1/31/09 Another Comedy Night in Quail Run

First thing this morning the Activities team got the newsletter folded and distributed. That's done for another month. I can start the last one of the year now.

Our Valentine's Dinner/Dance is nearly sold out as is the Mystery Dinner. (Note to LaVon: you & Don should come over and get some tickets for our events.) I'm really looking forward to this Mystery Dinner we're having. I can't tell you anything about it because I don't have a clue as to what is happening, or what we'll eat. I do know that it is NOT a whodunit. I'm sure I'll have lots to tell you and lots of pictures when the time comes but it doesn't happen until the 21st.

Tonight we had the Comedy Night again and the headliner was fantastic! He sang, he told jokes, he did impressions and it was all as if he was telling a story as he went along. We're having him back on the 27th and I bet he's a sellout once everyone who was there tells the ones who didn't make it what a great act he is. In case you are wondering, he has two acts, we won't watch the same one again.

The weather is absolutely perfect here right now. We're in the mid-seventies again, everyone is in shorts, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. All is right with our world.

1/30/09 3 Hrs. in a Hot Tub = Prune!

Another busy day in the world of Activities. Questions and tickets and directions, but hey, that's what we're here for.

Final adjustments and corrections were made to the newsletter and it was time to print off the final copy to take to Office Max for printing. Oh no! I'm losing the last letters on the edge of the paper. Tried as hard as I did to correct it I couldn't make it happen. Kim wasn't around today to help so I called Jeannie. She tried and it was better but not perfect. She suggested I call Helen M. in the park, she is well versed in Microsoft Publisher. What a Godsend she was! She taught me quite a few of the functions and little tricks I didn't know. In just mere minutes everything was printed and I was out the door to the printer.

Darrell and Dona drove into Casa Grande and I went with them. We dropped off the newsletter with instructions and then we went shopping. We picked up a few things for the Valentine's dance and before we knew it, it was time to pick up the newsletter and head back home.

Bob puttered around the rig today and worked some more on the itinerary for the trip this summer.

My lower back was bothering my by the end of the day so around 7 I went up to the hot tub with every intention of spending an hour and coming home. Well, I ended up staying in for three hours because friends kept coming and going and it was just plain comfortable. I looked like a prune by the time I got out! But my back felt good!

1/29/09 Some Excitement in the Neighborhood

The "ticket window" in the office was busy all day today. Between tickets sales and the winter residents turning in their registration slips and entry fees for the Quail Run Senior Winter Olympics, well, we were kept jumping.

I spent a few hours today finishing up the newsletter and its ready to go to press tomorrow morning. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. We've got a whopping 16 pages this month and I could have probably done 18 if I wanted to, but I've got to be mindful of printing costs.

We had some excitement on my street today. Our next door neighbors, Steve and Carol, (we stayed at their home in Salt Lake City this summer) got their new rig today. It is just beautiful! Its an 08 Montana and just so nice! I want one!

I asked Carol if she wanted to trade but she said no. I told her I thought we were good friends and she replied, "Snookie, we are good friends, but not THAT good!"

I hope they have many happy seasons in their new home.

Bob played poker tonight but didn't have a good night at all. It seems one player had all the luck tonight and took everyone's money.

I made a run into town to get printer ink for the computer in the office and Kim went with me to pick up some things she needed. Its nice to have someone to ride along and to talk to when taking care of errands.

I thought about sitting in the hot tub tonight but it was just a tad too chilly to walk up there and to think about walking home in a wet bathing suit, towel and warm wraparound or not.

Maybe tomorrow night.

1/28/09 A Mexican Dinner

After a very busy day in the office today, sixteen of us went out for a Mexican Dinner in Eloy.

It was a small little restaurant with very nice, colorful murals painted on the walls.

We all had something different and to tell ya the truth, I wasn't all that impressed with the place. Three from our table had to send our plates back for one reason or another and several of us had dinners that were cold. Its not a place that we'll go back to. But we tried it and now we know.

Not all was lost, Dona did enjoy her margarita.

After dinner, I teamed up with Ann in her car and we went to Penny's. They are having a heck of a sale and we wanted to take advantage of some of the buys. The day before, fellow workampers, Jim and Chris had been there and scarfed up St. John Bay T-shirts with the pocket for 46 cents a piece! Forty six cents! Of course when we got there tonight they were long gone, but I did manage to get Bob two new T's that were on the spend-y side for next to nothing. It wasn't a wasted trip. Ann, on the other hand, hit the mother lode! She found all kinds of shirts for her husband at great prices. So we both left there with stuff for the husbands and we couldn't find a thing for ourselves. Penny's had really nice leather jackets that were originally $225.00 on sale for $24.99. What a buy! I thought about it, more than once, but walked away. Someday I'll regret that, I know.

The weather is going to start warming up here tomorrow. I'm so glad about that!

1/27/09 LOOK! IS IT YOU?

IT'S GOING TO TURN!

IS IT YOU?

LET ME KNOW IF IT IS!

No need, it was me.

I ran the counter up with the posting I've been doing getting the blog caught up. Sorry, Wilf, maybe next time. You've only got 999 page visits to go and you'll get another chance at it.

It was one busy day in the office today! I had ten things going at once and each staff member was busy and the ticket window was busy all day and on top of it all we've got a Super Bowl Party to get together in just a few days. Our pastor has just gotten a projector type thing and the picture is 60"! He's offered to bring it to the Carnaval Room and share it with all of us for the Super Bowl. We've got to get the word out now and I bet once it starts it will spread like wildfire. I can already imagine all the food we'll have. There won't be a need to cook dinner that day!

I'm really torn on who to root for in this game. Our Eagles had gotten so close and were beaten out by the Arizona Cardinals. So do I root for the Steelers because we're from Delaware and Pennsylvania is our neighbor or do I root for Arizona because this is our winter home now? To tell ya the truth, at this point all I care about is the commercials. At three million dollars for 30 seconds they better be good ones!

Bob and I spent some time today filling out the paperwork for our Passports. We're going to get the Passport Cards they offer now since we'll need one to get through Canada on our way to Alaska. Cards are a lot less expensive than the Passport booklets and Bob says he is never, ever going to get on a plane again to visit some foreign country, that there's a lot to see in this country. I have to agree with him. The card will get us into Canada and Mexico and that's all we need.

We had a cold front come through and we're back in the long pants again. I hear we'll be back in the mid to high 70's in a day or two. That would be nice but I want the 80's!

So there it is, another day in paradise.

1/26/09 Today We Went to.....

Can you figure out where we went today? Give up? We went to....

That's right, we went up to Mesa to a pizza place called Organ Stop Pizza. We went there last year and enjoyed it so much we decided to go back this year. Last year it was at Christmas time so we saw the Christmas program with a guest organist, this time it was with the usual show with one of the regular organists.

I don't think I could ever get tired listening to this instrument. Probably because it makes the sound of nearly every instrument there is.

Darrell and Dona rode with us and we had an enjoyable trip there and back getting to know these two even better. They are planning on coming back again next year.

Another look at it during the question and answer period.

I can't even imagine knowing what one quarter of these keys do!

We sat up in the balcony today and took notice of the ceiling fans. They are run by belts and pulleys!

Since everything was under control and I wasn't missed in the office when I returned I figured it was a good day to take the rest of the day off. Jeannie has been on me to take some time off anyway. I will gladly do that when it gets really warm out. We're only in the mid-70's right now and I want it a tad bit warmer when I start laying out and working on the tan. No farmer tan for me this year!

I received this in my email today. I laughed out loud at this and hope you get a chuckle too. Thanks Skip!

The pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers. A lady stood and walked to the podium. She said, "I have a Praise. Two months ago, my husband, Tom, had a terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if they could help him."

You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagined the pain that poor Tom must have experienced.

"Tom was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him terrible pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Tom's scrotum, and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."

Again, the men in the congregation were unnerved and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Tom.

"Now," she announced in a quavering voice, "thank the Lord, Tom is out of the hospital and the doctors say that with time, his scrotum should recover completely."

All the men sighed with relief. The pastor rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say. A man stood up and walked slowly to the podium.

He said, "I'm Tom." The entire congregation held its breath. "I just want to tell my wife that the word is sternum."

1/24/09 The Oranges are So Good!

I have not eaten an orange since I was a little kid. I'm talkin' 45 years ago! Now I can't seem to get enough of them. Arrangements were made for an "Orange Man" to come into the park and as a thank you he gave me a free bag. I put some in the fridge and Bob reminded me that they were in there so I thought, "Oh, what the heck, I'll taste one". That's all it took. Now I'm eating 2 or 3 a day. So juicy, so sweet! Don't these look good?

My friend and co-worker, Kim and I spent the day writing our park's newsletter. We realized what day it was and that we are running out of month and thought we had better get it done. This was the first issue I have really been responsible for and I was concerned that it wouldn't get done in time, especially since the month is passing by so quickly. Since the office was closed most of the day anyway and there is lots going on around us so the office wasn't very busy even during the few hours we were open, we were able to knock out quite a bit of work. We finished up 12 pages of it today, not bad for five and a half hours of work. We will probably have four more pages before we're done. We'll need a couple of more hours and we can put this issue to bed. One more issue to go.

Tonight we had the Cancer Survivor Party here in the park. This is a HUGE party and so much fun. Darlene (r) and Lynn(l) put this party on every year.

Darlene is now an eight year survivor, certainly a reason to party! This party to celebrate those who beat this dreaded disease and to remember those who didn't.

Music was provided by the ever popular Carol Powers. She knows this crowd so well and just loves playing for us. She gets into the party just as much as we do.

At one point all the survivors were asked to come up front. The number of people is staggering considering the number of people in the room in total.

Here are George and Carol, Activities staff members, OMG, can they polka! I could sit and watch them all day. They never miss a step and put everything they have into it.

This is my good friend, Al. The scarf around his head isn't a part of his normal attire. Everyone got these scarves tonight and I guess he didn't know where else to put his.

This was another great party but boy oh boy am I hurting now. Since I haven't been able to dance lately because of the pain in my leg and since I was feeling really good when I got here tonight, well, you figure it out. Bob couldn't dance at all as he is in lots of pain right now too. He sneezed. Yep, a sneeze put him out of commission for a few days now. He sneezed really hard and it came with absolutely no warning. It happened at a time when he was in the middle of a turn and his torso was twisted and it really hurt his back. It even hurts him to laugh. We sure are a pair right now.

1/23/09 The NIGHT Finally Arrives

Tonight is the night that "The Mental Institution" performs here in the park. One of our Activities Staff found this online and I called a few places where he performed and heard good things and the price was just right so I booked him.

We started advertising weeks ago in a roundabout way. We put signs up indicating something special was coming to Quail Run and we had a countdown of days on our in park TV channel. It was quite the buzz for awhile.

I went up to the Carnaval Room around six to see if he had arrived as yet and when I when I entered the room this fella yells, STOP! I did, in my tracks! He put his hand to his forehead and says, "I'm getting something, a vision, it's coming." Then he looks at me and points and says, "Snookie!" Yeah, it was our "mentalist" welcoming me into the room. I got a good laugh out of that.

At six thirty the winter residents started coming in to get seats. We had designated all the white colored chairs to be off limits during the performance for those who wanted no parts of being "in" the show.

There was a little technical difficulty at the beginning with our CD player but we got past that quickly.

I had read the web site for this act but really had no idea what to expect as far as a specifics were concerned.

I talked with his wife as he set up the stage with his props.

While he was finishing up he asked me if I would draw a picture on a white piece of paper taped to a square, black plastic (I think) board. I took a seat in the back of the room so that he couldn't see what I was drawing while he was on stage. I can't draw! I couldn't think of a thing to make a drawing of. I was wondering that if I did think of something to draw could I possibly make the picture on the paper resemble anything even near to the picture in my mind. Between you and me, I had HUGE doubts! I looked around the room for something to draw and I just didn't think I could pull off a drawing of a piano, or a rack of chairs or even a single chair for that matter! He was almost done on stage so just to have something on the paper I drew two stick people. Now doesn't that just inspire the heck out of you? Yep, two stick people, the extent of my artistic talent. Now to my credit, they were good stick people! I even named them and drew them holding hands! I named the taller one Bob and the smaller one Snookie. Again, the originality of it all is beyond belief!

I told him I was done and he had me hold it up with the picture facing me. He then took a dish towel and lowered the towel between me and the plastic board. He draped it over the board and then I could hold it flat in my hands. He took another square plastic board and laid it on top of the towel. While I was holding it securely he took large rubber bands and secured the two boards corner to corner. The picture I drew was never out of my possession and at no time could he see the stick figure portrait. I had to run home at one point when I realized that my camera battery was back in the rig in the charger. The drawing went with me.

The room filled quickly and it was time for the show to get underway. I had Janet C. sitting next to me, with much trepidation. She just didn't know what to expect and because I kinda, sorta, insisted she sit next to me, well, she was leery to say the least. Well, wouldn't you know it, she got picked to go up on stage. I swear I had nothing to do with it! Well, ok, maybe a little bit. Maybe I did nod towards her when he was looking for a victim participant. Ok, Ok, maybe I did in fact have my hand behind her pointing to her in a definite Pick Her, Pick Her, manner. She was invited up on the stage and asked to pick one of the chairs pictured below to sit in and it had to be one with an envelope in it. That certainly narrowed it down.

So she picks which seat she wants to sit in....

The "Great Massimo" then picks up the envelope from the seat of the chair she didn't choose and takes out a piece of paper and asked Janet to read it the audience. She read, "I knew you wouldn't pick this chair." Of course, she was then asked to read the note in the envelope from the chair she did pick. You guessed it, it said, "I knew you would pick this chair".

He did several "mental readings" involving playing cards, some I figured out how he did it and some I didn't.

He had Dona, an Activities staff member, involved with a, I don't know if I'm supposed to call them "tricks" or not, but for the lack of a better term its the one I'm going to use.

Dona had to take the three die and toss them and write down the number showing on top when they stopped rolling across the floor. He was busy doing something on stage while she was doing this. Getting a white board to write on and looking for a marker is what I think he was doing. So he looks at the floor and tells her to take the two closest to her and write down the number that is on the opposite side of the number showing. DUH! Like we're not figuring this one out! She does it and she now has five numbers on her white board. He tells her to add them. She did. At the same time he writes a number on his board. I'll be darn, they both have the same number!

He did several more tricks and kidded with us along the way.

He then brought out a bag of marbles, one black and five white. He asked six audience members to reach in and take one out but to hide it from him and their neighbors. He then went to each one who had the marble clenched in their fist and made a show of ...well here, you can see for yourself. He's feeling Kim's aura here.

Now I really don't know how he did this and I probably missed something along the way but then again maybe not because he did get some really good applause on this one. He picked out of the six the one who had the black marble.

Next it was my turn. He called me up on stage and explained to the audience that I had drawn a picture earlier in the evening and that he had no opportunity to see it and I confirmed everything he said as true. And it was!

He told me to "put it on my head". So I did. I held it directly, flatly, on my head. He looked at me and said, "It's not raining!" Oh, he didn't mean that way, he meant to put it against my forehead so that I could concentrate on it better. Ok, gotcha. I did what he wanted. As I stood there and concentrated on my stick figure drawing he was busy drawing on his own paper. He then helped me to take the rubber bands off, lift the plastic board, take the dish towel off and I held the picture up for the audience to see. Soon after he held his drawing up. Stick people! Two of them. I have no idea how he did this. I am absolutely, positive that he did NOT see my drawing.

He ended the hour long show with his trademark trick. Breaking a lightbulb with his mind.

He was concentrating very hard and was standing in a really cool pose so I asked him to hold that stance until I got a picture. I interrupted his thought process I guess because he had to start over.

I then asked him to let me know just before it was going to break so I could snap a picture. He said he couldn't do that. Needless to say I didn't get it breaking, I was a second too late in snapping but I got one of of the broken light bulb. Nope, don't ask me, I don't have a clue.

Was the show worth all the hype? Probably not, at times it was pretty hokey. Was it night out, away from TV reruns? Sure was! Did we all get a few laughs? You bet.

I heard about some complaints but then doesn't every crowd have those who just have to complain about everything and anything?

1/21/09 Strawberry Night at Last

The team got busy first thing this morning baking the biscuits for tonight's Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Night.

Steve with one baking pan ready to go and waiting for the ones in the oven to get done.

Can you just imagine sweet, sliced strawberries and whipped cream on these?

Ann, a former restaurant owner/manager/chief cook/dishwasher showing off the beautiful biscuits the team is stockpiling. I have to tell you, I don't know what I would do without Ann, she really keeps me grounded when it comes time for buying food for a large dinner or party we're giving. She's gives such good advice and really knows her way around the kitchen. Besides all that, she is just so nice to be around. I am truly blessed to have team members like Ann and the others who are working with me this year. The best part,,,,Ann is coming back next year!

Marlena mixing the whipping cream up. We had hoped to make our own whipped cream but we found it tasted kind of bland even with adding more vanilla and powdered sugar. Just to be safe, Ann and I made a run into town to buy the real whipped cream in the cans. It wasn't our plan but its what we had to do.

We planned on the Strawberry Night to start at promptly 7 pm even though the winter residents were lined up at 6:30. I just stayed out of the Cantina until 6:57 and it couldn't be started without me because I had the cash box.

We learned a lesson on this one. Sell tickets in advance! What we did was have a sign up sheet when we really should have just sold tickets in the week prior. I look at it this way, this is how we learn what works and what doesn't. I had taken the sign up sheet and marked everyone off on a printout Jeannie made for me by site #. This is made it so much easier to mark off the participants, asking for site number, rather than running the down sign up sheets with all that different handwriting. Out of 139 signed up, 21 didn't show for whatever reason. Had we sold tickets in advance we wouldn't care if they showed or not, well, we would have, you know what I mean. So we had some left over but we decided we'll sell it at Bingo tomorrow night.

We also had a Jam Session going on at the same time in the Carnaval Room. Winter residents from the park gathered on the stage and we had a few from a visiting park join in.

We have some very talented musicians in this park! And songwriters! Wilf, far left, wrote a song about Don, the Peacock....again this year. Don is a harmonica player and Wilf's song was about his playing. I just have to get the words to it, its a riot!

Bill and Pat, Bill got this whole thing together, thank you Bill!

Tonight was a huge success for the Activities Team. We'll have another Jam Session and when Bill let's me know when, I'll be the second to know, he says, then we'll start planning our next dessert night. I'm thinking peach cobbler, perhaps ala' mode.

1/20/09 A Day for Shopping

Today we had a tag along to the Olive Mill in Queen Creek. Quite a few signed up for this day trip so I handed out maps and crossed names off of the list of participants to make sure everyone who was supposed to go was there. All present and accounted for, I then met up with Ann to get some shopping done.

Since our much awaited for Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Night is tomorrow night we thought it a good idea to go get the ingredients we need to make the homemade biscuits and real whipped cream.

We thought to be on the safe side we had better get some more strawberries, we certainly didn't want to fall short there! Our first stop was Fry's grocery store where I bought all the other strawberries. Strawberries that were 2 quarts for $3.00. No longer! How about $3.99 a quart? Oh no, this wouldn't do! We did get the flour, sugar, baking powder and a few other things on our list.

We went to Food City next in search of cheaper strawberries and in that store we couldn't find any at all. Just as we were leaving we saw the produce man and asked him if he had any. It just so happens he was pushing a cart and they were loaded on there. At $2.49 a quart! We pulled out a few of plastic see through boxes and felt lucky to have found them.

Next stop was Walmart. We got the rest of the things on our list and then went to the house wares department. There were some things we needed to replace in the kitchen because they were broken or just plain old. We also picked up some more items that are just nice to have and will make life easier for us when we have a large lunch or dinner to prepare. And we do have more than a few meals to prepare for large groups.

When the work day was done Bob and I joined our neighbors across the street for awhile. They had bought dipping oils and breads from the Olive Mill today and were having a tasting party. Kind of makes me wish we had gone now!

Tonight Bob played pool and I spent my time getting this blog caught up. Now if only I could keep it that way!

1/19/09 A Surprise Visit!

Another beautiful day in the desert for us. Blue skies, warm temps, all is right with our world!

We had one busy day today in the Activities arena. I asked some members of the Red Team to go through the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen to take out stuff we haven't used, we'll never use and to just generally get rid of things that are doing no more than taking up space. This fantastic team went way beyond the call of duty. Not only did they empty every nook and cranny they washed down the inside and outsides of all the cabinets and drawers, washed every dish and utensil, every pot and pan and bleached the cutting boards. It took five of them all day to do the job but you can believe this kitchen is SPOTLESS! Everything is arranged according to its use, frequency of use and the best thing of all....things were found that none of us had ever seen before! There is lots more room now that the junk has been rid of. We laid all the things out that were still serviceable and wrote a sign that said FREE. It didn't take long for the things to find new homes.

While these five were busy, two other team members were busy in the office tending to ticket sales and answering questions about upcoming events.

This afternoon I had to go see my friend, Janet, who is co-chairing the Winter Olympics this year and we happen to live on the same street. As I'm getting to closer to our place I heard this voice yell, "Snookie Quinn, you better get back to work!" I looked up to see who that was coming from and I saw this woman standing there. My first reaction was, "Darn, who is that? I know her, but who is it?" I looked and looked and then it hit me! DeAnn! What a surprise to see her! She and her husband, Bruce, were the Activities Coordinators here last year.

She said that she and Bruce were in South Dakota for the past few days, FREEZING and since they had a long weekend they decided to fly down before they went back home to Kansas to get warm. They were just loving this sunshine and warm temps! They both just looked wonderful and I was so happy to see them.

Note to Bruce: The picture I took of you turned out really, really good but unfortunately it wasn't one of DeAnn's best so I chose not to share it here. Just wanted you to know why your pic didn't make the cut buddy.

I would have loved to have spent more time with them but they had so many to see before they left and they were flying out tonight. I sure hope our paths cross again.

1/18/09 A Casa Grande Street Fair

What an absolutely beautiful day it was today! We're back up in the mid to high 70's every day now and you can just tell spring is in the air. At least here in the desert it is.

Jeannie picked me up at 11:30 so that we could go in town to Casa Grande to check out a group called the Keepsakes for possibly booking them here in the park. They weren't taking the stage until one so we had time to check out the vendors and wares for sale.

I just love these small town street fairs, the smells, the sounds, the people.

This vendor sold the most amazing metal work. I really could have spent a fortune here if I had some place to put these things.

There were lots of metal workers displaying their handiwork and each one was different.

Being from Quail Run, I really liked this quail family, especially since it was only $49.00! The colors in it are just beautiful.

As we were walking down the street I heard that familiar sound and it didn't take long for me to find this musician.

To me, the sound of a pan flute is just so special.

In all the times I've been to downtown Casa Grande I never took notice of this wall mural before. The colors are so vibrant I don't know how I missed it.

Jeannie checking out some embroidered shirts. Take notice, no ugly socks today. I made sure before I got in the car with her!

As we walked down the street we stopped to look at something and then noticed the people who were sitting behind the display. Actually, it was the dog that caught our eyes.

If you had to write a caption for the next picture, what would it be?

There was a little girl, Kaylee, who wanted her picture taken too. Isn't she a cutie?

It was getting close to one and everyone was finding a seat to watch the band.

Soon it was showtime! The Keepsakes are a doo-wop band and the songs they sang brought back many memories for the audience members. I watched and a lot of them had smiles as each new song was sung as if it was bringing back a memory of a boyfriend or girlfriend of long ago or perhaps a special occasion such as a prom. I saw lots of toes tapping and dancing in the seats.

This lady is evidently an avid follower of the band or maybe even a friend of the band members. When they saw her she was invited to show us how she cha-cha's and could this lady dance! She was fun to watch.

We enjoyed the band and we'll be sure to book them for next season!

Jeannie and I then went to lunch. I had never eaten at an In & Out before. Its a fast food hamburger joint and I have to say it was the best fast food burger I've ever had. McDonald's has better fries, but the burgers can't be beat!

After pizza for dinner I spent some time in the hot tub again. I'm gettin' real used to this.

Bob has been busy planning our route and stops for our trip this summer so he hasn't been up to much other than that. I don't mean to say that's all he does, it isn't, but its taking up a lot of his time.

This was one nice day!

1/17/09 Pancake Breakfast

Its that time again, time for the dreaded monthly pancake breakfast. I don't like these things. You have to get up too early. This was the first time this team has been responsible for one so I felt as though I should be there. The day starts way too early for me.

So I showed up at 7:50, the team got there at 6:30, and things were well under way. Our breakfast starts at 7:30 and at 7:31 the first pancake was being served.

It was a huge breakfast this time. I don't recall ever having so many there for pancakes before. We served 112 in two hours time.

Here's George keeping the pancakes coming.

Another thing that started this month in the park is the "Orange Man" coming every Saturday until the end of the season. I had passed him on the side of the road earlier this week and stopped to talk with him. I asked him if he visited RV Parks and he said no, but that he would like to. So I invited him to come to Quail Run.

I don't know how many bags he sold but I do know that it was quite a few and he was quite happy. It seems every other person I saw had a bag of oranges in their arms. I tasted one and they are oh so sweet! Most of the bags had about 20 good sized oranges in it and they run $4.00 a bag.

As soon as the kitchen was nearly cleaned up I made my way home. I wanted and needed to be done for the weekend!

After dinner I went to the hot tub again. It was full tonight with seven of us in it. A little crowded but we had a good time and lots of laughs.

I'm sure you've all seen the pictures of the plane that crashed in the river in New York this past week. Have you seen the picture of what is believed to have caused it? If not, check this out!

1/16/09 Rebecca Dawn Sings!

I slept like a baby last night! I was even able to sleep on my left side, as usual, something I haven't been able to do since before Christmas. If its because of the hot tub then I'll be in that thing every night!

We had quite a busy day today with last minute tickets being sold for our show tonight and Valentine's tickets flying out the door.

Rebecca Dawn came into the park tonight to entertain us. And entertain us she did!

We had seen her here last year and even though parts of the show were the same it was enjoyable to watch all over again.

She does a part of her show from the floor interacting with the audience. This year was no difference. Here she is with The Peacock of the Park, my good buddy Don. Now why she picked him out of all the audience members is beyond me. I really don't think it had anything to do with me standing behind him and pointing to him when she looked at me.

During her salute to the military she must have asked for a Marine because when I came back into the room our good friend and neighbor, Steve (we stayed him and Carol in Utah) was up on stage with her.

She left him with this souvenir.

I think she was singing "These Boots Were Made for Walking" when she brought Pat Y. up on the stage with her.

I forget what the next song was but Pat got right into the dance with her!

Here's another winter resident that stepped up to the plate. You just have to give these people credit when they get up and sing along when they and everyone else knows that singing is not their strong suit. But hey, its all part of having fun here. Here's Mel Y. singing his heart out as he sings one of the Salute to the Military songs with Rebecca Dawn. Sorry Mel, didn't mean to say you can't sing but if you were still working I'd tell you to keep your day job. Just kidding my friend.

During the second half of the show she dressed as Patsy Cline. Ron S. was just enjoying this a bit too much!

During the intermission we tried something new. We sold sodas and popcorn and it was well received by the winter residents. We'll try this again next time to see if it goes over as well as it did tonight.

I went to check the hot tub out after the show to see who was in it and I found our friend Wilf all alone and enjoying the heck out of it!

1/15/09 Painting Everywhere!

The inside of the Oasis getting a facelift! Painting has started this week.

Our maintenance team is just doing a wonderful job this year. You can see improvements all around the park.

Not only is this kind of painting going on by today Gary Pearman came to the park to teach oil painting in a day.

Here the class is just starting, listening to the instructor.

I passed the painters at one point and it was just all blue skies.

In no time at all we had a hill and some trees.

Everyone sees things differently. Thank Goodness!

The next thing I knew there was a forest!

Now remember, these paintings are all done in four hours time. Here's the finished product of Lenny's.

I wanted to sign up for the next class but I didn't make it in time, I did however make the standby list, maybe someone will change their mind. We put the sign up sheet up and within 15 minutes it was full.

This class wasn't the last of the art being made in the Oasis today. A half hour after this class Scratch Art started.

Sandy hard at work.

I've never done this but here's what the finished product looks like.

I'm walking much easier today. In fact, I'm feeling pretty darn good! I have a twinge just occasionally and I even managed to catch one of the dances when I passed the Advanced Line Dancing Class this morning. Maybe I don't need to do that physical therapy after all!

The physical therapists said that sitting in the hot tub would maybe help the sitution so this evening Jeannie and I sat in the hot tub for an hour and a half. We had the whole place to ourselves and it was nice to just sit back and relax. I was surprised there weren't other people in the hot tub because it has been quite busy lately. Bingo was going on, they must have all been in there playing. The air was on the cool side but by no means cold or even chilly for that matter, so we didn't mind getting out to re-set the timer every half hour. I think I'll do this again and again.

1/14/09 Bob Goes to Barrett Jackson

Today was the day that a lot of the guys, and a lot of the gals, in the park got in there trucks and cars and headed to Scottsdale. We had a tag-along to the world famous auto auction held here every January. I had intended to go to but at the last minutes plans changed as they often do. I couldn't move! I was up all night, in pain! Here I had felt so good when I left the PT's office and now I could hardly move!

After moving around a bit I began to loosen up and feel little better but it would take most of the day before I really started feeling like I could go up the stairs without bracing myself for the hurt that was sure to come.

It was just as well because I got to witness the last signature that made me do this!

I just love those words! SOLD OUT! I'm hoping to be able to do that a few more times this year.

Dona and I did some errand running this afternoon. I went out to get prizes for the raffle we'll have at the Valentine's Dance. Can't tell you anymore than that, too many Quail Run residents read this and I don't want to ruin anything.

While we were out we had a fast food lunch. I hadn't eaten at Burger King in such a long time I can't even remember the last time. This used to be one of my favorite places to eat lunch. Not any more! I don't think it would bother me if I never ate there again.

I've been watching the weather around the country. I am soooo glad we are in Arizona! Did you see where Minnesota is a 56 BELOW! Why would anyone live there?

I know I haven't mentioned this in awhile and I probably don't have to now, but are you clicking on the pink icon?

How are you coming with the Alphabet Game? Any of you trying to get those figured out?

Another day down here in paradise. Keep warm all you northeners and East coasters!

1/13/09 Strawberries Everywhere!

Bob and I left the park around 9:30 this morning for my 10:00 appointment, he in the 550 and me in the 350. We'll leave the 350 in the busy parking lot today for exposure. There is a Fry's grocery store in the same complex the PT's office is in.

I was looking forward to this appointment but dreading it at the same time. Would he/she hurt me? Would this even work?

I went in and once again had tons of paperwork to fill out. You would think in this day and age that one doctor could easily fax over the info to the next when he prescribes extra outside treatment. I guess that is too much to ask for.

The therapist asked me lots of questions about the pain I was having. He said this was so he could connect the dots to figure out what was causing it. Well, after about a half hour or so it was determined that I do NOT have a strained muscle from my groin to my knee but that my lower back is out of whack. He pushed and prodded and when I left after another 30 minutes I could get my knee up to my chest in a sitting position, something I couldn't do when I walked in. I felt great! No pain! A miracle worker! I was on Cloud Nine! I hadn't felt this good since the third week of December!

Back at the resort I found that the sign up sheet for the Strawberry Shortcake Night was filled! Ann and I talked it over and decided since strawberries were on sale right now that I might as well get some more when we went to pick up the truck after work.

The office is very busy right now because so many more people have arrived since the holidays and everyone is getting their tickets for the events we have coming up.

We have singer Rebecca Dawn coming in this Friday and she is a big draw so her tickets are selling pretty steadily.

When we went to pick up the truck this afternoon we found it had a warning on the windshield from the local police department. It seems they frown on leaving a vehicle with a for sale sign on it on public property. We are glad that they had the courtesy to give a warning first and not slap a ticket on us.

Bob went on his way home and I stopped in to get more strawberries. Twenty seven more quarts to be exact. Thirty nine quarts of strawberries. That's a lot of berries to clean and slice. Here's what thirty nine quarts of strawberries looks like in the freezer. These are mostly gallon size freezer bags and they are loaded!

Giving ourselves the leeway of 1 quart for waste we figure with 38 quarts we can comfortably make 137 - 140 desserts. The sign up sheet was expanded and started filling quickly! We're already figuring out what we can make next week! I think its a toss up between peach cobbler and banana splits in a cup.

I've received a comment from Bill and Treasa and have no way of responding to them to answer their question. I've had this happen before also. Here's what I'm going to do, if you want to ask us a question about places we've been, RV'ing in general or really anything at all, send us an email at SnookieQ at America On Line dot com. Now I'm sure you can figure out what you should be doing there, I didn't want to make it easy for those programs that scan blogs for email addresses to catch mine. So ask away and I'll answer your questions, posting them if they are general info questions and privately if they are more personal. Waiting to hear from you!

1/13/09 Today, it will happen

OK, we're gonna turn to 47,000 today! If its you, let me know.

Note to Wilf: You CANNOT leave and keep coming back to run up the counter so that it is you that is the "winner". If the beer is that important just come over and I'll give you one! Whoever it was, didn't notice.

1/12/09 Volunteer Breakfast Day

Up early this morning, anxious about the breakfast we're going to serve, I was ready to get this day started.

When I arrived in the Cantina the Quail Run Morning Men's Club was meeting. This group of men meets every morning to drink coffee and solve all the world's problems. I think they even have assigned seats or they are just creatures of habit and always go to the same ones.

The first thing that had to be done was to get the large pots of water on to boil. We then set the serving counter up.

First in line was the quart size plastic freezer bags (buy good ones, brand name) and permanent markers for the volunteers to write their name and how many eggs they were using on the bags.

Next came a large glass measuring cup for cracking the eggs on followed by a large metal bowl for egg shells. We held the bags open for them to pour the eggs into. At this point we sealed the bag and handed it back to the diner for them to squish the eggs to break them up.

Next came the bowls of chopped black olives and sliced mushrooms and they had their choice of three shredded cheeses to choose from. Chopped green and red garden peppers, tomatoes, ham and onion rounded out the rest of their choices.

Sandy holds Carl's bag open while he adds the ham to his omelet.

Once again the bags were sealed and the contents mixed well by squeezing the bag. Its important to make sure as much of the air as possible is squeezed out of the bags. We made note of the name, the time and how many eggs were in it and into the boiling water it went. A two egg omelet will take 13-15 minutes depending on how much "stuff" they put into it.

Jerry and Phyliss get their omelets ready.

The volunteers were then sent to the Carnaval Room where they had their choice of bagels and cream cheese flavors, coffee or orange juice. When their omelets were done we emptied the bags onto their plates and garnished it with three slices of fresh orange and delivered it to them.

April, me and Dona, busy keeping the bags moving.

April checking the progress of the cooking omelets.

This went over BIG! They loved it! The omelets turned out very well in the bags and I think everyone just got a kick out of doing something different. I heard comments all day long as I saw the volunteers around the complex. This is something we will definitely do again next year!

As soon as I was done in the Cantina I went home to make an appointment with the physical therapists. They can get me in tomorrow! Oh happy day!

This afternoon Ann and I were shopping again. This time for strawberries. It was decided that we would have Strawberry Shortcake Night a week from this coming Wednesday. It would be something to do in the evening for everyone and even make some money for the Activities Department. So off we go to Fry's after checking our "Cooking for a Crowd" web site for strawberry shortcake. Ok, we need twelve quarts thinking that probably no more than 75 or so would sign up for this. It takes eight quarts for fifty people and we were comfortable with 12 quarts for 75. When we returned Ginny and Judy sliced them and got them ready for freezing since we didn't think they would last a full week in the fridge. I put a notice up on the bulletin board.

I also made up a sign up sheet with 75 spaces available. Within a few hours it was half filled. That fast.

Bill T., our neighbor, came in to set up a Jam Session in the Carnaval Room. Wednesday was open and it worked for him so we decided to combine the two. We'll set up tables and chairs and send everyone over with their strawberry shortcakes to eat and listen. I made a phone call to another RV park in the area and their guys are going to come over for the jam session too. These fellas had stopped in to see me a a couple of months or so ago and asked if we ever had jam sessions and said that if we did they would love to come play too. Bill said sure, invite them, so I did. This could be a weekly thing, jam sessions and dessert night.

Our weather is spring-like now with temps in the low 70's. More and more people are out at the pool now and outdoor parties are starting throughout the park. Dinner time brings the aromas of steaks and chicken on the BBQ. Ahhhh,,,, spring has arrived in Quail Run!

1/11/09 Ten Dozen Eggs Later....

Today Ann and I had to go shopping for the Volunteer's Breakfast we're having tomorrow. This is our way of showing the winter residents that lead the different activities such as horseshoes, bridge and line dancing that we appreciate all they do. We're expecting thirty eight for breakfast.

We gave it some real thought as to what to serve them as we wanted it to be something that hadn't been done here before. So we decided on omelets. Just not any omelets but omelets that are cooked in a plastic bag in boiling water.

So off we went to Walmart for groceries. I drove our truck that we have for sale, the 350, and she met me there in her car. I left the truck when we were done and Bob and I picked up later in the day. We wanted to leave it there where it will get lots of exposure. What's busier than a Walmart parking lot?

We decided we had better get 10 dozen eggs to be on the safe side. We bought six ham steaks to be chopped up, a large box of already sliced mushrooms, two good sized onions, fifteen tomatoes, four containers of orange juice, 3 dozen bagels and flavored cream cheeses. Freezer bags, we bought several boxes of quart size freezers bags to cook the omelets in too. Everything came to less than $74.00 so breakfast is costing us less than two dollars per person!

When we got back to the resort we got right to work chopping everything up to get it ready. We had strips of green and red pepper left over from New Year's Eve veggie trays in the freezer so we chopped them, and we had a leftover can of black olives so we added that to the list and we had three different kinds of shredded cheese in the freezer too.

There is quite a lot to choose from to put in their omelets. I sure hope they like them! I sure hope this works! I have never cooked eggs in a plastic bag before but others have said they have and it works so we're going with it.

This afternoon we had the first ice cream social of 2009. We had a pretty good turnout and served 37 ice cream sundaes.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow so that I can call the physical therapists to get started there. It is so difficult getting dressed, getting in and out of vehicles, climbing steps, WALKING! This has got to end soon, its going on much too long now.

1/10/09 No One Should Hurt This Much!

I can hardly move! What a dumb thing I did last night, dancing a line dance and playing that ball thing we had going on.

I couldn't eat enough Aleve last night to even take the edge off. I was soooo stupid!

1/8-9/09 I Knew I Shouldn't Have Danced!

I'm in pain. All the time. I walk with a pronounced limp. I eat Aleve, Tylenol, anything I can get my hands on like candy. I hate this!

Thursday I just wanted the day to get over with because Friday can't get here fast enough for me. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and I can't wait. Wow, did I just say that? I am so not a doctor person! It is pure hell getting dressed in the morning because I can't bend over, I can't bring my left foot up to put a sock on and if I had a video of me trying to put on a pair of panties, well, I would win not only America's Funniest Home Videos but the World's Funniest Home Videos! You just wouldn't believe what I have to go through to accomplish that task!

Of course today was busy as all get out because we are having our Sadie Hawkins Dance tonight.

Everything was under control with the great workampers that work Activities so I left for my much awaited doctor's appointment. We didn't have to travel far as I went to a doctor that is in the medical complex in Casa Grande, just 10 miles away. Of course there was the tons of paperwork I had to fill out before I could see the doctor.

As usual the doctor was running late and I had to wait in the waiting room. Not a problem really, I hadn't read in a magazine in awhile and was looking forward to catching up with a Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, "O" or any other woman's magazine. A People or a US would have been nice. Wanna guess what my choice's were? How about Speedboats International? In the desert???? How about, Men's Health? or Ammo Monthly? Who reads this stuff? I couldn't even find a 6 month old Time or Newsweek!

My name was finally called and I limped back to another room where I ...you guessed it...waited some more. It wasn't much more than a little cubicle with a desk and an examining table but there were pictures galore. Personal family pictures which I thought I was a little odd. I did take note of the color on the walls which I thought was particularly pretty. A beautiful sage green color.

Not too long more and a young man walks in. I knew it wasn't the doctor because I had heard he was near retirement age and this fella was just starting his career. He introduced himself as he extended his hand to welcome me. I, in turn, extended my hand to him and said, "I'm pleased to meet you, I don't do needles, your magazine selection in the waiting room sucks and I really like this color on the walls". I took a breath and continued. "If I have to have medicine it needs to be in pill form, preferably, and if it has to be liquid then it must be cherry flavor or I won't take it. He just sat there and looked at me. All of sudden he just started laughing. He said, "Good, I like to know where I stand with my patients." I knew we would get along. Turns out he was the doctor's nurse practitioner.

He asked why I was there and when I finished telling him he looked at me with a straight face and said, "Well, Mrs. Quinn, you need a hip replacement". I was stunned! A hip replacement just wasn't in my line of thought here. I was not only stunned I was speechless! I must have looked like a deer caught in a headlight because suddenly he's pointing at me and laughing! He was getting me back! Whew!

He did go on to say that his diagnosis is a possibility but he thought it would be a good idea to get some x-rays before he gave a definite diagnosis. YA THINK???? Well, wouldn't you know they have a x-ray room right across the hall so it was very convenient. In just minutes pictures were taken of my hips but I was most fascinated when he put them up on the x-ray viewer that the zipper on my jeans showed up so well in the picture! Oh geez, it takes so little to amuse me some days.

Thankfully, my hip bones are in great shape! Both are the same, doesn't appear to be any abnormal bone loss and nothing looks out of the ordinary. OK, hip replacement is ruled out, what's wrong with me? He said he didn't have a concrete answer for me because as far as he was concerned everything looked good. He said I could have a strained muscle which wouldn't show up on an x-ray. I told him I didn't recall hurting myself and he said that I could have done it while laying in bed in the morning when I had that first stretch of the day. Well, yes, that's a real possibility because I do enjoy laying there and stretching before getting out of bed. OK, so what do I do now? I'm in a lot of pain, I'm not walking normally, its pure torture getting in and out of a car, I'm eating drugs like candy and I've had enough of this! He wrote me a prescription for pain medicine, pill form thank you very much, and another for 3 times a week physical therapy. When am I going to find time for that????

OK, back to the resort, I've got a show coming in tonight and I want to make sure everything is on track, although I knew it would be.

When I got there Ted, of Ted & Sue fame, was setting up a still. Yes, you read that right, a still.

I just didn't get this whole Sadie Hawkins thing. Ted had called me about a week and a half ago to tell me that he had seen bib jean shorts in a local store and I thanked him for the info and when we hung up thought to myself, "Why in the hell did he call to tell me that?" That info went right over my head! We were supposed to dress in our best hillbilly garb! I grew up in the suburbs, I don't know anything about hillbilly dances! Did I advertise it as "Come dressed in your best hillbilly garb?" NO! I'll know better next time!

So imagine our surprise when some of his friends arrived..... check out the attire of the lady in front of the couple in the doorway. That's how most of us dressed! No, that isn't quite right. The majority of us did have jeans on.

Of course, some of us got this whole Sadie Hawkins thing and dressed appropriately! I'll bet dollars to donuts that homely Sadie Hawkins wouldn't even wear THOSE socks!

Now here's someone who really got into this!

I'm not doing a whole lot of dancing as you can well imagine so I was sitting at the table and the next thing you know I see this red streak run by!

And then I saw why he was running....

That's a man with a shotgun chasing him!

I caught these pictures of our man Al learning how to do the Macarena! Oh how fun that was watching that!

If you recall the dance, you don't bend over,,,,Lynn is laughing so hard she can't help it!

Focus on the DANCE Al....the DANCE!

A break from dancing was in order and Ted led us in a game of called "So You Think You Have Balls!"

A large bucket was placed at one end and box of colored balls, the kind you would find in a McDonald's Playground where the kids play in the plastic balls was at other.

We lined up in two lines about a dozen in each line. The object of the game was for your team to get as many of the colored plastic balls in the bucket, placed about 20 feet away, as they could. Sounds easy doesn't it? And it would be if you could throw them, or toss them or just drop them in. Uh-uh. No hands allowed. The plastic ball, I should say the slippery plastic ball had to be placed between your thighs and you had to run down to the bucket and drop it in. If you dropped the ball, back to the end of the line you went to start over. Well, I didn't want to be left out of this, this looked like fun! Oh what a mistake it was! Walking with a plastic ball planted securely between your thighs makes you use muscles you didn't even know you had! It makes you use muscles that are already strained and killing you! I got down the line twice and was sidelined by choice, it just hurt too much! So I took pictures instead.

I have pictures that include faces but I just can't publish them here. It wouldn't be kind. The looks are ones of joy because this is just so darn fun to do and at the same time grimaces of pain because the thigh muscles are screaming at you. They aren't pretty and I wouldn't do that to my friends.(You can thank me later Janet.)

But I do have some where I cut the heads off!

This is just pure concentration!

The winning team won a pair of Golden Balls.

A little while later we had a "Husband Calling" contest. The women got up front and called their husbands and/or significant others. Or they just made up names because they aren't married. Some used very sexy voices and that particular S/O was on the run to her before we knew it! Another yelled his name like he was in the back 40 and she was calling him for dinner. Another used his first and middle names in a pretty stern voice and we knew he was in trouble! This was fun to listen to and by our applause the winner was picked. Marlena, single, calling to "Billy John" was our crowned winner.

It was a fun dance and I'm gonna pay dearly for it. Not only for the game but I slipped in a line dance too. Dumb Snookie! Really dumb!

1/7/09 I Laughed Till I Cried

Our day started with getting the three large kettles of soup on early so that it would be nice and hot come lunch time.

From there the team had lots to do to get ready for the lunch at noon. Luncheon ham had to be rolled, cheese had to be laid out on the platter, rolls sliced, olives and pickles divided into bowls for each table, more garlic dip had to be made for the leftover beer bread we took out of the freezer, pepperoni and cheese trays had to be made up, tea made and list goes on. Thankfully, the tables were set up yesterday so that task was out of the way.

Believe me, the morning goes by fast when you are expecting one hundred and eight for lunch.

As is always the way here in Quail Run, the winter residents started arriving 40 minutes before lunch is to be served. We let them in because we were still putting things on the serving tables and we couldn't get through the crowd at the door.

It was finally time to start ladling out the now hot soup. We were able to get six bowls to a tray and we had 3 teams serving. The first table we served worked out very well because they were up at the serving tables making their sandwiches, and partaking of the other goodies we set out for them. It was getting more crowded when we served the second table as the first was making their way back to their table but all in all they were very mindful of us and knew we had steaming bowls of soup on the trays.

As the ladies and gentlemen picked out their desserts from the dessert table we cleared the tables.

It was time to start the show! Maxine was the spokeswoman for the group and she told us how states and even countries had delegates for the highest office in the land of Red Hat Ladies. At the same time it was a fashion show!

She introduced the rest of the candidates to us.

Margaret from Canada....take note of the mukluks she's wearing. I didn't catch the whole spiel about her outfit so I don't understand the belt around her waist.

This lovely Red Hat Lady hails from Idaho. Billee is carrying the latest in Idaho fashions for a purse. Only she could pull off carrying a potato sack! You may recognize her as Mrs Peacock. That's Don, or the Peacock of the Park, as we know him, in the background.

Here's the delegate from Oregon. I didn't catch her story either but I can figure out that she is carrying her "bucket list".

Representing Germany is the lovely Hanna.

Next came my friend Marlene, another delegate from Oregon. She is portraying that Oregon is a fine state for all sorts of sports. Take notice of the bike tire representing the miles of trails for biking, a rifle case for hunting, hiking boots for hiking, walking stick for walking, a ski pole for skiing, a horseshoe hanging on the tire for, well, horseshoes and there's more...!

Take note of the fishing net, the hunting vest, the helmet and she's got a few other things going on here.

Here comes another friend, Janet, first grade teacher, carrying her ruler, wearing a one size fits all skirt held up by suspenders. Truly a fashion plate! Notice how the ever efficient Janet clips her red pen for marking papers to the suspender. Shhhh, don't tell her, but I think that is one ugly hat! It must be a Minnesota thing.

Ahhh,,my dear friend Diane, if this getup doesn't scream Red Hat Diva I don't know what does!

Representing Idaho, take note of her fashionable jewelry. I mean really, don't you just want to run out and buy a bag of red potatoes???? In case you wondering, yes those are potato slices on her earrings! Wouldn't you just give anything for a pair of glasses like those? And yes, that sign does say I-D-A-H-O!

This Red Hatter flew in at the last minute, jumped from the plane out at Eloy and landed in a tree!

Well let me tell you, Maxine just had us in stitches as she gave a narrative of each of the delegates!

The voting is done and decision has been made who the Princess and Queen Mother of the Red Hatters is going to be. These next two were kept in a separate room to build the suspense of who won the vote.

Announcing the Queen Mother...... DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......

Geraldine!

A close up....

A picture of Geraldine dancing the night away New Year's Eve doing her favorite dance,,,,The Twist!

The Princess was announced next. DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

Her close up pic....

This Red Hat Princess has a hobby that takes up her weekends.

Bodybuilding!

This Red Hussy Hatter has no problem showing some leg!

It must have been a long day for the "ladies" because the Princess just couldn't stand during the closing speech.

During the group picture the Princess must have had an "adjustment" problem.

As you can well imagine the audience just howled all the way through this election/fashion show.

I think the best laugh of the whole day was when the Princess, Dale, in real life, explained that "she" bought those clothes in a store without mirrors. She turned slightly, put her hand on her hip and asked the audience, "Does this skirt make my butt look big"? The laughter was deafening!

I had seen both Jerry and Dale before the show and I asked Dale if I could feel his boobs because they looked hard a rocks. I put both hands up, in place, and squeezed. Dale looked me dead in the eye and said, "Snookie, you wouldn't like that if I did that to you!" I just lost it. By the way, there were baseballs in that bra I think!

I stood at the door thanking people as they left and every single one of them praised Activities for the delicious lunch. I'm so glad we made the soup yesterday because everyone knows second day soup is always better.

Speaking of food. I have been asked by several people who were at the New Year's Eve celebration and the today's lunch for the recipe for the beer bread and the garlic dip I made. I thought I'd share them with you as they really are good!

Make these for a time that you need to bring something to a party or a BBQ picnic as a loaf of the bread makes a pretty good amount. Of course we made 6 loaves to serve 144 people.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan. Drizzle melted butter over top.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 for 60 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or cheese spread.

-or-

Cut in one inch thick slices, then cut in thirds, turn it and cut in thirds again to make cubes. Use for dipping in Garlic Dip or any dip of your choice. This beer bread freezes well.

If any of you have had Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic Dip....well, this is it without the expense!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons of granulated garlic
• 4 teaspoons of garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

Mix all together. If you would like a stronger garlic taste add dry ingredients by quarter teaspoons at a time and taste. Chill at least one hour.

1/6/09 THIS Man, THIS House

In a few short days, an African American man will move from his private residence into a much larger and infinitely more expensive one owned not by him but by the taxpayers. A vast lawn, a perimeter fence and many well trained security specialists will insulate him from the rest of us but the mere fact that this man will be residing in this house should make us all stop and count or blessings - because it proves that we live in a nation where anything is possible.

Many believed this day would never come. Most of us hoped and prayed that it would, but few of us actually believed we would live to see it. Racism is an ugly thing in all of it's forms and there is little doubt that if this man had moved into this house fifteen years ago, there would have been a great outcry - possibly even rioting in the streets. Today, we can all be both grateful and proud that no such mayhem will take place when this man takes up residency in this house.

This man, moving into this house at this time in our nation's history is much more than a simple change of addresses for him - it is proof of a change in our attitude as a nation. It is an amends of sorts - the righting of a great wrong. It is a symbol of our growth, and of our willingness to "judge a man, not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character". There can be little doubt now that the vast majority of us truly believe that this man has earned both his place in history and his new address. His time in this house will not be easy - it will be fraught with danger and he will face many challenges. I am sure there will be many times when he asks himself how in the world he ended up here and like all who have gone before him, the experience will age him greatly. But I for one will not waste an ounce of worry for his sake - because in every way a man can, he asked for this. His whole life for the past fifteen years appears to have been inexorably leading this man toward this house. It is highly probable that that in the past, despite all of his actions, racism would have kept this man out of this house.

Today, I thank the Lord above that I am an American and that I live in a nation where wrongs are righted, where justice matters and where truly anything is possible. Who is this man you ask? You think you know, don't you? See below. (Scroll down)

1/3 - 1/6/09 A Few Days at a Time

During the three day period this post covers there just wasn't a whole lot going on. I did laundry. Now are you thrilled to death to know that or what? Would your day be complete if I didn't take the time to type those words out?

Actually, we've been busy in the office. Lots of new people have arrived in the park since the holidays are over and they are all coming in to get tickets for our upcoming events. January, February and March are proving to be very busy months ahead and I'm still adding things to the calendar.

We took "couple pictures" New Years Eve in front of a painted canvas that was made last year and lots of people have been coming in to get them in addition to the tickets.

On Monday, Ann, the former restaurant owner and I went to town to buy all the things we'll need for the January Luncheon we'll be putting on for the residents on Wednesday. (7th) I can't believe we're cooking again already! We had to buy 16 pounds of roast beef, four individual roasts actually, 5 pounds of potatoes, 12 cans of tomato sauce, 6 heads of lettuce, a dozen large tomatoes, 6 pounds of frozen mixed vegetables, 10 pounds of ham and 7 pounds of cheese. That was the large part of the order, there were other things too.

Tuesday we prepared homemade vegetable beef soup for 100. Three very large soup pots and I was just praying we were making enough. One of the Activitity Staff members, Bill, had sent me several web sites for Cooking for a Crowd, Cooking for 100 and things like that. They are just wonderful sites to have for times like this. They were immediately put into my favorites folder!

For this luncheon we are having tomorrow we even have entertainment. The Red Hat Ladies are providing a "fashion show" for us. I didn't want any of the details because I like to be surprised just like everyone else, but I hear it is going to be hilarious.

1/2/09 Back to Normal

The holidays are over. Everything is getting back to normal.

Today we started taking down the Christmas decorations, it will take a few days to get them all packed away but the at least the lights are down.

I spent the morning in town getting the park newsletter printed and wouldn't you know it, it was during this time that Don and LaVon came to Quail Run and I missed seeing them. They did visit with Bob. They are staying close by so it won't be too long before we catch up I'm sure.

The team's big job today was getting the newsletter folded and out to the residents.

It was a big newsletter this month, 16 pages!

I've been adding something to the newsletter's this year. We call is Snookie's Puzzle. I'm going to share December's puzzle with you here. I suggest you copy, paste and print it. This isn't something you can expect to get done in an hour or even a day. Let it sit out on a counter or on your desk and come back to it from time to time. The answer's will come. (New Jersey can you figure it out faster than your office mates in New York?)

Here's an example of how it works:

26 L in the A is 26 Letters in the Alphabet

24 H in a D

1000 W a P is W

7 W of the W

12 S of the Z

66 B in the B

52 C in a D (w Js)

13 S in the U S F

18 H on a G C

57 H V

90 D in a R A

3 B M (S H T R)

7 D in a W

32 is the T in D F at which W F

11 P on a F T

12 M in a Y

29 D in F in a L Y

365 D in a Y

52 W in a Y

9 L of a C

60 M in an H

64 S on a C B

9 P in the S S

1000 Y in a M

1 W on a U

5 D in a Z C

4 Q in a G

8 S on a S S

88 P K

Good Luck and have fun with this! Let me know when you get it or when you are ready for the answers let me know. Seriously, give yourselves some time to get them all.

1/1/09 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I bet there are a lot of hung over people in this RV today. I know I'm living with one. I bet Bob didn't get out of his chair all day!

I just watched TV all day until late afternoon when I met most of the other Activities Staff at the Cantina for the "day after feed".

Since we had quite a bit of food left over we decided to serve it today to get rid of it. Now of course we didn't have enough to feed all 144 again but this morning we told people as we saw them to bring a paper plate to the Cantina at five for snacks. All told, probably 40 people showed up and the food was eaten, no leftovers. We re-heated the meatballs, the chicken wings, got out the dips and veggies, the beer bread and garlic dip, the desserts and everything else we had leftover and we did it all again. So it was all good. Next year, we'll make a dinner. This appetizer thing is too much work.

Did you ever wonder it was like a hundred years ago? What it was like for the people of 1909? Here are some facts from that time to ponder.

• The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years old.
• Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• A three-minute call from Denver to New York City Cost $11.
• There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California; with a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
• The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
• The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
  a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME.
• Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."
• Sugar cost four cents a pound.
  Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
  Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
• Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
  1. Pneumonia and influenza
  2. Tuberculosis
  3. Diarrhea
  4. Heart disease
  5. Stroke
• The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
• There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
• Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
• There were only about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

1909 vs. 2009 I'll take 2009, they didn't have RV's back then, or Pepsi's or M&M's.

It's that time to look at the stats for last month.

We had a total of 1,468 visitors and they read a total of 2,340 pages.

Readers were here around the clock, maybe not every day but at some point in the past 31 days, every hour had someone reading.

Visitors came from 21 foreign countries.

The busiest day on the blog was Sunday, December 28th.

The most visits came from:

• New Jersey - 266 visits (Livingston -221) Thank you Livingston!
• California - 234 visits (San Jose - 75) (San Bernadino - 71) (L.A. - 66)
• Arizona - 153 visits (Arizona City, where we are, 138)
• Virginia - 79 visits (Reston - 58)
• Pennyslvania - 45 visits (Philadelphia 42)

New York, you're slipping this month, must have been all the holiday parties cutting into your blog reading time.

Once again, family, friends, loyal readers, Bob and I wish you a HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS New Year!