I love to start the column out with a small discussion about the weather since it is the subject that comes up in almost all conversations.
The weather is March was delightful for most, however we are desperately seeking the rain so we are hoping for April showers.
I also need to talk about new staff members that we have working at Creighton Lodge. Rhonda Dzuba retired from homecare at the end of 2020, so we quickly asked her to come work with us. We appreciate everything Rhonda does for us, as she has also been a volunteer over the years and now that we have her as an employee, we feel blessed.
Bailey Farr has also been here since the end of 2020. She came to us as a student for her career class but did so well that we hired her. Bailey plans to further her education one day, so we know we don’t have her for the long term, but we plan to enjoy her smile while we can.
Our newest employee is Colleen Stefiuk and we feel lucky to have her join our team. Colleen has many years’ experience working with seniors, which has us feeling confident that she will enjoy working at the lodge. Welcome to the team everyone.
Jean Wanner was a resident at the lodge for the past four years. Jean has moved to her new home at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home. We miss seeing her on her daily walk and the lovely conversations that she would stop and have with each person she passed. Jean will be missed at our weekly Bingo games and most of all as the fourth person in a game of cards.
Her nickname at the card table was the Queen of Hearts. Enjoy your new home Jean and we look forward to visiting with you in the future.
We welcomed two new faces. Marie Ritchie has moved into her new suite and seems to be settling in quite well. Marie has many friends who already live at the lodge so she has been busy catching up with them. Bertha Chicoine has also made Creighton Lodge her home. Bertha is finding out that we have some of the best kept recipe secrets that are we aren’t scared to share with her. We are enjoying getting to know both of these ladies.
We had two movie days in March and we had mixed results. One of them was a harlequin romance which went over very well and the other was a modern-day comedy/romance that was not well received. But like all movie lovers, we will try again next month and see what the big screen has to bring. We are still thankful for the popcorn and licorice. We are also enjoying the headphones that help us to hear the movie, which were purchased with donations. We love going to the Orpheum Theater to watch movies; we hope to plan an outing there this spring.
There were only two birthdays in March: Wanda Kjersem and Francis Mack. The ladies both had birthday cakes ordered and were enjoyed by all. For the monthly birthday party, we celebrated with a special treat of cupcakes with confetti sprinkles as an added touch.
St. Mary’s School kids had visits with us by FaceTime on the iPad. Ted Fai and Elsie Ludtke love visiting with the kids and hearing their stories. The kids found out that Ted rode his horse to school and there was a barn to keep it in while he did his studying. With the price of gas, we all may need to start riding our horses again.
The children also found out that Elsie had an uncle who was the town cop in Carlyle. The best discovery was something we already knew – both Elsie and Ted have a great sense of humour.
Marcia Schmidt and Shelley Hygard assisted the residents to craft their very own string Easter egg. Lots of string, glue and soap were used to make these eggs. The end result was awesome; we sure have a lot of crafty people in this group.
