Mardi Gras Party

After the Swing Band concert on Monday night, there was a Mardi Gras Party and dinner hosted by the Solos on Tuesday.

We had the option of purchasing a food ticket for a meal of either summer sausage roll with chips, a pickle, and dessert, or a bowl of Jambalaya (Andouille sausage, chicken, shrimp, rice) and dessert. I'm not a fan of Cajun food, but Carl is, so he got Jambalaya and I brought a sandwich for my supper!

The ballroom was all decorated for Mardi Gras.

We found a table with two of our neighbors and two of our line dance friends.

The band had lots of residents out on the dance floor.

The event was well attended!

Folks in Mardi Gras attire came out for a group picture...

I didn't exactly have Mardi Gras attire, but I was wearing a purple top which seemed to qualify!

Monday - Swing Band. 

Tuesday - Mardi Gras...

What's next?

Venture Out Swing Band

One evening, there was a free performance done by the Venture Out Swing Band -- a group of musicians from right here in our park!

We got there 15 minutes early -- it was already packed...

... we're slowly learning that 15 minutes early is "late" to arrive when you're in a community of senior citizens! We had to pull chairs in along the side!

Venture Out Swing Band

I created a video of some of the clips from songs during the concert: https://youtu.be/p3JLJfh1XOU

Enjoy tapping your toes to the swing band music!

As we were out-and-about

We went out to meet a friend for lunch and saw an interesting pickup in the parking lot...

...we parked a little bit away from the Olive Garden, and saw this pretty blue pickup just across from us...

We walked over to see it better...

There was another lady driving by taking pictures too! She asked us if the pickup were ours! (We didn't point at the red Jeep behind to claim ownership of it!)

It was quite the attention-grabber!

Another day, Carl had an eye appointment and I went to the mall nearby to get a couple of things done...

I dropped him off at LensCrafters... he had a number of tests done on his eyes...

... while I went to the mall and took our rings (and my bracelets and earrings) to be cleaned at Helzberg Diamonds. We have a cleaning contract with them on seven pieces that we've purchased from them -- we take them in for cleaning at least every 6 months and they check for loose stones or catches that need to be repaired. The cleaning and the repairs are covered under the contract for no charge. I've had a couple of pieces repaired a few times -- one ring I've lost two stones from and had another stone loose that they were able to repair before I lost the stone, and they've tightened the clasp on one of my bracelets a couple of times -- so the contract has proven to be a good insurance policy for us!

Carl had suggested that I pick up half a dozen Cinnabons, but I just took a picture of the store and resisted!

Carl was able to complete his eye exam and order new lenses to go into his existing frames. He will get them in a week or so.

We end up spending so much time at the resort that we don't seem to leave very often!

Saturday around the park

It was a bit rainy and chilly on Saturday.

While Carl went to an Amateur Radio meeting, I headed to the Fired Clay Arts and Sewing rooms as they were having open houses.

In the Fired Clay Arts hobby room -- lots of items for sale and some also on display so we could see what kinds of things can be made there.

Similarly in the Sewing room, lots of items for sale as well as many on display that members have made.

In the evening, the VO Ham Radio Club had a Fish Fry scheduled -- the club president, Ervin, and his wife had brought Walleye that they had caught near their home up north...

Ervin and his wife...

Potluck!

The gathered group

"Go box" -- Ham radio and battery ready to "go" in case of an emergency - built this past week by the Ham club. The money for the battery, case, and electronics was requested from the Social Board by the Electronics Club on behalf of the Ham Radio Club.

Dessert table, Yum!

Lightly fried Walleye -- delicious!

Enjoyable day!

Friday activities

On Friday afternoon, we joined neighbors to enjoy Karaoke in the afternoon...

We could see the words as well as the singers.

There was a good crowd there...

Nice to have time with neighbors

The control board -- they got the sign-ins of folks who wanted to sing and had them all timed and the music lined up.

We enjoyed being there with neighbors, but... we don't really like karaoke...

In the evening, we had tickets for the Friday night dance...

Line dancing with others who are also in the "beginning" group!

Eight member band!

Name of the band - Rhythm Edition. They are a new band to the park and we enjoyed them quite a lot!

Always lots to do each day!

Wellness Program visit to Banfield

We have Miss Kitty enrolled in an "Optimum Wellness Program" at Banfield Pet Hospitals -- usually located within Petsmart stores. As a senior kitty, this includes two checkups a year as well as her vaccinations and other services (though many "other" services are additional cost too). It is nice because they have access to her previous visits to Banfield Pet Hospital locations with any test results or recommendations which have previously been done (we want the same for our own medical and dental care!).

Waiting for her appointment -- Carl has his hand inside the kennel giving her attention. She makes everyone in the area is aware that she is *not* pleased to be there!

Check in desk at Banfield

I am not certain whether this is a hold-over from COVID or what... but they seem to have "drop off" appointments only. We check in at the desk, someone comes to take Miss Kitty to the back -- in this case, when the vet was ready to see her -- we wait out front, the vet comes out to chat with us about any concerns we have or anything she wants to communicate to us, and they someone brings Miss Kitty back to us. Why we don't go into an exam room with Miss Kitty and communicate with the vet there, I'm not sure... there *are* exam rooms, and for some types of appointments, I guess you go into the exam room with your pet, but not for checkups. 

I did ensure this time that we got a "drop off" appointment at a time during which the vet would not be doing surgeries or otherwise occupied. A few times, we have dropped Miss Kitty off and she has been at the pet hospital for a few hours, not for any care of her, but because she is waiting until the vet can see her. It seems that this upsets Miss Kitty and she does not seem to be "normal" for a day or so afterwards. I know that we are overprotective pet parents, but, we're trying to minimize the stress in her (and our!) lives!

So, we saw the vet very quickly and were done in a matter of minutes.

We generally like to see the adoptable kitties at Petsmart, so once Miss Kitty was done, we walked around looking for the adoption area. There had been a place near the Pet Hospital, but there were no animals in there, so we checked to see if they were somewhere else in the store.

Instead, on the far side of the store, we saw a number of dogs in a room with one staff person overseeing them. Some were playing, some were sleeping -- I should have gotten a picture but didn't think of it...

It turns out that it was a Doggie Daycare, or PetsHotel. This list was a "sample" of the types of activities that the dogs might engage in!

We talked with a lady who was coming out of the PetsHotel check-in area with her dog. I asked her if she brought her dog there for daycare - she said she brought her dog once a week for playtime with other dogs - that back home in Iowa he would get to play with his "cousins" but during the winter season here in Mesa, he didn't get a lot of play time.

The things we do for our furry friends!

Marketplace at Venture Out

On Thursday, there were a number of vendors who came in to the Baja Bistro to display their wares so we could enjoy shopping without even leaving the resort!

Checking out what the vendors have to offer...

There were quite a number of vendors -- many with handmade items, also Avon, Norwex, Mary Kay...

It is fun to look!

One of the social clubs was selling Taco Salads too -- they smelled really good!

We didn't buy anything at the Marketplace (remember, if we buy something, something else needs to leave the rig!). After shopping, we went upstairs to the ballroom for our Absolute Beginner Line Dance Lessons. We're finally getting to the point that we actually know some of the dances before they teach them, and we also know the "language" (terms like jazz box, grapevine, rocking horse, mambo, rumba box, K-step, etc.) so when the instructor says one of the terms, we don't have to think *quite* as hard as we used to!!!