Day Two-hundred-and-two: Golf the beneficial way

In preparation for moving, at least moving on, my youngest daughter is inventorying the items she is keeping. She is being quite ruthless in her choices, choosing the bare minimum. While she was being ruthless, she asked me to do some data entry of the things she is keeping in her inventory Access database. I made primary key entries of 11 through 44 this morning after Banana Walnut waffles topped with fresh banana slices, blueberries, and maple syrup.

Then we hurriedly ate a leftover lunch of mashed potatoes, punk rock chickpea gravy, and chickpea cutlet. We took two of the cookies as a golf snack and delayed dessert. Then we raced to the golf course. My daughter assures me that everything in Davis is only ten minutes away. I must admit we made it in plenty of time for our 12:07 tee time.

We were paired with a father and son but although they were very courteous to us and even joined in conversation every once in a while, it was obvious that our somewhat concurrent playing the course was quite coincidental. They may have had a couple holes in which they bogeyed, one each, but most of the time they got birdies and pars. My daughter and I may have had one hole in which we bogeyed. Most of them were far worse than that. This is why we played golf the far more beneficial way. We got more exercise. Not only did we swing our clubs more, but often we went from one side of the fairway to the other allowing us to easily double our walking. At least we did walk. I only lost two balls but could have used a shirt like my father has, upon which it says, "It takes a lot of balls to play golf the way I do." Water still sucks. But like every other time I've played golf, there were a sufficient number of good strokes that keep me from giving the game up completely, just not on the same hole. Besides, being outdoors on a great day, relatively warm, clear sky and air, and truly pleasant company can't be beat. If golf has to be the excuse to enjoy that, bring more golf into my Life after Layoff.

After golf, we drove around Davis and did a little cardboard dumpster diving. My youngest daughter and her husband learned from the pros in the Domes about dumpster diving and even though it was for cardboard boxes from special cardboard recycling dumpsters, I could tell she has the gift.

Then she both interrogated and motivated me about my Internet business idea. She wants to see action and won't take any hemming and hawing or excuses for any lack of action. It was good to talk with her about it and in the off chance this discussion leads to a business, I wrote on the back of our dinner receipt the business we conducted. Some people hang the first dollar their business makes. I'll will hang the first business deduction, even if I don't claim it as a deduction.

Day Thirty: More exercise

I started today off with my back exercises. The effect of my extra-muscular activities really caught up with me yesterday but with the soreness not gone, I decided that I'd better do the hair-of-the-dog equivalent. This is just my first day but I intend to work my way up to an ability to go downhill skiing.

With my wife's passing due to cancer, we did not get to do our multiple of 10 year anniversary celebration, going downhill skiing. I was attending her memorial on what would have been our 30th anniversary. So, I intend to go skiing next year for what would be our 31st anniversary. Hey, I can become a ski bum, at least for this coming winter.

Today I stayed to a low calorie diet by dusting off my calorie tracking spreadsheet. I still need to work on getting the right mix of vegetables, fruit, grains, and legumes, while staying in the calorie and fat limits.

The big accomplishment today was my trip in my truck, which started, to pick up some stepping stones and sand to put them on. The sand was $2.50 a bag, bagged yourself. The first bag I filled half full and couldn't lift it over the side of the truck bed. I could barely get it up on the tailgate. So, I filled the second bag less full. After the struggle with the first bag, I was so exhausted that I could barely get it up on the tailgate. But wait, it didn't stop there. I proceeded to dig up the sod in the area I was putting the stones. Yes, this was part of the sod that was turned over as part of the extra-muscular weekend. I bagged the dug up sod in trash bags and after dumping the sand and placing the stones, I put the last two busting trash bags into the sandbags. I could barely carry them to the side of the house. It's a dirty Life after Layoff, but somebody has to do it.

I need to figure out how to protect what appears to be the only plant we got that the deer eat. Every other plant is doing really well. Even the four the deer have yet to chomp on, we planted six of them, are doing fine. Even though they are drought resistant, I am watering them every day until they appear to be tolerant. They will have to be by the middle to the end of August.

Now to take on the back yard...