And just like that, it was Monday again and Noel had a great group of residents out for Monday Movers! We moved and grooved, working up a sweat while exercising in our chairs. After a little breather, it was time for Karaoke where everyone harmonized to classic songs such as “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” and “You Are My Sunshine!” Lunch was served after the morning activities and then mail was delivered. To begin the afternoon, Noel, assisted by resident Jeff Halverson (“Chef Jeff”), made two decadent peanut butter and jelly pies while Dorothy Pfaffe, Zeona Bechel and Janet Robelia “supervised” the Kitchen Corner baking group. A game of Tic Tac Toss came after and it was quite the game with Herb Tschumperlin securing fourth, Judy Thorn coming in third and Joe Berger scoring second. Sharon Gingras was this week’s first-place winner! Supper ushered in the evening and then we played Monday night Bingo with Marie and Joyce Berger. Thanks for all their wonderful assistance!

Father Jojo was at the care center after breakfast for Mass and residents spent a tranquil Tuesday morning in prayer. As we continue to make our way through Lent, we are so blessed to have such wonderful and caring faith leaders to tend to our community! Lunch was enjoyed later on and after the mail was passed out to folks, Noel arrived for one of the most anticipated Tuesday afternoon activities: Popcorn Social. She brought out the well-loved popcorn machine and made two huge batches of buttery, salty popcorn for the crowd of residents hungry to get their hands on a bowl (or two)! While the delightful smell of fresh popcorn wafted throughout the care center, Stacey made her way room to room, passing out new activity calendars for April and spending one-on-one time with folks. A little later, Pastor Phil from Evangelical Free Church was here for our Tuesday afternoon service and then it was on to supper and an evening of fun games with Willow!

By the time we hit the middle of the week, everyone was ready for one our most favorite activities: Bowling! The residents were ready to play and Ave Maria students Gabe and Daniel were here to help as our large group assembled in the dining room. We managed to squeeze in three rounds in which Dorothy Pfaffe, Pam Gansluckner, Ivan Mason and Judy Thorn all came in fourth, Milda Bautch and Kevin Bauer tied for third and Herb Tschumperlin scored second. Barb Holmstadt and Jeff Halverson tied for a first place win this week! After lunch was cleaned up and the mail passed out, it was time for an afternoon game of Fruit Bingo. This week, eight Ave Maria students came to play the game with residents, and we had eight tables full of players! A HUGE thank you goes out to Marlene Zimmer for all her wonderful help with the game. Congrats to Dorothy Crane for winning this week’s Blackout Bingo! Once the tables were cleared, everyone settled in for our Mid-Week Social where we finally got to tuck into the creamy and luscious peanut butter and jelly pie that was made on Monday. It was a delicious way to end the afternoon!       

Thursday morning, residents came out to hear the news, this week read by Harriet Rothe, at our Local News and Coffee group. The group spent the morning listening to the latest newspaper headlines, as well as cracking jokes and enjoying some good belly laughs! Lunch came and went and once mail was delivered to folks, Stacey brought out her supplies for manicures. Many of the ladies spent the afternoon selecting new polish colors for their nails, while some just came for lively chit chat! As the afternoon continued, Stacey also visited with folks in their rooms, chatting and laughing, and in one case, chasing a wind-up Easter chick down the hall! (You never know what will happen some days at the care center!) Supper was served a little later and then Willow arrived for an evening game of Pokeno.  

Time sure flies when you’re having fun and before we knew it, it was Friday again! Residents came out for a morning game of Shuffleboard and it was such a crowd, that there was only time for two rounds. By the end of the game Milda Bautch was in fourth place, Kevin Bauer came in third and Zeona Bechel was second. First place this week went to Kay George! After a refreshing lunch, Noel was back in the dining room with Chef’Jeff Halverson at Snack Makers, rolling a bunch of Pigs in a Blanket for our Happy Hour snack. It was a good thing they made a lot of those little piggies because there was a huge crowd in the dining room for Happy Hour, with musical guest Ryan Herman here to entertain us with tunes! After a toe-tapping hour of merry-making, it was time for supper and once the meal was through, Noel pulled the shades and brought out the projector for Movie Night. This week’s feature film was the 1950 comedy “Fancy Pants,” starring Lucille Ball and Bob Hope!