Participants in our Creativity Fair included Amelia Grove, Lank Jenney, Annette Zack, Gayle Lipke, Joyce Mangels, Sue Williams, Jackie Helliesen and Gay Gaube.  



Sue Williams &
Jackie Helliesen
(left)

Gay Gaube
(right)








                       Lank Jenney                                                   Joyce Mangels    


                     Gayle Lipke                                                    Amelia Grove




We had a variety of creations to look at including knit hats, bags and scarves, whimsical wooden figures, watercolors, different kinds of note cards, jewelry of many styles, paintings, prints, and tote bags.  
Members were able to buy creations from some of the exhibitors, resulting in a donation to PDTC of approximately $120.  THANK YOU to all who exhibited as well as those who came to celebrate creativity!   
                       





Annette Zack

Kick off day was February 1 for a pickleball trial at PDTC .  Around 25 players showed up for an orientation and demo given by homeowner Karen Gysin, who is a national champion pickleball player and certified instructor.  John Gunderson, Candace and Fraser Brinsmead assisted. 
 
Court 3 was designated to set up four pickleball courts.  We started with three, but after a month's play can see the need to add the fourth.  After a few weeks we found having set times and days for Drop-In/Open Play Pickleball worked the best.  We chose four days, Tuesday and Saturday at 11:00 am and every Thursday and Sunday at 3:00 pm.  Normally we have 12 to 16 players show up and have had as many as 20.
 
It appears the program is gaining speed and we may end up with one tennis court designated solely for pickleball, with four pickleball courts permanently painted this summer. In the meantime, we are using heavy duty tape that is holding up well.
 
Pickleball is fun and easy to pick up for all ages. There is what I like to call an immediate sense of gratification for a beginner. The hardest part for us seniors is learning to keep score and who is serving.
 
If you want to try it out, please come join us. We have extra paddles on the bench at Court 3 and pickleballs are in the metal brackets hanging from the fence for you to use.  Please wear athletic attire. 
 
Pickleball got its start in 1965 in Washington state, on Bainbridge Island. A family got bored and needed something to keep the kids busy. It started on an old badminton court using ping pong paddles and a wiffle ball. The net was lowered and rules were established to equalize the competition and so a person's size or gender couldn’t dominate the game. For example, you couldn’t go into the "Kitchen" (the area within seven feet of the net), so larger people didn’t have an advantage. The double bounce rule was another equalizer. On a return of serve, the serving side must let the ball bounce first before hitting it. The name "pickleball” most likely came from a family dog named Pickles, who liked to chase and run off with the balls.
 
For more on the history of the game:
https://www.usapa.org/history-of-the-game 
 
"Pickleball Pete" Szambelan, Pickleball Chair

Task: Entire team jumping.    Pete Szambelan, Norm DeWitt, Tim Adams, Mary Jenney, Greg Smith, Sue Long, Rita Ripp, Leslie Anne Moore (renter)

Thirty-two  men and women signed up for the February 17th Palm Desert Tennis Club scavenger hunt.  They were assigned to four eight-person teams. 
Homeowners and non-resident members were assigned to each team.  Husbands and wives were split onto different teams, because we wanted this to be a "get to know each other better" event. 
Players were allowed just one hour to perform 54 separate tasks.  Each team was asked  to take pictures of some pretty unusual items and some very unusual bits of action on a single cell phone camera. Some of the things they were asked to scavenge for: a live lizard, someone born in 1940, a yoyo, a hula hoop, a drum set, a pair of handcuffs, a  soccer ball, a donut, a sitting humming bird, a team member wearing ear muffs, and of course, a map of the state of Kansas.


Task: Male team member  having a toe nail painted by a female team member.  Joyce Mangels paints Jake McDougal, as Fraser Brinsmead supervises.         Task: Construct a pirate hat  from newspapers.  Fraser Brinsmead wears it.

Sixty minutes after the “go” signal was given, the four teams finished their frantic outing.
The team captained by Jim Konrath came up with a score of 39.  It was close; the other three teams were just one or two points behind.
Appetizers and drinks were served afterwards as team members re-lived their picture taking afternoon.
The "fun meter" was on maximum.  Special thanks to the team captains who made the event a success.

(Left)
Task: Entire team with a dog.  Dog cannot be a team member's dog. 
Top:  Jim Konrath, Joyce Mangels, Jake McDougal, Fraser Brinsmead, Ross Cornelius, Vicki Lord.  Bottom:  Gail Broderick, Kris Adams, doggie "Henry", Kathy Zeug


(Above Right)
Task:  Six team members eating grapes.  Top Sara Freeman. Pat Broderick, Candace Brinsmead.  Below:Susan Williams, Kathy Zeug, Sue Charles.

(Right)
Task: Team picture from a mirror.  Top: Cathy Konrath, Sara Freeman, Candace Brinsmead. Fred Weidling, Bob Olson (renter).  Bottom: Lynette McDougal, Sue Charles, Susan Williams, Pat Broderick

(Below)
Task:  Forty toes underwater in a swimming pool.






(Editor's note: Bill Cook organized the event and came up with most of the strange tasks.)

Seventy-two PDTC-ers showed up at the clubhouse on February 23rd to exercise their brains and fill their bellies. They were divided into teams of five or six.  Questions had been prepared and were presented by Larry and Tari Gibson.  The Gibsons moved into Unit 39 a few months ago, after owning a home for many years on Homestead, just north of PDTC.

In a novel twist, Dan Merrill played songs from movies on his keyboard.  Contestants were asked not only to name each song, but also the movie in which it appeared.

When scores were added up, two teams had tied, and the winners were decided by the best answer to: “What is the mileage on Interstate Five from the Canadian border to the Mexican border?”  (The answer: 1,381 miles.)


There was plenty to eat and drink - tacos and margaritas and all the fixings.  Lynn Schultz supervised preparation and serving of the goodies.  She had a lot of help from hubby Dale, Jane Turner, Terry Basham and Gail Broderick.  Dennis Lipke and Jim Banner worked behind the bar.  Phyllis and Don Cyphers furnished dessert for all.  Perk Freeman headed up the clean-up crew and Leon Bennett took some great photos.  








 

                                                     
And the winners are:

Dennis Lipke, Candace Brinsmead, Mary Jenney, Terry Parker, Leon Bennett and EJ Cook