Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Twenty-seven Grand Horizon ladies attended the annual Lunch Bunch Christmas luncheon at The Cheesecake Factory in Brandon on Dec. 12.

Since I was unable to attend, Joyce Bell said they all sat together at a large table, which made it nice to socialize. She also said that the menu had many choices, so it was fun making a decision on what to eat. There was a soup, salad and half-sandwich platter, and enchilada and burrito dishes.

The portions were generous, but no one passed up desserts of cheesecake. Many took the dessert home.

It definitely sounded like everyone had a good time and plenty to eat.

There was a Christmas show on Dec. 14, featuring Johnny M, The Brooklyn Balladeer. The show was in the community center, and approximately 60 people attended.

A separate area was provided for those who wanted to dance.

Before the show began, Joyce Bell presented to Beth Ayers a check representing monies collected from the Grand Horizons community for Meals on Wheels. Beth relayed her thanks.

Johnny M performed for two hours and sang many songs, including “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” “Blue Christmas” and “White Christmas.” He did a fine rendition of “Let it Snow” by Dean Martin, and people were swaying in their seats for “Jingle Bell Rock.”

During the evening, he walked through the audience and sang to individuals.

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He performed some Elvis Presley tunes, such as “Devil in Disguise” and “Little Sister,” and he shook his hips at the appropriate times and did several antics.

He also took several requests and tried to accommodate all.

He closed the show with “Behind Closed Doors,” a Charlie Rich hit, and “Goodnight My Love.”

Gary Wilcox hosted the event, which included many Christmas songs, some country songs and much more.

The following day, there was an appetizer potluck, and 56 residents were there to enjoy it.

This was hosted by Al and Sandy Lindke and their son, Greg, in appreciation to all who donated grocery store gift cards and food items to the First United Methodist Church’s Food Pantry.

Sandy thanked all of the donors for helping to make someone’s holidays easier.

No one seemed in a hurry to eat and run, as they stayed to visit with neighbors and friends.

A pancake breakfast was held Dec. 16, with a crowd of 90 residents. The breakfast was hosted by Dave and Mary Heim, and their crew.

On the following day, Grand Horizons had its yearly golf cart parade, with the carts gaily decorated. Some had Santa on the cart, while others had Christmas music blaring from their carts.

There were 24 entries in the parade, and they went around the entire development, while people waved and called out “Merry Christmas.”

The parade was led by Chick and Annmarie Shackewyc.

Afterward, everyone met in the community center for cookies, brownies, hot chocolate, coffee, tea and more. They also sang Christmas carols.

Nancy Huey arranged the event, and she, along with plenty of help, did a splendid job.

By Helene Rubenstein, Grand Horizons

Published January 3, 2018

Approximately 50 Grand Horizon residents, plus several friends, met at the community center on Dec. 3 to await a brand new bus that took us on a 5-hour bus ride to the port of Miami for a cruise on the Norwegian Getaway. The bus ride was long but passed quickly enough, with all the conversation going on. Some people spent the time reading, working crossword puzzles or doing other activities.

Once we boarded the cruise ship, we had a mandatory life jacket demonstration. It was interesting and informative, and then we settled in, unpacked and then all 50 of us had a leisurely dinner.

After dinner, we were treated to a welcome aboard show, “The Million Dollar Quartet,” and it had hits from Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

They were excellent.
After this, in the same show, we viewed some dancers in beautiful black and white costumes.

This marked the end of the first day and we all turned in for a good night’s sleep.

The following morning, there were several places to have breakfast, but we wanted to sit and enjoy being served. So, on to “Savors,” for a relaxing breakfast, while sitting in our seats facing a huge window and beautiful scenery.

Later in the morning, we went to a presentation where they carved vegetables and/or fruit. They created, in front of our eyes, penguins, turkeys, ducks and more. Each piece was more fascinating and detailed than the last.

At the end of the show, all the finished pieces were displayed to people who wished to photograph them or just to admire the great work.

At lunch, we joined 20 of our neighbors to break bread and converse about the fun we’d had so far.

From there, some of us went to a diamond, gemstone and watch presentation (which was informative), while others went to other activities.

After that, we went to see a show that had a singer and three others in the band. It was a terrific show with a bunch of oldies thrown in. People were swaying in their seats to the music.

In the same theater, we saw a “Newlywed, not so Newlywed” game show. The show was so funny and shown on our TVs for the rest of the tour.

The time has changed, and we get an extra hour of sleep, and woke on the third day in Roatan, Honduras and, once again, had a pleasant breakfast with 16 others and had a fun time.

Later in the day after browsing the ship and meeting new people, we went to O’ Sheehan’s Irish Bar & Grill for a quick lunch with five others from Grand Horizons.

After the lunch, we went to the atrium for a general trivia game with Alberto from Brazil. We didn’t do so well, so I guess we have to brush up on our trivia.

From there, we were treated to a movie entitled “The Proposal.” It starred Sandra Bullock and was hysterical.

After the movies, we learned some Chinese characters. Some people got to see their name in Chinese.

Right after this, we played “Win, Lose or Draw.” Our team won, but it was a close game for a while.

We then joined our friends for dinner, and saw a show called “Burn the Floor,” which had lovely dances with many colorful costumes.

The following morning, we awoke in Belize and, after breakfast, we joined in on another trivia game. Once again, we didn’t get much right, but we had fun.

It was raining, so we walked around the ship, in between raindrops.

We saw a movie called “Ghost in the Shell,” a futuristic movie and since it was going nowhere, left before the end.

We went to another movie, a 3-D one, called “Wonder Woman.” This was somewhat better, as it did have a little story to it.

When evening approached, we saw a game show called “55 to Stay Alive.” This was an action- packed show. There were many other shows on board, including “Deal or No Deal” and others, but we definitely needed the rest, so we turned in.

The following day, we arrived at Costa Maya, Mexico, and it was a dreary day in the morning hours and got a little bit better as the day progressed.

We went for another trivia game with the same endings that we had previously. Before the trivia game, we tried out in a Sudoku Speed Challenge, and got nowhere fast.

I did try out origami and created a frog. It was fun and certainly was different.

There also was Nintendo Wii Sports. I tried my hand at bowling and it was fun. No exertion like 10-pin bowling. I was the guinea pig, as others followed after me.

After a full morning of activities, we had lunch with our friends. During lunch, another game show was going on and it was called Tri Bond Trivia. This was different, as they would give you three words, and you would figure out what they had in common. It was so different and really made you think.

After the game, we wanted to walk a little, but since it was still chilly outside, we took a long walk from floor to floor.

We joined the others for a game called Scattergories. This was also a challenging game, as you had to “think,” and our team won.

The following day, we docked at Cozumel and some people went to do some exploring.

With no crowd, we explored the boat and found a library, card room, meeting rooms and more that we didn’t know existed.

Later in the day, we saw a video documentary on Elvis Presley.

We also had an arts and crafts course to make a flower box.

We saw Latin line dances and some people (I give them credit) took lessons. It was loads of fun.

Later that night, we were treated to music by Grove International and, later, the same group along with a singer performed oldies but goodies.

Our last full day at sea was Dec. 9.

We started the day with supposedly easy trivia, but it was the hardest of them all.

We then were treated to a towel-folding demonstration. You would be surprised at the animals they could make. There was a monkey, a turtle, a penguin and several others. It was an absolute delight.

We then attended a cupcake-decorating demonstration. and the cupcakes looked yummy.

This entire cruise was hosted by Terry Gardner, and he says that at the end of the year, they will take another cruise through the Panama Canal, which will be 11 days.

Anyone that is interested can give Terry Gardner. Our thanks go out to him for his hard work.

By Helene Rubenstein, Grand Horizons

Published January 3, 2018

There was a pancake breakfast on Nov. 18 in the community center with 80 people in attendance. It was a fun gathering, and Jim Leitzke said grace before the meal.

There were pancakes and French toast, along with sausage and coffee or tea. If you wanted more, you could get seconds.

The hosts for the breakfast were Mary and Dave Heim. They had helpers who do a marvelous job, and everything ran smoothly.

The once-a-month egg in the bag was on Dec. 2. We usually attend, as the breakfast is delicious with eggs or egg beaters with green pepper, cheese, onions, ham, bacon and more. The end result is a perfect omelet, and there are home fries and biscuits and gravy, along with orange juice and coffee. This was run by Paul and Freda Williams.

Later on, at night they had, in the community center, an “open mic” with gospel songs. We went to the one they had last month, and my husband and I enjoyed it a lot. It is held once a month and because we were going on a cruise the very next morning (bright and early), we missed this one. But, I am sure it was still fantastic.

A lunch connoisseurs was held Dec. 8 at Texas Roadhouse. It was hosted by Sandy and Al Lindke. We happen to love this restaurant, but were unable to attend, so Sandy told me a little about it. This is what she said: “Forty-three residents descended on the Wesley Chapel Texas Roadhouse for a late lunch of their choice. The roadhouse buzzed with lots of chatter and laughter. A good time was had by all, and no one went home hungry. We happened to be celebrating Jim Holmes birthday, so he got on the saddle while they sang the roadhouse version of ‘Happy Birthday.’”

There was a potluck on Dec. 10, also in the community center, hosted by Nancy Huey. I spoke to Sandy Lindke, and she told me that there was more than enough food for the 50 people in attendance. She also told me that Paul Williams provided the Christmas music.

Also mentioned was the fact that Santa (Bill Sarver) and Mrs. Claus (Judi Davis) passed out the gift exchange packages.

By Helene Rubenstein, Grand Horizons

Published December 20, 2017