We were all smiles as we began National Skilled Care Week with “Wear a Smile Day” Monday morning! Kathy Shingledecker stopped by after breakfast for a “Quilts and Conversation” presentation; she showed residents some of the beautiful quilts she has made and talked about other quilting projects she’s created. Everyone was fascinated with her presentation and many of the ladies reminisced about their own quilting experiences! Residents enjoyed lunch afterwards and then some folks stayed out for Crafty Corner where we created our own no-sew quilt squares which then colorfully adorned our gallery wall. A game of Tic Tac Toss came next and our HUGE group of 18 players battled it out over three rounds in which Milda Bautch won fourth, Yvonne Sinz scored third and Sharon Gingras placed second. Wanda Traynor was our first place winner of the week! Once supper came and went, it was then time for a Monday evening game of Bingo with Marie and Joyce Berger. A big thank you to them for all their wonderful help with the game! 

It was “Crazy Hair Day” on Tuesday and Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel arrived in the morning for Mass for our Catholic residents. Everyone enjoyed the tranquil service and once the final blessing and farewells were given, it was time to get ready for lunch! After the noon meal, mail was delivered and then Stacey and Noel assembled residents in the dining room for another crafty afternoon. Folks created Crazy Hair Planters, which were pantyhose filled with grass seed and potting soil, flourished with fun faces and nestled in pots, in the hopes that they will all sprout grass “hair” in a few days’ time! It was a very warm and sunny day, so the rest of the afternoon consisted of lots of time spent outside, visiting and soaking up the warm spring temperatures. Everyone came back inside a little later for afternoon church with Pastor Dave from Durand Methodist. Once the uplifting prayer service concluded, residents came back to the dining room for a pleasant evening meal!    

Wednesday of Skilled Care Week was dubbed “Wacky Wednesday” and we all certainly had a lot of wacky fun all day, beginning with a morning game of Bowling! Residents had a blast competing for the top spot of the game and after three rounds, Shirley Klinski and Barb Holmstadt tied for fourth place, Kevin Bauer was third and Wanda Traynor tied with Jeff Halverson for second. Milda Bautch was our solo first-place winner of the morning! Once lunch was gobbled up and mail was delivered, it was time for everyone’s favorite Wednesday afternoon game: “Feeling Fruity: Fruit Bingo. Lana Ingli and Shirley Klein were here to assist with the game, which was wonderful as we had quite a crowd of players! Lots of Bingos were shouted out and by the end of Blackout, Dorothy Crane from The Seasons was the big winner of the $1 prize! Once all the cards and chips were cleaned up, Noel brought out bowls of “Wacky Watermelon” for the Mid-Week Social treat. It was quite a warm and sunny day, so everyone enjoyed snacking on cool cuts of Kool-Aid coated watermelon in flavors of grape, cherry, blue raspberry and tropical punch!      

Residents and staff rocked it out Thursday morning (“Dress Like a Rock Star Day”) as Marlene Zimmer came to the care center for our Local News and Coffee group! There was a lot of newspaper reading to catch up on, as well as many laughs and jokes from the crowd as Marlene stuck around afterwards to visit. After a yummy lunch and passing out mail, everyone made their way back to the dining room for a spring concert put on by the students from Ave Maria Academy. There was a huge crowd watching as the students sang songs and played the piano for the residents; it is always such a joy to watch the young ones perform! Once the concert concluded, Stacey started a game of “Finish the Lyric,” but it was cut short by thunderstorms and tornado warnings in the area. Folks had to gather safely in the hallways, but spirits were brightened when Stacey played her guitar and sang to everyone while they waited out the storms. In no time at all, folks were able to be back in the dining room where they finished their “Finish the Lyric” game before having supper!

On our final day of National Skilled Care Week, it was “Wear Red Day” Friday and residents, as well as staff, got in the spirit---everywhere you looked around the care center, you saw folks in radiant shades of red. We began the morning with a game of Pizza Toss--thankfully we had plastic pieces of pizzas to throw, or else that could have gotten very messy! Alice Brantner placed fourth, Jeff Halverson came in third and Wilbur Black was second place. Sharon Gingras was our first-place winner of the morning! After enjoying a lunch of pizza casserole, eight students from Ave Maria arrived for their last Book Buddies activity of the school year. It is so great to watch their reading skills improve and the residents love listening to the stories the students read to them! Later in the afternoon, Dan Lerum arrived for our Pizza Party Happy Hour and we spent the next hour munching on pepperoni pizza, drinking soda and listening to his rocking guitar tunes--he even tested the musical knowledge of the audience with a couple rounds of “Guess the Singer!” Supper brought an end to our pizza extravaganza and then Noel dimmed the lights for Movie Night, with “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” playing on the big screen.