Art, Glass, Photography, and Lawn Bowling

 It's another busy day here!  Walking through the Art, Photography, and Glass shows was awe inspiring seeing all the talent we have at Palm Creek.

First round was the Photo and Art show.  Al Swanson had some outstanding photos that were intriguing as I had to look closely to determine the real medium.

At first glance I couldn't tell if they were photographs or paintings.  Al explained that he performs magic to a photo with PhotoShop and then printed them on canvas.  Really nice!

Eileen Schuler turns some of her work into greeting cards.

So cute!!

I had to get a photo of Terry Myers and his famous award-winning dog, Blue.

If Betty Steel isn't busy leading the choir, she is behind a camera.  GREAT shot of our recent rainbow.

Del LaRue likes to show off his beautiful state of Alaska.

Julie Baker obviously kept busy during Covid shut in time creating all these different art forms.  She will be giving us classes this summer.

Fun loving Cindy Braden enjoyed showing off all the glass work from the glass shop.

Gym Flader is the grand master of the glass shop and has quite a collection of finished works.

Keith Steeves has some intricate mosaic pieces on display.

Sandy Milner and Sharon Kidd are both very familiar faces in the glass studio and helped with the huge raffle today.

Today was also the big CanAm Tournament at the Lawn Bowling field.

It was a colorful event!

The field can be better observed from the air.

Unfortunately, our timing was poor as the round was just finishing with only a few players left on the field.  There were over 80 participants.

PB Tournament, Angry Crab, Chorus

 Our pickleball courts are booming with activity this week due to the in-house tournament.  It was fun to stroll through the area and share the excitement from a spectator viewpoint.

I spotted this sign about signing up for lessons by Mo (Maurice Parobec).  Just want to send a special salute to Mo for his special athletic skills and the way he enjoys life.  He has certainly done wonders considering he has had a full heart transplant.  Awesome!

The pickleball website will be filled with awesome action photos due to the photographic experts who contribute their skills to the task of recording the event and posting winners.  To see their photos, go to their site:  https://palmcreekpickleballclub.com

They have some high tech volunteers.  

Speaking of local talent and opportunities, I also salute Jim & Linda Rainer who are the founders of the LiveRishi organic CBD products.  I am a dedicated customer and definitely benefit from their products.  If you try their products, tell them Sue sent you.  😃

Don sent the drone to take a look at the event.

You can watch from the air:

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We thought we'd try out the new Angry Crab Shack with its recent opening.

The place was quite busy so I'm hoping the business will survive.

Interesting posters around the room.

I'm not a true seafood lover so I opted for a standard fish and chips meal which was a mistake as it is definitely not their specialty.  Fish must have had freezer burn and the fries tasted and smelled like fish oil.  

Don ordered the salmon dinner but immediately discovered that he did not like the sauce as it was way too spicy for him.

As I watched around the room, I believe the folks who love crab food were having a great time as they were laughing and appeared happy with their crab choices.  They seemed to enjoy cracking open the crabs and picking out the choice meat.  I'm glad they were pleased and could speak positively about our newest restaurant.  I wish them success but the Heplers are headed back to the steak houses...or Chinese (especially Lucky's).  Seafood lovers will be happy to have the Angry Crab here.  

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Readers always tell me they quickly scan to the bottom of the posts so they can see what the cats are up to.

This morning Mr. Kat is resting peacefully but as soon as there is action in the house, he is first on the scene to investigate.

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Don't forget to get your tickets for the Chorus Concert scheduled for March 9 and 10. 

The Chorus Show is next week--Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 p.m. in the Ballroom, with a wide variety of music and fun. PLUS the Vista Grande Choir will sing one number. And they will receive a donation from our ticket sales for their music program. This will be the most value for your $10.00 ticket all season so don't miss it! Tickets are available **at the Pickleball courts Thursday and Friday mornings **Saturday 10:00 to 1:00 in the walkway between SanTan & Ballroom--during Art/Glass/Photo Show **In the Ballroom Foyer Sunday evening when you are on your way in to the PC Show.

ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND GLASS SHOWS this Saturday, March 5.

Drone Fly Over Plus Cat Stories

 CHORUS CONCERT:

Don't miss the Palm Creek Chorus show on March 9 or March 10.  It is always a GREAT show. The Palm Creek chorus is performing at 7.p.m. Wednesday, March 9th & Thursday, March 10th. In the ballroom. Tickets are being sold by chorus members & on Mondays & Wednesdays from 10 to 1 by the activities office, across from the ATM.

I think we have a record number of residents/guests here this year.  Yes, there are still some empty lots but not many.  Traffic is like a small city with cars, trucks, RVs, golf carts, bikes, and dog walkers.  Lots of people everywhere.

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Our cats have a "thing" about finding a partially open drawer.  We witnessed Kat last night attempting to crawl in this drawer but it wouldn't open quite far enough.

This morning Mouse took a short nap in my desk drawer.

Then I turned on the printer.  When it dings and buzzes to start printing, Kat will come running from anywhere in the house so he can watch the printing process.  Then he usually knocks the paper to the floor and maybe chews off a corner or two if we don't catch him in time.

Sometimes Kat tries to empty a drawer to make it more comfortable.

Balloon Glow, Parade, Quilt & Wood Show

 It's been a BUSY weekend with the balloon glow, parade, and quilt & wood show!  

The weather finally cooperated so we could wrap up the events from the Cancer Awareness weekend.

Joy and I share our cancer stories and our bikes.

Special thank you to Barb Poole for parade & balloon photos.

The wood show really drew a huge crowd in the ballroom!

I tried to get a panorama of the ballroom so you could see the big crowd.

I keep coming back to these works of art.

This was a display of "beginning" projects done by first time students.  Amazing!

I could have taken dozens of photos at the quilt show as each item is a wonder.

Palm Creek must be at almost record breaking levels as it is confirmed we have over 4000 residents here this February.  ALL activities and events are BUSY.

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When at home living with cats, you must keep an eye out for trouble makers.

Watch the process:  😏

Singing Valentines

 A flash mob appeared at the craft fair last week.  😉  It was the chorus advertising that they will have singing valentines delivered to your friends at your request.  

I believe you can buy a singing telegram for about $5 from any chorus member but it sounds like they are already booked solid for Sunday and Monday.  It's such a cute idea though.  Maybe they'll opt to do it for other holidays as well?  

OMG!!  It is now Monday afternoon and the chorus was just here at my house to sing a valentine!  How awesome and FUN!  Some clever person customized the words to be about Palm Creek and made for a cute rendition.

I envy people that can sing and carry a tune.  It always looks like so much fun to be part of the Palm Creek chorus.  They work hard to learn their songs and have fun doing so.  Then they sing and share their gift to all of us.  Singing seems to be a "sport" to be shared and bring entertainment to all.  (All donations are being donated to the Cancer Awareness Fund.)

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Plastic berry boxes are a great entertainment and exercise incentive for our Kat.  He scoots that box for miles around the house in an effort to get the treats out of it.  Fun to watch.

Cancelation for Tonight!!

 The weatherman has NOT cooperated for our Cancer Awareness weekend.  This announcement just came out from management:

Due to the high winds, today's cancer walk, parade, balloon glow and hot air balloon rides have been canceled.  Silent auction & chili dinner have been moved into the ballroom.  Hot air balloon activities are being rescheduled for February 18 and 19.  

Restaurant Information

 We had a great time at Computer Club this morning as we reviewed Google Photos and a few other smartphone issues.  It was FUN to play with some new apps too.  Check the picture of the tiger we introduced to the room.  Thanks to Doug for being brave enough to calm the tiger.  😀😃

There was a big article in the paper regarding some of our local restaurants.  Thought it was noteworthy to share the story here.

CASA GRANDE — Life’s only a buffet for 48 more hours at the Golden Corral restaurant along Florence Boulevard in Casa Grande.

Last Thursday, the Golden Corral staff were given less than a week's notice by corporate headquarters that it was closing down the franchise. The restaurant will be closing permanently after Wednesday, Feb. 2.

According to Manager Sayed Ahmed, the primary reason for the closure is related to COVID and underperforming sales. An expected bump from winter visitors wasn't large enough.

“We’re all sad here,” said Ahmed, who opened the Casa Grande franchise back in 2006. “But it’s a business decision.”

On Tuesday morning, residents were commenting on social media that servers at the buffet were notifying all customers of the impending closure.

The closure is part of a national trend that has seen Golden Corral close around 25% of its locations — roughly 80 restaurants in total — since 2018. 

Just down the road from the Golden Corral, the new Angry Crab Shack is interviewing potential hires this week; while the owners originally were hoping to open the restaurant early this month, the new opening date is tentatively scheduled for the end of February.

A second Whataburger is also currently under construction along Florence Boulevard on that side of the city.

The overall impact of COVID on the city’s restaurant scene isn’t clear. Over the past few months, a handful of restaurants have closed for short durations or adjusted hours of operation; when Denny’s closed last month for a brief period, management cited electrical and maintenance issues, not COVID or staffing shortages, as the reason behind the closure.

One restaurant that has had to close indefinitely due to problems hiring new staff is CGQ House downtown; however, the owners of that restaurant also run the nearby Big House Café, which is still open and released a new menu last month.

Meanwhile, the new Texas Roadhouse has continued to see strong business. 

Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Renee Louzon-Benn said that she had heard from at least a handful of member restaurants that they were thriving, including BeDillon's Restaurant and the newer Hideout Steakhouse at The Promenade. 

"The Hideout was pleased because we had another steakhouse open up, the Texas Roadhouse, and they didn’t see any type of lapse or dip in their business," Louzon-Benn said. "What conversations I’ve had with members is that they are doing well."

Louzon-Benn said that while she wasn't sure how the volume compared to 2019, the chamber was seeing an uptick of around 30-40 visitors compared to January of last year.

"We're super busy in there sometimes," Louzon-Benn said.

Computer Club, Concert, Newsletter, Cat Toys

 The computer club has really kept me busy the last few weeks.  It's been FUN and challenging for me as we covered iPhones, Androids, iPads, and Google Photos.  Our audience has grown!

I strongly promoted the "Learn Google Photos" book published by Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour.

Betty Preston sponsored a video of a huge piano concert she orchestrated within the last year.  Fantastic!  We so enjoyed the music and the story behind the production.

Betty raised over $1,000 in ticket sales to be contributed to the upcoming Cancer Awareness week.  Congratulations.....and "thank you" to Betty for this performance.

Hard to get a good photo in a large dark ballroom.

Don and I took a walk across the golf course this afternoon and stopped to enjoy the scenery.  We thought about our poor fellow residents who aren't here to enjoy the beauty, warmth, and sunshine.

The February "Happenings" is published.  Here's a link for you to download it.

https://palmcreek.com/newsletter/

Be sure to read about the new Frequent Foodie Ticket from the Bistro.

Have you picked up your Palm Creek Frequent Foodie Card from the Fireside Bistro? Buy 10 items from Lighter Side, Handhelds or Pizza and get one free! And this isn’t one punch per visit—it’s one punch per item! So if you order a salad and a sandwich, you will get two punches and you are well on your way to a free item! 

Kat and Mouse had good entertainment this week.

Here's a new toy for them.

AND....they got a GREAT treat with this big Costco box.