One-Word Wednesday

I’m back shooting disc golf now that my thumb joint feels better. Here C.J. tees off during yesterday’s Southwest Handicap Mini at Community Park.

Return!

The Mister putts.

Eric tests the wind direction.

My baby boy sails in a par putt.

Half and Half Putting

Ready to practice

The Mister and I attended a wedding (casual attire; loved it!) last Saturday afternoon about a half hour from Huntsville. When we were done, I called C.J. to see if he’d like us to visit and take him out to dinner.

Is chocolate my favorite food? Yes, indeed!

So we drove north. With about a half hour or so to kill before we were hungry, we, naturally, first went to Eastham-Thomason Park for the guys to toss some discs. While the Mister chatted up another student who was playing, the kid and I hung around the practice basket and talked while he putted.

C.J.’s been plagued by poor putting lately, and his initial short-distance attempts failed to clang the chains with any consistency. So he decided to try a new approach.

Hi, Mom!

Let’s call it blind putting. C.J. took two putters and, without looking at the basket, sent each on its way, one at a time. Without fail, he canned the second putt after completely blowing the first.

This one misses.

It was pretty funny! C.J. would throw that first disc, and I would tell him which way he missed. Then . . . boom! . . . the second one would find chains and the tray.

Made it!

Of course, making 50 percent of your close putts isn’t a great number when you’re playing in a disc golf tournament. And I’m pretty sure that the kid’s doubles partner, Eric, won’t approve of this new technique if they play together at Am Worlds in April.

But it sure beats missing so much of the time!

Excavation Update

Believe it or not, this looked worse.

When I decided to cut down from five to three blog posts a week, I wrote that I planned to spend some of those two nonwriting days decluttering and organizing. I’m sure that you’ve spent many sleepless nights wondering about my progress. Right?

I’m chagrined . . . but not at all surprised . . . to report that the results definitely are mixed. My biggest project so far has been decluttering the comfy, red chair in my office . . . for at least the third time (oy!). Yes, it’s the proverbial treadmill of my small space. It’s just too easy to throw something on it just for a day. Until all those items pile up for far too many months.

Shredding, recycling, and need-to-organize piles are on my office floor.

Working on the chair has been akin to an archeological dig. As I unearth layers, it’s like strolling through the eras of my life. There are lots of photos of the boys from back in the day when I actually made prints (aka pre-digital cameras). Piles of papers from as early as 2003 seem to mock me. Some actually need to be kept (in a place where I can readily find them), but most require either recycling or shredding.

A classic!

I laughed out loud when I found the manual for my old pager. I remember buying it in 1997 thinking it was such cutting-edge technology. Glad I didn’t invest in beeper companies!

I didn’t hesitate to toss the manual into the recycling pile. After all, if I really need it, there’s an online version (which was easily found by our pal Eric). But it did make me wonder one thing:

Will I find the pager when I finish sifting through the rest of the stuff on the chair?!?

One-Word Wednesday

Our friends Jessica and Eric had a baby on January 9! My baby got to hold theirs last Sunday.

Ted!

The Mister looks like a pro. Welcome to the world, Ted!

Frosty Photography and Disc Golf

The Mister putts uphill.

Last Saturday was a bone-chilling kind of day. It was 34 degrees with a blustery 16 mph north wind. Add Houston’s traditional humidity (the dampness made it feel even worse) and gray skies, and it led to one conclusion: Stay inside all day (well, after my early, icy-cold four-mile jog/walk, of course).

The disc saw Steve’s mean face and knew it better land in the tray.

So, naturally, when the Mister got a text from our pal Eric telling him that some of the usual suspects were playing disc golf at Community Park, he was rarin’ to go. Say what? Why not be smart and stay warm?

Blame it on his Nike FuelBand. The Mister wanted to get his 10,000 steps in, and this seemed like a fun way to do it. Where “fun” equals “frozen fingers and toes.”

Eric lasers in his putt.

I didn’t quite have in my 10K steps on my FuelBand, so I figured, what the heck? I joined the gang of six for the final half-dozen or so of the 18 holes (I was smart enough to wait until they were almost done, of course) and snapped photos with my little Nikon 1 V1 (30-110mm lens) until it literally froze at the penultimate hole (I had to pop the battery out and back in to get it to work again).

Michelle throws from an awkward position.

Those steps were frigid ones, especially after my sneakers got wet. Man, it was cold! I was wearing my warmest coat (my older son’s letterman jacket), earwarmer, and mitten-gloves to no avail. I hated that wind chill when I lived in Chicago, and I especially despise it now. We have to endure some of the worst summers on the planet (which extend into spring and fall); it doesn’t seem fair that we should have to deal with cold, too.

Mother Nature? Let’s talk!

Blake shows great form on his upshot.

Despite feeling that I was part of the idiots parade, it was nice being out with pals and surrounded by such pretty greenery. The park features lots of pine trees and bushes. Those make for great photo backgrounds.

Jeff floats his disc through the air.

When all was said and done, the disc golfers seemed glad that they had played. I guess it’s never too cold to throw.

But my Nikon 1 thinks it can be too cold to shoot pics!

Battery Recharge

Back to his usual position on the supersofa.

Look who brightened up our weekend!

When we Skyped with our younger son last Thursday night, we talked about him catching a ride with RJ’s dad, who was picking up his roommate the next day to bring home for a visit. The kid decided that he wanted to reconnect and recharge. It was great to get a hug in person!

Netflix streaming has led to addictions.

The first thing he did was plop on the couch and queue up the final season of “Scrubs” on Netflix. The kid loves watching that show, and on more than one occasion, I’ve been caught up in his marathon viewing sessions. This was no exception.

Zzzzzzzz!

Of course, he is a college student. Mainly, a tired one. After a couple episodes, he succumbed to the allure of soft pillows and snoozed for a few hours.

A crowded card: Hiral (hi!), Chris, Adam, Eric, the kid, Steve, the Mister, and Marcus

With the next day being Saturday, only one activity could fit the bill: Disc golf, of course.

The Mister putts.

The Mister and the kid joined bestie Eric and five others for a round of 18 at the nearby River Pointe Church’s course.

Easy-peasy!

Even though he hadn’t played much since we moved him in at SHSU, my son managed to win by a stroke.

Talking strategy

It was fun watching the collegian interact with his older buddies again. And it always tugs at my heartstrings to watch him and his devoted dad together. Those two are closerthanthis!

After that, he played a round at Tom Bass with his other disc golf bestie, Glen (the highlight was that the Mister and I got to visit with the ever-lovely Kelly and a snoozing baby Jonas; little Glen was napping in his room).

Until we meet again, this smile will have to last for awhile.

Before we knew it, we were taking RJ and our son back to Huntsville on Sunday afternoon (after watching a thrilling Houston Texans victory). The kid got a chance to relax, knock the rust off his disc golf game, and even do his homework and prepare for the week (yes, I actually witnessed him studying!).

And the Mister and I got to spend time with our beloved baby boy once again. Totally win-win!

Floating Frisbees

The long reach of our fearless leader Eric makes this an easy putt.

When I’m shooting disc golf almost every Tuesday at our Southwest Handicap Mini, some of my favorite photos are snapped when the players are putting.

Chris’ putt is about to clang the chains.

Part of the reason is that it’s easy to keep them and the disc in focus. People don’t think you’re a good photographer when your pics are blurry.

Tony lasers one in.

But I also like how the fast shutter speed freezes the disc in the air.

Bradley drops in his putt.

It’s like they’re floating. Which is a good thing when the disc ends up in the basket.

A watery grave

In the lake, not so much.

iPhone Photos Friday, Skeeters Style

Our view (behind the net) of the field

Last year I wrote several blog posts about watching our community’s then-new minor league baseball team, the Sugar Land Skeeters. I’ll never forget seeing history being made when seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens pitched to his son Koby. All in all, it was a terrific experience.

The Mister and I have been back enjoying Skeeters’ games this sophomore season. It’s been great rooting for a team that wins many more games than they lose (unlike our poor, pitiful Houston Astros). They even made the playoffs as the Atlantic League Freedom Division’s first-half champions!

Know what’s even better than all of that?

Ahhhhh!

We’re sitting in the comfy seats! We’ve moved from last year’s right-field seats to the more-exclusive (and pricier) Diamond Deck. That’s where our motley crew of six (which includes our pal Eric, who spearheaded the season-ticket idea) sits around a table above the field boxes behind home plate. We’re always in the shade, and the chairs are cushy.

Are mosquitos green?

Even Swatson, who is one of the team’s mascots, comes over to visit with us (or squeak at us, which is the noise he makes). It’s a delightful way to watch a baseball game.

Well, except for one minor detail.

Pretty creepy

Distinctive Life Funeral Homes sponsors the Diamond Deck. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not the fun, family-oriented, youthful kind of sign I want near me. Especially since I turn 60 in a couple weeks and the Mister 63 in late September.

Should we be reminded of our mortality at a baseball game? Absolutely not!

Peekaboo Putting

Marcus hopes for a par.

Timing is everything in life . . . and photography.

Take disc golf, for example. Mistime when you snap your shutter, and you can distract the player or entirely miss having the disc in the photo, making for either a miffed person or an uninteresting picture.

I’ve been taking disc golf pix for almost six years, so usually my timing is pretty good. I usually end up with a calm player and a decent action photo.

Usually.

Yes, that IS Patrick sending his disc towards the basket.

For some reason—heat, humidity, slow reflexes, weak talent—when I was shooting our weekly Southwest Handicap Mini last Tuesday, I caught several players with their throwing hands obscuring their faces. I could understand this happening if any of these guys were shy or avoided photo ops.

Sidebar: When I posted the above photo on Facebook, the mini’s fearless leader, Eric, commented that Patrick was showing off the rarely used Riverdance putt. Makes me laugh every time I look at the picture.

Casey’s disc heads for the chains.

But even Casey finally has accepted my presence on the course, even complaining that because I wasn’t at a certain basket, he missed a putt (could the Nikon D700 have magical powers?). So I have to chalk it up to the dreaded “oops, I blew it” excuse. After all, everyone would rather see faces than hands.

Adam told me to shoot from this angle; glad he didn’t miss!

Even when those handsome faces are somewhat obscured by chains!

Am Worlds Ups and Downs and Ups

The trip starts at our house: Marcus, Eric, the Mister, the kid, and Steve

Oh, how I had hoped that I would have a wonderful report to post about my younger son’s fifth Amateur Disc Golf World Championships experience!

Good thing the Mister drives a minivan!

When the Mister, who was my ace iPhone 5 photographer for the venture (and did his best job ever, I’m pleased to report), the kid, and our three buddies (Eric, Marcus, and Steve) left our driveway on Friday, July 5, I was cautiously optimistic that the kid would enjoy a great adventure.

The kid threw 489 feet and tied for third in his division in the long-distance field event. (Photo by the PDGA)

Cautious, because his right shoulder had been bothering him for several weeks, but only when he played disc golf. So we tried a chiropractic solution, which left him feeling better and ready to go.

The guys first stopped in Dallas to play a couple courses and stayed overnight in Oklahoma. The next day they arrived in Emporia, Kansas, site of the tournament. As they were practicing on courses and competing in the field events, my son continued to complain about his shoulder. I was able to find a masseuse, who gently worked on him on July 8, the day before play began.

A highlight of the trip was getting to see our dear, former neighbors.

The next day it was time to test his shoulder. He played a splendid opening round, winning his card. But he texted me that his arm felt tight. Sure enough, during his second round that afternoon, he was in pain. So much so, that he pulled out after eight holes, fearing that he might damage his shoulder.

And that, my friends, was the abrupt end of his Am Worlds journey. I felt so much sadness for my precious baby boy, who has been through so much the last couple years. And, of course, it made it that much worse that I wasn’t with him to comfort him.

My bushy-bearded boy carries Eric’s big bag.

Unfortunately, my guys couldn’t just head for home, because they were responsible for the players who drove with them. But misfortune turned into a lucky break for Eric. The kid decided to caddy for his co-adult bestie (along with Glen), whose game he knows so well. He was literally able to take a load off Eric’s back, as well as try to keep him loose and give him sage advice.

Naturally, they made a great pair (after all, they won the 2011 Amateur Worlds Doubles Championship). Eric turned in a stellar performance in the masters division (ages 40-49), having the kid on his bag for a couple rounds. He finished in fourth place after the six rounds of regulation play, easily qualifying for the semifinals.

The kid and Eric are ready for the finals.

Then Eric moved up a place after the semis last Saturday and headed to his first Am Worlds finals a few hours later. He managed to put so much pressure on the leader, Keith Walker, during the nine holes that Walker had to can an amazing, long, birdie putt to beat Eric. The fearless leader of our Southwest Handicap Mini series did, though, win the card while placing second. Not too shabby!

All in all, it was a good week for the other guys, as Marcus tied for eighth place in the grandmasters division, while Steve tied for tenth in masters. As for my son, I’m sure there was some kind of lesson to be learned from his disappointing experience, if only that he can turn those lemons into helpful lemonade.

My two guys! (Photo by JJ)

Plus he got to spend a week with his buds and his Pops in beautiful Emporia. Hey, it was better than working in the hot warehouse!

Sidebar: Except where noted and the first two photos by yours truly, the other pics are by the Mister.