent Imagine!, which was invited to be the Grand Marshal in recognition of Imagine!'s 50th anniversary this year.

"I had a good time in the parade. I’d never been in a parade before. I think it’s great that Rae (one of Lana’s housemates) walked the entire way (about one mile). It was fun giving out candy to all the kids.

Lana relaxing at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. 

Out & About Summer Camp Receives Thanks

This blog post came to us as a thank you note from the parent of a child who attended Out & About’s Summer Camp this year. Along with the note, below, came a cake that is pictured below.  The cake was so delicious that we didn't get a picture of the whole cake in time. 

“I wanted to say how impressed I was with summer camp this year. It has always been a wonderful experience for Erin, but this year was something special. The staff was energetic, positive, and funny. Everyone was really on their game and it showed. The kids were great, too. Erin made some lasting friendships this year. Thank you so much for everything.”

We think the cake said,
"THANK YOU
FOR A GREAT
SUMMER CAMP
OUT & ABOUT."

It was a delicious cake!