Monday is always one of our busiest days of the week and this Monday was no different! We began right away after breakfast with Monday Movers seated exercise group and Noel led residents in numerous gentle stretches to help keep arms and legs limber. Sing Along was scheduled next and Stacey fired up the piano to lead us in songs such as “Polly Wolly Doodle,” “My Bonnie” and “Rocky Top.” After some lunch and visiting with friends, it was time to bake and several folks helped whip up a yummy apple crisp to be shared later on at the Mid-Week Social. Tic Tac Toss was the name of our afternoon game and the crowd assembled was in it to win it! Judy Thorn placed fourth, Mary Matzek was third place and Virgie Fritz came in second. This week, Carol Campbell was the first-place winner! Supper followed and then tables were cleaned off for the evening Bingo game with volunteers Kathy Luebker and Pat Frion. Thank you for all your help ladies!

Tuesday morning brought Father Jojo to the care center for Mass; we always smile to see him! After 30 minutes of prayerful reflection it was almost time for some lunch. Once the meal had concluded and the mail was delivered, we eagerly awaited for Aaliyah to arrive and fire up the popcorn machine for our afternoon Popcorn Social! Soon, all you could smell throughout the care center was freshly made popcorn which all of our folks loved and hungrily gobbled up by the bowlful. Mid to late afternoon brought more visiting, conversations and then Pastor Tom from Pepin Lutheran stopped by for church. Residents attended a reflective and peaceful 30-minute service which then led into supper and an evening of games with Aaliyah!

We kicked off Wednesday morning with bowling which brought Ave Maria Academy students Mary and Declan to help with scorekeeping and pin-setting. Crashing pins and loud cheering accompanied the scores: Ivan Mason, Bill Joyner, Virgie Fritz and Judy Thorn had a four-way tie for fourth place, Kevin Bauer came in third and Jeff Halverson was in second place. Mary Matzek was our bowling first-place winner! We were able to bowl three rounds before lunch was ready to be served. Once lunch was over, tables were cleared off for Fruit Bingo and with the help of volunteers Kathy Shingledecker and Marlene Zimmer, we played with Ave Maria Academy students until Goldie Helwig and Zeona Bechel both won blackout! We finally got to tuck into the cinnamon-y apple crisp baked on Monday and we polished off the pan with plenty of dollops of whipped cream.

Harriet Rothe swung by to read us the newspapers and share stories and laughs at our Local News and Coffee group Thursday morning. We always enjoy seeing her smiling face as she keeps us informed about what has been happening around the area! Later after lunch, Aaliyah steered her cart of nail polish into the dining room and the ladies were ready for their afternoon of pampering with manicures. All our gals chose such classy colors and their nails looked lovely once Aaliyah worked her manicure magic! Then it was time for a little more visiting before supper was served. Aaliyah ended the evening with a lively game of Pokeno!

Friday finally came and we rounded up folks for a goofy game of Chicken Toss Twister! Those rubber chickens flew far as players attempted to land them on the color spot the spinner landed on. Nancy Bishop and Kevin Bauer were in fourth place, Kay George and Jeff Halverson tied for third and Judy Thorn was second place. Bill Joyner was the Chicken Toss Champion this morning! Lunch, room visits and mail delivery kicked off the afternoon; the cooler weather made everyone really sleepy so there weren’t many takers for Snack Makers this afternoon. But Stacey and Noel quickly whipped up a Snicker Salad because pretty soon Happy Hour was upon us! We sadly did not have an entertainer this afternoon, so we put on some country music and had a Happy Harvest photo shoot, complete with apples, pumpkins and costumes. Fun was had by all and the afternoon flew by fast! After supper, we drew the blinds and fired up the projector for Movie Night; this week’s feature film was the comedy “House Sitter.” As the days get shorter and cooler, we sure would love to see visitors’ warm, smiling faces!