2/22 - 2/28/2009 Winter Olympics Week Part 2

February 25, 2009

I sure wasn't thinking on this one! Jeannie said back in the fall to schedule the yearly Style show in late February. I did. Right smack in the middle of Olympics week! It wasn't too bad really, the Activities staff doesn't have much to do with the Olympics themselves unless they choose to get involved with the events.

So today we had the Style show. Seven lovely ladies from Quail Run went to the local Bon Worth store and picked out several outfits each.

The Activities Staff, under the direction of Ann, made a fabulous lunch for the ladies of the park to enjoy.

They served Chicken Waldorf Salad. These three, Ann, George and Darrell are a dynamite team together!

Doesn't this just make your mouth water?

For dessert they made 12 different flavors of cream pie! One table, and unfortunately I deleted the picture by mistake, each got a different flavor of pie and then cut each one in sixths so that everyone at the table could taste at least half of the flavors available.

Don't these ladies look happy?

On with the show!

Here's "pretty in pink" if I ever saw it! The very lovely Peg M. modeling one of the outfits she picked out.

Here comes pretty Marlene in a cute outfit!

Diane E. looks anything but "blue"!

Joan C. is just as fresh and lovely as these daisies!

A lot of the ladies in the audience were "green" with envy over the outfit Kathy W. picked out!

This Lady in Red, Carol W. brought lots of ooh's and ah's from the audience.

The very lovely Edna showing off her jacket for outfit she picked out. Her own addition of the hat was just the icing on the cake!

A group picture of the Quail Run models. You did a fabulous job ladies!

Later in the afternoon I ran across a group sitting in the sun. Here Marlene shows how NOT to sit outside by the pool in the afternoon sun.

This evening the games were back on. Here a group is playing Euchre. I don't have a clue how this is played and from the directions given to me I think it is much too hard to learn!

Jean and Bob enjoying a chuckle while the cards are being shuffled and dealt.

On my way home I walked through the mini-golf course area and heard some people talking. I thought it strange because it was dark outside. Then I saw this..... Oh Marlene, when are you going to learn that I am rarely without my camera and when I find someone practicing their putting in the dark in their house robe no less....well, girlfriend, I just HAVE to take a picture! I bet the Bend, Oregon gang will get a kick out of this when they see it! Question to you fine folks...does she do this at home????

February 26, 2009

Well, today is Ping Pong day here in the Olympic Week.

One of our camp hosts, Gary, gave everyone a run for their money!

Don looked especially happy with this volley !

Bill Turner took gold for the men.

And April Pope took it for the ladies.

The shook hands after the very last game, men vs. women, Bill won.

In the afternoon it was Men's Pool.

Bob stayed in until the very end.

Our buddy, Wilf, lining up his shot.

Our friend Al, was a medal winner.

I spent the late afternoon with Marlene walking the park and taking pictures for the Photo Scavenger Hunt that will take place next week. So much to do, so little time. I'll take about a hundred pictures between today and tomorrow of random things around the park. Things like this painted satellite dish....

or this metal worked sun....

...or even this window in a park model.

Marlene and I will pick out 80 of the pictures and divide them into four groups of twenty. They will then be mounted onto paper and slid into protective sleeves and put into a binder of some sort. Next week, teams of four will be given two of the books and have one hour to find forty items somewhere in the park. They have to write down on the answer sheet at what site they found the item or in what common building or area they found it. The team with most correct answers will win a prize worth $100.00. This isn't an easy thing to do! Last year this was very popular and I expect it will be again this year.

February 27, 2009

Wow! What a busy day this was! It started with the Frisbee Toss early this morning at Quail Lake, uh, well, better known as the retention pond.

Judi Hill gets ready to throw her discs.

This event gathered quite a viewing crowd.

The object was to keep it on the line and get it as far out there as you could. It wasn't easy to do because there was a breeze and it carried the Frisbee's off course.

From there it was off to the Bean Bag Toss. Don't laugh, every RV park Olympics has bean bag toss on their list of events.

While this is good....

....this is what you want!

Nel and April take their turns to go for the gold.

I was tied for the gold in this for a short while,,,,a very short while.

Mini golf was next!

This is the week that the course "grows rocks".

Oh Peg, that should have gone in! You were robbed! Don't ya just hate it when it sits right on the edge and won't go in?

Bob on the course.

Here I am on the 9th hole. Everyone either gets it in in two or six. There is no in between. Two or six. That's it.

Here's stroke number four....

....and five....

And here's Sharon as she came off the ninth hole. Easy, Sharon...easy.

It was just a great day to be outdoors.

All the while this is going on, the team on duty, once again led by Ann, was busy in the kitchen preparing for the Taco Night we'll have tonight. Ann and Carol chopping the tomatoes and olives for the taco bar.

With mini golf done it now time for the putting event.

Bob taking his turn at this event.

This was another popular event.

I caught up with Sylvia trying her hand at making tissue paper flowers. No, no, no, this isn't an Olympic event! This is something we'll use later, she's just trying her technique.

Janet, one of the coordinators talking with Jane, a winter resident. See that clipboard? I swear I never saw Janet without all week! I wonder if she slept with it?

Five o'clock came quickly and it was time for our taco dinner.

This is Carolyn, she is VISITING her sister and brother-in-law who are the Activity team members. She got recruited to help out.

It was time to start serving.

While we ate we were entertained by the Santa Cruz High School Mariachi Band!

It was treat for us and a chance for them to practice in front of a crowd.

We passed a basket for a collection for the band and the diners were very generous with their contributions. The kids were grateful and very appreciative.

February 28, 2009

The Olympics come to a close for another year.

The medals all laid out waiting for the awards ceremony.

We made sure the tables set for the Olympic Luncheon were all "dressed" in red, white and blue.

The steps where the medal winners will stand.

The colors are presented.

Our friend, Wilf, presented his country's flag.

Some of the medal winners.

Finally, Jerry came in to douse the flame.

At the very end, Jerry blew on the flame and at the same time Carol pulled the plug and it went out at just the exact moment. A perfect ending.

2/22-24/2009 Winter Olympics Week Part 1

Since I've gotten so far behind on keeping this blog current I've decided to combine the Quail Run Winter Olympics into two posts.

So let's get started.

February 22, 2009 Opening Ceremonies:

This year we had the running of the torch through the entire park. Up and down every street, the torch being passed from runner to runner.

These were our flame runners.

Left to right: (Front row) Bonnie M. Nancy P. (Back row) Kathy W. Lyle W. Jane S. Bob F.

The torch is passed off.

Winter residents lined the streets to cheer and clap as the torch passed.

Finally, the torch was passed to 86 year old Jerry to take the torch to the pool area to light the flame.

The runners followed him in.

He lights the flame.

Jerry announces: Let the Games Begin!

As if the day wasn't exciting enough we had a sell out crowd for the evening entertainment. Bernie and Red were coming in and the park was all abuzz about this couple and they certainly didn't disappoint!

They were a riot! Being RV'ers also they had lots of stories that we could relate to and they had us rolling in the aisles.

They kept talking about this SKI they belonged to. When Red held the sign up we understood.

Towards the end of their act Bernie was telling a story and Red was acting it out complete with sound effects. Below she is playing the part of a bull! Take notice of the nose ring.

Afterwards, Bernie came up to me and said that if we wanted them back next year that they would be glad to come back. I jumped on that!

February 23, 2009

We've got a lot food events coming up so today Ann and I went shopping AGAIN! We stocked up on paper products and I didn't think we would get everything in the car.

I haven't figured it out yet about Ann, but it seems she can't put things in the trunk without crawling in. Here she goes....

Here I am filling up the back seat.

This evening the Women's Pool event took place.

Our friend Kathy makes a shot.

Later in the evening Dominoes took center stage. Here's Sig, he and his wife Marlene are new to the park this year and they have taken part in every single event, show, get together, whatever it is, these two are there.

Janet concentrating on her board. Janet was one of the two Olympic Coordinators this year. She and Carol W. made it all happen.

February 24, 2009

A very busy day today in the land of Quail Run Olympics.

The morning started with the Basketball Throw. It was men first, here's Activity Staff member, Steve, taking his shots.

Our friend and next door neighbor, Steve, taking his turn at the hoop shoot.

At the same time, horseshoes are being throw for the gold.

Bob throwing his best shoes. Each thrower got ten chances to throw.

My buddy, Keith, waiting his turn.

I had to run back to the basketball court for the women's throw.

Everyone waiting patiently for their turn.

Pat Turner taking her turn.

Soon it was my turn. We each got six chances to make as many baskets as we could. I made a whole two.

Meanwhile, back at the Men's Horseshoe tournament, Al W. lets one fly. He took SILVER, I believe, in this event.

My next stop was the dart throwing contest. I was enrolled in this one too and I never EVER play a game of darts. I took neither gold or silver in this event. I was here mainly to take pictures.

This is Jim D. throwing his dart. It was either get a picture of him or the dart in mid-air, I opted for the dart.

Here's Grant, our new neighbor in the park model, throwing his dart trying for a bullseye.

Had to run from here, its my turn to throw horseshoes. Another game I haven't played since last year's Olympics, when I played for the first time!

I didn't take gold or silver in this event either. In fact I think I only made 10 points in my 10 tries. I think maybe I should PRACTICE next year!

It was one event after another today, not only to take pictures of, but to participate in too. Next up, ladder golf!

Now this is MY event! This is what I took gold in last year!

I didn't do squat this year! Well, that's not exactly true. I was tied for gold but then Sylvia stole my lead and she went home with the gold and someone else knocked me out of the running for the silver. Oh well, there's always next year.

From ladder golf it was on to photograph shuffleboard.

Dona, my friend and fellow worker takes note of the competition.

It looks like this shuffleboard is serious business!

Into the late afternoon the games continued. Cribbage was the game.

I didn't know cribbage boards came in so many different configurations!

Friend and co-worker, Darrell, plays intently.

After dinner the game was pokeno! I was supposed to play in the tournament but I was so darn tired by this point that I could barely show up to take pictures.

This is enough for this post.

2/22/09 OH MY GOSH!

OH MY GOSH!!!!!

50,000 HITS!

It was nearly one year ago (Feb 25th) when I started the counter. I never thought I'd see this number.

THANK YOU faithful readers! You made my day!

2/21/09 Mystery Dinner

Tonight we had the much anticipated Mystery Dinner. I've been looking forward to this ever since I found out we were going to have one. This is something that the winter residents put on and Activities doesn't have anything to do with it except sell tickets and the team on duty helps out wherever they can on the night of the dinner.

I didn't want to know anything about this! I knew ahead of time it wasn't a "whodunit" but I didn't want any details to give anything away. I was determined to get as much out of this activity as I could.

The doors were to open at 5:30 p.m. and though I swore I would never be one of those that lines up a half hour ahead of time I was at the beginning of the line. Am I ever glad I went early!

As we walked through the breezeway we were greeted by this sign.

We were greeted by Darlene who was the police officer on duty and who was supposed to keep everyone in line. Her name tag had another name on it as they all the "cast members" were playing characters from days gone by. I can't remember who Darlene is supposed to be today, a week later from when we attended this.

Marlene was either Thelma or Louise, I can't remember which and I'm hoping I'm right about this just to begin with. Very 1920's isn't she?

Here's Dan and Lin. Dan was the emcee for the evening and Lin was just a riot because she had that ditzy blond New York voice down to a T! She was a joy to listen to! As we were standing outside waiting for the doors to open Dan told us all about his new suit he went an bought for the occasion. We have a store in Casa Grande called Savers and he bought the suit for three bucks the shirt and tie for two and the hat was two bucks. Granted the sleeves are a little short but for seven dollars he had his costume. Lin on the other hand went to the second hand store at the church and got her clothes.

Sandy, you know her as our dance instructor, was at the door taking tickets.

All of a sudden there was a commotion near the pool. It seems the rent a cop found someone who was breaking the law. She seemed to take great pleasure in frisking the men.

Aha! Looks like she found some pot in his pocket! (Trust me, its basil, or thyme, or oregano or some other spice!)

Soon she was frisking someone else and found a string to pull on. This dinner patron is obviously hiding something.

She got caught bringing a spoon to the dinner. This has great significance to the story but I can't tell you that part yet. Hang in there. It will make sense soon.

Someone else was caught smuggling in tons of plasticware!

Here's Giovanni taking the offending dinner tools away. Do all of you former Quail Runners recognize who this is? Hang onto that mustache Giovanni!

Did you recognize Jean Borer?

I have to admit, I, too, was packin'. Bob had heard some scuttlebutt about eating with your fingers so we both went prepared. Luckily, we didn't get caught.

We were finally let in and found the Italian Ristorante decorated just as it should be with red and green tablecloths, candles stuck in wine bottles and every appropriately dressed for the 1920's and 30's.

"Bugsy" introduced all the players. I won't go into real names here, I'm just showing off the costumes.

Doesn't Lin just look the part?

On the left is "Babyface Nelson", hence the short pants. Or maybe he really felt like wearing shorts! I took it as Babyface hadn't grown into Big Boy pants yet.

Ahh,,,,here's El Woppo! Leave it to Don.

And here's "Misty" the Cigarette Girl.

Of course she's selling more than cigarettes, cigars and flowers for the ladies. She's selling Viagra and the generic brand NoSagGra!

Here's Patti, she masterminded this whole thing. Now let me tell you, Patti isn't as well as, how do I put this (?) endowed as she appears here.

Maybe this view will show you what I mean.

We sat at table # 14 and Diamond Lil was our waitress.

It was time for the Mystery to begin.

We were each given a piece of paper entitled 2009 Mystery Dinner Clues. (I'm going to try to duplicate it here, bear with me)

The items you will be served are listed on the left side of the sheet. Place numbers on the right side to indicate the order in which you would like them to be served. Be sure to place a number in each space on the right side of the sheet. You will receive a complete dinner! Make sure you have all ten numbers down on your sheet, but each number should appear only once. Remember your sense of humor, have fun and enjoy.

MENU

Course # 1

1. Foreign Yeast ________

2. 3 Tier Steer or Stackables ________

3. Tool ________

4. CVS Special ________

Course # 2

5. Closeness ________

6. Frigid Leaves ________

7. Red, Green & White

"Mussonlini's Delight" ________

Course # 3

8. Silverada _________

9. Roman Emperor _________

10. Scot Specialty (Not Tartan) _________

So that was our "menu". Nobody knew what any of the things were so it was hit or miss all the way around.

We were told not to look at our neighbors paper or to discuss what we thought each thing was. So MOST of us didn't.

Now in a perfect world you would get your silverware, napkin, something to drink and an appetizer for a first course. Some of us "ordered" dessert, a napkin, iced tea and bread. You had to eat your first course before you got your second so some were eating their dessert, in this case, ICE CREAM, with their fingers because they had no silverware! This happened to our friend and neighbor, Janet.

In my case I ordered my bread (Italian breadstick otherwise known as Foreign Yeast) my knife (Tool or saw) my appetizer (3 Tier Steer or Stackables) and my iced tea. (Frigid Leaves) This wasn't too much of a problem for me because I don't eat cheese or salami. I did eat the grape tomato slices and the carrots and of course my Foreign Yeast.

My second course consisted of dessert, ice cream (CVS Special and I don't get the connection) a spoon, (Closeness) and my salad (Roman Emperor). I ate the dessert since I had a spoon.

My third course consisted of the main course, a large boneless chicken breast on bow-tie pasta, topped with diced tomatoes & mushrooms with a side of green beans. This was # 7, Red (tomatoes) green (beans and white (chicken) Mussolini's Delight. I finally got my napkin, Scot Specialty (not Tartan) and my fork (Silverada)

I was too confused with my own meal to take much notice of what order the others at my table got their meal in. I did hear that my friend, Janet, not only had to eat her ice cream with her fingers but her main course too!

This was great fun! And food was delicious!

After the dinner there was a Silent Auction. There were about a dozen items and we won one of them. Bob, unbeknownst to me, bid on a motorcycle ride in the desert with lunch at a local restaurant included. There will be eight of us in total so this should be a good time.

So the long awaited Mystery Dinner has come and gone. I'm glad they did it this year and that I got to experience it. Its a great fundraiser. I can attest to that because the profit was donated to the Activities Fund and it was quite a hefty amount! Thank you Mystery Dinner Staff! Your efforts are very much appreciated!

2/18/09 Quail Run's First Talent Show

WOW! I never knew we had so much talent in this park! We had 9 acts for this first talent show and with some minor hitches the show went very well.

We packed the house with tables down both sides of the room and the middle filled with chairs. We sold tickets for a dessert of peach cobbler ala mode in advance and those ticket holders got the table seats. We had set up about 40 chairs for the middle of the room but we quickly realized that chairs had to be added.

Right on time at 7 p.m. I took to the stage to get the show on the road. Since I had a captive audience I made announcements about upcoming shows and cutoff dates to get tickets.

I asked everyone to put their hands together to welcome in the first act and their enthusiasm was commendable. But nothing happened. No one came through the door. So I asked them to put their hands together again to see if we couldn't coax the first act in,,,known as the Poetry Diva. I looked out towards the door and hallway and Jeannie ran out into the hall to see if she could see anyone out there. Oh Jeannie, I gotcha girlfriend! I knew there was no one out in the hall. I put my hands up in the air to quiet everyone and announced, "OH, I forgot, I'M the first act! I got the laugh I was after and the look from Jeannie that told me that she knew she had been had.

I recited read two poems about old age mature adults. I had to read my act because heaven knows I didn't have time to memorize anything! I got some good laughs and a kinda, sorta, standing ovation when I was done. You see I had a moment to introduce my second poem as one that Julie Andrews did on her 69th birthday in which she got a 22 minute standing ovation. Of course, I explained, I certainly didn't expect a 22 minute ovation but that I would surely appreciate a quick stand up and sit down. And the winter residents came through.

The second act was booked just by chance the day before. A newcomer to the park asked if she could use the Carnaval Room so that she could load yarn onto her loom or some such thing. I told her yes she could but that tables and chairs were being set up for the Talent Show. She showed some interest in that and I found out that she and her husband and two local guys, friends of theirs, played together. I repeated that of course she could use the room in exchange for a couple of songs during the talent show. She agreed and thus Music Weavers aka Sunland Gin and Tonic was added to the roster of performers. They were awesome! She did the singing and the guys played their musical instruments. I am so glad she needed the Carnaval Room otherwise they wouldn't have been part of the show.

The third act was Bill Turner, solo. Many in the park are familiar with his songs and we enjoyed them all again. We never tire of hearing him sing and play his guitar.

The fourth act. Well, let me tell you about the fourth act. On the sign up sheet that each act had to fill out, one of the sections was: Special Needs:___________ This act wrote in the space.... An understanding or deaf audience. It gave me great pleasure to introduce "The Plucker and the Sucker".

Guitar player, Wilf, was the plucker of course and Don aka "The Peacock" is known as the "sucker". Wilf has written a song about Don that has a line that goes "Don blows but most of the time he really sucks". I'll have to get all the words for you because it really is quite funny. Both sang and thoroughly entertained us.

Next in line was Act 5 and let me tell you right here and now they brought the house down!

The only thing I had to say was, "And now, the next act." From there, Jeannie took over. Looks like Jeannie didn't have time to memorize her lines either, doesn't it?

She pulled out her Walkie Talkie and told the maintenance team to get to the Carnaval Room immediately. And with that, the act started. From the house speaker system the Village People's Macho Man started blaring and then one by one they came through the door and down the aisle.

Up on the stage they started (ahem) dancing.

Little did the audience know they were wearing tear-away pants!

This just had everyone rolling in the aisles!

It didn't take long and soon they were being treated like Chippendales with dollar bills stuffed in their shorts. Here's Dona tucking in a dollar bill.

He is just having too much fun! Yep, that's Dona again getting ready to place a dollar.

I think Dona is the one having too much fun here!

Things were just getting out of hand, half naked men on stage, Dona not being able to keep her hands from their shorts, people rolling in the aisles with laughter, it was just too much. Jeannie then did the only thing she could do. She called in Security! None other than the man we know as ....Swamp!

The absurdity of all was just too much because the next thing we know Swamp is dancing too! And yes, that's Dona trying to place yet another dollar.

Then it all came to abrupt halt! The wives showed up! Here they are being led off the stage. Some by the hand,,,,,

,,,,,and some held tightly by the ear!

This caused the laughter to get much, much louder as you can well imagine.

That was a fun act! I laughed so hard.

In fact, when I got back up on stage to introduce the next act, I couldn't. Have you ever started laughing and couldn't stop? That was me. I finally was able to get "Where's Howard?" out. That was my way announcing Howard as the next act. Its all I could get out.

Here's where we had a bit of trouble. We couldn't get Howard's music to play. Being the trooper he is he filled in with some funny jokes and then sang beautifully to John Denver's Take Me Home.

All the while the Activities Team on duty is in the kitchen preparing peach cobbler.

After Howard, our Chaplain, Mitch, came up on stage and told a story about a farmer talking with the Lord. It was a nice, thoughtful story and the audience showed their appreciation very nicely.

Act 8 was Bill Turner back again with his lovely wife Pat and Arlee Waring.

This trio entertained us with several songs and again, one or two, that Bill had written. These three play very well together and I could just listen for hours (and have) to them.

Last but not least, we had "Mugsy" MaGuire play and sing for us. Frank played professionally for years and certainly has not lost his touch on that keyboard! Oh how he can tickle those ivories!

The show ran longer than we thought it would with the setting up between acts and plugging in of equipment, but hey, it was our first one and a learning experience and we know what to do differently next year. Yes, next year we'll have another talent show. This one was so well received and everyone just had a blast!

The peach cobbler was just yummy!

2/17/09 We're Renting the Park Model Out

We've been approached by several friends about renting our park model to their friends and relatives and we've decided to go this route since it is so late in the season and we're not moving into it anyway. We might as well let it make some money for us to either pay next year's fees or to use for our Alaska trip.

So we've got it rented starting the 23rd through the 3rd of March and I'm waiting for a call back to see if a couple from Oregon are going to rent it for the remainder of the month of March.

Bob has started his projects for getting the rig ready for Alaska and his days will be busy from here on out.

I've been busy making plans for next season and booking acts. With the exception of three acts from this year, there will be all new performers next year. Maybe all new isn't quite right, some of them have been here before but not for awhile. I asked the winter residents who they wanted back again and I'm working off the list I made note of.

Ticket sales are brisk for the remaining events we have going on and I'm very pleased with the turn out we're getting for the shows and such. All of the Activities Team are told time and again what a good time everyone is having. Music to my ears to be sure!

Summer is just around the corner now. We're up in the mid to high 70's every now and the number 80 is in the extended forecast.

Life is good here in Arizona!

2/16/09 Our First Visit to a Renaissance Festival

The Renaissance Festival is in town and we've never been to one before. We joined Kim and Bill and Dona and Darrell and followed them to Apache Junction for this first visit.

The local grocery store, Fry's, offered a coupon for buy one get one in the local paper so we took advantage of that. Why pay $40.00 if you can pay $20.00? The days it was available for use was limited but it didn't matter to us because, hey, we're retired anyway. Everyday is Saturday.

Now I knew absolutely nothing about a Renaissance Festival before we got there. I take that back, I had seen commercials on TV for the festival in Pennsylvania and I knew that it was supposed to be in the time period of jousting and dragon slaying and hats with horns coming out of it. That's all I knew, period.

The annual Arizona Renaissance Festival is a medieval amusement park, a 12-stage theater, a 30-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast, all rolled into one non-stop, day-long adventure. And what an adventure it was!

Imagine my surprise when the first person I saw "dressed up" was dressed as none other than a fairy. Hmmm, a brown and white fairy. This doesn't nearly add up to my vision of Tinkerbell as far as fairies go.

Maid Marion????

Now here's a fairy!

I'm still trying to make the connection where fairies come into play. I don't get it. What am I missing? If you know, please email me and explain so I understand too.

I did take the opportunity to get my picture taken with a jester.

As we walked through the grounds we came across many little acts going on. We watched this one fellow for about 15 minutes and he was funny! Here is getting strapped into a straight jacket.

Next came the chains, he kept complaining about a really bad wedgie.

He managed to get out of the chains and straight jacket in no time flat.

Take notice of the buildings in the background above. The buildings are permanent and the festival runs for nearly two months on weekends only, plus President's Day of course.

Some of the fair goers had quite elaborate costumes and really got into this.

This young "lady" really got into her job. She was supposed to get people to go over to a shop to try out some free chocolate in hopes you would buy more. Her sign was a piece of board shaped like a hand with a pointing finger at one end. Written on the sign was the word chocolate. Look how she entertained passerby's. I'm sure her mother is very proud. LOL

The first show we caught was "Hey Nunnie, Nunnie". This show was hilarious!

These two young women, dressed as nuns, put on a great show! We laughed so hard. As soon as it was over I went to them and asked if they did RV parks. They do! I got their card and am going to look into booking them next year for Quail Run. Ginny, in the park, told us to be sure see them if they were there and we're glad we listened to her. We were very glad to have caught their show! They tell jokes, they sing and there is lots of audience participation.

Evidently, the Renaissance period had its dark side too.

There were just tons of little shops to buy things in.

Some things were very beautiful and VERY expensive! Take for instance, this carved deer antler.

Another shop where we did a lot of oohing and aahing was this shop that had tables made out of slabs of redwood. This table had a price tag of $3,250!

Another show we caught the tail end of was a show on birds of prey. There were several hawks and falcons but I couldn't take my eye off this handsome eagle.

I was captivated by this street performer. He could make that brass ball go from the tip of one hand to the tip of the other by way of his neck and shoulders and make it seem all so effortless. This guy has some skinny legs, doesn't he?

I didn't see one single person walking around the park with the purchase of one of these under their arm! Is there really a market for these horns?

Now here is a horsy ride! Is it a merry go round horse on steroids?

Look at it! It's huge!

Another couple who really gets into the festival! I heard their conversation with a group of people, they aren't employed by the festival, they just really get into dressing up like this.

The next show we saw was all about a guy who was really into whips. Even whips on fire! This is one pastime that holds no interest for me at all. I find it strange that someone wants to crack whips all day to begin with, but then to set them on fire???? It was entertaining for a short while but I lost interest quickly and we moved on. Bob didn't object at all so he must not have been too interested either.

I have to wonder how many times he's burned himself when he whips this string of fire around him.

I have to wonder if this guy has looked in a mirror when he dressed this morning!

This fella really looks the part doesn't he?

This is a "ride" I really wanted to go on but since I didn't see one single adult in line I decided to pass. But oh how I wanted to do this!

As we passed this woman she offered us a taste of the latest snack that all dragon slayers are enjoying. Fish sticks! Look at her right hand, a fish on a stick! And they were real fish! You could smell them before you saw her!

We watched this glass blower for awhile. Take note of his sign on the podium. It says, "Don't piss off the fairies".

He made some beautiful pieces.

Even the land of dragon slayers, jesters and jousters had some modern day conveniences.

I'm sorry, but this guy is too, too much into this for my taste.

This leather worker was fascinating to watch.

We talked with these little girls for a while and listened to them as they explained what life was like back in the day for children their ages. They had the sweetest "Swedish????" accents. I asked where they were from thinking they and their parents followed the Renaissance festival circuit and were actually from overseas somewhere. The youngest pipes up, "Oh, we're local yokels." "Local" I asked. "Yep," she said, "had you fooled didn't we?"

We watched these young guys play a game much like one that youths of that time period would have played. They all stood on small boxes and had a four way tug of war. They had a great time playing this.

These younger kids played with hottest toy of the day.

Since I have a ton more pictures I'm going to stop here before it gets too big to load. See the next post for the rest of the story.

2/16/09 Renaissance Festival...Part 2

On with the tour of the festival.

There was one section that showed what everyday life was like back in the day.

A basket weaver.

Some serious chess players.

It was time for us to watch the jousting match. I couldn't get over how BIG these horses are. Not quite Clydesdales but not too much smaller than one.

I'm sure there was rhyme and reason to what they were doing but the crowd was so noisy I couldn't hear what was being said.

The crowd went wild when these two both got the ring on their "sticks" (I don't know what they are called) These riders and horses were moving at a pretty good clip, look at the rider on his right, his hair is really blowing in the wind and it wasn't windy!

Soon the skills contests were over and it got down to serious business.

This is serious business now, we can hear the "sticks" hitting the shields as the horses race from one end of the field to the other, riders are getting knocked off their horses.

This match was exciting, exhilarating and over much too soon.

Next stop was to watch the belly dancers.

Again, fire was involved.

This fairy came up and stood in front of us. I was just loved her braids!

There was even a booth on the grounds to have your hair done in braids like this if you wanted.

Another couple really into the costumes.

We then approached the garment district. Here is the latest in "wench wear". This little number would set your Prince Charming back four big ones!

For the couple that likes to be color coordinated there's this....

When I saw this outfit I thought to myself, "Oh, that is soooo Bob!" (Yeah right!)

And let's not forget the latest in toddler fashion!

Something tells me this crew doesn't miss a festival!

Just around the corner we found the rock climbing wall.

A lot of people were trying this, Bob and I made good spectators.

It was in this area that we met this couple. They had just returned from an all expense paid trip to St. Petersburg, Alaska to take part in the Viking heritage fair there. Alaska Airlines made all the arrangements for them.

The fellow made both costumes by hand and said he had about 1000 hours into them.

We came up to a crowd standing around and laughing so we stopped to see what was going on. It was the water torture booth! How fun! These two young girls were giving the guy in control a lot of lip and each time they said something he would punish them by dripping water on them.

They laughed and squealed and found something else smart to say him. And he poured more water on them ,,,or rather her, at this point. He had let the one go and kept the smart aleck in place.

Because the crowd was laughing so much we couldn't hear what she was saying but she must have gotten a good one in by his response!

Now this water was supplied from a hose from a nearby building so you know this water was cold!

At the end we were feeling sorry for her because he just wouldn't let up and she did end up in tears.

And wouldn't you know as soon as she was let go two more stepped up to be locked into the pillory. Dumb kids.

We stopped for a while to listen to this lovely young lady play the harp.

We saw lots of people with "creatures" on their shoulders. This fellow stopped to show me how he could make it move when he wanted it to. These things looked real!

The next show we caught was the "Ded Bob Sho". Meet Ded Bob.

Ded Bob was pretty sarcastic and could give a pretty hard time to someone.

His show was really good but I think maybe a tad to risque for the Quail Run group.

We passed this pooch on our way through the park and I couldn't resist taking a picture. He sat their for the longest time with that sign.

We passed this booth where you could get a wax model of your hand or in this case of two sweethearts holding hands.

We moved on so we don't know how long they had to stand there until the wax set. OR how they were going to the wax mold off!

Another fairy.

I'm sure you've all been to a carnival where you've seen the games of chance like knocking over wooden milk bottles with a baseball. Well, let me tell you, games of chance from long ago were nothing like they are today!

KNIFE THROW?????

.....and for the BIG BOYS there is....

AXE THROW!!!!

A medieval taxi!

So that was our day at the Renaissance Festival. We're really glad we went and will probably go again should we be near one when one is going on. If you've never been, by all means, go,,,,but be sure to take your camera!

2/15/09 We Go Visiting!

Bob and I spent the afternoon with good friends Don and LaVon. I'm sure you are all familiar with her name and her passion for dead trees.

This lovely couple is back in Arizona this year but located in the next town over, Eloy. We met them at their place at 11:45 and the first order of business was a tour of their new rig.

Wow! what a beautiful new home they have! I didn't see one single thing I would have changed in the layout of their new place. It's just simply perfect! I asked them to trade with us but they wouldn't hear of it. With our friends getting new rigs....well, I want one too! Ya hear that, hon?

The four of us went into Casa Grande for lunch at Macaro's.

We all had a very good lunch! We had never been inside this restaurant before and I wish I had taken the camera inside with me. Its very colorful and decorated very nicely. Next time, I'll take it next time. Don and LaVon treated us to lunch, thanks friends!

When we got out in the parking lot LaVon and I couldn't let go of the urge to add yet another picture to our collection.

We each have several pictures of the other taking our picture as we take hers!

Back at their place LaVon and Don took us on a tour of a cactus garden in their RV park. What a beautiful garden it is!

The people whose property backs up to this plot of land are the ones who planted it and take care of it. Each person takes care of the land behind their park model or rig.

A Saguaro cactus that has seen better days!

Cacti come in all shapes and sizes.

All kinds of things have been added to the garden.

Don and Bob strolling through the garden.

This burst of color was a welcome change.

I wouldn't want to fall on this!

This area looked like a bone yard! Animals that roamed long ago.

Or so we thought. If you are at all squeamish just pass right on over this next picture.

I wondered how all these skulls got there, now we know!

This pine tree looked so out of place!

I was lucky enough to catch this quail running across the garden. Look just right of center.

These people are really into bones!

I can understand why LaVon and Don spend so much time over here.

LaVon, taking in the sights of the garden.

Seeing all there was to see, we headed back to their place where LaVon took me for a spin in the golf cart their friends lent them while they are out of the park for several weeks.

Our afternoon together went much too fast but LaVon and I have made plans to spend some "girlfriend" time together the week after next. We'll go out to lunch, go shopping, get our nails done and who knows what else.

On the way home we passed this pasture of "snowbird sheep". They are brought down here from Wyoming for the winter months where they will eat the alfalfa planted just for them and in return they "fertilize" the field.

This lush green field looks so out of place in these brown surroundings but it sure is a welcome sight!

During the evening Bob settled in to watch some TV and I went to the Cantina to play a rousing game of Michigan Kitty with the girls. I did pretty good, I think I broke even and if I lost it couldn't have been more than a quarter.

A good ending to a good day.

2/13/09 Valentine's Dinner in Quail Run

Another big day for the Activities Team. We're feeding 169 dinner. A sit down dinner, we'll serve you dinner. All from a kitchen that belongs in a small apartment.

The pork loins were cooked yesterday so that was a huge portion of this dinner out of the way.

We had a problem in the breezeway this morning and this is what it looked like when I arrived this morning.

Yes, its all blocked off, the carpeting has been pulled back and it is going to be closed off until just before dinner. The problem has been solved and it will all work out. I hope.

First things first, the team got started in setting up the Carnival Room for tonight.

The row down the center of the room is for the guests who are here for the dinner only. Everyone had a choice of dinner or dinner and dance.

Here is a painted canvas going up that pictures will be taken in front of tonight. I don't know how many pictures we'll take this year because we had this last year so I'm guessing only "newbies" to the park will have them done.

Here it is up and ready for photo subjects.

And here's Dona and Jeannie, playing around.

Ladies, ladies, ladies, when are you going to learn that nothing is safe or sacred when I'm around with my camera?????

Even though I had typed out a list yesterday of the jobs that needed to be done and had assigned jobs, one staff member felt her coworker needed some extra help in remembering his job, so she made this for him.

Now I didn't read the recipe for the potato dish we served but somewhere it must have said to beat the potatoes.

The potatoes were good so this must be a necessary step in the preparation.

It takes a lot of lettuce to make salads for this many people.

In the meantime, decorating was still going on. I had bought some wooden roses and they needed some dressing up for the tables.

We think they were very pretty when done.

The cakes had arrived and everyone was oohing and aahing.

After everything was set up I had staff member Steve put a pink or red heart we had cut out of poster board under one chair at each table. At some point during the dance everyone would be instructed to look under their chairs. Those who found a pink heart would be given a small box of Valentine's candy and the two who had the red hearts were given a large heart shaped box of Dove chocolates. Yummy!

Right before everyone was to arrive we found out that the breezeway would not be ready for use and everyone had to be diverted through the KITCHEN! It was a pain for the staff as they were putting the finishing touches on the dinner but they dealt with it beautifully.

For a little something extra this year we had everyone fill out a child's valentine when they arrived. Remember the ones you filled out in elementary school and gave to all your classmates? We had them put into a box decorated in white tissue paper and red hearts. (You can see it in the first picture sitting on the table) We didn't tell them what they were for and they had to wait until half way through the dance to find out.

It was time to get the dinner served. We were serving pork loins with a cherry sauce, cheesy potatoes and a California blend for the veggie. Every single dish went out the door piping hot. Ann had worked her magic again with the team. This fantastic group managed to serve 169 dinners in just 24 minutes. They worked and moved like a well oiled machine.

The team was called into the Carnaval Room after dinner and were given a standing ovation for their efforts. It was well deserved and they accepted the praise graciously.

It was time to raffle off the 29 items I had accumulated over the past several months. It was done a little differently this year than last. Last year, I held the item up and a winning ticket was pulled. This year, a paper bag decorated in the Valentine theme was placed beside each raffle item and every one who bought raffle tickets could put one in the bag next to the item they would like to win. This seemed to go over pretty well so it might happen this way again next year.

It was time to get the dance started and the tables down the middle of the floor were taken down and Ted and Sue got ready to entertain us. And entertain us they did! This duo is so much fun and they know just what to play to keep everyone on the dance floor.

Remember the valentine's everyone filled out on arrival? Well, it was time to put them to use. Jeannie provided two gift certificates to be awarded to our "Sweetheart Couple". Ted pulled a valentine out of the box and I explained to the audience that the winning valentine would determine who got to lead a special dance to a romantic slow song and would also get the two gift certificates for a date like they would have enjoyed back in the day when they were just sweethearts. A burger and a movie! That went over really big with everyone! We received lots of compliments on the extra steps that we took to insure everyone had a good time.

The Activity Team can mark up another successful event.

2/10/09 More Food Shopping

Today Ann and I finished up the shopping for our Valentine's Dinner/Dance. I truly do like going to the store with her. We are both very mindful that we are spending money that isn't ours and we are constantly "doing the math" to figure out which is the better buy between two products. I do have to admit that sometimes we just say the heck with it and buy name brand no matter what it costs. With some things you just have to do that.

The big topic around here is the weather. We've got a cool front that is pretty stationary right now and we're all ready for it to move! We're sick of jeans and sweatshirts.

Before I close for today I thought I'd share this with you.

Letter To My Bank:

Dear Sirs;

In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the moment, I was wondering if you could advise me correctly... If one of my checks is returned marked 'insufficient funds,' how do I know whether that refers to me, or to you?

2/9/09 Its Gonna Turn

Look at the counter!

Does it have a bunch of zeroes? If it has three then you are the one who turned the counter to 49,000! Let me know it was you!

I found out who turned the counter. It was none other than Jeannie, our park manager here in Quail Run. We were sitting talking the other night and the blog came up and she said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, it was ME, it was ME, that turned the counter. I'm always glad to know who it is. Just curiosity.

I updated more,,,,scroll down.

2/9/09 A Mental Health Day

I called off work today. This is the first time I've done this since I've been at Quail Run. I wasn't exactly sick, I just felt .....BLAH! I didn't have the energy to get out of my own way, I'm exhausted. Besides Activities there are so many things I want to take part in just because they are fun. I've definitely been burning the candle at both ends and it caught up with me today. So I'm calling this my Mental Health Day.

The most taxing thing I did all day was repeatedly click the mouse to get in on time to buy Jimmy Buffett tickets for a show in May in California. I got them!

Bob puttered around the house today and worked on our travel plans for this summer. I'm glad this is his job because I don't think know I wouldn't have the patience to do it.

That was it for today,,,,a nice lazy day that was much needed.

2/7/09 Running of the Gourds, Part II

This is part 2. If you haven't seen part one yet, scroll down to see that first.

There's more photos if you can imagine that? Are you gourded out? Too bad, the best is yet to come.

A few random shots of gourds that don't really fit into a particular category.

All of a sudden we heard a trumpet playing the call one hears at the race track. It was time for the RACING of the gourds!

We followed the noise and the crowd to the back of the building to find the track all set up.

The race cars brought back memories of my brother Billy and his Soapbox Derby when he was in the Cub Scouts. The cars, made of gourds, of course, were homemade and most of the kids had help from an adult. Some husbands even admitted to help from their wives.

The "officials" of the race had to wear these really dumb looking hats.

This little girl, I think her name is Megan, (hey, it was a week ago, you didn't really expect me to remember her name did you?) made her car with the help of her dad and named it the Purple People Eater.

Her gourd made it to the finals. They're off!

She was so excited! It was more fun watching her than the race itself.

She won by a mile!

Some of the gourds were really detailed. Take notice of the flying scarf.

The one above didn't too well, I think it was too heavy.

As I said, some of the gourds were really decorated for the race.

It was quite the show to say the least but it was time to move on, there was lots more to see.

Remember one of the very first pictures I put in here, the one with the line. Well, it was time for us to go into that building and since it was late in the afternoon the line was gone. We walked right in but if we had had to wait it would have been worth it. What was housed in this building was the gourds that were being judged, the best of the best. Wait till you see these! One of my personal favorites was the one in the lower left corner, the one with the blue birds. The colors were magnificent in this piece.

A chess set! Can you imagine playing chess with gourds? It took the blue ribbon in its category. We weren't surprised at all.

This next one is carved. Can you imagine the patience this had to take? It took second place, I would have given it first.

Bob really liked this one.

Now this next one was different and it did take first place.

A close up of the one I liked so much.

A Quail and its baby.

FISH!

Aren't these beautiful? All hand painted. I can't even imagine doing this!

This is called an "apple" gourd and you can see why.

Another deserved blue ribbon, in my eyes anyway.

I'd like to have this sitting on my table. (But not at the prices these puppies sell for!)

So cute....

So that was our afternoon at the gourd festival. It was an interesting afternoon and we're glad we went.

It looks like we left at just the right time, the wind was starting to kick up.

The fields are all planted but I don't know with what crop.

A view of some hills on the way home.

Another day in the life of these full timers.

2/7/09 The Running of the Gourds!

Catchy title isn't it? Totally confused aren't you? So were we when we first heard this, but its exactly what we sent to see. The Running of the Gourds.

This weekend, in the next town over, Eloy, the Wuertz Farm 5th Annual Gourd Festival was taking place so we decided to go for a look. I took tons of pictures so this post may be broken down into several sections because of the many photos.

We left our park around 1 and made the 10 mile drive in no time at all. We found a parking place easily and made our way into the Pinal County Fairgrounds.

In the picture above you can see a lot of people waiting in line and it was a long line! Inside this building the "best of the best" are on display. More about this later.

The first thing we saw when we inside the fairgrounds was thousands of "raw" gourds.

They come in all shapes and sizes and every shape has a particular name.

People were buying these things by the bagful. BIG bagfuls.

This was a popular place for picture taking. This "cow" is made out of gourds!

There were gourd games for the little guys to play.

The body of the "football player" is a gourd!

There was lots of places to get something to eat while there.

It was time to get down to the business at hand and find out what was so special about these gourds.

Well, let me tell you, we had no idea. This is a huge business! Between the gourds themselves, the tools needed to do the projects, the paint, the varnishes, the books, the patterns, it is just unbelievable. All this for a funny shaped object that probably 99% of you never a gave a second thought about unless it was Halloween and you bought some at the market for decoration. Well, its not those kind of gourds. Follow along, I'm going to show you some amazing things!

With the exception of the painted background and of course, the dirt, everything in this picture is made from gourds.

This snake is a gourd too. As is the rat.

Hummingbird, you guess it, a gourd.

Looks real doesn't it?

A familiar figure in these parts, a kokopelli.

Gourds can even be dressed!

Some the gourds were just beautiful! I had to wonder how many one had to do to get this good.

We saw lots of masks.

Some gourds were made into useful things like candleholders.

I wondered if all the people were just curious like we were or if they were serious "gourders". I don't know if they are really known as "gourders" it just sounds good to me.

Some gourds reflected the gourders passion,,,,besides gourds of course.

Some were really "out there"! I mean really, whoever heard of a purple dragon? Much less one made out of a gourd.

Gourds make great birdhouses. We even inherited one in the park model we just bought.

I especially liked this one.

A family of owls. I think they're owls anyway. Hmmm....maybe not.

Everywhere we looked baskets of gourds in a riot of colors.

In the midst of all this there was even entertainment.

The holiday times of year that one decorates for the season was NOT left out here!

Halloween was not to be left out.

Some gourders are into flowers.

Others were very much into animals.

Can you imagine the time it took to carve and paint this.

Birds were another interest.

Some gourds told it like it is....

and some were just really strange. Why would anyone even think to make this out of a gourd???? A jellyfish????

That's it for part one. This is going to take forever to load all the pics. Stand by for part two.

2/6/09 Happy Anniversary to US!

Ahhh,,,,its that time year again, the time that Bob and I celebrate that day way back in 81 when we woke up one morning (oops, guess that gives away that we used to have sleep overs before we married, awww heck, who am I kidding, we lived together!) and said, "We only have a few more days left that the license is good for, it's Friday, let's take off today for a long weekend and get married". Hey, why not, I didn't feel like going to work anyway. So that's what we did. We donned blue jeans, sweaters and sneakers and drove down to the "elopement capital" of the world, Elkton, Maryland. Wow, 28 years ago. Would you be surprised if I told you those jeans we wore that day would NOT fit us today?

After tying the knot we drove to the hospital where Bob's mom was to let her know we got married. She cried with joy. We lost her two weeks later so I've always been glad that she knew. Next we went to my parents home. Mom was the only one home and when I told her she didn't believe me. It wasn't until she saw Bob's ring that she believed us. She smiled a lot. She had just gotten out of the hospital and my dad had gone to Officer's Club to get out of the house for awhile. I called him and asked him to come home. He objected with, "Aww c'mon Snook, I've been in the hospital and then the house for awhile now, I'm not coming home right now, what do you want?" What I wanted was to NOT tell him over the phone that I had gotten married. I told him to stay there that I was on my way. This worried him since he knew I was at his house and he insisted on my telling him what was going on. I could see his point so I told him that me and his new son-in-law were on our way to have a toast with him at the club. Well, it turned into quite a party as I recall it. Yep, 28 years ago. Some days it seems like yesterday that we said I do and on other days it seems like a hundred lllloooonnnngggg years ago! All you married readers know what I mean, I'm sure.

I went to the Activities office for a very short time this morning as I took the day off! After we got our mini golf sessions out of the way we had the day to do as we pleased. We had some errands to take care of so a trip to Casa Grande was in order. Actually, we had some legal things to take care of. I mention this only because these things had to do with what we got for our anniversary today!

Today we exchanged checks and keys for our very own park model here in Quail Run! That's right! Permanent winter residents! We decided that we like this park so much and have made such wonderful friends here that this is where we want to spend our winters. We're keeping the 5th wheel, we'll use it from April thru September while we travel to other areas and explore.

So we bought the park model on site number 5 for those of you who were here last year. Ernie and Bonnie Nottingham's place. They left last year with every intention of coming back this year but illness had changed their plans and we got it fully furnished. Right down to extra rolls of paper towels, toilet paper, and full bottles of shampoo. The shed holds tools, bikes, grills, furniture and loads of other stuff. The house has all the kitchen appliances, dishes, serving pieces, crock pots, a food processor, everything you can imagine. It's fully furnished and decorated with very nice southwestern pieces. Oh heck, here are pictures so you can see for yourself.

Our corner lot.

Our living room.

The kitchen. I'll have to learn how to cook on an electric stove.

Our dining area with window seat. We have the leaf for the table and extra chairs.

A REAL Fridge! A FULL SIZE fridge! A HUGE freezer!

The library,,,, with a real handle to flush the toilet with! No more stepping on a pedal!

The bedroom. The bedspread's gotta go!

So, there it is, if you have vaca time and want to come out, give us a call, we've got the room since we're still in the 5th wheel. We won't "move in" until next season. We're too comfortable where we are right now for the few remaining weeks we have here.

So Happy Anniversary to us!

2/5/09 Our HUGE Shopping Trip

Today Ann and I went to .......

Ann, bless her little heart, has really taken over the kitchen duties. She sits with the responsible team and makes up menus and gets/shares recipes, makes the shopping lists, goes shopping with me and then pretty much runs the kitchen on the day of the event. I would be lost, absolutely lost without Ann. Well, maybe that's a little extreme, I'm sure the other team members could very well pull off a luncheon or dinner from start to finish but with Ann having owned a restaurant, well, its just so much easier with her on board... for everyone concerned.

We got on the road around 10 and headed for Sam's Club in Chandler about 30 miles away. It was a beautiful day for a ride and we enjoyed good conversation that didn't have anything to do with Activities or even Quail Run.

We arrived, clipboard in hand, pockets bulging with 20's, intent on getting lots of food for all the February food events. I believe we have six this month.

Our first is the Volunteer's Breakfast on the 9th which will be French Toast and bacon, fruit cup, orange juice and coffee. On the 13th is our Valentine's Dinner/Dance. This is a very big deal for Quail Run. This is the one where we serve a sit down dinner. I talked with quite a few of the residents who attended the dinner last year and asked what their ideas for dinner were. I was surprised to find out that they wanted the same thing we had last year. Pork loins! They must have really liked them and I don't blame them, that was a good dinner. We'll make some things different from last year but pork loins it is! We've got a hamburger night this year, a taco night, a fashion show luncheon and the Olympics luncheon. Lots of food and lots of shopping to do today.

We both manned one of the big carts they have in Sam's Club and started loading them up. We did our best to load them according to what meal the items went to. In no time at all we had filled two carts and went for two more and we weren't even half way through the shopping list yet nor had we even visited the frozen food or meat sections!

Shopping could have gone a little bit faster than it did but we just had to stop at each place where free samples were given out. We were actually on a first name basis with the strawberry shortcake sample lady. Meet Pinky! We went back to her samples table more than a few times! She said she didn't care she was paid to give out samples if it was to different people or to the same people over and over again. Don't get me wrong its not like we went there five times or anything! We restrained ourselves after the fourth visit. After all, Pinky and her strawberry shortcakes weren't the only game in town.

Have you priced coffee lately? What in the world happened to the price of coffee? Not too long ago I was paying five and change for a large can of the stuff. Today the price was over nine bucks a can! I'm glad Bob is the only coffee drinker in this house!

Aisle after aisle we marked things off the list, changed menus in midstream and made other adjustments along the way. Two more carts filled, we needed another one.

We finally made it to the stuff in the fridges and we were stumped. One of the recipes called for so many pints of sour cream. Hey, no problem,,,,or so we thought. Sour cream was sold in a five pound container! We knew we needed 17 pints and not a clue how many pints made up a pound, neither one of us knew how to do the conversion. We even had a conversion chart with us and it wasn't on there. We asked a couple of the workers there and none of them knew how to convert it either. Then we heard this voice say, "A pint is a pound the world around". Ann and I looked at each other and then in the direction of "the voice". "What did you say?" I asked. The elderly lady repeated, "A pint is a pound the world around". It was just by luck that this dear lady was in the aisle the same time we were with this dilemma and had the answer we needed. If she wasn't we would still be there!

Frozen bag after frozen bag we loaded into our carts and it was on to the meat department. We wanted LARGE pork loins. Since we are feeding nearly 200 people you can imagine how many of these we needed. Thank heaven for case prices!

It was finally time for check out. Our tummies were full with all the free samples and our five carts were overloaded.

Bill was our checkout guy and he was very patient. We checked out one meal at a time. Everything for the Valentine's dinner is on one receipt. Everything having to do with Taco night, again, one receipt. This will make it so much easier for me later when I have make an accounting of the funds received and the funds spent.

One mistake we made along the way was not keeping track of how much money we were spending. As the "meals" were totaled I started to panic. Would I have enough money? I had brought just $840.00 with me. Well, the shopping gods must have been with us because we had enough for everything except one item. Thankfully, it wasn't a have to have item, just a nice to have on hand item. I put it aside with no qualms whatsoever.

Now the fun would begin. We had to get five and a half carts, basket and bottom rack worth of stuff in Ann's ....are you ready for this.....midsize Chevy Impala.

Here's Bill, our very patient check out guy, helping us get our purchases to the door.

We've got to get all this and more in Ann's car!

Ann packs the coolers with pork loins.

(Note to Billy) Doesn't she look like Vi?

Ann is a very good trunk packer! She is determined to use every square inch of her trunk!

She is so proud of how much she got in there!

Next came the back seat.

We stashed the little stuff in every nook and cranny and didn't even have to resort to using the front seat floor. Well, not until we made our last stop at Walmart.

It was a fun day. It was an expensive day. And its not the last time we'll have to do this, this year. Ann, you are the best! Thanks for all you do for the Activities Team!

2/2-3/09 Perfect Weather!

It sure has been nice here this week! We're in the mid-70's everyday now and it is truly delightful.

Monday was just another workday, selling tickets, printing more for upcoming events, planning the schedule for next year and looking out the window and wishing I was out there!

Tuesday brought line dancing, the first time in weeks! The problem I was having with my leg/lower back seems to be gone for the most part and I felt comfortable doing the Candida, the Electric Slide, New York, and my new favorite the Honky-Tonk Stomp. Gosh it felt good to dance again.

After line dancing I had a meeting with Jeannie and two reps from the Sysco Co. This is the company that sells everything from food products, to cleaning supplies, to kitchen equipment and everything in between. I had called this company in hopes of utilitizing their services as it would certainly cut down on the shopping time for us and maybe even save us some money. We would just fax in our order and it would magically appear on a truck on delivery day. We'll be able to buy dry goods in bulk if all goes according to plan because next year we'll have a walk-in pantry for storage. Some very nice changes are in the works for the kitchen and it will make things so much easier for us. It looks like this Sysco thing will work for us!

Bob was sitting out on the porch today and heard that Jimmy Buffett tickets are going on sale Monday for the Summerzcool Concert series this year. He got online to find out if there is a concert in any area where we will be and sure enough we'll be parked about 50 miles from a concert site in mid-May in California. Now we just have to be able to get tickets. If any of you have tried to get some of his tickets you know how fast you have to be. I've seen concerts sell out in 12 minutes. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that we're one of the lucky ones this time.

I sat in the hot tub tonight, for 3 hours again! It is so addicting, actually, after the sun goes down its too darn chilly to get out!

I hope this gives you a smile...

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.
So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her. She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week. As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?
Do you know her?' Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.' The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?' 'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.' 'Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us? '
'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

While I'm thinking about it, how did you do on the Letters of the Alphabet game? Here are the answers to that one.

1. 26 Letters in the Alphabet
2. 24 Hours in a Day
3. 1000 words a picture is worth
4. 7 Wonders of the World
5. 12 Signs of the Zodiac
6. 66 Books in the Bible
7. 52 Cards in a deck With Jokers
8. 13 Strips in the US Flag
9. 18 Holes on a Golf Course
10. 57 Heinz Varieties
11. 90 Degrees in a Right Angle
12. 3 Blind Mice (See How They Run)
13. 7 Days in a Week
14. 32 is the Temp in Degrees Fahrenheit at which Water Freezes
15. 11 Players on a Football Team
16. 12 Months in the Year
17. 8 Tentacles on an Octopus
18. 29 Days in Feb in a Leap Year
19. 365 Days in a Year
20. 52 Weeks in a Year
21. 9 Lives of a Cat
22. 60 Minutes in an Hour
23. 64 Spots on a Chess Board
24. 9 Planets in Solar System
25. 1000 Years in a Millennium
26. 1 Wheel on a Unicycle
27. 5 Digits in a Zip Code
28. 4 Quarts in a Gallon
29. 8 Sides on a Stop Sign
30. 88 Piano Keys

2/1/09 SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!

In honor of the Super Bowl, today's post is going to be a Super Bowl puzzle.

Can you figure out what the teams names are? One team is not described below, can you figure out which one?

1. Girls toy and fish's arm

2. Trouser + not his

3. American forefathers

4. Red Birds

5. IOU's

6. Six-shooters

7. Iron workers

8. Streakers

9. King of Beasts

10.Tigers

11. Class of Boy Scouts

12. Horse goes wild

13. Expensive Car

14. Sunburned epidermis

15. Wise sunbather

16. One dollar for corn

17. Midnight snackers

18. Six rulers

19. Army insects

20. Peter and Paul

21. Ewe's mate

22. Half bovine, half man

23. Marine bird

24. Furniture Loaders

25. Seven squared

26. Indian's leader

27. Credit card user

28. Type of hawk

29. An Ebony Crow

30. 747

31. Colossal Beings

32 ???

GOOD LUCK! I'll post the answers in a few days.

2/1/09 Our Super Bowl

We had less than a week to throw together a Super Bowl Party. The Pastor here, Mitch, has a projector thing-y that he set up using a large 60 inch screen and the in house speakers so that we could watch the Super Bowl in the Carnaval Room.

I had put up posters telling everyone we were having a party to watch the game and that everyone should bring a lawn chair, a snack to share and a cooler full. We weren't really sure how many would make our party with this late notice but we were hoping for the best.

As it turned out we were pleasantly surprised. All totaled we had 51 there to watch the game start to finish and several that came for awhile and then left.

There were lots of snacks to choose from and and at halftime we ordered 15 large pizza's compliments of the park owners. Thanks Jack! I don't think I need to say here that there was no shortage of beer.

Since we watched the beginning of the game at just after four in the afternoon we had to cover the windows to keep out the light so everyone could see the screen.

Since the Cardinals beat our Eagles in the playoffs I was determined to root for the Steelers. But come game day I had a change of heart and was hoping the Cardinals would win. After all, we are winter residents in Arizona two years running now.

It proved to be an "edge of your seat" game and I was really sorry that they lost. They sure gave it all they had.

The commercials were good this year. We especially liked the Budweiser ones and the one from Dorito's with the snow globe.

Hopefully, next year, Quail Run will have its own BIG screen TV for the Super Bowl. We're working on that now and I see it as a very real possibility.

We can only wonder now which teams will be playing in Super Bowl next year.