Rounds of Golf Like This Don't Come Around Often

Continued from 10-29-22.

Back to more golf…

        Patrick (last name) bought a yardstick for our round at the Bishop’s Classic.  This was the first time I had seen one of those.  So, if we got the shot within the yardstick, we could count it, but we had to measure how much length was used on each hole you used it.  The good thing was that you had both sides, so that was 72 inches of advantages.  We used it to help our score on at least nine holes, and we used it for one eagle, many birdies, and a couple of pars.  It made a big difference on our final score, and we also used up all four of our mulligans.

I heard the winning score was a ridiculous 43.  The 2nd place score was 50-something.  At least we played better than the team we were matched up with, and we did very well with only two players.  Patrick said he used to be a 12 handicap, and I could totally see that.  I love this tournament, and I believe in the cause.

I got the certificate for the free round of golf at Hillcrest from Greg in the mail.  He enclosed a note that said we should use it before it expires, so I arranged...

B and I Celebrate our 32nd Anniversary

        It's Belinda's and my 32nd anniversary today!  We already celebrated a month ago (read below), but it's wonderful to have made it to our 32nd anniversary today.  I love you, Belinda!  We are waiting to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow with the Edgertons, and the Swopertons will be together again for the first time since Becca and Matt's wedding celebration.  That is way too long.  

Written on 10-22-22.

We have just winterized our sprinkler system and our camper on a beautiful fall day.  I am taking some time to write, and I am a bit amazed that I haven’t had much time to do so lately.  I’ve had many more important things to do.  Here’s the thing that frustrates me: I only have time to write the details, so I will begin with that.  

On to golf…

I played with Patrick (last name) in the Bishop’s Classic.  I completely misunderstood Roger’s intention.  I thought he was recruiting me to set up a team.  I thought he was going to play, too, but when I showed up, he wasn’t there.  It was just Patrick and me.  

Because it was a three-person tournament, they allowed us to take turns taking our third “person’s” shot.  On the scorecard, it said TBA for our third person, so for the rest of the tournament when Patrick and I took a shot for TBD (we changed his last name to TBD for To Be Determined), and it was a bad shot, we were berating and making fun of him.  If we didn’t say who was taking the shot (either TBD or ourself), we would consistently blame TBD for whichever shot was worse.

Patrick was fun to play with.  He told he was 81 years old (same age as my mom), and he was a bundle of energy.  He did some things 81-year olds tend to do, though.  He asked me to repeat what I had said sometimes.  He lost his Raiders ball marker…and a head cover, and something else.  We got his ball marker back on hole #9, though, our second to last hole.  A group had actually picked it up.

He was a super partner to have.  He thought the world of Roger.  We did really well, I thought.  We made it to ten under, and we got the better of group of three players we ended up playing with.  Because he could tee off from the turquoise tees, he garnered a bunch of the longer drives on the front nine (which was our back, because we started on hole #11).

Written on 10-23-22.

I am not going to recount every hole, but I will count the shots we each had that we ended up using to see if it was as even as I thought.  Generally, we used more of my shots on the first nine holes, and then most of his on the second nine holes.  

I was right.  We used 19 of my shots, and I counted 15 for him, so it was mostly even.  He did have more shots on the second nine, too, like I wrote above.  That’s funny to me, because I remember him telling me on hole #16’s tee box that he might get tired later in the round.  It was just the opposite; he gained energy and focus.

I also want to mention the use of the yardstick.  He bought a yardstick, and I had never heard of using one of those in a scramble.

I will continue later to explain…

Written on 10-29-22.

I am sitting across from a fireplace in the Fireside Cabin at the Apple Orchard Inn.  B set this all up for an early anniversary gift.  I see yellow leaves out one window, our picnic table out the back, and the inn and the fantastic yard and its landscaping out the front.  It’s a Saturday, and we check out in about 15 minutes.  We met the new owners, Jim and Leslie, and they served a mean breakfast with made to order omelets and pecan pancakes.  The have owned it since September of 2021.

Now, I am (we are) back home again after the nearly hour-long drive.  We spent most of that drive catching up with Danielle, which was marvelous.  She talked about her recent adventures with dating, her new nanny jobs, and her visit with Becca and Savannah.  It was just great.

I am watching the Good Good Cup Major, and I have my little putting strip behind me from yesterday.  I was listening to, and taking breaks from, the two trainings that I am taking for the CORE by practicing my putting.  It helped.

A Trip to Lakewood for Dad's Eyes

Written on 9-29-22.

        It turns out that we are not playing with Greg this Sunday, but Eric and I chose to play anyway.  Greg texted us to let us know that Nan’s sister suddenly died.  He gave no details.

*Eric and I chose not to play either.  We woke up to rain, and the forecast predicted thunderstorms later in the day for Durango, so we chose to pass on the golf that day.

Written on 10-16-22.

It’s been a while.  It’s a Sunday, and that’s the reason I’m writing.  Have I had time to write?  Yes, but I haven’t taken the time. However, I have been busy, too.  I recently took a trip to Lakewood to help out with Dad’s second cataract surgery.  It all went well, and we had the whole family together for a day and a night when Bev drove up for the surgery day.  It was complete with a visit with Joe and Tammy at Tacos Selene (a new place Joe had discovered and recommended), and I got a lot of chores done for Dad, too.  Guy and I played golf at Troy’s golf course again, and I will write about that later.  We played the full 18 holes this time. 

We had a relaxed conversation with James and Casey this afternoon.  We are just beginning to have discussions about their wedding day (10-14-23).  I don’t think I have written about it in here yet, but James proposed to Casey at a Rare Americans (a Canadian band) concert.  We are super excited to have Casey join our family!

Danielle is back in Albuquerque after completing her fifth fire season, her third at Boise.  We were unable to make the trip this time, but we are so glad she is home and safe again.  I am hearing she applied for and got the job of being a nanny on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she is applying for yet another nanny position.  She would be very good at that. 

On to golf…

I have played three times since the last time I wrote, so I will catch this up chronologically.  First, I got to play 18 holes with Guy as I wrote above, which is always a dream.  I decided to have us work together this time instead of competing.  We were a little wrecked after I picked him up at 2:15 AM at the airport, but we both caught up on sleep the day after, sleeping in until around 10:30.  Despite that, my sleep schedule was now off, so I was tuckered out.  

We chose to get eight pars and...

Playing at Pagosa Springs

Written on 9-28-22.

        Today is Casey’s birthday.  It’s on the 28th, so she was already a member of the “28 Club” that I became a part of when I had my brain surgery.  

I am at home today, and I am relaxing.  I got a lot of cleaning done yesterday and a lot of stuff off of my “To Do” list, too.  I am tired today (I’ve only walked Kody and gone shopping), so it’s nice to have a bit of a reprieve.  I still have many items on my list, but I feel I can relax a bit today.

I go to my physical therapy appointment for my shoulder at 9:00 tomorrow, too.  Hopefully, it will be resolved, but it has been feeling better lately.  I can go to sleep on it now, so that’s a change.  At least I could still play golf this whole time, because it has taken a while to get some physical therapy set up.

On to golf…

I played with Grant and Eric this past Saturday at Pagosa Springs.  It was fantastic!  All of us camped at the West Fork Campground the night before, and the (their last name) ended up in the spot right across from Amanda and Eric.  B and I were set up just around the loop, just a short walk away.  It was beautiful there, and we all hope to go there again.

The golf was okay.  We started on the blue tees thanks to silly Eric’s suggestion, but we learned on hole #7 of Ponderosa that those were the farthest tees.  Boy, did we struggle, and Grant...