Bistro Menu, Chorus, Sunshine

 Here is the Bistro menu for the week of Nov 27 through Dec 2.  See you there!

Sometimes I can't help but get overcome by the fun of living in Arizona and at Palm Creek.  The afternoon started with a FUN friendly group of people at the Swoop table.  The game of Swoop is a perfect fit for a resort like this one.  The game is easy to learn, any number of people per table, not a lot of strategy, but a lot of fun.  We had four tables present today and it sounded like a huge party with all the laughter and comradery.  Come to the Adobe room any Monday and/or Friday around 12:15.  Games start at 12:30 allowing newcomers to join in.

As I passed by the Santan room on my way to the Bistro, I could hear the music emanating from the chorus at rehearsal.  Our chorus members are really dedicated with the number of hours and practice.  The Christmas concert is coming soon so hurry to get your ticket.

Entering the front office, I found the crew decorating with Christmas ornaments.  The decor will put us all in the Christmas spirit WITHOUT the snow and ice!

Have a GREAT day to all of you.  Smile and enjoy the view around you.

Bistro Menu

 By popular demand, I'm posting the menu for the upcoming week at the Bistro.  Everyone reports great reviews for the food and service!  Here ya go:

Notice the daily soups as well.

Upcoming Artisan Craft Market

 

I had so much fun riding around the park today for the monthly patio sales!  So many people out on a lovely morning.  It was a great opportunity to meet new people, say howdy to familiar faces, and find new bargains at the sales.  The event was unfortunately cut a little short by a small rain storm though.  

The day's event reminded me of the upcoming Artisan Craft Market that will be held on Saturday, December 2.  Mark your calendar now and don't miss this event as it will be a great start for your Christmas shopping!

What makes this event so special is that all the sales will be items created by our own Creekers! As I visited so many patios today, I was so impressed with all the items created by our residents.   I copied the info from the Activities poster:

Stroll through our holiday Artisan Craft Market for gifts MADE BY PALM CREEK ARTISTS.  Here you will find everything from handmade Christmas decorations to Nantucket baskets, toys to jewelry, table runners to candy dishes, charcuterie boards to stained glass pieces.

While you are shopping, stop by the Ballroom Kitchen for coffee and pastries, or even lunch.  Lunch tickets must be purchased in advance from Activities.

There will be some holiday caroling and maybe even Jolly Old Saint NickSanta will find time for a visit.  

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Ballroom Saturday, December 2nd.

TO ALL OUR PC ARTISANS!  Be sure to register at Activities to they set up a table(s) for you!!  Hurry to make even more items for the sale.  

Upcoming Events

 It's always fun to listen to Terrie Wellman and Barb Poole as they bounce off each other during their talks or events they manage.  They always add entertainment to the presentation as they did at the Tuesday coffee this morning.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the "Community Marketplace" coming up next Tuesday, the 14th.  The "marketplace" replaces the past craft fair as there are more types of vendors than just craft booths.  Be sure to check it out and see the new booths.

Thursday, Nov 16, is the annual welcome back parkwide event.  This year is called "Charlie's Pumpkin Fest" in Palm Park.  There will be music and FOOD TRUCKS which are always a favorite.  Sign up in Activities ... and perhaps enter the pumpkin decorating contest.  The event runs from noon till 2:00pm.

Saturday, Nov 18, is the monthly patio sale.  It's always fun to invite a friend and visit all the patio sales around the park.  Watch for traffic that day as there are always plenty of bikes, scooters, golf carts, walkers, and cars as they tour the park searching for a special buy.  If you want to have a sale of your own, sign up in Activities so you get included on the map.  Friday afternoon after 1:00, maps will be available so you can see the individual sites where the sales are held.

Tuesday, Nov 21, is another coffee and donuts at 8:30 a.m.  Terrie and Barb will be there to talk about December upcoming events.

Wednesday, Nov 22, is the big Thanksgiving Dinner in the ballroom at noon.  Get tickets in Activities by Nov 12.  There are still a few tickets available.

That leads us up to December 2 for the Artisan Craft Market.  This should really be FUN and interesting as all Palm Creek residents can display their crafts or homemade items for sale.  It's a fun opportunity to pick up some great Christmas gifts!

There are so many fun events in addition to all the club activities to get involved with.  Don't forget every Monday night is Bingo in the ballroom.  Tickets go on sale at 6:00 and games start at 7:00.  A lucky winner this week went home with around $500.  

My blog entries will probably taper off now that so many residents are here for the season.  I get very busy with club activities so will save posting time for special items.

I'll try to post the weekly menu for the Bistro, however.  They also have a daily soup special but that menu isn't available as of yet.

My favorites are definitely the Lasagna and the Chicken Pot Pie.  YUM!  We love having the nightly meal specials.

News from the Bistro

 We've been so happy with the food service we've been receiving....all summer long and now all the new happenings at the Bistro and the Getaway Cafe.  We stopped in at the Bistro for dinner yesterday and were pleased with the menu.

It looks like the dinners will change each night.  

In addition to the main meal, there are other great choices.  Nice ready made salads and sandwiches to choose from.

What a lovely way to spend time with your neighbors or friends.  Go to the Bistro patio and have a charcuterie board to share.  Add a glass of wine or one of the MANY beers available.

Beer by cans........or....

by the draft glass.

The Getaway Cafe out by the ballfield is open for the season too.  Hours are 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Check out the "Shareables" on the menu.  Order a couple and invite the neighbors!  It's a great way to socialize without the work of preparing food.

Tree Trimming

 Our tree trimmers are here in force!  It was fascinating to watch these two machines at work.  Each is self driven from the bucket so they can go down both sides of the street at once.

Then there is a big 5 person crew following who pick up all the branches and sweep up most of the debris.

Then another crew follows behind with blowers and brooms to get the residual dust.

If you have time to watch a video of the trimming process, here it is.  They're young strong men doing the job but I can imagine how their shoulders and back must feel after 8 hour days of that work.  

The Weed Co people are here too spraying ALL the lots for weeds.  They do an excellent job as we noticed the lots across the street from us never had a single weed all summer.

The solar installaltion is finally nearing completion.  To make the final connections, they have had to close down different sections of the park while connecting.  Today all offices and admin buildings are closed with no electricity, phones, cash registers, etc so even the bistro is closed for the day.  This has been a huge installation project.  Let's hope it is worthy.

Our own landscape and maintenance personnel are busy busy busy with trimming, pruning, etc.  Getting ready for the snowbirds returned.  We watch a steady trickle of RVs arriving daily when we play cards in the Adobe room.  As we drive up Oasis and/or Granite, we notice more golf carts, cars, etc. and folks out "cleaning up" their yards.

P.S.  Congratulations to the Activities crew for the smooth distribution of season event tickets.  It was well organized and seamless.

***************

I must take a personal moment to brag about my son and his recent art.  Congratulations on the sale, Anton (and Hannah).

***********

And.....the cats are still enjoying their condo.

(Kat and Mouse)

Looks like they're discussing world issues.

Have a GREAT day!

The Bistro is OPEN

 We welcome our Bistro back in action!  I know you're looking for that menu.

And the new beverage offerings:

I love coffee so am very happy with the new coffee bar.

There are three flavor additives available:  hazelnut, vanilla and one more I forgot. 😒

Plus almond milk and regular 1/2 and 1/2

Also a cappuccino machine!

Match those coffee drinks with the yummy treats!

There's no room to keep the precious salad bar we enjoyed all summer BUT...there are some lovely salads that will be fresh and waiting for you.  Great sandwiches too.

Seating room inside and out:

Plus a nice friendly kitchen staff on duty.

Reminder that Bistro is open 9-2 Monday through Saturday. 

 New extended hours begin October 30 and will be 9-7 Monday through Friday to accommodate the dinner hour.

See you at the Bistro!

Welcome October

Welcome to October!  No more 110+ days!!  What a relief.  Welcome to nice cool evenings and beautiful cool mornings.  My favorite month of the year.

The Activities Department said they would continue our summer activities through October and by the looks of the calendar, they are doing exactly that.

Last night we enjoyed the End of Summer Steak Dinner.  Yum!  

AND Dessert!

Tomorrow the Fireside Bistro opens at 9:00 a.m.  I'm anxious to see what will be on the menu.  We'll have hours Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Then starting October 30 hours will be extended until 7:00 p.m. so we'll have dinner opportunities too.

*********************

A new event for this coming season....the Artisan Craft Market to be held on Saturday, December 2 from 9-3 in the Ballroom.  Should be a fun event and a great place to start your holiday shopping.

******************

From NextDoor:

*************

Harris Hawks at Palm Creek

 We've spotted one or two Harris Hawks here in the past but we're excited to know that we have a group of at least FOUR visiting Palm Creek right now.  Carol Cook got a good photo of two of them this morning.  One is sitting on the meter and the other is perched to the right in the background.

Photo by Carol Cook

Don and I were driving our golf cart up Palm Creek Blvd between holes 9 and 6 when we spotted them alongside the creek.  One flew up into the air, dove down to the pond, and flew away with a fish clutched in its talons!  How exciting for us bird watchers!!

The Harris hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of groups while other raptors often hunt alone.  Their social nature has been attributed to their intelligence which makes them easy to train and has made them a popular bird for use in falconry.

Undoubtedly because it pursues large prey often, this hawk has larger and stronger feet, with long talons, and a larger, more prominent hooked beak than most other raptors around its size.  They hunt primarily cottontails and jackrabbits.  Harris hawks will hunt in cooperative groups of two to six.  

These hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West for that purpose as they are one of the easiest to train and the most social.  They have been used to remove an unwanted pigeon population from London's Trafalgar Square and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon.  They're also used for bird abatement at locations including airports, resorts, landfill sites, and industrial sites.  

It's easy to identify them in flight due to the white patch near the tail.

Photo from Wikipedia.org

Photo from Wikipedia.org

P.S.  By the way....

Our golf course crew had better plant a lot more grass seed than usually needed.  😕 There are hundreds of doves enjoying the feast of new seeds.

*******
REMINDER:  Friday, September 29, is the last day of serving for the Ballroom Cafe.  The Bistro will open on Monday, October 9.  Guess we'll have to cook our own meals for a whole week!

************
Something special:  End of Summer Dinner
Found this poster in our mailbox today.  Must buy your tickets by Oct 2.  $25pp

****

Here comes October!

WOW!!  What a wonderful morning!  Cool 66 degrees for the first time all summer!  It was awesome to sit out on the patio for morning coffee, watching the sunrise, watching as the hummingbirds awaken and race to the feeders, etc.

Look at this current forecast for Casa Grande!  No more triple digits!!! 😃

There is activity all around the resort as crews get ready for the massive return in October.

Park maintenance and landscaping are working hard on the grounds as they get ready for the season.  Fertilizer arrives by the semi load a couple times a week as our crews spread it around on the golf course.

Be sure to load some extra seed to keep the doves happy.

Freshly fertilized.

Then turn on the water!  Sprinklers go morning and night so the fairways and greens grow.

The north pickleball courts are getting a face lift.

Good crew working in preparing the courts.

Maintenace is cleaning up the sports area, setting up tables and chairs, etc.  So much to get done for your arrival.

Flower beds are resting before the new flowers arrive.

Crews are walking along the backyard of the golf course sites, blowing away the excess dirt and dust from the reseeding process.

We enjoyed another crazy bingo game sponsored by our Activities Dept.  It was a big birthday surprise for Terri Wellman as well.  Thank you, Terri (and Barb) for all you have done to keep us entertained this summer.

Event ticket sales opened yesterday at 9:00 a.m.  Activities received over 600 ticket orders that morning so we know the staff will be hard at work for the next few days.