By Linda Ohlsen, Recreation Director
The start of a new month and a new year found us eager for new beginnings. Elisabeth Sommers was most helpful in taking down the ornaments form our large Christmas tree and the two of us had the job done in no time. Our mini trees were a joint effort, with everyone carefully dismantling their own and helping to pack all away for another year. Once done, we were ready to focus on our January theme-snow.
Our mantel was filled with the blue and white tree silhouettes, made by, Alex Salmin and Tina Schillings, and, of course, piles of fluffy snow. Lovely too were individual snowflakes that were framed and hung in our recreation room. Evelyn Grasso and Bernadette Lawlor did a great job with this craft.
Our most ambitious project of the month was the three dimensional snowflakes we made for our hall. Paul Trouve, Larry Judson and Millie Verderosa were absolute pros at this and helped others to complete their work. Everyone was pleased with our finished project, which made a lovely display.
While crafting our indoor snow scenes, Mother Nature took care of those outdoors, sending us not one, but two major storms. Thus, it was with some trepidation that we tackled our last craft of the month -“We Love Snow” signs. Though perhaps a little insincere, our signs were nevertheless very pretty, especially those made by Ellen McCormack, Bill Jones and Robert Baumann.
Our winter trivia was fun and interesting. Phyllis Levy provided the answers for many of the questions, as did, Ruth Beal and Gilda Messina. Evelyn Grasso displayed her own area of expertise at our sing along with pianist Bob Shade. Evelyn knew the lyrics and sang along with almost every song Bob played, much to the delight of all. Bob’s selections this month included, “Button Up Your Overcoat” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, perfect for this time of year.
Our two pet therapy dogs came buttoned up in their overcoats when visiting this month. We warmed their paws while they warmed our hearts. Edwin Weinmann and Mary Ditta always look forward to the visits, as do Fran Zummo and Artie Johnson.
Warming our hearts too was Pastor Bonfiglio, who always has such wonderful words prepared for us. Angela Hampson and Bobbie Smith are very pleased when he comes.
Julie Franco helped us chase away some of the winter blahs with a delightful one hour program that had us singing and enjoying our time together. Joan Corbett shared the mic with Julie and we were all amazed by her beautiful singing voice. Antonia Levato also amazed as she sang along in Italian with Julie. Tony Webb and Charlotte Hoffman hit the dance floor together and received the applause of Adelaide McKasty and Lee Kulakowski.
Nina Et Cetera gave a terrific show as well, filled with country western tunes that were a hit with Fran Skotko and Josephine Gross. I had fun dancing with Joe Gold who was perfectly attired for the afternoon, sporting his favorite cowboy hat.
Our winter chills disappeared as we engaged in lots of active fun including our bowling and basketball competitions. Bowling scores keep going up for Celia Wysocki and Madeline Pedota and Elisabeth Sommers’ games have definitely improved. Among our top bowlers for the month were, Bobbie Smith, Larry Judson and Bob Baumann.
Continuing as our best basketball player is Bill Jones who can make some outrageous shots. Alex Salmin and Tony Webb are also amazing as are, Tina Schillings and Evelyn Grasso.
Larry Judson was our bingo winner for January. It is his first time as a monthly winner and he definitely was up against some stiff competition. Gilda Messina, with 50 games to her credit, was a close competitor as was; Phyllis Levy with 51, but Larry’s score of 54 took him to the top.
Ending our month was a great show with entertainers Bruce, Ron and Charlie. Their musical selections offered something for everyone, featuring songs from the late 30’s to the 80’s. Ron played guitar and gave us some lively tunes while Charlie’s keyboard offerings were more relaxed. Bruce out did himself with his vocal pieces which highlighted the music of the 40’s-50’s. Bruce is also a great impersonator and we had fun calling out the names of the famous celebrities he was imitating such as, Cary Grant, Jerry Lewis and W.C. Fields. Their show was certainly a nice way to end the month.
FEBRUARY
By Tina Schillings
FEBRUARY 14TH IS FOREVER VALENTINE’S DAY
WHICH FILLS US WITH HAPPINESS AND GOOD CHEER
AS WE GET GIFTS OF CANDY AND FLOWERS IN AN ARRAY
SENT BY SOMEONE WE LOVE SO DEAR
PLEASE MAKE EVERY DAY VALENTINE’S DAY,
OKAY?
WHEN VALENTINE’S DAY IS THROUGH
THE END OF FEBRAURY IS EVER SO NEAR
AND WINDY MARCH BRINGS JOY TO YOU
FOR KITE FLYING WHEN THE DAY IS CLEAR
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES FOR THE WHOLE YEAR COME TRUE.
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.
