3rd THIS WEEK

This week's tournament was fun the first day, but very cold!! Bill and I won all four games and we both played extremely well. That was on Wednesday - we went back on Friday for the finals. The first game was a disaster to say the least! Everything we did went wrong. I guess our minds weren't in the game. I had gotten up at 2am that morning to have Stan at the hospital in Harlingen by 6am. He was to have a heart cath. Was not sure what they would find as previous tests showed there was something not right with his heart. I left him at 7am, drove back to Weslaco, ate breakfast at McDonald's, drove on to Pharr for the tournament. That same morning Bill's daughter in Canada was undergoing surgery for a tumor that would very possibly be cancerous, as she has had cancer in the past. So, it's no wonder we didn't do well in the first game. I think we just wanted to get the second game overwith ASAP so we trounced our opponents so bad they gave up and quit in the 14th frame. So, we ended up with 3rd Main. We were both pleased and completely shared the blame for the one loss. Stan's heart cath. turned out good - no blockages - PTL!!! Bill's daughter was not so lucky - they think the tumor was cancerous, but won't know for sure till the biopsy tests come back in two weeks. We'll keep her in our prayers. Happy Shuffling & God Bless!

"VICTORY #2!!!"

Hard fought, and so rewarding - my second 1st place of the season! I didn't play up to par the first day of the tournament. It was extremely windy so I had Stan put a weight on the head of my cue. Well, it held me back, I shot short the whole three games, but thank God for my partner who carried us through three wins the first day. I took the weight off my cue for the finals today and played like my usual self. Our first game was against a team with one player who has tried and tried to force me out of shuffleboard with her lies and false accusations for four years, all because of jealousy. I have beaten her several times lately and every time I do it is extremely exhilarating! My partner and I knew it would be a tough game, but we were determined to win and we did. The second game was with another tough team, but I totally walked right thru my opponent and they gave up in the 16th frame! What a good feeling to have 2 first place victories this early in the season! The next 4 or 5 tournaments will be Mixed-doubles and I'll be back with my male partner, Bill. I'm looking forward to seeing how we do. Happy Shuffling & God Bless!

TOTALLY BUMMED!!

Another tournament down and another knock-out. Played well all day and lost the 4th game to a virtually unknown team. We came from way behind and could have won with our last two hammers, but it didn't happen. Our 1st and 3rd games were pretty easy. Our 2nd game we came back from 50 pts. down to win, but we just couldn't pull out the 4th. That's shuffleboard! Another Doubles next week so we'll give it another try. Happy Shuffling & God Bless!

SO GOES THE GAME OF SHUFFLEBOARD!

On to next week cause I totally blew it this week! I usually do well in 'singles' competition, but not today. I did great in my first game - won by 20 plus points. But, the gal I played in the second game just totally outplayed me and I lost by 13 points. I went from a fast court to a slow court and didn't adjust, so I got beat. It's very humbling. Stan plays tomorrow so let's hope he does better. Next week will be our first 'doubles' tourn. of the season and I'm anxious to see how I and my new female partner do. She's Lucille Coffin from Deleware and the first woman in TX to earn 1000 pts. plus. Happy Shuffling & God Bless!

VICTORY!!

We did it! The second tournament of the season, beautiful weather, 92 teams entered in the Expert division and we went 7 games undefeated to take 1st place. We won 4 games the first day, then had to play the 5th the morning of the 2nd day and win it to make it to the semi-finals. The 5th game on the 2nd morning is so dreaded by us shufflers because things could change so much from the first day. One day you're hot and very often the next day cold. But, we were hot the 2nd day also! My partner, Bill Piett, was very much wanting that 5th win, but didn't let me know till it was all overwith. He is 75 yrs. old and has amassed the most points of any shuffler in the Rio Grande Valley. Before this tournament he had 1490 pts. and wanted to make 1500 this season. Well, now he has 1515! Quite an accomplishment for a TX shuffler. I am working toward becoming a member of the '1000 pt. Club' with nearly 600 pts. right now. It may take 2 or 3 seasons yet, but I'll get there.
We knew from looking at the bracket before this tournament began that we would have a tough go. We had to defeat some very good teams, but by doing so, it made this victory even more enjoyable. The next tournament is a 'singles' - I'll be playing on my own. We'll see how it goes!

Not So Good!

Well, the first State tournament was today, and although my partner and I played very well, we lost in the third round. BUMMER! There were 85 teams entered, and it's tough to make it to the finals, but we'll do it sooner or later. The number of entries will only get bigger as the season goes on and it won't get any easier. So, we'll see how it goes next week. God Bless!

Still Waiting!

It has been awhile since my last post, I know. Somehow I created two blogs and I have been two weeks or longer getting that straightened out! What a mess of going in circles that was! Anyway, I created this blog to mainly tell about my shuffling experiences, but because of the surgery I had Oct. 8th, I'm still waiting to be able to shuffle again. The surgery required extensive repair to the muscles in my abdomen so I have been very restricted to most activity. But, Praise the Lord this coming Wed. will be 5 wks. and the first State tournament of the season. I am so ready! It has been a long time since I've gone 5 wks. without shuffling - I'm suffering from withdrawal!! I hope to get in a little practice tomorrow afternoon and hope to find I haven't lost my touch. My male partner arrived from Canada Oct. 25 and we are anxious to begin the tournament season together. I haven't missed vacuuming, ironing, lifting the 5 gal. drinking water jug, scrubbing floors and the shower, etc., but I have sure missed shuffling!! Good or bad, I'll let you know how the first tournament goes. God Bless!

THE WAITING GAME!

It began at 4:15AM - I couldn't sleep - too hot, RLS & apprehensive about surgery. I got up and played Solitaire on the computer hoping to get sleepy - didn't work. Fed the kitty, poured a glass of orange juice and began a new day. Stan and I both had 9AM appointments with our regular Dr. My app't. took 5 min. then I waited an hour and a half on Stan. Dr. found Stan's heart beat very irregular, not fast & not slow just very irregular. So, he was fitted with a portable heart monitor to wear for 24 hrs. We went home and I fixed lunch for Stan. I had to see my surgeon and register for surgery at 12:30PM. Stan was setting in his recliner and I was pretty sure he would be there the whole time I was gone, as it was too hot to work outside or in his shop. Dr. knew what his heart was doing in a resting state, so I talked him into going with me and walking around the hospital while I was registering. It took 3 1/2 hrs. to register!! I waited to register, then waited for blood work, then waited for an EKG, then waited for a chest x-ray! Poor Stan - he disappeared after about an hour and on my way to get the EKG I saw him in a nearly empty waiting room asleep. When he awoke and found me, he still had nearly 2 hrs. to wait on me! He showed surprising patience - something he normally has very little of. We finally got home around 4:30PM. I have to be at the hospital at 6AM in the morning which will require more waiting for both of us. Both of us will have been fasting since midnight, me because of the surgery and Stan because of blood work at 8:30AM. So he will have to desperately wait till after his blood work for his first cup of coffee. Then he'll have to wait for me to get out of surgery. He then has to go back to our Dr. and wait to have his monitor removed. Keep us in your prayers as you wait for my next blog. God Bless!

A New Season

We're back in south TX for our 12th winter, and our 10th season as Expert shuffleboard players. I'm very excited about this season as I have two new partners. Both excellent and well-respected players who asked me to be their partners this season. I can't wait for the tournaments to begin and see how it goes. I've been playing well, but I'm still a little apprehensive about playing up to their expectations of me. Stan has good partners also for this season. Wish us luck and I'll keep you posted once the tournaments begin in Nov.
In the meantime, I have a surgery to get through this Wed., Oct. 8th, to repair some incisional hernias from the hysterectomy I had in May '07. Should be pretty routine, with one night in the hospital then 2 to 3 wks. recovery. Will be so glad to get it overwith! Would very much appreciate your prayers. God Bless!