Good news and sad news

 Happy New Year from our Hepler family.....sons Anton and Kevin.  So lucky and happy to have had them here for Christmas Day.  This is the best selfie we could come up with.  😟

Two balloons flying overhead.  Always fun to see.

Mouse just loves a nice noisy crinkly paper bag.

We definitely have to pick the bag up before bedtime....or else we hear it at all hours. 😸

Don has company when it comes time to change the furnace filters.  Kat is definitely a curious onlooker.

Don has to screw the door shut to prevent Kat from going inside and ruining the filters.

The iPad has some fun apps for cat games.

Our landscape crew was out covering the flowers in preparation for forecasted freezing temperatures on Saturday night.  Must cover them early as the crew will be home for the new year holiday.

Casa Grande has some good news.....

...and some sad news.

Bed Bath & Beyond will be closing its doors at the Promenade Mall.  

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I have a strict policy of not posting obituary notices about any of our residents or good friends...but...am making an exception for Fernando Luna.  Fernando sadly passed away on Christmas Day.  I don't have an address to send cards to the family at this point but I know MANY of us have fond memories of Fernado's days at Palm Creek.  Fernando and Jim Dawson built Palm Creek!

Click on the link for photos:  Fernando Luna

Here is a link to the obituary at the funeral home if you wish to leave words of condolence to the family.  Link:  Whitney Murphy Funeral Home

Rainbows

 We had some cloudy sky this afternoon and just a drizzle of rain.  We all went running outside to view the beautiful rainbow that formed all across the sky.  This was truly the most prominent colorful rainbow I've ever seen.  You'll see many more pictures on Nextdoor as everyone with a camera was posting its beauty.

Photo by Scott Honodel

Photo by Scott Honodel

Photo by Dick Rietz

This photo by ME.

I thought I'd start a new section for the blog.  I'll call it "10 years ago".  I'll scan back through old photos and find something 10 years on this date.  Tonight I found this map that was scanned on December 29, 2011.  I remember the dirt at the north west side of the park.  There were NO houses there at all.  

I don't have any other big news to report so I'll share a few cat cartoons.

This one is soooo true!  

Contest Winners, Fountains

I hope all of you had a nice Christmas!

Now we look forward to a new year.

HOME DECORATING CONTEST

 Just couldn't pick one winner so all these listed were WINNERS!  Congratulations to all for their efforts to bring us holiday cheer.  We thank you.

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Latest from Mark Kenner about our fountains:

We now have the lights working on the 2 fountains in the main lake. It's going to be a few more days to get the recirculation pump going so we have water flowing through the creek again.

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The Flyer's Club also has a great race track for those remote control cars.  Great place to bring the grandkids when they come to visit.  Tell them to bring their car along.

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Our boys at play

Scrolling through old photos, I came across this aerial view of Palm Creek.  Notice the open field area in the north east corner.

December 22, 2012

Chorus, Fountains, & Trees

 

Thank you to a group of our dedicated chorus members who came out to serenade us with Christmas carols.  They played at three different locations around the park Sunday afternoon.

I like it when our singers/song writers get busy and create new lyrics.  Check out these words for Walking in a Winter Wonderland:

Betty Preston has announced a Christmas music presentation to be held on the Palm Park stage Wednesday, December 22, at 11:30a.m.  Flute, violin & harp music by Mary Hansen, Marti Fruend and Betty Steele.  Bring a chair and enjoy the talents of some of our residents.

We have progress on our fountains and water pumps.  The motors in the fountains have been replaced and the fountain nozzle has been changed to the Lilly setting so now the fountains in the main lake both match. 

All five fountains are now up and running.  😃

The front 9 circulation pump is here on site but not yet installed.

We saw another truckload of palm trees arrive last week.  New trees for the north 40 plus replacements around the park where needed.

Photo by Scott Honodel

Christmas Golf Cart Parade

 What fun!!  We had over 30 decorated carts in our parade Friday afternoon.  Joy Miller and I got to ride right behind the lead cart and marshalled others to keep up.  Our job was also to make enough noise to let onlookers know the parade was on its way.  I think we excelled at noise making.  😉

First place for cutest decorated golf cart went to Cheryl Durocher and Heidi Moore....the happy Mother/Daughter team.

Drone Video of the parade:

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I had to stop in the sales office this week and was surprised to see the new renovations.  Amber said they needed more office space so redefined the reception desk.  Looks good!!

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On our way to Barro's for pizza the other night, we noticed some big construction at the corner of Peart and Kortsen.  Found out from the Chamber that it will be a new Dollar General store.  Our little city is really booming.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

ALERTS

 Palm Creek has a text alert program they can send out for major announcements.  All residents should connect to get the information.

This is especially important for  Frost Warnings for the golf course and grass areas.

Instructions:  Text GREEN to 22452 and opt in to get the alerts

Text PALM to 22452 to receive alerts about safety or water shut off.

This is a great way to send out an immediate announcement.....but sadly it doesn't connect to any international or Canadian lines.  

Bingo

I was the caller at Monday night Bingo this week.  As I was calling off numbers and waiting for a lucky winner to yell out, I thought about the 130+ players in the audience.  It's time to write a story about the Bingo game we hold each week.  

Palm Creek bingo started back around 1999 when Flo Fillipi started the program.  Flo has been the "go to" person ever since.  She says she has now retired from the program but we still see her every Monday when we set up for the game and she still actively lines up the working volunteers.  Thank you, Flo, from the hundreds of people you have entertained over the years.

P.S.  Flo will celebrate her 93rd birthday this coming Monday.

Supervision has now shifted to Barbara Nelson.  She does the financial reporting to the state of Arizona and keeps records of winners and jackpots.  Bingo is a hidden network of volunteers.  Barb is another behind the scenes worker who is there every Monday afternoon to oversee the set up of tables and chairs.

We have over 130 players every Monday.  This number will definitely increase in January and full season.

Imagine setting up all these tables and chairs!  

Set up starts at 3:00 in the afternoon with a volunteer staff of about 3-4 people.  As a little thank you to the set up crew, they receive a small gift certificate from one of the local restaurants...all paid for from bingo funds.

There are three different groups that are "hired" to put away tables and chairs after each game.  The duty rotates between softball, tennis, and the woodshop.  Their volunteers show up around 9:00 pm to put away the chairs and tables after the game.  Activities has now scheduled the Tuesday morning coffee in the ballroom so the teams are lucky and their duties have gotten a lot easier since they don't have to put away the furniture.  In turn for their work, their club receives $100 each night they are on duty.  (All paid from bingo funds.)

Pat Stone from Michigan won the final black out game this week.

Congratulations! 😀

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Speaking of fun events, don't forget the Christmas golf cart parade scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, Dec 17 at 5:00).  Parade starts by Palm Park and will probably make a round of Cole Circle.  Be outside to cheer as they pass by!  Joy and I will be riding our scooters!  

Activities is also having a photo session on Friday where you can stop by the ballroom anytime from 10 till 2:00 and have a holiday photo taken to share with your loved ones, friends or neighbors.  Bring your cell phone or they will have one available.

Continuing with the holiday spirit, the Palm Creek Chorus will be doing some neighborhood caroling on Sunday, Dec 19.

4:00 at pavilion by the sports pool

4:30 at pavilion at the tennis courts

5:00 at Palm Park

Come and share the gift of song!!

It's a busy couple days as Saturday is another patio sale.  Pick up a map of sites at the Activities office after 1:00.  It makes it easier to shop if you have a map.