Cow Love Day

Exercise is important, and we try to make sure some physical activity is on the calendar daily, however sometimes you don't feel like leading the group.

Solution?

Invite the Chick-fil-A cow into your building to pantomime the moves for you!

We rounded up a big group of residents and started warming up our hands with cow face stress balls. Then, we passed Holstein decorated balloons to each other to get the blood flowing. The cow led the real workout, trying not to let the utters of the costume get in the way of the demonstration. Finally, the residents hydrated with the restaurant tea everyone raves about.

I made a special shirt to wear for the occasion, and we can't wait to invite back our new friends.

Haiku Day

On April 17th I was lucky enough to get to cover for one of my employees.

After exercise, we turned to our stickey poster board and the residents saw the word I had written at the top: "Haiku". I asked if anyone knew what this word meant ("Something Japenese?" "Very good Mr. Smith"). I asked them to guess how it was pronounced. ("High-coo?" "God Bless you, Mrs. Jones, do you need a tissue?")

We talked about the rules for making a Haiku poem, practiced counting the syllables in each of their names, then listened to a few examples.

Finally I asked them to look out of our window. "It's April this month, what sorts of things do we see outside only in April?" We made a list of words like April, green, rain, and tulips. Finally we wrote a Haiku together. After making sure each line was in order, I wrote it on a fresh page to stick to the door. The residents decorated the lines in Spring colors.

I can't share that one since we included the building's name, but here is another:

Behind our wood door

Laughing Among the Wrinkled

Activity Time

April Taste of the Season

With the good weather brings back our "Taste of the Season" activities. For this month, my first thought was asparagus. The residents were able to create a simple pastry puff and fresh local vegetables. Although this picture was my dinner one night as I practiced the recipe, what they made was very similar and they were surprised with how much they enjoyed it.

Lucky Paint and Sip

In March, every resident in the building was invited to create a decoration for the season. The artist did a great job leading them to paint a simple pot of gold on canvases and mini- easels. This activity continues to be a success.

March Employee Gifts

 In March we took time to celebrate our Long Term Care Physicians with chocolate bars dressed up in lab coats...

 ... our Long Term Care Administrator with a "goldfish bowl" of blue chocolates and cheese goldfish (she loves to swim)...

 and a chocolate bar in a manila envelope for our medical records keeper.

The residents enjoyed making these gifts and handing them to the people who do some very important work in our building.

Throw Me a Table Decoration, Mister

The residents spent a lovely morning replacing the red, pink, and white Valentines table decorations with purple, green, and yellow flowers for Mardi Gras. They even chose beads to wrap around the vases as an added touch.

Poppy, Our New Cat

 In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Poppy came to live with us a few weeks ago, a rescue from a nurse's family member who passed away. She has done well so far. The residents love to visit with her. Traffic to the activity room has certainly increased. She likes the attention and has begun to visit residents' rooms. One night she slept in the bed of a bed-bound woman who loves cats. I believe she will work out fabulously.

Chinese New Year

The memory care residents were able to trace, loop, and glue beautiful Chinese good luck pendants for the unit. None have traveled to China personally, but some talked about their favorite oriental dishes as they worked.

2017

Door decorations remain a popular activity in all areas. To start the new year, I made a template for 2017 banners and, as usual, some residents created their own spectacular versions of my simple idea. My favorites included red lettering. A simple, meaningful craft that is sure to stay in the halls for many months to come.