Craft Fair + New Homes + More

Normally we would sing “Rain Rain Go Away”…….but not when you live in the Arizona desert.  Here every drop of rain is precious to relieve the drought conditions.  Monday and Tuesday may not have been ideal for our golfers and outdoor sports but we were happy to have some real rain for a change.  I’m sure the desert plants and animals were happy as well.

                

The gray sky did NOT keep the shoppers away from the Craft Sale on Tuesday.  The usual booths in the parking lot didn’t appear due to the weather but the ballroom was packed with vendors and eager shoppers. 

Some of our own “Creekers” have booths to sell their hand-made treasures.

Jack Thomason has been busy in the wood shop working on his crafts. 

Bob Hotvet from Minnesota was selling his wood carvings. 

The boys from the woodshop were selling raffle tickets for this beautiful hand crafted drop leaf table.  Go buy some tickets so they can get more tools for the wood shop! 

Of course to make every event successful, there must be volunteers who cook and serve up the food.

Just a casual celebrity photo of some popular shoppers.

And….as always….someone has to be on duty to meet and greet arriving guests and residents.  Rain OR shine.

Oh………what is behind this big pile of dirt over by the storage area??

WOW!!  The hole has been dug for the first house on the new street to run down the other side of the golf course.  I hear that two of these big spec homes will be arriving there soon.  Seeing the big hole sparked my curiosity to see what was going to be available so we stopped up at the sales office Wednesday afternoon for the weekly tour of new homes.  Nancy Paupst from the Sales Office gives a guided tour each Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 so if you want to see samples of the new houses, stop in and join her tour.

Here is a floor plan for the new Carlene 2-bedroom 2-bath home showing 1,319 sq. ft. of space. 

We also got the chance to tour through the new 3-piece modular home located at Site 1261.  Very nice!  The resort has some terrific sales offers in place on some of these new models along with reduced rent for the first four years.  Keep an eye on Site 1396 where the park is constructing a sample “Casita”.  A Casita is a room that can be built on an RV or 5th wheel site.  Lots of exciting news and proof that our park is doing well.  The next phase of expansion calls for moving the softball field, building about 16 new pickleball courts, and 200 more home sites. 

Wednesday was a busy day as we had our weekly Computer Club meeting that morning.  Kevin Fahey from the Casa Grande Public Library was our guest speaker for the day.  He told us of a lot of information that is available from the library.  You can read all the details at our club blog at:  www.palmcreekcomputerclub.blogspot.com.  This year’s club president, Mike Salter, always has some entertaining as well as informative info for us as well.  Next week he will introduce us to Google Earth. 

P.S.  I was almost late for Computer Club because I had to stop and wait for “traffic” on my street.

Friend and neighbor, Popkorn, was out testing his newest toy that zips up and down our street like a flash!  As I backed out my driveway, his little car could run circles around me.  There he was all the way down the street.  That car has quite a range!

Never a dull moment living here!

Caywood Cotton Farm Tour

Seeing all the cotton fields surrounding us  and watching the crop dusters roaring overhead aroused my curiosity to learn more about the crop.  Yahoo!  There came the opportunity for a tour through the Activities Office.  We traveled out past 11-Mile Corner to the Caywood farm for a tour.  Nancy and Al were our hosts for the day and surprisingly started off by entertaining us with some of their bluegrass music.  They are part of a bluegrass ensemble that plays at events.  Sure hope we get the opportunity to have them here at Palm Creek some Wednesday night as they were really foot-stomping fun.  (Do I send this HINT to Ann Lykens or to the new Special Events Team of Peggy Sue??) 

Nancy is an agriculture instructor at the University of California so is a wealth of knowledge about agriculture in general.  I found it fascinating to hear about water allocation to farmers and was quite concerned to hear about our current drought conditions and a lack of valuable water to farmers.  Because of water restrictions, farmers have had to let some fields fallow.  THUS explaining why we had such an abundance of heavy dust storms this past summer.  With no crops in the fields, the soil is free to fly away!  As I sit here writing this, a light rain is falling outside.  While it ‘dampens’ our day for fun in the sun, we NEED every drop of rain so don’t dismay about the gloom.

Our tour hosts explained the whole process of growing cotton…..from planting to harvesting….plus the equipment and machinery needed.  We asked tons of questions along the way.  Listening to the stories brought back visions of many movies where cotton had to be picked by hand causing serious injury with cuts and sore fingers.  I can certainly see why after examining the sharp edges of the pods.

We hopped aboard the hay wagon to take us out to the cotton plants that were left for the tour.  These small huts are part of the history where migrant workers used to reside plus there is a display of old machinery along the way.

I appreciated the demonstration of how those big machines can drive through a field and pick the cotton.  Modern technology and science have certainly made the harvesting job less painful.

Those big cotton modules we see along the edges of the fields weigh about 15,000 pounds as they are compressed and wrapped in this modular machine.

Most of the weight comes from the seeds within the cotton balls.  The seeds are given to the cotton mill in exchange for ginning the cotton.  It takes five years for this little seed to be treated before it can be used for replanting.  The seeds are actually injected with an herbicide against boll worms.  Agriculture is truly a science!

Here’s sending a special THANK YOU to the Caywood/Robertson family for sponsoring this informative tour. 

 

 

Christmas Concert

Congratulations to Betty Roussey and the entire chorus group for a wonderful program Friday night!!!  All their practice really paid off as the program went without a hitch.  Great singing, great audience participation, cute skits, delicious home made candy and cookies, and an overall lovely evening.  Everyone left in an uplifted and joyous mood.  It was another example of why we love living in Palm Creek.  Betty can often be seen at the Welcome Table on Saturday mornings as she is there with fellow Greeters to welcome folks to our resort.  Stop by and thank her for her contribution to our entertainment.  Better hurry to buy your tickets for the Spring Concert. 

*Note:  My little pocket camera doesn’t do well in the ballroom at night.  I’m hoping to get better photos from a friend so stop back again later for possible update.

Special thank you to Dolores Forbis (piano) and Donna Keay (organ) for sharing your talents.  There are over 45 members of the chorus so can’t list them all here but thank you EVERYONE for a delightful evening. 

Derrick Johnston and his wife, Iris, read a cute poem that Derrick wrote about Palm Creek.  He granted permission to have it posted here.

 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE A PALM CREEK CHRISTMAS

 

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the park

The pet section was quiet, not even a bark.

The golf clubs were placed by the RVs with care

In hopes of good weather and calm in the air.

 

The golfers were nestled all snug in their wee little beds

While birdies and eagles all danced in their wee little heads.

Papa in his tank top, Mama in her shorts

Had bicycled back from the pickleball courts.

 

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

The bowlers ran out to see what was the matter.

The bowls and the jacks were all over the place

And Wendell was lying there flat on his face.

 

Someone had forgotten to put things inside

But nothing was injured except for his pride.

With memos forthcoming as harsh words were spoken

We were just grateful that nothing was broken.

 

No clang of a horse shoe was heard in the pit.

Tennis courts were all quiet, the players had quit.

Shuffleboard cues were lined up in a row.

The card rooms were dark, no one wanted to sew.

 

The singers had sung and the writers had written.

Dominoes were all done and the quilters were quitin’

Line dancers were finished and heading home fast.

The beaders were strung out and left the place last.

 

The pottery wheels were as still as the night

And the stained glass pieces reflected the light

Of a safety lamp shining outside the door

Casting unearthly shadows across the tiled floor.

 

The front gate was quiet, the rangers were bored.

Some parties were warming as eggnog was poured.

Still others were already done for the day

And bottles and games were all put away.

 

With swimming pools quiet and spas not abubble

We sat under heaters discussing world trouble.

Economies crumble as politics sicken

World hatred is growing as terror plots thicken.

 

Perhaps what we don’t need at this time of year

is a world full of toys, new flat screens, and light beer

But a place full of joy from a heart full of love

As we think of the Christ child sent down from above.

 

If His was a life we would all try to follow

There wouldn’t be promises made that were hollow.

The love for a neighbor would be what we feel

And peace on this earth could be something real.

 

The author is unknown, but we sang these lyrics to Winter Wonderland.

 

Palm trees wave, are you listenin’?

In the pool waters glistenin’

A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight

Living in  Palm Creek wonderland.

 

Gone away is the blizzard

Here to stay is the lizard,

A warm sunny day, we like it that way,

Living in a Palm Creek wonderland.

 

In the desert we will have a picnic,

Cactus, sand and rattlesnakes and sun,

Christmas dinner is an old tradition,

it’s pinto beans and tacos by the ton.

 

Later on we’ll perspire,

Temperatures rise even higher,

A warm sunny day, we like it that way,

living in a Palm Creek wonderland,

Living in a Palm Creek wonderland.

 

 

Another Day

The weather might be on the cool side but it certainly doesn’t stop folks from having a good time in our heated pools.  Watch the volleyball league in action from this morning.

Palm Creek Water Volleyball (league play)

There was even a referee and a couple line judges. 

We had a great Computer Club meeting last week with Julie Yen from the Casa Grande Public Library as our guest speaker.  Julie explained the different kind of e-readers like Kindle, Nook, ipad, etc. and showed us how easy it was to download books from the library for free.  Watch the Computer Club blog to hear about more upcoming speakers and meeting topics at:  http://www.palmcreekcomputerclub.blogspot.com/

I stopped up at the north gate office to see how things were going now that the north gate is open during the day.  Ken Lane was on duty and had already checked through 40 cars by the time I got there.  The north gate is a convenient way to head the back way to the Promenade Mall.

Have a great day! 

 

Parade Winners

The City of Casa Grande Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Police and Fire Departments, APS, Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc., and the Casa Grande Main Street held the 17th Annual Electric Light Parade on Saturday, December 3. A little over 10,000 spectators braved the weather to come watch this years parade. There were over 98 entries in this year’s parade. Of the 98 entries, 69 parade entries showed up for the parade. For 15 of these entries, it was their first year. The winner’s are as follows:

MAYOR’S AWARD (“Pride of the Parade”) - Intertwine Environmental Contractors

APS POWER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AWARD (for best use of lights) - Special Olympics

Centennial Award - Casa Grande Middle School Student Council

People's Choice Award - Mission Heights Prep. High School

MOST ORIGINAL

1st Place - Mission Royale Adult Community
2nd Place –. Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort
3rd Place – Casa Grande 4 Wheelers

MOST AMUSING

1st Place – Fiesta Grande RV Resort
2nd Place – Eva’s Mexican Food
3rd Place – Above & Beyond Bail Bonds

BEST CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

1st Place – Cazadores Construction Inc. & De Los Santos Construction Inc
2nd Place - Desert Sky Baptist Church

MOST CREATIVE CHRISTMAS COSTUME(S)

1st Place – Casa Grande Union High School Marching Band
2nd Place – Desert Sun Heating, Cooling & Refrigeration, Inc
3rd Place – Love Fellowship Center
BEST PUBLIC SAFETY ENTRY

1st Place – City of Casa Grande Fire Explorers Post 911
2nd Place – Pinal County Sheriff Office
3rd Place – Coolidge Fire Department

CASA GRANDE MAIN STREET SMALL BUSINESS AWARD - Molar Magic

Update

Thank you, Ray Valentine, for the photos of our Palm Creek float.   Great pictures!  Ray’s years of experience behind the camera lens really pay off.  It is no small task to get such crisp clear photos in the dark of night.  Check out Ray’s website at www.rayvalentine.com.  Ray and his wife, Sue, are seen all around the resort working at the special events.  Let Ray know you saw his photos!

 

We had another big winner at Bingo Monday night.  Congratulations Barb Jackson!!!…………$406.