Unit Nine Celebrates Valentine’s Day
Scott Baker
On Feb. 14 Unit Nine held a gathering of 60 members at the home of Allen Snyder to celebrate Valentine’s Day. A wide selection of food was brought by the members to share with others. Festively dressed in red clothing, a good time was had by all.
Unit 17 Lets the Good Times Roll
Barbara Barr
In New Orleans they’ll shout “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” or “Let the good times roll!” That’s exactly what Unit 17 did on Mardi Gras! At our monthly gathering for February, we celebrated Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.
The home of Linda Gray was the setting for this festive gathering. Linda graciously set up indoor tables to keep us all dry from the February rains. The rain stopped long enough for an outdoor photo shoot. Unfortunately, some of the guests had already left the party!
Residents of Unit 17 outdid themselves with an incredible feast. The residents brought a dish to share and favorite beverage. The appetizers were incredible. There were also a number of New Orleans’ traditional foods, such as Dirty Rice. And then there were fabulous desserts! It was definitely a Fat Tuesday in Unit 17!
Many thanks to our gracious hostess Linda Gray and her sidekick John Hart. They even provided Mardi Gras masks for those who did not have one! Team Gray and Hart sure know how to throw a party.
Unit 17’s next monthly event will be a St. Patrick’s Day Party on March 17. Carl and Betty Weller will host this gathering. Hope to see everyone there and wearing the green!
Unit 27 Activities
Janie Grinstead and Chuck Aurand treat guests to a pre-dinner concert at the Grinstead house. (Photo by Pat Olson)
Sue Case
One of the many activities open to all Unit 27 residents and alums is a potluck dinner called “Not So Gourmet” (NSG). The latest NSG dinner was held at Rick and Janie Grinstead’s house on Jan. 23. All attendees were treated to a before-dinner concert performed by Janie on piano and Unit 27 alum Chuck Aurand on clarinet. They played tunes from the ‘40s, and it was a wonderful start to a great evening. Pat Olson was there to capture the moment. Thanks, Pat.
Although they are undoubtedly the busiest couple in Unit 27, Jan and Ron Talbot agreed to host the January Snack and Chat, which was held on Jan. 28. Jan and Ron serve as the social chairs of Unit 27, and it was not surprising to see a great number of unit residents in attendance. Among other attendees were new unit residents Teri and Dave Scott and Tom Ellis and Susan Stewart. One of the typical “get to know you” lines is to ask what people did in their previous lives before SaddleBrooke, and sometimes the answer is out of the normal. For instance, Susan was an opera singer! It turns out that is not as surprising as it may seem. Another former opera singer also lives in SaddleBrooke, and they have met each other already. Welcome, Teri and Dave and Tom and Susan!
Phil Doyle reports that the February Unit 27 Golf Mixer/Scramble was rained out. However, he is planning the monthly event for the rest of the year. Keep a lookout for his periodic emails.
Fira Stout planned a very popular, well-attended Dine Around on Feb. 21 at Nonna Maria’s in Oracle. More than 40 people were in attendance, which should have greatly pleased the management of Nonna Maria’s! Although not haute cuisine, Nonna Maria’s food is fun to eat, and no one can claim to have gone home hungry. Thanks again, Fira!
Ron Talbot has announced that the Unit 27 Block Party will be held on Saturday, April 15. Stay tuned for further information.
Unit 44A Gadabouts Explore Tucson Gem & Mineral Show
Victoria Turley, Linda Berg, Ruth Leman, and Paulette Kasperski enjoying all the sights at the Gem Show (photo by Suzy Strauss)
Janet Gulden
Relationships, fun, and new learning experiences are important in Unit 44A in The Preserve. Activities began when the first lots were developed in 2019 and continued to grow as new homes were added. Led by the tireless efforts and superb organization of Paulette Kasperski, we have enjoyed block parties, home gatherings for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, dinners, and trips to plays and musical events.
Our Gadabouts group is especially active and enjoyed a recent trip to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. We experienced the shows at 22nd Street and Kino Sports Complex and had a delicious lunch at Locale Neighborhood Italian restaurant. Who knew there were so many minerals in the world?! Many of us came home with some special gems.
The Gadabouts is a group of new neighbors who explore places in and around Tucson, since we are all “newbies” to the Tucson area. We have visited the Jewish History Museum, Hacienda del Sol, Tubac, the DeGrazia Art Museum, Community Circle Players’ productions, and the Desert Museum. We’ve attended a concert and lunch at Tohono Chul, the Pet Fashion Show, Kartchner Caverns, and the Presidio Walking Tour in Downtown Tucson. Sometimes even the men of 44A join us! By providing activities for our membership, we have become a unit with much cohesiveness, friendship, and caring.
We have created a group called Nourishing Neighbors, coordinated by Betsy Steen, that provides meals and/or grocery shopping by volunteers to all those who have been ill or hospitalized. We have groups that play POP tennis, Samba (a card game), Mah Jongg, euchre, bunco, golf, a book club, and line dancing. A progressive dinner group is planning an event for May. We have a women’s wine group, a couples’ wine and dinner group, and luncheons every other month for the ladies. Some of us even go to SaddleBrooke One’s Bingo Night!
Unit 44A is definitely a place for social activities and fun!
Unit 49 Is Cooking!
Ange Martin, Bill Demeroutis, Cherrill Kallio, Steve Sherwood, Gwen Sherwood (photo by Liz Houser)
Liz Houser
Unit 49’s very popular Chili Bingo Potluck is back with gusto! More than 45 people arrived at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center bringing chili, salads, homemade cornbread and sourdough, and delicious desserts. The 10 different chilis were the big hit of the night. The chili cooks were very creative this year. Offerings included a dark chocolate chili, a spicy short rib chili, chicken chilis, hot sausage and ground beef chili, and a number of variations of traditional beef and bean chilis. We didn’t judge the chili this year, but we have a couple of volunteer judges for next year’s event and several people who tried all of the chilis—what troopers!
After eating our fill, it was time for some Bingo. Ken Heaton did the honors calling off the winning numbers for five games. Prizes were taken home by Cherrill Kallio, Ange Martin, Pat Roddy, Cindy Holm, and Karen Stevenson. Our traditional 60/40 raffle was held to help offset the costs of unit events.
Everyone agreed that getting together with our Unit 49 friends and neighbors is a great way to spend the evening. Lots of full, happy people were seen leaving the activity center to head back home.