Greetings from “The Home” front …

Haven’t the fall colors this year been just spectacular… even that little cold snap didn’t dim those vibrant oranges, yellows and greens. I hope you have been able to take advantage of getting outside to enjoy them. I know our residents have taken walks in the courtyard to enjoy the sunny weather.

On Sunday, we struggled through some hard clues to finish Crosswords but WE MADE IT!!! There was lots of laughter and giggles as Molly tried to “act out” the answers. We had Down Memory Lane on Monday followed by Bunco and a Resident Council meeting. Tuesday brought Newscurrents and Kitchen Capers. Lysa and ChiChi made delicious butterscotch no bake cookies to serve everyone. On Wednesday, Lysa played the piano for Choir and ChiChi and Alayna made a cute flower craft in the afternoon. Staff also went shopping for the residents. Thursday brought some brain challenges in the morning as everyone worked on “Words in Words”. We had Rhythm Band in the afternoon and “Name that Decade” as staff read important events that had happened and residents guessed what decade they occurred. Chris Larson will be filling in this week for Church on Friday morning and then the ladies got their nails done during Pretty Nails in the afternoon. Saturday brings Sit & Be Fit, Bingo and Jeopardy.

Lysa will be back on Sunday to provide an afternoon of Piano Music. We will be learning All About Owls on Monday morning. Did you know that there are over 200 different species of owls and that they can rotate their neck 270 degrees. We have Men’s Club in the afternoon and a Pumpkin Dice game later on plus Bingo in the evening. After Newscurrents on Tuesday, there will be accordion music by Paul Swanstrom in the dining room. Later we will have Pumpkin Races. Wednesday brings a “back to school” activity as we learn The Write Word. There will also be Crafts in the afternoon with ChiChi and Deb. Pastor Deb is here for Bible Study on Thursday morning and the residents will be answering some TRICK questions and also “Who AM I” in the afternoon. We have Bingo in the evening. Pastor Deb is back for Church on Friday morning and then we will celebrate TGIF with Happy ½ hour in the afternoon.

October is Pastoral Care Month and we would like to thank all our area pastors, especially pastor Deb Stave and Father Robert Smith, for providing spiritual and religious support to our residents. Please know you are much appreciated not only by the residents but also by our staff members.

I missed Healthcare Food Service Week which was October 3rd-9th. A big shout out THANK YOU to the members of our kitchen staff for the great job they do keeping our residents well fed. Imagine preparing nutritious and pleasing meals for 77+ people three times a day, 7 days a week!!! Thank you to Sue Tastad, Katie Sayler, Pam Eken, Tish Clagg, Kyle Eken, Matt Karolus, Angel Oshkosh, Danielle Kath, Esther Pleune, Erika Onerheim, Jeric Houdek, Nate Dow, Ryker Crawford, Nikki Onerheim, Breanna Sayler, Jaiden Denault and Kinsey Hanson. You ALL Rock!!

There are no resident birthdays this week and only two staff members celebrating – Ashley Odden on October 17th and are own activity assistant ChiChi Hoffmann on October 20th. Happy Birthday to both of you and enjoy your special day!

Until next time …. A thought for the week …. Success is not final; Failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts …. Make it a Great Week!!!