Monday morning began with Noel leading a small but lively group of residents at Monday Movers seated exercise group. It felt wonderful to gather to stretch out our muscles and the crowd only grew in size as we moved right into Karaoke Sing A Long next! Singing always works up an appetite and we belted out the tunes right up to lunchtime. After the midday meal, Barb Halling assisted Noel with the mail pass and then Stacey and Noel decorated the dining room in a splash of color for the afternoon Volunteer Ice Cream Social. The care center has the absolute BEST volunteers and we wanted to thank them and celebrate all they do for us with an ice cream sundae bar and musical entertainment from The Earney’s!  There were raffle prizes, the music was hoppin’ and residents even joined the party too! We ended the busy day with some supper and then Monday night Bingo. Thank you to Joyce and Marie Berger for all their wonderful help with setting up, cleaning up and passing candy prizes!

The pleasant weather continued Tuesday morning as residents gathered after breakfast for Mass with Deacon Mark and Terry Pelzel. Lunch followed and then Stacey and “Chef” Jeff (Halverson) put their baking hats on to whip up a “Heaven on Earth” cake in honor of Earth Day; it looked so good but must wait until Wednesday to be enjoyed! After the baking activity there was time to play a couple hands of the card game “UNO” and Stacey spent time with residents outside, soaking up the sun and talking about planting flowers, as well as helping some folks tidy their rooms. There was no time like the present for some spring cleaning! As the afternoon continued, there was no afternoon church, but Stacey and Aaliyah brought folks out for a hymn sing, with Stacey on the piano and Aaliyah on lead vocals. We capped off the day with a little supper and then an evening game of Bunco with Aaliyah! Carol Campbell came in fourth, Dorothy Pfaffe won third, Kay George was second and Judy Thorn claimed first place!

Residents bowled their hearts out Wednesday morning, with Plum City Elementary students Mason and Oscar here to help with score keeping and pin setting. It was a small group of seven competitors but a tight competition throughout five rounds! Shirley Klinski came in fourth place, Jeff Halverson was the third place winner and Milda Bautch was second place. Our first-place winner this week was Mary Matzek! Lunch and mail delivery followed soon after and then it was time for an afternoon of Fruit Bingo fun with Irene Helmueller and Marlene Zimmer here, helping with set up, clean up, passing prizes and helping folks play the game. Thank you, ladies!  We are always on the edge of our seats to see who gets blackout first and this week Dorothy Crane from the Seasons was the big winner! Everyone stuck around after bingo to attend the Mid-Week Social and enjoy a slice of the Heaven on Earth Cake that was made the day before. Every bite of the angel food cake, cherry pie filling and vanilla pudding was certainly heavenly!

Lana Ingli stopped by Thursday morning to read residents the local news and let us know what’s happening in the community. We always appreciate our volunteers coming over and spending time with us; what a lovely way to spend the morning!  After lunch was enjoyed and cleaned up, there was mail delivery and more visiting with friends. But pretty soon it was time for Aaliyah to pamper the ladies with a manicure and she had quite a few takers looking to freshen up their nails. Sparkling pinks, purples and greens are always popular polish choices! Once nails were dry it was just about time for supper; the evening concluded with a game of Pokeno with Aaliyah.

Friday finally came and with it, one of our largest groups yet for a game of Shuffleboard! With such a large group, we only had time for several rounds but when all was said and done, Milda Bautch claimed fourth place, Ivan Mason came in third and Yvonne Sinz was second place. Judy Thorn beat everyone with a first place win this week! Lunch was gobbled up and afterwards, Stacey brought folks together for our monthly Resident Council meeting to discuss the past month, look ahead to the coming month of May and discuss any important business that might be on residents’ minds. Friday was Arbor Day, so for Snack Makers Noel and “Chef” Jeff dipped pretzel rods in green candy coating to make Tree Treats for everyone to enjoy at Happy Hour! Pretty soon, Jeff Bechel was here to entertain the crowd with his superb musical talents; it turned into such a lively party, with a few residents and visitors getting up to dance around the room! There were so many wonderful moments at this week’s Happy Hour that we didn’t want it to end; Jeff even dedicated a couple sweet songs to past residents Frances White and Jean McDonough. Supper came and went, then the shades were pulled and the lights turned down for Movie Night; this week’s flick was “Forever Young!”