North Shore Living
November 2025 Newsletter
Jean Marie Modl
The whole town of Grand Marais had a great Halloween this year. The streets were alive with Darth Vaders, Spider Mans, Princesses, Dinosaurs, and so many other characters. The weather was cool and damp, but there was no heavy rain or snow.
At the Care Center we had an amazing Medium named Sierra Coy read Tarot Cards and predict futures. Sierra was a big hit. Ruth and I carved a Jack O Lantern, with all hands in to enjoy the fresh pumpkin smell and wonderful slimy feel of pumpkin guts. We had Halloween movies and special treats. Then our music man Tom Novotny put together a special Happy Hour for us, leading with the Monster Mash and other holiday favorites. Tom was dressed as a wizard for his performance. We had savory treats during Halloween Happy Hour: meat and cheese, crackers, hummus, and pickles.
For Veterans Day, five local veterans visited the Care Center. Each veteran introduced themselves and told a little bit about their service experience. This simple ceremony was quite moving. The veterans also listened carefully to concerns expressed by veterans who live at the Care Center. Small American flags were shared with the residents.
Staff, family, friends, and volunteers pitched in to create a very special Thanksgiving Day at the Care Center. We feasted on traditional holiday foods, laughed at each other’s stories, and even played some Thanksgiving Day BINGO in the afternoon. It was a fun day.
Dog and cat visits to the Care Center have become more frequent in the past couple months, more dogs than cats. We are an animal friendly place as long as the animals are quiet and gentle with everyone all the time. We have used robotic cats and dogs with some success but there is nothing like the real thing. The attention and gentle warmth of a real animal is important to our sense of ourselves, it helps define our humanity.
We will be busy now getting ready to celebrate Hannukah and Christmas. We will be decorating, planning meals and treats, choosing and wrapping gifts, plus celebrating with special games and music. We look forward to sharing our holiday stories with you. Happy Holidays!