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The last several days of November had been busy ones for us....making multiple trips to "the city" to get Reid all outfitted for his winter trip to Costa Rica, and enjoying  the last several rounds of golf before he left.  His departure had been scheduled for November 30, but weather delays moved it to December 1.  He had a good flight and we have heard from him several times since his arrival in the rainforest.  He got back into rafting very quickly.       Meanwhile, on the home front we have continued to keep busy.  Tom flew to Lancaster, South Carolina on December 2 to work on a  week-long Head Start Review project, returning late on Friday night.  Mary managed to find things to do while he was gone like clean out closets and polish woodwork, along with the usual schedule of tennis, golf and happy hours.  A few more of our neighbors had arrived at the first of the month so our gatherings increased in size as the days moved on.    Mary's cousin, Geoff Close and his wife Bethann, stopped by for a visit and they enjoyed catching up on family news.
 

Reid ready to depart for Costa Rica	Geoff and Bethann visiting from  Las Cruces, New Mexico.

It seems like we're always looking for an excuse to party, so when several birthdays came around, the neighbors rallied to the cause.  We celebrated Dennis Shaffer's 60th and Bob Kanable's 61st.  The weather for the first part of the month was pleasant in the daytime, but cool at night.  And with the days getting shorter, we found that we had to dress warm for our get-togethers.  There were some pretty terrific winds several days.  Several couples now have sheds on their sites and we've witnessed a lot of "remodeling" activity with new flooring, shelving, painting and organizing.  We have no plans to do the same, however!
 

Dennis took care of the piñata at his party with a good swing of a golf club, but we think he could see through his blindfold!	In honor of Dennis being last year's Palm Creek golf champion, we held a putting contest at his birthday party.  (Mary placed second!)	Dennis and his wife Connie enjoyed our chorus of "Happy Birthday" before we shared his cake.	To celebrate Bob's birthday, a dozen of us went to the Friday night fish fry at a local golf club.  His wife, Linda, and the rest of us toasted him as he gave his "after dinner speech."

The Christmas holidays arrived almost before we knew it.  Many of the palm trees around the park sprouted miniature lights and lots of other decorations appeared. (where do people keep all this stuff when they're not using it??)  Approaching the official start of winter, our weather tended to be on the "cool" side with furnaces running at night and happy hours held with revelers huddled around gas-fired campfires and propane heaters.  Clothing was worn in layers, golf tee times were subject to frost delays, and gloves were brought out for morning bike rides to the tennis courts.  We had a few spits of rain - just enough to make mud blobs in the sand on all the vehicles.  Our various groups held holiday get-togethers.  TV news reported one night,  a story about a lady who had been treated at the ER after she fell from her bicycle while riding and trying to balance a tray of Hor' D'Ourves.  Suppose she was an RVer headed to "happy hour?"  One night we had dinner with Cathy and Frank Miller whom we had met a year or two ago through mutual friends in Sun Lakes.  Cathy and Frank sold their villa in Sun Lakes and are now full-timers in their Airstream Class A motor home and spending a good part of the winter here at Palm Creek, close to their old stomping grounds just 25 miles away.  We had a great evening with them.

On Christmas Eve day we were shuttled to Sky Harbor in Phoenix by neighbors Don and Bev McGovern and traveled along with many, many others to visit family for the holidays. (There were lots of displaced travelers thanks to storms in Denver!)  Our flight to Chicago O'Hare was uneventful and we were greeted there by our three granddaughters and their parents!  We celebrated Christmas near Winnebago, IL, sharing it with Ann and Matt and the girls, their yellow lab Jack, and their newest family member, Cybel.  She's a sweetie, but we'll all be glad when she is fully trained!  The weather was the "mildest December in the mid-west" which was fine with us....most days were sunny and the temperatures were in the 40s and 50s.  Of course that meant no skating or sledding outings, but that was okay with Grandma and Grandpa.        On December 28 we drove a rental car to Ohio.  We were able to visit with Tom's mom, Dick and Liz Lehto and to enjoy the hospitality of good friends Kathy and Dennie Dew.  While in the area, we made a day-trip to Jackson, MI and had a great visit with Mary's mother and step-father.  Our holiday trip this year was a little shorter than in years past and we had more road travel to do, so we had to give up some time with other family and friends.  We look forward to seeing them next summer.  We closed out December and 2006 as we have most of the last 39 years - giving a toast to the blessings of health, family and friends of the past and looking forward to those of the coming year - and sharing it with our good friends Kathy and Dennie
 

'Twas the night before Christmas....	The stockings were placed by the chimney with care...	Pass the syrup, please.  Merrick, Close and Coffey at our traditional Christmas morning breakfast.

So, you want to play, do you??     80 lbs. vs. 12 lbs.	Cybel Ann dressed in her sweater, ready to go out.

                                                                                                We're looking forward to continuing our travel adventures in 2007!
                                                                                                                    Be sure to check back with us later.