Category: newsletter

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We started off the new year making decorative boxes filled with curly bows, straws, pipe cleaners and even some shiny plastic silverware displayed on the mantel. Tonnie Arena said they all look so nice. We finally got some cold weather this winter and we crafted penguins with construction paper to hang on the wall. Charlotte Hoffman said the penguins can keep their cold weather.

For arts and crafts, we made peacocks out of coffee filters to hang to the sitting area. We used magic markers then blotted the filter with water to make it look like water colors. Maureen McCarthy is always amazed with how good our crafts come out. I say it’s because you are all such good artists.

For art in “McPeak’s gallery”, which is the hallway, we took squares of left over scrapbook paper to glue on construction paper then we took magic markers to add an artistic touch to them. Ann Argento made squally lines on hers. Helen Link enjoy pasting and doodling and was so happy with the results.

We watched The Three Stooges on DVD. Catherine Budd and Celia Wysocki found them very funny. Marie Weiden remembered when you went to the movies they would play a short show before the featured movie, Peggy Tone said she liked to watch the “I Witness Newsreels” before the movie. We also thanked Millie Verderosa’s son Michael for donating a bunch of shows, movies, and radio programs for us to enjoy. We look forward to watching the “Jack Benny Show” next month.

We also saw The Lucy show on DVD with guest stars George Burns, and Milton Burl. Maureen McCarthy enjoyed watching them now and remembers watching with her family. Bobbie Smith was clapping and laughing as was Rosemarie DeSiena with Lucy’s antics.

We like the trivia days on the recreation schedule. Tina Shillings recalls that a lot of this we learned in school. Brian Dean said that all this information really keeps the “old bean” working. We learned in trivia that elephants are capable of swimming 20 miles a day, and that Maureen McCarty doesn’t know how to swim.

Reminiscing we got on to talking about fishing. Phil Cantone told us that when he would go crabbing he would stop at the bait store to pick up squid to use in the traps. Marge Taylor recalled when she was little the family would go in a rowboat in Greenport to go crabbing. Catherine Budd’s husband would take their son to the Jetty in Patchogue to fish. She told us one time it was two in the morning and there was a loud knock on the door, alarmed to be woken at such an hour, she found her brother at the door saying he had some fresh crab he just caught for her.

Some of had nicknames. Charlotte Hoffman remembers the older kids called her Lottie. Maggie Tsoukias real name is Margaret but at work they stating calling her Maggie, and it stuck, and her husband called her Margarita. Helen Link’s husband used to call her Helene like the Greek goddess. Catherine Budd said when she was young her family called her Katie because that was her grandmother’s name

We enjoy our Friday entertainment guests. Nina Et Cetra came by to sing and play the guitar and harmonica, with Tim on bass guitar. Pete Vanderift really likes the music. We had snacks of animal crackers and soda, Helen Link said she would get them in the box that looked like a circus car. Bruce Schneider with he’s pals Charlie and Ronny. We enjoy the music and the jokes they tell. A good time was had by all.

Our Sing-Along had us singing and Bobbie Smith even did some dancing for us Mary Icolari and Anne Argento prefer the older songs. We also read some poetry, some classics and poems that were written by residents around the country in other assisted living.

Every Wednesday we get a visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. Jill with her dog Jessie and Marlene brings her dogs Sambuca and Martini. Nettie O’Hallen seems to have a special connection with the dogs. They really like her and she really likes them. Anne Argento says she has a dog named. Peanut.

Our top scorer on Monday bowling was Marge Taylor, with Anne McTierman and Tonnie Arena coming in second and third. The bean bag toss had Peggy Tone winning first place. This month’s big Bingo winner was Nettie O’Halloran winning a prize with the most wins.

Birthdays Celebrated in January

• Harriet Kulbokas on the 9th
• Peggy Tone on the 18th
• Celia Wysocki on the 28th

January’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Nettie O’Halloran

January Entertainment

Nina Et cetera

Bruce Schneider

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We decorated the mantel in the recreation room with pails of red and white poinsettias, berries with sparkly pipe cleaners. As always we are pleased with our crafts that make it look so beautiful. Charlotte Hoffman said it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Maureen McCarty told us she would celebrate twice, once on the 25th then two weeks later for the Greek Christmas. Helen Kalinowski told us she had an artificial silver tree with multi colored lights. Denise Perrone used to go with her sister and father to find the biggest tree to bring home. Harriet Kulbos made German molasses cookies to leave for Santa. Millie Verderosa would go to church Christmas morning before opening the presents.

For Trivia I read the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore. We were surprised to learn it was originally called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” written in 1837. We did recall most of the verses. We learned that the Christmas tree was originally brought here by German immigrants. Other trivia we were surprised to learn is that a giraffe can lick its own eyeballs. Anne Argento wanted to know why it would want to.

We watched a Holiday Favorites DVD. “The Burns and Allen Holiday show” had Harriet Kulbokas, and Helen Link laughing at the antics of Gracie Allen. “Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion” even though nobody remember the show, the message that Christmas is not found in the tree or food or presents, but in hearts of humanity rang a bell with all of us especially Catherine Budd. “Date with Angels” the episode “Santa’s Helper” had both Maureen McCarty and Celia Wysocki recalling watching that show in the 1950’s staring Betty White.

We made Christmas ornaments in arts and crafts to trim the tree. We made owls, gingerbread men and clear balls we filled with sparkles and feathers. Charlotte Hoffman made her gingerbread man a football player. Anne McTiernan went a little crazy with the glitter, she left recreation more sparkly than when she showed up. Denise Perrone had shiny buttons for her gingerbread man. When we decorated the tree we all took turns hanging our ornaments as we ate Christmas cookies and drank eggnog listening to Christmas tunes.

We enjoy our Friday entertainment guests. Tony Grant came by to sing some Christmas songs and other music we enjoy. We even sung “Grandma got run over by a reindeer”. Anna Wanamaker sang along as did Bobbie Smith.

We received some donations for the holidays. We had candy and cookies, stuffed animals, blankets, and some cute knick knacks. We were most appreciative for the gifts and thank everyone for their kindness. Ellen Anders said the blanket will come in handy, Gloria Kormylo also like the warmth of it. Anne McTierman got more stuffed animals for her growing menagerie. Antonia Levato picked out a pretty knick knack.

Our Sing-Along had us singing Christmas songs Pete Vanderdrift accompanied us playing the bongo. We also read some poetry by Long Island native’s, along with poems written by residents in other states. Celia Wysocki was moved by the poems, she wanted to “just keep reading.”

The Christmas party had all of us getting a present from Santa who came here all the way from the north pole to visit us. Sue cooked us a fantastic turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Freddie Prinze played music for us. New Year’s Eve was special too, as we had music from Bruce Schneider and his friends. We wore our party hats and spun noise makers.

Some of our New Year Traditions are that Tina Schillings grandparents would make black eyed peas and hogs head for new year’s day. Brian Dean said that he would get together with friends and family and get drunk. Harriet Kulbokas at midnight would bang pots and pans together and end up scaring the dog. When Marge Taylor was a child said her father would make a treat of homemade ice cream outside.

Every Wednesday we get a visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. Jill and Jessie and Marlene and Sambuca and Martini. Mary Morris is always glad to get a visit from the dog on her lap. Thomasine Mangano likes to pet the dog, and Nettie O’Halloran would keep them here if she could.

We enjoy bowling on Mondays Mike Morgese was our top scorer, with Millie Verderosa and Mary Marko coming in second and third. The bean bag toss had Maureen McCarthy winning a prize. This month’s big Bingo winner was Millie Verderosa with the most wins.

Birthdays Celebrated in December

• Pat Lindauer on the 7th
• Jo Ann Brooks on the 20th
• Pete Venderdrift on the 25th

December’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Millie Verderosa

December Entertainment

• Tony Grant
• Freddie Prinz Christmas Party
• Bruce Schneider New Year’s Party

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

In the recreation room we filled cups with a football theme with leaves of fall foliage and topped them with scarecrows. We placed them on the mantel with a sign that says “Happy Fall Y’All”. We got to talking about the season and Maureen McCarthy told us she likes to rake leaves. Anne Argento doesn’t like to rake leaves and would hire someone to do it. Nettie O’Halloran said she would get leaves everywhere when raking even in her underwear. Catherine Budd would start the raking alone thinking her family would come out and help her, but it didn’t always work out that way.

Arts & Crafts had us making autumn leaves trees. We glued different colors and sizes of circles for leaves in the style of Kandinsky. They look so bright and cheery in the recreation room. We also made scarecrow faces with paper plates. Everyone got a different color hat and hair and we drew faces on them. Tina Schillings told us her grandfather in Prospect Virginia had two scarecrows, one for each cornfield. Celia Wysocki also had a scarecrow in her garden in which she grew vegetables and flowers. Catherine Budd’s grandfather had cucumbers and tomatoes the scarecrow would look over.

We saluted our veterans and thanked them for their service. Bob Baumann-Marine, Phil Cantone-Navy, Peter Icolari-Army, Bill Jones-Navy, Ed Weinmann- Army. Bill Jones served on the USS Forrestal (CV-59) during the Cuban missile crisis. Ed Weinmann was a combat engineer in the 29th division some of the work he did was rebuilding bridges after they were blown up, they called it “donkey work”. Phil Cantone was an electrician on the ships that came into port. Bob Baumann would volunteer his time to put on his dress uniform to sing for the Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophy fund raisers. Peter Icolari got his draft papers for WWII the same day his family got the notice his brother was killed in action. The Army gave him a three month difference. Peter said he wanted to go fight in Europe where his brother was killed but the army wouldn’t send him into combat and sent him to Hawaii.

Trivia had a talking about Thanksgiving traditions. The first thanksgiving had lobster which I said I would like to make a tradition in my family. Nettie O’Halloran’s mom would make venison for the holiday but Nettie said she cooks a duck. Marge Taylor’s family couldn’t afford turkey and they would have a thanksgiving chicken when she was a youngster. Helen Kalinowski carries on a family tradition by making mashed turnips like her mother made. Tonnie Arena would make homemade pound cake for dessert.

Football season is here and got us talking about sports, most of us enjoy baseball over football. Harriet Kulbokas likes the Mets, Lois Martucci likes the Yankees. Millie Verderosa told us her son is a scout for a major league football team. Charlotte Hoffman said the sport she likes to watch is ice skating. Frances Skotko said when she lived in Manhattan she would go to central park to ice skate.

For “McPeak’s Gallery” we colored pictures of mittens and then added glitter and sparkles. It looks like a winter wonderland. Catherine Budd remembers she would have to mend her mittens to make them last. Marge Tayler said the oldest kid would get new mittens and they would have to make them last while being passed down to the youngest.

We enjoy our Friday entertainment guests. Bob Schneider came by with his friends he does a great Al Jolson. Mike Morgese likes to sing along. Marie Badamo listened along with her son Austin who was visiting. Nina Et cetra came by to play music for us. JoAnne Brooks likes the music as does Bobbie Smith. We all enjoy some ice cream too. Phil Cantone said “you can never have too much ice cream.”

Trivia had us learn interesting facts like, no piece of paper can be folded more than seven times, and the TV show “The Lone Ranger” was the first to be put into reruns. Some interesting facts about ourselves is Tina Schillings speaks five languages, Maureen McCarty is left handed, and Frances Skotko daughter has twins boys.

This month we watched The Lucy Show on DVD. Celia Wysocki said it was lots of laughs, Tina Schillings said that Lucille Ball was a talented comedian, and Catherine Budd said she couldn’t stop laughing. Peggy Tone said she would like to see the Mickey Mouse Show next week.

Pastor Bonfiglio stops by every other Thursday to visit us. We appreciate the time he makes for us. We got a thank you card for him we all signed… Lois Martucci enjoys the songs we sing. Peggy Tone likes the jokes told, and of course we all enjoy the sermon.

Every Wednesday we get a doggie visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. We have the usual visit form Jill and Jessie, and Marlene and Sambuca. This week we had Martini visit us. Pete Icalori just loved her. Mary Marko thinks the dogs are just the cutest little things.

We enjoy bowling on Mondays Anne McTierman was our top scorer, close behind we had Marge Taylor, Catherine Budd, and Harriet Kulbokas. The bean bag toss had Maureen McCarty and Marge Taylor tied for first place. Close behind tied for second was Nettie O’Halloran and third place went to Tina Schillings. This month’s Bingo winner was Nettie O’Halloran with the most wins.

Birthdays Celebrated in November

• Lois Martucci on the 9th

October’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Nettie O’Halloran

November Entertainment

• Bob’s Piano Favorites
• Bruce Schneider
• Nina Et Cetra

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

View our past McPeak’s newsletters: Newsletter Archive

See what’s new to McPeak’s this month: Resident Event Calendar

Visit the McPeak’s: Facebook Page

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We started October by filling Halloween themed cups with fall foliage and whimsical straws. We arranged them on the mantel in the recreation room on a bed of spooky colored easter grass. We all agree that they came out really nice. Marge Taylor likes to come by just to look at them.

We also made a skull mandala coloring to hang on the wall in the recreation room. Celia Wysocki made hers in all shades of red because red is her favorite color. Annette O’Halloran has a real artistic talent Mary Icolari was very happy how hers turned out. Maureen McCarthy said they look more lovely than scary.

We reminisced about Halloweens past. Millie Verderosa recalled that when she lived in Florida they had no trick or treaters come to the house. Catherine Budd told us her husband would dress up to scare the kids at the door. Marge Taylor would go treat or treating with her brothers, but only to the neighbors houses. Tonnie Arena said she got married on Halloween. Asked why she replied “It was a Sunday.”

Another arts and crafts we made was a paper plate we painted halloween colors yellow and orange or green and purple. We then glued bats on them to look as if bats were flying across the moon. Frances Skotko joked this was “The bats in the belfry” craft.

We enjoy listening to music, some of us recalled who we saw perform live. Mike Morgese remembered Jimmy Roselli from Brooklyn. Harriet Kulbokas would go see her daughter in college play mozart on the piano. Maureen McCarthy said she has met Frank Sinatra and would watch him perform when he was in Pennsylvania. Celia Wysocki told us she liked to watch Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire even though she never saw them in person.

Bob Shade came by to play the piano for us, tickling the ivorys. Peggy Tone and Mike Morgese could name just about every song Bob played. Ed Weinmann enjoys the music tapping his toes. Unfortunately Bob is going to be a snowbird and will stop by once more until he returns in May. Bobby Smith and all of us will miss him.

For “McPeak’s Gallery” we made Jack O’Lanterns with toothy grins. We got to talking about pumpkins, Charlotte Hoffman said she would put a candle in hers. Annette O’Halloran’s mother would make a pumpkin relish that would be served on the side like applesauce. Catherine Budd’s grandfather grew pumpkins in his garden. And Tomasine did the best a reciting “Peter pumpkin packed a pint of pickled pumpkins”.

We enjoy our Friday entertainment guests.When Tony Grant stopped by it was raining. So he played a lot of weather related songs, one was “Raindrops keep falling on my head”. The upbeat music helped brighten the day. Tina Schilling sang along with the music as did Frances Skotko. When Julie Franco sang for us she took the microphone around so Tonnie Area and Mike Morgese got a turn singing into the microphone.

Last month we watched the Dean Martin variety show on DVD it was such a big hit we brought it back this month. We laughed and said it was so good to see the old programs again. For next month we have the “I love Lucy” episodes to watch Frances Skotko said she is looking forward to laughing with Lucy.

Pastor Bonfiglio stops by every other Thursday visit. We sing songs Gloria Kormylo enjoyed singing “Amazing Grace” as did Phil Cantone. As always he told a joke. The sermon has us uplifted and in good spirits. We had some extra prayers said for some of us. Marge Taylor told us she used to teach Sunday school.

Every Wednesday we get a doggie visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. We had a new puppy only eight weeks old join us. Mr. McGregor Mac for short. He was the cutest thing. Lois Martucci told us she thinks the dog should stay here with us. By the time he got to Larry Judson’s room he curled up with Larry ready for a nap.

We enjoy bowling on Mondays Anne McTierman was our top scorer, close behind we had Marge Taylor, Catherine Budd, and Harriet Kulbokas. The bean bag toss had Maureen McCarty winning a prize with the highest score. followed by Joe Gold, Tomasine Mango, and Celia Wysocki . This month’s Bingo winner was Harriet Kulbokas with the most wins.

Birthdays Celebrated in October

• Marie Wieden on the 3rd
• Bob Baumann on the 8th
• Antonia Levato on the 8th
• Tonnie Gaetana on the 18th
• Larry Judson on the 18th
• Phil Cantone on the 26th

October’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Harriet Kulbokas

October Entertainment

• Tony Grant
• Bob’s Piano Favorites
• Julie Franco
• Ronjo Magic Show

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

View our past McPeak’s newsletters: Newsletter Archive

See what’s new to McPeak’s this month: Resident Event Calendar

Visit the McPeak’s: Facebook Page

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We started September by decorating the mantel in the recreation room with flowers we arranged in plastic flower pots. Celia Wysocki and Maureen McCarty were very happy with the results. Some of us used to do flower arranging at home. Catherine Budd would cut flowers from the garden, Marie Badamo used store bought flowers mixed in with flowers from her yard. Marge Taylor used to work at a greenhouse and made floral agreements. Evelyn Grasso liked the flowers so much she stuck one behind her ear.

For arts and crafts we display in the recreation room we made apples, red apples, green apples, and yellow apples. We glued googly eyes on them and personalised with a nose and smile.Maureen McCarthy and Rosemarie DeSiena gave theirs eyebrows and eyelashes. We had lots of fun making them Harriet Kolbus said they really brighten up the room.

Another arts and crafts we did was making dogs out of paper plates. Pat Lindauer wanted to name hers Rover. Catherine Budd gave her dog a toothy grin which Marge Taylor and Celia Wysocki liked so much they asked Catherine to draw that for them.

Our art project that we made for “McPeak’s Gallery” we colored a piece of paper with a sky and sea and pasted a silhouette of a sailboat and drew in some birds to make to come to life. Catherine Budd drew some tents and an airplane on her’s. Maureen McCarty had some seaweed in the ocean. Bobbie Smith’s made her boat look like it was in the middle of a storm.

We reminisce that September is back to school. None of us took a bus to elementary school we all walked. Some of us even walked to high school. Peggy Tone would take the subway to high school. Marie Wieden used to walk home for lunch in elementary school but ate in the cafeteria in high school. Some of our favorite subjects: Catherine Budd Steno and English, Maureen McCarty religion, Anne Wanamaker spelling and Anne McTiernan joked her favorite subject was going home. Marge Taylor stated she liked reading, writing, and arithmetic.

We remember our home towns and we looked them up on Google maps on the computer. Marge Taylor grew up in Greenpoint with a large porch on the house that was still there.Celia Wysocki lived in Brooklyn with a two car garage. Harriet Kulbokas is from right here in Patchogue. Maureen Mccarthy is from Pennsylvania and so is Frances Skotko. Both Tonnie Arena and , Lois Martucci grew up in Brooklyn.

We enjoy our Friday entertainment guests. Tony Grant came by and played a lot of songs we all enjoyed. Lucy Palazzo and Rosemarie DeSiena could not stop dancing. Freddie Prinze played the electric piano with a medley of hit songs. Phil Cantone had so much fun he couldn’t decided if he enjoyed the music or the ice cream we served better. Joe Dambruoso was keeping the beat by taping his feet.

The sing-alongs we have with music from the good old days to the present are always a big hit. Frances Skotko wanted to hear “Bye Bye Blackbird”. Marge Taylor taught sunday school and wanted to listen to “Jesus loves me this I know”. I played “Stairway to heaven” by Led Zeppelin which we all liked especially Evelyn Grasso.

We tried a new activity this month, we watched the Dean Martin variety show on DVD. Celia Wysocki said it was a special treat. We all enjoyed a good laugh and sung along with the musical guests. Annette O,Halloran said we should do this again, all agreed and we will be watching more episodes in the coming months.

Pastor Bonfiglio made his bi-­weekly visit to sing songs with us and tell a joke (he joked that the joke telling is in the contract.) His sermon has us all feeling good. We then prayed and thanked him for coming by.

Every Wednesday we get a visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. Marie Badamo would just love to have Jesse stay with her. Mary Iconari loves to scratch Sambuca on the belly. Gloria Kormylo and Mary Marko look forward to petting the dogs and maybe even getting a little kiss from them.Bob Baumann really enjoyed his visit with Jessie.

We enjoy bowling on Mondays with Joe Gold being the big winner, close behind with high scores are Charlotte Hoffman, MillieVenderosa, and Mike Morgese. The bean bag toss had Catherine Budd with the Highest score followed by Joe Gold, and Tonnie Arena. This month’s Bingo winner was Marge Taylor with the most wins.

September Birthdays

• Tina Schillings on the 23rd
• Mary Marko on the 29th

September’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Marge Taylor

September Entertainment

Tony Grant

Bob’s Piano Favorites

Freddie Prinze

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

It was a bright and sunny day when we did our arts and crafts project to decorate the mantel in the recreation room. We took small craft bags which we personalized with magic markers then added tissue paper and different shades of pink flowers Then topped it off with straws in the bouquet. Gloria Kormylo was so proud of hers saying “I did that”. Anne Wanamaker and Evelyn Grasso each wrote poems, as did Marie Badamo who wrote “Joy Forever”. As always the crafts look spectacular.

Lots of fun with trivia as we talk about this and that. One topic was watermelons, we were surprised to know that the largest watermelon weighted 362.8 pounds. Phil Cantone used to grow watermelons in his garden, along with beans and squash. Millie Verderose’s mother made picked watermelon rinds. Catherine Budd said she made toasted watermelon seeds by drying them then baking them in the oven with salt. Anne McTiernan said a watermelon spiked with vodka sounded good. Annette O’Halloran used to make watermelon seed necklaces.

We made teddy bears with scrapbook paper for our arts and crafts then displayed on the wall in the recreation room. Most of us had a teddy bear when we were little. Marge Taylor still has a stuffed dog her sister gave her, when asked for his name he said he has none. Anne McTiernan has a couple of stuffed animals she won as prizes they all have names Wendell, Lindenhurst, Moe, Newton, and Curly. Marie Badamo had a large teddy bear about three feet tall whose name was Bo Bo. Maureen McCarty didn’t have a teddy bear but she had a doll she slept with named Goldie.

Arts and crafts is always fun. We made flowers out of paper plates with green pipe cleaner stems that we hung by the dining room. Everyone pretty much agreed that there favorite flower was a rose. Especially a red rose. But Anne Wanamaker said her favorite flower was a daisy. After they were displayed Charlotte Hoffman said they look like a flower garden.

It has been a hot and humid summer we recall that some of us had porch swings. Mary Icolari used to take a nap in hers. Charlotte Hoffman would read a book as did Pat Lindauer who said she started of reading then would be sleeping. Catherine Budd told us she remembers that she had a wooden two­seater like a teeter totter with a canopy on the top. Anne Wanamaker had a hammock with fringe on it. Maureen McCarty had both a porch swing and a hammock.

We enjoy our sing a longs we have with music from the 1920’s to the 1970’s. Celia Wysocki was surprised to know there was a song “Cecilia” by Simon & Garfunkel. Of course RoseMarie Desiona likes the song “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse. We all sang along to the American standards like “Home on the range” and “On A Bicycle Built For Two”. Evelyn Grasso impressed us with her knowledge of the words of the songs.

Pastor Bonfiglio came by to sing songs with us and tell a joke or two before his sermon. We then prayed and thanked him for coming by. Lois Martucci asked for extra prayers for herself. .While he was on vacation he had his assistant pastor stop by who brought his guitar to play for us. Gene Barbour and Bill Jones especially like that.

We love our parties with ice cream and music. We had George Masselli come and sing for us. Bobbie Smith and Antonia Levato had a blast shaking their tail feathers. When Rob Von Bernewitz showed up he brought tambourines and maracas which we took turns with. Annette O’Halloran did a great job keeping the beat as did Bill Cole.

Another art project was made for “McPeak’s Gallery” we used scrapbook paper and colored with crayons and magic marker on them. Then added stickers of butterflies to them. Harriet Kulbokas and Marge Taylor like them so much they want them back when we change the exhibit.

Every Wednesday we get a visit from the Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Therapy. Ellen Anders would just love to have Jesse stay with her. Marie Wieden loves to snuggle with Sambuca. Gloria Kormylo and Pat Lindauer look forward to petting the dogs and maybe even getting a little kiss from them.

We enjoy bowling on Mondays with Joe Gold and Bobbie Smith being the big winners, close behind with high scores are Gene Barbour, Tomasine Mango, and Evelyn Grasso. The bean bag toss had Catherine Budd with the Highest score followed by Charlotte Hoffman, and Millie Verderosa. This months Bingo winner was Gaetana Arena with the most wins.

August Birthdays

• Ellen Anders on the 17th
• Lucy Palazzo on the 16th
• Mildred Hartman on the 18th
• Frances Skotko on the 18th
• Mary Morris on the 31st

August’s BINGO winner with the most games won is
Gaetana Arena

August Entertainment

• George Maselli Rob Von Bernewitz
• Bob’s Piano Favorites
• Poetry Reading with Mark McCheever and friends

Ongoing Activities

• K of C BINGO: second Monday
• Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church: every Sunday for Communion
• Grace Gospel Church: second Saturday
• Pastor Bonfiglio: second and fourth Thursday
• P.R.A.T.T. (Patchogue Rotary Assisted Animal Assisted Therapy): every Wednesday

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We started off the month decorating the mantel in the recreation room with red, white, and blue pails with red, white, and blue flowers. Topped off with flags and pinwheels and sparkly stars. Looking forward to the 4th of July celebrations and birthday celabrations. Charlotte Hoffman and myself have birthdays on the second and Rose Russo said her husband John’s birthday is on the third. Evelyn Grasso celebrats her birthday on the sixth, and Anne McTierman on the twentieth. Also Annette O’Helloran has her birthday cake on the twenty forth.

We talked about fireworks and celebrating the 4th of July, Americas independence and Ellen Anders said she was born in Germany and didn’t celebrate the holiday until she moved here in 1953. Anne McTierman would go camping out at Montauk point. Marie Wieden would have company and cook dinner for the guests. Maureen McCarthy said her brother in law would get fireworks and have a big party with friends, family, and neighbors. They had lots of food and music it sounded so good Anne Wanamaker said she wanted to go. We all agreed it sounded like a good time.

Reminiscing about if any of us had visited a national park. Rose Russo told us she and her husband took the family to the Grand Canyon. Bobbie Smith told us she visited Mount Rushmore, Evelyn Grasso remembered on her honeymoon to Hawaii and saw the Haleakalā volcano. Marge Taylor has been to Nigeria Falls. Millie Verderosa said she has never been to a national park but she has been to Central Park in New York City, and Charlotte Hoffman told us she’s been to the Catskills.

Remembering TV shows of the past, Millie Verderosa recalls the little TV they had and all the neighbors would come over to watch it. Anne McTierman liked the Ed Sullivan Show; Gloria Kormylo would stay up and watch the late night show with Johnny Carson. Peggy Tome told us she would watch to see all the celebrities on the day time talk shows. Celia Wysocki favorite show was the Lone Ranger. Rose Russo and Tonnie Gaetane recalls Arthur Godfrey both for his radio and TV shows.

Ray Lani was here to play his guitar for us as we sang along. We all enjoyed the Elvis songs and Rose Russo even did a whole lot of shaking to the music. Lucy Palazzo and Rosemarie DeSiena also danced the morning away. Gloria Kormylo was clapping and singing along as was Evelyn Grasso. Mary Morris especially liked when we sang God Bless America, and Bob Baumann too thought Ray did a good job entertaining us.

Nina Et Cetra and Tim came by on a friday to sing and play guitar for us. Larry Juson likes them a lot. Bobby Smith was dancing as was Lucy Palzzo and Rosamarie DeSiena. We had ice cream and soda which Lois Martucci really likes the strawberry flaver. It was Annette O’Halloran’s birthday and Nina sang a birthday song for her. We all had a good time with clapping and feet stomping.

For arts and crafts we made some cute turtles we each individualized with a shell made from scrapbook paper, then put stickers of flowers, butterflies, and lady bugs on them. Gloria Kormylo was very happy with her turtle. Ruth Beal and Antonia Levato was very impressed with how they looked hung on the wall. We also did another project where we had taken bird shapes and pasted colorful real feathers for the wings. We called them “birds of a feather”, Ellen Anders said it reminded her of a pet parakeet she had.

We have a lot of talente artists here, the arts and crafts we do all look so nice. We had coloring pages of butterfly s and made a beautiful collage to hang in the living room, each one with a different background color. Anne McTieman said it looks like Andy Warhol was here.

We keep busy with bowling on Mondays Joe Gold and Bobbie Smith are the big winners. We had some high scores too from Anne McTiernan and Evelyn Grasso. The bean bag toss had Marge Taylor with one toss of the highest score possible of ninty six. Tomasine Mango and Celia Wysocki also scored high. This month’s Bingo winner was Millie Verderosa with the most wins.

Skylar Boucher who works in the kitchen now has been coming in on Saturdays for Recreation . She had us trying some new games like a sticky dart board game that Rose Russo was the big winner. Also games of horse shoes and ring toss.

As allways we look forward to the vists from the Patchouge rotary animal assisted theary. Pat Lindar recalls her dog she used to have. Charlotte Hoffman had a dog named May Ling. Gene Barbour thinks the little dogs are so cute.

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

The temperature was still chilly when we decorated the mantel in the recreation room in June. We had cups with a beach theme that we filled with yellow and purple flowers, then topped it off with pink flamingos and green palm trees. As we made our crafts for summer we we talked about keeping warm. Harriet Kulbokas had a cast iron stove they used to keep the house warm and made soup on the stove top to eat later in the day. Maureen McCarthy had a coal burning stove in Pennsylvania and her father worked in the coal mine. Anne Wanamaker said they would light the fireplace at night to stay warm. Marge Taylor remember that Saturday was bath night and the kids would take turns in the tin tub to bathe.

Pasteur Bonfiglio was here and we got to taking about the Sunday traditions we had. Catherine Budd’s family would go for a drive down to the bay. Marge Taylor’s family would go for a walk in the woods then if they were good they would get ice cream. Evelyn Grasso recalls the nice family dinners on Sunday nights. Millie Verderosa would get a nickel on Sundays to spend on penny candy.

Reminiscing about fashion when we were children Rose Russo said she wore hand me downs, a lot of us chimed in they did too. Millie Verderosa had little feet and her cousin had little feet so Millie would get her cousin’s shoes when she grew out of them. Marge Taylor’s mother would sew her clothes for her. Harriet Kulbokas remember going to the shoe store to buy brand new black patten leather shoes. Anne McTierman used to get her clothes at Gertz. Catherine Budd and Thomasine Mangano told us how they would order clothes from the Montgomery Ward or the Sears catalog.

We tried a new activity “Horse Racing” we each picked a cutout horse that was numbered one to six. Then we rolled a die to see which horse would run around the track to the first hurdle. The first horse to pass all twelve hurdles won. Our winner was Rose Russo in the first race with the yellow horse and two winners in the second race Evelyn Grasso and Thomasine Mango with the pink horse. Celia Wysocki said we should play this game again. We all agreed it was a good time.

We made some sailboats pictures for arts and crafts and Maureen McCarthy told us she’s afraid of boats because she doesn’t know how to swim. Frances Skotko told us she remembers renting a boat with her husband and sailing by the Brooklyn bridge. Marge Taylor used to row boat in the creek and Anne Wanamaker told us she used to go fishing and her brother would bait the hook for here because he was afraid she would stab her finger on the hook.

Arts and crafts had us using paper plates and jigsaw puzzle pieces (as the gravel) to make fish bowls. They look so nice and Maureen McCarthy was glad to hear the puzzle pieces were reused form puzzles that had been missing pieces and would have ended up in the dumpster. Millie Verderosa remembers a bad experience with a fish tank with the fish ending up going down the toilet. Anne Wanamaker recalls she had a gold fish in a bowl when she was a child.

The Brookhaven fair was in town and that got us talking about rides, food, and games. Madeline Pedota liked to eat candy apples. Most of us don’t like to ride the roller coaster but Anne Wanamaker said she did like the roller coaster. Anne McTierman told us she rode the roller coaster at Coney Island. Evelyn Grasso and Catherine Budd said the carousel was more there speed.

We had some outside time on the schedule to spend on the grounds enjoying the outdoors. Maureen McCarthy and Antonia Levato commented on how warm it was but it was nice to sit in the shade where it was much cooler. Frances Skotko used the time to take a little cat nap in the fresh air. Florence Shegyn and Celia Wysocki said how pretty the grounds are. Gene Barbour’s daughter showed up to spend time with Gene and the rest of us. Rosemarie DeSiena thought the outside was just wonderful.

Bruce Schneider and his crew came by to entertain us. We do enjoy the music especially Bobbie Smith. Lots of toe tapping and dancing. Rosemarie Desiena, Lucy Palazzo, and Phil Cantone all had happy feet moving to the tunes. Freddie Prinze also came by and gave us all a good time with his music and jokes. Joe Gold and Celia Wysocki had front row seats. We all had ice cream and soda which Joe Dambrusa liked very much.

We had Jessie the pet therapy dog come to visit us with her owner Jill. Ruth Beal thought he was just so adorable. We had Marlene stop by with her puppy Sambuca who is so cute. Marie Wieden and Mary Morris said he is the same size of a cat. We all enjoy these visits from the doggies. Phil Cantone would like to have the dog stay here all the time.

We had a couple of birthdays here at McPeak’s this month Sue bakes a special cake for each of the celebrants. We had Peter Icolari blow out his birthday candles on the fifth, Joe Gold enjoyed his B-Day on the seventh, Maureen McCarthy had her cake on the tenth, and Rosemarie was the birthday girl on the fifteenth.

We had a couple of winners in the bean bags toss Millie Verderosa, Tomasine Mango, and Anne McTierman. Marge Taylor was also one of our winners and she managed to score in one turn the highest score of ninety six points. Bowling too saw a lot of winners Joe Gold, and Bobbie Smith were the big winners. Evelyn Grasso and Anne Wanamaker came in a close second. The bingo winner of the mounth was Millie Verderosa with the most games won.

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.

By Liz Turner, Recreation Director

We started the month decorating our mantel in the recreation room with watering cans that we arranged with flowers and topped with butterflies. They look so beautiful. It reminded us of the gardens we used to have. Catherine Budd told us she had flower borders all around the house and her husband had a vegetable garden. Harriet Kulbokas used to grow apple and pear trees, and she would freeze the fruit for the winter. Celia Wysocki told us how a neighbor once gave her a can with a seed in it that she watered and it grew into a tomato plant. Marge Taylor’s father had a big vegetable garden that he would have to water from the well.

Arts and crafts had us making owls with scrapbook papers that we then added our personalized touch by drawing eyes and eye lashes. As we were crafting, Tina Schilling told us on her farm in Virginia they had barn owls. Millie Verderosa remembered a little owl that lived in her neighbor’s tree in Florida. Marge Taylor had owls in the attic in Greenport, and Madeline Pedota said she never heard any owls in her backyard. Another day we made beautiful butterflys from coffee filters that we colored with magic markers then dampened so the ink ran and looked like watercolors. We each picked out a color pipe cleaner for antennae. They all turned out so pretty and colorful. For McPeak’s art gallery we made abstract pictures we colored in. We love that we can express ourselves that art is from the heart. As we worked we talked about art and crafts, Harriet Kulbokas remembers taking art classes in school, and Peggy Tone said her sister used to paint portraits. Marge Taylor said her husband used to do drawings. Caroline Martian recalls she used to like to do drawing and painting, and Millie Verderosa is sure she probably did some paint by numbers at one time. Asked what our favorite artists are, Anne McTeiernan answered she likes Man Ray while Maureen McCarthy likes Rembrandt. We all knew the Mona Lisa painting, and after we saw the picture we all knew “American Gothic” by Grant Wood.

Reminiscing about neighbors we had. Millie Verderosa told us she had noisy neighbors that would check her garbage cans. Celia Wysocki said they used to have block parties in Brooklyn and everyone would play music and dance. Catherine Budd remembers that Patchogue was like the country, and had only three family’s living on her street. Harriet Kulbokas recalls big B-B-Q, s where she would bring a special dish. Thomasine Mangano also recalls she would bring a casserole to the neighbor’s house when she visited. Marge Taylor told us she played cards with the neighbors and brought popcorn. Tom Bauer lived on a horse farm and rode horses; his family would trailer the horses to different horse shows.

Reminiscing about desserts we used to make, Catherine Budd told us she would make a “Tomato Soup” cake – a spice cake similar to gingerbread that was roped with a cream cheese icing. Rose Russo used to make a cheese cake; Harriet Kulbokas used to bake a fruit cake for the holidays. Evelyn Grasso did a lot of baking, mostly apple pies. Bobby Smith who is from Maryland joked she made Crab Cakes. Tina Schillings added she made Pancakes.

We had a sing a long that both Rosemarie DeSiena and Rose Russo really enjoy moving and a grooving to the music. We have our favorite singers: Maureen McCarty likes Frank Sinatra, Lois Martucci likes Bing Crosby. We listened to the original “Bunny Hop” and the “Hokey Pokey”. Anna Wanamaker told us not to forget about the “Charleston”. Anotina Levato was able to sing along in Italian to Julies La Rosa’s song “Eh Cumpari”. Millie Verderosa told us she would sing “A Bushel and a Peck” to her granddaughter.

Pastor Bonfiglio paid us a visit. We sang songs. He told some jokes. We listened to his sermon, in honor of Memorial Day, about the war veterans who gave their lives for our country, and how Jesus gave his life for us. As always we enjoyed our time with him and look forward to his next visit. We also got a visit from Rev. John Mercurio, who filled in for Pastor Bonfiglio.

Friday we have Rockin’ Robin play music that we all enjoy from the 50s and 60s. Anotina Levato was tapping her toes, and Rose Russo was dancing as was Joe Gold. Lots of fun when Viv & John come by to sing to us. Bobbie Smith, Gene Barbour, and Lucy Palazzo just can’t stop dancing. We look forward to the ice cream and soda we have with the music.

We also have our regular bowling with Charlotte Hoffman and Joe Gold scoring high points. The bean bag toss has Harriet Kulbokas with the highest score, followed by Anna Wanamaker. We get a visit every Wednesday from the Patchogue Rotary Animal Assisted Therapy. Ed Weinmann looks forward to petting the dogs, as does Susan Lindauer. A lot of us enjoy Bingo and the big winner for the month is Peter Icolari.

For your convenience, our newsletter and recreation calendar can be found on our website;
www.mcpeaks.com or our facebook page, www.facebook.com/McPeaksAssistedLiving.