Sunday, January 4, 2009

Gifts for Harmony House

Donna and I decided to brighten up the Christmas festivities at Harmony House, where my mother, Sylvia, and Donna's friend, Ruth, live. The group home houses eight elderly women, almost all of whom have varying degrees of dementia. If you have an elderly relative that lives in a full care facility, you will understand how challenging it can be to think of a meaningful gift for the residents. So, we thought bright and cheerful. We thought socks! What could be more fun than tie-dyeing a whole bunch of anklet socks! And that's just what we did! However . . .
We didn't stop there! We thought it would be great fun to make Christmas pillowcases too. On Christmas eve, we arrived right at dinner time with a gift bag for each resident. All the ladies were seated at the dining table and we think they really enjoyed their goody bags. Donna also had made quilted pocket tissue holders and we added some chocolate to the bags. While the ladies were eating, we sneaked into all their rooms and slipped on their holiday pillowcases! Not to forget the hard-working staff, we also made socks for them and fixed up a gift bag for each.

Should you ever need to find a good home for your elderly relative, I strongly recommend Harmony House or one of its two sister homes, all located within one block of each other in Rio Rancho, NM. Owned by Margaret Surrock, the homes offer round-the-clock care, in a loving environment that feels just like home. We couldn't have found a better place for our loved ones.

1 comment:

Quiltdivajulie said...

Just found your post ~ having had my mother travel the Alzheimer's road, I totally understand where you are.

The socks and the pillow cases are a WONDERFUL idea ~ and for the staff, YES! We trust them with our loved ones, and the work they do is HARD.

Way to go!!!