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...

That's Better!

Written on 5-3-26.

        It’s the Sunday before May 4th, the HUGE Star Wars date of the year.  May the 4th be with you all…tomorrow.

Because it is not the 4th, I am going to catch up on some more golf for this entry.

Back to golf…

I have been saving the scorecard from when Guy was here until now.  That was the round we played at Riverview with the father and son duo from Gallup.  When we played the back nine, we had to leave early, because we had to get to the Edgerton’s house for some hors d’oeuvres.  Eric wanted to see and visit with Guy while he was here, so we arranged a 5:30 meetup at their house. 

After we played this hole, we left to make it there on time.  It was hole #16, and I had played pretty well during this round, like I wrote before.  This hole was no exception.  I launched my drive to the area past the cart path.  I have never done that before from the blues or the whites.  This drive was from the whites.  I was left with a pitch of 80 yards.  I got my ball to about 20 feet to the right of the hole.  I made a good faith effort for my birdie putt and ended up finishing with one final par with Guy.  Phew!  It was a relief to play better in front of Guy after the disaster at the “public Augusta National.”

I have not played since then, but I did try.  I reached out to Herman (not his real name) on Friday last weekend.  He told me his son-in-law and his daughter had drawn tags for turkeys up in the mountains.  That’s twice now he has responded he was going out of town.  No big deal, though.  I should be playing more than I am. 

Patrick (last name) told me he was ready to play after his back surgery, and I had planned to include him, but I chose to get stuff done at home instead.

I have been working out regularly.  My ten workouts with Matthew (last name) ended two Tuesdays ago.  I have managed to keep up with it, though, but I don’t go as hard as I do when working out with him.  

I weighed myself today, and I am down to 209.4!  Happy to be in that range again.  This past round with Matthew included better eating for better results.  Diet has so much to do with weight loss.

I wrote about this today, because I can hear golf calling me.  Hey, Patrick!  Where have you been?  I miss you.  

My hope is to get into a routine for this summer.  Go to work, go play golf after.  I can see myself playing on Fridays when I don’t have shifts usually. 

Until next time…

My First Birdie of the Season

Written on 3-29-26.

        It’s a Sunday afternoon now, and Belinda and I are parked in our front entry with Kody.  He is lying down between us.  

I moved inside to watch the PGA.  It was the Houston Children’s Open, and Gary Woodland won!  He hadn’t won since the U.S. Open in 2019.  Now, he is a five-time champion on the tour.  He had a brain surgery for a lesion.  He then had PTSD off and on.  So glad to see another recovery from a brain surgery, of course.  He is an inspiration to many, and I can include myself.  It’s wonderful to see another golfer come back.  I was thankful to come back and just be able to play again.  Imagine getting back to the winner’s circle after something like that.  Good for him.  So inspiring!

When Guy and I played, I managed a birdie on the first hole on the back nine.  Here’s the description of my first birdie for the year 2026!  How fun that I was with Guy when it happened.  

Riverview Golf Course-Hole #10-Birdie #1 of 2026  

I was hammering my driver, and this hole was no different.  The scorecard says it’s a 340 yard par four, and I hit it to 90 yards.  It’s also slightly uphill.  My ball was in the middle of the fairway, and I could see the red marker for 100 yards plainly, because I was just past it.

I chose my pitching wedge for the approach, and the ball was above my feet a bit, so I choked down on the club.  Two things could have happened to cause my ball to end up a foot away from the hole.  I couldn’t tell, because I was below the hole, and I couldn’t see.  One, my ball could have landed off the green and hit the hill.  Then it may have rolled down and settled just past the hole.  Two, it could have landed and rolled forward.  I feel it was the former, because it felt long when I hit it.

Who cares?  Either way, it was a tap-in birdie for the first one this year.  Hooray!

Until next time…

The Siblings' Visits!

Written on 3-26-25.

        It’s quiet time here at the Swope household.  B is resting next to me in our bed on a Thursday afternoon.  The Lamberts are here!  Daryl is watching a movie in our living room while Adi is being forced to take a nap in Danielle’s old room.  Not sure where Bev chose to have her quiet time.

Our visit with Guy was great…just great!  He got to spend some time with the kids and Rowan in Albuquerque, but we decided to drive back to Aztec on Friday night.  That was wonderful for two reasons.  First, Rowan and Casey still felt awful from the same cold that Belinda had.  Belinda still has it, but it’s only an occasional cough now.  Second, we got to wake up in Aztec, so Guy’s stay felt longer here.  

We had breakfast at Rubia’s, and it worked out so well, because I saw three guys from...