Happy New Year to all!     Our New Year's Day adventure was to drive from the Waterville, OH  (Toledo area) home of our good friends and holiday hosts, Kathy and Dennie Dew,  west through Indiana and Chicago to the home of our daughter and her family near Winnebago, IL.    January 2nd was a work day for Ann and Matt, but a school holiday for the girls.  Grandma and Grandpa rose to the occasion and took Coffey, Close and Merrick and their neighbor Jenna, whose parents were also working, out to lunch and to the movies.  Of course, there was no unanimous decision on what "flick" to see, so we split into teams.  Grandma and the two kindergarteners, Merrick and Jenna, went to see "Charlotte's Web."  Grandpa, Coffey and Close chose "Night at the Museum."  A good time was had by all and we returned home in time to enjoy a last family dinner together.   Wednesday, January 3rd the girls went back to school and Ann drove us to O'Hare for our flight back to Phoenix.  Returning to Sky Harbor we were met by our neighbors, Don and Bev McGovern who delivered us back to the Dutch Star at Palm Creek.  In spite of all the storms, our holiday travel went well with no delays or problems.  Hooray!!!

As expected, after Christmas, the population of Palm Creek increased greatly.  We were happy to get reaquainted with friends we'd met in years past.  We also got together several times with Bounder buddies from Pennsylvania who are staying here at Palm Creek for a while, Bob and Marilynn Reynolds,  and with Bo and Linda Bodine from Lambertville, MI (Toledo area) who are staying at the Sundance RV Park here in Casa Grande.  Both couples had been here in October and left their rigs while they went home for the holidays.  We'll enjoy getting together with them again before we all "head out" in the spring.           On January 8 we did have a pleasant sunny day and we hosted a "Happy Hour" and toasted the Ohio State Buckeyes who were playing in the BCS Bowl in Phoenix later that evening.  I guess our little party didn't help, since, although the game got off to an exciting start, Ohio State lost to Florida 41-14.
 
 

One of the few days in early January that we were still wearing shorts...the neighbors gathered to soak up the last few minutes of sunshine and help us cheer on the BUCKS!	Only a few Buckeyes left....	Old cars parked among the palm trees at the annual      Palm Creek Car Show on a cold drizzly morning.

It seems they always say "but this is such an unsual year."  One year it was so much rain, another it was so dry, and THIS year, its been windy and cold.  Did we say cold???  We are part of history in the making......it hadn't been below freezing in this part of the state since 1990...that's 16 years!  This was the coldest January since 1979!!!  On several consecutive mornings, our thermometer read 17degrees.  The only person happy about this was the guy selling propane!  He put in several LONG days refilling tanks in the park.  Luckily, we have a large tank and have not needed to refill.   We looked like roly-poly snowmen heading out for golf and tennis games, but on the days the sun was shining we shed layers as the day progressed.  However, there were a few that stayed cloudy and cold and somehow those were the ones that Tom had chosen to play golf on the longer courses in town, rather than the shorter one here in the park.  And just for fun, a few days had some rain thrown in for us and within a few miles there was SNOW! After a week or so of lousy weather, the residents of Palm Creek were getting cabin fever.  A neighbor booked one of the activity rooms for a happy hour.  Tom and I spent a day touring model homes.  We got lots of reading done, and laundry caught up.  Finally, one day the sun came out again for more than a minute or two and although it was only about 55* there were a number of happy hour groups gathered in the sun, wearing jackets and wrapped in a blanket or two, some sitting around the propane heaters.   The annual "Car Show" did take place as planned, but the participants didn't hang around for the BBQ and dancing in the afternoon.  We walked through the displays and checked out the owners' pride and joy.

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon in late January........the neighborhood decided to have a "Italian Party."   Taking advantage of one of the few sunny afternoons, we gathered around 3:00 for "Happy Hour," visiting and a rousing game of "beanbag baseball."   The "Shooters" beat the "Hooters" by an approximate score of 11-10.  At the end of the game, we sampled all of the various dishes brought to share by our friends and neighbors.  Boy, do we have some good cooks among us!!!(Many of them are the guys!)   We don't do it often, especially with our limited kitchen space.  But, when we're in the mood, some fabulous dishes appear.  Among others we had some clam linguini, shrimp pasta, rotini, lasagna, and taramisu for desert.  Olive Garden couldn't have done it better.
 
 

Our friend Bonnie Wolfe making her pitch at the neighborhood baseball game while Art Nelson is ready to move from second base to third. (Don't you just love the way we play!)	"Boy, this is tasty!"  There was lots to sample at our neighborhood "Italian Party."  Next month we're going for a western theme.

In between the ugly weather, we had a few nice days towards the end of the month.  We were able to get in a little more golf and tennis, and Tom has enjoyed playing in a weekly group from Palm Creek playing at the Robson Ranch Golf Course a few miles down the road from us.   Our friends from Las Vegas, Bonnie and Don Wolfe, stopped for a few days during their several week RV tour of Arizona.  We enjoyed visiting with them and look forward to crossing paths again next summer in Ohio.  The last two days of January brought lots of rain but also some more friends from Ohio, Ed and Judy Lichtenberg, who will be here for quite a while.  So, we're looking forward to the month of February...hopefully with lots more sun and fun.