Manor Monthly- January & February

What do you do to beat the winter blahs? We party! Enid, Monique and Olga all celebrated birthdays in January. Olga turned 21 again, and celebrated with an ice cream social! Enid chose red velvet cupcakes, and Monique requested vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Happy Birthday to all! Elvis also shares a birthday in January, so we celebrated his life with an Elvis movie marathon, poodle skirts, and fun Elvis glasses. I was also born in January, so the residents made me feel special by singing Happy Birthday to me! In February we wished Happy Birthday to Stephen, our staff supervisor, and enjoyed an oreo and whipped cream icebox cake. YUM!

Several residents have received new smart phones, so we made a trip to the Southbury Library to talk to a tech expert to teach them how to use them. Sue, Enid, Olga, Aurelia, and Leo all learned tips and techniques for using the latest technology.

We had a casino day, with high stakes BINGO, and a “champagne” toast! Sheila and Aurelia won the big prizes of Dunkin Donuts gift cards. Everyone had a laugh when they saw their faces on $100 dollar bills!

We made snowmen out of marshmallows, and decorated them with pretzels and candy, then ate them with hot cocoa. Then we made more snowmen out of socks filled with bird seed to decorate the dining room. When the birds start to appear in the spring, we will feed the birds with the seeds.

Marilyn and Leo enjoyed lunch out at a deli, then we stopped in The Garden, a florist shop in Woodbury. It was nice to get a taste of spring when the weather outside was so cold and a bit dreary. Marilyn shared with us that she used to work at a florist shop, she loves flowers!

Ron, Leo and Jose’ tried fancy gourmet chocolates at a lecture about how chocolate is made. We let the different types of chocolate melt in our mouths, and noticed the differences in  flavors of dark and milk chocolates.  I think they all decided they prefer Hersheys!

The ladies enjoyed an afternoon of crafting, painting seashells and dreaming of walking the beach, all while bopping away to 80’s music, and singing old favorite songs at the top of their lungs! What a fun afternoon!  Sue, Sheila, Aurelia and Janet all had a great escape on a snowy day. The craft room is so warm and sunny, it wasn’t hard to imagine.

We have an art exhibit at the Naugatuck Library for the month of February. Sue, Aurelia, Darlene, and Marilyn all have their artwork on display.  Jose’, Marilyn and Janet all went to see the exhibit.

We had fun celebrating Mardi Gras with King cakes, decorated purple, green and yellow, and “champagne”. (more sparkling cider) We wore fun hats and masks, and learned some facts about Mardi Gras.The residents answered trivia questions to win money. Leo, Aurelia, Sheila, William and Charlie all answered the trivia questions correctly.  Olga guessed how many strands of Mardi Gras beads were in a jar to win a scartch ticket! There were 20 necklaces in the jar, she was closest with a  guess of 16.

A big thank you to Ed and the staff of ECI screenprinting, for making Valentine’s day so special! They brought in Valentine’s cards, and cups filled with candy for the residents, and some for the staff as well!

Sue, Eugene, Leo and Jose’ all had fun mini golfing at the Woodbury Senior Center mini golf fundraiser.

We are all anxious for warmer weather, and the opportunity to get outside more!

Our weekly trips out to lunch and shopping are always fun, as well as frequent BINGO games and arts and crafts.  There is always something fun going on at the manor!

Wishing you peace, health and happiness.

Wendy Shreve

Recreation and Program Director, Pleasant View Manor