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CORRESPONDENTS:   St. Luke

St. Luke Living Center correspondent

We needed a traffic officer Friday morning to direct residents to activities of their choice. We were expecting Father Hien and Pat Smith for Mass at 9:30 a.m. in our chapel. Our walkers were beginning their laps around the main building corridors. And bakers were assembling in the kitchen-dining area for this week’s “bake-off.”

After the dust died, the faithful bakers pulled out the Conyers family cookbook and mixed-up Grandma’s Cookies, a recipe submitted by Violet Richmond of Marion. We thank “grandma” — the little, flat oatmeal-raisin cakes received a unanimous thumbs-up.

Feeling symptoms of pre-spring fever after lunch prompted a few of us to test the weather on our front patio. It was necessary to be indoors by 2:30 p.m. to play bingo with Pat Smith and Bill Schimpf. We also enjoyed zucchini bread that Pat brought for a post-game snack.

Our music man, Gene Vinduska, was here Saturday morning with his accordion for an hour of melodious entertainment.

During “pretty-up” time Monday morning, several of the women chose a lovely shade of dusty pink nail polish. This may not be the color of the younger generation, but for “tenured” hands, it looked perfect.

Just before lunch we mixed-up strawberry and chocolate sheet cakes for that afternoon’s party, thanks to Lydia, Ruby, and Frances. Martin iced them both before joining the afternoon card players and Marie Navrat for “five or six-handed come-and-go” pitch.

By 2:30 p.m. all other activities came to a halt while we attended festivities in our sunny dining room, honoring February birthdays of Barbara Libal and Melvin Brewer (and Abe and George in absentia). Marie was a guest but she helped serve bowls of ice cream and cake with coffee and tea.

Eleven resident council members met Tuesday morning, for a second time this month, to meet with Janet Herzet who expressed her pleasure of being a working partner on the living center team. With more than 23 years of nursing and supervisory experience at St. Luke Hospital and Marion County Home Care, Janet is a familiar face to many of us and we welcome her.

After all hair cares were given Tuesday, Beautician Bonnie changed seasons in her little shop. Where red hearts and lips had “lived,” the room now is dressed in sparkly greenery, shiny green and silver shamrocks, and green tinsel with tiny lights surrounding a large mirror.

While playing potpourri trivia that afternoon, we recalled facts, characters, and “Faint Funny McGee” from early radio, finished oldie song titles, and even sang some like “Cruisin’ Down the River.” The most revealing trivia proved recalling where headlight dimmer switches used to be located, the use of butch wax, and how women made it appear they were wearing stockings during World War II rationing. Ruby knew women painted their legs.

Wonderful Wednesday afternoon weather called us into our courtyard for current events. Quite naturally that precipitated talk of gardens which begat Amelia’s desire to pull some weeds in the planter, which she did.

We sang hymns Thursday morning with Shirley Bowers. Our afternoon outing destination was Tampa via Pilsen. We toured the grounds of Agri-Producers and then monitored the “city.” On the return trip, we drove to Martin Hajek’s farm home, made friends with a pen of steers, drove through a yard and alley between pens of steers and heifers, stopping to watch Martin’s grandson, Andrew, grind large, round bales of hay. Old Mill Road took us back to U.S.-56 and home.

Last modified March 4, 2009

 

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