James and Danielle Get Some Gifts

Written on 2-1-25.

     I wanted to put in here what I gave to James and Danielle from Mom and Dad after Mom died.  I grabbed some stuff when we cleaned out their apartment, and I thought the gifts were fitting.  I snagged all of Dad’s pocket knives.  First, I just got the two that were next to his recliner, but later I found a bunch more.  I gave Danielle one of the Swiss Army knives and I gave James one that had a Cutlass, a sailing ship.

Next, I found many religious items on Mom’s table between the recliners.  I spotted many St. Anthony medals/necklaces, so I gave them one each as well.  He was the saint outside their door that came from their garden in the backyard. 

Last week, I went through all of the stuff I brought back and had spread out all over the computer room floor.  I am back at home today, and it’s 8:36 at night.  I am sitting in a decluttered computer room as I type this.  That was the last of the “stuff” to go through from Mom and Dad, and it was difficult.  I put it off for weeks.  Actually, I put off some of it again by moving some of the journals/diaries to a box that I put in James’s closet.

On to golf…

I haven’t played due to the cold weather.  The highs have been in the 30’s and 40’s, and the lows have been in the single digits.  Brrrrrrr!  I have been preoccupied with my new position, too.  In other words, it has not been conducive to playing golf, but it hardly ever is in the month of January.  I do remember having a January one year when Bruce, C.J., and I played many times at Hidden Valley.

One change I have made is keeping my golf clubs inside.  I want to keep them nice and warm and happy when I am not playing in the winter.  I believe it will keep the grips healthier.  Who knows.  I like to look at them, too.  They are right behind me, and it makes me smile that they are in here.

I bought a new golf glove using the silly and even more expensive Asurion No Sweat Protection Plan.

More on that later…

A New Year-Here I Go Again!

Written on 1-6-25.

      Here I go again!

Written on 1-31-25.

I am at Park Avenue Elementary School, and I am sitting at “my desk” in Room 502.  I have written my lesson plans, rescheduled a meeting, and cleaned up after the projects from the past week.  I have a lot of time to fill between morning duty and my first group.  Today is Friday, and it’s the last day of January.  Phew.  I am now able to write a longer entry in here before the month ends.

I just sent a picture of my new Puns calendar to Pupdates (our text group for the Swopertons).  It said, “We’re afraid for this calendar…its days are numbered.”

Since my own days are numbered, I thought I would bring my MacBook Air to school today to get started on Golf Diary-Part 23 for this year.  I am amazed at how my first month of work is already done.  It went by as fast as a rabbit running off my lawn when I growl or yell at it.

I will start by telling about the new job.  The CORE did not get the funds for this year (sniff, sniff), so after eight wonderful years, I said goodbye and started doing something else.  I am the long-term sub for the Gifted Program after taking over for Neily, Matt and Becca’s and James and Casey’s wedding planner.  She and her husband moved to Albuquerque to take on other roles and be closer to their boys.  

I also brought my MacBook to send an e-mail to Isabel from Newcomb Elementary.  She and I have been going back and forth with multiple replies after I sent her our Prezi for the first time this year.  I wanted to share the STEM Outreach Academy that Camille and JoDee are starting, since we lost the grant money for the ECLIPSE Grant.  I am stopping to send that reply now.

Back.  That feels good to have that done.  I hope to share that with other schools where I built relationships when I worked for CORE-NMSU.

Okay, one of my groups is coming in soon.

Until next time…

Mom and Dad Both Pass Away Near the End of 2024

Written on 1-3-25.

     I am sitting at the dining table up at the cabin.  B is settling in for a nap in the family room, and we both have our fires going for warmth.  We have done some decluttering in our home recently, and B found an iTunes GC for $10, so she offered it to me.  I am listening to some of the songs I bought including Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Dream Academy.  It’s from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when they are going through the museum.  Now, it’s playing This Christmas by Donny Hathaway, and the fireplace actually is burning bright right now.  I recently fell in love with that song after hearing it on Amazon Music multiple times the past few years.

This Christmas.  This Christmas.  It’s been a..

The Broncos Beat the Chiefs...Not!

Written on 11-10-24.

     I am in my/our computer room, and I am listening to the Broncos.  They are playing the Chiefs in Kansas City today, and they have the lead…for now.  The score is 14-13.

I thought of some other things to write about after my last major victory.  The first thing is Herman (not his real name) has had many ailments when we’ve played this season.  

*Broncos had the Chiefs defeated with a 35-yard field goal.  Then a Chief blocked it, and it was over.  The Broncos lost.  What the heck!

We have joked about Herman's problems.  It started with a bad back.  He would play to help loosen it up and get out of the house.  He would tease me by saying this would be a great day to beat him.  It wasn’t.

The next malady was a cold.  He sounded terrible.  Once again, he reminded me this would be an excellent opportunity to beat him.  Then he shot a 39.  It doesn’t matter what is hurting him. 

He also would work on his game by experimenting with different things.  No differences ever in his scores, though.

Written on 11-17-24.

     This last time he figured out that his gout was acting up. I wasn't happy to hear this, of course, but this was what would eventually be his downfall.  He was still able to shoot a 41, but with my six strokes, I was able to defeat him this time.   

I was proud of how I held my mental state together during the last four or five holes. I started to get ahead of myself by thinking I might just do it this time, but then I caught myself.  I even said where I was, 

which hole I was on, what the date was, and what I was doing in a couple of places. That happened on #16, for sure. I also tried to calm myself by counting backwards from 5 to 1, something I had learned from Dawn Grant.  Both of those things really helped me to stay focused on what I was doing.

We really had a good time.  We always enjoy our banter.  When we were playing #9, I had some difficulties.  I didn't get off the tee, and then I shanked another shot out to the desert rough. When I finally got up to the green, I wondered where Herman's ball was.  I had passed him up.  He was near the bunkers and about 60 yards away for his third shot. He made a sarcastic comment about how he was always waiting on me. I clapped back and said, “That's never stopped you before.” 

We laughed and laughed.  He said he thought he had really burned me with that comment, but when I had a retort, he was blown away and it really cracked him up.

Until next time…