Gold Canyon, Arizona

Woke up the other day, looked in the mirror, and what did I see?

A pimple!

Zit, blemish, abscess, carbuncle, hickey, acne, goober… Whatever you call it, they aren’t pretty.

Like most, I had my share during my teen years.

But I never expected to have them at my age.

Pimples AND wrinkles at the same time are just insulting!

Just doesn’t seem right to have an oily skin problem at the same time as an old and dry skin problem.

Don’t even get me started on when I spot a whisker, too… 🙁

Gold Canyon, Arizona

I had one of my top five pickleball sessions yesterday afternoon.

Amazing fun. Tons of sweat. Lots of learning.

I invited ten of the better players in our park to a play session when no other players would be there.

Yep, I’m a pickleball snob. I wanted a session where we could play fast and slow, hit hard and soft, and use the two most important skills in pickleball: patience and smarts.

Interestingly, as one evolves into a better pickleball player, patience is the most important skill to cultivate.

Patience allows a player to set up a play that will allow her to use her skills to most effectively to win the point.

What was so fun yesterday for all of us is that we didn’t have to hold back at all. Because we were all skilled players, we didn’t restrict ourselves in the ways we do with beginning players.

We could dink (very soft hit just over the net), slam (very hard hit right at your opponent), slice (wicked spin on the ball), and lob (high and soft arc to the back of the court) to our hearts’ content.

Well, we could at least try to sink, slam, slice, and lob. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

And the best thing about pickleball is that it’s fun even when it doesn’t work… 🙂

Gold Canyon, Arizona

We’ve been in Gold Canyon since October 31, and a couple of times we’ve experienced how small the world actually is.

Story #1

The first happened not that long after we got here.

Rich went over to the clubhouse to surf the Internet and drink coffee one morning. He noticed a guy wearing a T-shirt that said, “Neibauer Drag Racing”. 

Rich had recently met someone at a drag race in Idaho who was named Neibauer, so Rich asked the guy wearing the shirt, “Do you know the Neibauers?”

His answer, “I AM a Neibauer!” Turns out that Wally is the racer’s uncle. Rich had met the racer and his dad in October at Firebird Raceway’s Halloween Classic.

Since then, Wally and Rich have been hiking a couple of times and attended a car show. I’ve played pickbleball with and against Wally multiple times. Wally’s a great guy, and I’m happy we’ve gotten the chance to know him.

Story #2

About three weeks after we got here, I was walking in the clubhouse to meet Rich for Tuesday hot dogs.

(Every Tuesday we can buy a hot dog, chips, and a drink for lunch at the bargain price of $2.50. It’s a fundraiser for Activities section of the RV resort.)

I heard someone call my name, “Kathy, is that you?”

Turns out that Fred, a pickleball buddy from Boise, is a long-time winter resident here. I had no idea that Fred wintered in Phoenix.

We’ve had a blast playing pickleball. Rich and Fred met for the first time, and we both met Fred’s lovely wife Hope.

That’s Fred on the left.

 Story #3

Then yesterday afternoon, I wandered over to the pickleball courts to see if anyone was playing. Four people were playing. Two I knew already, and I met two new players.

Turns out they are from Eagle, Idaho. They are new to pickleball and new to this RV resort. In fact, they are new to wintering in Phoenix.

So we have lots in common. I’m sure we will get to know each other more while we’re all here together.

And hopefully, we’ll meet often enough for me to remember their names because I sure as heck can’t after only one meeting. 🙂