Donna Brandt holds one of the ornaments she personalized for Oakwood Common residents Jane and Phil Button and their two dogs.

“I was a stay-at-home mom with a son and twin daughters,” said Brandt. “It was easy to decorate the ornaments while they were sleeping or at school.”

Brandt estimates that she made two to three thousand ornaments each holiday season for nearly 10 years, selling them at trade shows in Ohio and Pennsylvania. With her children grown, Brandt shifted careers and is now sales coordinator for the Oakwood Common Retirement Community in Dearborn.

This year, Brandt decided to turn her former business into a “labor of love”  by surprising all of the residents in the community’s independent living area with personalized “snowmen” ornaments. Brandt made sure residents’ pets were not forgotten and personalized their names on the ornaments as well.

According to Brandt, it was easy to start up her former production methods of painting all the ornaments first and then personalizing each, adding the time she spent making them was very therapeutic and relaxing.

Donna Brandt puts finishing touches on a holiday ornament.

“Donna surprised and inspired us all,” said Mary Granata, Oakwood Common’s director of sales. “When other staff, who help our residents in assisted living, admired the nearly 200 ornaments Donna had made, they decided to pay her work forward by making ornaments for all of the residents in their areas.”

During this year’s campus-wide holiday celebration and tree lighting ceremony at Oakwood Common, residents and guests viewed many of these beautiful handcrafted ornaments that decorated Christmas trees throughout the community.

“Donna is very modest about her talent,” added Granata. “Yet, she created a gift, and hopefully, a tradition that will keep on giving.”

…

About Oakwood Common

Oakwood Common offers one and two bedroom senior living apartments located at 16351 Rotunda Drive, within a beautiful 29-acre community that includes exquisite landscaping, nature trails and scenic views along the historic Rouge River Gateway in Dearborn. Oakwood Common apartments, available with flexible payment options, offer exceptional amenities for independent living and can be readily customized.  Assisted living and a comprehensive rehabilitation and skilled nursing center are also available for those with additional needs. For more information and to arrange tours, call 800-642-4663 or visit www.OakwoodCommon.org.

Gaze by James Oleson, Jr., Dearborn Community Fund 2012 – Photo credit: Teresa Lousias

“Gaze” by Florida-based sculptor James Oleson, Jr. is the featured sculpture for February.  Located on the south lawn at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, “Gaze,” a life-size figure of a horse, is constructed entirely from materials that many would consider useless or broken. Visitors to the sculpture are amazed at the artist’s creative use for these materials and how he incorporated them to create a sculpture that is both artistic and innovative.

Oleson believes that discarded materials present endless possibilities and spends time searching through landfills, rubble from demolished structures, junk yards and other areas that have the potential to yield an unending supply of materials for use in his work. “Gaze” is priced at $15,000.

Oleson resides in Brooksville, Fla., and most of his exhibition experience has been centered in that state. In addition to his participation in the Michigan Sculpture Initiative, his work was recently accepted in the Loveland Sculpture Invitational in Loveland, Colorado. Among his many awards are: First place sculpture, Port Orange (Fla.) Artfest; Beaux Arts Award of Excellence, Coral Gables (Fla.) and Black and White Show Award of Excellence in Sculpture, Winter Haven (Fla.). His work can also be found in private collections in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts and Colorado.

For more information about sculptor James Oleson, Jr., view a short video online at CDTV, or visit his website at www.jamesoleson.com.

About Art in Public Places

“I Spy Dearborn’s Art in Public Places” cards (which include photos and locations for all 12 MSI sculptures and two Pockets of Perception pieces) are available on the Dearborn Community Fund web page.

For more information on Dearborn’s 2012-2013 Art in Public Places Sculpture Initiative, including sculpture purchase information, contact the Dearborn Community Fund office at 313-943-5478. The DCF is a 501c3 organization and gifts toward purchase of a sculpture for permanent public installation are tax deductible.

The Saj offers a wide range of Mediterranean style foods – made fresh daily – including many traditional favorites like homous, baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves, lentils and rice, and many other delicious items.

The SajOuna website says:  “We are always open to suggestions to serve you, our customers to the best of our ability. Come experience the healthy and tasty variety of Saj wraps and Saj mana-eesh in a family oriented atmosphere at SajOuna located on Ford Rd and Beech Daly in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.”

Ryan O’Hara of Sphinx Technology Solutions

Mac and PC Support

Sphinx Technology Solutions supports both Mac and PC equipment for homes and businesses.  We can assist with all aspects of hardware/software, diagnostics and repair, virus/spyware removal, data recovery, network setup, printers, new computers…and so much more!

Services:

• Hardware/Software Installation, Troubleshooting and Repair
• Wired/Wireless Networking
• Backup and Recovery
• Server Setup and Management
• Printers
• Email Setup and Management
• Personalized Training
• Mobile Devices (iOS, Android, Blackberry etc.)
• Technology Consulting

Computer Optimization

Is your Mac or PC running slow? Let us help you get your machine up and running like new again.  Our standard computer optimizations include virus/spyware scans, a clean-up of your temporary files, Windows/ Mac software updates, driver updates and a comprehensive analysis of the software running on your machine.

Remote Support

With today’s technology many issues can be solved remotely. Sphinx Technology Solutions utilizes remote support software to securely connect to your computer and resolve your problems.  By resolving problems remotely you don’t have to disconnect all of those pesky wires and lug your machine to us.

Services We Can Provide Remotely:

• Virus/Spyware Removal
• Computer Optimization
• Backup and Recovery
• New Computer Setup
• Data Transfer
• Email Support
• Printers
• File Sharing

Virus / Spyware Removal

Viruses and Spyware are one of the most common causes of computer issues.  They can vary in severity from annoying issues like slowing down your computer to destructive issues that result in the loss of your valuable data.    Don’t wait until it’s too late, call today and ask about our Virus Protection Service to give you the peace of mind that you have the best protection available.

Read more about Sphinx Technology on the Sphinx Technology page.

A featured movie and other films were shown, and candy bars provided for all the children. The holiday parties originated with Mayor Orville Hubbard in 1945.  Local theaters provided the free entertainment, and Dearborn’s trained recreation personnel were on hand for supervising the children.

Special thanks to Jymn Magon, a Hollywood film script writer, story editor, and animation consultant living in Saugus California, who grew up in Dearborn, Michigan. Jymn provided the 1962 Christmas party invitation images.

(See flip-side of the invitation / ticket.)

The holiday parties were held at six locations around Dearborn in 1962 with thousands of children in attendance.

At the bottom of the invitation card it says: “With every good wish for a Merry Christmas and a New Year of Good Cheer, I remain… Cordially and sincerely, Mayor Orville L. Hubbard”

Special thanks to Jymn Magon, a Hollywood film script writer, story editor, and animation consultant living in Saugus California, who grew up in Dearborn, Michigan. Jymn provided the 1962 Christmas party invitation images.

Network Dearborn 2.0 has finally arrived. This dynamic new version of NetworkDearborn.com (website) was re-written from scratch with new software (based on WordPress) by Dearborn’s own IX Publishing — including an updated community events calendar, and expanded local business directory,  improved local news feeds, and nice improvements to the NettyWear Dearborn store.