Thanksgiving 2006

Okay....that had to be one of the best Thanksgiving events ever to be held at Palm Creek!! First of all, the meal was absolutely delicious!! I can't imagine how the cooks and volunteers managed to cook up that much food for so many people and have it turn out that scrumptuous. We had tender moist turkey all finely carved, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, creamed corn, dressing, gravy, cranberries, and fresh dinner rolls followed by awesome pumpkin or pecan pie. Every one of the dishes was just as delicious as home cooking. Most puzzling of all was how they managed to serve each table so fast and keep the food hot. My heartiest congratulations to the cooking staff. That was a fantastic meal. Thank you ever so much from all of us. Every attendee was delighted with the dinner. I must mention that the decorations and table settings were very nice too.

The event was well coordinated and organized so everyone had a reserved table that was clearly marked for easy seating. There was plenty of room between tables which allowed us to mingle and socialize with other guests before dinner. We had access to the tables an hour before serving time so we had the opportunity to have a glass of wine and chat before the meal. Diane did a fantastic job as hostess to the event and kept us entertained and on time. I believe her specific title is "Special Events Coordinator" and she does a terrific job. Thank you, Diane. Your friendship and enthusiasm is appreciated by all.

After dinner we had an option of watching football with the big screen TV or playing games or bingo. Quite a few people did opt to stay for more social time which proved to be a lot of fun. Those of us who stayed for bingo and managed to win got to take home one of the nice table decorations or potted plants. They made for some very nice prizes. After bingo some of us stayed to play a fun round of Mad Gab. What a crazy game! It was really fun and I may have to go out and buy a game to keep around for some hilarious happy hours.

Thanks again to Palm Creek for a great day of beautiful sunshine, great food, fun entertainment, and most of all for the warm friendships.

Fantastic Weather

To my children back in Ohio....I send my sympathies for your cold chilling weather as we here in sunny Arizona are enjoying beautiful sunny skies and warm 80 degree temps every day this month. It's awesome!! I spent yesterday afternoon at the pool just basking in the sunshine, reading a good book, and occasionally taking a quick swim to cool off from the warm sun. It was just wonderful. Sometimes I actually feel guilty for having such a great time day after day. Life is pretty darn good right now.

Today Don and I drove up to Sun City to visit Donna and Larry Kraft. I put up some darling photos of their new puppy on my "Hepler Journal" website for you to view if you're interested. The puppy is just adorable at the ripe old age of 6 weeks and she's a full two pounds of pure love. It was so good to see the Kraft's with smiling faces once again.

As we approached Interstate 10 coming from Casa Grande, I snapped a few quick photos of the beginning of the new mall. There are scads of bulldozers, tractors, and various digging machines out there in the field. The ground is all plowed up and is being prepped for the new mall. How exciting! I'll try to get a picture every few weeks so you can watch the progress. New stores anticipated are Dillards, Target, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, a 14 theater complex, Applebees, Michaels, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc etc etc. It will be awesome! All you can see in these pics is open dirt so the progress will be great to watch.

A Family Visit

Bob and Bev Carte had a great visit with their daughter, Susan, who flew down to see them for a few days this week. It was wonderful to meet the daughter that they brag about so frequently. Have a safe trip back home, Susan. It was a pleasure to meet you!!

Busy Busy Busy

It is now November and "the season" seems to be in full swing. The calendar is full of times, dates, events, and the days pass ever so quickly. Each week is just a blur of activity. Monday night was Bingo (no, I haven't won YET but I'm usually quite lucky), and today was our first craft fair of the season. There were lots of Palm Creek people who had booths to display and sell some of their handicrafts and many other vendors peddling their wares. It's always fun to go shopping for "stuff". I stocked up on several new sun visors to ward off that bright, beautiful, glowing, warm Arizona sunshine. Folks back east.....eat your heart out! The weather has been fantastic with lots of sunshine and temps in the 80s by day and cool clear nights for great sleeping. Winter is almost upon us, however, as when the sun goes down it turns cool in a hurry and we scurry to put on a light jacket.

Saturday was the first "patio sale" day of the season where everyone can put out those white elephants for sale, clean out the closets, or sell those no longer needed items. Since Don and I are planning to sell our new Class C RV, we cleaned out a lot of items. I even put out some of my beaded jewelry items I've been making as I seem to have created more than I'll ever wear. While George got stuck staffing our booth, Bev, Jan and I scurried about the resort visiting everyone's patio sale to see if we could find new goodies or great bargains. See the next photo for our great results! Folks said we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with our cart full of junk as we drove around. One family was even handing out free Mimosa drinks (orange juice and champagne) in fancy fluted glasses to anyone who bought something from their booth. Couldn't pass up that offer so I purchased a box of nails as my contribution. How fun!

A Tribute to Chi

Someone please help me with the words to describe our sorrow at the loss of a very dear, sweet, cute, lovable, cuddly, adorable little dog. Chi was the four-year old cherished long-hair Chihuahua owned by Larry and Donna Kraft. It was one of those freaky things of nature when Chi somehow managed to sneak outdoors to play and perhaps chase a furry rabbit but wandered too close to a neighboring golf course. A coyote sprung out of nowhere and ended Chi’s life instantly. People on the golf course saw the attack and chased after the coyote in an attempt to save the little dog, but it was too late. By the time the coyote dropped Chi, she was already gone. From the golfer’s description, she never knew what happened and never even had time to be frightened. I’m sure she never dreamed anything or anyone would hurt her since she lived such a warm and well-loved life.
Larry and Donna bought a lovely home and moved to Sun City this fall, leaving Palm Creek after five seasons here. They are conveniently located in a beautiful subdivision near several golf courses which, unfortunately, are occasionally frequented by wild coyotes.

Chi was very popular here at our resort. Many may remember last February when Chi won the award for the cutest dog at our first annual dog show. She was cute as a button and would perform tricks on command. One of our favorite memories is when she would come to our house and eat Hiway’s cat food. She was such a dainty little dog that she would carry two little pieces of cat food over to the carpet and munch it away, then return for two more pieces at a time. Little pieces of chicken were her favorite treat which we always tried to keep in the frig should Chi come for a visit. She was a real sweetheart and will be missed by one and all. Our hearts reach out to Larry and Donna for their loss of a very dear pet.