December, 2004
In spite of some pretty "strange" weather, December was a pretty "routine" month for us at Palm Creek.  There was plenty of wind and rain and some really cool weather for this part of the country.  Our heat pumps ran through the night most of the nights early in the month.  On days that were not rainy we headed out to the tennis courts and golf course...often both in the same day.  Tom has enjoyed the course at Mission Royale (across I-10 from Palm Creek) as well as the one here in the park.  Both of us have brought home prize money from the "scrambles" events.  We've taken lessons in both tennis and golf, so maybe we'll see some improvement, too. 
Besides golf and tennis we have attended some "socials" and "happy hours", played some dominoes and cards, and attended some Christmas programs.  We've made several trips to the Phoenix area to do some shopping at the malls and also the giant "swap meet."  There's always interesting people and merchandise there!  Mary and some of the ladies spent a day investigating the new IKEA store on another trip.  If you are not familiar with IKEA - its quite an experience!!!  The store sells basic home furnishings and is huge.  You start out by going through completed rooms of a house (living room, dining room, etc.) in which each and every item is tagged with name, number and price.  You write down the items you want to purchase on your handy list they've given you (along with a pencil and a tape measure).  After you've gone through all the rooms, you get to the "marketplace" where you can pick up all the items on your list and put them in your cart and proceed to the checkout.  They also have a restaurant.  But, when you live in 350 sq. ft., you don't buy many things there!
On Tuesday, December 21st our neighbors at Palm Creek drove us to Phoenix where we boarded a plane heading to Chicago O'Hare and on to Toledo for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.  We didn't make it all the way as scheduled.  At O'Hare we answered the third plea for volunteers to give up seats on the flight to Toledo.  It was the last flight of the night, so American Airlines gave us an overnight kit and a room at the Hilton, vouchers for future travel, dinner and breakfast money, and guaranteed reservations on a Wednesday morning flight.  We arrived in Toledo at 9:30am and in the several hours between then and when we made it to Mary's brother's home, we made stops finishing up our Christmas shopping, visiting Tom's mother and Mary's grandmother at their respective nursing homes and at our former neighbor's...probably a more productive day than if we'd gotten to Toledo the night before.     
We had a great visit with Mary's brother Bill and his wife Beth on Wednesday evening.  About the time we returned home from dinner out it had started to snow.  SNOW????  By the next morning there was about 8"  of that cold, white stuff on the ground and the winds were blowing.  We had planned to drive to Marysville, that morning, but most of the country roads between Toledo and Marysville were deemed unpassable by the highway department, so we settled in for a cozy day at Bill and Beth's and continued a wonderful visit.  By Friday morning, Christmas Eve Day, the roads were cleared and we finally reached Marysville and hugs from the granddaughters!
Tom and Mary with Mary's sister-in-law Beth and brother Bill.
We put out food for the reindeer and cookies for Santa and after reading our traditional "The Night Before Christmas" with the girls we were able to go to bed knowing that Santa would be sure to pay a visit.  We had a happy Christmas Day with lots of gifts and phone calls to family in Texas and Colorado.            Over the next several days we enjoyed many hours of playing new games at home and ventured out into the snow and cold to go sledding, to the theater to see "The Polar Express," and to the Columbus Zoo to see the "Wildlights" and ice sculptures.  One afternoon we took Ann and the girls to Mad River Mountain in Logan County, OH so that they could take ski lessons.  They all did very well, had a great time, and hope to go again.  We had a great time just watching - and give those instructors all the credit they truly deserve!!!
Merrick, Close and Coffey all ready for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve.
On December 30 we drove back to Toledo to spend New Year's Eve with our good friends Kathy and Dennie Dew.  We have spent the holiday with them 33 of the last 35 years.  The last several years we have had to be "live-ins" as well.  Mary and Kathy were able to spend an afternoon at a spa thanks to a generous gift from Kathy's children for Kathy's recent birthday.  The New Year's celebration was dinner and a movie out and a midnight toast at the Dew's home in Waterville...our favorite way to welcome the new year. 
We feel blessed that we have been able to continue our travel adventures and certainly enjoy renewing old friendships and meeting new friends and seeing new places. We hope that all of you out there have a safe and happy 2005 and that perhaps our paths will cross someday soon.
Mary and Tom with Kathy and Dennie Dew on New Year's Eve.

Skiing pros....... Coffey (age 7), Close (age 5-1/2) and Merrick (age 4).