Thursday, August 08, 2019

Laundromat News & Recycling Changes


A reader asked me what it cost for a load of laundry now that the new company has taken over the laundry machines here in the resort.  I put on my detective hat and stopped in the main laundry this morning to get an answer.

Wow!  The room is immaculate and the AC felt wonderfully cool in there.  ALL brand new machines just waiting for our residents to return.


This sign announcing the new contractor is near the front door.  This company will be doing all the servicing from now on.  I bet our maintenance staff is rejoicing.



These instructions are posted in several areas announcing that we can now pay with our phones.  Download the PayRange app, add funds to your account, and then just slide to pay.  OR....you can use quarters.



It costs $1.75 per washer load.



Each machine is clearly numbered.



Dryers are all brand new.  There are two old machines in the back of this area for use by our housekeeping department.



It costs $1.50 per dryer load.





I'm guessing there are assigned machines in the South and North laundry buildings for washing of pet articles....blankets and bedding.




RECYCLING NEWS:

New bins arrived this week.

This big container will be for plastic, tin, and paper.

**When we recycle plastic there are a few useful tips to remember to speed up the process.
First, keep in mind that almost all plastic bottles and food containers can be recycled. When we recycle these containers it is important to wash them or shake them out to reduce the amount of food waste that is being sent to the recycling center [5].
Second, remove the screw caps from any bottles you are recycling. The caps are made from a different type of plastic than the bottle. If we do not remove them they must be removed by employees at the recycling center before they can be processed [6].
Both of these tips will reduce the amount of work and energy required in the recycling process.


Corrugated still goes in this container and gets compacted in the machine behind the container.

cardboard-boxes shipped commercially are recovered for recycling. ... When recycled, cardboard is used to make chipboard like cereal boxes, paperboard, paper towels, tissues and printing or writing paper.>


I believe one of the local schools is collecting #1 plastic so this container is still present.



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As to our weather, this is an unusual summer.   We haven't had the typical summer storms or haboobs that we normally experience in July and August.  I'm not complaining you understand, but weather has been quite mild.  HOT...but mild as far as storms are concerned.

We get some cloudy days but the rain tends to hang over Phoenix.  We like the occasional cloud cover as it protects us from the sun for a few hours.


The golf course is still quite green and hasn't been scorched or dried out so golfers are still out there in the early morn.



I laughed when I read this cartoon in the paper this week.  The artist must live in Arizona!



Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Tid Bits

After the big water main break, we now have to wait for the place to dry out.  Our Arizona summer sun will take care of it in no time.  We broke a record this week at 115.




Tree trimmers are working their way down Oasis.



Just some pretty views.





Big construction happening on Oasis.



We stop by to say Good Morning to Wil Chaney of Wil-Paul Construction.  He's always fun to visit.



......and he treated us to an ice cold bottle of water.  Yes!



Tapas Tuesday hosted about 50 summer residents again this week.


But we had surprise special guests.  A group of gals dressed up and presented us with a cute skit to advertise the upcoming Trailer Trash party.


Their costumes and antics were delightful.


Don't miss our upcoming big event!



Kent Evans captured another beautiful sunset this week.



Kat used to fit under this door back in his kitten days but can't figure out why he can't make it any more.



Yeah Yeah, Kat.  Life gets tougher as you get older.






Saturday, August 03, 2019

Pickleball Website


I was "surfing" around the internet enjoying my morning coffee when I stumbled upon the new Palm Creek Pickleball Website.  WOW!!  They have truly stepped into some high tech programming.

I especially liked this photo showing our courts at night.  Quite impressive!



I found a link on their web where I could write for information and ask who to give credit for such a fantastic website upgrade.  Within a few short minutes I received a reply from John Winston.


"Give credit to the Board (both prior and current Board) the willingness to move the very large pickleball club into the 21st century.




The website will have a Members area..Latest Club News..roster information, calendar of Club Events, club Policies, Tournament Information, etc...all at their finger tips.


We will be doing all the membership registration and payments On Line starting Oct 1.  No more paper forms, and a paper trail with manual spreadsheets....all Live Data Flow!  We are evaluating On Line round robin sign ups....

And the Members will have a mobile App with Club directory, their sign ups, and their member profile which they can update without having to communicate to the Club Secretary. Putting information in their hands.

Changes ..yes..but so many benefits to all the Members through the use of today’s technology.

John Winston
Director of I.T.
Palm Creek Pickleball Club



I copied this page from the site as I didn't know about the web cams being installed.  It will certainly be an exciting year for all the players.  Congratulations to John Winston and the IT team.


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Anton found another new desert critter this week.  I'd never seen one of these before so must post.  It is a Solifugae or commonly called sun spider.  At first one would think it is just another ordinary  spider but if you look at the strange head and jaws.........it is very unusual.  It measured about one inch in length with a gold color.






Sunspider,  also called sun scorpion, wind scorpion, or camel spider, whose common name refers to their habitation of hot dry regions as well as to their typically golden colour. Their hairiness and rounded abdomen are spiderlike, while the front appendages somewhat resemble those of a scorpion. Body length is 0.4 to 2 inches. Sunspiders generally are nocturnal.  A sun spider is not venomous, but they do have a very strong jaw and can cause a nasty bite if provoked.

It's fun to learn more about the desert in which we live.
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Friday, August 02, 2019

Quiet Week


It has been a quiet week with not a lot of excitement to publish so I (and my furry helpers) will just send you a quick update.

Thank you to Larry Gray for sending these photos from the billiards room.  A couple tables received new covers and the others were leveled to perfection.  Of course, Larry won't be playing on these lovely tables for a while since he just underwent surgery for a new knee.  He'll be back though.  We wish him a speedy recovery!






We spotted a small break in a water line near site 917 yesterday.  It didn't look too serious at the time.


Whoa!!!  It's certainly serious NOW.  We took these action shots this morning.







Repairs will all be finished by the time you read this but it was exciting at the time.

It's surprising how nice some of our casual pictures turn out as we make our rounds each morning.  The summer sun hasn't completely scorched the golf course yet.


We had a couple lovely thunderstorms this past week providing much needed rain....but it also raises our humidity level.  It was 42% and 94 degrees when we were out this morning.  The 94 would have been quite bearable if it weren't for that humidity.  We were soaked and exhausted by the time we completed morning rounds.  I'd post our picture but it would be ugly.

Excessive heat warnings from our forecasters are quite common.


Readers constantly tell me that they like seeing pictures of our furry cats so here is a typical story.  I closed my bedroom door so I could sleep in one morning.  It didn't work.  There was a constant scratching at the door.  I recognized Kat's black & white paw.


He was not alone.  This is Mouse's gray and white paw at work too.


I opened the door.............and there they were.  No sleeping in past 5:30 in this house.


Then, of course, the furry monsters take a nice long afternoon nap wherever they feel like it.  That's typically someplace where they're not allowed.....like on the kitchen counter.


But how can you get angry at something like this!


Sleep soundly you furry monster.