Hello from Kansas

Dear Friends,



I just woke up from a 3 hour nap, and I have 5 o’clock shadow, but it is only a little after 2 PM central time as I begin this e-mail. Linda and I woke up at 3:30 AM in preparation for our 4:15 AM pick up (by way of a limo service) from the Brodeur home in North Tewksbury. Our 6 AM flight out of Logan was right on time, and we touched down at exactly 8:30 AM (CST) at KCI international airport.

Danielle and Isabelle picked us up at 9 AM, and we were at our son’s place at 9:30 AM. After an hour of playing with our grandchild, my body shut down, and I settled down for a nap. Right now the only people awake are Danielle and I. Even Linda, who is not good at nap taking, crashed like me. Maybe I should rethink making travel plans for retired people when the airplane leaves at 6 AM in the morning. I thought having a full day with the grandchild would be great, but I already lost three hours because of my nap.



Our Sunday went okay in North Tewksbury. After reading the Boston Globe when we woke up at the Brodeur’s, Linda and I went off to Kevin and Kyla’s new home to help out with the unpacking. Linda watched Max as Kyla emptied box and bags of stuff from their Saturday moving adventure. Kevin and I went to East Boston to do a through cleaning of their East Boston apartment so that it was clean for the renters who wanted to drop off some of their stuff today even though the rental agreement doesn’t start until April 1, 2010.

I was the window (14 of them) cleaning guy and the vacuum cleaner, and in charge of cleaning the kitchen cabinets, stove, and refrigerator. I don’t want to see a bottle of Windex for a while. Vacuuming wasn’t exactly a pleasure also. Do you know how many dog and hat hairs which two cats and two dogs can generate?

Kevin was in charge of doing patch jobs of carpeting that the creatures tore up, and he also had to fix a wall that they damaged too with a little spackling. The renters will be moving into a pristine apartment. The 5 hour effort on Sunday was worth it because Kevin and Kyla (and Max) treated us to dinner at the Longhorn Steak House a couple miles from their home.



Isabelle has really grown up a lot since we last saw her and her family at Christmas. She is talking more, and is starting the potty training process.

She still prefers Nana Linda over me, but at least she doesn’t run and hide from scary looking grandpa. I am called papa with the mustache, but Danielle’s dad has a mustache too.



Her little brother will be born during the middle of May. Mike and Danielle are still deciding on what to name their child.



The weather is starting to warm up as we arrived in Kansas. Danielle says that one of the days will hit the 80 degree mark. Yes, I packed the appropriate clothes. I have several short sleeve shirts, and pairs of shorts. Bring on the sunshine!



A military friend left the area, and let Isabelle have their swing set, family size trampoline, kid slides, and toys.

Papa is going to purchase them a bird feeder and bird seed so that Isabelle can watch the birds out of their sliding glass windows to their deck like at the Curley home. There are no creatures like bears, bobcats, coyote’s, etc. Danielle says that they don’t even have squirrels where they live. Each house has a fenced in (wooden) back yard.



I haven’t looked at television since we left Pittsfield on Friday morning. For the past few days the focus has been on the grandchild in Boston, and now the focus is on the grandchild in Kansas. Family and friends is what it is all about.

I will have some words of wisdom and / or political views on Tuesday morning.



Update – Jerry dialysis, which began last week had a few complications. When we first saw him after one of his sessions on Friday, he was tired, but I though much better than we have seen him in the past. He has lost weight, and the leg swelling has decreased tremendously. Other numbers like blood pressure and sugar number have decreased also. He is sleeping better too.

On Sunday, he did start to feel not so great. A scheduled session for today should perk him up. He is currently on a M-W-F schedule.



Well, I can hear Isabelle stirring. We will be going outside and playing with some of her outdoor toys.

Have a great day.

Ours is off to a pretty good start! The Curley Lad