Well, Guess What Happened. He Chipped It In!

Written on 8-2-24.

     B, Kody, and I are hanging out in the living room at Vallecito.  We head back home in a couple of hours, and we are wringing out the last bit of freedom from this summer.  Once again, a cabin in the mountains is the best place to do that.  We plan on ordering a “take and bake” pizza on our way home at Elmore’s, and I am so excited for the traditional peach cobbler later tonight, too.  We meet with Jim and Sylvia at 7:00 to have our annual event.  It is always soooo tasty, and Sylvia always says it’s because it is made with love.

I drove back to Aztec yesterday to meet the landscapers.  We are hiring (company name) to reseed our lawn with buffalo grass.  Nick and Wilbur (not their real names) are young (mid-twenties? early thirties?) and don’t communicate in a manner I would prefer, but we hired them anyway.  Quimby (not his real name either), who had done some work for us before, recommended them.  The sod scraper they rented broke its belt, so they had to...

An Update on Mom and Dad

Written on 7-29-24.

     It’s a Monday morning, and I am watering the Edgerton’s lawn and some trees.  They hired me to do some of their irrigation, and I took the job since I have little to do before my work begins.  

We got back from visiting Mom and Dad, the Gerbers, and all the Lamberts yesterday.  It was a wonderful visit, but I have a dreadful feeling that I won’t see my father alive again.  He is showing more symptoms, although they are few, of his kidney failure.  He is more bloated around his midsection.  He is sleeping more and more, and that is saying a lot for him.  I just texted Guy and Bev to have one of our sib chats about this.  I don’t think Guy knows the extent of it all.

Mom is not doing too well either.  We had a few days where she wouldn’t get out of bed before our visit.  Bev had a heart-to-heart with her, though, and it has been better since.  Her knees, however, are much worse.  She is getting OT and PT sessions, but when we were there, she never straightened her knees or stood on her own.  She never walked on her own with her walker either, and she was able to do that at our last visit.  We set up the little pedal thingy beneath her recliner, but she only did it for a couple of minutes before she complained of more pain.  We spoke with Erin, the new Erica, and we are working on getting the pain medication right and more movement, but it looks grim.

We did, however, like I wrote above, have a fantastic visit.  It wasn’t all bad.  We took them up to the Country Kitchen and wheeled them out to the deck while we were there.  They loved the sunshine and fresh air.  Then we played one game of Sequence.  It was Mom and I taking on Dad and B.  Mom struggled at first, but then she rallied and made some really good moves.  We won!  

On Sunday, we took them out to the courtyard.  Dad slept quite a bit out there, but Mom loved it.  We wondered why we hadn’t done it before; it’s closer to their apartment.  Emily and family came for lunch, and we ordered Jersey Mike’s.  Before they came, Bev brought Mom communion, and I snapped a picture to share with the family.  I think Bev really appreciated getting that.    

Guy is in Costa Rica for ShyShay’s marine biology course and a vacation.  She is taking a college course that is super hands-on.  What a great way to start her college career!  He sent pictures of her and her crew resting on a boat (sounds like they have long days), playing volleyball with some locals, and enjoying a stunning sunset on the beach.  She will remember this time for the rest of her life.

The Conclusion of the Ely/White Pine Experience

Written on 7-21-24.

     On the back, I won the most points I could possibly get on the first two holes with a longer drive, two greens in regulation, and two pars.  We figured out during this round that the most you could get on a par four was six points, a par three was seven, and a par five was eight.  Then Eric won the next three holes, and the momentum switched to his favor.  I grappled it right back for the final four holes, however, scoring four pars in a row.

Everything clicked.  I was in the zone.  Drives were long and straight.  Approaches landed and rolled up onto the greens.  Pitches landed close to the hole.  Putts for par were solid, confident, and smooth.  It felt wonderful.  I’ve played so many bad rounds to get to that feeling and that kind of a performance.

If I go back to where the controversy happened, and I give him those nine points, it would...

White Pine Controversy and Dueling Three-Foot Putts

Written on 7-20-24.

     B is resting next to me on our bed.  It’s 12:06 on a Saturday, and we drove home from Kanab yesterday.  B cleaned out the camper on the inside this morning while I slept.  I plan on washing the outside after watching The Open and getting some writing done.

We had a fantastic trip while launching the Edgertons on their six week adventure to British Columbia.  We went to the Great Basin in Nevada.  Then we went a little farther to Ely (ee lee), Nevada to stay at the Cave Lake Campground and play golf at White Pine.  

We went our separate ways a couple of days ago after having a final lunch together in Ely.  We had so much fun with them, and we felt satisfied knowing our last big trip of the summer was a winner.

On to golf…

I played with Herman (not his real name) twice before the trip. I am determined to play at Pinon Hills as much as possible to earn my money’s worth from my membership again.  I did really well getting rounds in last season, and I hope to do it again this season.  I am about halfway with my rounds now.

Three of the four nine hole rounds went the way they typically go.  Even on nine holes, Herman can beat me by as many as ten strokes.  He makes pars and I make bogeys.  On one round, however, I was able to tie him.  I actually beat him once before on the front with a score of 44 to his 46.  For this round, I finished with a par on hole #9 to match his 43.  It was marvelous.

Not only did I tie him, but I was able to...