Hello on Thursday Morning

Dear Friends,



We pretty much were homebound yesterday. No, we didn’t sit around and act like slugs. We attacked the Christmas decorations in the basement. I was the bucket man once again. As we completing our project I made the comment that we can’t do this every year. We have accumulated so much stuff over the years, and maybe it is time to start getting rid of things. One of our daughter-in-law’s goes by the rule that if you haven’t used the item in a year or so, then it is time to get rid of it. It will take a while before we ever adopt a policy like that.



Politics – If you were a Democrat or an independent voter with an open mind, the State of the Union address delivered by our President was very well done. He sure is good at the microphone. Even some of the Republicans in the audience liked what the President was saying. Now, the question is can he accomplish his goals by getting congress to work together to solve the many issues facing our nation. I say continue to give our leader, and the people who he has working for him, a chance to accomplish those goals.



The cold front is supposed to roll in later on this afternoon. Friday will be cold both day and night. The Curley’s are prepared.



It looks like we will be having a crock pot supper this evening. I saw that Linda left out a cook book called “The Italian Slow Cooker”. I went to bed before we discussed what kind of food that we will be preparing in the pot.

We still haven’t fired up the Electric Pressure Cooker that we received for Christmas. I think that I might try a batch of baby back ribs at some point over the weekend. I will let you know how they come out.



I knew that it was too good to be true. Our Berkshire Eagle newspaper has been delivered at 4:30 AM for two days in a row. I was hoping that this was going to be the norm. Not!

Our newspaper gets printed at midnight so it is a matter of when the delivery person decides to drop off the newspapers.



Observation – I was thinking about happiness, and when you know that you have achieved some form of it. I think being relatively healthy is probably a good start. I also do notice that as we age, more aches and pains seem to rear its ugly head. I also notice that we can hold off some of these physical ailments with exercise (which I should have started years ago).

I also have noticed that there is a mental part of being happy, and I think that this starts with being happy with yourself. The happiness that you have can then be transferred to a partner, soul mate, family members, and friends.

Each person can then get to this state by doing various things in their life. Maybe food and wine makes you happy. Maybe knitting or playing games, or going to the movies in the middle of the afternoon makes you happy. Maybe reading a good book by the fireplace is what works for you.

I also observed that being happy at work is very important. I can’t imagine going into work each day hating what you do for a living. The unhappiness a person has can readily be transferred to people in the workplace. I used to eat my lunch in my classroom toward the end of my career because I couldn’t stand constant complaining from some of my colleagues.

I want to be surrounded with happy people.

Being happy in retirement is important too. You have a plan before you leave that job. If you don’t, then keep on working. If you are married or have a partner, you better think about how you are going to be able to cope with one another 24 / 7. For my partner and I, this is still a work in progress.

Laugh at yourself, and life.

At the comedy show that we attended last Saturday night, the best comedian was the one who appeared to get his material from his family. All of us in the audience could relate to almost all of his jokes and stories.



Well, I babbled long enough.

Have a great Thursday!

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad