Oct 30th to Nov 2nd - Mesa

Oct 30th – Sat – Mesa
After I went to the gym, we went back to the rummage sale as everything left was ½ price today and we thought we might get some more candles. But first we saw some plastic patio chairs and I convinced Terry that we needed them for having dinner outside as our regular outside chairs are too wide and too low for pulling up to a table. At $3 for 6 chairs we figure we will use them for the winter and then get rid of them. We did find a few more candles. We made a stop at WalMart as I used up my black thread yesterday. When we came back we washed up our fancy chairs and discovered some cracked legs so now I have to find glue.
We didn’t have much breakfast so we had a late lunch/very early dinner of steak on the BBQ, salad & garlic toast – yum!
At 4:30 we went to Billy & Lauri’s for the pumpkin pie that we were too full for yesterday. I got my sewing kit and helped Laurie with a final few bits on her costume.
We went to the ballroom about 6:45 for the 7 o’clock start time for the Halloween party and for once the doors did not open early. So there was a long line of people in the hall and everyone was having a great time checking out costumes and chatting. The majority of the attendees were dressed in some type of costume even if it was just worn jeans, a plaid shirts and a hat like me. Terry looked great in overalls, plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off, a bright tie that clashed wonderfully with his shirt, a engineer’s cap and his pants rolled up high enough to show off his white socks & black shoes.

Oct 31st – Sun – Mesa
We decided this morning to go to the Swap Meet for breakfast and to wander around. We had coupons from a vendor so our breakfasts only cost $1.50 each – hard to beat. We ended up buying a couple of small items. On the way back we stopped at Home Depot and bought a can of green spray paint to spruce up our “new” chairs which more than doubled their cost. One can of paint did all the seats & backs and the front legs on 2 chairs that had been partially painted white. I found a tube of glue that looks like it is working OK on the cracked legs.
We were very lazy the rest of the day – didn’t even go to the pool or see our friends. Just read, worked on the computer and played on the computer (you know who!).

Nov 1st – Mon – Mesa
I skipped the gym today so Terry & I could go for a bike ride outside the park. The streets around the park have dedicated bicycle lanes so I feel fairly safe riding in them. We did cut the ride short and only went 3 ½ miles instead of the 5 mile loop. We’ll work up to that! Then we went to the office to buy tickets for 2 dances in November. The tickets go on sale at 9 o’clock on the first Monday of the month. Groups of friends want to sit together but cannot reserve tables so people line up starting at 5 to buy tickets at 9. Last year, you could buy up to 10 tickets so only one person for each table had to line up. This year they tried to make it fairer and changed to 4 tickets each which will probably result in a longer line with 2 or 3 people for each table. We got tickets at 9:20 but when Julie checked at 11 there were only single seats left. The ballroom is much too small for the size of the park and the number of people who like to dance.
We checked out the “Country Store” in the ballroom where vendors set up their wares every other Monday. There was a Tupperware dealer and I had a broken lid so we got the lid, went back and she will have a new lid for me at the next “store”. We tried to sign up for golf for tomorrow but the sign-up sheet was gone and there was no contact name & number on the new sheet. I called the golf course and they said to just show up and they could probably work things out so we could golf with Neil & Robin.
We went to Fry’s for groceries & diesel and got greasy fried chicken for lunch – just what I need! Then we joined “the group” in the pool. One pool is still closed for cleaning so there were quite a few people there. We suggested to Bill & Lauri and Larry & Julie that they all come over to watch the World Series on the outside TV and have an appetizer dinner. We all threw food together and had a great time eating, drinking and occasionally watching the ball game.

Nov 2nd – Tues – Mesa
We went golfing with Neil & Robin this morning. We checked in first at the golf course to make sure we could play with N&R and to find out our tee time (10:12) and then went to a nearby Dennys for breakfast. It got very warm by the time we started the second 9. The greens had been plugged and sanded but otherwise the course was in pretty good shape and we all had a good time.
On the drive to the golf course, Neil explored the features on our GPS and decided that he wanted to buy one to replace their old model so we made a detour to Costco on the way home. We shopped a bit and then got ice cream after we checked out.
We dropped off Neil & Robin, made a drink and walked over to listen to music in the courtyard. There weren’t any chairs in the shade so we just stood in the walkway which was kind of nice as it was easy for people to stop and chat.
Next we had to unload the storage box in the truck, remove the box and put everything back in the box until we get the truck back tomorrow after getting the bed liner sprayed in – and then we get to do it all in reverse. Terry got Neil to help him lift the box out of the truck so I didn’t have to struggle with that task. Dinner & TV for the rest of the evening.