Halcyon House

Victoria Griffith recently celebrated her birthday in grand style in the Day Lounge. This 95-year-old woman had special birthday cookies and two very decorative birthday cakes for all her friends, neighbors and family to enjoy. Family attending were Dick Griffith of Crawfordsville; Chris Griffith of Riverside; Doris, Larry and Lisa Price along with Lorna, Linzie and Liam Hood of Mount Pleasant; Susan Griffith and Larry Bruse of Iowa City; Rog Griffith traveled from Colorado;  Shannon Gann and Doug Griffith coming from Texas; along with Betsy, Rowan and Cully Fisher from Davenport; and Mandy Griffith from North Liberty. She was surprised that her grandchildren traveled from afar.

Resident Appreciation Day was held in the Day Lounge and Timmins Dining Room with the team members providing a buffet of delectable foods. The team members do appreciate their other family, the residents of Halcyon House.

Darlene Sieren stopped by to have coffee and chat with longtime friend Carol Gingerich.

Phyllis Lyle had a great time with granddaughter, Emily Hill and great-grandchildren Macy, Noel, Julia and Kaden from Bloomfield. They had lunch together in the Timmins Dining Room.

Marlie Greiner shares Station of the Cross on Wednesday in the Epworth Chapel, followed by rosary, during Lent. Everyone is encouraged to join.

The program titled ?Erma Bombeck? proved to be a hit with the audience. She was a lady of great wit, a writer, columnist, journalist, television personality and a mother. Erma interviewed Shirley Temple which became a newspaper feature. She possessed the gift of humor and shared her everyday experience of being a mother and a wife. Her career as a humorist took off in the mid-1960s. Her whimsical fashion is rhetorical in her books; ?The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank,? ?Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own,? and ?If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What I Am I Doing in the Pits, ? to name a few. Yes, Erma Feste Bombeck made her mark on this earth with her humor. She also suffered from kidney disease and passed away in 1996 at the age of 69.

Last Monday, a group gathered to hear many facts about National Pistachio Day, Polar Bear Day, National Pig Day, Tell a Fairy Tale Day, National Peanut Butter Lovers Day and National Anthem Day. A variety of nuts and peanuts was shared during the program.

Halcyon is fortunate to benefit from the foresight Washington residents had over 55 years ago to begin the Halcyon House journey. The current new project will include a memory support household for care of those with mid- to late-state memory loss, which will be a nice addition to Arbor House Assisted Living Memory care services provided.

Many of the WesleyLife resident and team member were invited and given the opportunity to attend the award-winning documentary ?Glen Campbell ? I?ll Be Me? in Des Moines at the Hope Lutheran Church. The movie portrayed the story of the legendary singer?s journey with Alzheimer's. In closing, Campbell?s life and talent was displayed as his children spoke and sang to the audience of 2,200 people. An additional private showing of the movie will be held on Saturday, March 21, at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines for WesleyLife residents, family members and team members.