Good Morning:

The final EE Board of Directors meeting of 2009 will be held today at 1:00 p.m. at the Sunset Ramada. An agenda follows this edition of the Memo. The EE HOA Annual Meeting will be held January 18, 2010, in lieu of the regular January meeting. Watch for your mailing on this, giving the particulars.

Check out the EE website at www.esperanzaestates.net for some newly posted photos showing the construction phase of the Sunset Ramada, back in 2006. The photos were contributed by Max Perry, and have been posted by our webmaster, Craig Surprise. Construction on the project began July 5, 2006, and was completed in early December of that year. These photos are most interesting, and show the story of the construction. You will find these in the section marked “Gallery of Photos”, under the sub-heading “Construction of new Ramada“. Also, new photos of all 18 pet plaques are included in the Boutique slide show. Click on www.esperanzaestates.net/recent.htm to see the photos.  Finally, photos of some of the many Christmas decorations around the subdivision have been added to the slide show that appears on the web site home page. Take a look at these as well. Many thanks to our webmaster.

The Esperanza Enhancement Team will be conducting the 2010 EE Home Tour, and is looking for a few more homes to feature. There is no particular requirement for a home to be entered--other than the fact that the owner is proud of it, its condition, and the features, improvements, and or upgrades that have been made. If your home has some unique features (colors, tile work, cabinetry, re-done bathroom, arches, patio, etc.), has been remodeled, is a hybrid design, or some other feature you are proud of, we would love to have it in the tour.

Prior EE Home Tours have shown us there is an enormous selection of decorating and design talent here in Esperanza Estates.

Please consider putting your house on the upcoming tour. All participants receive a nice hand-painted tile plaque evidencing they have had their home included in the tour. You will be helping in this fun event and helping our EE community at the same time.

Don’t be modest about that special place of yours! Let your neighbors see the good work you have done and be envious of your originality! If you even think there is something special about your home, then call the Team (399-0455) and ask any questions you may have or sign it up for the Tour. Remember, the persons who buy tickets for the Tour and visit the homes are limited to residents of Esperanza Estates only, so there is no worry about persons who are not your neighbors visiting your home. This will be the third Esperanza Estates Home Tour, and it has been a smash success each time, and a complete sell-out. The Tour is combined with a wine and cheese festival at its conclusion at Sunset Ramada--always a fun time. Tickets will be moderately priced, and all proceeds go to Enhancement Team projects for the betterment of our neighborhood.

The 2010 First Day Event will be held at the Ramada, on January 1, 2010. There is a sign-up sheet near the bulletin board at the Ramada; don't forget to sign up!

Preliminary work has begun again on the project to replace the street light heads in our subdivision. A meeting of the committee working on this will be called after the first of the year. It is believed a satisfactory replacement head has been located at an agreeable cost. Watch for details.

We would like to get even more people into Pickleball, so starting Monday (today) we will be having two sessions.  The session from 10:30 to 12:30 will be for people just starting to learn the game, on up to intermediate players playing recreational style Pickleball. The session from 12:30 to 2:30 will be for intermediate to advanced players with hard hitting and take-no-prisoners mentality, but still a whole lot of laughing. Our instructor/coach will be there for both sessions, and lessons are free. Play is normally Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, so there are plenty of options. Come on up and learn why this is the fastest growing sport in the entire country.

This just in:
"On Wednesday, Dec 23rd, the residents from 251 to 291 Circulo Napa and the entire 700 block of Circulo Napa will be lighting Luminarias at dusk, weather permitting. We would like to invite our EE residents to walk or drive by and enjoy them. As many know, this is also when we have our Annual Neighborhood Social. We would like to encourage other areas to consider doing such a project in the future."

The basketball hoop at the tennis/pickleball court has been repaired and is now usable. When you're through using it, please re-tether the pole to the fence, as you found it. The hoop is susceptible to wind gusts if not tethered, and the backboard may break if it should blow over. This has happened once already, so we ask your cooperation in this regard.