Welcome Back Fiesta

This year's welcome back fiesta was a great time for clubs to showcase their activities and invite newcomers to their groups.  The weather fully cooperated so we had plenty of sunshine and clear sky to highlight the day.

Over 1200 meals were served.  Always be sure to get your tickets early as food is purchased several days in advance of an event.  

You can bet that Barb Poole was there.  Hope she didn't overheat that camera.  

A friendly mariachi band traveled throughout the crowd.

The highlight of the day was a show by a dance group that featured traditional Mexican music.

Costumes were BEAUTIFUL.  This first dance was performed with a glass candle holder placed on their heads.  I imagine for evening performances, the candles would be lit.

I couldn't choose which of my photos to post so you get to see a lot of them.  

Short Video

Their junior students stole our hearts.

It was a GREAT day!!

Fireman's Spaghetti Dinner

We will always be among the first to sign up for tickets to the annual Fireman's spaghetti dinner because we want to pay homage to the people who help and save lives of our residents.  We've many times seen the big fire truck and ambulance enter the park in time of need so this is a small way of saying thank you for their service.  
The Chief certainly looked sharp in his full dress uniform!

This photo by Barb Poole

Our professional fire fighters cooked and served over 325 meals to a sell out crowd last Friday.

There were quite a few young high school students and recent grads who completed their fire course classes during the school year as members of a CAVIT program.  When they graduate, they will be fully qualified for a career as a fireman and/or EMT.  Wonderful program!  As a retired teacher, I believe our schools need more of this type of educational program.

Tennis, Sewing, and Softball Events

We're certainly enjoying our 70+ degree weather and beautiful sunshine!  So much fun stuff to do every day.

You must get out to the softball field on Tuesdays and Thursdays to watch our Palm Creek games.  It's so fun to cheer for friends out there on the field.  

Harry always has a smile and he gets a gold star for the final 'at bat' when he brought in the winning runs to end the game.  Way to go, Harry.

The tennis club had great fun today at their Red Neck tournament where they played with three players to a side.  After the games, their volunteers served up a delicious soup meal at their happy hour.

There was a great turnout today.  The tennis club is growing so they wistfully looked at the new courts still under construction.  They'll be VERY happy when the new courts are ready for play.

The folks on the front bench had a special treat when a praying mantis stopped in to share the excitement.

The sewing room was busy for the "Quilt-till-you-Wilt" event.  Mary Williams was kind enough to send these photos with her message:

We had a good time in the sewing room tonight at our event called "Quilt Till U Wilt.  We started at 4pm and worked till we were tired enough to go home .

There were about 45 ladies who gathered ....some sewing, some "turning", some pressing.  With that team work, in a little over 2 hours, we made over 100 receiving blankets.  These will be donated, along with a coordinating "onesie", to the Banner Casa Grande Hospital.

Of course all that labor worked up an appetite so the pizzas rapidly disappeared.

Needless to say with all this beautiful weather, the pickleball courts were ALL occupied when I stopped by and the day ended with a very entertaining concert -- "Tribute to Neil Diamond".  

Silver Sliders

What FUN it was to watch our ladies softball tournament this past weekend.  I even enjoyed watching their practice session.

I don't know many of the players since they are from surrounding areas but I could definitely cheer for Lori Scott as she is one of our local "Creekers".   Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of Della Bass.

I could never hope to throw a ball as far as these gals can........especially that big softball.

The new pool is still under construction but this day I saw them adding nice decorative grass between the food court and the pool.

We had the most BEAUTIFUL sunset Saturday night!  I was glad that Barb Poole was out with her camera to catch the scene.

Photo by Barb Poole

I watched our Silver Sliders in their tournament game.  Yes!  They won!!

Bill Sheedy is happy to be in the "almost done" crows nest where he can announce the games and oversee the action.

Ladies Softball Tournament

Hey!!!  Go out to the softball field today and watch the ladies softball tournament!!

Egret & Tennis news

Al Roussy sent this photo of a beautiful white egret as it scoped out our pond last week.  Thank you, Al.  

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Because I live so close to the tennis courts, I like stopping by to watch their games and activities.  The tennis club is a very active group here and they work hard to keep their blog up to date too.  Thought I'd share their recent posting as it sounds like more fun.  Those newly resurfaced courts will be very much appreciated when complete.

From the tennis blog:

News of Note Posted: 14 Jan 2016 12:07 PM PST CANCER AWARENESS RAFFLE It is not too early to begin to select those special items you plan to contribute to the Cancer Awareness Raffle that will be held at the  banquet after the Super Bowl Tournament on Saturday, February 6th. If you would bring your items to Happy Hour on the 27th, we will happily collect them so that they will be ready for the auction.  We will even wrap.  So look around that park model, 5th wheel or motor home and find that special gift that you know a fellow tennis pal cannot resist. REDNECK TENNIS DAY Here is the whole deal for Wednesday, January 20. Mixed Red Neck Tennis beginning at 2:00 pm when the non serious mostly confusing part of the event will get underway  Here are the rules: There will be 6 players per court, 3 on each side.Each player serves one game Play a total of 6 games. Palm Creek rules. No add. Serving Team- The two players not serving may play anywhere  on their side of the net. Receiving Team - One player will receive in the deuce court and another in the advantage court. The third player may play any where on their side of the net.  Players may change positions after each game.  After the six games are completed get new assignment         Music and Happy Hour beginning at 4:00 pm        You may get "stuffed" at happy hour with the soups that several volunteers will be           providing. It is suggested that  bread, crackers, salads etc. would be good items for others to bring. BYOB (Bottle that is. Bowls and related items will be furnished.) Happy hour gets under way at 4:00 pm following the Mixed Red Neck Round Robin.         Entertaining us during the Happy Hour will be Lloyd and Joyce Woods         and friends with a "picking and grinning" session of old time country music.            If you don't participate in the tennis you still want to be there to hear these        professional musicians.                 Sign up sheet is posted on the tennis bulletin board

Too Much Fun

I started out with the best of intentions yesterday.  I was going to ride my bike and take pictures of some of the activity I saw along the way so I could make a good post for you.  It soon became apparent that the project was too overwhelming or maybe I just didn't have enough ambition.  There is soooooo much stuff going on around here now.  

The tennis courts were full, shuffleboard was active, two Palm Creek teams were playing softball, ALL the pickleball courts were occupied, lawnbowlers were in session, and the golf course was in full swing.  (no pun intended).

There are people "everywhere" having fun and enjoying the sunshine even if it feels a tad chilly.  So much to do and so little time.  All you get today are a couple photos of the softball game as I sat in the bleachers and cheered for our teams.  

I LOVE LIVING AT PALM CREEK!!  

So much FUN!!

Crayons and Cocktails

We have a plethora of different clubs and activities here at our lovely Palm Creek.  The joy of living here is if you don't find something you want to do................just start another group!  That's precisely what Penny Young did with the new activity called "Crayons and Cocktails".  Penny has the hobby of working in "grown-up" coloring books and thought she would see if others were interested.  They are!

I attended the first meeting to see what it was all about.  WOW!!  While some of us were just beginners, there were some very advanced artists present.  I definitely call them artists!  Their work becomes very intricate as skills progress.

This style of drawing the tiny formations is called "Zentangle".  Google it and see for yourself how amazing it is.

It is a very friendly group.  They will be glad to share their materials and show their works of art.  While no husbands were present today, some said their husband also enjoyed the activity.

The group meets on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00.  

It seems that the historic El Nino is definitely affecting our normal sunny skies.  I spotted some very unusual cloud cover over our mountains that are usually basked in sunshine.  While I'm sure our desert appreciates the rain, we're ready for clear sky once again.  We'd better not complain though as at least we are not under the wrath of the Goliath storms hitting the rest of the country.

Smile! .....and have a great day!