And a Very Merry Christmas It Was

What a beautiful Christmas Day!! Lots of friends out and about shouting Holiday Greetings. I think we fed Christmas chicken to most of the pets in the park. It has long been a standing tradition that we keep fresh chicken in our frig for whenever folks stop by with their pets. The puppies come running toward our house if they should see us outside cause they know there's a treat waiting for them. These cute pics were all taken today as guests stopped by.
First guests were Gigi and Murphy.
Rally, the wonder dog.
And Macey wearing her "Who's Your Doggie?" t-shirt and sporting a collar of jingle bells.

This afternoon we headed up to the ballroom for a Christmas feast. I didn't think the park crew could possibly be as successful as they were in preparing our Thanksgiving meal, but they did it again. They managed to serve over 400 people in just 20 minutes and each table received hot delicious home cooked food. It was great! Thank you to all the volunteers and kitchen elves who made it possible. We had a happy hour at 3:00 with dinner following at 4 and lots of laughter
through the whole afternoon.

Even the weather cooperated to give us a great day with temps in the high 60s and plenty of Arizona sunshine. Folks were out golfing, playing pickleball, riding bikes, playing tennis, and just having a fun time.

Christmas Approaches

Tis the season to be Jolly......and we are! My Dad once told me a story: "When I was a lad, my mother said when she was young Christmas came but once every 10 years but now it seems to come 10 times a year. I can now understand what she meant." Thanks, Dad....I now understand it too. Wow, does time ever pass quickly. To quote another saying: "Time flies when you're having fun!"

Bev and Mike Connolly hosted their famous "Love Thy Neighbor" Christmas party last weekend. What a great time! This year's bash was held in the San Tan card room here at the resort so we could eat, drink, and be merry indoors. We all brought a nice gift to place at the front table. After a delicious potluck happy hour, we opened the packages via drawing numbers from the hat. When your number was drawn, you could open a gift from the table or steal one from someone who had already opened theirs. What a riot! Highly envied gifts like booze, vibrating chair cushions, beverage blenders, etc. got traded back and forth like hot potatoes! Lots of raucous laughter emerged as some folks chased after coveted stolen gifts. Bev finally had to limit the number of trades so the party could continue. I'm sure we all went home with a plethora of happy memories. Thank you, Bev and Mike, for a wonderful time.





We not only celebrate the Christmas season at this time of year, but some of us have wedding anniversaries to honor as well. Bob and Bev Carte celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 18 plus Don and I hit our 38th on December 21. We joined forces and went out to dinner at Picacho Steakhouse for a super evening of good food, great friendships, and awards for putting up with each other so many years. I'm posting some casual photos of the happy couples.


Bob and Bev received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from their daughter, Susan.


Algadonas, Mexico
This blurb about Mexico isn't really related to Christmas, but I neglected to post this earlier so you get the info today. Better late than never.
Don and I are avid Mexico shoppers when it comes to dentistry, drugs, eye glasses, etc. as the service, prices, and adventures are well worth the trip. If any of our Palm Creek friends are interested in going and want detailed information or recommendations for specific doctors, etc., give us a call. Just a word of advice for visiting south of the border during winter season: Be prepared to face a long line when returning through customs...and be sure to have your passport handy as new regulations are effective January 2007. Just allow yourself some extra time when planning to leave as the line will be long but moves along rather quickly. We usually start up a friendly conversation with other folks in line and before you know it, you have new stories to share and have met some great friendly people from other parts of the country (or Canada!). Here are some pics of the exit line on our last trip.






Remember the story I posted about Donna and Larry Kraft and their new puppy named Blanco? They were here for a nice visit yesterday so, of course, we have updated photos of our "godpuppy". This was Blanco's first real experience at "socializing" with so many different people and other dogs. She did really well and as you can see, she wasn't intimidated by Rally's large size.




Our little godpuppy loves shoestrings so be careful when you get up to walk around.



Here's Donna proudly showing her newest family addition to Bob and Bev.

It was so nice to see our cluster of friends together again.

New Blog Format

This blogger website has an updated version so you will notice a new format. Nice work. Thanks Blogger! (Google)

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Local News and Tidbits

Ho Ho Ho.....the Holidays are rapidly approaching and the park looks lovely with all the lights and activity. Folks back east will envy us as we decorate in short sleeves in the bright sunshine.





Neighbors assist with the decorating. That's George helping Mike...and Don keeping Frank in line.





The biggest chuckle this week came from my friend Char. We were invited over to Jan's for a "girls night" to just goof off, relax, and have a good time watching a DVD of Desperate Housewives. Char topped the cake, however, when she showed up in her finest regalia.

Construction around Casa Grande continues at a rapid pace. The bulldozers and construction equipment at the new mall location are busy and active.

An article appeared in the local paper about the location for the new high school. It will be located on the southeast corner of Cottonwood and Arizola. Rumor used to be that it would be adjacent to our Palm Creek but now we can lay that rumor to rest.

The city is going to build its first dog park and hopes to have it open by August of 2007. It will be located on approxmately four acres at Ed Hooper Rodeo Park located at the northwest corner of Rodeo Road and Pinal Avenue with an initial budget of $60,000. Should be interesting to see and a fun place to visit with our pets. Our community continues to expand.

No other big news this week. Just getting ready for all the upcoming holiday parties and festivities plus scurrying around with Christmas shopping. If the resort's Christmas dinner turns out half as good as the Thanksgiving party, we'll have another wonderful event.

Thank you, Jan

We have a new contributor to the blog. Thank you, Jan Waters for bringing home some pictures of the electric light parade. I didn't realize that the parade would be that special until I saw the Palm Creek float drive down Cole Circle on a practice run Friday night. The volunteers who built the float deserve a true "atta boy/girl" for doing such a great job. Mark that event on your calendars for next year as it's quite a spectacle to see. It drew big crowds for Casa Grande.



I must also share an email I got from Jan this morning. Our weather has been windy and cold the last three days. Well...cold for Arizona anyway. The rest of the country is in low teens with ice and snow so a cold day for us means 40-50. Anyway....the pet owners are bundled up and shivering as they walk their puppies in the brisk mornings. Thus this email from Jan today: "Must tell you about my morning. Went to walk Rally for his morning constitution. It was really chilly and windy out!! He pooped and when I picked it up in a little plastic baggie, it was nice and warm and kinda squishy. I thought to myself, "You might be a redneck if you use dog poop as a hand warmer."


Thank you, Jan for a good laugh. You should send that one to Jeff Foxworthy on Comedy Central. P.S. Jan is also famous for winning the hula hoop contest on stage at the Welcome Back dinner this fall.