A gingerbread house is a seasonal novelty that is made of cookie dough, cut and baked into suitable components like walls and roofing. The usual building material is gingerbread and royal icing. These houses are covered with a wide variety of candies and additional icing. Making a gingerbread house is no simple task but can be great fun. The joy is really in the making, the coming together of all the steps and materials that are required to build a gingerbread house from scratch. Join Diane on Thursday, November 7, at 11 a.m. at King Thiel Senior Community as she guides attendees through building a gingerbread [...]

Join us for the first session of our Positive Living RSVP Lecture Series on Friday, November 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Lakeview Room at The Beltrone Living Center. The session will be conducted by Sheryl Kaplan, LCSW-R, CPP, and will focus on the importance of positivity in maintaining a healthy brain, including volunteering, as well as an overview of strategies for maintaining a healthy brain as you age. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please contact RSVP Director Marisa Geraghty at 518-459-2857 or mgeraghty@colonieseniors.org to reserve your spot.  

Jewish cuisine refers to the cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. Jewish cooking is food with a story; rich in history and symbolism yet open to new influences and inspirations. It has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws, holidays and religious traditions. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the agriculture, culinary traditions and economics of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled. The fare varies widely throughout the world. Please join JoEllen Duckor, a practicing rabbi in New Zealand who will be in our area on holiday, on Friday, November 15, at 11 a.m., at King Thiel Senior Community, as she shares [...]

Roger Dames, CSSC’s Driver Fitness Coordinator, will conduct a Defensive Driving Class as follows: Saturday, November 16, 2019 Class will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Albany, NY. Cost is $25 per person, due before day of class. To reserve your seat, call 518-459-2857, ext. 303.    

The Beltrone Living Center is a premiere senior housing community for people fifty-five and over with two hundred fifty independent apartments. Each year in May we have the opportunity to show off our beautiful community to prospective residents during our Open House. Tour guides will escort attendees through the building showing the various styles of apartments along with other amenities located in the building. Rents include heat and hot water, central air conditioning, cable, Internet, and telephone services. Residents pay their own electric bill. Also included in the rent are eight monthly dinners to be used in the Lakeview Restaurant operated [...]

The journey continues on Thursday, November 21, as we visit another sacred space. Join Diane Conroy-LaCivita as she travels to Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in Loudonville. Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism that identifies with the teachings of Martin Luther, a 16th-century German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation. Over fifty-five years ago, there was a response to a community in need. In August 1960, the Board of American Missions of the Lutheran Church in America sponsored a mission developer who undertook a door-to-door religious survey in the Loudonville area. As a [...]

On Tuesday, December 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., please join Wayne Mortimer, Proprietor of Mort’s Maple of Averill Park, for an introduction to the delicious process of maple sugaring in New York State. A variety of Wayne’s syrups will be sampled as well as used in several recipes (just in time for holiday baking). This is a class not to be missed by anyone with a sweet tooth and an appreciation for Liquid Gold. The class will take place at King Thiel Senior Community, 17 Elks Lane, with a $5 fee for members of THE CENTER at CSSC and [...]

On Thursday, December 5, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., our Annual Holiday Tree Lighting event will be held at The Beltrone Living Center. Joining us again this year is the Mendelssohn Club of Albany. Since its inception in 1909, this male chorus has become the longest continuously performing arts group in the Capital District of New York State. Thank you to Peregrine Senior Living for sponsoring this event. Join us for a wonderful evening of seasonal music, fellowship, and friendship to start the holiday season. This event is open to the public and free of charge.

Roger Dames, CSSC’s Driver Fitness Coordinator, will conduct a Defensive Driving Class in December as follows: Saturday, December 7, 2019 Class will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Albany, NY. Cost is $25 per person, due before day of class. To reserve your seat, call 518-459-2857, ext. 303.  

Calling all believers, young and young at heart to join us for Breakfast with Santa! The guy in the big red coat and the long white beard is taking a break from present making to visit The Beltrone. Join us for Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, December 8, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Come for a picture with Santa, a sweet holiday craft, hot cocoa bar, and plenty of good cheer. Breakfast includes French toast, bacon and fruit. Bring a non-perishable item to donate. Adults: $9; Children 10 and under: $5 Buy tickets in advance to guarantee your spot. Call [...]

Join us for the second session of our Positive Living RSVP Lecture Series. Conducted by John and Heidi Kowalchyk, Reiki Masters, certified Sound Therapists and trained Drum Circle Facilitators. Attendees will learn simple techniques promoting mental, emotional and physical wellness through breath work, toning (making vocal sounds) and drumming, will get to participate in a drum circle and learn how you can use your new drumming skills as a volunteer! Free and open to the public. Reservations are required. Contact Marisa Geraghty at 518-459-2857 ext. 308 or mgeraghty@colonieseniors.org

On Monday, December 9, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Colonie Town Band will delight us with a Holiday Concert to help us get into the holiday spirit.  The Colonie Town Band is a dedicated group of talented amateur musicians ranging in age from teenagers to octogenarians, and they love to perform for music lovers. This event is open to the public and free of charge.

Please join us on Tuesday, December 10, as we welcome local multi-media artist Marjorie Ward to The Beltrone for a Handmade Greeting Card Workshop. Learn how much fun it can be to create your own holiday greeting cards. All supplies will be included (card stock, envelopes, decorative papers, embellishments, glue sticks, stickers and markers) so all you need to bring is your imagination. You can create as many cards as you want and even take home some extra supplies. The classes will be held in the Art Room of The Beltrone Living Center. There will be two separate sessions: the first [...]

Please join CSSC on Tuesday, December 17, as we once again visit the Capital Holiday Lights. The 2019 edition of the Capital Holiday Lights is an all-new, drive-through spectacular with more than 125 displays and scenes in Albany’s beautiful Washington Park. At the end of our drive through the Lights, we will stop at the Washington Park Lake House, which will be filled with crafts and refreshments. Santa will be there too! Space is limited and you must be a senior to participate. The CSSC shuttle buses will leave The Beltrone Living Center at 5:45 p.m. and return at approximately 8 [...]

The journey continues on Wednesday, December 18, as we visit another sacred space. Join Diane Conroy-LaCivita as she travels to the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany on Washington Avenue in Albany. Unitarians and Universalists have had a presence in Albany since 1842. The First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany is comprised of brave, curious, and compassionate thinkers and doers. They are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in their desire to make a difference for the good of all. They have a track record of standing on the side of love, justice, and peace. They are people [...]

Don’t worry about creating all those holiday treats. Leave the baking to us. On Thursday, December 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., CSSC staff will share and demonstrate how to make their favorite holiday dessert/cookie recipes. Attendees then will be able to choose from a variety of cookies and other treats to take home with them. The class will take place at King Thiel Senior Community, 17 Elks Lane, with a $5 fee for members of THE CENTER at CSSC and $7 for not-yet members and will include a light lunch. Space is limited and prepayment for the class is [...]

Incarceration has four major purposes: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Retribution means punishment for crimes against society. Depriving criminals of their freedom is a way of making them pay a debt to society for their crimes. Recently, this topic is being debated and is under great scrutiny. Join Diane on Thursday, December 19 as she visits and tours the Albany County Correctional Facility, which was built in 1931 in the Town of Colonie. Everyone who would like to attend must take CSSC transportation to and from the jail (individual cars will not be allowed), and attendees will not be allowed to take [...]

Please join us to celebrate THE CENTER at CSSC! Open to all, everyone is invited. January 10, 2020, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Located at The Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Albany, NY. Featuring: Wine and Cheese  -  Music   -   Giveaways, raffles and information Meet our instructors   -   Enter to win membership and classes For more information: 518-459-2857 x 327 Also, schedule a tour of one of The Beltrone Living Center's apartments, a premier housing community for independent adults, 55 years of age and older.  

Golf is the greatest game in the world—just ask anyone who plays! Please join us on Tuesday, January 14, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. as we welcome National PGA Director, District 1, Noel Gebauer for a golf workshop at The Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Albany, NY. If you have never played golf before or want to understand the game so you can watch golf on TV, then this workshop is for you. Noel, who is the General Manager of the Colonie Town Golf Course, will bring equipment along with information on the basics of the game. There is no fee to [...]

Join us for the third session of our Positive Living RSVP Lecture series on Thursday, January 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Beltrone Living Center. Sheryl Kaplan, LCSW-R, CPP, returns by popular demand to lead a more in-depth, interactive session on maintaining a healthy brain. The event is free and open to the public. Please contact RSVP Director Marisa Geraghty at 518-459-2857 ext. 308 to reserve your spot.

On Friday, January 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., please join Chef Kurt Vincent for a cooking demonstration relating to German cuisine and culture. With over 25 percent of the American population able to trace their roots back to ancestors from German-speaking lands, most are familiar with German foods. From hot dogs to hamburgers, gingerbread houses to German chocolate cake, Kurt Vincent will share his love of German food with a little history, a few stories from the “Old Country” and lots of samples and tastes of past and current favorites. A graduate of Schenectady Community College’s Hotel Management Program, [...]

Pie is as American as the Fourth of July. Through those first lean and hungry years in New England, daring pioneer mothers contrived “pyes” out of a few simple foods at hand often experimenting as they went. The old expression “easy as pie” is now true. Over time, pastry chefs and cooks alike have worked out simplified methods. No guessing as to the amount of water, no chilling of the pastry, no long, laborious preparations for fillings. Today, there are pies for special occasions, pies from famous eating locations, and pies for special holidays. On Tuesday, January 28, from 11 a.m. to [...]

Roger Dames, CSSC’s Driver Fitness Coordinator, will conduct a Defensive Driving Class in January as follows: Thursday, January 30, 2020 Class will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Albany, NY. Cost is $25 per person, due before day of class. To reserve your seat, call 518-459-2857, ext. 303.