A Warm-up Practice Round Before Hillcrest

Written on 6-28-26.

        I am relaxing on our bed after a weekend in Vallecito with the Banashes and the Edgertons.  It was so wonderful.

  

*The LPGA is going on the TV in the background.  It’s the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Brooke Henderson is leading at -10.

  

Golf has been very good to/for me lately.  I had a moment of despair, but it went away quickly. 

First, though, it is Matt Frings’ birthday tomorrow.  Kyle wished him a happy birthday today by mistake.  That was funny.  Danielle took out Rob for his birthday in Santa Fe last night.  They looked handsome and beautiful in the pictures she sent.  

Noah proposed to Courtney (Kelly and Rocky’s daughter) this weekend, too.  Those pictures were amazing!  He had a professional photographer standing by.  They make a beautiful couple.  Will there be a wedding in Rob and Danielle’s future?  Kyle and Mel’s?  Probably? Possibly.

On to golf…

*The TV has switched coverage to the Travelers Championship.  Scottie Scheffler is leading by one stroke over Viktor Hovland, -20 to -19.

Eric called me yesterday to go practice at Pinon Hills on Thursday morning before we played at Hillcrest.  It’s a real turnaround after what I thought about how he felt about golf lately.  He just needed to play to find out where...

Hot, Hot Father's Day at Paliza Near Ponderosa, NM

Written on 6-21-26.

        We are the the Paliza Campground just past Ponderosa, NM, and we are at the Owl Group Site (1 of 2 group sites) this Father’s Day.  Belinda found it and booked it for the Swopertongs, and it has been incredible.  We have an entire campground all to ourselves with multiple spots, bathrooms, and a huge pavilion.  It’s a good thing we have so many spots, because we have six parties.  I’ll say who they are by the order in which they came.  The first ones here were James, Casey, and Rowan.  They picked a spot overlooking the group site.  Then Belinda, Kody, and I came and took the spot next to them.  Next came the Edgertons and the Frings.  Eric and Amanda drove here with their RV.  Matt, Becca and Ben came in two separate vehicles.   They had just spent  some time up at the cabin in Vallecito, and that’s why they had their GMC truck and their Kia.  Kyle, Mel, and Kyle’s dogs came with his Maverick and its cool, little set-up after that.  Finally, Rob and Danielle came a few hours later, since they took the long way from Santa Fe.  

All in all, six spots were taken.  Lots of choices, thankfully.  Oh, and it was...

Herman Reunion

Written on 6-6-26.

        Our Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary has come and gone.  It was June 1st.  They would have been married 63 years.  They got married in 1963.  Bev, Guy, and I acknowledged it in our Sibateers’ text thread.  Then John, Mom’s brother, texted us later that night.  That was thoughtful and sweet.  He said he was there when they got married, but we were not.  Such a kidder. 

B and I are camping in the most marvelous place today.  We have finally made it to Creede, CO, to visit Todd and Zoe and their quaint cabin.  We are off Miners’ Creek Road, and they have owned 10 acres with the creek that runs through them for 21 years.  I am sitting above the creek now in my camping chair.  Ah, life is sweet.

We took a hike for about an hour and a half this afternoon.  We trudged up Rat Creek Road, and we saw remnants of mines from years ago.  It took longer, because we would stop to hear the stories of their past hikes with Natasha and her friends.  They have owned the property for...

Gene Torres Golf Course

Written on 5-28-26.

        We drove, and we talked some more.  We even used part of that time to talk about politics.  We drove past the campground to go to Las Vegas, so we would be less than an hour away when we were done.  I drove an awful lot that day; Eric, the twins, Kody and I drove to Rob’s house in Santa Fe for dinner that night, too.

The pro recognized me from our phone calls.  He said Apple Maps has done this to other people.  We grabbed some breakfast burritos before we played.  Greg treated, since I had driven so much.  Then we played.

The course was rough.  It had weeds and grass growing in the bunkers, and the sand was more like gravel.  It was patchy and similar to the “dog track” (Carter’s words for the course we played in Colorado Springs).

We had fun, though.  We played decently.  He had many bogeys from the start, and the he cooled off more near the end.  I had a triple, a double, and a bogey on the first three holes, so I foolishly said I would get a par on the next hole.  Nope, another double. I managed two pars on holes six and seven, though.  I would have had a par on the par 5 #8, but I had a blind shot to the green over a hill.  If I would have hit the same shot towards where I thought the flag was, I might have had a par…or possibly a birdie.  I made a long putt for a bogey there, though.

Afterwards, we went to the famous bakery there, Charlie’s Spic and Span Bakery, to grab some goodies for that night’s dinner.  The chocolate eclairs were delightful.

I have a day off on Tuesday, so I might finally get to play with Herman (not his real name still).  I will be sure to let you know.

Until next time…

Memorial Day Becomes Familial Day!

Written on 5-27-26.

        I have been busy.  I’ve been working, and that now includes the eBay stuff.  It’s not really work, but it keeps me busy at times.  I had to deal with the sale of some of our cameras this month.  We sold our two Canon digital cameras, and we also sold Dale's Nikon camera with all of its extra lenses.  That was a cool item.  

We had some problems with the lesser expensive Canon.  The buyer found some scratches on the lens, so I just sent him a refund tonight.  I’ve enjoyed learning about eBay.  I like the challenge of learning something new.  Just like the garage sales we have had, it’s great to get rid of stuff we don’t want and get some cash for it, also.  

We just had all the kids here for Memorial Day weekend.  We were able to spend lots of time with our little man.  He is walking everywhere now.  We took him to the splash pad here, but it ended up being just a warm-up this time.  Later, I know he will enjoy it more.

I never got to see...