Happy New Year!

It's a rather chilly and blustery day outside so have time to write a quick post to wish you all a VERY Happy New Year ahead.

I read these words on a website this morning.  Thought I'd share them here:

"The new year lies before you like a spotless tract of snow.

Be careful how you tread on it, for every mark will show."

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Thank you to Arne and Erna Johansen at Site 143 for this cute Christmas décor in front of their house.

 

My last few weeks have been exciting and action packed.  Jim and Chris Guld with the Geeks on Tour have been conducting 2-3 seminars each week plus they have presented sessions at the Computer Club, the Mac Users Club, the Android group, and the Camera Club.  They're presentations are very informative and entertaining. 

 

From here they travel to Quartsite where they will be presenting to a large rally audience.  Next they head to the Phoenix and Mesa area where they are speaking to several local computer clubs AND at the Good Sam RV Rally.  At the end of January, they go to Tucson for another big rally convention.  Since they will still be in Arizona, they will be available to return to Palm Creek for one or more presentations.  This is a wonderful opportunity to have them back here for another short stay while they are in the west.  Since they're headquartered in Florida, this may be our last chance for quite a while for a return visit.  Stop in the Activities Office and let your wishes be known to please invite the Geeks back again.  You can also email me and I will forward your comments to Chris and Jim.

 

 

Just in case they don't return, I want to personally send a big "THANK YOU" to them for sharing their time with us!

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Hi to Aunt Penny

I heard that "Aunt Penny" in Butler PA is complaining that I don't post often enough.  Okay Girl....just so you know we're thinking of you, here's from the three of us.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Nears

WOW!!  Look at the beautiful Christmas tree all shiny and decorated in the ballroom.  I didn't see the elves who did this, but they certainly deserve a thank you!  It really looks lovely.

Sue and Nancy were playing elves Monday night too as they prepped the tables for the annual Bingo hot chocolate night.  

Speaking of elves (naughty and nice), my sons were here for a short visit.  Found this art work in my refrigerator after they left.  Made me smile.  

This kind gentleman brings a truckload of delicious juicy oranges several days each week and has done so for the last several years.  He is a familiar face and a loyal vendor here.  You get the whole bag for $5.  I saw smaller bags at Sam's this week for $7+ so this is a "sweet" deal.  The oranges are really yummy.  Stop by and give him some business.  He parks up by the mail boxes across from the admin buildings.

I received a very nice note from Alice Herinck this week.  Most of us know her husband Bob as "Painter Bob" as he has painted most of the houses here in the park.....both inside and out.  Alice is overwhelmed at the amount of well wishes they are receiving and wants to get the word out to their friends.  

"Hi Sue

Would you put this on your blog.  We have had so many cards, calls and e-mails and I don't know how to reach everyone.

Bob and I would like to Thank everyone who have been so kind as to keep Bob in their thoughts and Prayers while he has been in Loma Linda, CA.  His last treatment will be on Friday December 19th and we should be back in Palm Creek on the 20th.  Bob is well and looking forward to getting back doing all the things he loves to do.

God Bless you all and see ya soon

Bob and Alice Herinck"

We had a nice attendance at the coffee hour Monday morning out on the Bistro.  Marion Nelson announced that she has now taken over the leadership of the Special Events department.  Congratulations, Marion!!  Your years of experience at being a Palm Creek resident will be very beneficial in this position.  We're happy to see you there!  With you in Special Events and MaryAnn Brown in Activities, we have a great leadership team.  We thank you both for your dedication to a very busy job!

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Hands-On Computer Training Classes

 

 

 

This is a gift to all of you who have switched to Windows 8 or 8.1 and struggle with the learning curve of a new system.  The "Geeks on Tour" (Jim and Chris Guld) are holding a three hour "hands-on" workshop on Thursday, December 18.  Class will be held in the Ocotillo Room which is the house near the north end of the Street of Dreams.  Class will be from 9:00 a.m. till noon.

The workshop is limited to the first 12 people who sign up and pay in advance to reserve their spot.  Payment is $25 or just $15 if you are a member of Geeks on Tour.  To register and pay, call Sue Hepler at Site 1707 (phone 7707) or sign up at any of the upcoming seminars or computer club meeting. 

Bring your computer, power cord, tablet and pen for notes.  Don't miss this opportunity!

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Jim and Chris are also holding a three hour "hands-on" workshop about editing your photos with Picasa on Monday, December 22.  Class will again be held in the Ocotillo Room from 9:00 a.m. till noon.
 
Again, seating for these workshops is limited to the first 12 people who sign up and pay in advance to reserve their spot.  Payment is $25 or just $15 if you are a member of Geeks on Tour.  To register and pay, call Sue Hepler at Site 1707 (phone 7707) or sign up at any of the upcoming seminars or computer club meeting. 
 
Bring your computer, power cord, tablet and pen for notes.  Don't miss this opportunity!
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Other upcoming seminars:

Dec 13 Sat, 10-12: Geeks on Tour: Make a free website with Blogger, Picasa, and Google+ 
 Dec 15 Mon 6-8: Geeks on Tour: Using Google Maps to Plan, Preserve, and Share your travels 

 Dec 20 Sat 10-12: Geeks on Tour: What is Cloud Computing? 

 Dec 22 Mon: Geeks on Tour: Free software for making your own movies, Photo Story and Movie Maker 

 Dec 27: Sat: Geeks on Tour: Technology for Travelers Overview 

 Dec 29 Mon: Geeks on Tour: Picasa and Google+ Web Albums for all your digital photo needs

Wrapping, Mantis, Classes

Ho Ho Ho........look at all Santa's elves busy at work wrapping the presents our residents so generously have donated to the giving tree.

 

Tis the true spirit of Christmas!

 

My son was visiting for the day, looked down at his foot and found a praying mantis perched on his shoe.   

 

Guess he just stopped by to say hello.

 

We visited with him and enjoyed his company.  Then we gently put him in our flower garden.

 

The Geeks on Tour (Jim and Chris Guld) have certainly been busy with all the seminars they've been presenting.  This day they also attended the Android users group to talk more in depth about smartphones and tablets.

 

 

Classes have been well attended with lots of positive feedback.  As professional teachers (and geeks) they keep the programs entertaining as well as informative.  In addition to their regularly scheduled seminars, they will also be present at the Photography club meeting on Monday to talk more about Picasa and editing your photographs.

 

 P.S.  Don't forget the patio sales and the Pampered Chef event this Saturday.

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This is a  Testimony to Dedication and Focus

 

It was later reported that his wife got out safely, and that he did indeed par the hole.

He says the divorce isn't going to be that bad, now that there's no house involved.

 

 

Another Week

It was another week of fun activities starting with "Popkorn's" annual chocolate party.  Ron Johnson has this great chocolate fountain he drags out each year for this festival at his house.

Friends bring something to dip into the chocolate for sampling.

There's everything imaginable (pretzels, strawberries, assorted fruits, cakes, cookies, marshmallows, etc.) and even nice crispy bacon.  Yup.  Chocolate covered bacon.  Actually it tastes better than it sounds.  Thanks for the nice party Ron.

 

Mornings have been clear and calm so its common to see John Ross and his balloon taking off from the softball field and cruising overhead.  It's a fantastic view of our resort.  John and his friends will be flying 10 hot air balloons the weekend of the Cancer Awareness event in February.  They're still asking for volunteers to help with launching the balloons.  See the sign up sheets in Activities.

 

Something new was added this week.  Sam's Club sponsored a morning breakfast for us with free donuts and coffee on the fireside patio Monday morning.  There wll be another one Monday, December 15 at 8:00 a.m.  You must pick up your tickets in Activities so they have an accurate head count.  Seating is limited so don't wait too long to get your tickets.  It was kind of chilly that morning so seats close to the fire pits were highly desirable.  Dress warm.  It was a great chance to chat with friends and meet new people.

 

 

Ohhhhhh......I happened to see this beautiful hawk perched at the top of one of he palm trees near the north pool.  Isn't he a beauty?!!  This is the best photo I could get with just my cell phone.

 

 

Speaking of cell phones.....we're learning lots of new tips and tricks from Jim and Chris Guld (the Geeks on Tour).  They held a smart phone seminar Monday night and provided us with lots of new information.

 

Today they attended the Android group meeting and we learned even more.  We're all anxious to learn more about what these wonder machines can do for us.

 

Next upcoming classes will be:

 Dec 13 Sat, 10-12:  Make a free website with Blogger, Picasa, and Google+ 

 Dec 15 Mon 6-8:  Using Google Maps to Plan, Preserve, and Share your travels 
 Dec 20 Sat 10-12:  What is Cloud Computing? 

Watch for further announcements.

Disc Golf Tournament

I sort of stumbled upon a very entertaining event yesterday when I discovered we were hosting a huge Disc Golf Tournament here.  My first clue was when I spotted huge groups of "young" people gathering with strange looking back packs.  LOL 

 

Being the shy person that I am, I immediately had to approach the group and ask a ton of questions.  I'd never met anyone involved in this sport so it was fascinating to learn more about it.  Each of their discs is specially weighted for distance and curve so they have a driver, putter, etc just like our avid golfers.   The tough part though is when a disc strays off course and drowns in a pond.  It's not like losing a $2 golf ball as each disc can cost from $20-$40.  Ouch!!

 

 

 

When you carry a bag like these, you're looking at a sizeable investment.

Instead of using a hole in the ground for a target, they have to land the disk in a basket like this.

 

 

Our lawn bowl area was a perfect place for warming up and a few side bets.  It was fascinating to watch and the accuracy was quite impressive.

 

 
Our ponds were bulging over their banks due to recent rain so the obstacles were more challenging.  After the waters recede, it will be fun to go looking for the discs that strayed over the water.  (They don't float!  LOL)

Our greens were "out of bounds" so no one wanted to land there and the players totally avoided walking on the greens.  Thought I'd mention that so our golfers would not be concerned.
 
Quite a few of our residents enjoyed watching the tournament.  I'd see them out on their patios or on their bikes riding from spot to spot.  Most clapped and cheered for the great shots they saw......or awwwed in sympathy when a pond greedily swallowed up a stray disc. 

 

One of the goals of this tournament was to raise awareness of the sport.  The players told us about the age categories and mentioned they have 55+ categories, 65+ and even higher.  Are any of you interested in starting something new??

It was hard to get a "launch" photo.

 

 

J. Haas from "Go n Golf" was a sponsor for the event so had a booth set up for display.  He is a true Casa Grande native and has a store on Florence Blvd just west of the railroad overpass past the Holiday Inn hotel.  "J" said he loves his mobile pro shop and attends many events in the area.

 

 

Cute golf club covers. 

 The sun came out later in the afternoon making for a beautiful reflection into the pond.  It was a lovely day!  If Palm Creek gets the opportunity to host something like this again, I hope we'll get some advanced notice so we can plan to attend.  Maybe I missed the announcement somewhere??
 

 

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We had a nice crowd at the computer seminar Saturday morning when the Geeks on Tour presented a class about my favorite photo editing software called Picasa.

 

 

 

By popular request, Chris and Jim will conduct a three hour "hands on" Picasa class scheduled on Monday, December 22 at 9:00 a.m. in the SanTan room.  Advanced registration and payment ($25) is REQUIRED as class size is limited.  Look for the sign up sheet in Activities.  There is a clipboard that announces the Geeks on Tour classes.

 

 

To see a full listing of their other classes, go to the link at the top of this blog.  Tomorrow evening (Monday, Dec 8, 6:00-8:00 p.m.) is a presentation about smart phones and tablets.  Show that phone of yours that it is NOT smarter than you are.

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Our new Prickly Pear classroom has finally arrived.  With all the clubs and activities we have, extra meeting space is heavily in demand.  This additional space will be available soon.  (we hope :))

 

 

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This display is in one of the windows along the hallway in the admin building.  The jewelry is beautiful....but did you realize that all of this was made by our residents in their lapidary or silver smithing classes?  Awesome. 

 

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