Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day in our home on Wednesday.
The computer guy never showed up or called to fix our Mac computer.
The family meeting went okay at the nursing home. My father, sister, and I concluded that the nursing home is the best place for Mom due to her physical condition. We discussed ways to make her stay at the nursing home a little more manageable for Mom. During the meeting, the staff gave us some suggestions of how we as a family can go about doing that.
On a different note, we have a day and one half with our grandchild Max and his mom from East Boston. We are going to try and make the most of it in between celebrating New Year’s Eve.
We will have a few people over for some beverages, appetizers, dessert, and some board or card games with Champagne at Midnight. After the ball drops in Times Square in New York, everyone will depart, and a new year will begin.
I had my first baby sitting gig alone yesterday. Linda and Kyla did a movie and dinner. They saw the movie “Nine”. Linda said that I would have hated hit. I am so glad that I didn’t go to the movies.
Baby sitting went okay! I had to change a messy diaper. I got Max so tired, and I needed a break, so I let Max fall asleep for 20 minutes. I was given instructions to keep him awake until his bedtime, but I guess that I didn’t follow instructions. Luckily, they came home before it was bedtime. The bedtime instructions were even more complicated!
Michael and his family are now in Kansas. I was going to send him a message asking how things went on the plane, and when they arrived home. He sent a letter last night describing how things didn’t go as planned. Isabelle wasn’t her usually pleasant self since there were airport delays. She also put up a fuss going to sleep in her crib when she arrived home. While at our house she started to sleep in a bed with a little help from her mother and father. Well, welcome to the world of childrearing!
Mike said that his driveway was full of snow with 5 foot drifts. He spent a good deal of time on Wednesday shoveling his driveway.
I am guessing that next Christmas when they will have a new addition to their family, there is no way that they would want to get on an airplane and fly to the East coast. We used to pack up our two boys, and travel to celebrate Christmas, but their came a point where we stayed put, and had the relatives come to our house.
Sports—While baby sitting I watched an exciting College Football Bowl game. The Idaho team was 7 points down with 32 seconds left to play. They scored a touch down, and went for a two point conversion to win the game. They did it in 32 seconds. Like Yogi Berra said; “It ain’t over until it is over!”
I went to bed early again to watch the Boston Bruins, and Boston Celtics. I fell asleep and missed who won their respective contests. All that I remember was that the Bruins had a 4 to 0 lead in their game. The Celtics had a couple of their big guns out with injuries, and they were behind as I fell asleep.
Well, another year is about to come to an end. Linda and I hope that the positives outweighed the negatives in your lives. As you have seen in my daily blogs, the positives were the winners in our lives.
Remember to not sweat the little stuff! If you have aches and pains, there is somebody worse off than you are so stop complaining. Laugh at yourself! Show more love than hate.
Enjoy your family every moment that you can. Your family and friends can help you get you through those difficult times.
Support our Democratic President!
Linda and I (me for sure) will continue to be Liberal Democrats.
May the New England Patriots sneak their way into the Super Bowl.
Good Luck to the Bruins and Celtics, and the Revolution Soccer team.
Keep saying to yourself that “Life is good”, and the New Year will better than last year. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Hello on Wednesday Morning
Dear Friends,
It was another pleasant, but semi sad day in our house yesterday. We had to say “Goodbye” to one son and his family.
As predicted, there was no room in my car for Linda. She had to say her tearful “Goodbyes” as we left Pittsfield at 12:30 PM.
The drive to the airport in Boston was hassle free. I even had time to stop off at Kevin’s place “Dough” in East Boston for some conversation and a slice of pizza before heading back to Pittsfield. All the snow that was in East Boston a week ago was completely gone.
Linda and Kyla were tired of eating leftovers, so they had Chinese food delivered last night.
I had leftovers when I arrived home, but I didn’t mind. I hate the thought of throwing out food. This goes back to some rough times when I was growing up, and the saying: ”Waste not, want not!”
I was so exhausted from the drive to and from Boston that I tried watching sports in bed at 7:30 PM. I fell asleep once again with Billy on the bed. I must have been snoring too loudly because he left the bedroom.
I feel great this morning. My first task is to put out the trash. All of us on the street didn’t put the trash out last night because it was too windy.
It is a balmy 8.6 degrees right now, but the wind has died down considerably.
Kyla was still suffering from her cold on Tuesday. I feel great today with a minimum of stuffiness. Linda just suffers from exhaustion, but it is of the good kind when dealing with grandchildren. I jokingly said that when everyone leaves, and we return to a quiet and peaceful house, she should consider going to a motel or hotel. She should put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the room door, and sleep for days. She thought that this was a great idea.
When everyone leaves, I will gather up my ice-fishing gear, and do a little ice-fishing. We will both have our moments of being alone. Neither one of us will be able to give the other person projects to do which is fine with me.
Now taking down the Christmas decorations is another story. We will keep the tree and the outdoor lights on until New Years, and then the house will go dark. The electric company will be so sad.
We have a computer guy coming to the house to fix our Mac computer at 9 AM this morning.
I have a family meeting at the nursing home today at 2 PM.
I need to go to City hall at some point today to get a new sporting license (fishing and hunting combined) for 2010.
I am not sure what Kyla, Max, and Linda have planned. I do know that Kyla had fun at the Mall purchasing discounted baby clothes. The question is if I can take care of the baby when they are gone, or will they take Max to the Mall with them.
News – The latest shoe bomber terrorists don’t deserve a trial. Execution is the best solution! I don’t want us paying for this young person’s sentence of life imprisonment.
Well, I have to get to the trash.
We sure have generated a whole bunch of trash. Thee buckets, and several more bags will give the trash men a workout at our house today.
Have a great Wednesday! The Curley Lad
It was another pleasant, but semi sad day in our house yesterday. We had to say “Goodbye” to one son and his family.
As predicted, there was no room in my car for Linda. She had to say her tearful “Goodbyes” as we left Pittsfield at 12:30 PM.
The drive to the airport in Boston was hassle free. I even had time to stop off at Kevin’s place “Dough” in East Boston for some conversation and a slice of pizza before heading back to Pittsfield. All the snow that was in East Boston a week ago was completely gone.
Linda and Kyla were tired of eating leftovers, so they had Chinese food delivered last night.
I had leftovers when I arrived home, but I didn’t mind. I hate the thought of throwing out food. This goes back to some rough times when I was growing up, and the saying: ”Waste not, want not!”
I was so exhausted from the drive to and from Boston that I tried watching sports in bed at 7:30 PM. I fell asleep once again with Billy on the bed. I must have been snoring too loudly because he left the bedroom.
I feel great this morning. My first task is to put out the trash. All of us on the street didn’t put the trash out last night because it was too windy.
It is a balmy 8.6 degrees right now, but the wind has died down considerably.
Kyla was still suffering from her cold on Tuesday. I feel great today with a minimum of stuffiness. Linda just suffers from exhaustion, but it is of the good kind when dealing with grandchildren. I jokingly said that when everyone leaves, and we return to a quiet and peaceful house, she should consider going to a motel or hotel. She should put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the room door, and sleep for days. She thought that this was a great idea.
When everyone leaves, I will gather up my ice-fishing gear, and do a little ice-fishing. We will both have our moments of being alone. Neither one of us will be able to give the other person projects to do which is fine with me.
Now taking down the Christmas decorations is another story. We will keep the tree and the outdoor lights on until New Years, and then the house will go dark. The electric company will be so sad.
We have a computer guy coming to the house to fix our Mac computer at 9 AM this morning.
I have a family meeting at the nursing home today at 2 PM.
I need to go to City hall at some point today to get a new sporting license (fishing and hunting combined) for 2010.
I am not sure what Kyla, Max, and Linda have planned. I do know that Kyla had fun at the Mall purchasing discounted baby clothes. The question is if I can take care of the baby when they are gone, or will they take Max to the Mall with them.
News – The latest shoe bomber terrorists don’t deserve a trial. Execution is the best solution! I don’t want us paying for this young person’s sentence of life imprisonment.
Well, I have to get to the trash.
We sure have generated a whole bunch of trash. Thee buckets, and several more bags will give the trash men a workout at our house today.
Have a great Wednesday! The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Hello on Tuesday Morning
ar Friends,
We had another pleasant day on Monday. It was warm enough for Isabelle to take her last few slides in the Berkshires.
Everyone in the house has been using a good deal of tissues since we all seem to be stuffy. Kyla’s sniffles were the worse than anyone else in the house.
Today is Isabelle’s birthday. She is officially two years old today!
For lunch, we had corned beef pastrami, and an Italian stromboli. Kevin brought four from his restaurant for the holidays. We used one at a Christmas party which we were invited to, and we put three in the freezer, Yesterday, Linda cooked up two of the remaining three. They were so good. The strombolis freeze very well, and it is very easy take them from the freezer to the oven. Kevin told us what temperature and the time needed to cook them.
The boneless pork supper turned out very nice. My father joined us for supper. I picked dad up, and he spent a few quality time hours with his great grandchildren. He wasn’t at the nursing home when we all visited Mom the other day. Max and Isabelle were on their best behavior when their Great Grandpa was with them. My father was totally impressed with the great job that Mike and Danielle, and Kevin and Kyla have been doing with respect to child rearing. Linda took some super pictures of Great Grandpa and his Great grandchildren together.
Our snow plow guy woke me up at 4:30 AM. I lasted until 5:30 AM before I decided trying to get back to sleep was futile. Billy and I are the only ones up right now. I let him out for his morning constitution, and he was back to the door within one minute. The 14 degree weather and a stiff wind put a damper on his outside activities.
Mike and Danielle are pretty much packed for their trip back to Kansas today. One of my Christmas presents was a luggage scale device. It came in handy when they finished loading up their two large suitcases. The presents are another story. We will have to ship most of them to Kansas.
Departure time is at noon today. With the latest terrorist threats, they want to be at the airport at a minimum of two hours before they depart from Logan Airport.
I don’t think that there will be enough room in my car for Linda. She will be shedding her tears at our home when they depart at noon.
Kyla and Max will be staying with us in the Berkshires until Friday. At least having one grandchild with us for a few more days will help ease the pain from saying “Goodbye” to Isabelle, Mike, and Danielle.
Speaking of grandparents, we have a family meeting at 2 PM on Wednesday at the nursing home. We will be discussing how to possibly get Mom to get out of the nursing home and return her to the family home in Lee. When we visit her in the nursing home, the whole family is getting tired of Mom asking when she will be able to go back home? My mother thinks that my father and her sister Gladys (who lives next door) can help take care of her. My father at 86 and Gladys about the same age can just about manage taking care of themselves. Mike, Danielle, and Kyla saw how feeble dear old dad has become over the past couple of years. Getting up and down from a chair and climbing up and down a few steps at our house was a real challenge. Trying to get him in and out of the low to the ground Subaru just to come for dinner was a real challenge too.
Marie and I think that they both should be in the nursing home together. With 24 hour care for the both them, it would relieve the mental stress for both my sister and I.
I went to bed early with the hopes of watching Football, Hockey, and some of the Celtic game. I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes once again.
Well, I have to put on winter gear just to get the newspaper from the driveway. Baby it is cold outside right now and the current temperature might even be the high for today.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
P.S. I haven’t brought up any controversial subjects in the past few days because our focus has been on our grandchildren!
We had another pleasant day on Monday. It was warm enough for Isabelle to take her last few slides in the Berkshires.
Everyone in the house has been using a good deal of tissues since we all seem to be stuffy. Kyla’s sniffles were the worse than anyone else in the house.
Today is Isabelle’s birthday. She is officially two years old today!
For lunch, we had corned beef pastrami, and an Italian stromboli. Kevin brought four from his restaurant for the holidays. We used one at a Christmas party which we were invited to, and we put three in the freezer, Yesterday, Linda cooked up two of the remaining three. They were so good. The strombolis freeze very well, and it is very easy take them from the freezer to the oven. Kevin told us what temperature and the time needed to cook them.
The boneless pork supper turned out very nice. My father joined us for supper. I picked dad up, and he spent a few quality time hours with his great grandchildren. He wasn’t at the nursing home when we all visited Mom the other day. Max and Isabelle were on their best behavior when their Great Grandpa was with them. My father was totally impressed with the great job that Mike and Danielle, and Kevin and Kyla have been doing with respect to child rearing. Linda took some super pictures of Great Grandpa and his Great grandchildren together.
Our snow plow guy woke me up at 4:30 AM. I lasted until 5:30 AM before I decided trying to get back to sleep was futile. Billy and I are the only ones up right now. I let him out for his morning constitution, and he was back to the door within one minute. The 14 degree weather and a stiff wind put a damper on his outside activities.
Mike and Danielle are pretty much packed for their trip back to Kansas today. One of my Christmas presents was a luggage scale device. It came in handy when they finished loading up their two large suitcases. The presents are another story. We will have to ship most of them to Kansas.
Departure time is at noon today. With the latest terrorist threats, they want to be at the airport at a minimum of two hours before they depart from Logan Airport.
I don’t think that there will be enough room in my car for Linda. She will be shedding her tears at our home when they depart at noon.
Kyla and Max will be staying with us in the Berkshires until Friday. At least having one grandchild with us for a few more days will help ease the pain from saying “Goodbye” to Isabelle, Mike, and Danielle.
Speaking of grandparents, we have a family meeting at 2 PM on Wednesday at the nursing home. We will be discussing how to possibly get Mom to get out of the nursing home and return her to the family home in Lee. When we visit her in the nursing home, the whole family is getting tired of Mom asking when she will be able to go back home? My mother thinks that my father and her sister Gladys (who lives next door) can help take care of her. My father at 86 and Gladys about the same age can just about manage taking care of themselves. Mike, Danielle, and Kyla saw how feeble dear old dad has become over the past couple of years. Getting up and down from a chair and climbing up and down a few steps at our house was a real challenge. Trying to get him in and out of the low to the ground Subaru just to come for dinner was a real challenge too.
Marie and I think that they both should be in the nursing home together. With 24 hour care for the both them, it would relieve the mental stress for both my sister and I.
I went to bed early with the hopes of watching Football, Hockey, and some of the Celtic game. I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes once again.
Well, I have to put on winter gear just to get the newspaper from the driveway. Baby it is cold outside right now and the current temperature might even be the high for today.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
P.S. I haven’t brought up any controversial subjects in the past few days because our focus has been on our grandchildren!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day at the Curley home on Winesap Rd.
Linda and Danielle came home with multiple clothes for babies of all ages. They used those Macy coupons where if you spent $25 you got $10 off.
Isabelle had a lot of fun at the indoor play land at the Mall. She bounced all over the place for one straight hour.
I was home alone at this point with the two dogs. I was washing a set of light and dark baby clothes, which I didn’t do well.
Kevin made it back to his home / apartment in East Boston. He hooked a ride with one of the Herman twins. Their dad is the optometrist whom we go to for our eye checkup and glasses.
I talked with Kevin during the Patriot Football Game. He was enjoying the peace and quiet with their two cats. I think that he really missed his son Max.
Kyla did make it to Danbury, Conn., and visited with her side of the family for a couple of hours. Max was a big hit because the last time that they were in Conn., he was only a week or so old. Kyla did get stuck in traffic on the way back to the Curley’s, but she arrived around the supper hour.
When I mentioned “Dough East Boston” some of the readers of my blog thought that this was a new restaurant which Kevin opened up. Even though Kevin has thoughts of franchising eventually, he has only one restaurant so far. When the telephone rings in his place, the workers always answer it by saying: “Dough East Boston, how can I help you?”
Since I mentioned a sporting contest, I will say a few words about the multiple hours of sports that I watched on Sunday. The Boston teams almost won all of their three contests. The Patriots and the Boston Bruins were victorious. The Boston Celtics lost their game when their opponents made a two point shot with no time left on the clock. The sad part about this loss was that a Celtic player went to the line with 1.5 seconds left, and missed both foul shots.
Continuing on with sports talk, I did watch a game which will be talked about all week. The last team, with an undefeated record, got beat. The defeat occurred mostly because the Coach of their team took out important starters, like their quarterback, and let the other team win the game. I wanted the Colts to lose, but not this way.
We did have one set of friends come over to socialize and watch the Patriot game. They brought over two appetizers which they made with Christmas leftovers of ham and turkey. They were so yummy. The other good thing which took place was that their elementary school child got one of the I-Phones for Christmas, and Mike and Danielle showed her how to access more apps and how to get some apps off of the internet. I couldn’t help because I am from the old school that still uses devices which have on and off buttons only. I think that the elementary school girl wished that Mike and Danielle lived in Pittsfield instead of Kansas.
Today is the last day that we will have the Kansas family with us today. I can feel the tears being shed a day before they even get on the airplane. Mike, Danielle, and Isabelle fly out of Logan on Tuesday at 5 PM. Our last supper today will be a boneless pork loin. Linda wants to bake it in an oven instead of by putting it in a crock pot. I want to try it in our new electric pressure cooker which Kevin and Kyla got us for Christmas. I think that Linda is afraid that I might destroy the meat if I use the pressure cooker. I have to cook a few meals in the device for just Linda and I before we branch out, and serve any meals to our family or friends.
Observation – I decided to rethink the Curley’s moving into a condo. As long as we have grandchildren visiting us in the Berkshires, we need every available space that we have. Our relatives wouldn’t come to the Berkshires if they had the added expenses of staying in motels and hotels. Linda and I wouldn’t experience the joys of seeing the smiling faces of our grandchildren each morning. Maybe, we should winterize the screened in room on the deck, and put in some heat because we are going to need more room as more grandchildren are born.
Observation – Most of us in the house are starting to get a little stuffy. Danielle came to us from Kansas with a little cold which went dormant for a few days. It might be starting to be passed around. The gift that keeps on giving!
Well, I think that today will be a chill day. I was in bed at 8:30 PM trying to watch sporting contests. I fell asleep in less than 10 minutes and woke up to the roar of a crowd during the Celtic game. This was at midnight!
I am not sure what was discussed with respect to what is going on today at our house.
Have a great Monday after Christmas.
We are supposed to get a little snow today before a cold front moves in for tomorrow. It is supposed to be the coldest day and night of the winter on Tuesday here in the Berkshires.
Have to go.
Billy, the dog, was just let out by me for his morning constitution. He slept with Mike and Danielle last evening. Linda and I slept alone for the first time since our family arrived. I am guessing that Linda will stay in bed past 9 AM if she can. She went to bed on tired buckaroo last evening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day at the Curley home on Winesap Rd.
Linda and Danielle came home with multiple clothes for babies of all ages. They used those Macy coupons where if you spent $25 you got $10 off.
Isabelle had a lot of fun at the indoor play land at the Mall. She bounced all over the place for one straight hour.
I was home alone at this point with the two dogs. I was washing a set of light and dark baby clothes, which I didn’t do well.
Kevin made it back to his home / apartment in East Boston. He hooked a ride with one of the Herman twins. Their dad is the optometrist whom we go to for our eye checkup and glasses.
I talked with Kevin during the Patriot Football Game. He was enjoying the peace and quiet with their two cats. I think that he really missed his son Max.
Kyla did make it to Danbury, Conn., and visited with her side of the family for a couple of hours. Max was a big hit because the last time that they were in Conn., he was only a week or so old. Kyla did get stuck in traffic on the way back to the Curley’s, but she arrived around the supper hour.
When I mentioned “Dough East Boston” some of the readers of my blog thought that this was a new restaurant which Kevin opened up. Even though Kevin has thoughts of franchising eventually, he has only one restaurant so far. When the telephone rings in his place, the workers always answer it by saying: “Dough East Boston, how can I help you?”
Since I mentioned a sporting contest, I will say a few words about the multiple hours of sports that I watched on Sunday. The Boston teams almost won all of their three contests. The Patriots and the Boston Bruins were victorious. The Boston Celtics lost their game when their opponents made a two point shot with no time left on the clock. The sad part about this loss was that a Celtic player went to the line with 1.5 seconds left, and missed both foul shots.
Continuing on with sports talk, I did watch a game which will be talked about all week. The last team, with an undefeated record, got beat. The defeat occurred mostly because the Coach of their team took out important starters, like their quarterback, and let the other team win the game. I wanted the Colts to lose, but not this way.
We did have one set of friends come over to socialize and watch the Patriot game. They brought over two appetizers which they made with Christmas leftovers of ham and turkey. They were so yummy. The other good thing which took place was that their elementary school child got one of the I-Phones for Christmas, and Mike and Danielle showed her how to access more apps and how to get some apps off of the internet. I couldn’t help because I am from the old school that still uses devices which have on and off buttons only. I think that the elementary school girl wished that Mike and Danielle lived in Pittsfield instead of Kansas.
Today is the last day that we will have the Kansas family with us today. I can feel the tears being shed a day before they even get on the airplane. Mike, Danielle, and Isabelle fly out of Logan on Tuesday at 5 PM. Our last supper today will be a boneless pork loin. Linda wants to bake it in an oven instead of by putting it in a crock pot. I want to try it in our new electric pressure cooker which Kevin and Kyla got us for Christmas. I think that Linda is afraid that I might destroy the meat if I use the pressure cooker. I have to cook a few meals in the device for just Linda and I before we branch out, and serve any meals to our family or friends.
Observation – I decided to rethink the Curley’s moving into a condo. As long as we have grandchildren visiting us in the Berkshires, we need every available space that we have. Our relatives wouldn’t come to the Berkshires if they had the added expenses of staying in motels and hotels. Linda and I wouldn’t experience the joys of seeing the smiling faces of our grandchildren each morning. Maybe, we should winterize the screened in room on the deck, and put in some heat because we are going to need more room as more grandchildren are born.
Observation – Most of us in the house are starting to get a little stuffy. Danielle came to us from Kansas with a little cold which went dormant for a few days. It might be starting to be passed around. The gift that keeps on giving!
Well, I think that today will be a chill day. I was in bed at 8:30 PM trying to watch sporting contests. I fell asleep in less than 10 minutes and woke up to the roar of a crowd during the Celtic game. This was at midnight!
I am not sure what was discussed with respect to what is going on today at our house.
Have a great Monday after Christmas.
We are supposed to get a little snow today before a cold front moves in for tomorrow. It is supposed to be the coldest day and night of the winter on Tuesday here in the Berkshires.
Have to go.
Billy, the dog, was just let out by me for his morning constitution. He slept with Mike and Danielle last evening. Linda and I slept alone for the first time since our family arrived. I am guessing that Linda will stay in bed past 9 AM if she can. She went to bed on tired buckaroo last evening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Hello on Sunday Morning
ear Friends,
Another day with the family has come to an end.
Kevin had me try and make a MacDonalds like breakfast sandwich which were composed of two small pancakes (which took the place of an English muffin) with maple syrup infused in them while they were cooking. In between the pancakes, I put cooked egg, and some strips of bacon. I ended up making four of the breakfast sandwiches. There were no leftovers. Luckily, I have a special pan which can make the pancakes, and eggs the same size. Now, let’s not talk about the calories that each one of these babies contained!
We didn’t make it through all of the events that were mentally planned for the day, but we did accomplish the most important tasks.
We did visit Mom in the nursing home, and we did go to my sister’s place and exchange Christmas presents.
After our visit to my sister’s place is when the events changed. Mike, Danielle, and Isabelle, and I went home for lunch of mostly leftovers. After lunch, we all settled down for an afternoon nap. Linda, Kevin, Kyla and Max went off to “Teo’s Hotdog Ranch” to hook up with some old high school friends. When they finally arrived home, they all took a nap except Linda. Linda doesn’t do naps well, so she played on the computer while the rest of the family was napping. I awoke first, and the house was so pleasantly quiet. It was just Linda and I until the masses awoke from their deep slumber.
The women never did make it shopping yesterday. The constant partying caught up with everyone. We were supposed to pick up a two foot artificial tree at Walmart for a friend yesterday, but it never happened.
Only Kevin and Kyla decided that they wanted to party on with some friends at Patrick’s Pub in the evening. The rest of us had Papa Gino’s pizza delivered. The pizza was not great. It was kind of soggy, and limp! Give me Kevin’s “Dough East Boston” pizza any day of the week.
I was fast asleep when Kevin and Kyla arrived home!
The only thing on our social calendar today is to watch the 1 PM Patriots football game, to say “Goodbye” to Kevin only at some point today, and maybe do a little sliding if there is enough snow left after the rainy evening.
I had mentioned to some friends, while we were at some Christmas parties, that wouldn’t be nice to have a “Bring your leftovers for a Patriots Party at our home” which would include bringing your family members who are still around. It would help to get rid off all those plastic containers with left over food. What didn’t get consumed would go right down the Curley garbage disposal.
I am not sure that I should have made the invitation because it would take a house overhaul to have the party. Every room in the Curley abode is filled with stuff including the basement since Kevin’s family has been sleeping on the fold out couch bed in the basement.
Maybe the invitation should have been bring leftover food for the men so we can watch football and have food available, and the women can pile in cars and go shopping after they eat a few leftovers. The men can take care of the children while we try and watch the game. We can take the children sliding during halftime.
I guess that I forgot that there is children involved who might need naps while the adults are doing their thing.
Maybe the invited guests should call first to see what is going on at the Curley’s today?
Max has been sleeping very well in the master bedroom with Linda and I each night. I think that Billy the dog was sleeping in our bed when I woke up this morning. I heard something breathing, and it wasn’t human!
I felt bad last evening for Mike and Danielle because they were working on Isabelle who was fighting sleeping in a small “pack and play” bed because she wanted to sleep in the bed in the room where the pack and play device is located. I don’t know who is sleeping where with respect to their family. I hope that they all got a good night’s sleep. When they do go back home to Kansas, one of their tasks will be to have Isabelle sleep in her own bed instead of a crib. Isabelle’s old room at home will be for the new arrival in mid May.
Well, I have to make some coffee, and start reading the Sunday newspapers. The Boston Globe has been arriving first on Sunday.
Have a great Sunday! Go Patriots! The Curley Lad
Another day with the family has come to an end.
Kevin had me try and make a MacDonalds like breakfast sandwich which were composed of two small pancakes (which took the place of an English muffin) with maple syrup infused in them while they were cooking. In between the pancakes, I put cooked egg, and some strips of bacon. I ended up making four of the breakfast sandwiches. There were no leftovers. Luckily, I have a special pan which can make the pancakes, and eggs the same size. Now, let’s not talk about the calories that each one of these babies contained!
We didn’t make it through all of the events that were mentally planned for the day, but we did accomplish the most important tasks.
We did visit Mom in the nursing home, and we did go to my sister’s place and exchange Christmas presents.
After our visit to my sister’s place is when the events changed. Mike, Danielle, and Isabelle, and I went home for lunch of mostly leftovers. After lunch, we all settled down for an afternoon nap. Linda, Kevin, Kyla and Max went off to “Teo’s Hotdog Ranch” to hook up with some old high school friends. When they finally arrived home, they all took a nap except Linda. Linda doesn’t do naps well, so she played on the computer while the rest of the family was napping. I awoke first, and the house was so pleasantly quiet. It was just Linda and I until the masses awoke from their deep slumber.
The women never did make it shopping yesterday. The constant partying caught up with everyone. We were supposed to pick up a two foot artificial tree at Walmart for a friend yesterday, but it never happened.
Only Kevin and Kyla decided that they wanted to party on with some friends at Patrick’s Pub in the evening. The rest of us had Papa Gino’s pizza delivered. The pizza was not great. It was kind of soggy, and limp! Give me Kevin’s “Dough East Boston” pizza any day of the week.
I was fast asleep when Kevin and Kyla arrived home!
The only thing on our social calendar today is to watch the 1 PM Patriots football game, to say “Goodbye” to Kevin only at some point today, and maybe do a little sliding if there is enough snow left after the rainy evening.
I had mentioned to some friends, while we were at some Christmas parties, that wouldn’t be nice to have a “Bring your leftovers for a Patriots Party at our home” which would include bringing your family members who are still around. It would help to get rid off all those plastic containers with left over food. What didn’t get consumed would go right down the Curley garbage disposal.
I am not sure that I should have made the invitation because it would take a house overhaul to have the party. Every room in the Curley abode is filled with stuff including the basement since Kevin’s family has been sleeping on the fold out couch bed in the basement.
Maybe the invitation should have been bring leftover food for the men so we can watch football and have food available, and the women can pile in cars and go shopping after they eat a few leftovers. The men can take care of the children while we try and watch the game. We can take the children sliding during halftime.
I guess that I forgot that there is children involved who might need naps while the adults are doing their thing.
Maybe the invited guests should call first to see what is going on at the Curley’s today?
Max has been sleeping very well in the master bedroom with Linda and I each night. I think that Billy the dog was sleeping in our bed when I woke up this morning. I heard something breathing, and it wasn’t human!
I felt bad last evening for Mike and Danielle because they were working on Isabelle who was fighting sleeping in a small “pack and play” bed because she wanted to sleep in the bed in the room where the pack and play device is located. I don’t know who is sleeping where with respect to their family. I hope that they all got a good night’s sleep. When they do go back home to Kansas, one of their tasks will be to have Isabelle sleep in her own bed instead of a crib. Isabelle’s old room at home will be for the new arrival in mid May.
Well, I have to make some coffee, and start reading the Sunday newspapers. The Boston Globe has been arriving first on Sunday.
Have a great Sunday! Go Patriots! The Curley Lad
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had one of the best Christmas’s that we have had in a long time.
Christmas is definitely for the children.
Max was too young to appreciate Christmas, but he was still his good natured self throughout the whole day.
Isabelle received a good deal of clothes, and toys. There always seems to be a couple which turn out to be her most favorite. The one that turns out on the top of the list is a device which shoots out butterflies that she tries to catch in nets. Santa also brought her a toddler remote control car. It has four buttons which control back and forth, and right and left movement. She hasn’t mastered this toy yet, but she will in no time at all.
We did notice that Isabelle does like clothes. Are woman born with this desire to have multiple outfits, or is this learned behavior? She even took her cloth purse with her with some bracelets in them when we went to an evening party.
Most males are like cavemen who just need a couple of outfits to keep them from being naked.
We went sliding in the front of the yard once again. This time Max went out there too. We put him in the toddler sled, and he had a great time. The temperature was ideal for being out doors. Kevin took some videos of Max sliding for the first time. The speed queen, Isabelle, loved every moment of sliding once again. When she got bored with sliding, she started to roll down the slight rise in our front lawn.
Linda prepared a wonderful Christmas day dinner. She cooked the beef tenderloin to perfection. We had some beater whipped mash potatoes, green beans, and beef gravy, and rolls. We skipped having a salad because we were munching on some of the appetizers from my birthday party before the main meal.
At 6 PM, we bundled up the children, loaded up two cars, and headed to our friends in Dalton. Their party was winding down so the Curley’s perked it up a little before we departed around 8:30 PM. We were going to stop at a neighbor’s home on the way back to our home, but their house was dark, and it appeared that no one was home.
Social Calendar – Mom being transported to the family home isn’t going to happen today. My sister didn’t think that she could handle the physical part of taking care of Mom from 10 AM until 4 PM. Marie has family staying at her house too. Of course, my sister and I are getting a dose of the “Guilts”.
At some point today, the Curley’s will stop in and see Grandma at the nursing home.
We also have to find time to visit my sister and her family to exchange some gifts too.
We also have to hook up with our neighbor up the street. Maybe their one year grandchild can go sliding at the Curley’s today too.
I think that I heard Danielle wanting to go to Macy’s for the after Christmas Sale on Children’s clothes.
I am not sure if there are enough hours in the day to do all that we want to do.
Max slept in our room again last evening. He whimpered at 4:15 AM, but fell back to sleep. He was probably dreaming about all the different people who he has seen over the past few days. I hope that it wasn’t a scary dream that startled him.
Our Dalton friend’s grandchild has not warmed up to me yet. She still thinks that I must be some kind of hairy monster. I had her upset and crying last evening once again. I pretty much stayed in a different room from the one that she was in. I forgot to ask Kevin if she had the same reaction after she saw him. Kevin has a Santa Claus type of beard which could scare a lot of children too?
As I think about it, our children might not be able to keep up with the Linda and Fran social calendar. Both sets of parents are used to a little more calm, and quiet life.
Well, I have to go and grab a cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper.
Isabelle is up, and according to her Mom and Dad, she didn’t have a restful night (and they didn’t either).
I might have to rethink the busy day mentioned above.
Have a great weekend.
It appears that ours is off to a great start! The Curley Lad
We had one of the best Christmas’s that we have had in a long time.
Christmas is definitely for the children.
Max was too young to appreciate Christmas, but he was still his good natured self throughout the whole day.
Isabelle received a good deal of clothes, and toys. There always seems to be a couple which turn out to be her most favorite. The one that turns out on the top of the list is a device which shoots out butterflies that she tries to catch in nets. Santa also brought her a toddler remote control car. It has four buttons which control back and forth, and right and left movement. She hasn’t mastered this toy yet, but she will in no time at all.
We did notice that Isabelle does like clothes. Are woman born with this desire to have multiple outfits, or is this learned behavior? She even took her cloth purse with her with some bracelets in them when we went to an evening party.
Most males are like cavemen who just need a couple of outfits to keep them from being naked.
We went sliding in the front of the yard once again. This time Max went out there too. We put him in the toddler sled, and he had a great time. The temperature was ideal for being out doors. Kevin took some videos of Max sliding for the first time. The speed queen, Isabelle, loved every moment of sliding once again. When she got bored with sliding, she started to roll down the slight rise in our front lawn.
Linda prepared a wonderful Christmas day dinner. She cooked the beef tenderloin to perfection. We had some beater whipped mash potatoes, green beans, and beef gravy, and rolls. We skipped having a salad because we were munching on some of the appetizers from my birthday party before the main meal.
At 6 PM, we bundled up the children, loaded up two cars, and headed to our friends in Dalton. Their party was winding down so the Curley’s perked it up a little before we departed around 8:30 PM. We were going to stop at a neighbor’s home on the way back to our home, but their house was dark, and it appeared that no one was home.
Social Calendar – Mom being transported to the family home isn’t going to happen today. My sister didn’t think that she could handle the physical part of taking care of Mom from 10 AM until 4 PM. Marie has family staying at her house too. Of course, my sister and I are getting a dose of the “Guilts”.
At some point today, the Curley’s will stop in and see Grandma at the nursing home.
We also have to find time to visit my sister and her family to exchange some gifts too.
We also have to hook up with our neighbor up the street. Maybe their one year grandchild can go sliding at the Curley’s today too.
I think that I heard Danielle wanting to go to Macy’s for the after Christmas Sale on Children’s clothes.
I am not sure if there are enough hours in the day to do all that we want to do.
Max slept in our room again last evening. He whimpered at 4:15 AM, but fell back to sleep. He was probably dreaming about all the different people who he has seen over the past few days. I hope that it wasn’t a scary dream that startled him.
Our Dalton friend’s grandchild has not warmed up to me yet. She still thinks that I must be some kind of hairy monster. I had her upset and crying last evening once again. I pretty much stayed in a different room from the one that she was in. I forgot to ask Kevin if she had the same reaction after she saw him. Kevin has a Santa Claus type of beard which could scare a lot of children too?
As I think about it, our children might not be able to keep up with the Linda and Fran social calendar. Both sets of parents are used to a little more calm, and quiet life.
Well, I have to go and grab a cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper.
Isabelle is up, and according to her Mom and Dad, she didn’t have a restful night (and they didn’t either).
I might have to rethink the busy day mentioned above.
Have a great weekend.
It appears that ours is off to a great start! The Curley Lad
Friday, December 25, 2009
Hello on Christmas day
Dear Friends,
I hope that you all had a great Christmas Eve in whatever form that you celebrated it.
We are always on the move on Christmas Eve so ours is never a quiet one at home.
We made it to two of the three parties which were on our social calendar.
The first party was the best because our son Kevin dressed up as Santa Claus. He tried to color his beard at home a few days ago, but it wasn’t quite right. He sought professional help in the Berkshires the other day to get it to a more Santa like color.
At this party, there were about 10 children! Kevin sat in one of the Culver lounge chairs, and passed out presents to everyone at the party including the adults. He really worked the crowd so well. He could make a real good Santa at the Mall, or be hired out for private parties. It is amazing to have watched our son display these talents which we never knew that he had. I can’t wait to see some of the multiple pictures which people took as Santa was doing his thing.
I have a feeling that Santa might pass out presents at a couple more parties which we will be going to today.
The party in West Stockbridge was wonderful. The food, fun, and merriment was endless. We packed up and departed for our second party around 8:30 PM. This party was one which we have been attending since our children were little. We have kept the friendship over all these years. Now our children have their own children just like their childhood friends. Kevin didn’t wear is Santa outfit at this party since many of the babies had gone home before we arrived. Actually Mike and Danielle too Isabelle home after the West Stockbridge adventure because she was really whipped. Max was wide awake. Four an almost 5 month old, I can already see that he has a tendency to party.
While at this party, I heard this toddler screaming at the top of his lungs. Kevin scared the living daylights out of this child just because of his beard, mustache, and eyebrows. It is good to see that I am not the only one who can scare little children. I did it myself at my birthday party the other evening. I said “Hello” to a one year old, and she turned her head away from me, and started crying.
Yes, we have another full day on tap for today. After a light breakfast, and opening of Christmas presents, we will be having beef tenderloin with all the fixings. I am guessing that the children and I will be taking a nap before all of us head out the door for two more parties. I am not sure which home that we will go to first.
I am the only one up right now. Max is sleeping in our room for a second night in a row. The last thing that I remember was his Mom breast feeding him in our room as I climbed into bed. I was out like a light before Max was put in his crib. When Max gets older maybe he will tuck Grandpa into bed instead of the other way around.
While at the second party, I asked one of the guests, who looked healthy, if all the body parts were working okay. The 68 year old man said that he has prostate cancer. I asked him; “What were the signs before the diagnosis?” He said that there were none. He had some blood work done, and that they found his PSA numbers were very high. I didn’t ask the guy what the next step is to fight the cancer because I felt that I should stop the conversation, and talk about something else.
This is another example of counting your blessings if your own body parts are working okay for the most part. My little self induced muscle strain is quite trivial in the scheme of things when compared to someone else’s predicament.
On a happier note, I am going to have a second cup of coffee, and read the newspaper if the there is one today.
I have a quiet assignment given to me last night by the Queen of peeling potatoes. The noisy part is when I turn on the garbage disposable to dispose of the peelings.
As a matter of fact, I am not sure that there is any activity that I can do which is totally quiet.
I am at the kitchen table composing this e-mail. I have even been accused of pounding the keys on the lap top to hard. Kevin and Kyla are sleeping in the basement right below while I pound on the keys. They are the ones who heard me putting away silverware at 4 AM the other morning.
Speaking of keys àWhile we were departing party number one last evening. Danielle took my keys and started my car up to warm it up for their daughter. All the locks on my car locked themselves as she closed the driver side door. This wasn’t Danielle fault because she didn’t know the quirks of my car. Luckily Linda had a key to my car in her pocketbook so that I could open the doors. If she didn’t, I would to have had to be driven back to Pittsfield to get a spare key, and then driven back to West Stockbridge. Do you think that it is time for us to get a new car so that things like this won’t happen?
This happened one other time while we were at the Culver’s, and Linda left her pocket book in the car. Yes, I had to be driven back and forth to Pittsfield to get a spare key. My father always told me to keep a spare key in my wallet. Why didn’t I listen to him?
Have a great Christmas Day!
The Curley’s are going to have a one too.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I hope that you all had a great Christmas Eve in whatever form that you celebrated it.
We are always on the move on Christmas Eve so ours is never a quiet one at home.
We made it to two of the three parties which were on our social calendar.
The first party was the best because our son Kevin dressed up as Santa Claus. He tried to color his beard at home a few days ago, but it wasn’t quite right. He sought professional help in the Berkshires the other day to get it to a more Santa like color.
At this party, there were about 10 children! Kevin sat in one of the Culver lounge chairs, and passed out presents to everyone at the party including the adults. He really worked the crowd so well. He could make a real good Santa at the Mall, or be hired out for private parties. It is amazing to have watched our son display these talents which we never knew that he had. I can’t wait to see some of the multiple pictures which people took as Santa was doing his thing.
I have a feeling that Santa might pass out presents at a couple more parties which we will be going to today.
The party in West Stockbridge was wonderful. The food, fun, and merriment was endless. We packed up and departed for our second party around 8:30 PM. This party was one which we have been attending since our children were little. We have kept the friendship over all these years. Now our children have their own children just like their childhood friends. Kevin didn’t wear is Santa outfit at this party since many of the babies had gone home before we arrived. Actually Mike and Danielle too Isabelle home after the West Stockbridge adventure because she was really whipped. Max was wide awake. Four an almost 5 month old, I can already see that he has a tendency to party.
While at this party, I heard this toddler screaming at the top of his lungs. Kevin scared the living daylights out of this child just because of his beard, mustache, and eyebrows. It is good to see that I am not the only one who can scare little children. I did it myself at my birthday party the other evening. I said “Hello” to a one year old, and she turned her head away from me, and started crying.
Yes, we have another full day on tap for today. After a light breakfast, and opening of Christmas presents, we will be having beef tenderloin with all the fixings. I am guessing that the children and I will be taking a nap before all of us head out the door for two more parties. I am not sure which home that we will go to first.
I am the only one up right now. Max is sleeping in our room for a second night in a row. The last thing that I remember was his Mom breast feeding him in our room as I climbed into bed. I was out like a light before Max was put in his crib. When Max gets older maybe he will tuck Grandpa into bed instead of the other way around.
While at the second party, I asked one of the guests, who looked healthy, if all the body parts were working okay. The 68 year old man said that he has prostate cancer. I asked him; “What were the signs before the diagnosis?” He said that there were none. He had some blood work done, and that they found his PSA numbers were very high. I didn’t ask the guy what the next step is to fight the cancer because I felt that I should stop the conversation, and talk about something else.
This is another example of counting your blessings if your own body parts are working okay for the most part. My little self induced muscle strain is quite trivial in the scheme of things when compared to someone else’s predicament.
On a happier note, I am going to have a second cup of coffee, and read the newspaper if the there is one today.
I have a quiet assignment given to me last night by the Queen of peeling potatoes. The noisy part is when I turn on the garbage disposable to dispose of the peelings.
As a matter of fact, I am not sure that there is any activity that I can do which is totally quiet.
I am at the kitchen table composing this e-mail. I have even been accused of pounding the keys on the lap top to hard. Kevin and Kyla are sleeping in the basement right below while I pound on the keys. They are the ones who heard me putting away silverware at 4 AM the other morning.
Speaking of keys àWhile we were departing party number one last evening. Danielle took my keys and started my car up to warm it up for their daughter. All the locks on my car locked themselves as she closed the driver side door. This wasn’t Danielle fault because she didn’t know the quirks of my car. Luckily Linda had a key to my car in her pocketbook so that I could open the doors. If she didn’t, I would to have had to be driven back to Pittsfield to get a spare key, and then driven back to West Stockbridge. Do you think that it is time for us to get a new car so that things like this won’t happen?
This happened one other time while we were at the Culver’s, and Linda left her pocket book in the car. Yes, I had to be driven back and forth to Pittsfield to get a spare key. My father always told me to keep a spare key in my wallet. Why didn’t I listen to him?
Have a great Christmas Day!
The Curley’s are going to have a one too.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Hello on Christmas Eve
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day yesterday. The grandchildren were fun to entertain, take care of, etc.
Mike and I did take Isabelle out sliding in the front of our yard twice during the day. Isabelle appears to have no fear! Could she end up being an Air Force Pilot like her Mom and Dad?
Isabelle calls me “Papa”. In one of her books, there was a picture of a person of color with a mustache and curly hair. Isabelle called the person “Papa”.
In the evening, friends did drop in to wish me a “Happy Birthday”. They did give me some nice birthday cards, and gifts. I hope that some of the lottery tickets turn out to big winners.
Today we have one of those three party days. Making it to all three depends on the status of our grandchildren. Our two grandchildren are on sleeping schedules which I think is important for their mental and physical health. At one point last evening, there were four children in our house with the oldest being Isabelle who turns two on December 29, 2009. You can very easily tell when they are tired, and when they need to go to bed.
Our first party begins at 5:30 PM.
One of the grandchildren was sleeping in his crib in our room last night. It is a change from having a dog sleeping in the room. Linda won’t need an alarm to get up when he wakes up.
Max wakes up smiling every time when he wakes up from a nap or a night of sleeping. It is like he so happy to get ready for the activities of the day. He is like his grandpa!
I would imagine that Isabelle will need a dose of sliding today. Maybe Mike and I can tire her out so that she can take a nap, and last a little longer this evening. I took a nap yesterday, but she didn’t.
My muscle strain improves each day, and I will return to Retro Fitness after Christmas.
Observation – I guess I have to stay away from the obituary comments. One of my sons is not fond of me talking about dying, deaths, etc. When you have made so many trips to visit Mom in the hospital, and the nursing home I feel like I am surrounded by death. When you do read about friends and colleagues who have met their Maker before they should have, you do think about your own life.
On the other hand, when you are in your 30’s, and have a new born, all you do think about is life, and not death.
Actually I missed a wake and Mass at the funeral home last evening for the wife of my head custodian. The 66 year old woman lost a three year battle fighting cancer. I had the custodian’s children in mathematics class at my school. It will be so difficult for me to not talk about these death issues.
As we age, people always seems to talk about body parts that aren’t working like they used to, and about going to wakes and funerals of family and friends. It is part of the cycle of life!
I can’t empty the dishwasher like I did yesterday. Kevin and his family are sleeping on the fold out bed from one of the couches in the basement. Yesterday, they heard me rattle the silverware as I was putting them back into the kitchen drawers. This was at 4:15 AM. The dishwasher is calling me right now. The clean light is on, and it is begging me to empty it once again. I guess I will just read a book until I hear someone stirring. Oh that’s right! I don’t have any books to read since I have read most of the top 10 books already! I guess I will read the AARP magazine which arrived the other day!
Well, it is Christmas Eve. If you have little ones in the house, it will be extra special. If you have family and friends which you can be with, then enjoy the festivities. If you are religious, then celebrate Christmas for what it was intended to be à the birth of Christ. Go to a Christmas Eve service!
Keep the warmth that the Christmas Holiday brings, not just for a day or two, but all year long!
Well, I have to relax until the first child decides to wake up. It was Max yesterday around 7 AM. Isabelle slept until 8 AM.
When the confusion begins, it is good confusion when dealing with your grandchildren.
Have a great Christmas, and give you and your family many hugs from Linda and me! The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day yesterday. The grandchildren were fun to entertain, take care of, etc.
Mike and I did take Isabelle out sliding in the front of our yard twice during the day. Isabelle appears to have no fear! Could she end up being an Air Force Pilot like her Mom and Dad?
Isabelle calls me “Papa”. In one of her books, there was a picture of a person of color with a mustache and curly hair. Isabelle called the person “Papa”.
In the evening, friends did drop in to wish me a “Happy Birthday”. They did give me some nice birthday cards, and gifts. I hope that some of the lottery tickets turn out to big winners.
Today we have one of those three party days. Making it to all three depends on the status of our grandchildren. Our two grandchildren are on sleeping schedules which I think is important for their mental and physical health. At one point last evening, there were four children in our house with the oldest being Isabelle who turns two on December 29, 2009. You can very easily tell when they are tired, and when they need to go to bed.
Our first party begins at 5:30 PM.
One of the grandchildren was sleeping in his crib in our room last night. It is a change from having a dog sleeping in the room. Linda won’t need an alarm to get up when he wakes up.
Max wakes up smiling every time when he wakes up from a nap or a night of sleeping. It is like he so happy to get ready for the activities of the day. He is like his grandpa!
I would imagine that Isabelle will need a dose of sliding today. Maybe Mike and I can tire her out so that she can take a nap, and last a little longer this evening. I took a nap yesterday, but she didn’t.
My muscle strain improves each day, and I will return to Retro Fitness after Christmas.
Observation – I guess I have to stay away from the obituary comments. One of my sons is not fond of me talking about dying, deaths, etc. When you have made so many trips to visit Mom in the hospital, and the nursing home I feel like I am surrounded by death. When you do read about friends and colleagues who have met their Maker before they should have, you do think about your own life.
On the other hand, when you are in your 30’s, and have a new born, all you do think about is life, and not death.
Actually I missed a wake and Mass at the funeral home last evening for the wife of my head custodian. The 66 year old woman lost a three year battle fighting cancer. I had the custodian’s children in mathematics class at my school. It will be so difficult for me to not talk about these death issues.
As we age, people always seems to talk about body parts that aren’t working like they used to, and about going to wakes and funerals of family and friends. It is part of the cycle of life!
I can’t empty the dishwasher like I did yesterday. Kevin and his family are sleeping on the fold out bed from one of the couches in the basement. Yesterday, they heard me rattle the silverware as I was putting them back into the kitchen drawers. This was at 4:15 AM. The dishwasher is calling me right now. The clean light is on, and it is begging me to empty it once again. I guess I will just read a book until I hear someone stirring. Oh that’s right! I don’t have any books to read since I have read most of the top 10 books already! I guess I will read the AARP magazine which arrived the other day!
Well, it is Christmas Eve. If you have little ones in the house, it will be extra special. If you have family and friends which you can be with, then enjoy the festivities. If you are religious, then celebrate Christmas for what it was intended to be à the birth of Christ. Go to a Christmas Eve service!
Keep the warmth that the Christmas Holiday brings, not just for a day or two, but all year long!
Well, I have to relax until the first child decides to wake up. It was Max yesterday around 7 AM. Isabelle slept until 8 AM.
When the confusion begins, it is good confusion when dealing with your grandchildren.
Have a great Christmas, and give you and your family many hugs from Linda and me! The Curley Lad
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Hello on Wednesday Morning
ear Friends,
Both sons and their wonderful families arrived in Pittsfield on Tuesday. I did get to East Boston a little before noon. It was a smooth ride. The ride home was just as smooth.
Good thing that Linda decided to stay home. With 5 adults, two dogs, and all the suitcases, and baby stuff, there was no room for Linda. Strapping her to the roof of my car would have been the only way in which I would have been able to get her back to Pittsfield. I actually did pack some rope when I made the trip to East Boston.
Kevin, Kyla, Danielle, Isabelle, and Max, and the two dogs were in one car, and Mike and I were in my car. My car was loaded in the hatch back, and on the back seat with so much stuff that you couldn’t even squeeze in a stuffed animal. My rear view mirrored was useless since my line of vision was totally blocked. Essentially I could have used a car top carrier, or a U-Haul. I even have a soft luggage car top carrier that I wanted to take, but under advisement of the Queen, I didn’t take it.
It took a little while for Isabelle to adjust to another set of surroundings, but in general, Linda’s child proofing of the house went pretty well. Our son, former Chief Flight Safety Officer, when he was at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, took a tour of the house looking for possible trouble spots where a toddler might get into trouble. Linda and I made the corrections. We now have these door knob devices on doors going the basement, on bedroom doors, etc. It took me a while to figure out how to use them.
After the Toddler and the five month old ate there supper, the adults sat down for a pleasant meal prepared by the domestic goddess, Linda. She made Chicken Picatta, and Risotto in the Crock pot. A few vegetables and some bread made for a great meal.
Around 7:30 PM, the children were prepared for bed time, and both mothers and fathers did their thing to settle them down. Isabelle, and Max were asleep in no time. I was so tired, that about an hour after the children went to sleep, I headed off to bed too. I couldn’t even stay awake or carry on a conversation.
When I woke up this morning, I see that I missed the rum cake which Linda made. There were five forks in the sink (the dishwasher was full of clean dishes) when there should have been six. I might have a piece for breakfast. It does say that I am supposed to take those Motrin Pills with food. Is rum cake considered food?
Speaking of Motrin, I do feel much better today. My muscle strain hasn’t healed completely, but I am a little more pain free than I was on Sunday.
Well, with me turning 63 today, it doesn’t appear to be all that bad. With a minimum of health issues, I feel great. My blood pressure was 124/72 when I visited the nurse practitioner on Monday. I still have a body fat issue, but hopefully that problem will be worked on, and solved after the holidays.
Observation – Grandchildren are so wonderful! Yes, I know that Linda and I are so fortunate to even have grandchildren. We are so lucky that things worked out so good for our two sons, the wives whom they have chosen, and the two bundles of joy that they have produced (and another baby Curley due in May).
I like the grandparent experience because I see the cycle of life taking place right before my eyes. As I mention in my e-mails about obituaries which I read in the local newspaper, there will be another person born who will make up for those deaths.
Sometimes the things that I do say in my e-mails do make people upset, especially for family and friends who would love to have grandchildren, and who are still waiting for it to happen. I guess it comes back to the point that I often make that people should try and be happy in their own little world.
Consider life like you were playing card game. Some of us were dealt an okay hand from the beginning, but the hand got worse as the game progressed. Some of us were dealt a mediocre hand of cards which will get better as the card game continues. Others seemed to have been dealt a Royal Straight Flush? What kind of hand did the Good Lord deal you?
Well, it is getting very close to Santa coming down the Chimney.
The Curley home is all prepared for his arrival.
I have a whole bunch of things to do, but I am the only one up in the house right now.
My tasks are all noisy ones so I can’t start right now.
I guess reading the local newspaper is a quiet activity.
Have a great day. The Curley’s will be having one for sure!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Both sons and their wonderful families arrived in Pittsfield on Tuesday. I did get to East Boston a little before noon. It was a smooth ride. The ride home was just as smooth.
Good thing that Linda decided to stay home. With 5 adults, two dogs, and all the suitcases, and baby stuff, there was no room for Linda. Strapping her to the roof of my car would have been the only way in which I would have been able to get her back to Pittsfield. I actually did pack some rope when I made the trip to East Boston.
Kevin, Kyla, Danielle, Isabelle, and Max, and the two dogs were in one car, and Mike and I were in my car. My car was loaded in the hatch back, and on the back seat with so much stuff that you couldn’t even squeeze in a stuffed animal. My rear view mirrored was useless since my line of vision was totally blocked. Essentially I could have used a car top carrier, or a U-Haul. I even have a soft luggage car top carrier that I wanted to take, but under advisement of the Queen, I didn’t take it.
It took a little while for Isabelle to adjust to another set of surroundings, but in general, Linda’s child proofing of the house went pretty well. Our son, former Chief Flight Safety Officer, when he was at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, took a tour of the house looking for possible trouble spots where a toddler might get into trouble. Linda and I made the corrections. We now have these door knob devices on doors going the basement, on bedroom doors, etc. It took me a while to figure out how to use them.
After the Toddler and the five month old ate there supper, the adults sat down for a pleasant meal prepared by the domestic goddess, Linda. She made Chicken Picatta, and Risotto in the Crock pot. A few vegetables and some bread made for a great meal.
Around 7:30 PM, the children were prepared for bed time, and both mothers and fathers did their thing to settle them down. Isabelle, and Max were asleep in no time. I was so tired, that about an hour after the children went to sleep, I headed off to bed too. I couldn’t even stay awake or carry on a conversation.
When I woke up this morning, I see that I missed the rum cake which Linda made. There were five forks in the sink (the dishwasher was full of clean dishes) when there should have been six. I might have a piece for breakfast. It does say that I am supposed to take those Motrin Pills with food. Is rum cake considered food?
Speaking of Motrin, I do feel much better today. My muscle strain hasn’t healed completely, but I am a little more pain free than I was on Sunday.
Well, with me turning 63 today, it doesn’t appear to be all that bad. With a minimum of health issues, I feel great. My blood pressure was 124/72 when I visited the nurse practitioner on Monday. I still have a body fat issue, but hopefully that problem will be worked on, and solved after the holidays.
Observation – Grandchildren are so wonderful! Yes, I know that Linda and I are so fortunate to even have grandchildren. We are so lucky that things worked out so good for our two sons, the wives whom they have chosen, and the two bundles of joy that they have produced (and another baby Curley due in May).
I like the grandparent experience because I see the cycle of life taking place right before my eyes. As I mention in my e-mails about obituaries which I read in the local newspaper, there will be another person born who will make up for those deaths.
Sometimes the things that I do say in my e-mails do make people upset, especially for family and friends who would love to have grandchildren, and who are still waiting for it to happen. I guess it comes back to the point that I often make that people should try and be happy in their own little world.
Consider life like you were playing card game. Some of us were dealt an okay hand from the beginning, but the hand got worse as the game progressed. Some of us were dealt a mediocre hand of cards which will get better as the card game continues. Others seemed to have been dealt a Royal Straight Flush? What kind of hand did the Good Lord deal you?
Well, it is getting very close to Santa coming down the Chimney.
The Curley home is all prepared for his arrival.
I have a whole bunch of things to do, but I am the only one up in the house right now.
My tasks are all noisy ones so I can’t start right now.
I guess reading the local newspaper is a quiet activity.
Have a great day. The Curley’s will be having one for sure!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went exactly as planned. I peeled 6 pounds of shrimp. I made two kinds of pizzelles before heading off to see the nurse practitioner during the mid afternoon on Monday. The nurse practitioner diagnosed my physical problem as a muscle strain. I now have a bottle full of 800 mg Motrin pills. I am supposed to take them three times per day with food.
The nurse practitioner said that I can go back to the gym, which I might do so on Wednesday, but I have to stay away form those machines which I could restrain my pulled muscle. Maybe I will do a little spinning which some of my friends are really hooked on doing at their particular gym.
Linda spent more than a couple of hours at the grocery store on Monday. She did some baking while I was at my UNICO membership meeting. She will be doing some more cooking this morning.
When our children arrive in the Berkshires today, they will be treated to a gourmet supper which we want to be a surprise. Since they are on my daily blog, I can’t discuss what we are serving this evening.
Right now Michael and his family should be sleeping at hotel not to far from Kevin and Kyla’s place in East Boston. The plan is for their family to be picked up and brought to East Boston to Kevin and Kyla’s apartment after check out time, where I will meet them. They want me to meet them around noon. I will load up Mike and his family in my car, and head to Pittsfield. As of yesterday, Kevin was thinking of closing his restaurant during the afternoon today for Christmas, and loading up his car with his family, and joining us in the Berkshires too. It will be so great if all these plans do materialize.
The UNICO membership meeting / dinner meeting went very well. “The Old Forge” always serves us one of the best meals of our 8 or 10 monthly meals which we have. We usually have the best attendance for this membership meeting night.
My friend and I did get another volunteer job (kitchen and servers) as we were departing the meeting. There is a polenta dinner on January 5, 2010. It will be at the new Mazzeo’s Ristorante which is not slated to open until February. This Polenta Dinner is a fund raiser for the Jimmy Fund. One of our UNICO Members and his wife will prepare the polenta, chicken, and sausage, and sauce. There are only a few tickets left. When the word gets out that this husband and wife team are cooking the Polenta Dinner, the tickets go like hot cakes. This is all done without any advertisements on radio or in the local newspaper.
I have another assigned task that I will get to after sending this e-mail. I have to grate some Italian cheese. Yes, we have those backup containers of grated cheese in those plastic containers, but there is nothing like the real stuff.
Observation 1 – I am already starting to think about the food that I am supposed to eat in moderation for the next several days. I don’t think that I will be able to eat healthy food, and in small portions. We have been invited to parties on Christmas Eve, Christmas evening, etc.
While in the car on the way to the UNICO meeting last night, my high school friend, neighbor, and UNICO brother tells me that he is cooking a batch of ribs for Christmas at his house. He even went out and spent over $100 for grill parts yesterday to make sure his grill will be in perfect working order. He creates his own barbecue sauce too. He usually keeps the barbecue recipe a secret.
The Curley family will definitely be making a stop at my friend’s home before these holidays are over. Once you taste my friend’s ribs, you won’t want any one else’s. Maybe our son Kevin can get my friend’s recipe, and add ribs to his menu at “Dough”. He could name the ribs “Jimmy’s Ribs” in honor of my friend.
Observation 2 – I turn 63 on Wednesday. Yes, I know in the scheme of things that I am still a youngster. As my friend and I were driving home from the meeting last evening, we both were saying that we are kind of lucky that all of our body parts are working pretty well. My friend turned 63 during the first week of December. We know so many people in our baby boomer age group who have more physical problems than you can imagine. Some of our baby boomer friends never did make it to even 60 years old. We too realize that when we get sick, it is mostly our fault like eating too much, drinking too much of the “fruit of the vine”, or straining muscles (in my case) because we think that we are 30 years old again.
My friend has longevity genes like I do. His mom passed away when she was in her mid 90’s. His grandparents came from the same town in Sicily that my grandparents (on my mother’s side) came from. My friend is Irish and Italian, and I am too. We must have some good DNA working for us!
Well, I have to get to my first quiet activity before I leave for Boston at 9 AM.
Is hand grating cheese a quiet activity?
Have a great Christmas if I don’t see you before, during, or after Christmas.
Remember not to sweat the little stuff.
Enjoy your family and friends because that is what life is all about.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went exactly as planned. I peeled 6 pounds of shrimp. I made two kinds of pizzelles before heading off to see the nurse practitioner during the mid afternoon on Monday. The nurse practitioner diagnosed my physical problem as a muscle strain. I now have a bottle full of 800 mg Motrin pills. I am supposed to take them three times per day with food.
The nurse practitioner said that I can go back to the gym, which I might do so on Wednesday, but I have to stay away form those machines which I could restrain my pulled muscle. Maybe I will do a little spinning which some of my friends are really hooked on doing at their particular gym.
Linda spent more than a couple of hours at the grocery store on Monday. She did some baking while I was at my UNICO membership meeting. She will be doing some more cooking this morning.
When our children arrive in the Berkshires today, they will be treated to a gourmet supper which we want to be a surprise. Since they are on my daily blog, I can’t discuss what we are serving this evening.
Right now Michael and his family should be sleeping at hotel not to far from Kevin and Kyla’s place in East Boston. The plan is for their family to be picked up and brought to East Boston to Kevin and Kyla’s apartment after check out time, where I will meet them. They want me to meet them around noon. I will load up Mike and his family in my car, and head to Pittsfield. As of yesterday, Kevin was thinking of closing his restaurant during the afternoon today for Christmas, and loading up his car with his family, and joining us in the Berkshires too. It will be so great if all these plans do materialize.
The UNICO membership meeting / dinner meeting went very well. “The Old Forge” always serves us one of the best meals of our 8 or 10 monthly meals which we have. We usually have the best attendance for this membership meeting night.
My friend and I did get another volunteer job (kitchen and servers) as we were departing the meeting. There is a polenta dinner on January 5, 2010. It will be at the new Mazzeo’s Ristorante which is not slated to open until February. This Polenta Dinner is a fund raiser for the Jimmy Fund. One of our UNICO Members and his wife will prepare the polenta, chicken, and sausage, and sauce. There are only a few tickets left. When the word gets out that this husband and wife team are cooking the Polenta Dinner, the tickets go like hot cakes. This is all done without any advertisements on radio or in the local newspaper.
I have another assigned task that I will get to after sending this e-mail. I have to grate some Italian cheese. Yes, we have those backup containers of grated cheese in those plastic containers, but there is nothing like the real stuff.
Observation 1 – I am already starting to think about the food that I am supposed to eat in moderation for the next several days. I don’t think that I will be able to eat healthy food, and in small portions. We have been invited to parties on Christmas Eve, Christmas evening, etc.
While in the car on the way to the UNICO meeting last night, my high school friend, neighbor, and UNICO brother tells me that he is cooking a batch of ribs for Christmas at his house. He even went out and spent over $100 for grill parts yesterday to make sure his grill will be in perfect working order. He creates his own barbecue sauce too. He usually keeps the barbecue recipe a secret.
The Curley family will definitely be making a stop at my friend’s home before these holidays are over. Once you taste my friend’s ribs, you won’t want any one else’s. Maybe our son Kevin can get my friend’s recipe, and add ribs to his menu at “Dough”. He could name the ribs “Jimmy’s Ribs” in honor of my friend.
Observation 2 – I turn 63 on Wednesday. Yes, I know in the scheme of things that I am still a youngster. As my friend and I were driving home from the meeting last evening, we both were saying that we are kind of lucky that all of our body parts are working pretty well. My friend turned 63 during the first week of December. We know so many people in our baby boomer age group who have more physical problems than you can imagine. Some of our baby boomer friends never did make it to even 60 years old. We too realize that when we get sick, it is mostly our fault like eating too much, drinking too much of the “fruit of the vine”, or straining muscles (in my case) because we think that we are 30 years old again.
My friend has longevity genes like I do. His mom passed away when she was in her mid 90’s. His grandparents came from the same town in Sicily that my grandparents (on my mother’s side) came from. My friend is Irish and Italian, and I am too. We must have some good DNA working for us!
Well, I have to get to my first quiet activity before I leave for Boston at 9 AM.
Is hand grating cheese a quiet activity?
Have a great Christmas if I don’t see you before, during, or after Christmas.
Remember not to sweat the little stuff.
Enjoy your family and friends because that is what life is all about.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, December 21, 2009
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
My 60 minute treadmill workout at Retro Fitness did more harm than good for me on Sunday. I was in pain all day long. I had trouble doing everything like getting up and down from a chair, getting into and out of a car, coughing and sneezing, getting in and out of bed. I was ready to head off to the emergency room by the time we ended our third party on Sunday.
Yes, we had fun, food, and merriment at each party. Actually, the first party at the Italian American Club provided the best food. They served eggplant; polenta squares which you topped with sauce, pasta, sausage and peppers and onions, pizza with anchovies (which was the only food Linda didn’t like), chicken wings, all kinds of Italian meats, cheeses, condiments, salad, rolls, and bread as well as dessert and coffee. We were stuffed when we left the Club.
We then headed to the ITAM. The food was okay, but not great. We had more coffee and dessert just to be socialable. We then left the ITAM around 3 PM, and headed off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club.
Linda went right for the pizza since there were no anchovies on it. The Berkshire Hills had Swedish Meatballs, and wings (like the other two places had). They had fruit, and baked nachos and cheese which the other two places didn’t have. The Hills was more of a drinking crowd than an eating crowd.
When we arrived home near 5 PM, I put on sleep wear, grabbed the heating pad, and went to the basement to finish wrapping presents. I went from wrapping to the couch to watch football. I had such a difficult time getting comfortable. Any time I moved, I got shooting pain in the inflamed area. I headed off to bed at 9:30 PM. I fell asleep, and woke up to cheering in some sporting contest a little after midnight.
I feel so much better this morning than I did yesterday. I am not pain free completely, but I can move around without constant pain. If I do move in a particular direction, I still can still illicit a shooting pain, but nothing like yesterday.
I might see if I can hook up with my primary care guy or a nurse practioner today.
I really don’t have time to be injured since the grandchildren will be arriving in Pittsfield on Tuesday (after I pick some of them up on Tuesday morning)
Yesterday, I was hurting so bad, that I couldn’t have picked up either of the grandchildren. Linda was so upset that I was in an almost paralysis mode on Sunday.
I am staying away from Retro Fitness today!
Social Calendar – After sending this e-mail, make out a few Christmas cards, and go to the Post Office, I am going to peel and clean shrimp, make pizzelles, contact my Primary Care Doctor, set up the house in preparation for our guests to arrive. I will be going out this evening to a place called the “Old Forge” for a UNICO membership meeting. The fun and merriment has to continue. The question is can my body make it through all of the activities?
Linda has to make her final grocery stop for a few last minute items.
We did communicate with a few friends at the Eastern end of the state on Sunday, and asked about the snowfall which they received. Kevin said that the snow in East Boston was manageable. Our friends on Cape Cod were getting blizzard conditions. Linda’s godson in New Hampshire was getting 3 or 4 inches of snow. We in the Berkshires continued to be snow flake free.
I did catch bits and pieces of the Patriots as they won their game. They won, but just barely held on to the slim lead that they had. Like I said, the Patriots are mediocre team. One thing that I did hear on the post game radio program is that Tom Brady is hurting physically. The Patriots’, and Tom Brady are pretty closed mouth about how bad his injuries really are.
Enough of me playing on the computer! I have to get to work with some quiet activities.
Have a great week at work or play.
Give all of your family members a “Hug” from Linda and me.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
My 60 minute treadmill workout at Retro Fitness did more harm than good for me on Sunday. I was in pain all day long. I had trouble doing everything like getting up and down from a chair, getting into and out of a car, coughing and sneezing, getting in and out of bed. I was ready to head off to the emergency room by the time we ended our third party on Sunday.
Yes, we had fun, food, and merriment at each party. Actually, the first party at the Italian American Club provided the best food. They served eggplant; polenta squares which you topped with sauce, pasta, sausage and peppers and onions, pizza with anchovies (which was the only food Linda didn’t like), chicken wings, all kinds of Italian meats, cheeses, condiments, salad, rolls, and bread as well as dessert and coffee. We were stuffed when we left the Club.
We then headed to the ITAM. The food was okay, but not great. We had more coffee and dessert just to be socialable. We then left the ITAM around 3 PM, and headed off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club.
Linda went right for the pizza since there were no anchovies on it. The Berkshire Hills had Swedish Meatballs, and wings (like the other two places had). They had fruit, and baked nachos and cheese which the other two places didn’t have. The Hills was more of a drinking crowd than an eating crowd.
When we arrived home near 5 PM, I put on sleep wear, grabbed the heating pad, and went to the basement to finish wrapping presents. I went from wrapping to the couch to watch football. I had such a difficult time getting comfortable. Any time I moved, I got shooting pain in the inflamed area. I headed off to bed at 9:30 PM. I fell asleep, and woke up to cheering in some sporting contest a little after midnight.
I feel so much better this morning than I did yesterday. I am not pain free completely, but I can move around without constant pain. If I do move in a particular direction, I still can still illicit a shooting pain, but nothing like yesterday.
I might see if I can hook up with my primary care guy or a nurse practioner today.
I really don’t have time to be injured since the grandchildren will be arriving in Pittsfield on Tuesday (after I pick some of them up on Tuesday morning)
Yesterday, I was hurting so bad, that I couldn’t have picked up either of the grandchildren. Linda was so upset that I was in an almost paralysis mode on Sunday.
I am staying away from Retro Fitness today!
Social Calendar – After sending this e-mail, make out a few Christmas cards, and go to the Post Office, I am going to peel and clean shrimp, make pizzelles, contact my Primary Care Doctor, set up the house in preparation for our guests to arrive. I will be going out this evening to a place called the “Old Forge” for a UNICO membership meeting. The fun and merriment has to continue. The question is can my body make it through all of the activities?
Linda has to make her final grocery stop for a few last minute items.
We did communicate with a few friends at the Eastern end of the state on Sunday, and asked about the snowfall which they received. Kevin said that the snow in East Boston was manageable. Our friends on Cape Cod were getting blizzard conditions. Linda’s godson in New Hampshire was getting 3 or 4 inches of snow. We in the Berkshires continued to be snow flake free.
I did catch bits and pieces of the Patriots as they won their game. They won, but just barely held on to the slim lead that they had. Like I said, the Patriots are mediocre team. One thing that I did hear on the post game radio program is that Tom Brady is hurting physically. The Patriots’, and Tom Brady are pretty closed mouth about how bad his injuries really are.
Enough of me playing on the computer! I have to get to work with some quiet activities.
Have a great week at work or play.
Give all of your family members a “Hug” from Linda and me.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Hello on Sunday morning
Dear Friends,
The weather prognosticators didn’t quite get it correct. The snow missed us! Darn! The storm hugged the coast, and all the major east coast cities picked up the snow. The cold weather in the Berkshires blocked the storm from reaching us.
I think that I am going to take a break from Retro Fitness. I strained a muscle in my lower rib cage / kidney area a few days ago. Every time that we go over a bump in the road, while we are in our car, I get a shooting pain. Actually the area is painful to the touch. I actually don’t know what machine that I was using which caused the inflammation.
I consulted with my sister, who spent her working years in X-Ray, and Ultrasound. She asked if I had been using a particular machine where you do these stomach muscle crunches. I said “Yes”, and she said that this was probably the machine that caused my problem.
Linda labeled the final last minutes gifts, so I am heading to the basement after this e-mail to finishing the wrapping? Is this a quiet activity?
Social Calendar – We only have three parties to go to today. I think that we will be starting off at the Italian American Club at noon. After some good Italian food at the Club, we will head off to the ITAM Lodge for the second party. On the way home, we will stop at the Berkshire Hills Country Club for their 3 PM to 5 PM event.
The dinner and the Irish Concert went well last evening. I am so glad that we made reservations at Patrick’s Pub for 6 PM. Linda was worrying that we would be served too quickly, and that we would have a good deal of time between dinner and the concert (which is 500 feet from Patrick’s). Well, the Pub was packed! The kitchen lost our main meal food order, and we left the place at 7:45 PM. The waitress came to our table, and said that they wouldn’t charge us for the main meal due to our pain and suffering of waiting. We did give the waitress a tip based on the cost of the main meal.
We didn’t have much time to socialize before the concert. Linda did have time to do a little shopping in the lobby of the theater. For the Christmas season, they have had some crafters selling their wares. I think Linda picked up some kind of bauble while I was working the crowd.
I am trying to figure out how that I am going to catch the 1 PM Patriot football game while attending the three afternoon parties. I might have to record the game.
I replaced our under the counter toaster oven with a new one. Some assembly required! Yeah Right! I finished the project just in time to head out to the concert. It wasn’t as easy as I had hoped it would be.
The major stumbling block was that Black & Decker redesigned the heat shield so I had to take out the old one, drill new holes in the cabinet, etc. before installing the toaster oven.
Before doing the above project I was out and about on the roads in Pittsfield. The roads were clogged with cars. Every Grocery store and stores in general were packed with cars and people. I wanted to get some liquids at one grocery store. When I saw how packed that it was, I just drove by it. I am so glad that our Christmas shopping is complete. One small grocery run, and we should be ready to entertain.
Santa will be here in a couple of days as well as out two sons and their families.
“To travel hopefully is better than to arrive!” (Robert Louis Stevenson quote) is happening once again.
Have a great Sunday
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
The weather prognosticators didn’t quite get it correct. The snow missed us! Darn! The storm hugged the coast, and all the major east coast cities picked up the snow. The cold weather in the Berkshires blocked the storm from reaching us.
I think that I am going to take a break from Retro Fitness. I strained a muscle in my lower rib cage / kidney area a few days ago. Every time that we go over a bump in the road, while we are in our car, I get a shooting pain. Actually the area is painful to the touch. I actually don’t know what machine that I was using which caused the inflammation.
I consulted with my sister, who spent her working years in X-Ray, and Ultrasound. She asked if I had been using a particular machine where you do these stomach muscle crunches. I said “Yes”, and she said that this was probably the machine that caused my problem.
Linda labeled the final last minutes gifts, so I am heading to the basement after this e-mail to finishing the wrapping? Is this a quiet activity?
Social Calendar – We only have three parties to go to today. I think that we will be starting off at the Italian American Club at noon. After some good Italian food at the Club, we will head off to the ITAM Lodge for the second party. On the way home, we will stop at the Berkshire Hills Country Club for their 3 PM to 5 PM event.
The dinner and the Irish Concert went well last evening. I am so glad that we made reservations at Patrick’s Pub for 6 PM. Linda was worrying that we would be served too quickly, and that we would have a good deal of time between dinner and the concert (which is 500 feet from Patrick’s). Well, the Pub was packed! The kitchen lost our main meal food order, and we left the place at 7:45 PM. The waitress came to our table, and said that they wouldn’t charge us for the main meal due to our pain and suffering of waiting. We did give the waitress a tip based on the cost of the main meal.
We didn’t have much time to socialize before the concert. Linda did have time to do a little shopping in the lobby of the theater. For the Christmas season, they have had some crafters selling their wares. I think Linda picked up some kind of bauble while I was working the crowd.
I am trying to figure out how that I am going to catch the 1 PM Patriot football game while attending the three afternoon parties. I might have to record the game.
I replaced our under the counter toaster oven with a new one. Some assembly required! Yeah Right! I finished the project just in time to head out to the concert. It wasn’t as easy as I had hoped it would be.
The major stumbling block was that Black & Decker redesigned the heat shield so I had to take out the old one, drill new holes in the cabinet, etc. before installing the toaster oven.
Before doing the above project I was out and about on the roads in Pittsfield. The roads were clogged with cars. Every Grocery store and stores in general were packed with cars and people. I wanted to get some liquids at one grocery store. When I saw how packed that it was, I just drove by it. I am so glad that our Christmas shopping is complete. One small grocery run, and we should be ready to entertain.
Santa will be here in a couple of days as well as out two sons and their families.
“To travel hopefully is better than to arrive!” (Robert Louis Stevenson quote) is happening once again.
Have a great Sunday
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Hello on Saturday again
Dear Friends,
I did forget to mention that one of our neighbors had a dark spot in the lighted bushes in front of his house. When I talked to the husband, he explained how the dark spot occurred. When we had some measurable snow a couple of weeks ago, he used his snow blower to clear off his driveway, and the walkway going to his front door. He told me that while he was snow blowing his walkway, he got a little to close to the bushes. He sucked up several strings of lights into his snow blower. He said that it happened so fast that he didn’t have enough time to shut down the machine before it ate up the lights. He told me that the dark spot will be there until he takes the lights down after Christmas. It is so good to see that other people do dumb things like the Curley Lad.
Another friend was telling me about his four year old grandchild who started preschool. My friend asked his grandchild how the first day of school went. The boy was so excited about his first day experience. He told his grandfather all the neat things that he did during that first day of school. The child told his grandfather that he learned some Spanish words. Grandpa asked the boy to say some of the new Spanish words. The boy responded by saying “Shalom”. The preschool that his parents enrolled him in was a Jewish one, which was the top rated one in the area. The parents are practicing Catholics.
The forecast is changing faster than I can report to all of you. Now the weather channel is saying that we should be getting 3 to 5 inches of the white stuff for our area. It looks like we might be dashing through the snow on the way to tonight’s activities. As a matter of fact, snow fell last year for the Irish Concert which we went to. It snowed so bad that all of us who showed up for the concert got a free ticket to another concert of our choice. Is it happening again?
Have a great weekend! The Curley Lad
I did forget to mention that one of our neighbors had a dark spot in the lighted bushes in front of his house. When I talked to the husband, he explained how the dark spot occurred. When we had some measurable snow a couple of weeks ago, he used his snow blower to clear off his driveway, and the walkway going to his front door. He told me that while he was snow blowing his walkway, he got a little to close to the bushes. He sucked up several strings of lights into his snow blower. He said that it happened so fast that he didn’t have enough time to shut down the machine before it ate up the lights. He told me that the dark spot will be there until he takes the lights down after Christmas. It is so good to see that other people do dumb things like the Curley Lad.
Another friend was telling me about his four year old grandchild who started preschool. My friend asked his grandchild how the first day of school went. The boy was so excited about his first day experience. He told his grandfather all the neat things that he did during that first day of school. The child told his grandfather that he learned some Spanish words. Grandpa asked the boy to say some of the new Spanish words. The boy responded by saying “Shalom”. The preschool that his parents enrolled him in was a Jewish one, which was the top rated one in the area. The parents are practicing Catholics.
The forecast is changing faster than I can report to all of you. Now the weather channel is saying that we should be getting 3 to 5 inches of the white stuff for our area. It looks like we might be dashing through the snow on the way to tonight’s activities. As a matter of fact, snow fell last year for the Irish Concert which we went to. It snowed so bad that all of us who showed up for the concert got a free ticket to another concert of our choice. Is it happening again?
Have a great weekend! The Curley Lad
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
It appears that the snow that Washington, D.C. is getting will not reach the Berkshires. Oh Darn! We are supposed to get an inch of snow which will cover up the dirty snow, but that is it. The high pressure cold Canadian air is the culprit. We are in the single digits as I type this e-mail. We should reach the middle 20’s before this day comes to an end. We are in a Winter Storm Watch even though the snow amounts are predicted to be on the light side. I need enough snow to take Isabelle and Max sliding!
We had another pleasant day on Friday. Linda went from her breakfast to search for a few last minute gifts. I came home after Retro Fitness, and did some chores inside the house. Wrapping these last minutes gifts should take place today.
We did meet at T.J.Maxx so that I could help with the selection making of certain items which Linda picked out.
I have an 11 AM this morning. Linda should be free to sleep as long as she wants. I usually make so much noise doing my quiet activities, that she normally can’t sleep past 8 AM.
This evening we are off to dinner and an Irish Christmas Concert at the Colonial Theater. Yes, we might encounter a whole bunch of Berkshire County people of Irish descent. This evening is when the light snow fall will be taking place too.
Last evening we did hook up with another couple, and went off to the Shamrock. After a good meal, we went off to the other couples’ home to see their decorated Christmas tree. After a couple of cups of coffee, we headed home.
I watched three sporting contests. All of the teams which I was rooting for lost. The first sporting contest was a college football game in which Villanova defeated the Montana Grizzlies. The University of Montana in Missoula is where our son Kevin graduated from. I then continued to use the remote to watch the Boston Celtic’s lose by one point at home. The Bruins lost their hockey game in an overtime shootout. I still slept well despite the three loses!
Observation – According to all reports, 40 % of the people will start their Christmas Shopping today. Linda and I are staying out of the stores today! It was also reported that people are spending more money for Christmas this year whether they are making their purchases in the store or on line. The restaurants appear to be doing well also. Even thought the Shamrock is relatively small, the place was packed. People who didn’t want to wait for a table were eating at the bar. I tried eating at the bar once. I dribbled most of my dinner on my body, and the floor when we sat at the bar.
Linda went out on Tuesday night with a couple of Mah Jongg girlfriends. The Italian restaurant (Mazzeo’s),which they went to, was packed.
Well, I have to put on my workout clothes, and head off to Retro Fitness. On the weekend, the place doesn’t open until 6 AM. Oh Darn!
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It appears that the snow that Washington, D.C. is getting will not reach the Berkshires. Oh Darn! We are supposed to get an inch of snow which will cover up the dirty snow, but that is it. The high pressure cold Canadian air is the culprit. We are in the single digits as I type this e-mail. We should reach the middle 20’s before this day comes to an end. We are in a Winter Storm Watch even though the snow amounts are predicted to be on the light side. I need enough snow to take Isabelle and Max sliding!
We had another pleasant day on Friday. Linda went from her breakfast to search for a few last minute gifts. I came home after Retro Fitness, and did some chores inside the house. Wrapping these last minutes gifts should take place today.
We did meet at T.J.Maxx so that I could help with the selection making of certain items which Linda picked out.
I have an 11 AM this morning. Linda should be free to sleep as long as she wants. I usually make so much noise doing my quiet activities, that she normally can’t sleep past 8 AM.
This evening we are off to dinner and an Irish Christmas Concert at the Colonial Theater. Yes, we might encounter a whole bunch of Berkshire County people of Irish descent. This evening is when the light snow fall will be taking place too.
Last evening we did hook up with another couple, and went off to the Shamrock. After a good meal, we went off to the other couples’ home to see their decorated Christmas tree. After a couple of cups of coffee, we headed home.
I watched three sporting contests. All of the teams which I was rooting for lost. The first sporting contest was a college football game in which Villanova defeated the Montana Grizzlies. The University of Montana in Missoula is where our son Kevin graduated from. I then continued to use the remote to watch the Boston Celtic’s lose by one point at home. The Bruins lost their hockey game in an overtime shootout. I still slept well despite the three loses!
Observation – According to all reports, 40 % of the people will start their Christmas Shopping today. Linda and I are staying out of the stores today! It was also reported that people are spending more money for Christmas this year whether they are making their purchases in the store or on line. The restaurants appear to be doing well also. Even thought the Shamrock is relatively small, the place was packed. People who didn’t want to wait for a table were eating at the bar. I tried eating at the bar once. I dribbled most of my dinner on my body, and the floor when we sat at the bar.
Linda went out on Tuesday night with a couple of Mah Jongg girlfriends. The Italian restaurant (Mazzeo’s),which they went to, was packed.
Well, I have to put on my workout clothes, and head off to Retro Fitness. On the weekend, the place doesn’t open until 6 AM. Oh Darn!
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, December 18, 2009
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
I was so excited that our computer is working normally now that I woke up earlier than I should. No big deal because that is what naps are for!
It is a balmy 6 degrees above zero as I begin this e-mail. When I return from Retro Fitness, the temperature usually drops a couple degrees more.
I did thaw out from yesterday’s bell ringing. People dropped more money in the Salvation Army kettle because I think that they felt sorry for us standing out in the cold. We sent one of our friends home after an hour. He was improperly dressed, and my friend and I could see our friends turning cold and blue.
One of the guys who we relieved from the shift before used to run the Ski Patrol at Bosquet Ski area. He said that he had done a double shift. Since he worked Ski Patrol for those many years, he knew how to dress properly. He is actually my neighbor directly behind our house on Winesap. He took one of the bells, which weren’t working that well, and brought it home and fixed it. When he returned, he was so upset because he got too close to his pellet stove (to get the chill out), and burned a big hole in his expensive ski pants. I was thinking that he was lucky that he didn’t turn into a human torch!
Isn’t it difficult to believe that Christmas a week away? As I look around the house, and see all the decoration which Linda put up, I was thinking of the many days it took her to do so. I think that we should leave everything up well past Christmas. She said that if we were among the rich and famous, she would have house for each season. Each house would be decorated for that season so that all that she would have to do is dust off the decorations instead of returning them to the many Rubber Maid buckets which we use for storage. This is just a pipe dream since we don’t have any rich relatives to leave us any money in their wills.
The pot roast dinner was super last evening. A little effort in the morning, and the crock pot on for ten hours, provided a hearty and tasty meal. I put the carrots, onions, and potatoes in the crock pot too. A loaf of Italian bread, which I purchased on the way home from bell ringing, which was on sale for $1, completed the meal. You need comfort food when it is cold out side. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen if people would use their crock pots.
Observation – When we were doing our bell ringing on Thursday afternoon, it was amazing watching what people were wearing as they enter the store. One guy had on a short sleeve shirt, and a pair of jeans. Visualize a temperature creeping into the single digits with a 20 mile an hour wind, and here is this guy dressed like it is summer.
Another thing that I noticed, and it wasn’t just yesterday, Walmart has been non stop busy. Every time I go in the store, the parking lot is full of people. In this tight economy, people are spending more money at Walmart than at the higher end stores. Our Walmart started adding more food items, and people are treating it like a Super Walmart, just without a deli and meat, and fresh vegetable section. I even noticed that we are purchasing more food items instead of going to the local supermarket which is in the same shopping complex. What did we do without stores like Walmart in the 50’s and 60’s?
Parent update – Linda and I did stop in and see dear old mom the other day. She keeps on saying that she wants to go home. My sister and I have to keep reminding Mom that she needs so much help if she does go home, that it is difficult to do so. We might try getting her home after Christmas, but starting off with a couple of days at a time along with the required Visiting Nurse Association, and the Home Health Care people. We want to see our Mother happy, but she needs so much help.
We have so many friends who have dealt with a situation like ours, and they say that the nursing home is the best place for Mom, even though it is heart breaking for my sister and I.
Social Calendar – Linda is getting up earlier than she would like to today. She is off to her 8:30 AM Pittsfield High School retiree breakfast. I have a bunch of errands to take care. I think that there might be a birthday present to wrap for our grandchild Isabelle who turns 2 on December 29, 2009.
I will most likely need a nap today if we do decide to go out with some friends this evening.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I was so excited that our computer is working normally now that I woke up earlier than I should. No big deal because that is what naps are for!
It is a balmy 6 degrees above zero as I begin this e-mail. When I return from Retro Fitness, the temperature usually drops a couple degrees more.
I did thaw out from yesterday’s bell ringing. People dropped more money in the Salvation Army kettle because I think that they felt sorry for us standing out in the cold. We sent one of our friends home after an hour. He was improperly dressed, and my friend and I could see our friends turning cold and blue.
One of the guys who we relieved from the shift before used to run the Ski Patrol at Bosquet Ski area. He said that he had done a double shift. Since he worked Ski Patrol for those many years, he knew how to dress properly. He is actually my neighbor directly behind our house on Winesap. He took one of the bells, which weren’t working that well, and brought it home and fixed it. When he returned, he was so upset because he got too close to his pellet stove (to get the chill out), and burned a big hole in his expensive ski pants. I was thinking that he was lucky that he didn’t turn into a human torch!
Isn’t it difficult to believe that Christmas a week away? As I look around the house, and see all the decoration which Linda put up, I was thinking of the many days it took her to do so. I think that we should leave everything up well past Christmas. She said that if we were among the rich and famous, she would have house for each season. Each house would be decorated for that season so that all that she would have to do is dust off the decorations instead of returning them to the many Rubber Maid buckets which we use for storage. This is just a pipe dream since we don’t have any rich relatives to leave us any money in their wills.
The pot roast dinner was super last evening. A little effort in the morning, and the crock pot on for ten hours, provided a hearty and tasty meal. I put the carrots, onions, and potatoes in the crock pot too. A loaf of Italian bread, which I purchased on the way home from bell ringing, which was on sale for $1, completed the meal. You need comfort food when it is cold out side. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen if people would use their crock pots.
Observation – When we were doing our bell ringing on Thursday afternoon, it was amazing watching what people were wearing as they enter the store. One guy had on a short sleeve shirt, and a pair of jeans. Visualize a temperature creeping into the single digits with a 20 mile an hour wind, and here is this guy dressed like it is summer.
Another thing that I noticed, and it wasn’t just yesterday, Walmart has been non stop busy. Every time I go in the store, the parking lot is full of people. In this tight economy, people are spending more money at Walmart than at the higher end stores. Our Walmart started adding more food items, and people are treating it like a Super Walmart, just without a deli and meat, and fresh vegetable section. I even noticed that we are purchasing more food items instead of going to the local supermarket which is in the same shopping complex. What did we do without stores like Walmart in the 50’s and 60’s?
Parent update – Linda and I did stop in and see dear old mom the other day. She keeps on saying that she wants to go home. My sister and I have to keep reminding Mom that she needs so much help if she does go home, that it is difficult to do so. We might try getting her home after Christmas, but starting off with a couple of days at a time along with the required Visiting Nurse Association, and the Home Health Care people. We want to see our Mother happy, but she needs so much help.
We have so many friends who have dealt with a situation like ours, and they say that the nursing home is the best place for Mom, even though it is heart breaking for my sister and I.
Social Calendar – Linda is getting up earlier than she would like to today. She is off to her 8:30 AM Pittsfield High School retiree breakfast. I have a bunch of errands to take care. I think that there might be a birthday present to wrap for our grandchild Isabelle who turns 2 on December 29, 2009.
I will most likely need a nap today if we do decide to go out with some friends this evening.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Hello on Tuesday morning
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day in the Berkshires on Monday.
I decided to work in our small storage area in the basement while Linda went
off to do errands. Her last words, as she exited the house, were : "If you
decide to throw out things while your cleaning, just don't tell me what you have
thrown out." I followed her instructions exactly!
I think that we will have the most trash of anyone in the neighborhood to put
out on the curb for Wednesday.
I think that I am going back in the basement today while Linda's Mah Jongg
ladies are at our house doing lunch and playing from about noon until 4:30 PM.
Linda is socially engaged this evening too!
The temperatures were so mild on Monday that you didn't even need a jacket on
when you went outside. I did go outside for 5 minutes during the heat of the
day. I had to reattach some bows which came off of one of the Kissing Balls as
well as rescue a neighbor who locked himself out of his house.
While I was in the basement, I heard the front door bell ring. I thought it was
the UPS man delivering another package. Not! It was my neighbor. Luckily he used
our telephone to call his wife to unlock his garage door. His wife works about
two miles from their home so she arrived quickly.
I told Linda, who happened to be home at the exact time because she forgot to
put the packages in the car which she was supposed to mail, that we have a spare
key hidden in a strategic location so that we can always get back into the house
if either of us locked ourselves out. I hope she remembers where I told her that
I hid the key.
My UNICO board meeting went well. We had a few appetizers to get us through the
rather quick meeting.
The cool temperatures which I talked about in yesterday's e-mail will be
arriving this evening in the Berkshires. Our daughter-in-law in Kansas said that
they went from 48 degrees to 18 degrees in a couple of hours as the front moved
through the mid west the other day. Oh Joy!
I did forget that I will be outdoors on one of those cool days ringing bells
for The Salvation Army from 3 PM until 5 PM on Thursday. There will be no
precipitation, but I will still have to wear gear like I am going ice fishing.
Observation -- I had a friend who went in for the lap band procedure. After what
he went through, I will never have the procedure done unless doctors say that it
is absolutely necessary. My friend got an infection a couple of weeks after his
surgery. He spent 11 days in the hospital. While in the hospital they had to
take out his gall bladder, and he experienced a renal shutdown. Luckily he
recovered from the renal shutdown. He did spend one day on dialysis during the
11 day period. At the UNICO board meeting last evening, the President said that
this UNICO member, who is our treasurer, was back in the hospital because he was
having difficulty breathing. Hopefully he was getting discharged today. This
confirms my position on life as we get older. Enjoy every moment that you are on
earth because you never know what the future portends!
If you are wondering how old this guy is, when I was a first year teacher, he
was a senior at Pittsfield High School. Since I was 21 years old when I started
teaching, my friend must be pretty close to being 60 years old. This means that
he has a lot of life to live!
The Tiger saga continues. One of his transgressions let herself be interviewed
on the Today show on Monday. I don't see how Tiger and his wife could ever
possibly salvage their marriage after what I saw and heard during this
interview. This woman was just one of many.
While I was cleaning things in the basement on Monday, I came across a large as
life poster of Tiger. It was a poster of Tiger next to a "Buick" for which he
was a spokesperson. I want to get the poster framed, and hang it in my cellar.
The Queen said to not waste my money.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day in the Berkshires on Monday.
I decided to work in our small storage area in the basement while Linda went
off to do errands. Her last words, as she exited the house, were : "If you
decide to throw out things while your cleaning, just don't tell me what you have
thrown out." I followed her instructions exactly!
I think that we will have the most trash of anyone in the neighborhood to put
out on the curb for Wednesday.
I think that I am going back in the basement today while Linda's Mah Jongg
ladies are at our house doing lunch and playing from about noon until 4:30 PM.
Linda is socially engaged this evening too!
The temperatures were so mild on Monday that you didn't even need a jacket on
when you went outside. I did go outside for 5 minutes during the heat of the
day. I had to reattach some bows which came off of one of the Kissing Balls as
well as rescue a neighbor who locked himself out of his house.
While I was in the basement, I heard the front door bell ring. I thought it was
the UPS man delivering another package. Not! It was my neighbor. Luckily he used
our telephone to call his wife to unlock his garage door. His wife works about
two miles from their home so she arrived quickly.
I told Linda, who happened to be home at the exact time because she forgot to
put the packages in the car which she was supposed to mail, that we have a spare
key hidden in a strategic location so that we can always get back into the house
if either of us locked ourselves out. I hope she remembers where I told her that
I hid the key.
My UNICO board meeting went well. We had a few appetizers to get us through the
rather quick meeting.
The cool temperatures which I talked about in yesterday's e-mail will be
arriving this evening in the Berkshires. Our daughter-in-law in Kansas said that
they went from 48 degrees to 18 degrees in a couple of hours as the front moved
through the mid west the other day. Oh Joy!
I did forget that I will be outdoors on one of those cool days ringing bells
for The Salvation Army from 3 PM until 5 PM on Thursday. There will be no
precipitation, but I will still have to wear gear like I am going ice fishing.
Observation -- I had a friend who went in for the lap band procedure. After what
he went through, I will never have the procedure done unless doctors say that it
is absolutely necessary. My friend got an infection a couple of weeks after his
surgery. He spent 11 days in the hospital. While in the hospital they had to
take out his gall bladder, and he experienced a renal shutdown. Luckily he
recovered from the renal shutdown. He did spend one day on dialysis during the
11 day period. At the UNICO board meeting last evening, the President said that
this UNICO member, who is our treasurer, was back in the hospital because he was
having difficulty breathing. Hopefully he was getting discharged today. This
confirms my position on life as we get older. Enjoy every moment that you are on
earth because you never know what the future portends!
If you are wondering how old this guy is, when I was a first year teacher, he
was a senior at Pittsfield High School. Since I was 21 years old when I started
teaching, my friend must be pretty close to being 60 years old. This means that
he has a lot of life to live!
The Tiger saga continues. One of his transgressions let herself be interviewed
on the Today show on Monday. I don't see how Tiger and his wife could ever
possibly salvage their marriage after what I saw and heard during this
interview. This woman was just one of many.
While I was cleaning things in the basement on Monday, I came across a large as
life poster of Tiger. It was a poster of Tiger next to a "Buick" for which he
was a spokesperson. I want to get the poster framed, and hang it in my cellar.
The Queen said to not waste my money.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
I just got back from Retro Fitness. The Ninja guy and I opened the place at
4:30 AM.
Now some of you might think that my use of the word "Ninja guy" to be a bit
racist, but as I was on the treadmill at one point this morning, I had the
personal television on the machine going. As I was searching for the ESPN Sports
Center Channel, which I always watch while on the treadmill, I saw an
infomercial. They were advertising some kind of super mini blender. It was
called the "Ninja!" Is this considered racism?
Speaking of ESPN, I was watching the summary of all the professional football
games which took place on Sunday. As I watched the summary of the game between
the two Florida teams, I started thinking about the tailgating, which my friend
and I used to do, when we had our Patriot season tickets. I was thinking what it
must be like to tailgate if your team was a Florida based one. I was trying to
imagine wearing shorts and tee shirts as opposed to long underwear, winter
coats, hats, and gloves, and winter boots, and rain gear especially if my friend
and I were at yesterday's Patriot game at Gillette Stadium (It rained during
most of the game).
Randy Moss is catching a whole bunch of flack on all the Sports Programs, and
Sports pages of newspapers today. He was awful yesterday by not running routes,
dropping passes that he should have caught, etc. At one point, Tom Brady went
over to the bench to speak to him after one of his drop balls.
Randy better get his act together this week during practice. The Patriots need
to win every one of their remaining games to secure first place in their
division. I would bench Randy if he plays like he did yesterday.
The Patriots are off to Buffalo on this Sunday. The Patriots haven't been able
to win on the road this season, and I hope that this is not the case on Sunday.
I like the Eagles, the Saints, and the Vikings as we get closer to the
playoffs. Most of the other teams are mediocre including the Patriots.
Tiger -- The saga continues! More firms who have Tiger as their spokesperson
are severing their ties with him. I hope that he has enough money left for a
divorce settlement!
Linda and I had a pleasant day on Sunday. Linda worked a lot harder than I did.
I watched the Patriots while wrapping presents. Linda did all the organizing and
separating and labeling, etc until 6 PM. We finished wrapping pretty much
everything which needs to be wrapped. We couldn't put everything away because
when our sons and their family arrive, they might have to use some of our
wrapping supplies.
Our almost 5 month old grandchild had his first airplane ride this past
weekend. Kyla had to be at a work related conference in New Orleans. She decided
it was a good time to take Kevin and Max with her.
The first time that I ever had a chance to get on an airplane was when Linda
and I went on our honeymoon to Puerto Rico. I was in my mid 20's at the time.
Kids now are so lucky!
The weather on Sunday was pretty miserable. Snow, sleet, freezing rain to
eventually all rain put a nix on Linda going to the Christmas play in a
neighboring town.
We have about a day and one half of temperatures in the 30's before we go into
a deep freeze. The cold weather is coming in on Tuesday evening. We will have
several days of high's in the low 20's, and single digit temperatures during the
evening.
We didn't lose too much snow with yesterday's warm weather, but we do need a
nice coating of the white stuff to hide the dirty snow.
Social Calendar -- I am engaged this evening with a UNICO board meeting which
starts at 6 PM. If I didn't go to this meeting, there is a 6 PM ITAM board
meeting that I would be attending. I would rather go to the UNICO Board meeting.
Our UNICO President said something about serving pizza. Yeah!
Bird feeders -- We have 6 gray squirrels, and 2 chipmunks fighting the birds
for my sunflower seeds. The furry creatures better enjoy the good times right
now. When Kevin's dog, Billy, arrives for the Holidays, the furry creatures will
have to run for their lives. Billy loves chasing the furry creatures. Maybe the
birds will then have a better chance at eating the sunflower seeds. I think that
Isabelle will enjoy watching the squirrels do their thing. Frankie beans, Kyla's
dog, will be there to give Billy moral support.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I just got back from Retro Fitness. The Ninja guy and I opened the place at
4:30 AM.
Now some of you might think that my use of the word "Ninja guy" to be a bit
racist, but as I was on the treadmill at one point this morning, I had the
personal television on the machine going. As I was searching for the ESPN Sports
Center Channel, which I always watch while on the treadmill, I saw an
infomercial. They were advertising some kind of super mini blender. It was
called the "Ninja!" Is this considered racism?
Speaking of ESPN, I was watching the summary of all the professional football
games which took place on Sunday. As I watched the summary of the game between
the two Florida teams, I started thinking about the tailgating, which my friend
and I used to do, when we had our Patriot season tickets. I was thinking what it
must be like to tailgate if your team was a Florida based one. I was trying to
imagine wearing shorts and tee shirts as opposed to long underwear, winter
coats, hats, and gloves, and winter boots, and rain gear especially if my friend
and I were at yesterday's Patriot game at Gillette Stadium (It rained during
most of the game).
Randy Moss is catching a whole bunch of flack on all the Sports Programs, and
Sports pages of newspapers today. He was awful yesterday by not running routes,
dropping passes that he should have caught, etc. At one point, Tom Brady went
over to the bench to speak to him after one of his drop balls.
Randy better get his act together this week during practice. The Patriots need
to win every one of their remaining games to secure first place in their
division. I would bench Randy if he plays like he did yesterday.
The Patriots are off to Buffalo on this Sunday. The Patriots haven't been able
to win on the road this season, and I hope that this is not the case on Sunday.
I like the Eagles, the Saints, and the Vikings as we get closer to the
playoffs. Most of the other teams are mediocre including the Patriots.
Tiger -- The saga continues! More firms who have Tiger as their spokesperson
are severing their ties with him. I hope that he has enough money left for a
divorce settlement!
Linda and I had a pleasant day on Sunday. Linda worked a lot harder than I did.
I watched the Patriots while wrapping presents. Linda did all the organizing and
separating and labeling, etc until 6 PM. We finished wrapping pretty much
everything which needs to be wrapped. We couldn't put everything away because
when our sons and their family arrive, they might have to use some of our
wrapping supplies.
Our almost 5 month old grandchild had his first airplane ride this past
weekend. Kyla had to be at a work related conference in New Orleans. She decided
it was a good time to take Kevin and Max with her.
The first time that I ever had a chance to get on an airplane was when Linda
and I went on our honeymoon to Puerto Rico. I was in my mid 20's at the time.
Kids now are so lucky!
The weather on Sunday was pretty miserable. Snow, sleet, freezing rain to
eventually all rain put a nix on Linda going to the Christmas play in a
neighboring town.
We have about a day and one half of temperatures in the 30's before we go into
a deep freeze. The cold weather is coming in on Tuesday evening. We will have
several days of high's in the low 20's, and single digit temperatures during the
evening.
We didn't lose too much snow with yesterday's warm weather, but we do need a
nice coating of the white stuff to hide the dirty snow.
Social Calendar -- I am engaged this evening with a UNICO board meeting which
starts at 6 PM. If I didn't go to this meeting, there is a 6 PM ITAM board
meeting that I would be attending. I would rather go to the UNICO Board meeting.
Our UNICO President said something about serving pizza. Yeah!
Bird feeders -- We have 6 gray squirrels, and 2 chipmunks fighting the birds
for my sunflower seeds. The furry creatures better enjoy the good times right
now. When Kevin's dog, Billy, arrives for the Holidays, the furry creatures will
have to run for their lives. Billy loves chasing the furry creatures. Maybe the
birds will then have a better chance at eating the sunflower seeds. I think that
Isabelle will enjoy watching the squirrels do their thing. Frankie beans, Kyla's
dog, will be there to give Billy moral support.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had a pleasant Saturday yesterday. There weren't too many people at Retro
Fitness when I opened the doors at 6 AM.
This is just the way that I like it!
Linda went off with a girl friend to do a little shopping. I wrapped some
sticker labeled Christmas presents while Linda was doing her thing.
The four of us met a Papa Joe's Ristorante at 6 PM. Most of us enjoyed our
meals including the appetizers.
No one wanted to party on so we went our separate ways after supper. This was
fine with me since I had the Boston Celtics, and the Boston Bruins to keep me
entertained. I even finished savory the book that I was reading because
professional basketball can get kind of boring.
Well, my Bruins lost a heart breaker in overtime. My Celtics put a big time
hurt on the Chicago Bulls.
Linda sat and watched her previously recorded programs while I watched my
sports.
We have some nasty weather coming in later on this afternoon. We have ice
changing to rain. The Patriots might get some of this weather during their 1 PM
game today.
The Patriot Player who spoke up for being sent home for being late to a team
meeting the other day will not be playing. I believe that he will be watching
the game at home. This is the second time that he has been in Belechik's
doghouse. I will bet that they are looking to trade him as I speak!
We were invited to go to the Holyoke Mall this morning, but we took a rain
check. The couple who invited us wanted to depart for the Mall at 8 AM. We don't
like to break our Sunday routine of reading the newspapers, and then me settling
down for some professional football. I will have some wrapping to take care of
after Linda labels the presents for me.
This evening Linda wanted me to go with her to a Christmas play at a theater in
a neighboring town. I am hoping that she makes a few telephone calls, and finds
a substitute for me. Maybe the foul weather will put a damper on things.
By the time that the play starts, it should be an all rain event!
Politics / News -- Same old, same old! It does get monotonous after a while.
Observation -- We got into a discussion the other day about grandchildren. I
made the statement that it is our job as grandparents to "spoil our
grandchildren rotten." Three out of the four of us agreed with my statement. The
person, who disagreed, tried to use the argument that we as grandparents should
work in concert with the parents instead of going against the way that they rear
their children. He thought that the excess presents, treats, etc. that we giver
as grandparents was not a good approach! Well, our friend can maintain his
position, but the three of us are going to continue to spoil our grandchildren!
I am getting ready to head off to Retro Fitness.
It opens at 6 AM again today.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had a pleasant Saturday yesterday. There weren't too many people at Retro
Fitness when I opened the doors at 6 AM.
This is just the way that I like it!
Linda went off with a girl friend to do a little shopping. I wrapped some
sticker labeled Christmas presents while Linda was doing her thing.
The four of us met a Papa Joe's Ristorante at 6 PM. Most of us enjoyed our
meals including the appetizers.
No one wanted to party on so we went our separate ways after supper. This was
fine with me since I had the Boston Celtics, and the Boston Bruins to keep me
entertained. I even finished savory the book that I was reading because
professional basketball can get kind of boring.
Well, my Bruins lost a heart breaker in overtime. My Celtics put a big time
hurt on the Chicago Bulls.
Linda sat and watched her previously recorded programs while I watched my
sports.
We have some nasty weather coming in later on this afternoon. We have ice
changing to rain. The Patriots might get some of this weather during their 1 PM
game today.
The Patriot Player who spoke up for being sent home for being late to a team
meeting the other day will not be playing. I believe that he will be watching
the game at home. This is the second time that he has been in Belechik's
doghouse. I will bet that they are looking to trade him as I speak!
We were invited to go to the Holyoke Mall this morning, but we took a rain
check. The couple who invited us wanted to depart for the Mall at 8 AM. We don't
like to break our Sunday routine of reading the newspapers, and then me settling
down for some professional football. I will have some wrapping to take care of
after Linda labels the presents for me.
This evening Linda wanted me to go with her to a Christmas play at a theater in
a neighboring town. I am hoping that she makes a few telephone calls, and finds
a substitute for me. Maybe the foul weather will put a damper on things.
By the time that the play starts, it should be an all rain event!
Politics / News -- Same old, same old! It does get monotonous after a while.
Observation -- We got into a discussion the other day about grandchildren. I
made the statement that it is our job as grandparents to "spoil our
grandchildren rotten." Three out of the four of us agreed with my statement. The
person, who disagreed, tried to use the argument that we as grandparents should
work in concert with the parents instead of going against the way that they rear
their children. He thought that the excess presents, treats, etc. that we giver
as grandparents was not a good approach! Well, our friend can maintain his
position, but the three of us are going to continue to spoil our grandchildren!
I am getting ready to head off to Retro Fitness.
It opens at 6 AM again today.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
It was quiet day on Friday for the Curley's in the Berkshires.
Linda had a body maintenance appointment in the morning, and tried to do a few
errands after the procedure. It was too cold going from the car to the store and
back again for her to really enjoy herself. She quit after only shopping for an
hour or two.
I was rescued from attending a cultural event last evening. Linda and a friend,
along with her relatives' two children, went off to a Shakespeare's version of
some kind of Christmas program. I was in bed before she arrived home to get all
the details of the play.
I enjoyed the quietness of the home, and almost finished savoring another
murder mystery book. A few more chapters, I will be done reading the book. It is
another one from the top 10 list of books.
I am not sure what is on our social calendar this evening.
When I return from my workout, and have a healthy breakfast, I will be wrapping
presents. Linda has them all labeled for me. We have been wrapping them in the
basement for the past few years. We have two tables to work with, and I will
turn on ESPN Sports Center while completing the wrapping task.
Politics -- Mark Sanford was finally served divorce papers from his wife of 20
years. This politician is the one who had an affair with a woman from Argentina.
This woman, and her children have been staying at the waterfront home owned by
this politician. This is another example of a guy who must not have taken his
marriage vows too seriously. What is with these people?
News -- While doing my errands on Friday, I was listening to the radio in my
car. There was a story about a UPS guy who wasn't delivering his packages. He
stole over $250,000 worth of items, and he got caught selling them on "Ebay".
Those packages better not be any of ours!
Tiger is taking a break from golf. Actually he and his wife are probably
working out a financial settlement for when she says that the marriage is over.
Would any of my female readers want to try and salvage a marriage like this one?
Yesterday, it was reported that she bought a place on a little island in
Sweden. A divorce must be on the horizon!
December 7, 1941 - I did forget to mention that this past Monday was Pearl
Harbor Day. I didn't forget the day. When I was in school, we had to memorize
the date, and be able to explain the significance of the event. What is so sad
is the small number of World War II veterans who are still around. There are so
few of these brave men and women still alive in the United States.
Again, I ask myself, what did we learn from all the bloodshed during World War
II? The killing just keeps on taking place, but in different countries. Am I too
unrealistic to hope that we can ever solve our problems without killing each
other?
Sports -- None of my teams played in any contests last evening so it was a
quiet night for me. My son is correct about some of the thugs who are playing
sports right now. Some of the troubled athletes actually like coming to a
disciplined team like the Patriots. Since no one made them follow rules during
their upbringing (often fatherless homes), the athletes enjoy having a no
nonsense coach like Belechik.
Observation -- Well, the ice is finally starting to form on our lakes. When
the ice is safe to walk on (for me it must be 6 or 7 inches thick), I will be
going from the gym, and then back home to gather my gear for a few quiet hours
on the frozen pond. Linda will have her four or five hours of peace and quiet
too.
Fresh air and a little sun is good for the body. I am also not crazy. I
wouldn't have gone ice fishing yesterday with a below zero wind chill. Ideal
conditions for me would be temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees, and no wind.
A little sun would be nice, but cloudy weather is better for ice fishing.
I have already received and offer to do a little ice-fishing in New Hampshire.
Linda's Godson, and his wife own a house on a small pond. I can put a few tip
ups out, and stay in their house until a flag goes up. Now this is called
ice-fishing!
Have a great weekend.
Christmas is almost here.
Hope that you have someone to share it with.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It was quiet day on Friday for the Curley's in the Berkshires.
Linda had a body maintenance appointment in the morning, and tried to do a few
errands after the procedure. It was too cold going from the car to the store and
back again for her to really enjoy herself. She quit after only shopping for an
hour or two.
I was rescued from attending a cultural event last evening. Linda and a friend,
along with her relatives' two children, went off to a Shakespeare's version of
some kind of Christmas program. I was in bed before she arrived home to get all
the details of the play.
I enjoyed the quietness of the home, and almost finished savoring another
murder mystery book. A few more chapters, I will be done reading the book. It is
another one from the top 10 list of books.
I am not sure what is on our social calendar this evening.
When I return from my workout, and have a healthy breakfast, I will be wrapping
presents. Linda has them all labeled for me. We have been wrapping them in the
basement for the past few years. We have two tables to work with, and I will
turn on ESPN Sports Center while completing the wrapping task.
Politics -- Mark Sanford was finally served divorce papers from his wife of 20
years. This politician is the one who had an affair with a woman from Argentina.
This woman, and her children have been staying at the waterfront home owned by
this politician. This is another example of a guy who must not have taken his
marriage vows too seriously. What is with these people?
News -- While doing my errands on Friday, I was listening to the radio in my
car. There was a story about a UPS guy who wasn't delivering his packages. He
stole over $250,000 worth of items, and he got caught selling them on "Ebay".
Those packages better not be any of ours!
Tiger is taking a break from golf. Actually he and his wife are probably
working out a financial settlement for when she says that the marriage is over.
Would any of my female readers want to try and salvage a marriage like this one?
Yesterday, it was reported that she bought a place on a little island in
Sweden. A divorce must be on the horizon!
December 7, 1941 - I did forget to mention that this past Monday was Pearl
Harbor Day. I didn't forget the day. When I was in school, we had to memorize
the date, and be able to explain the significance of the event. What is so sad
is the small number of World War II veterans who are still around. There are so
few of these brave men and women still alive in the United States.
Again, I ask myself, what did we learn from all the bloodshed during World War
II? The killing just keeps on taking place, but in different countries. Am I too
unrealistic to hope that we can ever solve our problems without killing each
other?
Sports -- None of my teams played in any contests last evening so it was a
quiet night for me. My son is correct about some of the thugs who are playing
sports right now. Some of the troubled athletes actually like coming to a
disciplined team like the Patriots. Since no one made them follow rules during
their upbringing (often fatherless homes), the athletes enjoy having a no
nonsense coach like Belechik.
Observation -- Well, the ice is finally starting to form on our lakes. When
the ice is safe to walk on (for me it must be 6 or 7 inches thick), I will be
going from the gym, and then back home to gather my gear for a few quiet hours
on the frozen pond. Linda will have her four or five hours of peace and quiet
too.
Fresh air and a little sun is good for the body. I am also not crazy. I
wouldn't have gone ice fishing yesterday with a below zero wind chill. Ideal
conditions for me would be temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees, and no wind.
A little sun would be nice, but cloudy weather is better for ice fishing.
I have already received and offer to do a little ice-fishing in New Hampshire.
Linda's Godson, and his wife own a house on a small pond. I can put a few tip
ups out, and stay in their house until a flag goes up. Now this is called
ice-fishing!
Have a great weekend.
Christmas is almost here.
Hope that you have someone to share it with.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, December 11, 2009
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
"Baby its cold outside!" It is in the teens in the Berkshires right now, and
not supposed to get out of the low 20's for the rest of the day. It will be
windy all day long too!
As I headed off to retro Fitness for my 4:30 AM start time, I saw that one of
our local ski areas was making snow. I could see the lights on the slopes even
though I couldn't actually see the snow guns on. This little ski area is where
Michale and Kevin, and me learned how to ski. Since I took it up as an adult, it
took me a bit longer to get the hang of it. I still need a lot of work!
The Retro Fitness experience went well this morning for the most part. I
encountered a little difficulty on the
treadmill. I like to try and do my one hour workout without my glasses on. I
thought that I could read most of the buttons on the machine. I was on a 20
minute mile pace when I started pushing buttons to change a setting. I started
pushing them so fast that the machine got confused, and went into an emergency
stop mode. I almost fell off of the
machine when it came to a screeching halt. I didn't know how to restart the
machine. I had to call an attendant to get it going again, which was
embarrassing. I wish that I had more patience when it comes to electronic
equipment.
We had a pleasant Thursday. Linda hovered by the telephone trying to find a
bargain during the Radio Auction. She did manage to secure a restaurant item. I
have to pick up the certificate at the radio station this morning.
The auction didn't have a lot of great items, and it ended by 1 PM. Past
auctions lasted for two days.
After lunch, and the auction, we headed off to do a little Christmas shopping,
mostly for children. This was a quick shopping adventure because Linda was going
out with her Book Club at a restaurant in my home town of Lee. I don't know how
the dinner turned out because I was in bed when she came home. I was trying to
watch the Boston Bruins, and the Boston Celtics in bed. I did see the Bruins win
their game, but I did miss an exciting finish to the Celtic game.
Oh Darn!
Speaking of sports -- One of the four Patriot players, who were sent home
because of being late for a team meeting the other day, let himself be
interviewed on ESPN. He might be sitting on the bench on Sunday for their 1 PM
game.
A couple of Red Sox players will be playing for new teams next year.
Jack Nicklaus was asked to comment on the Tiger Woods fiasco. Jack said that it
was a private matter between Tiger and his family.
Well, Tiger's sponsors don't think so. They have started pulling advertisements
which have Tiger as their spokesperson. Maybe my friends are correct? If Tiger
can get back on the golf course, and win a few tournaments, his transgressions
will be old news.
After doing a couple of errands, I think that I will be wrapping presents for a
good portion of the day.
We are not socially engaged for the weekend, but I think that Linda doesn't
mind that. She has a list for the grocery store which seems to be a mile long.
She also has lists of things which must be done before our sons and their
families arrive for Christmas. She develops the stress, and gets headaches while
I just keep on savoring my books. I try and not put to much in my head to get
stressed out about! I can't remember half of what she tells me anyway!
We have already had one couple tell us that they are free this weekend. Hint!
Hint!
My friend who had the rotator cuff surgery saw the orthopedic doctor on
Thursday. He said that the healing in his shoulder is going well. He is allowed
to start therapy right away. This is good news for my friend, but he is well
aware that the process will be a slow one for the type of injury which he has.
Observation -- While in Walmart yesterday, we were in the toy and game isle. I
saw the game called "Connect Four". We have the game. Kevin has some in his
restaurant for his customers while they are waiting for food to be prepared. I
was tempted to purchase a new one because I think ours needs a paper clip to
hold it together since it has been used so many times.
Well, I didn't purchase a new one. The game manufacturer tweaked the game.
Instead of the one simple and original game, they added two more versions of the
game. Change is often good as you can see with the electronics revolution. On
the other hand, when you have created a successful game, why does it need to be
changed?
Speaking of games, do families play board games any more? This was the one
shelf in the store which wasn't getting a lot of action when we were there. I
remember playing most of those board game with our children. "Chutes and
Ladders", and "Candylan" were two of my favorites!
I used to take my games and puzzles to school just before Christmas. So many of
my students had never even seen or played some of those games when they were
small.
Well, have a great Friday and a weekend in general.
Have to read the local newspaper, and get to some quiet chores.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
"Baby its cold outside!" It is in the teens in the Berkshires right now, and
not supposed to get out of the low 20's for the rest of the day. It will be
windy all day long too!
As I headed off to retro Fitness for my 4:30 AM start time, I saw that one of
our local ski areas was making snow. I could see the lights on the slopes even
though I couldn't actually see the snow guns on. This little ski area is where
Michale and Kevin, and me learned how to ski. Since I took it up as an adult, it
took me a bit longer to get the hang of it. I still need a lot of work!
The Retro Fitness experience went well this morning for the most part. I
encountered a little difficulty on the
treadmill. I like to try and do my one hour workout without my glasses on. I
thought that I could read most of the buttons on the machine. I was on a 20
minute mile pace when I started pushing buttons to change a setting. I started
pushing them so fast that the machine got confused, and went into an emergency
stop mode. I almost fell off of the
machine when it came to a screeching halt. I didn't know how to restart the
machine. I had to call an attendant to get it going again, which was
embarrassing. I wish that I had more patience when it comes to electronic
equipment.
We had a pleasant Thursday. Linda hovered by the telephone trying to find a
bargain during the Radio Auction. She did manage to secure a restaurant item. I
have to pick up the certificate at the radio station this morning.
The auction didn't have a lot of great items, and it ended by 1 PM. Past
auctions lasted for two days.
After lunch, and the auction, we headed off to do a little Christmas shopping,
mostly for children. This was a quick shopping adventure because Linda was going
out with her Book Club at a restaurant in my home town of Lee. I don't know how
the dinner turned out because I was in bed when she came home. I was trying to
watch the Boston Bruins, and the Boston Celtics in bed. I did see the Bruins win
their game, but I did miss an exciting finish to the Celtic game.
Oh Darn!
Speaking of sports -- One of the four Patriot players, who were sent home
because of being late for a team meeting the other day, let himself be
interviewed on ESPN. He might be sitting on the bench on Sunday for their 1 PM
game.
A couple of Red Sox players will be playing for new teams next year.
Jack Nicklaus was asked to comment on the Tiger Woods fiasco. Jack said that it
was a private matter between Tiger and his family.
Well, Tiger's sponsors don't think so. They have started pulling advertisements
which have Tiger as their spokesperson. Maybe my friends are correct? If Tiger
can get back on the golf course, and win a few tournaments, his transgressions
will be old news.
After doing a couple of errands, I think that I will be wrapping presents for a
good portion of the day.
We are not socially engaged for the weekend, but I think that Linda doesn't
mind that. She has a list for the grocery store which seems to be a mile long.
She also has lists of things which must be done before our sons and their
families arrive for Christmas. She develops the stress, and gets headaches while
I just keep on savoring my books. I try and not put to much in my head to get
stressed out about! I can't remember half of what she tells me anyway!
We have already had one couple tell us that they are free this weekend. Hint!
Hint!
My friend who had the rotator cuff surgery saw the orthopedic doctor on
Thursday. He said that the healing in his shoulder is going well. He is allowed
to start therapy right away. This is good news for my friend, but he is well
aware that the process will be a slow one for the type of injury which he has.
Observation -- While in Walmart yesterday, we were in the toy and game isle. I
saw the game called "Connect Four". We have the game. Kevin has some in his
restaurant for his customers while they are waiting for food to be prepared. I
was tempted to purchase a new one because I think ours needs a paper clip to
hold it together since it has been used so many times.
Well, I didn't purchase a new one. The game manufacturer tweaked the game.
Instead of the one simple and original game, they added two more versions of the
game. Change is often good as you can see with the electronics revolution. On
the other hand, when you have created a successful game, why does it need to be
changed?
Speaking of games, do families play board games any more? This was the one
shelf in the store which wasn't getting a lot of action when we were there. I
remember playing most of those board game with our children. "Chutes and
Ladders", and "Candylan" were two of my favorites!
I used to take my games and puzzles to school just before Christmas. So many of
my students had never even seen or played some of those games when they were
small.
Well, have a great Friday and a weekend in general.
Have to read the local newspaper, and get to some quiet chores.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
As the saying goes: "What a difference a day makes?" It was 34 degrees when I
headed off to Retro Fitness this morning. Three of us opened the doors at 4:30
AM. I did my thing without any interruptions which was a great way to start my
day.
Wednesday went as planned.
Linda and I hung the Christmas tree decorations on our fresh tree. Linda dug
out all the old decorations which have more sentimental value than you can
imagine. Yes, the decorations are kid proof, but cute. Some of the decorations
were actually made by our two sons when they were in elementary school. Linda
and I are hoping that they will recognize their own creations.
Linda never left the house on Wednesday.
I did venture out around 2 PM to mail a few items, and pick up some items at
one of three local hardware stores which are still trying to compete with the
Home Depot type of stores. The local stores are so people friendly. I purchased
a box of those artificial logs and a 50 pound bags of sunflower seeds. The clerk
carried the birdseed out to the car for me after I paid for the items. As a
matter of fact, the bird seed was on sale in 40 pound bags, but they didn't have
any in the store. They substituted the 50 pound bag for the forty pound bag, but
charged me the sale price for the 40 pound bag.
Linda can't sleep late this morning. There is another one of those radio
auctions which starts at 9 AM today. My 3 month gym membership was secured by
Linda by way of a previous Radio Auction. The restaurant gift certificates are
what we usually go after, but there are so many great items besides the ones
related to food. Linda is socially engaged this evening.
I think that there is a Boston Celtic basketball game to keep me entertained.
Oops! I almost forgot that at one of the local jewelry stores it is "Mens'
Night" from 6 PM until 9 PM. They are even going to serve beer. In the past,
they just served champagne along with appetizers. I prefer the Champagne of
bottled beers!
Speaking of sports --> 4 Patriots were told to go home yesterday morning
because they were late for their 8 AM team meeting. Randy Moss was one of them.
The Tiger saga continues. Most of us are tired of hearing about it, but the
media are like mean pit bulls. One of Tiger's transgressions was a porn star.
I didn't know that Tiger owns two homes about a mile from one another. The
media isn't sure which one that Tiger is living at.
On a different note, John Daly, the often in trouble blue collar type of
golfer, has lost 115 pounds. He has four ex wives. He is trying to make a
golfing comeback, and I think I might start cheering for him.
We picked up about 7 inches of snow here in Pittsfield.
It is mild outside right now, and it will be so throughout today. This evening
the bottom falls out, and we are in for a stretch of weather where we will not
get out of the 20's right into the weekend.
My first task of the day is to attack the snow deposit at the bottom of our
driveway left by the city plows as they got right down to the blacktop on our
street. The private contractors, which the city hires to plow the side streets,
just can't do the job of the few multiple ton trucks that the city owns. My plow
guy had trouble getting up my driveway in his rear wheel drive pick up truck. I
would do my own driveway since I have a snow blower, but when the snow is really
deep, and heavy, my snow blower just can't do the job.
The crock pot soup was wonderful once again. As a matter of fact, Linda has
some of her Tuesday group of Mah Jongg ladies using their crock pots for the
first time in a long while.
Observation -- When I left the house yesterday, I had to drop off a package at
the UPS store, and then make a stop at the Post Office. I didn't realize that
the UPS store can do all the stuff that a Post office can do. I bought stamps,
mailed a package, and dropped of some Christmas Cards. This is going to be my
new Post Office. The parking is easier at the UPS store than at the Post Office.
The lines are almost non existent. The clerks are very friendly.
Speaking of Christmas Cards--> Last year I sent off almost 100 Christmas cards.
I think that I am going to discontinue this practice unless someone sends us a
card first. The money saved can be spent for grandchildren type of things. As an
example, I purchased a toddler sled, and a regular sled yesterday in
anticipation of our grandchild being here for Christmas. I can't wait to take
both of them sliding!
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, and get to some quiet chores.
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
As the saying goes: "What a difference a day makes?" It was 34 degrees when I
headed off to Retro Fitness this morning. Three of us opened the doors at 4:30
AM. I did my thing without any interruptions which was a great way to start my
day.
Wednesday went as planned.
Linda and I hung the Christmas tree decorations on our fresh tree. Linda dug
out all the old decorations which have more sentimental value than you can
imagine. Yes, the decorations are kid proof, but cute. Some of the decorations
were actually made by our two sons when they were in elementary school. Linda
and I are hoping that they will recognize their own creations.
Linda never left the house on Wednesday.
I did venture out around 2 PM to mail a few items, and pick up some items at
one of three local hardware stores which are still trying to compete with the
Home Depot type of stores. The local stores are so people friendly. I purchased
a box of those artificial logs and a 50 pound bags of sunflower seeds. The clerk
carried the birdseed out to the car for me after I paid for the items. As a
matter of fact, the bird seed was on sale in 40 pound bags, but they didn't have
any in the store. They substituted the 50 pound bag for the forty pound bag, but
charged me the sale price for the 40 pound bag.
Linda can't sleep late this morning. There is another one of those radio
auctions which starts at 9 AM today. My 3 month gym membership was secured by
Linda by way of a previous Radio Auction. The restaurant gift certificates are
what we usually go after, but there are so many great items besides the ones
related to food. Linda is socially engaged this evening.
I think that there is a Boston Celtic basketball game to keep me entertained.
Oops! I almost forgot that at one of the local jewelry stores it is "Mens'
Night" from 6 PM until 9 PM. They are even going to serve beer. In the past,
they just served champagne along with appetizers. I prefer the Champagne of
bottled beers!
Speaking of sports --> 4 Patriots were told to go home yesterday morning
because they were late for their 8 AM team meeting. Randy Moss was one of them.
The Tiger saga continues. Most of us are tired of hearing about it, but the
media are like mean pit bulls. One of Tiger's transgressions was a porn star.
I didn't know that Tiger owns two homes about a mile from one another. The
media isn't sure which one that Tiger is living at.
On a different note, John Daly, the often in trouble blue collar type of
golfer, has lost 115 pounds. He has four ex wives. He is trying to make a
golfing comeback, and I think I might start cheering for him.
We picked up about 7 inches of snow here in Pittsfield.
It is mild outside right now, and it will be so throughout today. This evening
the bottom falls out, and we are in for a stretch of weather where we will not
get out of the 20's right into the weekend.
My first task of the day is to attack the snow deposit at the bottom of our
driveway left by the city plows as they got right down to the blacktop on our
street. The private contractors, which the city hires to plow the side streets,
just can't do the job of the few multiple ton trucks that the city owns. My plow
guy had trouble getting up my driveway in his rear wheel drive pick up truck. I
would do my own driveway since I have a snow blower, but when the snow is really
deep, and heavy, my snow blower just can't do the job.
The crock pot soup was wonderful once again. As a matter of fact, Linda has
some of her Tuesday group of Mah Jongg ladies using their crock pots for the
first time in a long while.
Observation -- When I left the house yesterday, I had to drop off a package at
the UPS store, and then make a stop at the Post Office. I didn't realize that
the UPS store can do all the stuff that a Post office can do. I bought stamps,
mailed a package, and dropped of some Christmas Cards. This is going to be my
new Post Office. The parking is easier at the UPS store than at the Post Office.
The lines are almost non existent. The clerks are very friendly.
Speaking of Christmas Cards--> Last year I sent off almost 100 Christmas cards.
I think that I am going to discontinue this practice unless someone sends us a
card first. The money saved can be spent for grandchildren type of things. As an
example, I purchased a toddler sled, and a regular sled yesterday in
anticipation of our grandchild being here for Christmas. I can't wait to take
both of them sliding!
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, and get to some quiet chores.
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Hello on Wednesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Retro Fitness will be without the Curley Lad this morning. The snow has started
to fall from the winter storm which has made its way across the country.
The weather gurus have us getting about four or five inches of the white stuff
before changing to a mix, and then to rain.
We had a pleasant day on Tuesday. Linda had fun playing Mah Jongg. All six
players showed up which hasn't happened in a long time. Only four can play a
round of Mah Jongg before the other two can play.
The most activity that I participated in was to vote in a special election for
a Democrat who will be fighting for Ted Kennedy's spot in a January election.
The second activity was to finish the book that I started the other day. As far
as savoring it, I did use two days before I completed it.
The whole wheat pasta dinner which we ate last night went very well. The only
negative was the sausages which we had purchased from Costco's. They had none of
the good Italian flavors that the locally made sausages do have.
The crock pot "chicken and vegetable" soup has been brewing all night. It will
be perfect at lunch time.
Today we will decorate the Christmas tree. We planned to do it on Wednesday
whether it snowed or not.
Speaking of the tree, after sending this e-mail, I will have give the tree
another drink of water. The tree is always thirsty during the first few days
after you set it up. We purchased a Balsam Fir because it is one of the longest
lasting trees with respect to its needles staying on the tree.
We haven't heard from our son in Kansas. We were wondering if he picked snow /
rain or a combination there of.
News -- Nothing exciting jumped out at me with respect to being very
interesting except for the fact that Tiger Woods' mother-in-law is feeling the
stress of his transgressions. I am wondering how long that Tiger and his wife
will be together.
Observation -- A local writer wrote an editorial about taking Christ out of
Christmas with respect to this time of year. He said that he was upset that we
now have to be politically correct, and say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry
Christmas". He said that he was also upset that the public schools can't
display, sings songs, or have anything related to Christ, baby Jesus, etc.
Well, the day after his editorial, a Rabbi responded with his objection to the
local writer's piece. He said that when he was a Jewish child growing up, he
felt so awkward singing songs in public schools which had nothing to do with his
religion. He reminded all of us about that when the Constitution was formed, a
separation of Church and State was part of the deal.
My point of this discussion is that we here in the United States can disagree
with a person's stance on a particular issue, but we don't have to use bullets,
and bombs because we aren't in agreement.
Another point is that the religions of the world often play a pretty big role
in many of the conflicts which we seemed to get involved in.
If a particular religion works for you, then be happy and support it, but don't
try and convert me!
Well, I am going to open the blinds to the sliding glass doors onto the deck,
and watch the snow fall, and the feathered and furry creatures attack my bird
feeders. We have some of the fattest squirrels and chipmunks in the
neighborhood. I don't think that the raccoon has come back to my bird feeder. I
will now be able to see his tracks in the snow if he does.
Today is garbage collection day for our neighborhood. I didn't put my trash and
recycle stuff out yet because I am listening to the radio to see if it might be
canceled, and postponed until Thursday. I also didn't put it out because I
didn't want our garbage flying up and down the streets since the wind is really
blowing right now.
The Pittsfield Schools called off school already. The rest of the County is
doing so as I finish this e-mail.
Have a great Wednesday!
If you don't have to be on the roads in the Berkshires, then stay home, and
stay off of the highways.
When our two boys were small, I would be outside playing with them, and making
snow men / woman, and snow forts.
I hope that I get a chance to do so when Isabelle arrives. Even though Max is
too young to walk, I am taking him outside too. Every kid (and adult) needs a
little fresh air to keep them healthy!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Retro Fitness will be without the Curley Lad this morning. The snow has started
to fall from the winter storm which has made its way across the country.
The weather gurus have us getting about four or five inches of the white stuff
before changing to a mix, and then to rain.
We had a pleasant day on Tuesday. Linda had fun playing Mah Jongg. All six
players showed up which hasn't happened in a long time. Only four can play a
round of Mah Jongg before the other two can play.
The most activity that I participated in was to vote in a special election for
a Democrat who will be fighting for Ted Kennedy's spot in a January election.
The second activity was to finish the book that I started the other day. As far
as savoring it, I did use two days before I completed it.
The whole wheat pasta dinner which we ate last night went very well. The only
negative was the sausages which we had purchased from Costco's. They had none of
the good Italian flavors that the locally made sausages do have.
The crock pot "chicken and vegetable" soup has been brewing all night. It will
be perfect at lunch time.
Today we will decorate the Christmas tree. We planned to do it on Wednesday
whether it snowed or not.
Speaking of the tree, after sending this e-mail, I will have give the tree
another drink of water. The tree is always thirsty during the first few days
after you set it up. We purchased a Balsam Fir because it is one of the longest
lasting trees with respect to its needles staying on the tree.
We haven't heard from our son in Kansas. We were wondering if he picked snow /
rain or a combination there of.
News -- Nothing exciting jumped out at me with respect to being very
interesting except for the fact that Tiger Woods' mother-in-law is feeling the
stress of his transgressions. I am wondering how long that Tiger and his wife
will be together.
Observation -- A local writer wrote an editorial about taking Christ out of
Christmas with respect to this time of year. He said that he was upset that we
now have to be politically correct, and say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry
Christmas". He said that he was also upset that the public schools can't
display, sings songs, or have anything related to Christ, baby Jesus, etc.
Well, the day after his editorial, a Rabbi responded with his objection to the
local writer's piece. He said that when he was a Jewish child growing up, he
felt so awkward singing songs in public schools which had nothing to do with his
religion. He reminded all of us about that when the Constitution was formed, a
separation of Church and State was part of the deal.
My point of this discussion is that we here in the United States can disagree
with a person's stance on a particular issue, but we don't have to use bullets,
and bombs because we aren't in agreement.
Another point is that the religions of the world often play a pretty big role
in many of the conflicts which we seemed to get involved in.
If a particular religion works for you, then be happy and support it, but don't
try and convert me!
Well, I am going to open the blinds to the sliding glass doors onto the deck,
and watch the snow fall, and the feathered and furry creatures attack my bird
feeders. We have some of the fattest squirrels and chipmunks in the
neighborhood. I don't think that the raccoon has come back to my bird feeder. I
will now be able to see his tracks in the snow if he does.
Today is garbage collection day for our neighborhood. I didn't put my trash and
recycle stuff out yet because I am listening to the radio to see if it might be
canceled, and postponed until Thursday. I also didn't put it out because I
didn't want our garbage flying up and down the streets since the wind is really
blowing right now.
The Pittsfield Schools called off school already. The rest of the County is
doing so as I finish this e-mail.
Have a great Wednesday!
If you don't have to be on the roads in the Berkshires, then stay home, and
stay off of the highways.
When our two boys were small, I would be outside playing with them, and making
snow men / woman, and snow forts.
I hope that I get a chance to do so when Isabelle arrives. Even though Max is
too young to walk, I am taking him outside too. Every kid (and adult) needs a
little fresh air to keep them healthy!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Our Monday went as planned with no bumps along the way.
Our friend left his place of work, and a little after 10 AM we were on way to
the Christmas tree farm. My friend was in his car, and Linda and I were in our
car. The five mile drive to the top of the mountain didn't take long. We used to
go to this tree farm every year when our two boys were young. It was called
Strawberry Acres at that time. I am not sure if the new owners kept the name.
We were the only customers at this particular time. The owner said that he was
very busy over the weekend. He said that the musical artist James Taylor bought
a tree over the weekend. He brought a 12 foot pole so that there was not
question about the height of the tree that he eventually picked out.
Our friend was the first one to cut his tree down. Actually he chose his tree
in less than a minute. He used another minute to cut down his tree.
Linda and I took a little longer to chose what we thought was the best tree for
us. Linda treated the adventure like she was Christmas shopping at Macy's. She
has to scope out all the offerings first. She then mentally selects 3 or 4
potential trees for me to cut down. After much thought, observation,
measurements, etc., we selected our tree.
I guess I forgot what it was like to lay on the snow covered ground, and saw
the tree as close to the ground as possible. I also forgot that when I used to
cut down those trees, I was a bit younger and lighter than this almost 63 year
old person right now.
My friend put his banded tree in the trunk of his car while I put our tree on
the roof of my car. My friend dropped off his tree at his home, and went back to
work. Linda and decided to put up the tree. Once again, I forgot the overall
effort it takes to set up a live tree. Just getting the beast to sit up straight
in the the new stand that we bought was a challenge.
In anticipation that we would be exhausted, Linda had a crock pot soup brewing.
She started the soup before going to bed the night before, so it was ready for
us for lunch.
So far, the tree has the lights on, and a lighted angel on the top of the tree.
Our bodies, Linda's more than mine, ached so much, they we are waiting until
Wednesday to put the ornaments on the tree.
Linda's Mah Jongg went well last evening. She won many games, and she came home
in a good mood.
Today she is off again with her Tuesday Mah Jongg ladies for her 11:30 AM until
4:30 PM session.
I will be firing up the crock pot once again. Today I will be making a red
sauce with sweet sausages. Tonight is pasta night. Some Italian bread, and a
glass of red wine will compliment the pasta of our choice quite nicely.
As a matter of fact, since we are in a Winter storm watch from late Tuesday
into Wednesday, the crock pot will busy for a third day in a row. Wednesday we
are planning on having chicken soup in anticipation of being housebound because
of the weather.
The weather is not exactly one that we like. It is supposed to start off as
snow, and then eventually turn to all rain. We are hoping that we don't get much
of the rain.
Tiger Saga -- The word is that Tiger had at least 10 women that he transgressed
with. I was wondering how many of my female readers would stay married to a man
if he transgressed that many times? I already know where I would be if I
transgresses even just one time.
I started savory another new book. I am reading the latest James Patterson
booked called "I". I have half the book to go. I will finish it when Linda is at
Mah Jongg today.
Well, I have to head off to the gym. I want to be there when the doors open. I
don't want anyone talking to me or distracting me except for saying "Hello" of
Goodbye". I like to chat with people, as you well know, but not when it is
workout time.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Monday went as planned with no bumps along the way.
Our friend left his place of work, and a little after 10 AM we were on way to
the Christmas tree farm. My friend was in his car, and Linda and I were in our
car. The five mile drive to the top of the mountain didn't take long. We used to
go to this tree farm every year when our two boys were young. It was called
Strawberry Acres at that time. I am not sure if the new owners kept the name.
We were the only customers at this particular time. The owner said that he was
very busy over the weekend. He said that the musical artist James Taylor bought
a tree over the weekend. He brought a 12 foot pole so that there was not
question about the height of the tree that he eventually picked out.
Our friend was the first one to cut his tree down. Actually he chose his tree
in less than a minute. He used another minute to cut down his tree.
Linda and I took a little longer to chose what we thought was the best tree for
us. Linda treated the adventure like she was Christmas shopping at Macy's. She
has to scope out all the offerings first. She then mentally selects 3 or 4
potential trees for me to cut down. After much thought, observation,
measurements, etc., we selected our tree.
I guess I forgot what it was like to lay on the snow covered ground, and saw
the tree as close to the ground as possible. I also forgot that when I used to
cut down those trees, I was a bit younger and lighter than this almost 63 year
old person right now.
My friend put his banded tree in the trunk of his car while I put our tree on
the roof of my car. My friend dropped off his tree at his home, and went back to
work. Linda and decided to put up the tree. Once again, I forgot the overall
effort it takes to set up a live tree. Just getting the beast to sit up straight
in the the new stand that we bought was a challenge.
In anticipation that we would be exhausted, Linda had a crock pot soup brewing.
She started the soup before going to bed the night before, so it was ready for
us for lunch.
So far, the tree has the lights on, and a lighted angel on the top of the tree.
Our bodies, Linda's more than mine, ached so much, they we are waiting until
Wednesday to put the ornaments on the tree.
Linda's Mah Jongg went well last evening. She won many games, and she came home
in a good mood.
Today she is off again with her Tuesday Mah Jongg ladies for her 11:30 AM until
4:30 PM session.
I will be firing up the crock pot once again. Today I will be making a red
sauce with sweet sausages. Tonight is pasta night. Some Italian bread, and a
glass of red wine will compliment the pasta of our choice quite nicely.
As a matter of fact, since we are in a Winter storm watch from late Tuesday
into Wednesday, the crock pot will busy for a third day in a row. Wednesday we
are planning on having chicken soup in anticipation of being housebound because
of the weather.
The weather is not exactly one that we like. It is supposed to start off as
snow, and then eventually turn to all rain. We are hoping that we don't get much
of the rain.
Tiger Saga -- The word is that Tiger had at least 10 women that he transgressed
with. I was wondering how many of my female readers would stay married to a man
if he transgressed that many times? I already know where I would be if I
transgresses even just one time.
I started savory another new book. I am reading the latest James Patterson
booked called "I". I have half the book to go. I will finish it when Linda is at
Mah Jongg today.
Well, I have to head off to the gym. I want to be there when the doors open. I
don't want anyone talking to me or distracting me except for saying "Hello" of
Goodbye". I like to chat with people, as you well know, but not when it is
workout time.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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