Phoenix, Ajo, and Abiquiu

Written on 4-26-21.

        We had a grand trip to Phoenix and Ajo.  Kyle and I went to Western Skies Golf Club on Friday morning.  It was ten minutes from his new home.  We stopped at Dutch Bros. for iced coffees along the way.  It was fun, and I think Kyle enjoyed it.  I was happy to have some time alone with him and to practice my new swing a little bit.

His house is splendid, and I was so glad I got the chance to see it.  With the new solar panels and new windows coming soon, it is really shaping up.  We were there when he got the best estimate for replacing all of the windows from Lowe’s.  We enjoyed a treat from Creamistry, a liquid nitrogen ice cream shop in downtown Gilbert to celebrate.

We also had a swell time in Ajo with Char and Ed.  It was complete with an arroyo hike, a tour of their construction progress, excellent food, stimulating and hilarious conversations, and another final tour of Ajo just before we left.  Pawz and Kody got along swimmingly and had all cholla spines removed successfully, but not without some tremendous pain, before we left.  We had to use pliers.  

Seeing Belinda and the two dogs in the back of our truck was...

My Tenth Birthday, an Anniversary of My Brain Surgery

Written on 6-28-21.

       Today is the anniversary of my brain surgery from ten years ago.  Cool.  Another birthday to celebrate.  Ten years.  Ten “extra” years.  I remember receiving my certificate for ten years of service in the Aztec School District and thinking, “What?! Already?”

Time is a goofy thing, though, and I am not surprised it’s been ten years since I had my brain surgery.  Soon, it will be ten years since I had my stroke, too.  Time marches on; no stopping it.  Lately, I have been saying this little phrase in my head, “On the day he died, he…fill in the blank here.”

Sounds morbid, doesn’t it?  It guides what I do, however.  For example, fill the blank space with, “…he kissed his wife goodbye before heading off to work.”

Gives it a better perspective, right?  That sounds more joyful than, “…forgot to kiss his wife before heading off to work.”    

For this birthday update, I had some time to write this afternoon, since I went to...

Short Game Fun Practice at Home and at the Course

Written on 4-11-21.

        It’s a Sunday at the Masters and the Swope house, and I have just come back from church at Holy Trinity.  Danielle is leaving today for Boise, so I wanted to be here when she drives away for her fourth fire season.  Seems like it was just a few days ago that she had arrived home after staying at James’s house first.  

On to golf…

I’ve really enjoyed our new putting green.  I made my first hole-in-one immediately after the crew drove away.  It was my eighth pitch, and it rolled back into the hole after landing past it by a few feet.  Of course, I had no witnesses, but I did take a picture of the golf ball in the hole to send to C.J., because he wanted to know when...

The Putting Green is Here!

Written on 4-1-21.

        I give up.  I am going to go back to my normal or regular swing, or whatever it’s called.  I played yesterday with Eric, and it was the first day of the season, and I had another high score.  This single plane swing thing just isn’t working for me, so I quit...