Progress

You can tell it is a quiet day when the first picture I post is of a weed.  But it is also the first thing of interest I saw when we started our morning rounds.  Isn't this a pretty delicate little weed?  I just didn't have the heart to spray it or pull it out.  Will wait until it's done blossoming.  :)

Work continues at the south pavilion where they're digging footings.

Tractor Supply still under construction.  It looks a lot more "finished" from the front as you drive down Florence but we only see the backside.

Unfortunately the dang pigeons are still gathering inside the resort.  I love birds but these little devils are quite a nuisance.  

There's some project going on by these posts  but I'm not sure yet as to what they're digging for.

Digging a new hole over by the housing area too but I can't tell what the project is.

Looks like another big water line just put in too.  I'll have to start bugging Mr. Dawson and ask for a guided tour again (in his spare time HA).  I miss his explanations about the big projects.

Yup.....still trimming palm trees.  

Drove past the south pavilion again and found Fernando with a hammer in hand.  We love to tease him when we see him at actual labor.  We certainly appreciate everything he does for all of us!!

A New Restaurant Coming to Town:

The Casa Grande Dispatch today announced a new restaurant coming to town and say it is scheduled to open this fall.

Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar will be located just east of the Holiday Inn Express near Florence Boulevard.  According to the paper, this is a Canadian based business that hopes to cater to the influx of Canadian winter visitors.  It will feature more than 80 menu items including gourmet pizzas, pastas ribs, burgers and a variety of specialty dishes such as salmon.

Have a GREAT day!!

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New High School Teacher

 After retiring, a former Gunny Sergeant in the Marine Corps took a new job
 as a high school teacher.

 Just before the school year started, he injured his back.   He was required
 to wear a light plaster cast around the upper part of his body. Fortunately,
 the cast fit under his shirt and wasn't noticeable when he wore his suit  coat.

 On the first day of class, he found himself assigned to the toughest
 students in the school.

 The smart-aleck punks, having already heard the new teacher was a former
 Marine, were leery of him and he knew they would be testing his discipline
 in the classroom.

 Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, the new teacher opened the
 window wide and sat down at his desk. When a strong breeze made his tie
 flap, he picked up a stapler and stapled the tie to his chest.

 Dead silence ... The rest of the year went smoothly.

Corrections!

Uh Oh.................Just found out that I have given some false information here.

Remember those nice numbered bricks for all the RV sites I complimented the other day??  I "assumed" these were all lovingly painted by our maintenance crew.  Today, just by chance, I discovered that they were all painted by two super elves..........Bob Herinck and Bob Daniels.  Thanks guys!!  These will be wonderful for when our rangers are parking all the rigs this year.  Very nice!  These two made the perfect team for this project.

Bob Daniels (aka....Ranger Bob)

Bob Herinck (aka.....painter Bob)

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I discovered another "whoops" by missing a very dear friend who also helped us handwash all those poker chips.  I inadvertently missed Nancy Flader who did her share as well.  Thanks, Nancy.

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If any of you readers ever catch anything I've misposted, please send me an alert.  

REMINDER:

This coming Friday, July 31, at 4:00 pm is pizza night up in the ballroom. Nathan from the National Pizza Parties will be here again whipping up our favorite pizzas with tons of toppings. He makes the pizzas from scratch at the head table. Yum..........and all you can eat.

Tickets are $8.00 each. Pick them up at the front desk soon as they will appreciate an accurate head count.

This is also the same company that makes the omelets. By popular request, we are having Nathan back again on Wednesday, September 16 to cook us up more of those made-to-order omelettes. They were delicious! Might as well buy those tickets right away too.

See ya there!

Event Postings and Tickets for next season

We don't only have the excitement of watching all the new construction.  There is also the anticipation of all the events, parties, programs, trips, shows, dances, etc. that will entertain us this season.  I've heard that the event information will be released along with the August newsletter so watch for it on either July 31st (Friday) or August 3rd (Monday).  The information will be broadcast via the Palm Creek Facebook page AND on the Palm Creek website where all the newsletters get posted.  I will, of course, copy/paste some of the information here along with links to the two release sites.

Ticket sales start on Monday, August 10, at 9:00 a.m.  Don't be in a hurry to send in your ticket requests before then as I'm told that no advanced sales will start until that time.  

Here's a link to the resort website:  Palm Creek Newsletters

Here's a link to the resort's facebook page:  Palm Creek Facebook Page

Pickle Day on Fridays

We watched the monsoon sky last night hoping for some rain to head our way but no luck.  We can see it falling from the sky on the horizon so somewhere someone is getting wet but not here.  The mixture of wind, dust, and moisture sure makes for some beautiful sky though.

Don took this cool picture of a pretty flower this morning but didn't notice the best part till I downloaded it into the computer.  Check the awesome white spider on the left side of the flower!  Wow!  What a great accidental photo shot!  Way to go, Don.

Of course, I had to do some research on the little guy.  Here's what I found:

Crab spiders belong to the family Thomisidae. They get their name because they move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. The colour of the spider is adapted to the hunting terrain they use and is mostly extravagant. They live in flowers and plants and are sometimes called Flower Spiders because they are often found inside a flower waiting for an unsuspecting bee to come along. They also live in grasses and low vegetation. The female grows 6-7 mm.  They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them. Their bite is not dangerous to humans. The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey. The females usually stand guard with their egg sacs. The egg sacs are fastened to the vegetation and are usually flat.

Yes!  A second house has already arrived.

Friday is play day here for the summer Pickleball crew.  Doug Kant posed and says hello to all.  LOL

The other part of the crew (24 players today) was between games.

Looks like the ground is now leveled and clear waiting for the next step of the new courts.

Probably no more tonka toys at work till Monday so I get a weekend breather from blogging....unless, of course, we have a storm or something exciting to report.

Have a nice weekend!

More Phase 3

We could hear the cement saws grinding and saw the smoke as workers fit the bricks together around the waterway by the south pavilion.

It takes a jackhammer to dig into the good ole Arizona hard desert dirt.

Still working at the new pickleball court site.  Must get the ground to the exact height and all smoothed out.

That first house we posted yesterday is already put together and in place.  Fast work!!

Three more new holes are dug for incoming houses.

I'm usually only out in the mornings to take photos because the afternoons are reserved for fun with friends.  Today our Pegs & Jokers group gathered for a selfie.

With that happy thought, I leave you for the day.

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Thoughts From An Unhinged Mind

The location of your mailbox shows you how far away from your house you can be in a robe, before you start looking like a mental patient.

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·    My 60 year kindergarten reunion is coming up soon and I'm worried about the 195 lbs. I've gained.

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·    On average, an American man will have sex two to three times a week;
whereas a Japanese man will have sex only one or two times a year. ...This is upsetting news to me............ I had no idea I was Japanese.

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First House in the new construction area!!

Don and I both find it VERY exciting to watch all this action every day.  Based on the nice emails some of you send, it sounds like you enjoy the photos also which makes my time at the keyboard worthwhile.  

This is the "assembly" team from John Blount's crew as they get ready for the first house to arrive.

Here it comes!

Don was closer to take some video which I'll be posting.

 The crew should be pretty good at this by now as it is certainly a steady routine here at our resort.  New houses seem to appear daily.

 Here comes the other section.

The whole complex of new streets now looks like a forest of sewer pipes growing out of the ground.

We spotted Fernando reviewing the progress with Jessie from Steffy Construction.

Of course, MaryAnn Brown was on duty with her camera to get photos for the Facebook page.

John Blount checking the site just before the house arrived.

By looking at the park map, I'm guessing this will be about site number 2030.........but that's only a guess.  Will try to get that confirmed later.

Here's a quick video for you:

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Special thank you to Dina Bates for sending me this cute owl cartoon.  She knows I'm an owl fan.

Pardon the 4-letter word but you have to admire his attitude.