7/6/15 We Are Belmont Stakes!

(Show Low, AZ)

Today at Monday Morning Coffee the Derby Week teams were announced.  This is Juniper Ridges Summer Olympics.  I signed up to be on one of the teams.  Bob, however, has decided to sit this Olympics out.

They do the Olympics much differently than we do in Quail Run where most of the residents participate in at least one event if not a half dozen or more.  Here there are teams which consists of 16 members each.  This years theme is Derby Week. 



All the teams are named after famous races or stables and each team has a color, ours if blue.

Each team must complete extra tasks in addition to the games themselves.  Our first task was to decorate a derby hat.  It must reflect Derby Days, Belmont Stakes and the color blue.  Whew!

Our second task will be to come up with a song or a cheer for our team.

As soon as the Monday Morning Coffee was over I met with my team members to get started on the tasks.  I had met a few of them already but most were new to me.

Our first task was to nominate a team leader.  This person is responsible for informing the team of any changes in schedule, to make sure the teams members are where they are supposed to be at the appointed time, to schedule team meetings to complete the given tasks and to make sure all the team members are in line and ready to play during game time. 

As soon as the Derby Days Leader finished giving all the instructions chatter broke out all over the Grand Lodge as the 96 team members all worked frantically to get their team leaders chosen.

For me it was a bit overwhelming because it seemed everyone had been through this process before and they all seemed to know each other except for me.  I decided to just sit back, let them decide the leader amongst themselves and it would all be good as far as I was concerned.  Besides, I didn’t know Jim from John or Margaret from Rosemary anyway.

So I’m sitting there and they are all chattering and I’m looking around the room to see who’s on which team and I hear, “I nominate Snookie as our leader, do I hear a second?”   “Second!”  “All in favor….”   Fifteen hands shot up in the air.  A done deal.  Oh Em Gee!  What the hell have I gotten myself into.   Ok, I need to get everyone’s name, phone number, lot number, email address and I don’t have paper or pencil!   

I called for our first meeting to be the very next day to get started on our song or cheer and to toss ideas around about our derby hat and how we were going to do that.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

7/4/15 A Fourth of July Feast

(Show Low, AZ)

While I and many others were in the 4th of July parade in downtown Show Low, Juniper Ridge was having their own parade to celebrate our nation’s birthday.  Of course I wasn’t here to get pictures of it but I hear there was a good turnout and golf carts and bikes and participants were all decked out in red, white and blue.

Though we missed the parade we were here for the potluck dinner.  The ladies here go out in decorating their dinner tables for the holidays.  Here are some examples.

Festive, and creative, aren’t they?

Now that the wind is all but gone and we’ve gotten to know more people our minds have been changed about this place.  We really are enjoying it here.

We’ve got a great working relationship with our co-workampers, Judy and Dana.  We just seem to know what the other one is going to do and everything falls into place.

Yep, this is going to be a good summer after all methinks.

7/4/15 Fourth of July

(Show Low, AZ)

Happy Birthday USA! 

The day for me started very early as I had to be at the Grand Lodge by 7 a.m. to meet up with my carpool into Show Low.


We all wore some combination of red, white and blue or at least two out of three.  Some were really decked out for the day.


We got busy right away loading up.


On the way to the staging area we took notice of how many chairs and tent frames we set up for the parade already.  One of he ladies I was riding with spoke up and said she was in town the evening before and they were set up then.  I had to wonder to myself in just how many towns across this land of ours would those chairs and tents still be there in the morning if set out the night before.




We arrived in our staging space and got to work right away decorating our pickup truck that towed the trailer and the trailer itself.  We were lucky enough to pull slot number 13 in the parade.




All done, just waiting to get underway now.


The ones positioned ahead of us in the parade were a Renaissance group.  We all enjoyed talking with them.

I loved this picture!

 

On a potty run before the parade started I met this little girl.


 
Here we are, ready to go, the parade is starting!



And we’re off!




It was a really good parade.  It was estimated that over 15,000 people lined the two mile length of parade route.

As we got to the end of our route we quickly got into our carpool vehicles and made our way back to Juniper Ridge.  There was no way we wanted to get caught in the traffic of all the other parade participants and parade goer’s all leaving at once.

I got to thinking about the last parade I was in and figured it was when I was 23 years old, in the National Guard and I drove a jeep in a parade in downtown Wilmington, DE.  Back when the streets of Wilmington were safe!

6/27-/6/30/15 I’m on the Float Committee

(Show Low, AZ)

Everyone is talking about the 4th of July celebration coming up.  The town of Show Low has a H U G E parade and people come from all around.  I’ve heard the main street, Deuce of Clubs will be lined with over 10,000 people.  There will also be a parade here in Juniper Ridge for all those who don’t go to town.

I have joined the Float Committee for the parade downtown.  I’ve attended several meetings to iron out the details for the logistics for parade day.

The theme of the day is Home of the Brave and we’ll decorate our float in red, white and blue to commemorate the day but we’ll also promote Juniper Ridge at the same time. 

The float we’ll use is actually the trailer used by the park to haul away tree limbs, bush prunings,,,  anything green which will not be taken to the landfill.  I’m assured it will be thoroughly cleaned before we have to get in it.

I attended one session of decoration making this week.  Sandy Myer, the lady who took us to Paris is in charge of the decorating.



Sandy & Bev working on signs that will depict activities here in Juniper Ridge.


Sandy, sharing some of her ideas with us.



Some of the finished signs.






This is basically a storage room for all things crafts, sign making, decorating for holidays etc.

On Monday, the 29th at Monday Morning Coffee I was a bit surprised to see this.

This is Lynette.  She and her husband Doc, are funeral planners and live here in the park.  They also hold the Christmas in July celebration so she was dressed today to promote that.

As you can see by their sign they put the FUN in FUNerals.  They truly are a fun couple.  They gave away these door prizes at the Monday Morning Coffee.

They even had George, dressed as the Undertaker give out the entry forms for the raffle,



So this ends the month of June.

6/26/15 Comedy Comes to Juniper Ridge

(Show Low, AZ)

There is a group here in this resort called the Juniper Ridge Farmers.  This group is in the process of making a community garden possible.  Though I don’t know too much about this group I’m assuming they are raising money for gardening tools and a tiller and the like.  Again, I don’t know too much about this group.

I do know that they’ve got some funny people in this group!  JRR Farmers put on a comedy show over two nights.

 

I can tell you this, I laughed out loud more than once.  In fact, quite a few times.

The members who got up and did a stand up comedy routine were pretty good!

There was also a Lawn Chair Brigade.



Minnie Pearl was in the house!



There were skits that involved several members of the troupe.



There was one skit that was so good that I’m considering taking it to Quail Run for the Variety Show if they have it next winter.




The show was well done and the audience laughed all the laughs.

6/21/15 Happy 30th Anniversary Juniper Ridge

(Show Low, AZ)

The four of us, Dana & Judy and Bob & I went into high gear right after the church services were over today.  We had to get set up just as soon as we could because today there was a 30th Anniversary Party for 200 in the Grand Lodge.

We set to work getting all the tables and chairs set up and ladies who were decorating came right behind us.

The tables were covered with yellow and green tablecloths and on each table was a ten inch high holder with one of these stuck in the slot.



Or one of these…


We also set up several tables for the resorts scrapbooks to be displayed on,




Lots of the attendees enjoyed looking through them.


There was lots going on in the kitchen.  Mostly prep for the event….




……but some clowning around too!



Ice cream, cake and champagne punch will be served today in honor of the 30th Anniversary.


The Assistant Activities Director, Debbie Gretsky, gave us all the history of Juniper Ridge.

The cakes were cut, the punch was made and ice cream needed to be served before it melted.  It was time for ice cream and cake!

There are several artificial trees set up in different buildings and they hold little pieces of paper with words on them.

Two ladies in the park, Judy Tompkins and Eydie Heslip made each one of these slips for the different  trees.  They wrote words on the slips that describe traits of the people here in this park.

Juniper Ridge is celebrating thirty years of community.  It probably hasn’t always been smooth sailing and there have probably been many ups and downs along the way, but the residents embrace the words below.  It is evidenced by the residents who volunteer so things get done.  Its evidenced by the obvious friendships that have formed.  Its evidenced by the sense of pride in their homes and the common grounds.  Yes, together it does take them all to make Juniper Ridge what it is today.