Living at Lakeside News

We saw our way into November even though Daylight Savings Time ended. It got dark so early it felt like 10 p.m. at 7 p.m. A few days into the month, and we were back on track. November 3 was Color the World Orange day, and we had a pumpkin game with a Grand Prize of a beautiful fall-inspired orange wreath donated by Lisa Ellis. The winner was Cornelia Pugh. On November 4, we loaded up our fun bus and headed to the Senior Citizen Dance at the Civic Center in Huntingdon. The Dept. of Aging, along with McKenzie Senior Center, joined forces, and we had a great turnout. Lakeside is partnering with these organizations in December for a HUGE Christmas Party for Seniors. We will have a holiday meal, door prizes, and an ugly Christmas sweater contest, all while dancing to songs by The Trailblazer Band. All Seniors are invited to attend this free community event on December 3, with doors opening at 5:00.

A Special activity this month was An Afternoon Tea with Mark Twain, portrayed by Gus Radford. Evans Clinic sponsored the event. We were greatly entertained and feasted on an array of sweet treats, Sweet Tea and Lemonade. Our guest speaker posed for photos with many of the residents, and it was enjoyed by all.

Our Veterans Day Program was also a special event as we took the opportunity to not just recognize our Veterans but their spouses. We have so many widowed wives of Veterans who know the sacrifice firsthand of a military tour. We mentioned each by name and recited poems for the ladies. Kersten Hendrix sang America the Beautiful and The Star-Spangled Banner. We recited the words to Taps and had a moment of silence as we played the haunting tune. We recognized Harry Walch, Elbert Hatley, and Chris Thomas for their service with a poem for Veterans. Each Veteran received a flag pin along with a blue throw. We served fresh fruit, cupcakes, cheesecake bites, cheese, and crackers.

Residents were invited to the First Baptist Church in Huntingdon to hear the Men in Ministry Choir. What a talented group of men serving with their gifts. We saw many friends, and we were served a great lunch.

We had a visit from our therapy pet, Calvin. He had not been in for a few weeks, and he had really grown. He is 8 months old now and is taking weekly training in 3 specialized areas to be a source of comfort and a resource in trauma situations. He is such a loving and smart dog. We are so happy to be part of his learning journey.

Ladies gathered in the Activity Apartment for a cooking class on National Bread Day. We made 10 sweet loaves that were served with the evening meal. We made 3 varieties: Carrot, Banana and Peter Paul Mounds. When the bread started to bake the sweet aroma filled the whole place and fresh out of the oven we topped them with a cream cheese glaze. We also celebrated National Gingerbread Day with a race of sorts were “Gingy” moved around the room to the classic tale, and when The End was said, the winner received a Thanksgiving Décor Plaque. Our winner was Lonnelle McMillen. Everybody really won because we had a great time, and everyone got a gingerbread man cookie to enjoy afterward.

We had a few turkey-themed games as well. Becky Bates with Cherrywood Post Acute brought her Turkey with feathers to be pulled and after you followed the command on the feather, you were rewarded with a gift. This was so much fun, and we look forward to her coming back to visit. We also did a Turkey Dice Game to fill in your turkeys’ feathers and Julie Garner won a Thanksgiving basket.

With Winter fast approaching, we took advantage of one of the nicer days and took a long country drive with a stop by the Amish grocery store and visited Levi’s produce stand. We bought so many goodies. A few favorites were canned tomatoes, some jellies, fresh apples and oranges and fresh cheeses. The drive was beautiful with the last days of Autumn still showing all her colors.

We were honored to be one of the meal sponsors for the McKenzie Rebels Football Team, feeding them the 1st week of playoffs. The ladies got out the pots and pans and fixed a meal of Garden Salad, Chicken Alfredo, Roasted Broccoli, Rolls and Oreos. We want to wish them continued success. Quarterback Cole Browns great great-grandmother is a resident and Avery Browns grandmother is Lakesides Activity Director, so on Friday nights our radios and TVs have been tuned in to cheer on The Rebels.

The focus of the month has been on all the things that we are thankful for. When we gathered in groups, we were quick to bring up our blessings. Residents at Lakeside took a couple of opportunities to give to those who may not be feeling as blessed during this season and we hope we will be able to be a blessing to some. At the Hometown Medical Centers Monday Breakfast Club, we put together back-packs of items to be received by children who, for whatever reason, are unable to be in their homes. We were surprised to learn the statistics of this within our region. On another Monday, we put together over 50 food boxes to be given to people who had reached out in need. For our residents to be able to contribute to these causes was very touching. We prayed over these boxes, hoping that each family that received one would be blessed, and we counted our blessings, too.

On Thanksgiving, some residents went out to be with their families or had their families join them for our holiday meal. Lakeside staff stood in the gap for our residents who were unable to be with their families and our Kitchen staff outdid themselves with a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. The rest of the day was spent enjoying 3 Thanksgiving traditions: Parades, Football and Naps.

We had 4 birthdays this month: Steve Jackson, Clark Brown, Lena Morgan, her family treated us to a beautiful birthday cake and Harry Watch who was surprised with a fishing themed cake to be shared at lunch, given by his friend Peggy Work. We welcomed 3 new residents into our Lakeside family: Eloise Baumgardner and James & Nellie Wright.

Until Next Time....