By Laura Kadlec Activities Director & Music Therapist

Another Monday, another week, another sing-a-long. And each one brings new and renewed memories, conversations, and points of interest. Our seniors are full of wisdom and knowledge if we only take the time to discover them. When asked if wisdom comes with age, one of our delightful ladies answered, “It doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself!” The mail arrived and after delivery, popcorn announced itself with sounds and smells as only popcorn can do! Our friends from the adjoining Seasons Assisted Living often join us and it is a nice time to sit and chat. We played one of our favorite games late in the afternoon: Cover the Number. Nancy Bishop was the big winner this week. Our day ended with bingo. Kathy Luebker was available to assist residents and deliver candy rewards.

Tuesday arrived with Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel for mass and communion. We are thankful for their faithfulness in coming each week. A quick game of Name That Tune was held before lunch. Winners (and their scores) were: first, Carol Bauer (24); second, Penny Stauord (20); third, Barb Gruwe (9); fourth, Shirley Klinski (8). The crafting group gathered in the afternoon to make wind chimes using Capiz shells. Not only were they a beautiful arrangement of colors, they made for a beautiful combination of sounds. Just before our evening meal, Tom Ahlstrom from Pepin Immanuel Lutheran led us in a nice time of worship and song. Our evening concluded with a rousing game of Uno!

Wednesday brought out residents looking to stretch their brains with some silly word games including a few paraprosdokians, which are sentences or statements with an unexpected ending. A few examples: “Will glass covns be a success? Remains to be seen." Or how about, "I broke my finger last week. On the other hand, I’m okay.” These word puzzles were often met with puzzled expressions on the faces of our folks. But after a few seconds, you could see the “a-ha!” moment of realization followed by a smile! It was time for fruit bingo after lunch. Har- riet Rothe kindly called numbers while Sta cey delivered rewards. Black out winner this week was Mary Nelson. Folks stayed for a nice social of wine, cheese and crackers which is always scattered with fun conversation and giggles.

Lana Ingli was bright and chipper early Thursday morning, arriving with newspapers in hand and ready to read. It’s always easier to sit and listen with a cup of couee and a cookie nearby. So listen we did and when Lana left, Aaliyah picked up the time with some silly trivia. After lunch, the ladies were lined up waiting for manicures. It is always such fun to be pampered. Choosing a color tends to take longer than the manicure as there are so many beautiful shades from which to choose. Hot pinks were the going colors this week to match the hot temps. Thursday also includes those feisty puppies brought by Brad Rich ardson. Some are sleepy cuddlers while others attempt to terrorize the place with their happy barks and bouncing antics. Pokeno finished out the day and we headed for bed.

It was a drumming kind of morning on Friday. Marches, polkas, waltzes were on the agenda. We rose to the challenge of playing all of them! Following lunch, many of our seniors stayed for the Resident Coun cil meeting. It is good to get together each month and discuss any questions or concerns we may have at the Care Center. Later in the afternoon, we were treated with music from the Earneys. They are always fun to watch and we can sing along with so many of their songs. Supper was served and soon after we settled in for our Friday night movie. This week’s movie was “Home Team.” We encourage you to stop by for a visit. We may be able to share some of our wisdom with you. You just never know! See you soon!