St. Luke Living Center
By SUE GUTSCH
St. Luke Living Center reporter
As is our custom, we gathered together Wednesday afternoon to share a cup of Christmas tea (gingerbread spice), as well as sharing memories or a newly received gift. At the end of this lovely activity, Olinda shared a wonderful prayer for the new year.
A full van load, 10 residents and Khrista, headed to Pilsen and Lincolnville Thursday afternoon and saw firsthand the damage caused by the ice storm. By the time we drove around the lake on our way home, it had begun to spit snow again.
Friday morning the living center bakers used a cookie recipe from a weekly farm paper sent in by Norma Schneweis of Claflin for cinnamon crispies. The hearty fragrance of molasses and cinnamon filled the halls and brought many exclamations of "it sure does smell good down here."
In the afternoon we played bingo with Elsie Reiswig, who takes our good-natured "guff" well, and Bill Schimpf, who does a nice job of keeping us "honest."
The pastor of Lincolnville and Valley United Methodist churches, Phil Smith, wife Sharon, and their daughter Allison provided a well-received afternoon service Sunday.
Pretty-up was on the agenda Monday morning. In the afternoon we got out the bingo cards again and played the usual version, but winners chose from an array of special gifts such as scarves, gloves, knick-knacks, body and hair wash, jewelry, and candy.
Because it was New Year's Eve, some resolutions mentioned were eating less, being nicer, having more patience, and spending more time in prayer. We followed this up with our version of wassail.
Our early evening meal was served buffet style with choices of pizza, pasta with alfredo sauce, breadsticks, relishes, large star-shaped iced sugar cookies, and a variety of drinks. And to top it off, we "tooted our own horns," because there were none to be found. Happy New Year!
Tuesday morning we started the new year's activities around our large tables with "thoughts to ponder today." The thoughts ranged all the way from Mark Twain to Ann Landers and we especially liked Charles Lamb's "New Year's Day is every man's birthday." A list of "20 Simple Things that Bring Happiness" created a lot of discussion and a few moist eyes.
We sipped cups of hot coffee and ate some of the crisp cookies we'd baked Friday and listened as the poem, "Happy New Year," by Hazel Bell Nicholas, was read.
After lunch we rejoined the Ingalls family who couldn't believe Pa had been one of the performers in the minstrel show at the last literary of the year. It was time to move back to the claim shanty on the plains for the spring and summer, but winter in the little town on the prairie had been delightful for them all.
Our little beauty shop is so pretty in its new "attire." It makes everyone want to stop in just to enjoy the atmosphere. Beautician Bonnie has spoiled us.
