Monday dawned gray and dreary outside, but the care center was bright and shining inside as Noel gathered a great group of residents together for Monday Movers exercising! The crowd put in a great effort as they worked their way through a 30-minute seated exercise routine designed to gently stretch arms and legs as well as get our hearts pumping. After a little breather, Stacey brought out her guitar and the group grew in size for a joyous Sing Along before lunch! Once the noon meal was over and the dining room cleaned, Noel was joined by Chef Jeff Halverson and Zeona Bechel for Kitchen Corner; this week’s culinary creation was a decadent Cherry Cheesecake. After a couple of comical baking blunders, the cheesecake was in the fridge setting up and Noel rounded up residents for an afternoon game of Tic Tac Toss! It was a tough four rounds and the game board seemed to not want to cooperate, but Herb Tschumperlin came in fourth; Sharon Gingras, Jeff Halverson and Yvonne Sinz all were third and Ivan Mason scored second. Kevin Bauer was this week’s first-place winner! Supper came and went and then the dining room was ready for our Monday night Bingo crowd. This week, we were extra grateful for the assistance of Marie and Joyce Berger as 21 players came out to play!

A warm spring breeze greeted us Tuesday morning, which seemed to almost blow Terry Pelzel into the care center for Mass! We are so very blessed to have him and sent up a few extra prayers of thanks for having him lead the service for residents. A little bit later lunch was served and mail was passed, then Noel arrived for our Popcorn Social! She got the popcorn machine fired up right away, which was a good thing as we had A LOT of folks make themselves comfortable in the dining room. Everyone had a bowl (or two) or fresh popcorn and stayed to visit with one another; a pleasant afternoon was had by all! While everyone was busy at the social, Stacey visited with folks in their rooms, chatting and laughing the afternoon away. After a while, Pastor Paul from Sabylund Lutheran was here for afternoon church and led residents through a peaceful Lenten prayer service. Once supper came and went, Willow arrived for an evening of fun games with everyone!  

It was a sunny and windy Wednesday as residents came out for a morning game of Bowling! We had Ave Maria students Gabe and Daniel here to help and folks played through three rounds in which Zeona Bechel, Kevin Bauer and Ivan Mason placed fourth, Dorothy Pfaffe and Barb Holmstadt tied for third and Wilbur Black came in second. It was Milda Bautch who came in first place this week! Once lunch came and went, and the mail was delivered, residents found their way back to the dining room for Fruit Bingo. Many thanks goes out Monica Krings and Marlene Zimmer for all their wonderful help with the game and a big CONGRATS to Wanda Traynor for winning Blackout this week! Once all the cards and chips were collected, it was time to tuck into pieces of Cherry Cheesecake at our Mid-Week Social. This decadent dessert was gone in a flash and everyone agreed it was so tasty that it would have to be made again soon!  

We were happy to see Marlene Zimmer at the care center Thursday morning for our Local News and Coffee group! She came to read the newspapers to residents and had quite a HUGE group of folks listening in. After a pleasant morning of news and visiting, it was soon time for lunch and then mail was passed out, with lots of Easter cards delivered to everyone! Stacey brought out the cart of manicure supplies to begin the afternoon and many of our ladies took advantage of the time to refresh their nail colors in preparation for the weekend Easter holiday. Later, she spent time with folks in their rooms, watering plants and visiting one on one. There were plenty of walks outside as well as sitting and soaking up the sunshine and rising springtime temps! Before supper, Stacey played several hands of the card game UNO with folks until it was time for the evening meal. 

Friday was gray, rainy and cold as Noel arrived to play a morning game of Shuffleboard with residents and kick-start the day! It was a quick three rounds played as Ivan Mason and LeRoy ‘Hank’ Hankinson tied for fourth place, Yvonne Sinz took third and Jeff Halverson scored second. Dorothy Pfaffe was the first place Shuffleboard winner of the morning! Lunch began our afternoon and once the meal was enjoyed and the mail was delivered, Noel and Chef Jeff Halverson, along with Wilbur Black and Janet Robelia, met in the dining room for Snack Makers. This week’s snack was Animal Cracker Dip in celebration of National Animal Cracker Day! The culinary crew whipped up a great big batch of the delicious dessert dip and perfectly portioned out servings in preparation for Happy Hour refreshments. Larry Radle arrived a little later with his guitar to party with residents and we were even treated to a few accordion waltzes and polkas, along with classic guitar tunes! Supper came quickly and then Noel drew the shades to transform the dining room into a theater for Movie Night, with “Matilda” playing on the big screen.