Witches and morning coffee

We have a troop of gals that play Pegs and Jokers EVERY Thursday afternoon for the past 8 years or so.  We call ourselves the "Peg Witches" because we're very competitive players and tend to get "witchy" at times (in fun, of course!).  Nancy Flader hosted our annual Halloween Witches party last night.  We invited our subs as well so the true witches are in the hats. We call the subs "Sub Witches".

One of our loyal witches has moved away but she obviously still thinks of us as she sent us this photo last night.  She's the witch that "bit the dust" and left us.  Hugs to Lillie Corbitt.

Eric from Freedom RV was the host at the first official morning coffee of the season.  Freedom RV sponsors a number of events here including Casino Night this fall.  They will be bringing in new rigs on display January 4-6 so stop by for a tour.  We're looking forward to seeing the new "Jeep" that converts into a camper.

Speaking on the subject of the weekly coffee sessions.  Marion Nelson emphasized the importance of getting tickets ahead of time for these weekly meetings.  The headcount is critical for ordering the correct number of donuts and amount of coffee to prepare.  The tickets are free but you must get them for each week......and if you have a ticket but don't attend, you may be preventing someone else from attending as attendance is limited.  We meet on the Bistro patio but if weather turns too cold or rainy, we will meet in the ballroom.  It's a nice time to socialize with friends and learn more about our sponsors, hear the announcements of upcoming events .........and who can resist a free donut!!

The humane society will be bringing some adorable animals seeking a warm loving home.  Stop by to visit them at the tennis pavilion on Tuesday, November 6. You might find a stray relative of Mouse or Kat.

Mahjong

Interest in the game of Mahjong is growing.  We have over 60 members on our roster already.  Want to learn to play?  There is a very easy game called "Western" Mahjong to get you started.  Rita Mullins will be giving lessons for beginners on Fridays at 12:30 in Sonora South beginning November 1.

The majority of players use the National card and rules to play but there are several other offshoot games as well.  My favorite is "Marvelous Mahjong".  It follows the same rules as National but has a card of hands that is much different and is fun and challenging.  I will offer lessons on Fridays at 12:30.

This summer we were introduced to 4-player Siamese which uses two full sets of tiles and has its own card of hands as well.  Fun for everyone at all levels.

Tuesdays 12:30 (Sonora South)

Thursday nights 6:30 (Sonora North)

Fridays 12:30 (Sonora North & South)

I warn you though........the game is addictive and challenging.  You're bound to make new friends and have a FUN time.  Come alone or bring a friend.  Join us.

Drone Video

Don sent the drone up to take a look around this morning.  The new pool and hot tub have been poured.  The back 9 is turning green.  New houses still coming in on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, the landscape crew is planting flowers!  

GOOD NEWS for all of us!  A new left turn arrow light has been installed at the corner of Florence and Henness.  We won't have to dodge oncoming traffic to turn left onto Henness.  Thank you to the DOT for listening to our requests.

Flowers and the new pool

With the storms in the area, our sky has provided beautiful scenery the last several days.  If you look on Facebook, you'll see some beautiful pictures some residents have been taking.

The back nine is sporting its new green velvet grass.  Looks sooooo nice.  Target opening date is the 8th I believe.  Back nine is still under progress shooting for late November opening.  I'm sure that scheduling is very difficult due to rainy weather we had for a while.....but we don't complain about rain when we live in a desert.

Work continues at the new pool in the north corner.

Spraying started yesterday.

Don promises to be out with the drone later today.

We had another dusty night with a tad of rain to follow.  I can't resist adding a smiley face to a few car windows waiting for their owners to return.

It's always exciting to see the flowers arrive each season.  The first of several truckloads is here.

Octoberfest

I heard that ticket sales are kind of slow for the Octoberfest party on October 27.  Hop up to the Activities Office and get your ticket now.

Welcome to October

Turning the calendar page to October has made a drastic change here.  No more triple digits!  In fact, Don is wearing his blue jeans to stay warm on these chilly mornings at low 60s temps.  We have a second cup of coffee before doing our morning rounds so the weather has time to warm up before we go out there.

AND......the weather man said this has been the wettest October in history!  We have had several days of beautiful lovely rain.  The nice steady kind of rain with no wind or storms.  Pickleball people and golfers may not appreciate it, but it has been wonderful for our parched desert.

The rain may have delayed work on the golf course though.  Some seeding is done but there's lots of work still to do.  We saw landscapers hoeing the flower beds this morning and we always look forward to the new flower beds.....although our cactus still bring forth some lovely blooms.

Our residents are returning in droves so there much more activity.  Powerwash and cleaning people are heavily booked.  The activities office opened yesterday so the place was busy with folks anxious to pick up their tickets for the season events.

Ashley Delgado faces the challenge of being Activities Manager this year and MaryAnn Brown has moved her office over to the Pro Shop.  Be sure to stop in and say hello.

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I must take a moment to say a BIG thank you to Pat LaFleur for the wonderful gift she made for me this summer.  WOW!!!  She said she follows my blog and enjoys the stories about Kat and Mouse.  Thank you, Pat, for a wonderful thoughtful gift.  

Now I have to find a "safe" place to hang this.

October brings relief from heat

How wonderful to turn the calendar page to October!  It instantly brought cooler temperatures, a welcomed relief from the triple digits, and even the precious rain for our parched desert landscape.  

It also brings the steady stream of returning snowbirds so it takes twice as long to run an errand here in the park because we stop to hug and welcome so many returning friends.

Smiling faces at the front desk too.

Gabrielle

Kathy 

......and Freddy are all here to welcome you back.

While up there, I stopped to say Howdy to the ladies at the pool tables.  Friday is still ladies pool day.  I'm sure they will welcome you to play along.

Don took Maverick up for a flight across the north 40.  Check out the progress.

Cloudy Day

We're back to sunny sky today but yesterday looked awesome as Hurricane Rosa spilled over the mountains surrounding us.

Crews are busy all over.  Here they're working on the new RV lots in the north 40.

Putting in the rebar for the new pool.  Should be ready to pour sometime next week.

The north pool is being spruced up.

The doggie parks, palm park, and the baseball field are being reseeded.

Looks like some repair work on the scoreboard too.

We still see some cactus plants showing off their blooms.

Lots of blooms on this tall stalk.

Water Water Everywhere????

Uh Oh...............another major water main break that needs repair.  Water will be shut off tomorrow morning 8:00 a.m. for about 6 hours.  Fill some jugs and pails to last through the morning.  Please spread word to your neighbors and any new people who may not be on Nextdoor or this blog.

Hurricane Rosa comes to Arizona

So far..........without a doubt, we welcome Hurricane Rosa as she has brought gentle precious rain to Casa Grande.  It has been raining slow and steady since 3:00 am this morning.  So far so good as no Pinal County flooding is being reported.  The national weather makes it sound quite severe but here we are very pleased to have the rain.

.....and it is wonderfully cool with temps in the lower 70s.  Yahoo!!!