Diamond Willow Lodge
162 South Centre Street T0K1J0 Magrath, AB, Canada

We had a fun Hawaiian Luau lunch party last week. Thank you, Kathy Harker, for the decor items. Thanks to our head cook, Eddy Gurney, for a yummy lunch! We had fun pinapple bowling & ring toss and residents who completed a word search got a special prize! Pearl had a great Hawaiian outfit too!

Great news! Diamond Willow staff are being offered the Pfizer vaccine. The first light at the end of the tunnel! Loreen and I ran into each other post-poke.

Today, I’d like to give a big shout out to the CHILDREN who have done so much to make Christmas special for the Lodge residents! Thank you to the Harker Grandkids for the cards; to the Tidmarsh grandchildren for their drawings; to the Magrath 7th ward primary for personalized cards; to MES grade 2 for their gift bags; & MES for the awesome Christmas concert we got to watch on the TV! You kids are amazing & are really making a difference for the residents. They are so delighted by you!

Last night we had a modified Santa party. Even though there was no sitting on Santa’s knee this year, Santa did still come and from his chair interacted with the residents one by one as he held up their gift, (taken to the resident by staff). After the gifts, he read How the Grinch Stole Christmas which reminds us all that Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more than all the aspects we are missing out on this year. After that each resident got a gift box with treats made by the kitchen staff. Such a nice evening! Thank you to Clayton Gast! Also thank you to Rick & Stephanie Humphreys for lending us your personal copy of the book when it was checked out from the library.

A few more pics from our night at the restaurant!

Bigand belatedshout out to Wally Holt (Sheila Peterson Holt), Rick Humphreys, Town of Magrath and all of you who donated lights, for decorating the trees in the front of the Diamond Willow Lodge! You really brightened the lives of our residents!

We received a remarkable donation to the Diamond Willow Lodge yesterdaythis exquisite original painting of Old Chief Mountain in a hand-carved frame. A huge shout out to painter Dan Crapo, nephew of Carol, one of our residents, for gifting us this invaluable treasure!

Just FYI. The Diamond Willow Lodge is in Cardston County which is on the province's "Enhanced List" for COVID-19. The following restrictions apply in areas on the "Enhanced List": Mandatory measures Restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs must stop liquor sales by 10pm and close by 11pm - applies to Class A, B or C licenses (Nov 13-27).... 15-person limit on social and family gatherings - indoors and outdoors - where people are mixing and mingling. 50-person limit on indoor and outdoor wedding ceremonies and funeral services. Voluntary measures No social gatherings inside your home or outside of your community. Instead, socialize outdoors or in structured settings, like restaurants or other business that are subject to legal limits and take steps to prevent transmission. Limit of 3 cohorts: your core household, your school, and one other sport or social cohort. Young children who attend child care can be part of 4 cohorts. Wear a mask in all indoor work settings, except when alone in a workspace or an appropriate barrier is in place. Employers in office settings should implement measures to reduce the number of employees in the workplace at one time. Faith-based gatherings limited to 1/3 capacity at one time.

There’s no better place to commemorate Remembrance Day than with the Residents at the Diamond Willow. These seniors know about the traumas of war and it touched me to hear them plead that it never happen again. Today residents shared a wide range of experiences: -As a child in occupied Europe -As a teen in England who saw wounded soldiers returning and witnessed a plane crash and saw the pilots remains... -one resident has a father who landed in Normandy, a husband who served his career in the military and police & a son who has served in Afghanistan -one resident served in the Australian army -some spoke of their sacrifices on the home front and celebrations when the war ended -most of our residents had family members who served See more

November is Falls Prevention Month Tip # 2. #bereadybesteady. Also be careful out there with the snow this weekend!

At the Diamond Willow Lodge, we just love our park! We are so grateful to have beautiful green spaces, benches, shade, gazebo, exercise eqipment and walking paths! It’s been an especially great park season in 2020 when it has been safest to be outside.

November is Falls Prevention Month. We will be posting tips to help prevent falls to create awareness this month. Tip #1: Remove loose rugs or secure them with rubber or slip-resistant backing. #bereadybesteady