Duplicate Bridge Christmas Party

Just some casual photos of our duplicate bridge club enjoying our Christmas party.  

Aha!  Caught Irene going back for more.  😉

RC Flying

We stil have some avid remote control pilots in the park.  Drive out to their new airfield and take a look around or go to watch the action.

Drone photo from Alan Friedman

2018, Year Of Many Changes For CG RC Flyers

The last 12 months have brought many changes to the Casa Grande RC Flyers field at 2725 S. Isom Road, across from the public shooting range.  The membership has grown tremendously which allowed for the club board of directors to authorize a large number of major improvements at the field.

Last January, the club purchased a remoter weather station which allows club members as well as users of the public and police shooting ranges, to see the “real time” conditions at the air field.  The city was gracious enough to provide a flag pole on which to mount the station.  Then, over the summer, the club president, Alan Friedman, filed the necessary documents to apply for building permits which allowed for two other major improvements.  The first being the construction of two stainless steel sun shades over some of the pilot tables.  The second being the addition of a large steel storage unit in which to house the club’s safety gear like first aid supplies and fire extinguishing equipment.  At he same time that the city approved the building permits, the City Council approved an increase to the weight limit for aircraft used at the field from 10 pounds to 20 pounds.  That change allowed the use of larger aircraft including more helicopters and drones.

Thanks to a donation by the former Palm Creek flying club, the club installed an additional runway.  The donated petromat runway accommodates aircraft with smaller wheels or aircraft that land on their belly, without the use of landing gear.  Also, as requested by the club membership, the club now has120-volt AC power which can be used by the members who fly electric aircraft to charge their airplane batteries.  It can also be used power the club’s power tools, which maintain the field infrastructure. 

Lastly the club has added many events for the enjoyment and benefit of the public and area charities.  The most recent being weekly “combat” airplane dogfights on Thursday mornings and a new “Fly In For Hospice” which will take place the second Saturday in January.  Over the last six years the Casa Grande RC Flyers has also raised funds, and provided needed items to charities such as the Casa Grande Food Bank, The Wounded Warrior Project and the Valley Humane Society.     

The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an Arizona non-profit corporation chartered to promote interest in model aviation and give back to the Casa Grande community.  They have also provided classes at area schools and 4-H groups to teach the principals of flight and provide free instruction to anyone wanting to learn to fly model aircraft.  The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an AMA “Gold Level Leader Club” which is the highest award the AMA can bestow to a chartered club.  Individuals can learn more about this wonderful club and find directions to their airfield by viewing the club web site at www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com

Cod Dinner

The cod dinner was DELICIOUS!!!  Fresh fried cod with baked potato, salad, fresh home made bread, and apple dumplings for dessert.  Thank you to Robin Perry and her hard working team for a GREAT meal and a pleasant evening with friends.

I got permission to take my camera into the kitchen to observe our dishwasher in action.  It is certainly nice to eat off of real plates instead of paper.

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Our Mahjong group enjoyed our Christmas party yesterday with 11 tables of players.  What a fantastic table of finger food!!

pigeon control?

The craft fair was really a pleasant event Tuesday.  Great weather to walk around and tour al the booths.  The new ballroom really makes the event much nicer since there is so much room to get through the aisles now.  The biggest excitement though was outside by the main entrance when this young hawk kept going after the pigeons.  Onlookers said they saw him get two already that morning.  Hope he stays around.

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Our Pegs & Jokers classes start this week on Thursday mornings.  Avis and I will be in the Adobe room to teach beginners and coach others on how to increase the strategy of their play.  Pegs ranks right up there among my favorite games to play so we need to get more people trained and ready to join in..  Thursday mornings at 9:30.

A number of people were asking where they could buy the boards.  There was a new vendor at the craft fair selling home made boards all hand painted.  You can pick and choose which boards you want...or they will take custom orders.

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We had fun out at the shooting range this week. Shirley did a great job for her first time ever to hold or shoot a gun.  You GO girl!!!

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Sweet innocent nap time.

Ukelele Performance

Thank you to the Ukulele players for inviting residents to come hear their repertoire of  Christmas songs. It was an excellent example of all the FUN things to do at Palm Creek.  Whatever your interest, there's always something to keep you entertained and active.

Chorus Christmas Concert

Congratulations to the Palm Creek Chorus for their delightful performance Thursday night!  All the hours of practice they do has definitely paid off.  The whole concert was outstanding, well organized and FUN.  The slide show on both sides of the stage add to the enjoyment of the event.  Special recognition to the piano players, conductors, and soloists!  Thank you all for sharing your talents.

We stayed after the concert to enjoy the hot chocolate and homemade cookies while we chatted with friends and neighbors.  It all made for a lovely evening.

-o

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The "boys" as I call them.....meaning Kat and Mouse....got a new Christmas present this week.  It came with some assembly required and Kat was quite impatient for Don to finish it.

Sadly, our living room is turning into their jungle gym.

Mahjong Christmas

To ALL Mahjong players......western, national, marvelous, etc. Place: Sonoran North and South Let's have a little Christmas party on Friday, December 14, Set up at 12:00. Eat and play all afternoon. Bring finger food or light sandwiches and your own beverage. Plates, silverware and napkins will be provided. Hope to see you there!

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Thank you to Lynne Rogers for sending this beautiful photo:

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Only the Monday night Bingo players will understand this photo!

Red Solo Cup

Good Morning, Arizona!!

The weather is "perfect" for our big Solo Cup festival today.

The band "Hillbilly Deluxe" did an excellent job of keeping us entertained with their high energy country/rock music.

Couldn't have asked for better weather.

Over 650 tickets sold for lunch.

Thank you to the Robin Perry and the kitchen crew for the good meal.

Sloppy joes and Robin's special coleslaw. Yum!

Amazing Dental was really dressed for the occasion.

Saturday night in the Adobe Room.  Most of our houses aren't really big enough to comfortably play cards with a group of 6 or more but we can head up to the clubhouse to play.  Looks like quite a few groups had the same idea.   

Say hello to a couple newcomers at the front desk.

Victoria Unger (left) and Sandra Hopson (right).  Welcome aboard!

Jan Dickie at center is NOT new and has been a valuable employee for several years.

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We have two identical cat trees both in front of a window but for some reason, Kat and Mouse like to wrestle to determine who gets this one.

Announcement Reminders

Palm Creek will be sending Care Packages to troops deployed overseas this holiday season. Become part of our gift-giving. When you do your grocery shopping, pick up a couple items from the list below. Drop them off in Activities in the ‘Troop Area’. At the end of the month, we will gather volunteers and package up the goodies to send to the troops. If you know of someone currently serving in military, bring their address.

• ·        Cookies (homemade are best)
• ·        Slim Jims
• ·        Cans or small packages of nuts
• ·        Bean dip or cheese dip for crackers
• ·        Trail mix
• ·        Granola bars
• ·        Tins of tuna, sardines, etc.
• ·        Inc oxide cream (tubes only)

A ‘giving tree’ will be set up in the Activities Office with paper ornaments listing the age and gender of each child needing a gift. We ask that you pick up an ornament starting November 19th. Take a tag, register it with Activities, purchase and return it to the Activities Office. Or, if you would rather make a cash donation, we will do the shopping for you. Gifts may be placed in a Christmas bag, but please do not wrap them, we will do it for you. The deadline to return them will be Wednesday, December 5th. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Volunteers are needed to wrap all the presents. If you would like to participate, please call Sherin Kidd at (303) 845- 0956 to be placed on the schedule. Wrapping times will be 10:00am - Noon and 1:00 - 3:00pm daily.

RED SOLO CUP PARTY Saturday, November 17, 11:00a.m.  in Palm Park

It’s Bingo! Doors open at 5:30pm, card sales at 6:00pm and Bingo starts at 7:00pm in the Ballroom. Your name badge is required. Bring your daubers, snacks, beverages and get ready for some excitement!

Thursday, Nov 23rd Happy Thanksgiving! Dinner will be served at 2:00 pm in the Ballroom. Enjoy a wonderful holiday meal with your friends and neighbors. This is a BYOB event. Ticket sale cutoff is Nov 15th.

Mahjong lessons for western and Marvelous versions are available on Friday afternoons at 12:30 in the Sonora rooms. Regular play is scheduled for Tuesday and Friday afternoons at 12:30 plus Thursday nights 6:30.

History

Once upon a time, a long time ago.....Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort was born.  I believe the year was 1998-1999. 

Floyd and Lola Freeman were some of the early residents.  Here is a picture of their site at #217.  

They could easily see the clubhouse from their site.

....with a clear view to the mountains.

Don and Flo Fillipi were among the first true homesteaders.  Here is their rig parked at site 907.

Flo says folks were greeted at the gate by someone sitting in their car as the guard shack wasn't built yet.  Thank you, Flo, for sharing memories.

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We salute our veterans and current troops as well.