Auburn Homes & Services Resident Newsletter October 2021

The Auburn Homes & Services

Resident Newsletter

October 2021

In this Newsletter:

Meadows Chili Cook off
Courts and Meadows Celebrate Oktoberfest
Creative Painting in Auburn Home
Auburn Manor enjoys Live Music
Fall Fishing
Chaska Officer Julia visits Auburn Courts
Music Bingo at Auburn Home
It's a Boy!
Activity Calendars for October
The 10th Annual Festival of Trees, Save the Date!
Show the Auburn Staff Your Appreciation.
Pastor's Corner with Reverend Doctor Jennifer Moran

New Staff Tradition at Auburn Meadows?

Chili Cook Off!

Auburn Meadows held it's first ever "Chili Cook Off" earlier this month for it's staff to compete in and enjoy delicious, homemade chili. Staff judges voted for their favorite made by the following participants, Erin Kramer, Mary Krant, Sue Henrich and Miranda Flannery. Auburn Meadows provided the corn bread, cheese, sour cream and onions, but the rest of the ingredients were top secret to the chili makers.

Crocks of delicious chili were ready to be tested for the best, original flavor.

Staff judges holding the cups identifying their favorite chili.

Miranda Flannery, RN Manger, won the cook off giving her the bragging rights to "first ever Chili Cook Off" winner. Congratulations, Miranda!

October is more than just spooky ghosts and trick-or-treating...it's also Oktoberfest!

Chaska assisted living and memory care residents enjoyed an Oktoberfest celebration complete with pastry wrapped beer brats, pretzels and cheese, German chocolate and black forest cupcakes, and a special edition Oktoberfest beer from ENKI Brewing.

"Alle hatten eine tolle Zeit!"

Auburn Meadows got into the spirit of Oktoberfest with fun props and German themed place settings.

Residents enjoyed traditional German fare along with German beer and and a little history about the country and Oktoberfest.

"Prost!!"

Creative Painting in Auburn Home

Our residents in Auburn Home take part in many life enhancement activities that bring out their artistic side. Creative painting was recently on their activities schedule and we caught a few residents showcasing their talents.

Musician "Tara B." Visits Auburn Manor

Auburn Manor residents were delighted by an outdoor concert put on by local talent, "Tara B." It was a little chilly outside, but that didn't stop our residents from tapping their toes and singing along to some of their favorites like "Hey Good Looking" and "Dream a Little Dream".

A Pontoon Boat Ride and Fishing,

a Perfect Fall outing!

What's better than a fish fry on a Friday afternoon in the Fall? Catching the fish yourself while enjoying a pontoon boat ride! Auburn Meadows residents enjoyed a fishing outing with Chaska Chapter Fishing w/Friends organization. Everyone had a ball catching fish and cruising around on a pontoon boat on a spectacular Fall weather afternoon.

Chaska Police Officer Julie

Stops by Auburn Courts

Local Chaska Police Officer, Julie, paid a visit to the Auburn Courts residents to provide a Q & A session with them about current happenings in Chaska as well as the greater SW Metro. Residents were very engaged and asked a lot of important and relevant questions including best practices for safety when they are out and about.

Chaska Police Officer, Julie

Putting a Twist on Resident Favorite, Bingo,

at Auburn Home

When Bingo is on the calendar, you can be sure it's going to be a full-house. Everyone loves the suspense and thrill of playing Bingo and hopefully being the one to yell, "BINGO!", first. Auburn Home took the game of Bingo and added a twist to it by adding music to it and calling it "Music Bingo".

Music Bingo is a fun spin on the traditional game of Bingo that allows players to check off their musical bingo game cards by having the title of the song that is playing.

It's a Boy!!

Please help the Marketing Department and all of us here at Auburn Homes & Services in congratulating Marketing Associate, Krista Buesgens, along with her husband, Dustin, and baby brother, Rowan, on the birth of Wyatt Anthony, weighing in at 8 lbs., 12 oz. and 21 inches in length. Both mom and baby are healthy and well!

October is chock full of fun activities for our residents; of course, there will be plenty of spooky gatherings from Halloween parties, ghost stories, staff costume contests and Halloween themed treats, but our residents will also be enjoying outings to The Old Log Theatre, Houlihan's restaurant, scenic drives to view the leaves changing colors and much more!

Check out your resident's October Activities Calendar to see which ones are available to them by clicking on the appropriate link below:

Auburn Home, Auburn Meadows,

Auburn Manor, Auburn Courts

Want to know what activities are available by location at the beginning of the month? Go to our website and click on your locations web page to find a downloadable activities calendar for the month.

SAVE THE DATE!

The 10th Annual Festival of Trees

November 18, 2021

5:30PM

"Some Enchanted Evening"

Please save the date on your calendar for

November 18, 2021

and join us at the beautiful, Bavaria Downs, in Chaska

for this year's

10th Annual Festival of Trees.

Dinner, dancing, silent and live auction are just a few of the events in store for this elegant evening

of bringing our community back together

in the spirit of giving.

For more information or to register, visit our website

or call Bob Kuhlman, Foundation Director,

(952)361-0460.

Show your Appreciation for the Auburn Staff

As you might be aware, there are staffing challenges across the country in the healthcare industry; Auburn Homes & Services is no exception to this situation as we look to hire new employees.

The staff here at AHS is loyal, dedicated and passionate about providing the best service possible to your loved ones and do so with integrity and compassion. They are working long hours, picking up additional shifts, working double shifts and helping out wherever needed. Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to let them know how much you appreciate them.

We are kindly asking for your consideration of donating something special to our staff to let them know how valuable they are; treats, coffee/restaurant gift cards, handmade posters or hearts to decorate their breakrooms, anything you think is special would be greatly appreciated.

We also recommend checking out our Amazon Wish List page which is full of items that our staff and residents can use. Click here to view our wish list.

The Pastor's Corner

with Reverend Doctor Jennifer Moran

Dear Auburn Friends and Family,

Greetings! As these beautiful summer days turn a little cooler, I hope you are finding time to enjoy each season with your loved ones. As the weeks and months progress, we continue to learn to live with changes and new ways of doing things. Thank you all for your faithfulness in caring for the Auburn community, for sharing your loved ones with us, and for being flexible in so many ways.

I’d like to share a story to encourage us all, especially in those times where we feel life is out of our control. It is a story of a famous pianist from a wonderful book of sermon illustrations:

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son’s progress at the piano, bought tickets for an Ignace Paderewski performance. Paderewski was a famous concert pianist and also one of Poland’s prime ministers. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When eight o’clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on the bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. “Don’t quit—keep playing,” he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and again, “Don’t quit—keep playing.” And as we do, he augments and supplements [all our efforts]. (Larson, page 503)

We can all experience the feeling that we are inadequate in and of ourselves, that we can’t make happen all that needs to happen. But this story reminds us so vividly that God takes all our efforts, however simple those efforts may be, and uses them to gift the world.

Lord God, give us the strength we need to meet each new day. Help us to hear your voice in our ears, whispering, “Don’t quit—keep playing!” We thank you for your love and grace. In Christ we pray, Amen.

In the Spirit of Christ’s Love,

Pastor Jenny