Monday morning came again and Stacey and Noel had folks movin’ and groovin’ at Monday Movers seated exercise group! Everyone stretched stiff weekend muscles and engaged in light cardio to get hearts pumping; it was a very energizing start to the day. Once everyone refreshed themselves with a brief water break, it was time for Karaoke and we sang along to classics like: “Toot, Toot, Tootsie,” “After the Ball,” “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” plus much more! After lunch, folks came out for Crafty Corner to create a Thankful Tree. Everyone gathered around the table with a cup of coffee and listed everything they were thankful for; Thanksgiving was coming and everyone had so many things for which they were grateful. Of course, we became sidetracked and conversations turned to Thanksgiving traditions, our favorite holiday foods and any other fun memories we had to share! One thing everyone agreed on: we are all thankful for spending time together and what better way to show that than with a fun game of Tic Tac Toss! So many folks came to play and a few came out on top: Ivan Mason grabbed fourth place, Carol Campbell was third and Milda Bautch came in second. Judy Thorn was this week’s first-place champion with a huge 100 points! Once supper was served and enjoyed, the tables were cleaned off for Monday night bingo with Joyce and Marie Berger. Thank you for all your stellar assistance, ladies!

Tuesday was a little bit quieter day; residents gathered after breakfast for a tranquil Catholic mass and prayer service with Father Jojo. With the time in between mass and lunch, we enjoyed chatting with each other and visiting with folks in their rooms. The holidays are right around the corner and there is so much for which to be thankful. One thing we are always really thankful for is freshly popped popcorn; folks followed their noses and “popped” on down to the dining room after lunch to scoop up bowlfuls of the savory snack at the weekly Popcorn Social. And for the residents who chose to stay cozy in their rooms…we delivered! We welcomed Pastor Palo from Arkansaw Methodist Church for peaceful afternoon church and before you knew it, supper arrived. Our Tuesday evening concluded with playing games all evening with Aaliyah!

The briskly cold Wednesday morning began with bowling and we had one of the largest crowds yet: 17 competitors! And even more folks came to watch…wow! Sadly, the children weren’t here to help with scorekeeping and pin re-setting due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but that was okay. They missed quite a game…Milda Bautch was fourth place; Betty Bengtson, Alice Brantner and Judy Thorn all came in third and Herb Tschumperlin and Carol Campbell tied for second. There was also a three-way tie for first place: Jeff Halverson, Bill Joyner and Dorothy Pfaffe! Lunch was enjoyed by all the hungry bowlers and then we assembled after the meal for Fruit Bingo. Harriet Rothe was here to call numbers and help with clean up and Irene Helmueller lent a hand with passing prizes, as well as clean up. You ladies are wonderful; thank you for all your help! Frances White was the big winner of $1 this week at Blackout Bingo! Once the game concluded, it was time to relax at the Mid-Week Social; this week, we enjoyed wine, cheese and crackers. How fancy!

Thursday was Thanksgiving and what better way to begin the day than with a Turkey Shoot right away in the morning! Aaliyah gave all those who wanted a turn with a NERF gun to shoot foam darts at a turkey target and there were quite a few high scores. Bill Joyner scored fourth, Ivan Mason came in third and Milda Bautch was second. Carol Bauer was the first-place winner with a total of 775 points! There was plenty of time afterwards to watch the Packer game during a yummy Thanksgiving luncheon shared with family, friends and loved ones. There was so much to be thankful for today! The festive day concluded with much more visiting and then Aaliyah freshened up the ladies’ nails with manicures in an array of colors and designs.

Usually, the Friday after Thanksgiving is set aside for shopping but at the care center, it is Fitness Friday!  Everybody came out to the dining room in the morning to work off all that turkey and pumpkin pie from the day before with some light exercising. We kept it fun by batting and kicking around a couple of beach balls; we joked that some folks were so good at kicking and blocking that we should form a soccer team!  Residents stuck around for a quick game of Shuffleboard; even though we only had time for one round, it was an exciting one. We had a seven-way tie for fourth place: Goldie Helwig, Ivan Mason, Janet Robelia, Judy Thorn, Alice Brantner, Kevin Bauer and Carol Campbell! Mary Matzek took third place and Jeff Halverson was awarded second place. Bill Joyner and Shirley Klinski tied for first place! Lunch and mail pass began the afternoon and then Snack Makers whipped up a tasty cream cheese cookie dip for the Happy Hour snack. Rich Schroeder showed up a little later to entertain us with lovely music on guitar and after supper, those who weren’t too sleepy stayed up for the Friday night movie. This week’s film was “Safety Last,” a silent comedy from 1923 starring Harold Lloyd. We are so thankful for all of you and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!