The Orchard

We ran a session of freestyle painting with John and Mary Liz. Both had a great time with this activity – loving a splash of colour to brighten up the day.

A snowman found his way into our garden during a cold spell. Residents were kept warm by throwing snowballs!

We chalked up some mini black board quotes to display on Valentine’s Day. We have decided to keep this idea going throughout the year – we’ll be writing regular messages of positivity, support and happiness.

For lunch on 14th February, the residents enjoyed a beautiful roast lamb, followed by blueberry cheesecake for dessert.After a few glasses of wine, we all reminisced about what love meant; we talked about love for our families and close friends. Everyone was made to feel extra special, with quotes written on mini blackboards to remind…

Our game of batting the confetti filled balloon to each other using our hands was fun and it kept us busy using our hand and eye coordination skills – everyone did very well in this popular group activity.

Brisa, the dog, was introduced to Lizzie and Ron. Both residents were so very gentle and calm around Brisa. Stroking Brisa’s soft fur coat certainly has a calming effect for all.

We all dressed up warmly to enjoy the crisp, white snow in our garden – each resident had the chance to throw a snowball and everyone throughly enjoyed a breath of fresh air. There was lots of laughter and smiles as we chatted about past winters – we talked about how we kept warm, the…

With a little help from Jean, John completed a beautiful puzzle of a sheepdog. Did you know that Australian shepherd dogs are happiest when working, herding sheep or providing search and rescue services? It is believed that a Scottish Border collie was sent to Australia to help ranchers herd their sheep. There, it was crossed…

Tom assisted John and Jean when they counted the number of cake cases needed, then carefully added even amounts of cake mix to the individual baking cases, topping each one with chocolate smarties for decoration. After they were baked until golden, they were left to cool ready for all to enjoy.

Iris chose to bake cherry cupcakes this week, mixing all the ingredients together then scooping the mixture into cases. Very well done Iris! This activity took some time but we all agreed it was well worth all the effort.