NIAGARA, Wis. — As I was eating breakfast recently, with my husband at the kitchen counter, my eyes landed on the heart-shaped refrigerator magnet that read, “A house is made of bricks and beams. A home is made of love and dreams.” It is so true, and it reminded me of the column I wrote last week on the definition of the word “home.” My eyes then continued their review of the other magnets on my fridge, and I was struck with how representative they were of the various stages of our lives together or, at least, of how we viewed ourselves and each other along the way.

If you were to visit my kitchen, I think you could guess that I enjoy cooking by reading many of my fridge magnets. On the fridge door, there are two very helpful magnets. One is courtesy of “Bon Appetit” magazine and gives me liquid and dry measure equivalents. I can tell at a glance how many ounces in a tablespoon, how many cups in a pint and how many tablespoons in a quarter cup. The other one came from “Real Simple” magazine and gives me all the tips I need to know to keep produce fresh.

Less educational, but nonetheless interesting, are two that also reflect an attitude about food. One says “I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even use it in the food.” We have always enjoyed a glass of wine, and over the years, our tastes have matured along with us. In our younger days while living in Neenah and finishing school, we could get a bottle of Cold Bear wine for $1.29 at the corner liquor store. No Boone’s Farm for us! And when we splurged, we bought a bottle of Lancers — it came in a really neat-looking brown bottle that looked like clay pottery. These days we belong to a wine club and get a case of wine shipped to us from a distributor every three months. We never know what wines we will receive but have never been disappointed. It’s been a fun adventure, and we have learned to appreciate a much broader range of wine.

The other food-related magnet reads, “If it walks out of the fridge, let it go.” Now, let me be clear; I do clean my fridge regularly. But once in a while — usually after a holiday when family comes home, and the fridge gets really crowded — something might get pushed back into a far corner until it looks like a biology lab experiment. Back in the very early days of our marriage, when I knew how to cook only about four things and was trying to learn to do more, there were attempts that may have been forgotten intentionally. If the first effort was barely edible, its left overs certainly would not improve with age.

There is a small collection of magnets that reflect our love of nature and where we live. There is a maple leaf, an oak leaf with a face in it, a lighthouse, and some wooden pilings with seagulls sitting on them. And there is one that spells out Great Lakes.

I have one that was on my filing cabinet throughout my working years that reads, “If I cannot do great things, I’ll do small things in a great way.” It helped me keep things in perspective whenever the boundaries of my position felt confining and reminded me that I simply could not control all of the workings of every situation. But I could do my best to favorably impact any given situation or an overall outcome.

There are a few that reflect a certain attitude. My husband gave me one years ago that said, “The rooster does the crowing, but the hen delivers the goods.” That one ties in with a couple I picked out for myself: “You are not dealing with an ordinary housewife!” and “You have two choices for dinner — take it or leave it.” Now, just so you do not get the wrong idea, my husband and I have always gotten along very well. There was a period of adjustment like every marriage has as well as challenging spots along the way, but we made it over those rough spots.

Our household, however, never looked at all like the one in which my husband grew up. His was a very traditional upbringing. His mom stayed home and took care of the house and kids while his dad went to work and took care of the yard and anything in the basement and garage. To this day, I think his mother is surprised that her son makes the bed, does the morning dishes and has been known to do more than a few loads of laundry. In fact, once she even asked him, “Don’t you have a wife?” We really got a chuckle over that!

I have a couple that my husband gave me when he was working on the road. From time to time he had to travel to a meeting in a different state and picked me up a fridge magnet from the airport on his way home. To this day, they make me smile. One is the state of Texas with a bunch of chili peppers on it and the simple phrase, “Hot Stuff.” The other one shows Betty Boop in fish net stockings on a motorcycle, and that one reads “Born to Boop.” I think he might have been missing me on those trips!

Of course, our fridge would not tell the complete story of our household without a magnet in the shape of a Packers football. During football season, that magnet holds the Packers game schedule in place on the freezer door –front and center. It shows the date, time, rival of the week and has a blank space where we post the final score of the game. Our life revolves around that Packers schedule — absolutely nothing gets in the way of that game. And anyone who knows us does not even call us during the game because they know we will not answer the phone. First things first, after all!

The only other magnet on that fridge that is specific to my husband is one that reads, “Beer. The reason to get up every afternoon.” Now, anyone who knows him also knows that to be an exaggeration for sure. He is a hard-working guy and, after the work is done, has been known to tip a Killian’s Irish Red or two. As he says, “If they are going to name a beer after me, the least I can do is drink it.”

Last but not least is a magnet we bought in our retirement years while on vacation with friends. We were on our way home from Galena, Ill., and had stopped in a quaint little gift shop. All of a sudden, I heard my husband laughing from way in the back of the store. This was not his usual quiet chuckle, but a big belly laugh, so I hurried back to see what was so funny. He had just read a fridge magnet that featured a woman dressed in what would have been considered formal attire two centuries ago. It read, “My heart says chocolate … but my jeans say, ‘For the love of God, woman, eat a salad!'” As we were both laughing, our friends quickly joined us to see what was so funny. Nothing more had to be said. The only thing left to do was buy that magnet and bring it home.

Over the course of nearly 50 years, we have grown from a couple of kids splurging on a bottle of Lancers to a couple of seniors laughing together over having outgrown their jeans. We’ve grown from carry-out pizza to cooking with wine. We’ve shared in life’s games along the way … celebrating the wins while comforting each other when the losses occur. One thing is for certain … no matter what, we were “born to boop.”

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The usual senior living activity calendars and senior center menus will not be published this week in an effort to avoid confusion. Due to the coronavirus and the vulnerability of the elderly population, daily life in the senior living facilities and senior centers has changed dramatically.

All living facilities have closed their doors to public visitation, and the activity calendars have been modified to allow for one-to-one room visits only and individualized activities to keep residents engaged and active as much as possible while remaining within the health and safety guidelines provided by state health experts. Group games are being substituted with individualized activities residents can do in their respective rooms. Staff are providing supplies as well as “overhead announcement bingo and trivia” games and “hallway games” that can be played in individual rooms or by sitting within individual room doorways. YouTube and DVDs are being utilized to provide religious services. A big dose of gratitude and appreciation goes out to all senior care staff for their creativity, caring and perseverance through a difficult situation.

All senior centers have also been closed to any center-based activity. Meals continue to be delivered. Some centers also are preparing meals to be picked up.

SENIOR CENTERS

Alpha-Mastodon Center

906-875-3315

Amasa Center

906-822-7284

Breen Center

906-774-5110

Crystal Falls Center

Head cook: Lucy Korhonen

906-875-6709

Crystal Lake Center

Iron Mountain

906-239-0278

Home-delivered meals only. Meal menu for the week:

Monday: French toast, sausage and spiced pears.

Tuesday: Salisbury steaks, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Wednesday: Chili with cheese, baked chips and coleslaw.

Thursday: Chicken pot pie, biscuit, spiced applesauce

Friday: No meals being offered to home delivered clients.

Any questions regarding the home delivered meal program at this Center can be directed to Christine McMahon at 906-774-2256

Felch Center

906-246-3559

Home-delivered and/or take-out meal menu:

Monday: Pizza sub and chips.

Tuesday: Stuffed shells, salad and mixed vegetables.

Wednesday: Fish, oven browned potatoes and coleslaw.

Thursday: Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and carrots.

Friday: Brat, potato salad and baked beans.

Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Florence County, Wis.

715-528-4890

Director: Tiffany White

Home-delivered only. Meal menu for the week:

Monday: Memorial Day – no meal delivery.

Tuesday: Chicken salad on a croissant, carrot salad, baked beans and fruit.

Wednesday: Liver and onions or chicken, squash, roasted Brussel sprouts, fruit and pineapple spice birthday cake.

Thursday: Cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato, vegetable pasta salad, string cheese and fruit.

Friday: Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, creamed corn and fruit.

Fence Center/Town Hall

715-336-2980

For meal reservations, call 855-528-2372

Same as ADRC menu. Home-delivered only.

Florence Community Center/Town Hall

For meal reservation, call 715-528-4261

Same as ADRC menu. Home-delivered only.

Tipler Town Hall

715-674-2320

Call for meals. Same as ADRC menu. Home-delivered only.

Hillcrest Senior Dining Center, Aurora

For meal reservations, call 715-589-4491.

Same as ADRC menu. Home-delivered only.

Hermansville Center

Coordinator: Pam Haluska

906-498-7735

Iron River Center

906-265-6134

Home-delivered only. Meal menu for week:

Monday: Memorial Day – no meal delivery.

Tuesday: Spanish rice, cauliflower, bread stick and fruit.

Wednesday: Chicken Alfredo with noodles, Italian vegetables, garlic bread and fruit.

Thursday: Shepherd’s pie, dinner roll and dessert.

Niagara Northwoods Senior Cafe and Center

Meal site manager: Corrie Maule, 715-251-1603

Senior center director: Jill Anderson, 715-251- 4154

Norway Center

Director: Susie Slining

906-563-8716

The center will remain closed. Take outs available, must call ahead. Menu for week:

Monday: Memorial Day – no meals.

Tuesday: Cheese burger, baked beans, soup, salad, fresh fruit and dessert.

Wednesday: Finnish pancake, sausage, hash browns, strawberries, orange juice, salad and muffin.

Thursday: Pork fried rice, stir fry vegetables, soup, salad, fruit, juice and dessert.

Sagola Center

906-542-3273