Well, I hope April snow showers bring May flowers! I started writing this while looking out the window at heavy snowfall! And I just came back from making a snowman with 3 year old Leon. Strange start to April! But we are doing our best to enjoy it.
We had a lot of fun last month. We had a couple of new events here. One was a Sea Shanty sing with Andreas Transo. He brought song books and started each song by teaching us the chorus. He would sing the verses and we all joined in on the chorus. It was so much fun! More people came than usual and our music room could not contain us. So we moved the music to the kitchen with people spilling into the sunroom and dining room. It was a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. And guests brought fabulous food to the pot-luck! A terrific evening of robust singing and delicious delicacies!
On March 13th we had a Discussion Dinner. We enjoyed homemade soup, salad and sourdough bread and a very interesting discussion on loneliness and intergenerational solutions. Guests included professors from the UW, staff from Jewish Social Services and Mary Stamstad and her friend. Mary was with the Wisconsin Intergenerational Network for decades, the Executive Director of RSVP for many years, and is now in her 90s. She and her friend Barbara brought community oriented perspectives. Members of our BOD and Capital Campaign Committee were also present. The discussion was so interesting that we plan to do this again! If you would be interested in attending, please let us know.
We also enjoyed Easter fun. On March 26th there was an Easter Egg hunt that was organized by Ruthie McQuinn, our Art Therapist, Activity Director, Great Cook and Social Media person! She and Michelle Heindell worked with residents to put donated candy in over 400 eggs! Janet Nebel was there to help with this and also helped hide the eggs. All done wearing bunny ears! Big kids gave the little ones a head start as children scrambled to find eggs. One little girl looked at me and said, “I have too many eggs! I am going to put some out for the little ones!” And she did. I am just going to say, she was little herself and it was heart warming to see her care for others.
On Easter Sunday, we had residents and some of their families join our Easter dinner. Of note, the oven turned itself off while the ham and scalloped potatoes were supposed to be finishing! I did not realize this until 30 minutes before we were supposed to eat! This led to some quick problem solving and a little pouring of wine! We laughed as we scrambled to finish food in the microwave. To our amazement, we sat down only 15 minutes late and everything tasted great! It was a feast prepared by many–beautiful, delicious and fun! It turned out that one dish from my childhood was also a lost recipe from another family’s traditions! Which reminds me, I promised to share the recipe! I love intergenerational fun!
We have some exciting events coming up too. You might want to get them on your calendar. On Saturday May 4th at 10 AM, Jess Lex will be here to host Downsizing belongings! I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say! And on June 1st we will be having another conversation about Life leases! I hope you will join us!