A snowman appeared on campus with the first snowstorm of the week.  He was sporting a black jacket with a flower in his lapel and wore a tin can hat.  He had a broad smile and was seen peeking in the window of the Main Dining Room.  He may have been hungry. However, we couldn’t invite him in for fear the warm temperature would be his demise and that he would leave a puddle on the dining room floor.

Cottage residents gathered for their monthly potluck Monday evening just ahead of the second snowstorm to come through the area.  Hosts for the evening were Mary Atwood, Darwin and Dorothy Widmer, and Dick and Betty Colby.  They planned a Presidents-Day theme for the evening, which included naming the tables after presidents of the United States. Guests participated in silly presidential pet trivia. Dick Colby recapped his visit to Washington, D.C., last fall as part of the Honor Flight and everyone sang a couple of patriotic songs.

Kudos to Stefanie Tschantz for her quick response and knowledge of the Heimlich maneuver.  Stefanie was able to help out a fellow staff member who was choking and in need of assistance.  From Stefanie’s office in the basement, she and Amy Kleese heard noises of a muddled cough and immediately knew that it did not sound normal.  Amy and Stefanie ran to see what was wrong. They found a staff member sitting at a lunch table in distress. The choking victim had already tried to wash down an item lodged in her windpipe only to have the liquid came back out. While Amy ran to get the aid of a nurse, Stefanie stood the woman up and without thought or hesitation put her arms around the choking victim’s waist and gave a quick thrust just above the victim’s belly button with her two interlocking fists.  When the first thrust did not work, Stefanie quickly repositioned her fists and tried again. Hallelujah, it worked! Stefanie can’t remember how or when she learned how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, but it has forever been in her training as a coach and fitness instructor. She is grateful that she was able to help out a fellow human being in a time of crisis and hopes that the need never arises again.

Reid Orris celebrated his birthday Wednesday.  His daughter, Linda Orris, granddaughter Jill Zahs, and great-grandchildren Lucas and Emma Zahs brought adorable cupcakes that looked like mini ice cream floats.  The cupcakes were topped with white frosting to look like whipped cream, colorful sprinkles and a straw.  Emma was quick to let Reid know not to eat the straw.  It appears that Reid has a few hungry friends as 96 cupcakes were gone in a short order. The children attending Up With Kids Day Care were eager to sing "Happy Birthday" to Reid.

Resident fat cat, Trouble, has been a little off schedule lately since his favorite staff member switched work schedules.  Maybe most of us don’t pay enough attention to Trouble and so we were curious when he sat at the front door for hours.  Jason Fisher made the connection that Beth Reid had switched from mornings to second shift and Trouble was waiting for her to arrive.  Jason’s theory proved to be correct when Trouble was spotted sitting outside the break room door where Beth was at the time and when the door opened, Trouble went straight to Beth. Trouble now knows Beth’s schedule and things are as normal as they can be again.

The Classics Et Cetera for Feb. 28 included an overture to “Iphigénie en Aulide” by Christoph Willibald Gluck; 1^st Movement of Trio in G Major for Piano, Flute & Bassoon by Beethoven; “We’ll Keep a Welcome” performed by The Morriston Orpheus Choir; Selections from Act II of “The Sleeping Beauty” by Tchaikovsky; “Gloria,” a march by Frank Hoyt Losey.

The music of Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), an important composer in his day, served as a bridge between the Baroque music of Handel and Bach and the Classical music of Haydn and Mozart.  His reforms in opera became rather standard. He lived for three years in England where he was in direct competition with the 30-year-older George Frideric Handel, who remarked that Gluck knew no more about counterpoint than his cook.