Pecan Grove (www.pecan-grove.net) Pecan Grove and Senior Residence

December 31, 2024

December 2024

Filed under: Pecan Grove — knewman @ 11:50 pm

The cold wet weather in December prompted some new decorations from Abigail. Mr. Prickles has never looked so good!

  • Blue Suede Holidays
  • Finally Something Festive!

If you have been following along, our roof has been in bad need of repair. We finally bit the bullet and decided to call in the professionals. Here they are getting started on our roof. So long leaking roof!

  • New Roof New Year
  • Shingle Me Timbers

Trevor, Heather and Winston Chenault from Newry PA came for a brief visit. Here they are chatting in the living room.

  • Elton, Heather, Winston, Trevor, Ken and Kathy

This month only had one birthday, but it was a big one, Ronald turned 97! He joked that his birthday last year should have lasted a few more years. Here he is with his cake and his annual birthday present of fruit.


Amy and Rusty Willhoite from Redbud Canyon came to see us. They brought with them one of their newest residents: Reta Fuhrman. She was able to stay the week with us as they went on a family cruise. She really enjoyed her stay and finding out all the little connections she knows here. She had never been to Texas before! What a shame! Here she is with Vanessa Pfingsten and her three children Lindsey, Abigail, Barrett, and again with Amy and Rusty in front of the fire place.

Glenn and Shirley Spunaugle came to pick up Reta after their cruise. Here they are with most of our residents.

Kathy’s sister, Pat Johnson and aunt Jane Jacobson came for a Holiday visit. Here they are with the Furrows.

Elton’s granddaughter, Leah and Daron Griffin and two kids, Isla and Felix visited. Here they are with David and Elton.

We had several of our sister workers, Joyce Lawrence, Mona Reese and Aiyslann Stanton come for a few days at Christmas.

  • Aiyslann and Mona
  • Joyce, Patty, and Dickie
  • Esther and Marie
    Mona, Gilbert, and Aiyslann

Resident Journals

Elton Cleveland

Elton does well, especially with the added help of Shawn, David, and Hospice. He plays the piano and continues to correspond with Karen over email. He still tries to get some time in the sun. Here he is with “Professor McGonagall” (the new name for kitty kitty now that she lives with Kenny and Salena)

  • Soaking Up The Winter Sun

Esther Duncan

Esther is doing well, she keeps up with her daily walk and correspondence. She looks after Joyce and keeps her occupied with different tasks. She took the time to make some orange marmalade.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen did some reminiscing this month. We got a free calendar from a local Chinese restaurant, and it triggered memories of her time in Korea. Here she is recalling a few good memories.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie does well, as per her usual. She focuses most of her time on the puzzles, while enjoying any company that wants to join her. She just got new hearing aids and her hearing is much improved, especially in our meetings. Here she is playing scrabble at the table with a few of our guests.

  • David, Ronald, Elsie, Jane and Darcy

Ronald Elliott

Ronald is growing more and more deaf. He is struggling to get his thoughts together when speaking with the staff. He still has good thoughts in meeting though. Ronald also received several visitors and phone calls for his birthday. Here he is with friends Jeff and Patricia Oliver, and again with his niece, Marva Kleine and her daughter and son in law Darcy and Scott Evers.

  • Ronald, Jeff, Patricia
  • Marva, Ronald, Darcy and Scott

Marie Mounce

Marie still does well, despite her deteriorating sight. She made chocolate pies using up some of our older Christmas cookies. Here she is with Reta Fuhrman, and again with Mona.

  • Marie and Reta
  • Marie and Mona

Joyce Naber

Joyce requires more supervision these days. Thankfully, Esther is happy to keep an eye on her. She enjoyed the visits with Pat Johnson because they were co-workers in 1972-73. She said “every time I think of Pat, I giggle.” Here they are on the couch catching up on some giggling.

  • Pat and Joyce

Fern, Gilbert and Alice

Fern is so tired these days we barely get time to talk before she nods off again. Gilbert does well, hardly changes at all. He seems to enjoy Alice’s company at meal times. Here he is with Marie and Joyce, and Fern in her bed.

  • Marie, Gilbert, and Joyce
  • Fern Duncan
  • Marie and Joyce with Alice
  • Mona, Marie, Esther and Aiyslann with Alice

As usual, we had a blast celebrating the coming New Year! Sue Dawson joined us and brought Fred Skalitzky. We had a meal, a hymn sing, some fireworks and then Fred had a story for the kids. Here are some photos of our get- together and celebration.

The PG Staff had a holiday dinner together. Here Salena and Abigail are preparing the desert, sticky toffee pudding!

Here is a staff picture taken at the dinner.

  • Pecan Grove Staff
    Patty and Dickie, Anita and Shawn, Kathy and Ken
    Salena and Kenny, and Abigail

Thank you for all your continued interest in us here at Pecan Grove! We wish you all a wonderful New Year! From the staff and all your friends here.

HAPPY 2025 NEW YEAR!

November 30, 2024

November 2024

Filed under: Pecan Farming — knewman @ 6:39 pm

November is when Fall really sets in. We have had an extra wet November but it has stayed mild in temperature. This made for a great animal watching and nature admiring month. Here are some of the neighbors we have seen, with David being David as a bonus.

  • Coyote
  • Grass Tastes Better With Friends
  • Rockin’ Robins
  • Lumber Monkey

We received some very special visits this month including Joyce’s brother Galen and his wife Marilyn. They came for few days to be with Joyce and reminisce about their home in Minnesota. Here they are in front of the piano.

  • Marilyn, Joyce and Galen

Betty Goss came for a few days to visit and see how this place works. She was very funny and livened the place up a bit. Here she is with Kathy by the bookcase.

  • Kathy and Betty

Howard and Mary Ann Colson brought their good friends Dave and Lois Evans and their daughter-in-law Kaila. They came from Pennsylvania to visit Elton. Here they are in the entry way.

  • Howard, Mary Ann, Dave, Lois and Kaila

Jon Peterson brought a man from Brazil to visit, Caue Stoochi Somens. He knew several of the workers that Ronald had once been companions with. Marie also knew quite a few of the workers he mentioned. Here they are in the entry way.

  • Jon, Caue. Ken and Kathy

Lyle Schober and Carl Hamilton came for a visit. Here they are with Elton.

Carl, Elton, Lyle

Our good friends, and life-long friends of Elton; Gerry and Margaret Gunderson came for a visit. Here they are with David and Elton in front of the piano

  • David, Elton, Margaret and Gerry

The Furrow twins (Maren and Maven) invited Elton to their school to talk about what it was like when he was young. 75 kids from 4th, 5th and 6th grades came to the school chapel to visit with Elton. Maren and Maven distributed a nickel to each student (explained later). Elton read 2 pages which David helped him prepare. It included the fact that there are only 2 men in Texas older than Elton’s 107 years. He told about walking to school several miles in the dark, his 2 years of piano lessons that were cut short by the depression (“Pop couldn’t afford to pay for the lessons”), described a trolley car, etc. He played a few songs on the piano, then asked for questions. One boy asked him what his favorite Bible verse was. He quoted Romans 8:28 (We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose).

Elton said that a distant relative (President Grover Cleveland) charged a nickel to shake his hand. So it would be a nickel to shake his OLD hand! The children lined up and very respectfully shook his hand, many asking him to sign his name in their Bible. He didn’t accept the nickels :).

  • David coaching Elton
  • Signing Evren Furrow’s bible
  • Greeting the twins, Maren and Maven

We had 24 for Thanksgiving! The Furrow family, Sue Dawson and Sue George from the south Houston field, Clarence Mounce and Talus Murphy from this north Houston field, Wayne and Dawn Overby (who live here on the farm), all the staff and residents. We had oyster stew, Lamb, Ham… no turkey! Here are a few pictures:

  • Clarence, Talus, Sue, Sue, Joyce, Esther
    Gwen, Ronald, Marie, Elsie

Resident Journals

Marie Mounce

Marie really enjoyed this convention season. She was thankful for the opportunity to go to Effie this year because she was able to visit her sister Verena who had a stroke. Unfortunately, when she got home she picked up a bug that has been going around. She had mild symptoms, mostly tired and coughing. Here she is with on of her favorite dishes to make: shrimp scampi.

  • Cajun Shrimp Scampi

Elton Cleveland

After his birthday last month Elton has gone down some. We are thankful for his son, David, being here, he helps out a lot with getting him ready for the day and to bed at night. He recently had a fall where he scratched up his face. It looks red and irritated because David thinks he scratches it at night. He has been needing more care so he was put on hospice for some additional services. Here he is sharing a cupcake with Alice, and again at the piano.

  • Ooooh Cupcake

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well despite her wet macular degeneration. Fortunately, her eyes have not gotten so bad that she needs the eye shots like Joyce. Here she is with Eileen Weiss.

Esther Duncan

Esther was one of the ones to get the bug. She was coughing quite forcefully and you could hear it when she was breathing deeply. She recovered well and was even seen carrying chairs around afterward. Here she is with Alice and Elsie.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie is doing about the same. She recently was given a new set of hearing aids to try. Eileen Weiss came for a visit and stayed for a week. Elsie thinks of her as a daughter so they really enjoyed some alone time and going out.

Ronald Elliot

Ronald struggles with his memory and it frustrates him. He comes to the staff to help him remember who he wants to call, or what he was doing. Sometimes even the staff doesn’t know! He still has some terrible back pain that doesn’t seem to be going away. The staff gives him pain patches for his back that help, but only temporarily.

    Joyce Naber

    Joyce is her usual self. She enjoyed having the visit with her brother Galen and seemed to remember when she was prompted. He talked about her horse and their old home in Minnesota as well as the friends they once knew. These did seem to spark memories and she was even clear on a few details here and there.

    • The Fish Have Never Been Happier

    Alice Oetken, Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

    Fern and Gilbert stay pretty much the same. Fern is even more tired these days, but does wake up and respond to a few questions. Gilbert doesn’t say much at all but is always content. Alice seems to have slowed mentally but has a great spirit about her when we come to visit. She also seems much more at home with her new living arrangement. Here is Fern smiling with Kathy and Gilbert and Alice in the dinning room.

    • Alice calls Gilbert Grandpa, and he’s OK with that!

    October 31, 2024

    October 2024

    Filed under: Pecan Grove,Senior Residence — knewman @ 6:39 pm

    October is our busiest month with conventions, birthdays, and visitors the month seems to fly by. Several of the residents were able to attend convention this year. Andrea Jensen came between conventions to visit her good friends, Dominique and Mimi. Here are a few photos.

    • Furrows and Kelleher kids
      with Ken and Kathy at Georgetown
    • Furrow and Kelleher kids with cousin Aubrey Short from Ohio
    • Mimi, Andrea Jensen, Dominique

    We have four major birthdays this month, but first up was the biggest. Elton turned 107 years young this month! David was already here but his daughter Sarah and her family came to stay with us for a few days. Elton’s grand children Libby Wimmer (VA) and Matt Hutchison (WA) came as well with his family. Matt and David wasted no time holding our first Pecan Grove arm wrestling match. Here they are talking with Karen on David’s phone, and agai at the arena A.K.A the piano bench.

    Salena thought it would be fun for the kids to have a campfire day. All of Elton’s family were present to try their hands at sparklers, making s’mores and playing cornhole.

    Abigail turned 26 this month, here she is with her cat themed birthday. Cats galore, she was also very pleased with her Sonic balloon. She does so many nice cakes for the residents that we feel she deserved a good one.

    Elsie turned 96 this month! She always loves to see her family, and what better time for a visit than a birthday? The day before her birthday they took her to a book store and out to eat. Even though she doesn’t ask, she really enjoys going out to do just about anything with family. Her birthday theme was hummingbirds this year. Here she is being flanked by her flowers and gifts.

    Anita had a fall themed birthday this year. Here she is with Shawn and her cake.

    Alice still has a room full of things to go through, which her niece so kindly offered to start on. Carol along with her husband Mike Martin came for a few days to take on this project and to see Alice. Here they are posing in front of the fireplace.

    • Mike and Carol Martin

    Resident Journals

    Marie Mounce

    Marie went to three conventions this month. She went with Patty and Ronald to Georgetown Spanish and English, and then with Ken and Kathy to Effie. After Effie Marie is spending a few days with her sister, Varena McFadden, who is recovering from a stroke. Marie should be back to PG next week.

    Ronald Elliott

    Ronald was looking forward to going to both Georgetown Spanish and English. Unfortunately, he overestimated just how much he could handle the extra stimulation of visiting with so many people. He made it through the part of the Spanish convention but then needed to come home. He was not up for returning for the English convention, but instead rested and went to Mountain Peak. Kenion Coleman came to see him with our friend Max Montenegro from south Houston. Here he is with them in front of the piano, and again Ronald in our children’s play area reliving his younger years.

    Elton Cleveland

    Elton had a whirlwind couple of weeks. His family kept him going with stories and chatting, but he still got his much needed rest. Here he is with the Furrows, writing his daily letter to Karen and eating some pie outside and with his family.

    Gwen Farmer

    Gwen does well, and enjoys being part of the puzzle crew with Elsie. She enjoyed listening to the conventions over the loud speaker here. She said “even if I only get one sentence it is a bread basket”.

    Joyce Naber

    Joyce has had some discomfort on her scalp. The staff is regularly applying ointment to help sooth the red areas. She does not complain and takes it all in stride. She also had the shots done in both of her eyes for wet macular degeneration. Like usual, she needs her routine to keep in good spirits. Alas, she is needing more and more reassurance as to what day it is, or what she should be doing.

    Elsie Schroeder

    Elsie does great for 96. She really thrives on her family coming to visit. Here she is admiring her humming bird cake.

    Esther Duncan

    Esther has had a wonderful month. She got to both Georgetown English and Mountain Peak. Esther has had several conventions already this year in Ireland, Kentucky and Tennessee, but she says “I am still hungry for more”.

    Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

    Fern recognizes us when we come to visit. This month Kenion Coleman paid her a visit and she knew him. Gilbert is mostly quiet, but still appreciates visitors. He often can be found sitting with Alice at his table. She does most of the talking.

    • Fern and Kenion
    • Gilbert and Alice Sharing A Mug

    Alice Oetken

    Alice has high spirits when we come to visit her. She loves chatting with visitors, and often asks about the residents. She also asks when her parents are coming to get her, so somethings are a little missing. Here she is with Gilbert at his table.

    We are thankful for your continued interest in our residents here.

    Kenny and Ken

    September 30, 2024

    September

    Filed under: Senior Residence — knewman @ 5:23 pm

    We had several visits this month, starting with a holiday visit from Don and Becky Schroeder. They had labor day off so stopped in for the night. Here they are with Elsie in the entry way.

    Elton’s son David has returned and decided to move in for a while to help with Elton. He helps with Elton’s appointments, works on whatever he can, and cheers up the place. Here he is on his newest toy, an electric unicycle.

    Proof That Age Is Just A Number

    We had a visit from our friends Wendall and Gillian Wilson, and Fred Adadjo. Fred returned to stay with us for a few days. He spent some time visiting those on the farm and those at Park Manor. Here they are in front of the piano.

    September has been wetter than normal, and it still steaming hot. Everything is still growing like crazy, so we stay very busy. Here is a picture of a rainbow lighting up the sky, and Andray with a fish he caught and filleted, and lastly a turtle we caught crossing the road.

    • Gods Bow
    • Mighty Fine Fisherman
    • Two Fillets Coming Up
    • Closed For Business

    Kitty Kitty is still living in Alice’s old room and sometimes she tries to “pay rent”. These critters are usually dead, but this time she brought in a living snake! Here she is playing with her catch and Salena using her special tools to get rid of it.

    • Septembers Rent
    • The Best Tools For The Job

    Tomorrow (Oct 1) is Andray Howell’s 20th birthday but we celebrated today. Here he is with Joyce, Ronald and Dominique.

    In August Ken and Kathy went to convention in France and then to Portugal. They showed pictures to the residents. Marie saw several people she had helped in the French islands. Esther and others saw many workers they know. All 7 current residents are in the picture below.

    Resident Journals

    Elton Cleveland

    Elton is slowing down. With his son, David, here he has been getting more personal attention, which he thrives on. He still plays the piano when his feet aren’t bothering him, and enjoys sunbathing with Kitty Kitty. Here they are together in the entry way relaxing.

    • Sun Bathing Buddies

    Alice Oetken

    Alice has been taken off of physical therapy at Park Manor. This means she won’t not be returning to PG. She always enjoys her visitors and wants them to come back more often. Here she is with Elton, the Hoffmans, Fred and Gilbert.

    • Terry, Abigail, Kim Hoffman with Alice

    Marie Mounce

    Marie does well. She still loves to bake in the kitchen. Her favorites are corn bread and banana nut muffins. Here she is visiting Alice with a big grin.

    Esther Duncan

    Esther has been gone all month to conventions in Tennessee. She returned with good stories and thankfulness for getting to see her friends again. She said they all heard “very sound doctrine”. Here she is at convention with her classic cup of tea.

    Elsie Schroeder

    Elsie stays busy at the puzzle table, she is the mainstay of the puzzle crew. When Don and Becky come they always play a few rounds of Hand and Foot, which Elsie almost always wins.

    Gwen Famer

    Gwen is doing well, she has some eye trouble but is determined to not let it slow her down. She likes her optometrist and is positive about her eyesight staying about the same. Here she is visiting Alice.

    Ronald Elliott

    Ronald is slowing down but still does well. His iPhone has given its best but he’s beyond being able to use it. The staff is making calls for him if he needs, and he seems happy with this arrangement. Please feel free to call the main number if you want to speak with him. He’s looking forward to Georgetown Spanish and English.

    Joyce Naber

    Joyce stays about the same. She still struggles with her memory but she is set in a good routine that keeps her positive. She likes when people call to talk with her, although she doesn’t always remember who they are. Here she is again at Andray’s birthday lunch.

    Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

    Fern and Gilbert remain the same. Gilbert enjoys company but does not know who the visitors are. Fern seems to remember the residents better but is mostly quiet. Here’s Gilbert with Elton and Fern with Fred and Andray.

    We appreciate your continued interest in our residents here. Please feel free to call our main number if you would like to chat with anyone of them.

    August 31, 2024

    August 2024

    Filed under: Senior Residence — knewman @ 3:36 pm

    August has been hot, which is not surprising given the heat wave all across the country. We had a handful of quick visits this month, and one week long visit. Elsie’s daughter Carol and Granddaughter Ameillia Aarestad came for a nice visit. They bought all our ladies flowers, which they were overjoyed to pose with. Here they are with their flowers, the board that Ameillia left us and again everyone at the dinner table.

    • Flowers For The Ladies
    • Sign From Ameillia
    • Lunch Tastes Great With Friends

    The only birthday this month was Fern who turned 94. Salena decided that it would be nice to take everyone to Park Manor nursing home to see her, Gilbert and Alice for a birthday treat. Here she is with her birthday bouquet, and again with Joyce and Marie encouraging her to eat her dessert.

    • Perks Up For Flowers
    • Encouraged To Eat Her Sweets

    Elton’s son, David, came for a week long visit to help with taking him to appointments and keeping him company. Here they are with everyone that went to Park Manor enjoying Elton’s favorite restaurant, Golden Corral, and again at PG with Elton.

    • Elton’s Favorite Restaurant

    Ken and Kathy had the grandkids for a few days so they brought them to the center to play. Here they are on the floor shooting marbles.

    Play Time Is Never Over With Kids Around

    Unfortunately, our dryers have been acting up these past few months. It finally came time to replace the worst one, and Kent Opel happily obliged to help put it in. Here he is triumphant with his granddaughter, Abigail.

    Hurray! New Dryer

    With all this heat, after all the rain, nature has been abounding everywhere. Here is a close up of our new sunflower, a fairy ring of mushrooms, and Andray with a dead snake we found in the building.

    • Sunflower Not Looking At The Sun
    • Birds Planted This Flower
    • Summer Magic
    • Happy To Find A Dead Snake

    Ken and Kathy have been moving out of their house so that the Furrows could move in. Which means the center has received some refreshing new furniture. Here are Ronald and Marie trying out the “new” chairs.

    • Testing Out The Comfort Level

    Speaking of the Newman’s moving, here is a quick shot of the progress on going at the cabin.

    • Cabin Drive Thru Carport

    Resident Journals

    Esther Duncan

    Esther was invited to attend the conventions in Tennessee and Kentucky this month. She has been helping Joyce a lot in the evenings, brushing her hair and getting her ready for bed. Here she is with her latest dessert, white cake with cream and strawberry filling.

    • Happy To Provide The Sweets

    Marie Mounce

    Marie got covid this month. She had mild symptoms such as soar throat and cough, but some interesting side effects like loss of taste. She had to isolate for a several days. Once better, she went to Park Manor with the rest of the residents for Fern’s birthday. Here she is with Gilbert and Joyce.

    Gwen Farmer

    Gwen does well as usual. She continues to have correspondence with several overseas, and daily works on the puzzle with Elsie or Joyce. She was away at an appointment when the ladies got their flowers, so here she is with hers in her room.

    • Lovely Roses To Brighten The Room

    Elsie Schroeder

    Elsie does well still, she especially enjoys when her family comes for long visits. She was pleased to get help on the puzzle from her daughter, and likes to walk with her visitors around the circle. Here she is with Gwen and Gilbert at Park Manor.

    Elton Cleveland

    Elton has been struggling with foot and bladder issues. He has gotten a few treatments recently that seem to be helping. Here he is during his new routine of sitting outside to warm up after every meal, and listening to David play at Park Manor.

    Ronald Elliott

    Ronald is still about the same. He showed us a spot on his ankle that was swollen and hot to the touch, which he said was quite painful. Then he recently had several skin cancer spots removed from his nose and ear. He had a very quick visit from Wendall Wilson again. Wendall said he was working in Conroe and may be around more often. Here he is helping Ronald to get back to his room, and Ronald after his cancer removal.

    • Ronald The Mummy

    Joyce Naber

    Joyce needs our help a little more these days. At night Esther or the staff have been helping her with her hair, and throughout the week the staff tries to remind her to shower. As ever, she takes clear directions well and is happy to comply. She recently was gifted a Horse Lamp by the Opels, which she was pleased to show to others. Here she is with Alice.

    Alice Oetken

    Alice is making some progress with physical therapy. They said she could stand and walk at least fifteen feet on her own using a walker, and that she only needed some assistance with changing and the restroom. Here she is enjoying some flowers someone sent, and again smiling with Esther.

    • Thankful For The Flowers

    Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

    Fern and Gilbert stay about the same. The staff at Park Manor wheel Gilbert over to visit Alice sometimes, which is sweet. He did not recognize most of the residents who came to visit, but was still talking with them. Fern was alert and seemed to recognize most of her visitors. We asked the staff at Park Manor to give Gilbert a hair cut. Here he is looking spiffy while talking with Esther.

    • Talking With Esther

    We really appreciate your continued interest in the residents here.

    Kenny

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