Ahhh, Monday morning. A sleepy group of seniors wandered into the dining room to start the week with singing. We do enjoy a play on words with our songs such as “Goodnight Irene” who was out until “Three O’clock in the Morning,” since she “Could Have Danced All Night!” We were surely wide awake by the time lunch arrived. All mail was delivered, even the junk mail, and our afternoon snack was the popcorn social. Soon, Laura and Stacey were on the back patio setting up for our annual Men’s Cookout. Laura fired up the grill while Stacey sliced onions, tomatoes and pickles for toppings. Everyone enjoyed a great meal outside, complete with Klondike ice cream bars for dessert. Our men were sent home with gift bags full of goodies! Fruit bingo completed the evening with Ann Heath calling numbers and Kathy Luebker assisting with delivering fruit and candy rewards.

Mass and communion begin the day on Tuesday and we are always happy to see Father Jojo and Terry coming in the door. “Name That Tune” was on the agenda afterward with Barb Smith as the top winner. just one mere point ahead of Mary Ellen Coulson. Shirley Klinski came in third with Aileen Wayne and Jeanne Carlson sharing fourth place. The crafting club started on a summer beach wreath project and were up to their elbows in paint. It’s great choosing colors and shapes to really make our projects individual and unique. We cleaned up our mess just in time for our weekly church service with Pastor Paul and Marsha Zick at the piano from Sabylund Lutheran. Supper soup was slurped and the evening concluded with a fun dice game. Shirley Klinski took first place followed closely by Jeanne Carlson.

Movers and shakers shook the dining room and the giggles carried out into the halls. Kickball followed and quickly turned into a game of catch, or maybe it was ‘hit your neighbor with the beach ball!” You never know what might develop! Lunch was served and bingo was soon set up. Julie Tschumperlin, Norma Chilson, and Lana Ingli arrived to assist residents and deliver candy. Black out winner this week was Beryl Anderson. We slowed our pace before supper with a nice time of lemonade and ice tea on the patio with trivia.

Marlene Zimmer zipped over to our house on Thursday morning to read all the news from the Courier-Wedge and the Pierce County Journal. It is sometimes a competition with a few of our folks to see whose name is mentioned more times in the Care Center article! We enjoy seeing the photos as well and appreciate the papers publishing our stories. It makes us feel part of the larger community. We had time before lunch for a little bit of trivia. Did you know that 144 degrees was the highest recorded temperature ever in Wisconsin? This was in 1936 at Wisconsin Dells. Penny Stafford took top honors as she quickly answered almost every question and answered them correctly. After lunch, many of our ladies arrived in the activity room for manicures and jewelry cleaning. Soak your rings while we paint your nails! Everyone left the room looking brighter and prettier. Brad arrived on the scene with two totes of puppies to snuggle and cuddle. With supper soon out of the way, we enjoyed a game of pokeno. Frances White and Beryl Anderson shared first place.

The drummers rallied everyone for the weekend on Friday morning with marches and polkas. Everyone takes their turn at “solos” and creating all kinds of fantastical rhythms. Lunch was served and mail delivered and soon the bell choir participants (or “ding-a-lings” as they like to call themselves) filed in. We played a few new songs but everyone did well. We welcomed a newbie to the group: Sandy Messier! Happy hour later in the afternoon was in the backyard. Rudy Rudesill was our guest entertainer and we sang along with many of our favorites. The evening included a wonderful treat of sitting outside and watching the Plum City Car Cruise. What beautiful cars and such friendly folks driving them. Thank you to those who participated!

Saturday was saturated with sunshine and time to sit outside. We enjoyed a good game of bingo followed by outdoor bean bags. Top winners were: Marlys Amdahl (fourth place); Sandy Messier (third place); Shirley Klinski (second place); and Barb Smith (first place).

Sunday was the day for many folks receiving visitors, inside and out! It is so nice to enjoy time with our loved ones. A few people played bucket ball outside. Our top winner was Nancy Bishop in first place with Shirley Klinski and Sandy Messier in second and third. We hope you will find time to stop in and visit in these coming days. Summer is fleeting and soon our days will become shorter. Let’s enjoy them while we can! See you soon!

Photos courtesy of Laura Kadlec

Photo courtesy of Laura Kadlec

Happy hour has been so much fun as we are able to sit outside and enjoy the music of entertainers such as Rudy Rudesill.