Monday morning came quickly and residents were ready to get started on another week of fun activities! Card Club met after breakfast for several exciting hands of UNO, Skip Bo and Euchre. Our groups of players had so much fun that we lost track of time and played right through Karaoke! Lunch followed, mail was delivered and then, Noel got right to work with residents at Kitchen Corner. She and Chef Jeff mixed up a pan of chocolate caramel brownies, and after sneaking a small spoonful of caramel they confirmed that these were going to be a real treat! Once the pan came out of the oven to cool, it was time to gather folks for a St. Patrick’s Day game of “Shamrock Shuffle.” Players raced each other around the green and gold game board, trying to be the first to reach the pot of gold at the finish. They had to be extra careful not to land on the sneaky leprechauns, which would send them back to the start! Prizes were awarded to each player as, one by one, they crossed the finish line. After supper, folks stuck around to play Monday night Bingo with the assistance of Marie and Joyce Berger. Thanks for all the help ladies! 

Father Jojo and Terry Pelzel were at the care center Tuesday morning after breakfast for Mass and residents gathered to listen to the peaceful service. After lunch was served and mail was passed, Noel was in the dining room to whip up some delicious fresh popcorn. Residents watched the popcorn machine being wheeled into position and wasted no time in securing a seat in the dining room to be the first ones for a bowl! While the crunchy, salty kernels were getting gobbled up by the large crowd, Stacey visited one on one with our newest residents, getting to know them a bit and reminiscing with lots of laughs. Afternoon church came quickly afterwards and Pastor Dave from Durand Methodist arrived to lead residents in prayer. Before you knew it, supper had arrived and then Willow assembled the crowd in the dining room for an evening of games. The group extended the St. Patrick’s Day festivities with a dice game called Shamrock Shake. Fun was had by all!

The bowling balls were rolling and the pins were crashing Wednesday morning as residents played their weekly bowling game! Noel had an absolutely HUGE crowd of 17 players in the dining room and they only had time to play two rounds each. Wilbur Black came in fourth; Sharon Gingras, Pam Gansluckner and Yvonne Sinz all tied for third place; and Milda Bautch, Janet Robelia, Jeff Halverson and Kevin Bauer all scored second. First place this week was shared amongst Kay George, Zeona Bechel and Dennis Fedie! Lunch refreshed everyone and then it was on to Fruit Bingo in the afternoon with volunteers Monica Krings and Wanda Ebensperger here to help. Lady Luck was shining on all 26 players during the game and she was especially smiling on Zeona Bechel, who won Blackout Bingo this week! After the game, most everyone stuck around for the Mid-Week Social treat of chocolate caramel brownies to celebrate National Caramel Day. Many folks commented on how delicious they were and a couple ladies even asked for the recipe!

Thursday was the first day of spring and we welcomed the change in seasons just as we welcomed Marlene Zimmer to the care center for our Local News and Coffee group! She read everyone the top stories in the local papers and stayed awhile to chat about making maple syrup. It’s so nice to spend a little extra time with our volunteers each week. Lunch followed, during which everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Lorraine Komro who was celebrating her 101^st birthday--WOW! She had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day to help her celebrate! The afternoon brought a large crowd of ladies to the dining room for manicures with Stacey, who was kept busy all afternoon. The gals love to look for their next nail color and many always linger to visit while they wait for their nails to dry. Thankfully everyone’s manicures dried just in time for supper and then Pokeno with Willow was the name of the game for the evening!

It was hard to believe just how fast Friday morning came and with it, our morning game of Dart Ball! It was a large group of 16 players again and some folks won BIG: Sharon Gingras placed fourth with 900 points, Alice Brantner won third with 950 points and Kay George and Dennis Fedie tied for second with 980 points. Arlene Glaus was our first-place Dart Ball champion of the morning with 1,010 points! A little lunch and then Noel, along with the assistance of Chef Jeff, whipped up some chocolate covered pretzel rods at Snack Makers. They turned out great and folks gobbled up every last one at Happy Hour! Everyone dressed up in their best top hats and flowered bonnets, as well as colorful mustaches for our March Mustache party. Jeff Bechel got the party started and soon everyone was tapping their toes and singing along to the tunes! Supper was served once the party ended and then everyone settled in for Movie Night, watching the Lily Tomlin comedy “The Incredible Shrinking Woman!”