Sunshine and warm temperatures greeted us Monday morning, which was perfect for sitting outside and enjoying a visit from Darla and her 10-year-old miniature horse, Desi! Everyone eagerly gathered in front of the care center and was enchanted with the darling Desi; Darla led her through a series of dances and tricks and residents had plenty of opportunities to pet her velvety soft nose. There were some who even stole a kiss or two! After the performance from Darla and Desi, lunch was served and mail delivered. Noel and Chef Jeff began the afternoon at Kitchen Corner, whipping up a delectable cheesecake dip that would be served at Wednesday’s social. By mid-afternoon, folks had circled up in the dining room for a game of Tic Tac Toss and everyone tried their hardest to come out on top! Milda Bautch and Shirley Klinski tied for fourth place; Larry Thompson, Nancy Bishop and Ivan Mason all tied for third and Yvonne Sinz came in second. Carol Campbell triumphed in Tic Tac Toss as the first-place winner! Supper was served afterwards and then it was on to Monday night Bingo, with Marie and Joyce Berger, as well as their young assistant Lily. Thanks for all your wonderful help ladies, we couldn’t have done it without you! 

After breakfast Tuesday morning, residents gathered again in the dining room for Mass with Father Jojo. It was a wonderfully calm and quiet way to begin the day and folks really appreciated the time for reflection and prayer. Thank you to Julie Tschumperlin for doing the readings during the service! After a little bit of downtime, it was time for lunch and then mail delivery. Willow arrived later in the afternoon to fire up the popcorn machine and made a huge bowl of fresh, hot popcorn for everybody! Residents always know they can count on deliciously salty and crunchy popcorn Tuesday afternoons and most come out a whole 30 minutes or more ahead of time to be first in line. After the last kernels were claimed, there was time for some more visiting before afternoon church. With no pastor present, Willow and Stacey led the crowd in a hymn sing and everyone joyfully lifted their voices in songs of worship! After supper refreshed residents, it was time for an evening of games in the dining room with Willow. 

Wednesday is one of our favorite days of the week and our morning bowling game might be the reason why! We had a large crowd yet again and everyone gathered in the dining room gave it their very best shot. By the end, Zeona Bechel placed fourth; Carol Bauer (Seasons), Alice Brantner, Ivan Mason and Shirley Klinski all tied for third, and Larry Thompson and Kevin Bauer tied for second. Kathy Geraets beat everyone with a first-place win! Lunch was a welcome break and once mail had been delivered, it was time to gather once again in the dining room, this time for Fruit Bingo. Like bowling, Fruit Bingo draws a crowd and this day, we had TONS of players and lots of guests! Most of our tables had five people to a table, with 34 players all together. A HUGE “Thank You” to volunteers Marlene Zimmer and Kathy Shingledecker for keeping up with the crowd and assisting with set up, clean up and passing prizes. The large crowd sure had those ladies moving! With so many players it was no surprise that we had two Blackout Bingo winners: Nancy Bishop and Mary Matzek! Most of the folks stuck around for the Mid-Week Social. In honor of Chocolate Wafer Day, we snacked on decadent Cheesecake Dip with chocolate wafer cookies. 

The end of the week finally came and everyone stayed out after breakfast for a game of Dart Ball on Friday morning! Alice Brantner came in fourth, Kay George was third place and Kevin Bauer and Yvonne Sinz tied for second. Carol Bignell was our first-place winner this week! After lunch, Barb Halling helped Noel deliver the mail and there sure was a ton of it, considering there was no mail the day before because of the holiday. The afternoon passed peacefully and before you knew it, Happy Hour was upon us and The Earneys were here to get the party started! It was a perfectly warm Friday to snack on Bomb Pops and everyone slurped on their red, white and blue popsicles while listening to the lively music. Supper was served afterwards and then Noel drew the blinds and dimmed the lights for Movie Night. This Friday’s flick was the James Stewart western called “The Far Country.”