By Noel Elsen
The week began stormy and gray but there was plenty of sunshine inside Monday morning when a staff member brought in their pets so residents could get their fill of puppy kisses and kitten cuddles! I arrived soon after for Monday Movers and although the group was small, everyone had a great workout. After we cooled down, Stacey and her guitar were center stage at our Sing Along; our group grew in size because music always has the power to draw a crowd! Lunch followed our flurry of morning activities and then it was time to begin the afternoon with Kitchen Corner. Noel and Jeff Halverson (aka “Chef Jeff”) had quite the baking adventure making Apple and Raisin Strudel from scratch! Once the delicious-smelling dessert had baked and was cooling, Noel circled up residents for a quick game of Tic Tac Toss before the evening thunderstorm arrived. Folks played three rounds and by the end of our game Herb Tschumperlin was fourth place, Kevin Bauer came in third and Milda Bautch nabbed second. Ivan Mason was the first-place champion of the afternoon with a huge 90 points! Supper was early in anticipation of the storm and there was still time to squeeze in an evening game of Bingo.
We were greeted with a beautiful sunny day and cool breezes Tuesday morning as Deacon Mark stopped by for Mass after breakfast! Once the Catholic service concluded, lunch was served and I arrived for the afternoon activities, beginning with everyone’s favorite: Popcorn Social. Once the popcorn machine gets going, it’s hard to resist the smell of fresh popcorn and the delicious scent was enough to lure folks out to grab a bowl or two in the dining room! Once the last kernels were claimed, Pastor Pfaffe from St. John’s Lutheran arrived for our afternoon church service. It was a peaceful and pleasant way to spend the afternoon that culminated with a delicious supper served!
Wednesday was sunny and warm as residents assembled in the dining room after breakfast for some friendly competition at the morning’s Bowling game! We had Ave Maria students Ava and Dahlia here to help with the game and our 16 players made it through three rounds in which Barb Holmstadt, LeRoy “Hank” Hankinson, Shirley Klinski and Jean Ann Drier all came in fourth; Janet Robelia, Ivan Mason and Judy Thorn came in third and Kevin Bauer scored second. It was Jeff Halverson for the first place win this week! After a yummy lunch, Wanda Ebensperger and Lana Ingli were here to help set up for Fruit Bingo and we had quite the crowd that came to play: 24 players. The game went quickly and then we had two players reach Blackout at the same time: Milda Bautch and Mike Solveson! Once our afternoon game was cleaned up, Noel brought out bowls of Apple and Raisin Strudel to serve as the treat for our Mid-Week Social. Happy National Raisin Day!
Thursday morning, Harriet Rothe was here after breakfast for our Local News and Coffee group! We always love hearing her read the newspaper and staying afterwards for some laughs and reminiscing. Lunch came and went, then it was on to weekly manicures for the gals; Stacey brought her cart of supplies out and worked her way through the lineup of ladies who had fun picking out fun new colors for their nails! The rest of the afternoon was filled with one on ones and social visits that consisted of lots of reminiscing about the “good old days” as well as helping a resident look up an old friend online–she remarked: “The power of technology!” Later, Stacey played the dice game “21” with folks in the dining room; players shook five dice and collected the 1’s until they added up to 21. Jeff Halverson won two out of the five games played, along with Wilbur Black, Shirley Klinski and Carol Bauer from the Seasons also scoring a win each!
After breakfast Friday morning, I came for a competitive game of Shuffleboard with everyone! It was a fun way to begin the day and everybody clapped as Milda Bautch won fourth place, Alice Brantner nabbed third and Wanda Traynor came in second. Jeff Halverson shuffled his way into first place this week! Lunch was enjoyed and mail was passed, then Noel and Chef Jeff {Halverson} made their way into the Activity office to whip up a double batch of ooey-gooey Rice Krispie treats at Snack Makers. Jeff Bechel was here for the party and rocked the care center during Happy Hour, playing plenty of polkas and lots of Elvis! Supper brought the party to an end and then Noel pulled the shades for Movie Night. This week’s feature film on the big screen was “On Moonlight Bay!”