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.
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!