With the holidays around the corner and numerous yummy treats to eat, Monday morning began with exercising at Monday Movers! It was a sizable group led by Noel through a 30-minute workout designed to gently stretch our arms and legs. Most everyone hung around afterward for our Karaoke Sing Along and we mixed in Christmas tunes along with our regular favorite songs to sing! Lunch refreshed folks and after the mail was delivered, along with LOTS of holiday cards, Noel and Chef Jeff made their way to the dining room for Kitchen Corner. This week’s treat was chocolate peppermint cookies and the recipe looked so tasty, they made a double batch! After the cookies were cooling from the oven, Noel gathered residents for an afternoon game of Tic Tac Toss. The top scores this week were: Joann Hubbard and Judy Thorn in fourth place, Herb Tschumperlin in third and a four-way tie for second place amongst Ivan Mason, Kevin Bauer, Shirley Klinski and Yvonne Sinz. Congrats to Kathy Geraets for her first-place win! Supper followed, then it was onto Monday night Bingo with Teresa Fedie. Thanks for all her wonderful help with the game!       

Tuesday morning brought Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel to the care center for weekly Mass. Residents came together to pray and reflect on the coming Christmas holiday; it warms the heart to be with each other during this blessed season! Lunch came and went, along with mail delivery and then everyone gathered in the dining room for a special Christmas concert put on by the Ave Maria students. Everyone enjoyed the joyful holiday songs sung by the children and a few students treated the audience to piano solos! Thanks to Laura Kadlec for accompanying the singers on the piano! Later in the afternoon, Pastor Andrew from Pepin Immanuel Lutheran arrived for church and residents sang Christmas hymns such as “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and “Angels We Have Heard On High” along with the weekly Bible readings. Supper was soon served and then Willow was here to play evening games with residents!  

Bowling began our Wednesday and Ave Maria students Ava and Cooper were here to assist with the morning game! It was an exciting three rounds that saw Judy Thorn place fourth, Janet Robelia & Ivan Mason tied for third and Shirley Klinski, Larry Thompson, Kevin Bauer and Herb Tschumperlin in second. This week, it was a three-way tie for first place: Milda Bautch, Kathy Geraets and Jeff Halverson! We broke for lunch and then came back together later for an afternoon game of Fruit Bingo. Wanda Ebensperger and Monica Krings were this week’s handy helpers and we appreciated their presence so much!  Annette, a visitor for the game this afternoon, was our Blackout Bingo winner! Once the tables were cleared of cards and chips, Noel brought out coffee and chocolate peppermint cookies for everyone to enjoy. There really is nothing better than a minty, chocolate-y cookie and a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter day!

Thursday began with snow…lots of snow! Students had a snow day and with no school, there was no Plum City High School Christmas concert at the care center. But we didn’t let that stop us from having a great morning, as Stacey played Christmas songs on the piano while residents sang along! Lunch was served a little bit later and mail was passed out to everyone; there are so many Christmas cards to deliver this time of year and each one was met with a smiling face. Willow made it to work via her father’s snowplow because the snow was so heavy and she was able to give all our ladies manicures in preparation for our holiday party! Supper came next and then it was an evening game of Pokeno with Willow! 

We ended the last full week before Christmas with a Friday morning game of Shuffleboard! We had a small group of folks playing, so we were able to make it through 4 rounds in which Larry Thompson placed fourth, Dorothy Pfaffe and Kay George tied for third and Kevin Bauer and Jeff Halverson tied for second. Ivan Mason and Yvonne Sinz were our first-place winners this week! Lunch brought an end to our game and afterward it was time for mail delivery with TONS of Christmas cards for residents. It is so lovely to see everyone’s faces light up when they are told they have a Christmas card! Soon, the gifts for residents were under the tree, tables were decorated and Jeff Bechel arrived for our annual Christmas party for the residents and their families. We spent the next hour and a half celebrating with each other while Jeff provided festive tunes, gifts were distributed and Santa came to join in the fun! Santa’s helpers, elves Stacey and Noel, passed out punch and cookies to the merry bunch and everybody had a wonderful time at the party! Supper came way too fast and then pretty soon it was time for Movie Night. This week’s feature film was the holiday classic “Miracle on 34^th Street,” starring Natalie Wood and Maureen O’Hara. Merry Christmas to all!