Monday, January 1, 2024 through Saturday, January 20, 2024: Life in Palm Creek Resort and Casa Grande Dining and Appointments

Happy New Year!

 

Donna and David posted a collage of national parks they visited in 2023. A total of twenty-one!!! 💕

I was glad that Donna and David were able to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

New Year's Day, we had a beautiful sunrise in the east and in the west.

The next morning, I was walking the dogs and a hot air balloon was launched from the open field opposite the entrance to Palm Creek.

Down the street from us is the Palm Creek home of friends Cathy and Oland. I have known Oland for many years --- as he was a Thousand Trails member. He and Cathy have been together since 2013.

On Wednesday, I received a new pet gate from Amazon. The old pet gate was not wide enough for our Rockwood Signature travel trailer.

The travel trailer had a leak under the kitchen sink. We called Hernandez Mobile RV Service to schedule an appointment. Jorge, the owner, came out to help us.

Unfortunately, he had to come twice to remedy the situation. 

My Blink Amazon cameras at our Williams home showed the first snow fall this winter.

On January 7, Williams got 9 inches of snow. No snow here in Casa Grande!

Donna and David are still in Florida. There first national park for 2024 was Biscayne National Park.

On Friday, Kelsey and Jamie had appointments with Casa Grande Animal Hospital. I wanted Jamie evaluated for acupuncture and I wanted Kelsey to get an acupuncture treatment. However, there is a new product called Librela that has had very successful results. It is a shot given every thirty days. Both Canyon Pet Hospital in Flagstaff and Williams Veterinary Wellness talked to me about Librela before we left for Casa Grande. So, both dogs received this injection. Fingers crossed that it works.

Both Kelsey and Jamie met with Dr. Julie Maher. The animal hospital had a nice WELCOME sign. We headed home at about 5:30 p.m. There was a beautiful sunset!

Saturday morning, I set up the solar lily flowers to the right of the trailer. My fire stick bush died over the summer, so it is best for me to have artificial flowers. 😊😊😊

That evening, Tom and I went to the Three Palms Ballroom for music by The Campbells. The event was called "Denim and Diamonds Party." I love dancing with Tom. We enjoyed The Campbells twice last season.

Sunday morning, it was raining.

Fortunately, there was a break in the rain at about 11:00 a.m. I took Kelsey and Jamie out for a potty break and we happened upon Oland and his dog Chui (pronounced Chewy).

The dogs enjoyed a leisurely day in front of the fireplace

Monday was a beautiful day. I took the dogs for a walk.

After running some errands, I stopped by a Chiropractor Office to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hoyt. They also recommended a good massage therapist.

That evening, we had another "killer" sunset.

Tuesday morning, it was very, very cold --- 24.7 degrees! That day, I tackled several projects for the trailer's warranty. We need a replacement television and a replacement night blind.

Jamie loves the trailer's love seat.

On Amazon, I ordered covers for the love cushions. The last thing I don't need is a puncture in the cushions from Jamie's nails.

 

The solar lily flowers look so pretty at nighttime. 

Donna and David are staying in Orlando, Florida, near Disney World. Their RV resort has cute chipmunks.

The RV Resort is called Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

Friday, I went to a Casa Grande nail salon called NailIt. KC was my technician. He did an excellent job with my pedicure and manicure. Instead of gel, he used a dipping product that is supposed to harden my nails and make them grow faster. Both KC and his wife are originally from Vietnam. I was impressed with this salon.

At 3:00 p.m., I had a pickleball training session called 3some + coach. Tom's son, Jon, is one of the coaches. Jon does an excellent job teaching pickleball strategy.

My group had a woman coach from Boise, Idaho, The three-some were me, Nicole, and Patti. Eileen was the coach.

Saturday morning, there was a very RED hot air balloon floating over Palm Creek.

The cushion covers arrived from Amazon. I put them on the four cushions. Jamie is very pleased.

Sunday, I played pickleball in the Partners Social play (3.50, 3.75, and 4.0). My mixed partner, Paul, hurt himself and bowed out of playing. I invited my next door neighbor, Merilee McCartney, to be my partner. We had a fun time.

I never get bored with the Palm Creek water fountains.

Later in the afternoon, Tom helped me put two strings of white lights on our palm tree. I found the lights at the local Walmart. The emerald palm resting at the base of the palm tree is so appropriate --- as we live on Emerald Lane!

Several hours later, there was a wispy sunset in the neighborhood. 

When it was dark, I took a photo of the lighted palm tree.

The 3.75 Women's Ladder results for 2024 were posted on the Palm Creek Pickleball website. I was listed as #11 out of 55. Yes! 💕 

 

Later in the afternoon, Jon dropped by to give his Dad some CBD oil for pain.

Wednesday was the five year anniversary of my brother John's death. John will always be 56 years old.

I had reached out to a Williams handyman, Jeremy Tadevich. I was concerned that the north facing heat strips at our Williams home were not working. Jeremy stopped by the house. Indeed, the strips were not on. Jeremy pushed snow off of the roof where the heat strips are mounted. He won't be able to replace the heat strips until the snow melts.

As Jeremy was walking around the house, he noticed that the water facet by the barbecue was leaking. Fortunately, he was able to stop the leak.

That evening, Tom and I enjoyed another beautiful Arizona sunset.

I tried to take a selfie, but I wasn't able to capture the sky's brilliance. 

One of my Highland Meadows neighbors posted a photo of winter in Williams.

Can you say that there is a contrast??? 😃😃😃

Early Thursday morning, I did a load of wash of the dog blankets. On my way back to the trailer, I took a photo of the trailer with the two accents --- the solar lilies and the Emerald palm tree.

A few hours later, I drove 45 minutes to the city of Chandler. My facial expert, Heather Liston, did her magic.

The excitement of the day was that my niece, Lauren Carroll, was rushed to the hospital to deliver her baby boy, Colter. The scheduled C-Section was scheduled for January, 24. But Colter decided differently. Mother, father, and baby are doing great.

Friday, I had a consultation appointment with Dr. Jeremy Cull. Dr. Cull is an oral surgeon. I have a tag in my mouth that needs to be taken out and biopsied. In October of 2022, a similar type of oral tissue was taken out and biopsied by Dr. Sudheer Surpure, a Flagstaff oral surgeon. I made an appointment for the biopsy on February 9.

After that consultation, Tom and I went to lunch at Creative Cafe. Every Friday, the soup special is New England Clam Chowder. Yummy! I had a bowl of clam chowder and a half egg salad sandwich.

This restaurant is only open 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is one of the top rated restaurants in Casa Grande.

On Saturday, I had a noon appointment to donate blood at Vitalent in the SanTan Room at Palm Creek. Unfortunately, my iron level was not high enough to donate. This has only happened to me once before.

The weather forecast is for several days of rain. This photograph of the golf course hole 7 fountain almost looks like it was taken in black & white.

That evening, Tom and I had tickets to the Fringe Benefits Dance Party. I had been told by one of the Activities associates that this band was highly rated.

Unfortunately, most of their music was not our type. They played a couple of nice songs, but many songs were too contemporary for us. We danced three times and left by 8:00 p.m.