We all enjoyed eating Gluten-Free Oats Flap Jacks made by our very own kitchen chef. It was served with chocolates dip, colourful sprinkles and marsh mallows. Some other residents had time to decorate their own flap jack before eating it. It was fun and healthy day for everyone.

Bowerfield House have been very busy this past week with activities ranging from water painting to cooking. We had a lovely meal for our evening meal, a homemade beef stew. Jenny helped with putting all the ingrediencies together and putting them all in the slow cooker.

We talked about other warm winter meals we loved eating, and there is nothing better than homemade cooking and how the room smells lovely as its cooking .

After all that cooking we enjoyed a hot chocolate with marshmallows and a flake ice cream.

At Hope Green we created a display to celebrate German Apple Day which sparked conversation particularly from our German resident about German apple cake/pie and memories of her time in Germany. We went on to taste some different varieties of apples dipped in cinnamon sugar, a lovely treat enjoyed by many of the residents.

Exploring the garden during January has been proving to be delightful for both residents and staff. The start of a New Year and feeling the winter sunshine on our faces has been a real tonic for us along with checking our flowering primulas and replenishing our bird feeders. We found ourselves counting our steps as we walked along the pathways, singing songs, and even discovered some of our lovely garden ornaments which we were gifted to us in the summer. Whilst spring may not be on the horizon just yet we're grateful for winter days which we can enjoy outside together.

Annette, Barbara, Louvain and I was in charge of writing our Christmas cards which were delivered to our neighbours throughout the festive period. Community spirit is very important to us and this is one way our residents wanted to show support. Christmas is such a beautiful time of year when everyone comes together and even though we may not know all our neighbours we wanted to make sure they knew we are thinking of them.

As our home is set over three floors we had three beautiful trees to decorate over the festive period. Our residents selected a different colour theme for each floor and we picked the best decorations to fit and each tree had a hand made decoration on made by our residents and staff. Our trees were decorated by our residents and we made sure that it was how they would want it to be in their own home, obviously there were some tricky decorations for the top of the trees but these were put on safely by our carers.

Anne had fun this morning getting creative making a card to send to her family. She smiled when she realized it matched the hearts on her top.

Vera spent the afternoon doing a virtual tour of her homeland Italy, she really enjoyed herself she then made a fan whilst listening to Italian music.

It turns out taking the Christmas tree down is just as much fun as putting it up. Smiles and giggles all round from our fabulous helpers Faye and Vera.

We have a Reminiscence Suitcase full of lovely information about the Norfolk Broads from the local library. The residents enjoyed talking about their holidays on the broads, looking back at photos and giggling at the floral hats, yellow polka dot swimsuits and trying on sunglasses.