Last day of February

Hard to believe but this was the last day of February, 2015, always an ominous day in the life of a snowbird.  It was a cloudy day, with Superstition mountain hidden in the rain clouds.  These are the start of the forecast winter storm that will bring us 3 days of rainy unsettled weather.  They are already anticipating flash flooding in some areas.  It was cooler, but not cold by any stretch and we only got a few sprinkles of rain today.
  It being Saturday, you likely know by now that I go to the rec centre for breakfast.  Bacon, eggs & pancakes with the group of friends who regularly show up for it.  They didn't even ask about Marg and her absence, that too is a given and there were a couple of us lone males in that situation.
  I borrowed a ladder and finished the spraying the sealant on the parts of the carport that usually drip when it rains.  At the end of the day it seems this was effective, with the driveway nice and dry.  It was pretty tight getting the ladder along one side between us and the neighbouring park model.  When Nancy showed up at the door, it made me curious whether that was the reason for her visit; but no she brought over most of a black cherry pie for us.  Her & Bob are not big on sweets, so several times in the past she has done this.  It was the first time I have tasted this kind of pie and it was very nice, especially with the ice cream Marg put on it.
  It got a little confusing then as the Chomiks showed up on our doorstep.  It seems they have friends from their youth [old friends eh?] who were staying in Mesa, so had driven in to see them.  When they discovered us missing from the lot we occupied for the last 5 years, they just started driving the park and found us by our name sign out front.  The confusing part was we never knew they were coming, I was just sitting down to a quick sandwich before driving the girls to Talking Stick, and time was short.  We had to tell them we needed to leave in 20 minutes, so they all came in and sat down with David saying he was timing their stay.  You know how busy visits with them can get and time slips away, but sure enough he sat with watch in hand and announced after 20 minutes that they were leaving.  Nice to see them, but sure would have preferred to have a bit more time.
  By this time the ladies had started to arrive and we loaded up the truck: 5 ladies with me driving.  I had to drive as none had been to Talking Stick resort because of the distance on travelled on 2 freeways to get there.  It is more of an upscale casino and although having heard about it, none had been there and all were excited at the prospect of going.  Marg started this saying to two of her pals that they would love it and if they didn't want to drive; she would ask me.  They word spread, then two more were apparently advised there was room for them, so last night informed her they would be coming.  Good thing the truck has a large cab and the front seat will hold 3.  While they gambled, I went to:  the PGA golf shop, Vans golf shop and a Source for Sports store, all in Scottsdale.  This occupied about 2-2 1/2 hours, so I went back and read a pocket book until they called for a ride.  At about 4 the call came and we drove back to the park, it's about 25 or 30 minutes each way.  Traffic was pretty light, but heavier than they were prepared to deal with, so got some thanks' from the ladies for doing it.  They all seemed to have had a good time and 2 winners, one broke even and 2 not so fortunate.
   When we dropped the ladies off we went out to the Village Inn for supper.  We never ordered off the free pie part of the menu, as we had that covered back in our fridge with the black cherry pie.  Although I had a sandwich at lunch, with the Chomik arrival, Marg didn't eat, so announced she was starving as soon as the truck was empty.  On returning to our unit, we broke out the pie and ice cream, great way to finish the day.