By Laura Kadlec Activities Director & Music Therapist

Another busy week with warm temps and delightfully cool evenings for sleeping – well, we also like morning naps, afternoon siestas, and going to bed early. Regardless, it seems as though there is a subtle change in the weather lately. We began the week with our sing-a-long.

Some songs are quite silly and often times we just make up the lyrics. Lunch arrived and in no time we were sitting outside soaking up the sun. Our patio is a wonderful place to enjoy fresh air, watch the passersby, or simply snoop on our neighbors.

Soon, Stacey was delivering fresh popped corn and inviting us all to bowling before supper. Our bowlers all arrived and played four rounds.

Winners this week were: Milda Bautch, Carol Bauer (fourth place); Nancy Bishop, Shirley Klinski (third place); Alvin Bergmark (sec- ond place); and first place champs Frances White and Lorraine Anderson. The evening was completed with a fun game of bingo. Thank you to Kathy Luebker for delivering candy rewards!

Mass and communion with Terry Pelzel began the day on Tuesday. With Father Jojo out of town, it is nice to have Terry in our com- munity to fill in! Soon after, folks stayed to stretch their brains a bit and play Name That Tune. I try to stump residents by starting songs in the middle. However, they usually hum their way to the end and often discover the song title that way! Winners were: Shirley Klinski (fourth place); Aileen Wayne, Barb Gruwe (third place); Carol Bauer (second place); and Penny Stauord (first place). We had a very special treat during the afternoon: The Dunn Dulcimers from Menomonie. Seven of them played beautiful music on their dulcimers for an hour.

We were mesmerized by the blending of their tones. One gentleman had even made his own instrument. We enjoyed some dessert to share with our guests when they were finished. Our evening concluded with a fun game of Uno!

For a change in the week, Wednesday brought out our bakers in honor of National Banana Split Day. It was a fun recipe and we looked forward to eating it later in the afternoon. But first things first with lunch and bingo. Lana Ingli was busy delivering candy rewards and assisting in the clean up afterwards. Black out winners this week were Shirley Klinski and Frances White. After cleaning up the cards and chips, the banana Split lasagna was served and my, how tasty it was! Just like a banana split! Some had seconds and most folks said it tasted like “more!”

News, couee and cookies joined Kathy Shingledecker for our Thursday morning.

It’s fun to hear about the news around town with all the fairs and 4-H involvement. It’s even more fun to hear from Kathy about her goats and their antics. And as any good grandma, she showed us pictures of her new, first great-grandbaby. They are always so precious!

Manicures were on the agenda just before Brad Richardson brought his adorable fur babies. We never tire of holding these critters, talking and singing to them. They are certainly calming to everyone. Supper soon arrived and a few folks stayed up to play Pokeno. This week’s big winner was Alvin Bergmark.

Friday equals drumming.

Nothing gets the blood flow ing like banging on a drum.

And nothing gets our giggles started like watching the energy level of almost 91-year-old Aileen Wayne, playing loud and long to the tunes of the Beatles! She pushes the tempo and really keeps us going. We are always amazed by her enthusiasm. Later in the afternoon, we were treated with music from Craig Morton. He’s got great music and we topped it ou with some delicious cinnamon turnovers. Supper was served and soon after we settled in for our Friday night movie. This week’s movie was “Benji.” We encourage you to stop by for a visit.

Surprises are never far away!

See you soon!

Ah, Lorraine Anderson. Always has her happy hour beer! Photo courtesy of Laura Kadlec

Slim McDonough joined Jeannie for a treat and great music. Photo courtesy of Laura Kadlec

For some reason, Nugget was curious about the songs Craig sang. And Craig never missed a beat! Photo courtesy of Laura Kadlec

Rocking and tapping to the music was Beryl Anderson. Photo courtesy of Laura Kadlec