A Putting Warm-Up Turns Into an Competition in Wisconsin

Written on 8-1-23.

        I am sitting next to B on our last leg to Albuquerque on a Southwest airplane.  We are tired, but we are determined to get home to Kody tonight.  I am betting we will get home at around 9:00.  B is reading a book on her iPad, and her tray is littered with things like unopened Southwest snack bags, my iPhone, and a small bag of unwrapped Kit Kat bars I bought in the Dallas Airport.

It was a really pleasant and full vacation, but now that it’s August I know B will be aching to get ready for school.  She starts on Monday, the 7th.

The Farmers Market meal was a highlight for sure.  I bought some horseradish at the Piggly Wiggly to bring out the flavors of the meat.  The pies were heavenly, and they were made better with the vanilla ice cream.

I have to shut down now, because they just made an announcement that we will be experiencing some turbulence for the rest of the flight.  

Until next time…

Written on 8-5-23.

The turbulence was fine, but the pilot had to take it around one more time to get us to land.  We made it home before...

A Wisconsin Vacation Photo Review

Written on 7-29-23.

        I am sitting in the basement of our VRBO in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  We came her for a Swoperton reunion, and the main event is/was the Air Show in Osh Kosh this week.  We went on the hottest day, Thursday, and it was so very hot, but it was so cool, too.  The Swopertons know and understand that Eric and Kyle are the two who get jazzed the most when it comes to anything aviation related, but everybody had a great time.  

Becca organized an album for all of us online to link our photos, and they have trickled in throughout the week to show what we have done.  Let me look at them to give an idea of what the past week was like.

First up, I see a picture of James and Casey kissing out by the fire pit while James is holding a sparkler someone found (I think it was Eric).  We had numerous conversations by that fire pit, but the twins didn’t like getting smokey, so we have since moved to the gas fire pit by the house.  We’ve had multiple conversations up there, too, of course.

I see a picture of Matt lounging and reading a book up on the top deck.  He joined the 50+ crowd up there when we first arrived.  Belinda and I got a picture sitting up there all relaxed and happy, too.  It was such a good picture of the two of us I shared it with my family.

I see pictures of Kyle and Eric with that silly visor that has...

Breaking 90! Now, to Break 85

Written on 7-8-23.

        I am sitting in our cool bedroom (the new mini-split is working well) watching the U.S. Women’s Open.  It’s being played at Pebble Beach for the first time.  James, Casey, Neily, and Belinda are working on the wedding, so I took this time to write.

I have been going through the stuff I brought home from Mom and Dad’s.  I have gone through FLC stuff like college graduation cards, the diploma holder (without the diploma), brochures from California from senior year spring break, Denver Nuggets stuff like programs and pictures from magazines and old tickets, and the random receipt from when Dad bought the Buick Family Estate Wagon for me.  Now, I am delving into the papers that they had printed out from e-mails and the internet.  

One of the small treasures I have found is a $50.00 savings bond from Grandma Ruth; she gave it to me as a graduation gift from college.  I hope to cash it in and put it towards my new irons.

On to golf…

I broke 90 finally two rounds ago.  I was super happy with that, and I have seen my scores slowly go down this season stroke by stroke.  I shot quite a few 92’s, and then a 91, and I shot that 90 against Shawn recently.  The best part (or maybe the worst depending on how I look at it) was that I scored an eight on the par three 12th, so I could have broken 85, too.  That was encouraging.

I am still working on taking a healthy divot for all of my iron swings, but it hasn’t been working out so well.  I may take a divot, but it’s a straight pull sometimes.  Often, I don’t take a divot at all.  I think my iron swings are the worst part of my game.  I am driving it generally well (not super long, but...), and I rarely have three putts, usually getting only one per round.  I escape most bunkers easily, too.  I am not hitting many greens in regulation, however.  

My asthma has been worse, since I have been back from Lakewood and Colorado Springs when the Canadian fires were spewing smoke all over the state of Colorado.  I use my rescue inhaler more often, and I am taking the recommended two puffs of my Advair, too.  What a bummer!  I feel it when I walk 18 holes at Pinon Hills, of course.  It’s always hard to walk in the summer heat there, but it’s much more difficult now.  Somehow, I manage.

I have been working out fairly regularly, and I have lost some weight and gained some strength.  I hope to continue that, of course.  Mostly, it’s the eating.  I have refrained from having desserts after dinner, or anything for that matter.

I set a tee time again for this Wednesday at 7:50 AM.  Herman (not his real name), Shawn, and C.J. have all said they are coming.  I hope I play well that round, because that is the last time I will play before we go to Wisconsin for a Swoperton vacation.  It would be super to have something fun to write about.  Eric and I plan on playing at least one time during the week, too. 

I have been looking at the Speed Sticks lately online, but I could also just use what I have.  I could swing the hoe again, and I could use the impact bag, too.  I know I have lost some distance, so I need to do something to get it back.  I have been playing from the whites, and I know my scores would go up if I played from the blues.  

I know I am a left-leaning swinger of my golf clubs now.  Doing that gives me much better consistency.  I bought a new umbrella at teeprize.com this morning.  My Hard Rock Cancun one finally broke (Ugh!), so I thought it would be the perfect place to get a new one.  I only pay around $30.00 for shipping and handling.  I don’t want to play without an umbrella.  It’s one of the best ways to beat the heat.

Until next time…

An Incredible Gift for My 12th Birthday

Continued from 6-30-23.

        Unfortunately, I won’t play on this trip.  No golf courses nearby except Bernalillo, and that’s about an hour away.

        I played with Herman (not his real name), C.J., and Patrick at Pinon Hills before we came here.  That was on my 12th brain surgery birthday two days ago like I had written about earlier.

The best birthday gift I received that day was beating Herman on the front nine!  He said he was ten over when we were on #10’s teeing ground, and I ended up being eight over.  I teased him by saying I was basking in the light of having a lower score than he did after those nine holes as I held my arms open and looked up at the sky.  He laughed.

He said his brother-in-law, John (not his real name either), had kept him up the night before due to bathroom troubles.  John has Down’s Syndrome.  I didn’t even know he had a brother-in-law with Down's living with him until he mentioned this.  

Herman moves pretty slowly most of the time, but he was really dragging on this round.  I told him after the round that he was like a zombie on the front nine.

Well, he woke up on the back, and my play slowed down.  He shot two over, and I didn’t even get a legal score on #18 after my third shot out of the greenside bunker went sailing into the trees behind the green.  I also really loused up the par three #16, scoring a seven.  Still, I am more optimistic about being able to beat Herman.  I am beginning to believe it’s possible, and that’s more than half the battle.  He just has to play really badly, and I need to play out of my mind.

It was great to see Patrick and C.J., and I was glad they could join us.  C.J. only played nine holes to help him get warmed up for his ENMU fundraiser.  Patrick ended up having a bone spur in his knee, but he was able to play by riding in a cart.  He didn’t do too well, but he was joyful to be out.  This was Herman and Patrick’s first meeting.

We played earlier (8:10 AM) due to the heat.  I managed to get a tee time, and I believe things are slowing down a bit at Pinon Hills after all the curiosity about the construction and remodeling.  Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to get a tee time early in the morning in the summer.  I have even set another tee time for this Wednesday at 7:40 AM, and I invited Herman, C.J., and Eric.  Herman replied this morning that he thought he could play again.  Good.  Another opportunity to beat him (wink, wink).

That’s about it.  I am just so happy to get another opportunity to write.

Until next time…