Unit 20 Holiday Luncheon
Carolyn Rota and Elaine Yielding
On December 4, 21 Ladies from Unit 20 held their yearly Christmas Luncheon and Gift Giving for the New Life Center. This center provides safe housing and support for abused women and their children. The luncheon was held at the Goodyear Olive Garden. The gifts received covered all age groups from toddlers to teens, even the Moms. Everyone had a delicious meal as well as a wonderful time wishing each other a very Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year.
Unit 20 annual Tree Lighting
Carolyn Rota
On December 7, 2015, the neighbors of Unit 20 held their annual Christmas Tree Lighting. It was hosted at the home of Elaine Yielding. How wonderful it was to meet many new neighbors and catch up with everyone else. This was the fifth year for this event. Delicious desserts were served along with coffee, tea and hot cocoa. The Unit is hoping to follow this event up with another one sometime in the spring or fall. Unit 20 wishes all our neighbors in PebbleCreek a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Kwanzaa, as well as a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
In the spirit of holiday giving, the December Unit 33 Ladies Luncheon theme was donations to the Agua Fria Food Bank. A soup, salad and dessert luncheon was hosted by Cindy House, Donna Possehl and Eunice Speed at Cindy’s home. We had a great turn out with 40 ladies attending. Our donation this year to the Food Bank was $800 and 160 pounds of food.
Left to right, back row: Diane Buchanan, Josie Montgomery, Janice Gerhart, Judie Hardin, Elna Friesen and Alene Giuffre; front: Sharon Easton, Joanne Scherer and Char Marrow
Unit 34 visits Glendale
Esther West
The Unit 34 ladies went off to Glendale on November 17 for lunch and a bit of fun before the hectic Thanksgiving and year-end holiday chaos begins. The hostesses for the outing were Elna Friesen and Esther West. Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant, reputed to be the “best Mexican in Glendale” was the first stop and everyone enjoyed the lively table talk. We also had an opportunity to meet and welcome our newest neighbor, Diane Buchanan. There was a discussion of how to identify and publicize a charitable cause that the Unit could collectively support. It was decided that a great opportunity for a discussion to include many more residents of the Unit would be at the neighborhood gathering at Josie Montgomery’s home on January 22. Joanne Scherer, our Unit Sunshine Girl, reported on the status of her funds used to send cards and/or plants to unit residents. Sharon Easton provided the list of upcoming Unit Luncheon hostesses and encouraged anyone who was interested to sign up. Next it was off to nearby Cerretas Candy Factory for a tour and free samples – yes, free samples. The candy making process was explained by a knowledgeable and exuberant young lady who obviously enjoyed her role. We observed the process as well a mold for the 300 pound football that will be prepared for the next Super Bowl. Also in evidence was a giant (over six feet tall) chocolate saguaro cactus. Of course, everyone was interested in a bit of personal shopping after the tour to bring some chocolate treats home. It was an enjoyable outing for all.
The Ladies of Piccadilly enjoy a lovely afternoon of lunch on the patio and catching up with friends.
Unit 35 Ladies Luncheon
Back row: Lucy Parker, Gail Kuester, Debbie Clinkenbeard, Averill Swenson, Mary Jo Graff, Linda Lange and Linda Grabau; front: Di Week and Linda Pardue; not available for photo, Claudia Tiger and Peggy Wilkerson
Unit 37 Golf Cart Caroling and Cookie Exchange
Linda Lange hosted the Cookie Exchange for the Unit 37 Golf Cart Carolers at her very festive home. These baking elves provided a tasty array of baked cookies! The cookies were then put into special containers to be distributed while out Golf Cart Caroling. Plus, we all got to take home some cookies to enjoy and everyone knows that Christmas cookies have no calories. Thank you to all the Unit 37 Golf Cart Carolers for spreading some Christmas cheer to your fellow PebbleCreekers!
Unit 38 visits Wrigley Mansion
On December 4, fifteen ladies from Unit 38 visited the Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix. There was a delicious lunch and a tour of the mansion. The guided tour included history and family stories of the Wrigleys and others that have owned the property as well as fantastic views of downtown Phoenix.
Unit 40 Men’s Breakfast
Diane Passafiume
Our ongoing Men’s Breakfast social event took place on a beautiful November morning at Eagle’s Nest. It was great to get together after the summer break. We were very happy that two of our newest residents, John Meyers relocating from Texas and Joe Lacaeyse relocating from Illinois, were able to join the group. It was nice for them to be able to get firsthand information regarding our wonderful community from those of us who have lived here for some time and have already taken advantage of the amenities PebbleCreek has to offer. v
Executive Director Dawn Bogart and Larry Cervarich, founder of Homeless Youth Connection, with just a few of the gifts which will be distributed to the teens at a Christmas party.
Unit 42A Adopts 24 teens
Once again this holiday season the residents of Unit 2A responded with overwhelming generosity and enough donations to “adopt” 24 teens from the Homeless Youth Center for Christmas. Each teen was allowed to submit a wish/needs list. Along with the donations from the residents, Dysart High School offered assistance to provide Yearbooks for some of the teens and the Converse Outlet at Tanger offered steep discounts for those who asked for Converse shoes. Also, JC Penney was extremely generous in their efforts to help with the shopping by not only giving access to the store before it opened but offering discounts on all of the items purchased making it possible to fulfill most of the wishes on each teen’s list.
Executive Director Dawn Bogart and Larry Cervarich, founder of Homeless Youth Connection, with just a few of the gifts which will be distributed to the teens at a Christmas party.
Unit 51 Holiday party
A bit cliche perhaps, but at the Unit 51 holiday party held on December 12 a good time was had by all! The annual event, in the TF Chianti Room, was well attended and the evening started with cocktails, camaraderie, and caroling with Doug Christensen at the piano. After a rousing round of 12 Days of Christmas, the group enjoyed a wonderful time filled with a delicious sit-down dinner, ample door prizes, and dancing. Unit 51 wishes our neighbors and friends a happy holiday season and a great new year!
Unit 52 Holiday party
Liz Gibson
85 Unit 52 residents welcomed the season at their festive annual Holiday Party Wednesday, December 10 in the Tuscany Clubhouse. The women glittered and shone in their finery and the men looked terrific in jackets and an occasional Christmas tie. The party began as everyone chatted over cocktails in the bar before moving into the Chianti Room for a delicious sit down dinner.
Michael Donaghu of Musicman Productions provided music for listening and dancing which kept the group on the dance floor until the party ended at 10:00 p.m.
Party planners for the event were Leann Drummond, Emily Grotta and Nancy Rosenfeld.
Tension builds for the gift exchange.
Unit 56 Holiday luncheon
Denise McQuaid
The ladies of Unit 56 try to schedule a monthly luncheon throughout the year. We share the responsibility of choosing a venue and securing a reservation for the group. A few years ago the ladies that were in charge of the December luncheon decided that it would be fun to have a gift exchange. We all had so much fun that it has become an annual tradition. This year our group included 22 of the neighbors and we dined at the Eagle’s Nest Restaurant to the delight of all. The food, service and venue were outstanding and provided us with a wonderful holiday get together. We all chose a number before we ate; the anticipation of being able to open one of the beautiful packages was almost too much to bear. We couldn’t eat our lunches fast enough! One by one, as our number was called, got to either choose a new package from the table or take a gift away from someone who had already chosen and opened a gift! Some of us got to keep our initial choice and some had to choose another gift. It proved to be another laugh filled gathering.
So until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all and don’t forget to start looking for that special exchange gift for next year!
Life is not what it is supposed to be; it’s the way it is. The way we cope with it is what makes the difference!
Unit 58 round-up
Sherry Gonzales
Enjoy the snapshot of unit 58 members enjoying a night under the desert stars. Thanks to Brenda Deckard and Luann Brown and the unit 58 social committee, over 30 of us cowboy’d up for fun. We had a wonderful dinner of chicken, ribs and brisket with all the trimmings served on linen covered tables (Gene Autry would have been proud), a funny and entertaining singer and big horses to pull us from arena to campfire and back again!
Thanks to several of our newest Unit 58 neighbors for joining us! For those of you that were with us—Yee Haw! And for those lit’l doggies that missed this Out of the Wall experience, we’ll catch you next time!
Unit 64 residents show off their talents and wares.
Unit 64 – Where talent lives
Michael Zeman
With so much talent so close, including award winning talent, Unit 64 decided to show off those talents to all the neighbors. So on Saturday, November 22 fifteen Unit 64 members lined the sidewalk with displays for all to enjoy. We had three woodworkers, all with different skill sets. Two jewelry makers showed what they can do with wearable art. From the domestic arts category we had sewers, quilters, knitters and even a cake decorator. One person does stained glass while another creates scrapbooks and a third sold the books he authored. One couple allowed us to enjoy their safari photographs on canvas while another photographer’s pictures were of everyday items. Let us not forget we have three extremely talented painters living on our street, around the corner or just down the block. As some neighbors’ talents lie in the kitchen, they supplied food. And that’s how you throw a great unit party.