Diane

I work with Memory Care residents who are prone to elopement; so, we usually take drives that don't allow us to get off the bus. But, our highlight drive every year is called our Donkey Drive. We have a volunteer who lives on a small farm that has three donkeys. When we drive to her place, she has lawn chairs out and serves lemonade and cookies. She brings her best-behaved donkey (who happens to be 48 years old!!!) out to meet the residents, and they get to feed him apple slices and pet him. Our hostess regales the residents with stories about how she rescued the donkeys, and they just eat it up. We also take moments to admire her flower garden, and just enjoy the fresh air. This year, we were able to take a record number of people from the unit, along with some extra staff (thank goodness!), and it was the most perfect day. There were so many smiles!
Thank you for all the ideas!

I came with one question but now I have two:
1) is there a safe way to let residents iron clothes? I have a few who are capable, under supervision of course, but I'm afraid of the high possibility of burning accidents.
2) when you use kitchen items, do you just set the items out to try? Or do you reminisce as you talk about the items? I tend to only want to use them in food making activities, but that really limits exposure to the items and limits the number of people who can participate.
Look forward to your ideas!
Diane

In my immediate family, all four of the girls are left-handed, and our brothers are both right-handed. We also have two uncles who are/were left-handed. My uncle would often greet me with some little left-handed quip, such as "We were all born right-handed - only some of us got over it" (that's my favorite). And, of course, left-handed people are the only ones in their right minds.
And another bit of trivia: "Gauche" (pronounced with a long "o" vowel sound) is the French word for "left." Did you ever hear anyone say "that's so gauche" or "how gauche"? Phrases like that are generally used in a derogatory way. Because, being left-handed was once considered anywhere from being a handicap to being of the devil.
Thanks for this activity idea! and thanks for this wonderful website!