Nov 22nd to 25th - Mesa

Nov 22nd – Tues
We ordered a couple of things online, I caught up the blog and we generally goofed off this morning. Then we got even lazier and went to the courtyard grill to have taco salads for lunch.
At 2:30 Claude & Val picked us up to go see friends Tim & Kim in Scottsdale. We were supposed to go on Sunday but Tim was sick so Kim asked us for dinner today. The guys sat outside by a nice crackling fire while the gals enjoyed talking about all sorts of topics that were not of interest to men.
We got back in time for Val & me to watch most of the final DWTS show. Terry & Claude went to see Moe to tell him about a couch that Kim & Tim have for sale and to take measurements – turns out it won’t fit. Claude also wanted to talk to Moe about Verizon wifi. Claude & Val are staying in Casa Grande and Claude wanted to get going so Val didn’t get to see the end of DWTS but I called her as soon as the winner was announced.

Nov 23rd – Wed
It’s only been a week since we did laundry but I figured the next couple of days will be busy and I wanted it out of the way. This time after we started the washers we got more money put on the laundry card and went to Fry’s to use an ATM. We are sooo busy that we have to multitask!!!!
Moe arrived as we were having a sandwich and joined us for a piece of pie. Then we went with him to a couple of Hobby Lobby stores to buy 10 pound slabs of wax with 40% off coupons. We use the wax in our buddy burners so we all bought 2 slabs each.
Just after 3 we went to Dennis & Gloria’s for a birthday party for Dennis & Billy. Their birthdays are actually tomorrow but we didn’t want the party on Thanksgiving. There was a wonderful group of 25 friends. Gloria provided hamburgers & fixings and everyone else pitched in with other food. Duane, Ernie & Dianne brought their guitars and had the diehards dancing and singing for a couple of hours.

Nov 24th – Thurs – HAPPY THANKSGIVING
I put a turkey in an electric roaster at 7 and went back to bed to watch TV for a while. Gloria signed up as host for a table in the ballroom and invited us, Ernie & Dianne, Bob & Peggy, Duane & Sue and Moe to fill the table. She also divided up the cooking chores and I got the easy job of cooking the turkey (provided by the park) and making gravy. Gloria also decorated and set the table this morning with some help from Peggy.
At 12:30 the ballroom opened again for everyone (19 tables of 10 people) to begin arriving and setting out the food. Just after 1:00 someone said grace and we got down to the serious job of stuffing our faces. I took home the dirty plates & cutlery to wash as I had done so little cooking.
Terry bought a paper this morning so we went through all the ads – even though we don’t need much! – and I actually read the paper which I don’t get to do often. After a while we took Gloria’s dishes & cutlery back and visited with them. As usual, we thought we would not want to eat for the rest of the day but it was wonderful to have some leftover turkey for sandwiches for dinner. We found a movie on TV and ended up watching two.

Nov 25th – Fri
Terry took Dennis to find a place to look at a leak in his truck and then picked him up after he took the truck in. I had pumpkin pie and an orange for breakfast and went to the ballroom to help put up Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, the decorating committee quit so there wasn’t much leadership and we had different decorations from last year so we couldn’t just put them up where they were previously. I worked from 9:30 to 2 with a short break for a piece of pizza for lunch.
Just as I was walking back, I saw Terry getting into Moe’s car & flagged them down. Moe bought the 26” TV from our outside compartment and he & Terry had been taking the old TV out of the bedroom and putting in the flat screen. A bit later I rode my bike over to have a look at their handiwork. They just had to get the old molding cut and were heading to Ernie’s as he had his table saw out. Dennis & Gloria came over to say that their truck would be done at 3:30 so we sat outside – a bit cool in the shade with a breeze – and chatted. At 3:30 I picked up Dennis and dropped him off to get his truck. I thought I would have some time to enjoy a drink and my book but I had barely got settled when Terry returned and wanted to go buy a bigger TV for the compartment. Off we went and got what he wanted – 37” Vizio – at Costco. We had stopped at WalMart first but they were out of stock so we just picked up some chicken for dinner.
We had just started to eat dinner when Duane & Sue came over with drinks in hand so we ate while we talked with them. Then Dennis & Gloria showed up and joined the party. Finally, Robin walked over and of course joined us also. Everyone was gone by 9:30.