Issuu

Millennium Memo

There were two home fires in our Parks last month. One homeowner was uninsured, wiping out that family’s entire equity. The other homeowner had insurance, but likely the wrong kind.

That first case was sad but also a little frustrating, because we’ve discussed insurance many times as recently as the May issue of this magazine. “But my home is so old, it isn’t worth insuring,” you say? That sort of thinking might be shortsighted.

If you have Actual Cash Value coverage, you’re correct: you wouldn’t get much money. With a Replacement Cost policy, however, your 50-year-old home might be replaced with a brand new one after a fire. That policy costs more, but isn’t your home worth it?

Did You Know?

The first pumpkin "pies" were more likely baked puddings, where hollowed-out pumpkins served as the vessel for a filling of milk, spices, and honey.

By the way, that first fire was apparently caused by a faulty air conditioning unit. Other fires have been caused by overloaded electric outlets. Don’t let that happen to you!

SPARC in HMVE

Did you attend the SPARC Scam Seminar last month? If not, you should have. Nancy gave a good summary in her October Manager’s Notes, but it isn’t the same as hearing it in person from the Sheriff’s spokesperson.

The latest: offers of “free” solar. That’s especially pernicious

Millennium Memo Continued...

because most of you your homes can’t handle Solar Panels. Thanks to Ally & SPARC for sponsoring.

SPARC is partnering with the Social Club on a Holiday Dinner, set for Dec. 6. SPARC will cover the catering cost, so you know it will be fun. Stay tuned for details.

More News

• Recent expenditures: additional fencing at the Pool ($7K) and better Clubhouse Lighting ($15K). Nancy reports that the new lighting “dims perfectly!” Next up: $10K worth of Tree Trimming. Your Rent Dollars at Work!

• Nancy is giving this month’s Kudo to Marilyn Matts (Sp. 166). “Without Marilyn, we wouldn’t have Bingo. When Marilyn can’t come, all chaos breaks out” Thanks, Marilyn. HVME without bingo is unthinkable!

• HVME’s stray cat population has apparently tripled since I complained about it last year. I know you have a kind heart, but please stop feeding them.

Handy Thanksgiving Tip?

Q. How do you make a Turkey Stew?

A. Keep it waiting for several hours.

I started thinking about writing about Thanksgiving and the thought that we are all so blessed to live in Hacienda Valley came to mind. We really are blessed to have such wonderful owners, Millennium Housing. Over the past almost 21 years that Scott and I have been here as your managers , we have seen a true transformation of Hacienda Valley from a so so community into a really terrific place to live. The clubhouse is beautiful, the events are wonderful. Park maintenance is at an all time high. When Millennium first purchased Hacienda Valley, we had Sir Lancelot as décor, red shag carpet in the library and that was the highlight. The wrought iron lighting in the clubhouse was held up with chain so it wouldn’t fall down; the linoleum floor was old, cracking and chipped. Alan Roman had been the owner and his philosophy was “rent control park, rent control amenities”; and he meant it! Yes, I am very grateful for Millennium, and for their management company, Haven Management.

Don’t forget! November 7th from 10 am to 4:00 pm, the 10th annual

“From Our House to Yours: Holiday craft show will be at the clubhouse. 10 years ago, my dearly departed friend, Loretta Silva and I started this show that has become a park favorite. It’s an opportunity for truly gifted people living in Hacienda Valley to show and sell their beautiful craft items. And, we always have a really yummy “Hot Dog Lunch” an all kosher beef hot dog with all the condiments, chips and a drink for $3.50. So save this date. Come support Hacienda Valley crafters and do a little holiday shopping also. We look forward to seeing you at this fun craft show.

Speaking of “saving the date”, here is another date to save — December 6th — 5 pm — the Hacienda Valley Estates Holiday Dinner. This is one dinner you do not want to miss. Ally @ SPARC & the Hacienda Valley Social Committee will have a Holiday Dinner to remember — great food and a Holiday Raffle. Be sure you sign up for this one early. But remember, this wonderful dinner is open to Hacienda Valley residents only.

I always love reminding you about Libby. Libby is my best friend. Libby is a program you can download on any cell phone & pad. And why you might ask is Libby my best friend.? It’s because Libby is the program the Santa Clara Library system uses to deliver free ebooks (Kindle) and audiobooks, for FREE to my phone. I have never been a big TV watcher I’ve been a reader. And for those of you who love to read, you can download any book in the Santa Clara Library District for free to your phone too. Also, tons of free magazines, movies, etc., all with

your library card. And once set up, all you have to do is find the book or periodical you are looking for and push borrow. You don’t even have to remember when it’s due or ever pay a fine. After 21 days, the library just takes it back. No fuss, no muss. Just 100% great service. And all for FREE.

Have a wonderful and very blessed Thanksgiving. Save those dates & get yourself a library card. Blessings to you all !! Nancy & Scott

Good day to all our neighbors here at HVME. Another summer has come and gone and once again only a few of our residents had the pleasure to enjoy our Pool. It makes me wonder as to why so many of us had these dreams of what our retirement would be like. Most of us wanted to do things, travel, see our grandchildren, enjoy time within our community, making new friends, BBQ’s by the pool, play games, have a social life….What happened to those dreams?....Are you living them out?.....I sure hope you are enjoying every minute of your Golden Years!

WE, the SOCIAL CLUB try to plan events and activities for everyone to enjoy, but only a small portion of our community participate, roughly 15 %. I know there are lots of new residents here that have moved in over the summer, we sure would love to welcome you to our next event. We do our best to have a variety of activities throughout the year, and always welcome new suggestions. We still have our suggestion box at our sign in table, please use it if you have an idea we may be able to plan for the community.

Next year we are planning on having more catered events. We may not have as many events planned, but we are still going to get together for our POP- UP events such as crafts, Movie night, karaoke and dancing and some additional events.

On Saturday, November 15th at 1pm the Social Club will be hosting a “Holiday Paint & Lunch” activity. We would like to display the residents’ paintings in the clubhouse through our Christmas event on December 6th so all our residents will have a chance to see your beautiful artwork.

The Social Club will be hosing our last Resident Quarterly Meeting on Tuesday, November 4th at 7pm. So far on the agenda we have Nancy coming to talk about all about the Craft Room and all the items that are in there for Hacienda Valley Residents start and group and make wonderful crafts. We will also discuss the various group activities we have here already, and the fact that we can welcome many more groups/activities if we have willing residents to step up and take the lead. We have Bingo, Bible Study, Social Committee, Jewelry Class, Coffee & Chat here now, but there is the possibility of so many more types of groups, just need leaders to run them. Please mark your calendars and plan to join the residents meeting on November 15th .

A person becomes attractive not by their appearance, but by the way they show kindness, offer love, give respect, stay honest and remain loyal.

HVME Social Club Chairman

Richard Valdez

Thanksgiving Sudoku

Use the letters “MAYFLOWER” to solve this Thanksgiving SUDOKU Puzzle. Remember that no row, column or box should have the same letter more than once.

ANSWER

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (not nonfat)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pie spice, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.

3. Ina large bowl, whisk pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and whisk until just combined (don’t overmix). Tap the excess batter off the whisk and use a rubber/silicone spatula to stir the batter a couple of times, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.

4. Grease a 9x9 square baking pan and pour the batter into the pan. Tap the pan gently but firmly on the countertop a couple of times to remove air bubbles. Bake 22-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to cool room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk, plus more if needed

2 teaspoons espresso powder, adjust to taste

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, followed by milk, espresso powder (see note), and vanilla. Beat on high speed for one full minute. If desired you can adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin.

2. Spread the frosting all over the top of the cooled cake.

3. Enjoy!

Puzzles and Word Games you

MLB Mascots Cozy Blaze

ACE BARRELMAN

BAXTER THE BOB CAT

BERNIE BREWER

BILLIE THE MARLIN

CLARK THE CUB

DINGER

FRED BIRD

LOU SEAL

MR MET

ORBIT SLIDER SOUTHPAW STOMPER

SWINGING FRIAR

TC BEAR

Across 1.Blacken

5.Cooking meas.

8.Charades, e.g.

9.Quiet

10.Doctrines

11.Condo, e.g. 12.Funny song from Wicked

14.Lizard, old-style

15.Wordnik

19.Balance sheet item

20.Get ready, for short 22.Brews

23.In place of 24.“___ not!”

25.A long, long time

Down

1.Special effects letters

2.Door fastener

3.BBs, e.g.

4.Shows consideration and high regard.

5.Charlie, for one 6.Mix

7.Darling

9.Number divisible by

another number. 13.Amateur video subject, maybe 15.Kosher ___ 16.Lying, maybe 17.Beethoven’s “Archduke ___”

18.Caught in the act

19.“Dear old” guy 21.Sign of infections

The headline is a clue to the answer in the diagonal.

November Sudoku

How to solve sudoku puzzles

No math is required to solve a sudoku. You only need logic and patience.

Simply make sure that each 3x3 square region has only one instance of the numbers 1-9. Similarly, each number can only

appear once in a column or row in the larger grid. The difficulty on this puzzle is easy.

TRIVIA TEASER

In Black and White

1. What black-and-white animal appears in the logo of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature? a-Panda, b-Zebra, c-Aye-aye, d-Skunk.

2.What band's number one hits were "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," "Black

& White," and "Joy to the World"? aBlood, Sweat and Tears, b-Creedence Clearwater Revival, c-Kansas, d-Three Dog Night.

3.The standard daily New York Times crossword puzzle is how many squares wide? a-11, b-13, c-15, d-17.

4.What was the last black-and-white movie to win the Best Picture Academy Award? a-"The Artist," b-"The Good German," c-"The Apartment," d-"Schindler's List."

5.Who played the guitar introduction on the Michael Jackson hit "Black or White"? a-Eddie Van Halen, b-Steve Vai, c-Slash, d-Eric Clapton.

6. Who directed all but one of the Pepe Le Pew cartoon shorts for Warner Brothers? a-Friz Freleng, b-Chuck Jones, c-Tex Avery, d-Bob Clampett.

7.In what year did Nabisco introduce the Double Stuf Oreo? a-1974, b-1987, c-1991, d-2001.

8.Burkina Faso is drained by the Red, Black, and White tributaries of what river? a-Niger, b-Ubangi, c-Volta, d-Nile.

9. What 1946 fantasy film about a WWII pilot featured Earth filmed in Technicolor and Heaven filmed in black and white? a-"The Cockeyed Miracle," b-"Angel On My Shoulder," c-"The Call," d-"A Matter of Life and Death."

10.The Dalmatian is a breed of dog that traces its roots back to the region of Dalmatia in what country? a-Macedonia, b-Slovenia, c-Croatia, d-Serbia.

QUOTES

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man and woman, it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

Edward Sandford Martin, essayist, founder o fhte "Harvard Lampoon"

So once in every year we throng, Upon a day apart, To praise the Lord with feast and song, in thankfulness of heart.

Arthur Guiterman in "The First Thanksgiving"

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.

Victor Hugo, French poet, novelist

He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part. The full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart.

J.A. Shedd, second president of Marshall Field & Co.

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, We are thankful for everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson American essayist and poet

Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart; Not thankful when it pleases me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.

George Herbert, English poet, priest

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment -- halftime.

Author Unknown

The Lighter Side Good Advice

A lady pulled into a crowded parking lot and rolled down the car windows to make sure her golden retriever had fresh air. The dog was stretched out on the back seat, and she wanted to make sure the dog stayed there.

She walked backward toward the store, pointing her finger at the dog and saying:

Now you stay .....

Do you hear me?... Stay!... Stay!"

The driver of a nearby car piped up:

"Why don't you just put it in park?'

Got Bugs?

A man who works for a pest control company confirms each appointment by phone the night before his service call.

One night, a man answered the confirmation call. The pest control man said, "Hi, this is A to Z Pest Control. Your wife phoned us."

There was a long silence, and then the customer yelled to his wife: "Honey, it's for you ... someone wants to talk to you about your relatives."

Stop Sign

A woman drove a mini-van filled with a dozen screaming kids through the mall parking lot, looking for a space. Obviously frazzled, she coasted through a stop sign.

"Hey, lady, have you forgotten how to stop?" yelled an irate man.

She rolled down her window and yelled back, "What makes you think these are all mine?"

Answer to 'In Black and White'

1-a Panda

2-d, Three Dog Night

3-c, 15

4-a, "The Artist" 5-c, Slash

6-b, Chuck Jones

7-a, 1974

8-c, Volta

9-d, "A Matter of Life and Death" 10-c, Croatia

November 2025 Calendar

Awareness Months

American Diabetes Month.

Aviation History Month.

Diabetic Eye Disease Month.

Eye Donation Month.

National Adoption Month.

National Family Caregivers Month.

National Native-American Heritage Month.

Holidays and Special Days

1, All Saints' Day. Christian religious holiday honoring all saints.

1, Day of the Dead. Mexican cultural holiday honoring the deceased.

1, World Vegan Day. International observance promoting vegan lifestyles.

1, National Calzone Day. Celebration of calzone cuisine.

2, All Souls' Day. Christian day of prayer for the faithful departed.

2, National Deviled Egg Day.

3, Election Day. State legal holiday in New Jersey, New York, Virginia, West Virginia.

4, Election Day. State holiday in several US states including Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois.

4, Use Your Common Sense Day.

5, Guru Nanak Jayanti. Sikh religious holiday.

5, Kartik Purnima. Hindu festival on the full moon day of Kartik month.

5, National Stress Awareness Day.

10, Sesame Street Day. Commemoration of the educational TV show Sesame Street. 11, Veterans Day. Federal holiday honoring US military veterans.

11, Lhabab Duchen. Buddhist holiday. 11, Singles Day. Observance celebrating single people.

13, World Kindness Day.

15, National Recycling Day.

16, National Button Day. Observance of buttons and sewing.

18, National Princess Day.

18, Minnie Mouse’s Birthday.

20, Sigd. Ethiopian Jewish holiday of fast-

ing and prayer.

20, Use Less Stuff Day.

22, National Adoption Day.

23, Feast of Christ the King.

23, Doctor Who Day.

24, Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day.

24, National Fairy Bread Day. Celebration of the Australian snack fairy bread.

25, Day of the Covenant. Baha'i holy day honoring the covenant of Baha'u'llah.

25, Vivah Panchami. Hindu festival.

25, National Parfait Day.

26, Coton de Tulear Day. Observance for the dog breed Coton de Tulear.

27, Thanksgiving.

27, Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Baha'i holy day.

28, Black Friday. Major shopping day following Thanksgiving.

28, Day After Thanksgiving. State holiday in many US states including California, Florida.

28, American Indian Heritage Day. Observance in states like Maryland, New Mexico.

28, National French Toast Day.

28, Buy Nothing Day.

29, National Square Dancing Day.

29, National Chocolates Day.

30, First Sunday of Advent. Christian observance beginning the Advent season.

30, National Computer Security Day.

Events

1, Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, Orlando, FL. Ongoing culinary festival with global marketplaces and tastings, running through November since 1995.

2, New York City Marathon, New York City, NY. Annual world-famous marathon attracting over 50,000 runners since 1970.

2, Day of the Dead Parades, Various cities, Mexico (e.g., Mexico City). Vibrant parades and processions honoring the deceased, celebrated for centuries with modern

events drawing thousands.

3, Chhath Puja Festival, Bihar and other regions, India. Multi-day harvest festival with river rituals and offerings, over 2,000 years old attracting millions.

6 - Jan. 4, 2026, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, New York City, NY. Iconic holiday show with Rockettes dancers, running since 1933 and drawing over 2 million visitors annually.

8-9, Austin Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games, Austin, TX. Traditional Celtic music, dance, and athletic games world championships, established in 1995 with thousands attending.

14 - Jan. 17, 2026, Peddler's Village Holiday Kickoff, Lahaska, PA. Grand illumination with lights, performances, and shopping, over 40 years old attracting holiday crowds.

21 - Jan. 25, 2026, Wildlights Festival, Columbus, OH. Holiday light display at Columbus Zoo with millions of LEDs and festivities, running since 1985 drawing over 500,000 visitors.

24, Grapevine Carol of Lights, Grapevine, TX. Annual lighting festival with parade and lights, 37th edition in 2025 drawing thousands since 1988.

27, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, New York City, NY. Iconic parade with giant balloons and floats since 1924, attracting over 3 million spectators annually.

28, Jacksonville Light Boat Parade, Jacksonville, FL. Festive boat parade on St. Johns River with decorated vessels, annual event drawing crowds since the 1980s.

29 - Jan. 3, 2026, Legoland Christmas Bricktacular, Winter Haven, FL. Festive shows, character meets, and Lego displays starting late November, part of ongoing holiday events.