Noel and Stacey were hard at work Monday morning, transforming the dining room decorations from festive fall to Christmas cheer! They trimmed the tree, hung the stockings and brought out all the red and silver bits and bobs to make the season bright for residents. Folks came out to observe the holiday hubbub and join in singing all our favorite Christmas carols! Scheduled activities were still on hold due to Covid but the day was still busy with decorating, as well as passing out December activity calendars and refilling the bird feeders outside. 

Activities were back on Tuesday morning and everyone was grateful for the return to normal operations! Residents gathered in the dining room after breakfast for Mass and Father Jojo’s smiling face was a welcome sight as he led folks in prayer. Lunch followed the morning’s service and after mail was distributed, Noel arrived for the afternoon Popcorn Social! She had the popcorn machine cheerily popping away as folks followed the delightful scents of butter, salt and popcorn all the way to the dining room to snack on a bowl while visiting with friends. Later on, Pastor Phil from Evangelical Free came for afternoon church and residents sang lots of lovely Christmas carols in between listening to the pastor’s sermon. Supper was served afterward and then Willow was here for evening games!    

Winter arrived Wednesday with cold temps, snow and wind, but we stayed warm and cozy inside with our favorite mid-week game: Bowling! The group of players this week was so large, there was only time to play two rounds but it was quite a game, with Ave Maria students Cooper and Gabe here to help with scorekeeping and pin setting. Milda Bautch, Harold Clark and Herb Tschumperlin all tied for fourth; Kevin Bauer, Yvonne Sinz and Zeona Bechel placed third; and Kathy Geraets and Dorothy Pfaffe tied for second. Jeff Halverson was this week’s bowling champion with first place! Lunch came quickly following the game and once the meal was cleaned up and mail was passed, folks came back to the dining room for a game of Fruit Bingo. Volunteer Marlene Zimmer was a huge help with the game, as we had six Ave Maria students here to play with residents, for a total of 32 players seated at eight tables! Our blackout winner this week was Carol Campbell. As the snow continued to blow outside, we settled in for our Mid-Week Social with lemon, chocolate and snickerdoodle cookies and milk to celebrate National Cookie Day!   

Thursday morning Harriet Rothe arrived at the care center after breakfast for our weekly Local News and Coffee activity. She read all the headlines from the newspapers as well as shared some pretty vintage and hand-carved wooden Christmas ornaments with the group! After a little more reminiscing about past Christmas memories, lunch was served and then Stacey brought out her cart of supplies for manicures. The lineup of ladies kept her busy throughout the afternoon; this week’s popular nail polish colors were rich reds and pretty dark purples! While everyone’s nails were drying, Stacey led a few rounds of Name That Tune with folks and then after supper, she gathered everyone together for an evening game of Pokeno.     

A game of Shuffleboard kicked off our Friday morning and our residents brought their very best to the game!  Kevin Bauer came in fourth place, Milda Bautch was third and Yvonne Sinz placed second. Jeff Halverson beat everyone with a first-place win! We played right up to lunchtime and once the meal was enjoyed and mail was delivered, Noel and Chef Jeff were in the activity office, mixing up a double batch of Hot Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats. The sweet and sticky treat was a perfect snack for our winter Happy Hour, along with the delightfully upbeat tunes of Rich Schroeder! He played all our favorite Christmas songs and everyone sang along to the holiday classics while munching away on their chocolate-y treats. Too soon Happy Hour was over, but after supper we settled in for Movie Night! This week’s festive feature film was “Holiday Inn,” starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.