On Feb. 8, we had our monthly lunch connoisseurs at Shells Restaurant hosted by Bill and Karen Donlon. There were 31 residents in attendance, and the menu had a good variety of dishes. There were mainly fish platters or dinners, but other dishes as well.
We weren’t rushed, and the waitresses were very nice and tried to help if anyone had questions. There was much conversation and everyone got along. It made for a nice afternoon with good company.
The following day, Feb. 9, several women who are members of the quilting club were at the community center, along with several helpers. They presented a quilt show and what a delight it was.
There were quilts all around the community center and some were really eye-catching and had so much detail.
The quilters were Margaret Castonguay, Joyce Billig, Naomi Sisk, Denise Hauser, Pat Otto, Pat Mengel, LuAnne Taylor and Jeanice Dalman. The quilters meet every week at the community center and create beautiful quilts, and these were displayed all over in the community center.
They also had some helpers, including Joyce Bell and Rachel Gamache.
There were well over 150 quilts, plus handbags, runners and more. Upon entering the community center, there were several quilts outside on display.
Everything was done to perfection and there were two lap-size quilts that were prizes for the raffle. Coffee and cookies were served at this festive show.
Several days later, on Feb. 13, a Taco Bowl dinner was held at the community center, with 110 people in attendance. This was hosted by Margaret and Andy Castonguay. They have had Taco Bowl dinners for the last several years, and each year they get better and better.
Once again, they had several volunteers and each had a specific job and, therefore, it ran smoothly. The helpers were Joyce and Ron Bell, along with Ron and Rachel Gamache, Fred and Pat Mengel, Linda Rogers and, of course, Margaret and Andy Castonguay.
The taco dinner consisted of meat, diced tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, olives and onions. All of the toppings were placed on a table, so you could add them according to your taste. The tortilla shells were handmade and deep fried by Margaret and, from what I heard, they were simply delicious.
Two days later, on Feb. 15, we had our second karaoke night. It started out with Gary Wilcox singing a Conway Twitty song entitled “It’s Only Make Believe.” He did a splendid job of it, and he made it interesting by giving a little history of the song and the singer.
He sang several more songs, including “Amarillo By Morning” and, if you closed your eyes, you could visualize George Strait.
Paul Williams sang a few songs, such as “Blueberry Hill,” “Abilene” and several others. His deep voice and antics added to the songs.
Chuck Reams also got up to perform several hits, including “As Good as I Once Was” by Toby Keith. Chuck really got into it as the time progressed. His antics were fabulous and had many a person (in the audience) singing back up. He also sang a hit song by Randy Travis entitled “He Walked on Water.” and he did one marvelous job.
A great number of songs were done by Jim Leitzke, such as “Good Hearted Woman” by Waylon Jennings,” “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard, and several by Marty Robbins like “El Paso.” Jim also looked directly at the audience and he sang like a pro.
During some songs, we had dancers like the Rockettes. We also had audience participation on the song “Family Tradition.” There were other songs like “Trashy Women” by Confederate Railroad, and even a little trivia thrown in.
We ended the evening with “God Bless the USA,” and we all went home after a lovely two hours. The next karaoke will be on March 22.
By Helene Rubenstein, Grand Horizons
