Unit 15
Rita Fletcher
Unit 15 enjoyed a fun and festive time with Magic Ken! For an hour he entertained us with his unique tricks. Especially enjoyable was seeing our neighbors used as participating props. Magic Ken, a SaddleBrooke resident, is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and has performed all over the US, Europe and Asia.
The Mesquite Grill dinner was tasty and generous in portion sizes. The service speedy and professional. Jessica Ward, Assistant Banquet Manager, was a delight to work with and magically transformed the room; our tables were decorated beautifully.
Unit 17
Mary Gelinas
We loved meeting some of our new Unit 17 neighbors at the Fromson Salad and Dessert Potluck on Saturday, June 2. And new neighbors liked learning from seasoned owners about SaddleBrooke, the neighborhood and where to get things done. Thank you, Faith, for hosting!
Next 17 get together? See you at the Ice Cream Social on July 29 at the Des Jardins home at 6:30 p.m.
Unit 21
Jim Hagedon
There are a few things for which Unit 21 residents are well known. In no particular order: golf, food and drink, and socializing with old friends and new. Our Sunday, May 27 annual picnic was a “home run” in all these areas and the beautiful weather made the event even better!
The afternoon started with a golf tournament, with nineteen Unit 21 residents participating. Following the golf outing, 30 Unit residents converged on Doug and Dede Crowder’s home on Desert Sun Drive for libations and a great picnic dinner.
As usual our residents outdid themselves with lots of goodies. The Crowders supplied delicious brats, cooked in sauerkraut, served with kraut and lots of good German mustard.
After everyone’s appetites were satisfied, awards including, yes, prize money were distributed to the tournament winners. The team of Bob Stocks, Doug Crowder, Silke Bender and Nora Hampton took home First Place bragging rights.
Second Place went to Randy Bender, Gary Beeler, Dede Crowder and Midge Mollenkopf. A very competitive Third Place was awarded to John Hanna, Terry Edwards, Jim Floeke and Linda Watkins.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this event happen. It is easy to understand what makes this annual event so popular. Judging by the many positive comments, it’s a good bet that there will be a repeat in the spring of 2019!
Unit 27
Sue Case
Julie and Rob Smith held what was anticipated to be a lightly attended Snack and Chat on Saturday, May 26; surprisingly, however, it was well attended. Rob checked the weather forecast and decided that the outdoor temperature would be too hot at the normal start time of 5:30, and changed the arrival time to 6:00 p.m. As it turned out, the temperature that day was lower than expected. Nonetheless, the weather for outdoor snacking and chatting at 6:00 p.m. was quite pleasant; and that is where most people hung out that evening, except for trips back inside to grab more food.
And speaking of food, the larger number of participants results in more food. There were meatballs, shrimp cocktails, several selections of deviled eggs, salads, street tacos and more. Yum!
Summer is upon us; and the winter residents have now fled the heat. There will be monthly Snack and Chats during the summer, as well as Bridge, for those that are around.
Ron Talbot has announced that the Unit Holiday Party will be held December 11, in the MountainView Ballroom. So, save the date.
Enjoy the rest of the summer, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
The Preserve
Ann Lange
Forty old golf gammers and gaffers packed their PJ’s, gathered up their weapons of mass destruction and headed down the highway April 30 for The Preserve’s 9th Gender Cup Tournament at Tubac Golf Resort. Monday Commissioner, Russ Maynard, organized tee times for the early arrivers who wanted to play around and check out the lay of the land before the friendly, but feisty fight took place. The whole gang was on the Stables Ranch Grill patio by five for margaritas, complements of Fred and Sidonia St. Germaine, for a libatious warm up prior to the putting contest. Bonnie Barazani, Lady Golf Gaga herself, started the psychoputterology with an ostrobogulously lopsided loaded ball which scallywagged to and fro the hole, making most contestants utterly, putterly, certifiably psycho. At the buffet dinner at Dos Silos afterwards, contestants continued to show serious symptoms of being putter-possessed and in dire need of a putteranalyst, or, perhaps just more margaritas. This game is mental all right.
The skirmish of the skorts vs. shorts started with a shotgun the following morning. The Testosterone Terrors were a little rough around the edges, made divots a backhoe would be proud of and belted the ball somewhere way out in the cabbage fields of Hades. The Estrogen Angels, knowing it isn’t nice to have tempo tantrums during a golf swing, maintained their fair ways, swung easy to the sweet spot, and stayed on course. The Heavenly Heroines topped the pecking order and brought the Herculean Hellions to their knees, showing that chicks still rule the roost. The crowd got quite an eyeful when tally-meister Phil Prass flashed the score board showing just exactly how badly the Cherubs had knocked the knickers right off those Handsome Hacker Hunks.
At the awards dinner the “Yippy Skippy” went to the pathetic putting psychopath who got the itchy twitchie yippies and missed the little-piddle pansy putt. This poor putting palooka was forced to walk to the front of the room as the Peanut Gallery softly hummed “Yip-a-dee-doo-dah, Yip-a-dee-ay,” and was immediately enrolled in an 18-step putt-phobic program. The “Waah-Waah-Waah Whiner” awards went to the member of each team who ended up with the pacifier for whining or using bad golf grammar. These fine people had to wear their pacifiers at the awards dinner and some were overheard muttering something about during a really bad round, golf can really, well, you know where this is going. Due to the privacy provisions of the HIPPA Humiliation Act, these psychologically damaged winners shall remain anonymous, pending executed release waivers. This game is mental all right.
In addition to Russ and Bonnie, a bunker load of thanks to Planning Committee Chair Marc Weisel and his loony-tune team Phil Prass, Sidonia St. Germaine and Ann Lange. The Golden Girls concede that everyone was a winner, and a bit whacko, at the end of this frolic fest due to the camaraderie we share and the safe return to our Haven at SaddleBrooke.
Unit 48
Madelaine Salas
Unit 48 loves to socialize! A summer Meet Your Neighbor event was held at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center on June 16. This time the menu was hearty salads and desserts. Although many of our unit friends have already left for cooler climes, we managed to rustle up quite a few hungry participants. Terry and Jeff Hechter, Mary and Jim Joviak, Ginny and Bill Rood, JoAnn and Jim Weston and Carol and Jim Hanthorne all volunteered their help to make this a fun event that, of course, included a 50/50 raffle. The salads assembled by our Unit 48 contributors were simply amazing and desserts were plentiful. The dessert that took the cake (pun intended) however, had to be the chocolate mousse cake made by Joan Benson. Decorated with bourbon-soaked chocolate-covered maraschino cherries, it was as decadent as anything you’ve ever tasted. Tabletops decorated with pink and green tablecloths echoed the summer fun theme. The centerpieces, beautifully arranged by JoAnn Weston in Mason jars, were comprised of blooms and greenery from her own backyard and included stems of magenta bougainvillea, pink oleander and lavender lantana. So very charming!
Continuing with the eating theme, Unit 48 also had the most number of guests at The Bistro’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta event. That won us an appetizer party hosted by The Bistro. We celebrated our good fortune on Thursday, June 7 at the MountainView East Room and patio. A lovely evening was enjoyed by those that attended. Thank you to The Bistro.
Next up, Fourth of July barbecue and picnic!
Life is great in 48!
Unit 49
Diane Marchand
Under a full moon, 28 Unit 49 residents celebrated Memorial Day evening with dinner at the Mesquite and putting under the stars. Golfers and non-golfers brought their flashlights, putters and glow balls to attack the green. Each hole was lit with glow sticks and the players wore red, white and blue glow necklaces so as not to trip over each other. Lots of laughing and groaning ensued as the teams went from hole to hole trying to sink the ball in one stroke. Mostly, that didn’t happen, but everyone had a great time. Congratulations to Dennis Marchand, who had the winning low score. He won a bottle of wine and immediately gave it to his wife. Jean Medema got the most holes-in-one and also won a bottle of wine, which she proudly took home. All in all, a wonderful evening with our SaddleBrooke neighbors.