The Fun Continues

This morning was our breakfast social and I am now ready for a nap.  Whew.  Too much good stuff to eat.  The park provided a breakfast casserole, orange juice, iced tea, or coffee and everyone else brought a potato dish, donuts, breads, or fresh fruit.  Everything always looks so good and we’re anxious to sample each dish which makes for a huge meal….ever so delicious.
A new Palm Creek sponsor was present to introduce herself and her services.  We welcome Daniela Thomaschaske.  Daniela has started a mobile dog grooming service called Curb Side K-9 Clips.  She gave a short introduction to describe the service she can provide to our pampered pets.  She sounds very enthusiastic, obviously loves dogs and the service she can provide, has over 10 years of grooming experience, and has a great custom built rig to work with. 
I tagged along with a couple interested dog owners who wanted to see the rig where their pups would be visiting.  Daniela’s rig was custom built for the dog grooming business.  It has a 55 gallon holding tank for fresh water and a gray water tank as well.  The rig is air conditioned plus has a window so the doggies can watch outside and see how close they are to home.  The hair dryer (or should I say fur dryer) is built in so the unit isn’t loud to scare the pups.

The standard charge is between $35 to $45 depending on the dog and/or service provided.  If she can book 3 or 4 clients on the same day here at Palm Creek, she will give each customer a $5 discount.  The people who were interested in curb side service said they liked it because their dog didn’t get locked in a cage at the groomers for several hours while waiting their turn or when “Mom” could come pick them up.    Our breakfast hosts:  Peggy, Daniela, and Linda

Cub Side K-9 Clips

Daniela Thomaschaske

520-343-5003

Construction continues

Good Morning Readers,
If you watch us on the national weather report, you’ve heard about our heat wave?  They’re calling it an Excessive Heat Advisory for the next 3-4 days with temps expected 110-115 and only cooling into the 90s by night.  Sure am glad we had our AC checked this spring so we know it’s in good working order.  Anyone care to donate to our electric bill for the month??  HA HA. 
In spite of the heat, construction on park models, room add-ons, new patios, etc continues.  I just returned from our daily housewatch duties and took a few snapshots along the way home.  I know of several other places that are under way, but these were just on the path home.  It’s HOT out there but these guys just keep plugging away.  It’s not just the construction crews out there, but the landscaping and maintenance crews are busy also.  This morning I saw them mowing the golf course, trimming bushes, fixing water lines, cleaning out the creek, and emptying the dumpsters.  That’s just the activity I saw myself so you know there’s lots of other work going on.  I salute them for their tenacity.  Gatorade anyone??
While the younger generation is out there slaving away in the heat, we retired folks stay indoors for entertainment.  This week we attended a house party compliments of Edie Pries.  She sponsored a Gold Canyon candle party at her home.  I give Edie credit for gathering all of us into her living room and still managing to seat all of us comfortably during the presentation.  If you like the Gold Canyon line of candles, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to purchase them this season at our craft fairs as Diane Kincaid will be hosting a table there each month.  Any occasion to get together in the summer is a welcome event.

Diane Kincaid giving the presentation. Edie received a nice hostess gift for sponsoring the event. Pat and Rosemary looking over samples & choosing their favorite scent. Stay tuned for other “exciting” events.  LOL

Status Report

Good Morning Readers!  Some time ago, Bill Murr gave me a tip about using a statistical counter on this blog.  Thank you, Bill, because I’ve certainly enjoyed the numbers and information the program provides.  The counter provides a map showing where each of the readers are when they log into the blog.  This is amazing!!!!  Here is proof positive that our friends and families scatter across this vast country of ours.  I also receive an email from the stat counter each week showing the number of hits.  Thought I’d share one with you so you can see activity from this past week.  I’m always happy to receive occasional emails from readers just acknowledging that they enjoy reading the blog because it makes them long to be back here in the land of sun and fun.  But….before you all pack your suitcases and scurry back here, perhaps you should see the weather forecast for this week.  You may want to wait a while till cooler temps prevail.  We’re in the “monsoon” season now (as of June 15) which means our dew point rises to 53+.  We set a record a few weeks ago with a low humidity reading of 2.  That is definitely what one would call a “dry heat”.  IF we ever get some rain for a change, that comfort level will change because you put that heat with a little humidity and you really appreciate the air conditioning.  I can’t remember the last time it rained here….sometime in winter I believe.  Our hopes for rain rose when that tropical storm hit the gulf last week but the weatherman only gave us a 30% chance….and it missed us completely.  If you read about rain in Arizona, it was NOT in Casa Grande.

Actually, I’m looking forward to witnessing another haboob.  That is not a typo….the term is truly haboob meaning sand storm.  You can bet I’ll have camera in hand when the first one arrives and will be excited to share it with you.  Just for fun….go to Google and enter “haboob”.  You’ll see some fantastic photos of the big storm that hit Phoenix last year.  It’s awesome.

In spite of the heat, our spirits do not wane.  Our lovely swimming pools here in the park serve us very well.  In fact, this being Monday, you’ll find an avid group of water volleyball players enjoying the evening.  Come on down to the main pool Monday and Thursday evenings at 6:00 for some summer time fun.  It’s not very crowded this time of year!

Thanks for being a reader…..and thank you for the occasional emails.  It is feedback from you that keeps me motivated to write.

www.sue77hepler@yahoo.com

Goodbye Matrix, Hello Dish

This notice was found in all mailboxes this morning.  Thought I’d scan it in and post it here for your information.

 

Hole In One!

I received the following email from “Popkorn” this morning so will post it here for those who know LeRoy Weaver.

“The Palm Creek Summer Sweat League Golfers are pleased to announce a temporary name change for one of our newest participants.  "Loverboy LeRoy" will be changed to "Ace Weaver."  That's right,  LeRoy had a hole-in-one on the second hole on the morning of July 8th.  You can tell by the photo that he is serious when he plays golf.  Such determination for such a new golfer (he started a month ago) is really an accomplishment!  His fellow "Sweaters" wish him the best of season's play!!!”The above post is from his loyal comrads on the links. 

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!!

No 4th of July would be appropriate without a picnic but when the outside temperature is 108 degrees, that picnic is held indoors.  The ballroom was a nice cool area for us today with brats, polish sausage, and LOTS of delicious side dishes and desserts.  I keep saying it over and over again, but these potluck type dinners are awesome!  We had a pretty good crowd so I took photos of a number of tables hoping you’ll find some familiar faces.

View Full Album

The palm tree I bragged about a few days ago is now looking pretty shaggy.  Flower blossoms have fallen making our driveway and the streets  look like a white snowstorm.  Bottom branches are dying and hanging down as the trees grow taller.  I’ll post another update when the yearly pruning starts. 

Don and I went to eat at Olive Garden last night and had to laugh as we approached the restaurant.  With the sun shining directly at the entrance, you’ll notice dinner napkins wrapped around the door handles since they get too hot to touch!  Welcome to Arizona!

Donuts or Exercise??

There was a very small crowd at the coffee and donuts session this morning.  The only full table present were the same group of characters we usually run into on the golf course.

Jim and Rex were in the kitchen “helping Diane”??  They were in charge of making sure we didn’t have too many donuts left over.The gals evidently opted to have fresh air and exercise this morning as I spotted this group at water aerobics in the north pool.

 

Have a GREAT day!

 

 

Still having fun

Summer has arrived.  Triple digits are here every day and it only cools down to the 80s by night.  I can still ride my bike in the EARLY morn and, of course, the swimming pool (although the water is quite warm) is still available in evenings.

That doesn’t dampen our spirits, however, as there are still fun things to do indoors.  Yesterday afternoon was an ice cream social.  I thought group photos would get dull after a while but I hear back from so many readers that its always nice to see who is in attendance.  Thus, I took more photos of us “desert rats” who stay here through summer.

It’s always nice to remember those who help set up the events.

After our ice cream treats, many of us gals head over to the San Tan room to play cards for the afternoon.  The game of choice is usually ponytail canasta….why so named, I shall never know.  Billie Huntley(seated at center) is our fearless leader, source of inspiration, and ever vigilant score keeper.   Thank you, Billie, for keeping this rowdy crew under control.

Just another day

It’s just another Monday here in our little corner of the world.  I remember how hard it used to be to get out of the bed on Monday mornings knowing I was facing another full work week.  My, how that has changed since retirement!  This morning I again woke at the crack of dawn and was anxious to get up and start enjoying the day.  It’s still quite pleasant in the mornings so I can enjoy a nice bike ride around the park or just an extra cup of coffee on the patio. 

I’m not the only one that rises early.  Most everyone that resides here gets up to enjoy the cooler temperatures.  I can hear the plink plunk of the pickleball players, neighbors out blowing and sweeping off their patio from all the palm tree pollen and fallen petals, the maintenance and landscape crews scurrying past on the way to the day’s chores.  Pet owners are out walking their dogs while the pavement is still bearable for their puppy paws. 

Don and I have returned from our morning housewatch chores and I’ve emailed a quick message off to our customers letting them know their homes are safe and secure.  We do a few houses each day and truly enjoy the time together with the project.  My camera gets a good work out as I try to take occasional photos of each home we’re watching.

Today we took some leisurely time to watch the landscape crew at work.  The back nine looks VERY nice right now with its lucious green rich color.  It is certainly not an easy chore to keep it looking this nice in our hot dry climate.

The front nine is “under construction” being aerated along with some drainage repair issues but has still been playable.  I figure it gives the golfers a good excuse for a higher score and also gives them something to complain about.

Summer has arrived!

Here is a photo of the thermometer on my patio…and yes, it is in the shade well protected from the hot sun.  I’m afraid this will be a typical picture for the next couple months.  With daytime temps this high, the ground doesn’t have enough time to cool down at night so evenings remain in the 80s or 90s.  We’re still on the patio for EARLY morning coffee, but that too will disappear before too long.  The swimming pool is certainly inviting each morning and evening though.  Afternoons are perfect for a nice secluded siesta in the cool air conditioning.

We set a new weather record this week when the humidity was at an all time low of 2% (that’s TWO percent).  Those of you suffering from the 80s and 90s back east with your 60-80% humidity will be envious.

Another fun way to spend an afternoon is to head up to the Zuni room and decorate bags for the cancer drive luminary project.  Volunteers will try to decorate 5000 bags for this worthy fund raiser.  Decorating sessions are sorta like Girl Scout and summer camp projects with lots of laughter and camaraderie. 

Bingo!

Our two Bingo “officials” were on duty last night to set up and conduct a summer bingo session.  While we only had 20+ players in attendance, we still had a good time.  Summer bingo includes free popcorn!  (Thank you, Diane)

With so few people in attendance, the game payouts weren’t huge, but its still always fun to be able to win and yell BINGO!  Kelly Kearns and I both won the final blackout game so split the $40 jackpot. 

As we were setting up for the event, I took a picture of the ballroom as it sits in the summer season.  We leave the tables set up so they’re ready for whatever occasion comes along.  It looks nice and festive with its red, white, and blue theme.

Flo Fillipi and Linda Berry were on hand to take care of the funds and Loren was our caller for the evening.  Thank you!

Another Pleasant Morning

Did you know we have a turtle living in the big pond by four-way stop?  He can typically be seen basking in the sun out on the water fountain station at the center of the pond but Sandy was able to capture a photo both on the station and on the shore!  Thank you, Sandy, for sharing this Kodak moment.
  
 No, I don’t know how old he/she is…I don’t know how long he/she has been living there, I don’t know how he/she got there, I don’t know what kind of turtle he/she is…..and I obviously don’t know if it is a HE or a SHE.  If any of you readers know the answers, send them my way.  Its always fun to scan the pond to see if “Turtle” is present.
Speaking of turtles and interesting characters found at our lovely resort…I came across this group this morning while out on our morning errands.  Say Hello to “the boys”.

 Have a GREAT day!