Parks

Some residents and guest at the community center in Grand Horizons  on May 7 to watch the Kentucky Derby on TV. There were more than 40 people there and everyone had a good time. The gathering was hosted by Judi Davis. From my understanding, she did a fine job.

From what Judi told me, they had plenty to eat and individual snacks were brought by the people who attended. There was a variety of foods, such as Benedictine dip (a dip from the Kentucky Derby), pies, shrimp and more.

There also was a hat contest, as several people came in dressed Kentucky Derby style. Three prizes were awarded at the hat contest. The winners were Joan Fisher, first place; Peggy Rhodes and Joan Joy (who came from Betmar).

Complimentary Mint Juleps were served, as this is the official drink of the Derby.

There was also a human race, where there are horse lanes and dice are thrown, and the humans move up the horse lanes by the number on the dice. There were four winners in this contest.

Bill Rhodes, also from Betmar, received a special treat for his 75th birthday. There were balloons and birthday cake.

By Helene Rubenstein
Grand Horizons

Published May 18, 2016

The snowbirds are leaving, a few more each week.

Thus, our coffee/doughnut hour grows smaller.

But those attending still have a good time, socializing and catching up on  the recent events at Grand Horizons.

Birthdays and anniversaries for the following week are celebrated, too, being recognized by those in attendance, as Rich Fulton reads the list.

Since we have left to go back to our summer home, our last coffee/doughnut hour was on April 25 but we enjoyed it immensely during the times that we attended.

At this function the “thought for the day” is read by Gary Wilcox. He has a way of telling a story or reading a joke that has everyone in stitches. I guess we will just have to wait for the fall when we come to Florida again to attend these coffee/doughnut hours.

Following the coffee/doughnut hour, they have paper crafting in the community center.

I do not know exactly what they do here but they sure create interesting things. The people that attend the paper crafting are so very talented and creative.

The following day there is card making. They do lovely work at this also and they send the cards to the individual rest homes for the elderly. It is definitely appreciated by the residents that receive them.

There is also mah jongg played in the center and it is always fun. It takes a lot of concentration to play this game and we have a new card for the year to deal with also. The new card is so much different than the last card and therefore really keeps you thinking.

On this same day, we also play cribbage. I love this game as it definitely keeps you on your toes and wonder what move to make next. Since mah jongg and cribbage are played on the same day and almost the same time, a tough decision has to be made by several people on which to play.

On Friday, they play rummikub which is also a fun and lively game.

So you see, even though the snowbirds are leaving, there are still many activities to keep you busy.

In addition to the weekly activities, there’s a women’s luncheon on the first Tuesday of every month, while some of the men attend Hooters.

On May 3, Pat Mc Kain hosted a luncheon at the Terra Restaurant. Approximately 20 women attended. Since I was unable to attend, Joyce Bell told me that everyone who attended enjoyed the tasty and healthy food. I was looking forward to attending but I will just have to wait until next season, and hopefully, they will have it again. Thanks go out to Joyce for keeping me informed and to Pat for hosting this lovely luncheon.

By Helene Rubenstein
Grand Horizons

Published May 11, 2016

As previously mentioned in the past write-ups, Grand Horizons has lunch connoisseurs on the second Friday of every month. This was first started several years back by Fred and Sam Sage and still continues to this day. On April 8, approximately 40 people met at Beef O’ Brady’s and had a fantastic lunch. All the people that attended had a terrific time, and the service was extraordinarily good. The menu was quite extensive and varied, and everything came out perfectly. The waitresses were so nice that they offered to take a picture of the entire group. The hosts for this luncheon were Tom and Laurie Carter, and Andy Gisondi and Del O’Hara. They did a fine job in arranging this luncheon, and our sincere thanks go out to them.

On April 13, there was a taco bowl dinner in the community center. While the hosts were Andy and Margaret Castonguay, they had help which included Ron and Joyce Bell, Linda Rogers, and Fred and Pat Mengel. Once again, they all had specific jobs to do, and it was done to perfection. The meal consisted of the meat in a taco shell with condiments such as sour cream, olives, onion, diced tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and salsa. The condiments were added by each person according to their tastes. For dessert, they had Bundt cakes in either chocolate or lemon.

Approximately 90 people showed up at our community center for a pancake breakfast on April 16. Before tables were called to receive their breakfast, Jim Sinner said a blessing. The breakfast, which consisted of blueberry pancakes, regular pancakes, sausage and French toast, was yummy and a nice change from previous pancake breakfasts. There were syrups placed on each table. Because this was the last one of the season, there was a huge gathering. Rosie Semian was the hostess,with several helpers. The helpers were Colleen Crandall, Tom Carter, Mary Heim, Dave Heim, Chuck Carlson, Linda Rogers and Diane Taggart. Since they worked on this breakfast before, everyone knew exactly what to do and it ran along smoothly.

By Helene Rubenstein

Grand Horizons

Published April 27, 2016

On the morning of April 5, a CPR class was held in our community center. Approximately 50 residents attended. It was very informative, and even if we learned one thing, it was well worth it. This program was presented by Florida Hospital Zephyrhills and arranged by Brian Heidman.

Much of what we had learned in our youth is now obsolete, and has been replaced by new techniques and technology. The class was followed by a brief question-and-answer period, which also permitted us to try CPR on a dummy that was on the stage.

Coffee and donuts followed. Ron and Joyce Bell took care of preparing the coffee, while Larry Wills picked up the doughnuts and was the liaison for the communities. Our thanks go out to Brian for arranging this important class.

Later the same day, approximately 30 women attended a luncheon at Scotland Yards. The place had large painted windows and chandeliers. The dining room was so pretty with the views from the windows adding to the attraction. One such view was cardinals in a nest.

When you put 30 women together, you can imagine the different and varied discussions going on.

The luncheon was hosted by Rosie Semian and our thanks go out to her.

By Helene Rubenstein
Grand Horizons

Published April 20, 2016