St. Luke Living Center
By SUE GUTSCH
St. Luke Living Center correspondent
March 15-21
We sang hymns with Shirley Bowers Thursday morning, then 11 "lunch bunchers" boarded the living center van to eat at the senior center. After lunch a group went to Marion City Library to enjoy the quilt showing.
Later in the afternoon the big red machine (not the Cornhuskers) was called into action and popped corn was served to all comers.
In the evening the Morning Star youth from Durham shared their voices in song and word, always a special time.
Friday morning, Fr. Hien Nguyen of Holy Family Parish was here for Mass and sacraments. Seven residents were joined by Pat Smith, Elsie Bezdek, and Marie Navrat.
Baking also was on the agenda that morning and we made Jell-O sugar cookies, lime green in flavor and color. We hoped to turn out enough cookies to taste on Friday and then serve at our St. Patrick's Day party Saturday afternoon.
We played bingo in the afternoon, ate a slightly early evening meal, and rearranged some furnishings to prepare for the Happy Hustlers 4-H Club.
The 4-H'ers, their leaders, and some family members were here before 7 p.m. Some of the youngsters were preparing for regional club days and we served as a practice audience. Others presented programs they had used at the county competition. We were entertained and informed by dances, piano solos, a bug collection, demonstrations, talks, readings, and a sheep shearer who brought tools and wool.
The St. Patrick's Day party included delicious icy green punch, potatoes (Pringles), minutes, Friday's homemade green cookies, and an Irish-themed trivia quiz.
Our Sunday afternoon guests were the Rev. Mashburn from Strassburg Baptist Church and a large group of talented children who sang, played the bells, and piano. We were very appreciative of the wonderful service.
Later in the afternoon there was a 95th birthday celebration honoring Lydia Batt, hosted by her nephews, Don and Howard Stenzel and their families. Guests, including friends of Lydia's from Emmanuel Baptist Church and the living center residents, were served delicious cake, punch, and ice cream.
Monday afternoon Marie Navrat was here for the weekly pitch-fest. Olinda, Amelia, and Irma completed foursome.
The rest of us jumped the gun a wee bit and spent time "coloring spring." We reminisced about the arrival of baby chicks in boxes with the cardboard circles, picking bunches of little purple violets, the clickety-clack of roller skates on sidewalks, spring cleaning the wallpaper with pink, gummy balls of an eraser-type material. And we actually colored a variety of spring pictures using crayons, colored pencils, and markers.
We used our mental muscle Tuesday morning playing categories which were Ireland, spring, and Daylight Saving Time. In the afternoon we joined the Ingalls family on the shores of Silver Lake where life was good as winter came, provisions were plentiful, the surveyor's house was cozy and warm, and Pa's fiddle came out of its box with regularity.
Dick Pracht and pianist Lydia Batt were our prayer group leaders Wednesday morning. Shortly before noon, Rosemary Garrard, representing St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary, brought in three boxes of frosted confetti cupcakes and a large bouquet of silk daffodils in a Lifelong Mason jar.
Promptly after lunch, several women with good mixing skills prepared two cakes to be served at Thursday's March birthday party. As we were completing that little chore, Mary Ann Wiens and Frankie Turner came to visit church friends with iced lemon sugar cookies and bunches of out-of-the-garden daffodils.
Spring weather and the school break were somewhat responsible for the arrival of Irma Reznicek's daughter, Lori Torline and her four children that afternoon. They brought two window boxes full of colorful pansies for our enjoyment and TLC.
