Unit One Residents Enjoyed Card Bingo

Bob Hutton

Card Bingo you say? Late in August almost 40 Unit One residents learned and enjoyed an evening of Card Bingo, snacks and conversations. It was a fun evening of connecting or reconnecting with neighbors in the Activities Center. Some even took home some moolah…(not me).

Hopefully this will start regular similar events for our unit. If you’re in Unit One and don’t receive emails detailing happenings please reply to sbhoa1unit1@gmail.com

See you next time!

Behind the Scenes of a Unit 8A Social Event

Have you ever wondered what goes into planning a SaddleBrooke Unit 8A event?

To list just a few—and abbreviated—duties, the Unit 8A Social Committee meets regularly throughout the year to discuss new and creative event ideas, revisit old favorites (such as our popular Ice Cream Social and cul-de-sac food truck), consider when our snowbirds will be available, determine what might appeal to our neighbors, schedule dates, find a neighbor interested in hosting an occasional event, and then work out all the logistics.

For the past year, Julie has taken on the important role of our “logistics person.” She has contacted food trucks, restaurants, and various venues to discuss availability, determine how many guests they can accommodate, confirm dates, and coordinate RSVP responses. These are just a few of the many behind-the-scenes tasks she handles throughout the year. Other Social Committee members design flyers, send invitation emails to residents, gather utensils and name tags, make contact with venue managers, work out other related particulars, and all the countless little details that help make an event enjoyable for everyone.

For all Julie’s time, effort, and dedication in helping coordinate our event gatherings, we send Julie another huge thank you! And a big thank you to the rest of the Social Committee members. Their team approach has proven highly successful and appreciated by our residents.

Ladies’ Luncheon

On Aug. 25, 16 enthusiastic ladies gathered for a fabulous lunch at the SaddleBrooke Ranch Grill. And, by the way, the meal and especially the food presentation was very impressive!

We were delighted to welcome some new faces and invited guests. Our two guests recently moved from Michigan to SaddleBrooke and were looking forward to meeting more friendly faces.

We also welcomed Ava, who had been a SaddleBrooke resident for just four days! Ava and her husband moved from Morrison, Colo. As if being the newest resident wasn’t exciting enough, Ava was also the lucky recipient of our door prize—a handcrafted tea light and greeting card made by Committee member Michelle Kouri.

As always, there was plenty of lively conversation. Much of it included expressions of appreciation to the Social Committee for reviving our Unit gatherings. But most of the conversation centered around sharing stories of our past lives, getting to know one another better, and talking about how much we love living in SaddleBrooke—where opportunities to socialize are truly abundant.

There’s More to Come!

Unit 8A’s Social Committee is already enthusiastically working on several upcoming events. So stay tuned and check your email box.

Thank you to all the residents who eagerly join in the camaraderie.

Happy Autumn, everyone!

Unit 11 Happy Hour

Linda Hoffpauir

On Sept. 13, the fun-loving neighbors of Unit 11 partied again with Booze and Bites at the Road Runner Grill. It was so nice to reconnect with friends returning from the summer and hearing all about their trips and voyages. We are anxiously waiting for all of the “Snow Birds” to return so we can all be united again.

This is the last Unit 11 Happy Hour for the season but you can bet the Social Committee has been very busy planning many more parties and events for the coming year.

Again we send our many thanks and appreciation to the wonderful staff at the Road Runner Grill for all of their help in making this event another big success.

Unit 14 Sing-Along, a Big Hit

Betsy Clark

The Ukulele Ladies, made up of Susan Fox, Bonnie Jo Simpson and Karen Gille led a fun sing-along for the Unit 14 happy hour/patio party on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Their songs included fun and familiar songs, some with new lyrics. For example instead of Runaround Sue the group sang “Runaround Drew” and they changed the words of Return to Sender to “I Can’t Remember”.

The new lyrics of “Yesterday “ were all about the glory of aging. The Ukulele Ladies called several men from the audience to join them in singing “ Elvira” to add to the fun. They even performed a song about SaddleBrooke.

Song lyrics were provided for the sing-along and everyone loved singing the old tunes, mostly from the 60’s.

On Oct. 14, Unit 14 will host a Food Truck Block Party with dinner provided by Flaming Hearts Food Truck. Residents are encouraged to wear their favorite team jerseys.

On Dec. 2 mark your calendars for the Unit 14 Holiday Party with live entertainment by Chuck Moses. There will be a few new surprises this year. Email bk.clark@hotmail.com if you want to be included in the fun activities of Unit 14.

Unit 27 Activities

Sue Case

Our coordinator of unit Dine Arounds was busy during the summer; and unit residents appreciate it. She organized a Dine Around that was held on Aug. 15 in the MountainView Bar and Grill’s East room. Although the MVB and G has had a limited menu on Saturday during the summer, the attendees, who filled about three long tables, enjoyed the variety of offerings that were available to them. Sometimes, especially during the hot months, it’s just nice to get together with your neighbors and let someone else do the cooking.

Fira also organized a Dine Around in September, on Sept. 22 at Dragon Village, a Chinese restaurant located in the Safeway shopping center in Oro Valley. Thirteen Unit 27 residents enjoyed the delightful Chinese wall hangings while devouring their dinner choices from the 113 items on the Dragon Village menu. Mind boggling! Seeing many customers enter the restaurant just to collect their take-out orders, some of the Unit 27 attendees decided to order extra meals to go. Beats cooking!

Jane Spande and Dave Field hosted a Snack and Chat on Aug. 22. Considering the heat and the time of year, it was well attended. The temperature cooled off enough that a few hearty soles spent time in the backyard and patio; however, most attendees stayed inside. As usual, the food offerings were ample and tasty, and included a cake celebrating four Unit 27 residents with August birthdays: Karen Erickson, Jan Talbot, Fira Stout, and Jane Spande herself.

Unfortunately, another Snack and Chat, planned for Sept.19, was cancelled. Next month…

Thanks to Fira, Jane, and Dave for organizing those events that helped keep Unit 27 residents in touch and entertained.

Unit 28 Deals Up a Winning Game Night

Joyce Wainscott

Seventeen Unit 28 residents gathered at the Wainscotts’ home for an evening of cards, games, food, wine and the kind of laughter that makes the neighbors wonder whether they missed something important.

They did.

The house was divided into several highly competitive—or at least highly enthusiastic—gaming zones. Poker players attempted to maintain their best expressions of complete innocence while quietly plotting one another’s financial ruin. At the mahjong table, tiles clicked, strategies unfolded and mysterious words were spoken with great authority. Meanwhile, the board-game group battled for glory, bragging rights and the satisfaction of knowing they had actually read at least some of the instructions.

No official referees were present, no disputes required legal counsel, and everyone remained friends—or at least agreed to behave like friends until the next gathering.

Of course, no Unit 28 event runs on competition alone. Wine flowed, appetizers appeared from every direction, and a delicious salmon chowder took center stage. The table was filled with enough wonderful food to suggest that everyone had been told to bring an appetizer—and then interpreted that instruction as “prepare for a small army.”

There was sampling, second sampling and the occasional third trip made purely for quality-control purposes. Calories were not counted because everyone knows that food eaten while playing games and laughing with neighbors is nutritionally invisible.

The real winner of the evening was Unit 28. Seventeen neighbors came together, shared wonderful food, tried their luck, tested their skills and laughed—a lot. Some won, some lost and some may still be debating exactly what happened during that one questionable hand.

By the end of the night, cards had been dealt, tiles had been matched, games had been played and appetizers had been thoroughly investigated. Most importantly, friendships were strengthened and new memories were made.

Game Night at the Wainscotts proved once again that Unit 28 residents know how to turn an ordinary evening into a full-scale social event. If laughter, good food and great company are the measure of success, this gathering hit the jackpot.

The only unanswered question is: When do we play again?

Unit 29 Ladies Lunch Bunch

Debbie McGeehan

It really doesn’t matter where we go or what we do when we get together every month. You can always count on a good time, good conversation and good food. Unit 29 holds Happy Hours at our houses each month but that event includes men. It’s a whole different conversation when you get a group of ladies together!

Ten of us met on Sept. 15 at The Views for lunch. We had friendly service, delicious food with reasonable prices and views of the golf course. It is a hidden gem only 15 minutes away in Sun City. Kay Crowfoot joined us for lunch. She moved to Splendido quite a while ago and Tina Moore joined us. Tina and her husband moved to another unit because of needing a larger home. They both enjoy their friendships from Unit 29 and we enjoy catching up with them!

Conversations centered around summer travels, future travels, doctors, dentists, osteoporosis, weather, latest fashions, recipes, and of course …. men! They are always interesting topics, right?

It was a fun day for all of us! We have a Women and Wine in the planning for a November afternoon at the poolside of Marcia Kovac’s. Stay tuned, ladies!