Monday morning shines bright as we gather for a new activity at the care center: Monday Movers! Residents (led by staff) participate in a full body workout while seated; we exercise arms and legs, as well as engaging in a light cardio workout as well! What an invigorating way to begin the week! No sooner than we exercised our bodies than it was time to exercise our voices at Karaoke Singalong. We crooned along to classic tunes like “You Are My Sunshine,” “The Band Played On” and “Sweet Rose O’Grady.” Karaoke takes us right up to lunch and after the midday meal, it’s time for delivering the mail and visiting with folks. Our Monday afternoon kicks off with Crafty Corner; this week, we make “stained glass” shamrocks to hang in our dining room windows! The splash of green really brightens up the place and reminds us that spring will come again. Tic Tac Toss is the game this afternoon and residents once again exercise their throwing arms to come out on top! Shirley Klinski took fourth place, Milda Bautch came in third and Kevin Bauer was the second-place winner. Penny Stafford was awarded first place this week! Dinner was served and then we capped the evening off with Bingo. We want to thank volunteers Teresa Fedie and Pat Frion for assisting with set-up and clean-up, as well as helping residents play the game. A special thank you also goes to Pat Frion’s grandchildren Peyton and Zachary for helping deliver candy prizes!

We eased gently into our Tuesday with Mass services after breakfast for our Catholic residents; we are all definitely saying prayers that winter will be over soon! Once lunch concluded, there was plenty of time to deliver the mail and chat with friends. We were starting to get in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit early with our Tuesday baking group: bright green chocolate chip cookies!  Residents helped pour the mix into the bowl, added the eggs and chocolate chips and placed them on a pan; they are so easy to whip up that we had time to play Uno as we waited for them to bake. Linda Tollefson was the big winner, winning three out of five games! As the smell of fresh baked cookies filled the hallways, it was time to gather residents for church; we welcomed Pastor Tom from Immanuel Lutheran. After a yummy supper, residents stayed in the dining room to play games with Aaliyah!

Bowling was the name of the game to begin our fun-filled Wednesday and we were lucky to have Heather and Emma with us from Plum City Elementary to help with pin-setting and score keeping. Ivan Mason took fourth place, with Goldie Helwig following in third place and Alice Brantner and Kevin Bauer tied for second place. Milda Bautch was the first-place bowling winner! After lunch and mail passed, it was time for our mid-week Fruit Bingo game! Thank you to volunteers Lana Ingli and Julie Tschumperlin for all their help with set-up, clean-up, candy delivery and helping residents settle in. We all waited with baited breath for the blackout winner as numbers kept getting called…this week Barb Grewe won blackout! After patiently waiting an entire day, it was finally time to eat the delicious St. Patrick’s Day chocolate chip cookies we made the day before at our Cookies and Milk Social. Even though the cookies were bright green, they were tasty…especially when washed down with a glass of ice-cold milk!

We always like to keep up with what is going on in our community, so when it is time for reading the weekly local news, our residents love it! Kathy Shingledecker stopped by to read the news and enjoy a cup of coffee with us on Thursday morning. When lunch was over and the mail was delivered, it was time for manicures! Our ladies love a bit of pampering and a cheerful pink nail polish was still a crowd favorite; it sure cheers us up to see such a happy color in the hallways. Nails dried just in time as the puppies arrived for their weekly visit! They are a joy to hold and watch as they play and pounce; everyone is always out to see these adorable animals!  The puppies stayed for a good, long visit and before we knew it, it was supper time. After the evening meal, we stuck around to play Pokeno with Aaliyah!

Shuffleboard kicked off our Friday morning and it was so much fun to begin the day with a game our residents enjoy! Milda Bautch and Nancy Bishop tied for fourth place, third place went to Alice Brantner and second place was nabbed by Dorothy Pfaffe! Shirley Klinski was our first-place winner this week! Our game took us right up to lunch and after the midday meal, mail was passed and we got ready for our Snack Makers activity. This week, we whipped up a baked cracker snack mix; as it was crisping in the oven, we had time for a couple games of Uno.  Before you knew it, Happy Hour was starting and we enjoyed the cracker mix, along with a beverage, as we listened to music from Larry Radle! Happy Hour was always a hit and definitely a joyful way to end the busy week here at the care center. In the blink of an eye, supper was served and cleaned up, then we settled in for the Friday night movie, “Mr. Mom.” What a wonderful week it has been; you should stop on by the care center for a visit – we would love to chat with you!