Dear Friends,
Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you for all the people who have served our country both past and present, and those who continue to do so. Thank you to all the men and woman who made the ultimate sacrifice.
I read yesterday that we have lost 1000 military people in Afghanistan so far.
We have a 23 unit parade which starts at 10 A.M. this morning. They will be marching from our City Hall to a Soldier Memorial Park about a mile from our City Hall. There will be a flyby and a speech form some high ranking military guy who will be flown in by helicopter to our local airport.
Another Day went as planned.
We did some errands before we went off to the picnic which we were invited to. We arrived at 3 PM, and stayed until 9:30 PM. The party and bond fire in the back yard of the hostess was still going on when we left. We had a great afternoon of food, fun, and merriment!
There was an interesting mix of people at the party besides the members of our Irish Sister City group. The Mom of one of my former students was there, and she explained what it was like going through the birth of triplets. Each baby weighed only one pound, but each grew up with no ill affects of being so little at birth. The Mom thought she was having twins, but to her surprise there was an extra one. She had two boys, one of whom I had in class, and one girl. The married daughter and her husband, who our oldest son graduated with from Pittsfield High School, were at the party.
As we left the party, we saw some flashing lights of a couple of police cars about a quarter of a mile south of the party house. We saw a ocean sized boat tipped over on its side. It appeared that the tire on the boat trailer must have gone flat as the guy was making a turn, and the boat just tipped over on its side.
While at the party, people were discussing what they were going to be doing today. Some are volunteering to help out with the setting up of the various units, dispensing coffee and doughnuts, etc. The Veterans’ Affair officer, who was at the party on Sunday, is in charge of picking up the guest speaker at the airport. Rosanne Frieri is not only the Veterans’ Affairs officer for our City, but she is a member of our Irish Sister City Committee.
After the parade and ceremony, some people said that they were going to opening day at Wahconah Park for the new minor league baseball team. They are called the Colonials. The league is an independent one. The Coach of the team is a former Red Sox player named Brian Dauback. The friend said that they would be staying for the fireworks after the game. As soon as Linda heard the word “Fireworks”, she said that she wanted to go to the game too. Linda is like a little kid when it comes to fireworks.
The game and fireworks is not a definite since we are we are supposed to hook with two couples at some point today. We are finalizing the details for a trip together at the end of August with all three couples. I think that it will be one of those Chevy Chase Family Lampoon vacations, and it should be fun.
Well, I have some chores to do, some of which are noisy, but they need to be done.
Have a great Memorial Day!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day on Saturday. We spent the day just doing our thing.
My day started at Retro Fitness with the 6 AM crowd which was really a handful of people.
I had to get a propane tank refill because I am pretty sure that I left the grill on the last time I cooked anything. Luckily the gauge was near the low end so that I didn’t waste a full tank of gas.
A little before noon, we headed off to Home Goods to replace a towel. Linda bought a towel a couple of days ago. Her new bathing suit doesn’t go well color wise. I said that I thought that we had some nice beach towels with fish on them. She said yes we do, but those were about 15 years old (still in good shape) She said that when she goes off to her yearly Cape adventure with her girlfriends at the end of June that she can’t be bringing the same towel year after year. We men wouldn’t care one bit!
You would think that a towel exchange would be a quick one. Not! We spent over an hour choosing a gazing ball and stand. Linda has always wanted a gazing ball for one of our flower beds. She got her wish yesterday, but it was a major production. The first problem was that Home Goods had all these beautiful gazing balls to choose from, but the store had no stands to put them on. I found a large flower vase in the clearance section. We spent over an hour finding the best gazing ball for the vase. Total strangers, and a neighbor, who happened to be in the store at the same time, even helped out with the selection. We started to attract a crowd of onlookers who were wondering what we were doing. I felt like I was in the women’s shoe department at Macy’s.
Well, the gazing ball is all set up in one of the flower beds, and I must admit that it does look quite nice. Linda said that she has wanted one for many years. Can you imagine if I, a color blind person, came home with my version of a gazing ball and stand?
We then had to make a grocery run, and pick up a few things. I needed to replenish our beer supply especially since we are going to a picnic today, and we are supposed to bring our own beverages. I also had a coupon where if I purchased two bottles of a particular beverage, I would get an $8 rebate.
We had a quiet evening alone. I grilled a couple of steaks. Linda whipped up a large sweet potato, which she split in half, and added some vegetables to compliment the meal. We finished supper about the same time as the first pitch was thrown for the Red Sox game. The Red Sox finally beat Kansas City by an exciting score of 1 to 0. It was so exciting that I dozed off for a couple of innings.
Sports -- A perfect game was thrown yesterday by an old Red Sox nemesis Roy Halliday when he was at Toronto. He is now a pitcher for the Phillies
Social Calendar – We are going to the picnic at the home of one of our Irish Sister City Members during the mid afternoon today. Linda made up one of her bean concoctions. It has been brewing in the crock pot all night. It smells wonderful. I am pretty sure it will be a big hit, and people will want the recipe. This is one of those recipes where we hesitate to give it away because everyone will start making it because it is so good.
News – A while back, a drone shot and killed some innocent people in the various war zones. A report came out, and the crew who controlled the drone got into some serious trouble. The Drone was controlled out of the same place in Las Vegas where Danielle was working as a flight instructor for the Predator before she left the military. If Danielle was in the military at the time, it would never have happened on her watch. The report said that it was pilot inexperience, and some bad decisions were made. Demotions have already taken place.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, and the Boston Globe. I like to do so before Linda gets up. Reading the newspapers at the same time sometimes becomes a conflict. I will do some weeding while she reads the newspapers.
Have a great Sunday.
We are all set to have a great one.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day on Saturday. We spent the day just doing our thing.
My day started at Retro Fitness with the 6 AM crowd which was really a handful of people.
I had to get a propane tank refill because I am pretty sure that I left the grill on the last time I cooked anything. Luckily the gauge was near the low end so that I didn’t waste a full tank of gas.
A little before noon, we headed off to Home Goods to replace a towel. Linda bought a towel a couple of days ago. Her new bathing suit doesn’t go well color wise. I said that I thought that we had some nice beach towels with fish on them. She said yes we do, but those were about 15 years old (still in good shape) She said that when she goes off to her yearly Cape adventure with her girlfriends at the end of June that she can’t be bringing the same towel year after year. We men wouldn’t care one bit!
You would think that a towel exchange would be a quick one. Not! We spent over an hour choosing a gazing ball and stand. Linda has always wanted a gazing ball for one of our flower beds. She got her wish yesterday, but it was a major production. The first problem was that Home Goods had all these beautiful gazing balls to choose from, but the store had no stands to put them on. I found a large flower vase in the clearance section. We spent over an hour finding the best gazing ball for the vase. Total strangers, and a neighbor, who happened to be in the store at the same time, even helped out with the selection. We started to attract a crowd of onlookers who were wondering what we were doing. I felt like I was in the women’s shoe department at Macy’s.
Well, the gazing ball is all set up in one of the flower beds, and I must admit that it does look quite nice. Linda said that she has wanted one for many years. Can you imagine if I, a color blind person, came home with my version of a gazing ball and stand?
We then had to make a grocery run, and pick up a few things. I needed to replenish our beer supply especially since we are going to a picnic today, and we are supposed to bring our own beverages. I also had a coupon where if I purchased two bottles of a particular beverage, I would get an $8 rebate.
We had a quiet evening alone. I grilled a couple of steaks. Linda whipped up a large sweet potato, which she split in half, and added some vegetables to compliment the meal. We finished supper about the same time as the first pitch was thrown for the Red Sox game. The Red Sox finally beat Kansas City by an exciting score of 1 to 0. It was so exciting that I dozed off for a couple of innings.
Sports -- A perfect game was thrown yesterday by an old Red Sox nemesis Roy Halliday when he was at Toronto. He is now a pitcher for the Phillies
Social Calendar – We are going to the picnic at the home of one of our Irish Sister City Members during the mid afternoon today. Linda made up one of her bean concoctions. It has been brewing in the crock pot all night. It smells wonderful. I am pretty sure it will be a big hit, and people will want the recipe. This is one of those recipes where we hesitate to give it away because everyone will start making it because it is so good.
News – A while back, a drone shot and killed some innocent people in the various war zones. A report came out, and the crew who controlled the drone got into some serious trouble. The Drone was controlled out of the same place in Las Vegas where Danielle was working as a flight instructor for the Predator before she left the military. If Danielle was in the military at the time, it would never have happened on her watch. The report said that it was pilot inexperience, and some bad decisions were made. Demotions have already taken place.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, and the Boston Globe. I like to do so before Linda gets up. Reading the newspapers at the same time sometimes becomes a conflict. I will do some weeding while she reads the newspapers.
Have a great Sunday.
We are all set to have a great one.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in the Curley household.
I played another not so great round of golf, but the day was picture perfect.
I took and afternoon nap so that I could stay up for the Red Sox and the Celtics’ games. The Red Sox got beat for a second night. I must admit that I spent most of my time watching the Celtics, and not watching the Sox go down to defeat.
Linda made it through her breakfast, body maintenance procedure, and squeezed in a little recreational shopping too.
Since the usual suspects weren’t available for supper, Linda called up another set of friends and asked if they were going to the Hills for supper. We went with two other couples and had a great evening. We skipped the buffet offering, and we decided to eat off of the regular menu, and the specials of the day. Linda and I had a thinned slice rib eye that was cooked to perfection. The place was not crowded at all. We sat in the members bar area.
We have no social engagements today, and I told Linda that it was perfectly okay with me. The weather channel says that we are in for a little afternoon rain with temperatures in the low 70’s. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be in the 80’s with plenty of sunshine.
We did get invited to a picnic on Sunday afternoon. An Irish Sister City member invited all of the Sister City members for a cookout. Everyone was asked to bring a covered dish, and BYOB. The festivities start at 2 PM.
I also think another friend is having a cookout too that we were invited to. Decisions – decisions! What are we to do?
The other night Linda heard some noise on the deck while she was watching some of her previously recorded programs. She turned on the spot light on the deck. She noticed a big fat raccoon knocking over garbage cans, and climbing on the lone birdfeeder. One garbage can just has the corn peels from the night before. The cobs I put in trash cans in the garage. This is why we can’t leave out trash outdoors.
Linda even yelled at the raccoon, but he just kept on doing his thing. This must have been the same creature that knocked over the bird feeder a week ago that I had hanging from a branch high off of the ground. Raccoons are great climbers. I am not sure how I can get rid of the raccoon. I hate to spend the money for a “Have a heart trap”, then what would I do with the captured animal. I also don’t want to stop feeding the birds.
A lot of people are having parties this weekend. Some are for college graduates, and some are parties before the actual high graduations in the county take place.
Speaking of school, on the way out of the Hills yesterday, I stopped to talk to some former colleagues who are still teaching. I asked one of the guys how things were going? He said that is starting not to be fun anymore. He said that he is starting to lose his patience with some of the wing nuts who disrupt class. Every teacher has one or two classes of these types of students.
I asked him when his projected retirement was going to be. He said that he has five more years to go before he can collect a reasonable pension since he entered the education field later in life. His wife is in the private sector, and they will both retire when they are 62.
I told him that the way he is feeling was exactly why Linda and I decided to call it a career. We saw the clientele was changing, and it wasn’t for the better.
Life as a teacher would be so easy if parents gave their children a head start in their own home. Parents are their child’s first teachers, and some parents fail to do their job. I saw a bumper sticker on a car when I was stuck in Boston traffic this past Monday. I can’t remember the first few words on the bumper sticker, but it essentially said to stop whining, and “Take care of your own damn children.”
Well, have a great Saturday, and remember this is Memorial Day weekend.
Yes, I have an American Flag blowing in the breeze in the front of our house.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned in the Curley household.
I played another not so great round of golf, but the day was picture perfect.
I took and afternoon nap so that I could stay up for the Red Sox and the Celtics’ games. The Red Sox got beat for a second night. I must admit that I spent most of my time watching the Celtics, and not watching the Sox go down to defeat.
Linda made it through her breakfast, body maintenance procedure, and squeezed in a little recreational shopping too.
Since the usual suspects weren’t available for supper, Linda called up another set of friends and asked if they were going to the Hills for supper. We went with two other couples and had a great evening. We skipped the buffet offering, and we decided to eat off of the regular menu, and the specials of the day. Linda and I had a thinned slice rib eye that was cooked to perfection. The place was not crowded at all. We sat in the members bar area.
We have no social engagements today, and I told Linda that it was perfectly okay with me. The weather channel says that we are in for a little afternoon rain with temperatures in the low 70’s. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be in the 80’s with plenty of sunshine.
We did get invited to a picnic on Sunday afternoon. An Irish Sister City member invited all of the Sister City members for a cookout. Everyone was asked to bring a covered dish, and BYOB. The festivities start at 2 PM.
I also think another friend is having a cookout too that we were invited to. Decisions – decisions! What are we to do?
The other night Linda heard some noise on the deck while she was watching some of her previously recorded programs. She turned on the spot light on the deck. She noticed a big fat raccoon knocking over garbage cans, and climbing on the lone birdfeeder. One garbage can just has the corn peels from the night before. The cobs I put in trash cans in the garage. This is why we can’t leave out trash outdoors.
Linda even yelled at the raccoon, but he just kept on doing his thing. This must have been the same creature that knocked over the bird feeder a week ago that I had hanging from a branch high off of the ground. Raccoons are great climbers. I am not sure how I can get rid of the raccoon. I hate to spend the money for a “Have a heart trap”, then what would I do with the captured animal. I also don’t want to stop feeding the birds.
A lot of people are having parties this weekend. Some are for college graduates, and some are parties before the actual high graduations in the county take place.
Speaking of school, on the way out of the Hills yesterday, I stopped to talk to some former colleagues who are still teaching. I asked one of the guys how things were going? He said that is starting not to be fun anymore. He said that he is starting to lose his patience with some of the wing nuts who disrupt class. Every teacher has one or two classes of these types of students.
I asked him when his projected retirement was going to be. He said that he has five more years to go before he can collect a reasonable pension since he entered the education field later in life. His wife is in the private sector, and they will both retire when they are 62.
I told him that the way he is feeling was exactly why Linda and I decided to call it a career. We saw the clientele was changing, and it wasn’t for the better.
Life as a teacher would be so easy if parents gave their children a head start in their own home. Parents are their child’s first teachers, and some parents fail to do their job. I saw a bumper sticker on a car when I was stuck in Boston traffic this past Monday. I can’t remember the first few words on the bumper sticker, but it essentially said to stop whining, and “Take care of your own damn children.”
Well, have a great Saturday, and remember this is Memorial Day weekend.
Yes, I have an American Flag blowing in the breeze in the front of our house.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned.
My UNICO brothers and sisters and I served over 300 people at the Italian American Club last evening. Since the main floor legally holds 150 people (Yeah Right!), people were eating downstairs in the member bar area, and outdoors on several picnic tables next to the BOCCE courts. I left before they said how much they made for the Relay for Life team, but it had to be some serious money. Since this is the first one for this team, I would imagine we will do a repeat performance next year.
While I was doing my thing, Linda did a little recreational shopping, and ordered Chinese food for her supper. She is trying to catch up on all her DVR recorded programs.
The neighbor across the street and Linda bonded for a while yesterday. The female neighbor told Linda exactly why they were selling their home, and what their future plans are. Essentially they bought a home in Florida, and they are purchasing a Condo in Maine in the area where one of her children and the grandchildren live.
Social Calendar – I have golf with the seniors at 8:30 AM. Linda has her once a month retiree breakfast at 8:30 AM, and then she is off to a body maintenance procedure. I will most likely take a nap after golf.
This evening, we are going to Berkshire Hills Country Clu for supper. There is some kind of special menu for tonight. I believe we are supposed to go with several couples. Of course, we are flexible, and these plans can change in a heart beat.
Sports – I did come home in time to catch the last few innings of the Red Sox game. I can’t believe that they got beat by the Kansas City Royals at home in Fenway. Oh Darn! They play the Royals three more times this weekend.
Observation – Every day, I read a section of the local newspaper called “Lost and Found”. There are the usual lost dogs, and cats, missing bikes, lost sentimental jewelry, etc. I have seen this somewhat weird one for the past few days. This is exactly how it reads “Found, Suicide Prevention Manual with losing lottery ticket inside. Book is titled “I can’t take it anymore.” Please call to claim.” The telephone number is listed. I hope the person who lost it does make the call because I am guessing that the person may no longer be with us.
Also if the person in question kept themselves busy like me doing my volunteer work, they would come home so tired that suicide would be the last thing on their minds. I still ache this morning, and my body required an 800 milligram Motrin to start this day.
I almost forgot to mention that I came home from the fundraiser with a “to go” container of diced / minced garlic. We made a batch of garlic bread at the fund raiser, and there was some leftover garlic. I walked in the house, and Linda almost jumped out of her seat on the couch in the family room. The smell of the fresh garlic permeated the whole house. I put the garlic in a jar and put some oil in the jar and put it in the refrigerator. Linda was afraid that the refrigerator was going to smell like garlic. I smelled like garlic. Everything I touched smelled like garlic, I had to take a shower to get the garlic off of my body, but I still smelled like garlic. Linda asked me if I do these things just to drive her crazy. I told her that I hate to see anything go to waste.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, do some quiet chores, and select my golf wardrobe.
The dew point is low, and we will be in the lower 70’s today.
Have a great weekend!
Take time to enjoy it with family and friends!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned.
My UNICO brothers and sisters and I served over 300 people at the Italian American Club last evening. Since the main floor legally holds 150 people (Yeah Right!), people were eating downstairs in the member bar area, and outdoors on several picnic tables next to the BOCCE courts. I left before they said how much they made for the Relay for Life team, but it had to be some serious money. Since this is the first one for this team, I would imagine we will do a repeat performance next year.
While I was doing my thing, Linda did a little recreational shopping, and ordered Chinese food for her supper. She is trying to catch up on all her DVR recorded programs.
The neighbor across the street and Linda bonded for a while yesterday. The female neighbor told Linda exactly why they were selling their home, and what their future plans are. Essentially they bought a home in Florida, and they are purchasing a Condo in Maine in the area where one of her children and the grandchildren live.
Social Calendar – I have golf with the seniors at 8:30 AM. Linda has her once a month retiree breakfast at 8:30 AM, and then she is off to a body maintenance procedure. I will most likely take a nap after golf.
This evening, we are going to Berkshire Hills Country Clu for supper. There is some kind of special menu for tonight. I believe we are supposed to go with several couples. Of course, we are flexible, and these plans can change in a heart beat.
Sports – I did come home in time to catch the last few innings of the Red Sox game. I can’t believe that they got beat by the Kansas City Royals at home in Fenway. Oh Darn! They play the Royals three more times this weekend.
Observation – Every day, I read a section of the local newspaper called “Lost and Found”. There are the usual lost dogs, and cats, missing bikes, lost sentimental jewelry, etc. I have seen this somewhat weird one for the past few days. This is exactly how it reads “Found, Suicide Prevention Manual with losing lottery ticket inside. Book is titled “I can’t take it anymore.” Please call to claim.” The telephone number is listed. I hope the person who lost it does make the call because I am guessing that the person may no longer be with us.
Also if the person in question kept themselves busy like me doing my volunteer work, they would come home so tired that suicide would be the last thing on their minds. I still ache this morning, and my body required an 800 milligram Motrin to start this day.
I almost forgot to mention that I came home from the fundraiser with a “to go” container of diced / minced garlic. We made a batch of garlic bread at the fund raiser, and there was some leftover garlic. I walked in the house, and Linda almost jumped out of her seat on the couch in the family room. The smell of the fresh garlic permeated the whole house. I put the garlic in a jar and put some oil in the jar and put it in the refrigerator. Linda was afraid that the refrigerator was going to smell like garlic. I smelled like garlic. Everything I touched smelled like garlic, I had to take a shower to get the garlic off of my body, but I still smelled like garlic. Linda asked me if I do these things just to drive her crazy. I told her that I hate to see anything go to waste.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, do some quiet chores, and select my golf wardrobe.
The dew point is low, and we will be in the lower 70’s today.
Have a great weekend!
Take time to enjoy it with family and friends!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Dear Friends,
I completed the four tasks which I set out to do. My car is running like a top after the oil change.
In the heat and humidity, I did cut, bag grass clippings (dropped off two sets at our Resource Recovery Plant), and weed whacked three lawns on Wednesday.
Linda had a semi relaxing day before she went off to do errands, and make a grocery run.
Before I went into my man cave to watch sports, I grilled some hot dogs and hamburgers for supper. I cooked some non regional corn in my electronic pressure cooker. The corn was the only negative of the meal. I can’t wait for the local corn growers to start producing and selling their corn.
The heat and humidity is nothing but a memory. A thunder storm rolled in last night, and took away the almost unbearable weather. We will reach the middle 70’s today with no humidity. I have all the windows of the first floor open, and the fresh and crisp air is wonderful.
Sports – The Celtics looked awful last evening. I hope that they don’t become the first team that has a 3 to 0 lead in the playoffs, and then lose the series.
The Red Sox swept the division leading Rays. The Sox are looking good in all departments, pitching, hitting, fielding, etc.
Social Calendar – I am working another one of those Pasta Fund Raisers today at the Italian American Club. I have to report at 3 PM. I am not sure if Linda is socially engaged. I am going to start the day doing some stuff at the family home in Lee. I will visit Mom on the way home from visiting with my Dad.
Our flowers are doing very well. The rain last evening saved me the task of watering them today.
Observation – The weekend is almost upon us. I was thinking of what Memorial Day means to me. As a baby boomer with no military service, but with Uncles who fought in World War II, a brother who died of a service connected disability after the Vietnam War came to a close, a nephew who spent four years as a Marine before leaving with a disability, a daughter-in-law who flew her A-10 in combat in Iraq, a son who flew combat missions in his A-10 in Kosovo, and who is still in the military, and all my friends in the clubs which I belong to who spent time in war zones, or the military in general, and several of my high school classmates who died on foreign soil. I say “Thank You” from the bottom of my heart. The life that Linda and I are currently enjoying would not have happened without all the sacrifices that you have made.
Well, I have to do some quiet chores before I head off to Lee.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I completed the four tasks which I set out to do. My car is running like a top after the oil change.
In the heat and humidity, I did cut, bag grass clippings (dropped off two sets at our Resource Recovery Plant), and weed whacked three lawns on Wednesday.
Linda had a semi relaxing day before she went off to do errands, and make a grocery run.
Before I went into my man cave to watch sports, I grilled some hot dogs and hamburgers for supper. I cooked some non regional corn in my electronic pressure cooker. The corn was the only negative of the meal. I can’t wait for the local corn growers to start producing and selling their corn.
The heat and humidity is nothing but a memory. A thunder storm rolled in last night, and took away the almost unbearable weather. We will reach the middle 70’s today with no humidity. I have all the windows of the first floor open, and the fresh and crisp air is wonderful.
Sports – The Celtics looked awful last evening. I hope that they don’t become the first team that has a 3 to 0 lead in the playoffs, and then lose the series.
The Red Sox swept the division leading Rays. The Sox are looking good in all departments, pitching, hitting, fielding, etc.
Social Calendar – I am working another one of those Pasta Fund Raisers today at the Italian American Club. I have to report at 3 PM. I am not sure if Linda is socially engaged. I am going to start the day doing some stuff at the family home in Lee. I will visit Mom on the way home from visiting with my Dad.
Our flowers are doing very well. The rain last evening saved me the task of watering them today.
Observation – The weekend is almost upon us. I was thinking of what Memorial Day means to me. As a baby boomer with no military service, but with Uncles who fought in World War II, a brother who died of a service connected disability after the Vietnam War came to a close, a nephew who spent four years as a Marine before leaving with a disability, a daughter-in-law who flew her A-10 in combat in Iraq, a son who flew combat missions in his A-10 in Kosovo, and who is still in the military, and all my friends in the clubs which I belong to who spent time in war zones, or the military in general, and several of my high school classmates who died on foreign soil. I say “Thank You” from the bottom of my heart. The life that Linda and I are currently enjoying would not have happened without all the sacrifices that you have made.
Well, I have to do some quiet chores before I head off to Lee.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hello on Wednesday morning
Dear Friends,
I went to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox beat the team leading their division. This is the second Red Sox pitcher in the past couple if days who threw a one hitter against their opponents.
I almost forgot that Wednesday is out trash pick up day. I should be the only busy person in our house today. I am really going to try and not involve Linda in any of my projects. She needs to have an “alone day” for sure.
There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed as well as being in your own surroundings. It doesn’t matter whether we leave the house for short or long periods of time, “There is no place like home!”
I have all the windows in the main floor of the house open so that all the cool air will chill down the house. As soon as I detect a slight heating up of the atmosphere, I will shut all the windows. We had the all the air conditioners in the bedrooms working as soon as we arrived home from our weekend adventure. We should be pushing the 90 degree mark before this day is over. We can’t wait for the cold front to zoom in and take the high heat and humidity away which is predicted to happen on the weekend.
Oil Spill – This has to be one of the worst natural disasters that I have seen during my life time. I hope the next attempt at plugging up the well works. Every time I listen to a person who makes their livelihood from the gulf waters, I can feel their pain.
One friend was watching a program of an oil spill that occurred in Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod which occurred in 1969. The effects of the spill are still evident over 40 years later.
We won’t have to wait for any war to destroy this precious place we call earth, we seem to be destroying the earth over time.
Grandchildren – Everyone is doing fine in the Curley family. All of our friends who have grandchildren are also experiencing the “Life is Good” concept in their lives.
Our next bonding with the grandchildren takes place during the second week of June, We have a baby sitting gig in North Tewksbury. It will be a week long affair. Linda and I are deciding whether we should spend half the time with Max in the Berkshires. On the other hand, Kevin and Kyla have central air conditioning. We experienced how wonderful that was this past weekend. Linda and I are not part of the crowd who has to have the house at 75 degrees or higher all year round.
The hot dogs were good last night. I ate my two in my “man cave” as I watching the Red Sox game. I got the feeling that I was at the ball game. I must admit that it was too hot to cook them on the grill. Let me rephrase that, I was too lazy to do so. Linda microwaved them before we put on our favorite condiments. My favorite condiments on a hot dog are mustard, ketchup, and relish.
Well, I have to grab a cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper before I start any quiet activities.
Have a great rest of the week.
Enjoy Memorial Day weekend especially if you have some time off.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I went to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox beat the team leading their division. This is the second Red Sox pitcher in the past couple if days who threw a one hitter against their opponents.
I almost forgot that Wednesday is out trash pick up day. I should be the only busy person in our house today. I am really going to try and not involve Linda in any of my projects. She needs to have an “alone day” for sure.
There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed as well as being in your own surroundings. It doesn’t matter whether we leave the house for short or long periods of time, “There is no place like home!”
I have all the windows in the main floor of the house open so that all the cool air will chill down the house. As soon as I detect a slight heating up of the atmosphere, I will shut all the windows. We had the all the air conditioners in the bedrooms working as soon as we arrived home from our weekend adventure. We should be pushing the 90 degree mark before this day is over. We can’t wait for the cold front to zoom in and take the high heat and humidity away which is predicted to happen on the weekend.
Oil Spill – This has to be one of the worst natural disasters that I have seen during my life time. I hope the next attempt at plugging up the well works. Every time I listen to a person who makes their livelihood from the gulf waters, I can feel their pain.
One friend was watching a program of an oil spill that occurred in Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod which occurred in 1969. The effects of the spill are still evident over 40 years later.
We won’t have to wait for any war to destroy this precious place we call earth, we seem to be destroying the earth over time.
Grandchildren – Everyone is doing fine in the Curley family. All of our friends who have grandchildren are also experiencing the “Life is Good” concept in their lives.
Our next bonding with the grandchildren takes place during the second week of June, We have a baby sitting gig in North Tewksbury. It will be a week long affair. Linda and I are deciding whether we should spend half the time with Max in the Berkshires. On the other hand, Kevin and Kyla have central air conditioning. We experienced how wonderful that was this past weekend. Linda and I are not part of the crowd who has to have the house at 75 degrees or higher all year round.
The hot dogs were good last night. I ate my two in my “man cave” as I watching the Red Sox game. I got the feeling that I was at the ball game. I must admit that it was too hot to cook them on the grill. Let me rephrase that, I was too lazy to do so. Linda microwaved them before we put on our favorite condiments. My favorite condiments on a hot dog are mustard, ketchup, and relish.
Well, I have to grab a cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper before I start any quiet activities.
Have a great rest of the week.
Enjoy Memorial Day weekend especially if you have some time off.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Evening
Dear Friends,
We had a 2.5 day adventure to the other end of the State. When I had access to a computer, I was too tired to get on it.
My last e-mail said that we were going to have a cookout in North Tewksbury which we did have on Sunday night.
The trip had two fold purposes. The first was to visit with our son and his family (grandchild Max) as well as visiting with the Brodeur’s who live one street away. The second was to give moral support to a friend who needed some cardiac work done at Beth Israel Medical Center. We were using the Brodeur Bed and Breakfast as our home base. It is a 35 minute ride from North Tewksbury to Beth Israel if the traffic is without any delays.
Our friend had three stents put in on Monday morning, and was discharged by 11 AM today. Linda, me, and our friend’s wife picked him up at 11 AM, and we headed back home, with one food stop on the Mass Pike.
I took an1.5 hour nap as soon as I got home. Linda caught up on her e-mail was I was napping.
The Sunday evening picnic went well at our son’s home on Sunday night with just one bump along the road. I was grilling vegetables while some of the part goers were socializing when some people dropped off a pit bull at Kevin and Kyla’s home. These people found the pit bull wandering on Route 3. They saw the dog tags had Kevin and Kyla’s street address on them. They dropped the dog off at Kevin and Kyla’s doorstep. This dog belonged to the previous owner of Kevin and Kyla’s house. The previous owners failed to change the dog tags when they moved to their new home. Now, you would think that this is a nice gesture on the part of total strangers. Well, it turned into a nightmare from our perspective. The pit bull went after Kevin and Kyla’s long hair dachshund. Kevin took the wayward dog in their house, and the pit bull started attacking their dog. Kyla picked up Frankie Beans as the pit bull is chopping on the dachshund leg, and she takes him out on the deck where I was grilling. Kevin contained the pit bull, and kept him in the house, while their two dogs were eventually kept outside. The dachshund was not hurt during the whole incident, but that is because Kevin and Kyla intervened.
I just kept on grilling through all the confusion. I did have to fix the screen door mounted on the sliding glass doors onto the deck where I was cooking. The pit bull knocked the door completely off the track as he was trying to get the dachshund. I must have to tell you that the pit bull didn’t attack humans. He was not a threat to any party goers. After I saw the pit bull attack Frankie Beans, I started to worry that the dog might attack our grandchild. Not!
A neighbor heard all the commotion, and Kevin and Kyla explained what happened. She had the telephone number of the previous owner and called them. They picked up their dog within 20 minutes.
During the whole confusing time, Kevin and Kyla were like the “Dog Whisperers” They remained calm after assessing the situation. I was thinking that if the incident happened at my house, I would have called 911. I also had thoughts of getting one of my hunting devices, and taking the dog’s life. This approach was the farthest thing from Kevin and Kyla’s mind.
The beef, and cooked vegetables were a big hit when we eventually decided to eat.
Linda wants Wednesday to be one of those days where she just wants to be left alone.
I do have an 8 AM oil change appointment on Wednesday. I have to cut our lawn, and my neighbor’s, who takes care of our place when we are out of town.
We will be kind of hot for the next couple of days, but a cool front is supposed to make the temperatures drop into the seventies with no humidity for the holiday weekend.
We have no plans for the moment. One of our friends usually tries to find one day for a cookout. Kevin has several days off, and we did invite them to come to the Berkshires for the weekend, but I think that they were leaning toward a Cape Cod experience. Whatever happens, we retirees are totally flexible.
Observation – I just watched an article on the local news channel. They showed hot dogs on a bun. I thought that they were going to talk about the not so good stuff that a hot dog is composed of. I was waiting for a report from the FDA describing how non heart healthy hot dogs really are. The only thing the report discussed was about hot dogs being bad with respect to choking. The Curley’s are having hot dogs for supper this evening. We usually consume Hebrew National Beef Hotdogs.
Linda has her DVR recorded programs to watch this evening. I have a Red Sox game which starts at 7 P.M.
Speaking of Linda’s programs, she entered a random pool of one of her favorite shows. Her person won, and 15 people will be sending her a gift. I think the pool group is composed of people who knit. Linda is very happy because during the last few pools her randomly chosen person always seems to come in second place.
Have fun during the remaining time left for this day.
I am getting ready to watch my sporting contest.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had a 2.5 day adventure to the other end of the State. When I had access to a computer, I was too tired to get on it.
My last e-mail said that we were going to have a cookout in North Tewksbury which we did have on Sunday night.
The trip had two fold purposes. The first was to visit with our son and his family (grandchild Max) as well as visiting with the Brodeur’s who live one street away. The second was to give moral support to a friend who needed some cardiac work done at Beth Israel Medical Center. We were using the Brodeur Bed and Breakfast as our home base. It is a 35 minute ride from North Tewksbury to Beth Israel if the traffic is without any delays.
Our friend had three stents put in on Monday morning, and was discharged by 11 AM today. Linda, me, and our friend’s wife picked him up at 11 AM, and we headed back home, with one food stop on the Mass Pike.
I took an1.5 hour nap as soon as I got home. Linda caught up on her e-mail was I was napping.
The Sunday evening picnic went well at our son’s home on Sunday night with just one bump along the road. I was grilling vegetables while some of the part goers were socializing when some people dropped off a pit bull at Kevin and Kyla’s home. These people found the pit bull wandering on Route 3. They saw the dog tags had Kevin and Kyla’s street address on them. They dropped the dog off at Kevin and Kyla’s doorstep. This dog belonged to the previous owner of Kevin and Kyla’s house. The previous owners failed to change the dog tags when they moved to their new home. Now, you would think that this is a nice gesture on the part of total strangers. Well, it turned into a nightmare from our perspective. The pit bull went after Kevin and Kyla’s long hair dachshund. Kevin took the wayward dog in their house, and the pit bull started attacking their dog. Kyla picked up Frankie Beans as the pit bull is chopping on the dachshund leg, and she takes him out on the deck where I was grilling. Kevin contained the pit bull, and kept him in the house, while their two dogs were eventually kept outside. The dachshund was not hurt during the whole incident, but that is because Kevin and Kyla intervened.
I just kept on grilling through all the confusion. I did have to fix the screen door mounted on the sliding glass doors onto the deck where I was cooking. The pit bull knocked the door completely off the track as he was trying to get the dachshund. I must have to tell you that the pit bull didn’t attack humans. He was not a threat to any party goers. After I saw the pit bull attack Frankie Beans, I started to worry that the dog might attack our grandchild. Not!
A neighbor heard all the commotion, and Kevin and Kyla explained what happened. She had the telephone number of the previous owner and called them. They picked up their dog within 20 minutes.
During the whole confusing time, Kevin and Kyla were like the “Dog Whisperers” They remained calm after assessing the situation. I was thinking that if the incident happened at my house, I would have called 911. I also had thoughts of getting one of my hunting devices, and taking the dog’s life. This approach was the farthest thing from Kevin and Kyla’s mind.
The beef, and cooked vegetables were a big hit when we eventually decided to eat.
Linda wants Wednesday to be one of those days where she just wants to be left alone.
I do have an 8 AM oil change appointment on Wednesday. I have to cut our lawn, and my neighbor’s, who takes care of our place when we are out of town.
We will be kind of hot for the next couple of days, but a cool front is supposed to make the temperatures drop into the seventies with no humidity for the holiday weekend.
We have no plans for the moment. One of our friends usually tries to find one day for a cookout. Kevin has several days off, and we did invite them to come to the Berkshires for the weekend, but I think that they were leaning toward a Cape Cod experience. Whatever happens, we retirees are totally flexible.
Observation – I just watched an article on the local news channel. They showed hot dogs on a bun. I thought that they were going to talk about the not so good stuff that a hot dog is composed of. I was waiting for a report from the FDA describing how non heart healthy hot dogs really are. The only thing the report discussed was about hot dogs being bad with respect to choking. The Curley’s are having hot dogs for supper this evening. We usually consume Hebrew National Beef Hotdogs.
Linda has her DVR recorded programs to watch this evening. I have a Red Sox game which starts at 7 P.M.
Speaking of Linda’s programs, she entered a random pool of one of her favorite shows. Her person won, and 15 people will be sending her a gift. I think the pool group is composed of people who knit. Linda is very happy because during the last few pools her randomly chosen person always seems to come in second place.
Have fun during the remaining time left for this day.
I am getting ready to watch my sporting contest.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
I did go to bed a happy man last evening since my Celtics won their game, and the Red Sox won their game too. The sad thing about the Red Sox game was that we in the Berkshires were not able to watch Dice K pitch a one hitter against the Phillies.
Linda had a good time at the Hospice Fund Raiser at the Crowne Plaza. Linda’s friend, Linda Ruberto, won the dancing of the stars contest. She and her partner danced the Salsa.
Well, it is nice to be able to look out the sliding glass doors onto the deck, and see the newly planted flowers everywhere. The effort is truly worth it, but it didn’t seem so as we were killing ourselves doing the actual planting.
This should be a quiet day for us today. We have a cookout around supper time in North Tewksbury. I am leaning toward some form of beef along with grilled vegetables which will include green and red peppers, yellow and white zucchini, asparagus, and Vidalia onions. I might even try and grill some sweet potatoes. There should be at least 8 adults. It will be a partly cloudy day with a slight chance of a shower, but not enough to cancel a cookout.
I was just telling Danielle by way of an e-mail that the bird feeders made it through a couple of days without be touched by bears or raccoons. Well, I just checked the bird feeder that I had put on a six inch branch on the maple tree. The bird feeder was lying on the ground totally empty. I just filled it yesterday. I needed a 6 foot step ladder just to hang the bird feeder. Some creature crawled up the tree, and onto the branch, and knocked the bird feeder down onto the ground. Luckily the creature didn’t attack the bird feeder attached to the pole on the deck. It looks like if I want to feed the birds in the summer, I will have to take the bird feeders in at night, and put them out in the day time only.
I just got through watching the Boston news, and there was a report of numerous bear sightings in surrounding Boston communities. Of course, the largest bear population happens to be in the Berkshires. I am not going to lose this battle to the bears or raccoons. There are bunch of beautiful gold finches at the deck bird feeder right now. I am not giving up this visual experience for the rest of the summer.
The oil spill in the gulf is awful. Besides the creatures of the sea, and the birds who feed off the ocean environment, I feel so bad for the people who making a living off the gulf waters. I assumed that there were ways built into an oil rig to stop the flow of oil if something went wrong. I guess not!
The President’s speech at west point will most likely stir up the talking heads like Limbaugh, Hanity, Beck, etc. on Monday. For the President to talk about diplomacy and war to a class of 1000 warriors is kind of ironic. They were all thinking what a whimp our leader must be when their comrades are being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I do agree somewhat with the President that there has to be a better way to solve our issues besides killing each other. I am a firm believer that violence begets more violence. We never learn from entering war after war. If more countries spent more time trying to solve their economic woes, they would be too tired to even go to war.
Well, I have to do some chore (no planting).
Have a great Sunday!
The summer weather has arrived in the Berkshires!
I did go to bed a happy man last evening since my Celtics won their game, and the Red Sox won their game too. The sad thing about the Red Sox game was that we in the Berkshires were not able to watch Dice K pitch a one hitter against the Phillies.
Linda had a good time at the Hospice Fund Raiser at the Crowne Plaza. Linda’s friend, Linda Ruberto, won the dancing of the stars contest. She and her partner danced the Salsa.
Well, it is nice to be able to look out the sliding glass doors onto the deck, and see the newly planted flowers everywhere. The effort is truly worth it, but it didn’t seem so as we were killing ourselves doing the actual planting.
This should be a quiet day for us today. We have a cookout around supper time in North Tewksbury. I am leaning toward some form of beef along with grilled vegetables which will include green and red peppers, yellow and white zucchini, asparagus, and Vidalia onions. I might even try and grill some sweet potatoes. There should be at least 8 adults. It will be a partly cloudy day with a slight chance of a shower, but not enough to cancel a cookout.
I was just telling Danielle by way of an e-mail that the bird feeders made it through a couple of days without be touched by bears or raccoons. Well, I just checked the bird feeder that I had put on a six inch branch on the maple tree. The bird feeder was lying on the ground totally empty. I just filled it yesterday. I needed a 6 foot step ladder just to hang the bird feeder. Some creature crawled up the tree, and onto the branch, and knocked the bird feeder down onto the ground. Luckily the creature didn’t attack the bird feeder attached to the pole on the deck. It looks like if I want to feed the birds in the summer, I will have to take the bird feeders in at night, and put them out in the day time only.
I just got through watching the Boston news, and there was a report of numerous bear sightings in surrounding Boston communities. Of course, the largest bear population happens to be in the Berkshires. I am not going to lose this battle to the bears or raccoons. There are bunch of beautiful gold finches at the deck bird feeder right now. I am not giving up this visual experience for the rest of the summer.
The oil spill in the gulf is awful. Besides the creatures of the sea, and the birds who feed off the ocean environment, I feel so bad for the people who making a living off the gulf waters. I assumed that there were ways built into an oil rig to stop the flow of oil if something went wrong. I guess not!
The President’s speech at west point will most likely stir up the talking heads like Limbaugh, Hanity, Beck, etc. on Monday. For the President to talk about diplomacy and war to a class of 1000 warriors is kind of ironic. They were all thinking what a whimp our leader must be when their comrades are being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I do agree somewhat with the President that there has to be a better way to solve our issues besides killing each other. I am a firm believer that violence begets more violence. We never learn from entering war after war. If more countries spent more time trying to solve their economic woes, they would be too tired to even go to war.
Well, I have to do some chore (no planting).
Have a great Sunday!
The summer weather has arrived in the Berkshires!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Hello on Saturday evening
Dear Friends,
I normally don’t write my blog at nighttime, but I am sitting here alone waiting for the electronic pressure cooker to finish cooking some Country Style Ribs. I found yet another stray package in the freezer in the garage. I was going to cook something else on the grill, but my body aches from the planting that Linda and I did today.
The planting did have an interruption. I had to leave the home a little before 9 AM to dispose of two televisions, and two toaster ovens. Well, the people involved with the collection of electronic / electrical goods didn’t anticipate the huge number of Pittsfield residents that wanted to dispose of these types of items. I waited in line for over an hour before the workers opened my trunk, and took out my items. Unknown to me, my brother-in-law was in a borrowed truck which was three vehicles behind me.
When I left the city yards, the traffic was backed up for over two miles. Linda couldn’t believe that I had the patience to be in that long and slow line. She had to stop planting because she couldn’t lift the large bags of potting soil. Our planting is a two person job.
All six flower boxes on the deck have been done. The herb pot, and three flower pots on the deck were also done. The flower boxes on the storage shed are done. Four barrels in the front yard as well as a pot on the front steps are done. We have three barrels in the back yard to do, and then the flower planting will be complete. Keeping them alive all summer is my job. We both needed some 800 milligram Motrin to help us get through the evening.
Linda left the house a little after 5 PM for her silent auction, hospice fund raiser at the Crowne Plaza. There is a “Dancing with the Stars” performance after the cocktail hour and meal. Some local people will be dancing including Linda Ruberto, a breast cancer survivor, who secured two tables of her friends which include my Linda.
Sports – Our local newspaper said that the Red Sox will not be broadcast on our Warner Cable. Since we are in the Albany market, and not Boston market, Time Warner will be showing the Yankee / Met Game. I am hoping that our newspaper was incorrect.
I do have the Celtics coming on at 8:30 PM so I at least have some sporting contest to watch. I will have to listen to the Red Sox Game on radio.
Have to go!
I hear the pressure cooker beeping. I have to shut off the device, and let the pressure release naturally. I can’t wait for the fall off of the bone ribs. I am skipping the well balanced meal. I am a carnivore this evening.
Have a great Saturday evening!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I normally don’t write my blog at nighttime, but I am sitting here alone waiting for the electronic pressure cooker to finish cooking some Country Style Ribs. I found yet another stray package in the freezer in the garage. I was going to cook something else on the grill, but my body aches from the planting that Linda and I did today.
The planting did have an interruption. I had to leave the home a little before 9 AM to dispose of two televisions, and two toaster ovens. Well, the people involved with the collection of electronic / electrical goods didn’t anticipate the huge number of Pittsfield residents that wanted to dispose of these types of items. I waited in line for over an hour before the workers opened my trunk, and took out my items. Unknown to me, my brother-in-law was in a borrowed truck which was three vehicles behind me.
When I left the city yards, the traffic was backed up for over two miles. Linda couldn’t believe that I had the patience to be in that long and slow line. She had to stop planting because she couldn’t lift the large bags of potting soil. Our planting is a two person job.
All six flower boxes on the deck have been done. The herb pot, and three flower pots on the deck were also done. The flower boxes on the storage shed are done. Four barrels in the front yard as well as a pot on the front steps are done. We have three barrels in the back yard to do, and then the flower planting will be complete. Keeping them alive all summer is my job. We both needed some 800 milligram Motrin to help us get through the evening.
Linda left the house a little after 5 PM for her silent auction, hospice fund raiser at the Crowne Plaza. There is a “Dancing with the Stars” performance after the cocktail hour and meal. Some local people will be dancing including Linda Ruberto, a breast cancer survivor, who secured two tables of her friends which include my Linda.
Sports – Our local newspaper said that the Red Sox will not be broadcast on our Warner Cable. Since we are in the Albany market, and not Boston market, Time Warner will be showing the Yankee / Met Game. I am hoping that our newspaper was incorrect.
I do have the Celtics coming on at 8:30 PM so I at least have some sporting contest to watch. I will have to listen to the Red Sox Game on radio.
Have to go!
I hear the pressure cooker beeping. I have to shut off the device, and let the pressure release naturally. I can’t wait for the fall off of the bone ribs. I am skipping the well balanced meal. I am a carnivore this evening.
Have a great Saturday evening!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
Friday went well for the Curley’s. My golf wasn’t great, but the weather was beautiful on the golf course.
When I came home, Linda left a message saying that she was out doing errands. I went straight for a two hour nap.
When I woke up, I got a frantic tel. call from Linda saying that she had two carts of plants. Since we live two mile from Stop & Shop, there was no problem. She did try and get in my car after I loaded it with plants. I had to remind her that she had her own car.
We ended the evening with an impromptu cookout at a friend’s home. Sometimes simple foods like hot dogs and hamburgers turn out to be a great meal. The fun and merriment lasted until a little after 10 PM.
It was good that we went to this cookout because I would have been in my man cave watching the Red Sox lose their game.
I was at Home Depot at 6 AM this morning to pick up some potting soil. I did some weeding until Linda woke up. She is working with the soil and the flowers which she purchased yesterday. She will be one sore buckaroo when she heads off to the Crowne Plaza this evening for a girls night Cancer Fund Raiser. I am not sure if I can handle being alone for this evening. Yeah Right!
I have to go and drop off my two T.V.’S at the City yards at 9 AM. I will them come back and help Linda with the planting.
Have a great Weekend. The Curley Lad
Friday went well for the Curley’s. My golf wasn’t great, but the weather was beautiful on the golf course.
When I came home, Linda left a message saying that she was out doing errands. I went straight for a two hour nap.
When I woke up, I got a frantic tel. call from Linda saying that she had two carts of plants. Since we live two mile from Stop & Shop, there was no problem. She did try and get in my car after I loaded it with plants. I had to remind her that she had her own car.
We ended the evening with an impromptu cookout at a friend’s home. Sometimes simple foods like hot dogs and hamburgers turn out to be a great meal. The fun and merriment lasted until a little after 10 PM.
It was good that we went to this cookout because I would have been in my man cave watching the Red Sox lose their game.
I was at Home Depot at 6 AM this morning to pick up some potting soil. I did some weeding until Linda woke up. She is working with the soil and the flowers which she purchased yesterday. She will be one sore buckaroo when she heads off to the Crowne Plaza this evening for a girls night Cancer Fund Raiser. I am not sure if I can handle being alone for this evening. Yeah Right!
I have to go and drop off my two T.V.’S at the City yards at 9 AM. I will them come back and help Linda with the planting.
Have a great Weekend. The Curley Lad
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned. I dug up the tulips, and gave the lawn a trim. I needed a nap since I was up with the 4:30 AM crowd at Retro Fitness.
While I was napping Linda went off for round one for some perennial and herb shopping. She did find a couple of hanging baskets for either end of the garage, but I think that we have to get some larger ones. We usually go plant shopping together, but I was in the hands of Morpheus. Also, the Neon doesn’t have a great deal of room for plants. In other words, my lack of being present, while she was shopping, caused her to come home an unhappy camper.
I planted the perennials, and loaded up my car with equipment for the Third Thursday Event in downtown Pittsfield.
The Third Thursday went very well. Since the weather was nice, the people came out in great numbers. Our Irish Bangers were a big hit. We did run out of them, but we won’t the next time. We have already come up with a strategy so that we won’t run out of them again.
The Irish Whiskey Cake was a big hit too.
Our Musician Cam Collins, had people stopping and listening to him perform while they ate our epicurean delights.
The 50/50 was won by one of our friends. She won $96; she is the same person who won a few bucks at the Curley Super Bowl Party. If you hang out where the Curley’s are present, there is a good chance that that you will win something.
After the Third Thursday came to close, us workers packed up and headed off to Patrick’s Pub. Our table for 12 turned into a table for over 20 people. The band playing Irish music had us all singing and tapping our feet for several hours. A little after 10 PM, we paid our food and beverage bill. I headed home, but some of the people continued partying.
When I arrived home Linda was relaxing after her book club dinner / meeting. I am not sure if she had as much fun as I did working the crowd at the Third Thursday, and enjoying the food, fun and merriment at Patrick’s Pub! I had to explain where Linda was as people stopped by our booth.
I am teeing off with the seniors at 8:30 AM this morning. Linda will have at least 5 hours of peace and quiet. Maybe she will decide to go on the hunt for more plants. She really can’t do any planting of annuals because I have to purchase several bags of potting soil. It looks like we will be doing a good deal of planting this weekend. The forecast for all next week is for summer like weather.
Social Calendar – I am not sure what we have planned for the evening. I would rather stay home a cook something on the grill since we have another summer like day on tap for today.
News – I heard this on the national news the other day. I guy in Chicopee, Massachusetts tried to sell his 3 month old daughter for a couple of 40 ounce beers. As my military son would say, he is just another Masshole!
Have to go and read the local newspaper, and select my golfing wardrobe.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned. I dug up the tulips, and gave the lawn a trim. I needed a nap since I was up with the 4:30 AM crowd at Retro Fitness.
While I was napping Linda went off for round one for some perennial and herb shopping. She did find a couple of hanging baskets for either end of the garage, but I think that we have to get some larger ones. We usually go plant shopping together, but I was in the hands of Morpheus. Also, the Neon doesn’t have a great deal of room for plants. In other words, my lack of being present, while she was shopping, caused her to come home an unhappy camper.
I planted the perennials, and loaded up my car with equipment for the Third Thursday Event in downtown Pittsfield.
The Third Thursday went very well. Since the weather was nice, the people came out in great numbers. Our Irish Bangers were a big hit. We did run out of them, but we won’t the next time. We have already come up with a strategy so that we won’t run out of them again.
The Irish Whiskey Cake was a big hit too.
Our Musician Cam Collins, had people stopping and listening to him perform while they ate our epicurean delights.
The 50/50 was won by one of our friends. She won $96; she is the same person who won a few bucks at the Curley Super Bowl Party. If you hang out where the Curley’s are present, there is a good chance that that you will win something.
After the Third Thursday came to close, us workers packed up and headed off to Patrick’s Pub. Our table for 12 turned into a table for over 20 people. The band playing Irish music had us all singing and tapping our feet for several hours. A little after 10 PM, we paid our food and beverage bill. I headed home, but some of the people continued partying.
When I arrived home Linda was relaxing after her book club dinner / meeting. I am not sure if she had as much fun as I did working the crowd at the Third Thursday, and enjoying the food, fun and merriment at Patrick’s Pub! I had to explain where Linda was as people stopped by our booth.
I am teeing off with the seniors at 8:30 AM this morning. Linda will have at least 5 hours of peace and quiet. Maybe she will decide to go on the hunt for more plants. She really can’t do any planting of annuals because I have to purchase several bags of potting soil. It looks like we will be doing a good deal of planting this weekend. The forecast for all next week is for summer like weather.
Social Calendar – I am not sure what we have planned for the evening. I would rather stay home a cook something on the grill since we have another summer like day on tap for today.
News – I heard this on the national news the other day. I guy in Chicopee, Massachusetts tried to sell his 3 month old daughter for a couple of 40 ounce beers. As my military son would say, he is just another Masshole!
Have to go and read the local newspaper, and select my golfing wardrobe.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
Hope that your Wednesday went well.
Linda and I had a very pleasant day even though her Mah Jongg session was cancelled last evening. One of the ladies had a family emergency, and another friend wasn’t available to fill in for that person.
We did go off to see Robin Hood at the Beacon Cinema. Linda and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It wasn’t exactly they way Errol Flynn portrayed Robin Hood in those old black and white movies, but we thought the movie was a winner. The movie also ended so that a sequel is in the making. Linda and I can’t wait!
After the movie, we went off to Guido’s, and picked up the 10 pounds of Irish Bangers for today’s Third Thursday. The weather is going to be great with no chance of rain. A couple of us will be setting up at 3:45 PM but the actual event goes from 5 PM until 8 PM. After the event is over, we are going off to Patrick’s Pub to listen to some Irish Music, and for some food, fun, and merriment.
The “We” doesn’t include Linda. She has a book club / dinner meeting which begins at 6 PM.
If any of my local e-mail recipients want to say “Hello” to me and my other Pittsfield Irish Sister Members working the event we are located diagonally across from the Pittsfield YMCA in front of Pasko Gift & Frame Shop. Pasko Frame and Gift is located about a block from the main stage. Pasko’s is owned by one of our Irish Sister City members.
We are going to have live entertainment at Pasko Gift & Frame. Cam Collins, a local guy who grew up in Pittsfield, will be playing and singing music right in front of our booth, and grill.
After picking up the Bangers we did a little recreational shopping at Home Goods, and T.J. Maxx. We were in search of plastic glasses. For some reason, I can’t find last years set of glasses. I have spent two days looking for them, and I just can’t find them. Maybe I threw them out when we had a problem with water in our cellar. In my search in the storage room, I did find a set of plastic Margarita glasses. Maybe this was a subliminal message that Margarita glasses are more important than water glasses.
After the recreational shopping, we decided to dine at the East Café. It was homemade pasta night. There is only one more Wednesday left before they take this item off of their menu for the summer.
Politics – I was thinking about the illegal immigrant issue. Maybe we should make Mexico, and Puerto Rico the 51st, and 52nd states. We can also make Canada our 53rd state.
Sports – Yes, I did go home after supper, and watch the Red Sox game. When it gets to the later innings, us fans are always on the edge of our seats. When the Sox have any type lead going into the ninth inning, there is no guarantee that the relievers can hold the lead. They had a two run lead going into the top of the ninth inning. Luckily the Sox escaped by winning by a single run. I went to be a happy man. There is another Sox game this evening. I will have to watch the last few innings at Patrick’s Pub. Oh Well!
Some of the readers have been asking about our son’s family who live in Kansas because of the daily report / warnings of tornados. Fort Leavenworth is Northwest of Kansas City, and luckily that region hasn’t been hit. They do have a place in their house where they can go if they do have a severe threat. They are in a region that has multi acre farms with cattle, and or horses. They do live is a housing development which was once farm land.
This is another reason that I think that the Berkshires are a great place to live. Our greatest threat is worrying about the weeds that grow in my flower beds after a couple days of rain.
Observation – We get our grocery store fliers in our local newspaper. The price of beef has been going up so much that the stores are trying to rename cuts of meat. One advertisement got me so confused that I couldn’t understand what the grocery store was trying to get me to purchase. Could somebody tell me what “Boneless sirloin tip London broil” is at $3.49 per pound.
Linda bought some meat the other day that had the word “sirloin” in it. When we grilled it on the George Foreman Grill because it was raining outside, it turned out so tough that I even had thoughts of going vegetarian.
I did go off to Retro Fitness this morning. I was with the 4:30 AM crowd.
Well, I have to get to some quiet chores which don’t involve Linda. I have to dig up the tulips since their flowers have all fallen off.
I will then gather up all my material for today’s Third Thursday. My car will be filled up with so much stuff that even if Linda could attend the event she would have to take her own car.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hope that your Wednesday went well.
Linda and I had a very pleasant day even though her Mah Jongg session was cancelled last evening. One of the ladies had a family emergency, and another friend wasn’t available to fill in for that person.
We did go off to see Robin Hood at the Beacon Cinema. Linda and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It wasn’t exactly they way Errol Flynn portrayed Robin Hood in those old black and white movies, but we thought the movie was a winner. The movie also ended so that a sequel is in the making. Linda and I can’t wait!
After the movie, we went off to Guido’s, and picked up the 10 pounds of Irish Bangers for today’s Third Thursday. The weather is going to be great with no chance of rain. A couple of us will be setting up at 3:45 PM but the actual event goes from 5 PM until 8 PM. After the event is over, we are going off to Patrick’s Pub to listen to some Irish Music, and for some food, fun, and merriment.
The “We” doesn’t include Linda. She has a book club / dinner meeting which begins at 6 PM.
If any of my local e-mail recipients want to say “Hello” to me and my other Pittsfield Irish Sister Members working the event we are located diagonally across from the Pittsfield YMCA in front of Pasko Gift & Frame Shop. Pasko Frame and Gift is located about a block from the main stage. Pasko’s is owned by one of our Irish Sister City members.
We are going to have live entertainment at Pasko Gift & Frame. Cam Collins, a local guy who grew up in Pittsfield, will be playing and singing music right in front of our booth, and grill.
After picking up the Bangers we did a little recreational shopping at Home Goods, and T.J. Maxx. We were in search of plastic glasses. For some reason, I can’t find last years set of glasses. I have spent two days looking for them, and I just can’t find them. Maybe I threw them out when we had a problem with water in our cellar. In my search in the storage room, I did find a set of plastic Margarita glasses. Maybe this was a subliminal message that Margarita glasses are more important than water glasses.
After the recreational shopping, we decided to dine at the East Café. It was homemade pasta night. There is only one more Wednesday left before they take this item off of their menu for the summer.
Politics – I was thinking about the illegal immigrant issue. Maybe we should make Mexico, and Puerto Rico the 51st, and 52nd states. We can also make Canada our 53rd state.
Sports – Yes, I did go home after supper, and watch the Red Sox game. When it gets to the later innings, us fans are always on the edge of our seats. When the Sox have any type lead going into the ninth inning, there is no guarantee that the relievers can hold the lead. They had a two run lead going into the top of the ninth inning. Luckily the Sox escaped by winning by a single run. I went to be a happy man. There is another Sox game this evening. I will have to watch the last few innings at Patrick’s Pub. Oh Well!
Some of the readers have been asking about our son’s family who live in Kansas because of the daily report / warnings of tornados. Fort Leavenworth is Northwest of Kansas City, and luckily that region hasn’t been hit. They do have a place in their house where they can go if they do have a severe threat. They are in a region that has multi acre farms with cattle, and or horses. They do live is a housing development which was once farm land.
This is another reason that I think that the Berkshires are a great place to live. Our greatest threat is worrying about the weeds that grow in my flower beds after a couple days of rain.
Observation – We get our grocery store fliers in our local newspaper. The price of beef has been going up so much that the stores are trying to rename cuts of meat. One advertisement got me so confused that I couldn’t understand what the grocery store was trying to get me to purchase. Could somebody tell me what “Boneless sirloin tip London broil” is at $3.49 per pound.
Linda bought some meat the other day that had the word “sirloin” in it. When we grilled it on the George Foreman Grill because it was raining outside, it turned out so tough that I even had thoughts of going vegetarian.
I did go off to Retro Fitness this morning. I was with the 4:30 AM crowd.
Well, I have to get to some quiet chores which don’t involve Linda. I have to dig up the tulips since their flowers have all fallen off.
I will then gather up all my material for today’s Third Thursday. My car will be filled up with so much stuff that even if Linda could attend the event she would have to take her own car.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Hello on Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned. I was working in the garage trying to straighten things up, cut up card board boxes, consolidate stuff in those 40+ -- 18 gallon Rubber Maid buckets as Linda headed out the door to Mah Jongg. After several hours of working in the garage, I decided that the garage didn’t look much different than when I started the project. I did need an hour nap before going off to see Mom in the nursing home.
As I entered the nursing home, dad was leaving the place. He was still talking about the GPS system that my sister was using on their trip to Mass General in Boston the day before.
Mom was in good spirits. She said that I needed a haircut. She also said that I haven’t visited her lately. For some reason she can always remember things like this, but then she will forget that my father goes there twice a day, and my sister goes there several times per week. There must be a bond between a mother and her first born, especially since I almost killed her during childbirth. Being a breech (butt first instead of head first) born baby kept her and I in the hospital for a month after I was born.
Yesterday, I showed her a couple of notes and letters that my Aunt Lil ( 88 years old on May 2, 2010) had sent Linda and I. She enjoyed reading them very much. It took her several times to read and comprehend the letters. She was really impressed by the beautiful handwriting. The Palmer Method of writing was something that many of us learned and can never forget by way of the nuns.
A couple days ago we brought pictures of two of the grandchildren. Yesterday, I brought a picture of Gabriel. She kissed the picture of him. I wish that we could have all of our grandchildren living close to their great grandmother. Dear Old Mom just enjoys seeing and holding all the little ones.
Sports – I did stay up and watch the Red Sox and Celtics win their respective contests. They both kept me up until after midnight. When you are retired, staying up late doesn’t appear to be a problem.
Social Calendar – I have to pick up a 10 pound box of Irish Bangers for tomorrow night’s Third Thursday. I purchase the Bangers at an Italian Market.
We have a date today, and we are going to the Beacon Cinema today for a 1 PM showing of Robin Hood. We will probably do a late lunch.
I think that Linda is hosting a Mah Jongg session this evening with the usual suspects.
I have the Red Sox to keep me entertained. They have a two game series at home with the Minnesota Twins.
Politics – Like I said the other day, if you are an incumbent, you will most likely not be re-elected. I made this comment before it hit the CNN newswire. Could they be reading my blog?
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned. I was working in the garage trying to straighten things up, cut up card board boxes, consolidate stuff in those 40+ -- 18 gallon Rubber Maid buckets as Linda headed out the door to Mah Jongg. After several hours of working in the garage, I decided that the garage didn’t look much different than when I started the project. I did need an hour nap before going off to see Mom in the nursing home.
As I entered the nursing home, dad was leaving the place. He was still talking about the GPS system that my sister was using on their trip to Mass General in Boston the day before.
Mom was in good spirits. She said that I needed a haircut. She also said that I haven’t visited her lately. For some reason she can always remember things like this, but then she will forget that my father goes there twice a day, and my sister goes there several times per week. There must be a bond between a mother and her first born, especially since I almost killed her during childbirth. Being a breech (butt first instead of head first) born baby kept her and I in the hospital for a month after I was born.
Yesterday, I showed her a couple of notes and letters that my Aunt Lil ( 88 years old on May 2, 2010) had sent Linda and I. She enjoyed reading them very much. It took her several times to read and comprehend the letters. She was really impressed by the beautiful handwriting. The Palmer Method of writing was something that many of us learned and can never forget by way of the nuns.
A couple days ago we brought pictures of two of the grandchildren. Yesterday, I brought a picture of Gabriel. She kissed the picture of him. I wish that we could have all of our grandchildren living close to their great grandmother. Dear Old Mom just enjoys seeing and holding all the little ones.
Sports – I did stay up and watch the Red Sox and Celtics win their respective contests. They both kept me up until after midnight. When you are retired, staying up late doesn’t appear to be a problem.
Social Calendar – I have to pick up a 10 pound box of Irish Bangers for tomorrow night’s Third Thursday. I purchase the Bangers at an Italian Market.
We have a date today, and we are going to the Beacon Cinema today for a 1 PM showing of Robin Hood. We will probably do a late lunch.
I think that Linda is hosting a Mah Jongg session this evening with the usual suspects.
I have the Red Sox to keep me entertained. They have a two game series at home with the Minnesota Twins.
Politics – Like I said the other day, if you are an incumbent, you will most likely not be re-elected. I made this comment before it hit the CNN newswire. Could they be reading my blog?
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Our Monday went as planned.
Linda had fun with her girlfriends on the course yesterday afternoon.
My UNICO meeting also went well. We voted in a new slate of officers. I got elected to the board of officers. I wasn’t going to run for anything, but Linda said that it is one of the organizations which I belong to where she really likes the people, and what they do as far as community projects, etc..
Linda is off to a friend’s house for their 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM Mah Jongg session today.
I am going to visit Mom in the nursing home while Linda is doing her thing.
While at the nursing home, I might run into a friend and his sister who will be celebrating their Aunt’s 93rd birthday. Every time that I go in the place I think about the many people who reside there, but have no family members who ever visit them. Yes there are some people in the place who have no family to possibly spend time with them.
My sister and father had a good trip to Mass General on Monday (it was a long day for my father). My father and sister are going back on Friday for pre op stuff for day surgery which will take place in a couple of weeks. We will be baby sitting Max in North Tewksbury on the day of the procedure, so I will see if I can hook up with them on that day.
When I chatted with my father, and asked him how the day went, he couldn’t stop talking about the Garmin GPS system which my sister purchased over the weekend. He liked it when my sister made an incorrect turn, and the device made a correction, and got them to Mass General in time for the appointment. When you are driving on the streets in Boston, a GPS system is a necessity if you are unfamiliar with the road ways in the city. You often can see the building that you want to go, but a series of one way streets can take you miles out of your way.
I went to bed last night with the Red Sox leading the Yankees by a two run margin as I put the radio on in sleep mode. Good thing that I fell asleep before the game ended. The Red Sox must have given up a run in one of these last two innings before the Red Sox closer gave up a two run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth. I am not sure if I can go much longer saying that “it is still early in the season.” I am already in panic mode. The Red Sox have weakness in the starting rotation, and their bullpen has several weak spots.
I have a Celtic game to keep me entertained this evening.
I woke so early this morning that I am going back to bed after sending this e-mail. If I go off to Retro Fitness today, it will be with the beautiful people.
Have a great Tuesday.
The rains don’t arrive until this evening and into a portion of the day on Wednesday for us in the Berkshires.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Monday went as planned.
Linda had fun with her girlfriends on the course yesterday afternoon.
My UNICO meeting also went well. We voted in a new slate of officers. I got elected to the board of officers. I wasn’t going to run for anything, but Linda said that it is one of the organizations which I belong to where she really likes the people, and what they do as far as community projects, etc..
Linda is off to a friend’s house for their 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM Mah Jongg session today.
I am going to visit Mom in the nursing home while Linda is doing her thing.
While at the nursing home, I might run into a friend and his sister who will be celebrating their Aunt’s 93rd birthday. Every time that I go in the place I think about the many people who reside there, but have no family members who ever visit them. Yes there are some people in the place who have no family to possibly spend time with them.
My sister and father had a good trip to Mass General on Monday (it was a long day for my father). My father and sister are going back on Friday for pre op stuff for day surgery which will take place in a couple of weeks. We will be baby sitting Max in North Tewksbury on the day of the procedure, so I will see if I can hook up with them on that day.
When I chatted with my father, and asked him how the day went, he couldn’t stop talking about the Garmin GPS system which my sister purchased over the weekend. He liked it when my sister made an incorrect turn, and the device made a correction, and got them to Mass General in time for the appointment. When you are driving on the streets in Boston, a GPS system is a necessity if you are unfamiliar with the road ways in the city. You often can see the building that you want to go, but a series of one way streets can take you miles out of your way.
I went to bed last night with the Red Sox leading the Yankees by a two run margin as I put the radio on in sleep mode. Good thing that I fell asleep before the game ended. The Red Sox must have given up a run in one of these last two innings before the Red Sox closer gave up a two run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth. I am not sure if I can go much longer saying that “it is still early in the season.” I am already in panic mode. The Red Sox have weakness in the starting rotation, and their bullpen has several weak spots.
I have a Celtic game to keep me entertained this evening.
I woke so early this morning that I am going back to bed after sending this e-mail. If I go off to Retro Fitness today, it will be with the beautiful people.
Have a great Tuesday.
The rains don’t arrive until this evening and into a portion of the day on Wednesday for us in the Berkshires.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, May 17, 2010
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
Our Sunday went pretty much as planned. I gave the lawn a trim. I tried to do so without using the grass clipping catcher on the riding lawn mower. I had to hook up the grass catcher and redo the lawn because the lawn had ugly piles of grass clippings on it. Was it worth the effort? Yes it was! When Linda came home from some recreational shopping, and short stop at the grocery store, she said that the lawn looked good.
I did some other things around the outside of the house before settling down to watch the Red Sox in the screened room on the deck. It actually got so cool sitting there that I did my sports watching in the family room.
Linda had fun shopping with her girlfriend, but she came home not feeling well. She still has some kind of bug that makes her feel nauseous every couple of days. We were going to have steak, baked sweet potato and a vegetable, but she walked in the door from her afternoon adventure with an upset stomach.
I found the last of some country style ribs in the freezer. I thawed them out in a microwave and cooked them in my electronic pressure cooker. I used the word “my” because I am the only one who has used the device since we got it as a Christmas gift. I am really starting to love using it. This is another one of those devices which are great for busy people. I could very easily sell this device on a show like QVC!
I did go off to Retro Fitness with the 4:30 AM crowd. Actually, there is no crowd at 4:30 AM which is the way I like it!
My sister and father are leaving Lee for Mass General in Boston today. They should be on the road right now. My father is going in for a consultation for some face pain that he has been having. Pills haven’t been solving the problem. I had the thought of going in with them, and stopping at Kevin’s place for lunch, but my father just wants to go straight home after the 10:15 AM appointment. I will most likely go the next time if some kind of procedure has to be done.
Social Calendar – Linda has golf this afternoon with her girlfriends. They tee off at 3:30 PM. The weather is going to be great and there is no chance of rain.
I have golf at 1 PM with my UNICO brothers and sisters followed by a 6 PM UNICO meeting. The golf and meeting takes place at the Skyline Country Club. I really didn’t sign up to play golf because I was toying with the idea of going to Mass General with my father and sister.
Sports – I did watch most of the Red Sox game but I switched over the Celtic game when I had the feeling that the Sox had no chance of winning. At least the Celtics were victorious. Last night I had no sports to watch so I started reading another book.
Politics – If you are an incumbent at any level of government, and if you are running to retain your office, you might be in a bit of trouble. The incumbent is being blamed for al the ills in our country. I watched an interview on television last evening. A Republican Bob Bennett lost his job, and during the interview, he said that he didn’t vote for any of the President’s proposals. People are not listening, they just want the incumbent out of office whether they are a Democrat or a Republican.
One of my e-mail recipients has plans to head to Europe on Wednesday. He is supposed to travel to London, Paris, and Ireland. I know that England and Ireland has their airports closed as of this morning. I hope that this doesn’t become a “pain the ash” for his travel plans!
Grandchildren – All the grandkids are doing just fine. Everyone is healthy for the most part. We will be seeing Max in early June because we have a babysitting gig for a whole week. Linda is searching for inexpensive flights to Kansas so that we can see Isabelle and the newborn Gabriel. During her search so far, the flights have been out of our price range.
I have to grab something healthy for breakfast. My first task of the day is to take the several bags of grass clippings to the recovery plant which seemed to be closed last week.
I think that Linda wants to be left alone until she leaves for golf this afternoon.
Have a great week at work or play!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Sunday went pretty much as planned. I gave the lawn a trim. I tried to do so without using the grass clipping catcher on the riding lawn mower. I had to hook up the grass catcher and redo the lawn because the lawn had ugly piles of grass clippings on it. Was it worth the effort? Yes it was! When Linda came home from some recreational shopping, and short stop at the grocery store, she said that the lawn looked good.
I did some other things around the outside of the house before settling down to watch the Red Sox in the screened room on the deck. It actually got so cool sitting there that I did my sports watching in the family room.
Linda had fun shopping with her girlfriend, but she came home not feeling well. She still has some kind of bug that makes her feel nauseous every couple of days. We were going to have steak, baked sweet potato and a vegetable, but she walked in the door from her afternoon adventure with an upset stomach.
I found the last of some country style ribs in the freezer. I thawed them out in a microwave and cooked them in my electronic pressure cooker. I used the word “my” because I am the only one who has used the device since we got it as a Christmas gift. I am really starting to love using it. This is another one of those devices which are great for busy people. I could very easily sell this device on a show like QVC!
I did go off to Retro Fitness with the 4:30 AM crowd. Actually, there is no crowd at 4:30 AM which is the way I like it!
My sister and father are leaving Lee for Mass General in Boston today. They should be on the road right now. My father is going in for a consultation for some face pain that he has been having. Pills haven’t been solving the problem. I had the thought of going in with them, and stopping at Kevin’s place for lunch, but my father just wants to go straight home after the 10:15 AM appointment. I will most likely go the next time if some kind of procedure has to be done.
Social Calendar – Linda has golf this afternoon with her girlfriends. They tee off at 3:30 PM. The weather is going to be great and there is no chance of rain.
I have golf at 1 PM with my UNICO brothers and sisters followed by a 6 PM UNICO meeting. The golf and meeting takes place at the Skyline Country Club. I really didn’t sign up to play golf because I was toying with the idea of going to Mass General with my father and sister.
Sports – I did watch most of the Red Sox game but I switched over the Celtic game when I had the feeling that the Sox had no chance of winning. At least the Celtics were victorious. Last night I had no sports to watch so I started reading another book.
Politics – If you are an incumbent at any level of government, and if you are running to retain your office, you might be in a bit of trouble. The incumbent is being blamed for al the ills in our country. I watched an interview on television last evening. A Republican Bob Bennett lost his job, and during the interview, he said that he didn’t vote for any of the President’s proposals. People are not listening, they just want the incumbent out of office whether they are a Democrat or a Republican.
One of my e-mail recipients has plans to head to Europe on Wednesday. He is supposed to travel to London, Paris, and Ireland. I know that England and Ireland has their airports closed as of this morning. I hope that this doesn’t become a “pain the ash” for his travel plans!
Grandchildren – All the grandkids are doing just fine. Everyone is healthy for the most part. We will be seeing Max in early June because we have a babysitting gig for a whole week. Linda is searching for inexpensive flights to Kansas so that we can see Isabelle and the newborn Gabriel. During her search so far, the flights have been out of our price range.
I have to grab something healthy for breakfast. My first task of the day is to take the several bags of grass clippings to the recovery plant which seemed to be closed last week.
I think that Linda wants to be left alone until she leaves for golf this afternoon.
Have a great week at work or play!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends
I went to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening. The body parts are still working okay even after my 1 hour workout.
We had a pleasant day on Saturday. I will give you an example of how there are things that married couples do even if one partner is not excited about doing what the partner has in mind.
We arrived at Webs Yarn Store in Northampton around 10 AM. We were lucky to find a parking place right outside of the front door of the store. The parking lots were jammed with happy customers. You have to visualize a yarn store along with two huge tents set up to the left of the front door. Linda jumped right into the crowd under the tents. Yarn was being picked over by women and some men. There was even a bin of free yarn which Linda gravitated to. I brought a folding chair, and sat across from the Yarn store and the tents. I watched and listened to conversations from the happy people.
Two of these happy women walked by me on the way to their car with bags full of yarn. One woman tells the other that the yarn that she purchased was “so soft that she wanted to snuggle with it”. I wanted to say something, but I decided that I could get myself in trouble if I said what I was thinking.
While I was sitting in my chair, and reading a book, and one lady said that I had the best seat in the place. She said that I must have done this before. I responded by saying; “Yes I have.” I asked her if she has ever been to the Dutchess County Fair grounds in New York State for the Sheep and Wool Festival. She said that she hasn’t missed one yet. I told her that I would see her there in October.
Since I was sitting by the entrance to the parking lot, the people would roll down their windows and ask me where to park. Maybe I should consider working the two day sale next year.
Linda was all shopped out by 2 PM. I finished a good portion of the book that I was reading. On the way home, we stopped at one of the roadside vendors for a little snack.
I tried to squeeze in an afternoon nap before going out for supper. I woke up earlier than planned so we went off to CVS so that Linda could make a few prints of some recent pictures of our latest grandchild Gabriel, her sister Isabelle and their cousin Max. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Linda. We probably would have no pictures of our grandchildren especially since I can’t even work an instamatic camera.
Speaking of cameras, as we left the CVS, I found a camera on the ground still in its case. Linda brought it into the store, and hopefully it will be returned to its owner.
For supper we went off to Zucchini’s Restaurant with another couple. Linda used one of the radio auction coupons to help defray our cost of the meal. The food, fun and merriment lasted for a couple of hours.
When we arrived home, I watched the Red Sox game, but I fell asleep before they lost the game in the 12th inning.
While watching the Red Sox, I watched one of those commercials where the Hamsters are driving a car called the “Soul”. I do like the commercial, but then I got to thinking about the car. It is really a small vehicle. You probably have to be the size of hamster to even fit into it.
It is almost 9:30 AM, and the Queen is stirring, and she will be downstairs in a minute or two. Today we have nothing on our social calendar, and I think Linda likes it that way. It might be hot dog and hamburger type weather today. I might even watch the Red Sox in our screened in room on our deck. The game takes place at 1 PM. I also have the Celtics to watch at 3:30 PM. It looks like it will be another slug type day for me.
I know that as we left the restaurant last evening, Linda was making plans for a little recreational shopping with her female friend. This would be an afternoon adventure.
I was thinking about going Vegan! Not! I read a column in the Boston Globe this morning about this husband and wife who were happily married even though the female was a Vegan right from the beginning of their marriage. They had four daughters, and each one grew up to be a Vegan. One the four daughters, who wrote the article, is now entering the dating scene. She is trying to find a male suitable for marriage, who also is a Vegan. I say “Good Luck!”
I know that vegetables should be part of everyone’s diet, but this is grilling season. There is nothing like heating up the grill, and hearing a sizzle when you drop a piece of meat on the grill. Of course, it could be chicken or fish too. You can’t convince me that Homo sapiens ate only vegetables. Our bodies were designed to handle eating meat, but not every day.
Can you imagine having something like a Super Bowl Party, and having no meat products?
A cookout without some form of meat just wouldn’t be a cookout! My son makes a good veggie burger for his customers in East Boston with all kinds of healthy ingredients, but I couldn’t go through a whole summer eating veggie burgers.
I also am so happy that none of our children are raising their children to eat only vegetables. A balanced diet and exercise is the way to go. The problem with me is that I should have started this type of life style years ago.
Have a great Sunday!
It is going to be a super day weather wise for us in the Berkshires.
Get out there and enjoy it.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I went to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening. The body parts are still working okay even after my 1 hour workout.
We had a pleasant day on Saturday. I will give you an example of how there are things that married couples do even if one partner is not excited about doing what the partner has in mind.
We arrived at Webs Yarn Store in Northampton around 10 AM. We were lucky to find a parking place right outside of the front door of the store. The parking lots were jammed with happy customers. You have to visualize a yarn store along with two huge tents set up to the left of the front door. Linda jumped right into the crowd under the tents. Yarn was being picked over by women and some men. There was even a bin of free yarn which Linda gravitated to. I brought a folding chair, and sat across from the Yarn store and the tents. I watched and listened to conversations from the happy people.
Two of these happy women walked by me on the way to their car with bags full of yarn. One woman tells the other that the yarn that she purchased was “so soft that she wanted to snuggle with it”. I wanted to say something, but I decided that I could get myself in trouble if I said what I was thinking.
While I was sitting in my chair, and reading a book, and one lady said that I had the best seat in the place. She said that I must have done this before. I responded by saying; “Yes I have.” I asked her if she has ever been to the Dutchess County Fair grounds in New York State for the Sheep and Wool Festival. She said that she hasn’t missed one yet. I told her that I would see her there in October.
Since I was sitting by the entrance to the parking lot, the people would roll down their windows and ask me where to park. Maybe I should consider working the two day sale next year.
Linda was all shopped out by 2 PM. I finished a good portion of the book that I was reading. On the way home, we stopped at one of the roadside vendors for a little snack.
I tried to squeeze in an afternoon nap before going out for supper. I woke up earlier than planned so we went off to CVS so that Linda could make a few prints of some recent pictures of our latest grandchild Gabriel, her sister Isabelle and their cousin Max. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Linda. We probably would have no pictures of our grandchildren especially since I can’t even work an instamatic camera.
Speaking of cameras, as we left the CVS, I found a camera on the ground still in its case. Linda brought it into the store, and hopefully it will be returned to its owner.
For supper we went off to Zucchini’s Restaurant with another couple. Linda used one of the radio auction coupons to help defray our cost of the meal. The food, fun and merriment lasted for a couple of hours.
When we arrived home, I watched the Red Sox game, but I fell asleep before they lost the game in the 12th inning.
While watching the Red Sox, I watched one of those commercials where the Hamsters are driving a car called the “Soul”. I do like the commercial, but then I got to thinking about the car. It is really a small vehicle. You probably have to be the size of hamster to even fit into it.
It is almost 9:30 AM, and the Queen is stirring, and she will be downstairs in a minute or two. Today we have nothing on our social calendar, and I think Linda likes it that way. It might be hot dog and hamburger type weather today. I might even watch the Red Sox in our screened in room on our deck. The game takes place at 1 PM. I also have the Celtics to watch at 3:30 PM. It looks like it will be another slug type day for me.
I know that as we left the restaurant last evening, Linda was making plans for a little recreational shopping with her female friend. This would be an afternoon adventure.
I was thinking about going Vegan! Not! I read a column in the Boston Globe this morning about this husband and wife who were happily married even though the female was a Vegan right from the beginning of their marriage. They had four daughters, and each one grew up to be a Vegan. One the four daughters, who wrote the article, is now entering the dating scene. She is trying to find a male suitable for marriage, who also is a Vegan. I say “Good Luck!”
I know that vegetables should be part of everyone’s diet, but this is grilling season. There is nothing like heating up the grill, and hearing a sizzle when you drop a piece of meat on the grill. Of course, it could be chicken or fish too. You can’t convince me that Homo sapiens ate only vegetables. Our bodies were designed to handle eating meat, but not every day.
Can you imagine having something like a Super Bowl Party, and having no meat products?
A cookout without some form of meat just wouldn’t be a cookout! My son makes a good veggie burger for his customers in East Boston with all kinds of healthy ingredients, but I couldn’t go through a whole summer eating veggie burgers.
I also am so happy that none of our children are raising their children to eat only vegetables. A balanced diet and exercise is the way to go. The problem with me is that I should have started this type of life style years ago.
Have a great Sunday!
It is going to be a super day weather wise for us in the Berkshires.
Get out there and enjoy it.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends
My golf went okay on Friday. I did break 100 but I must admit it was playing from the senior tees. Even though my score wasn’t great, my ball striking is improving.
The gloomy start to the day kept many people off the golf course. We only had a threesome, and a foursome. We normally have at least 4 foursomes.
While I was doing my thing, I thought that Linda was enjoying her multiple hours alone. Not! She caught a stomach bug and felt sick for most of the day. I did take my nap after golf, but I woke up to a still sick woman. She didn’t rally until I was in the middle of watching the Bruins and the Red Sox but it was too late to go out.
The Bruins got knocked out of the playoffs after leading the series by a 3 games to 1 margin. If they did win, they were going to play the Montreal Canadians next. This team gave them trouble during the regular season.
The Red Sox won their opening game against the Tigers. Big Papi hit two home runs. Could he be making a comeback?
Today is the annual Collection of Electronics for Pittsfield Residents only. Most electronics are free except for televisions. Televisions can be dropped off at a fee of $10 each. I have two sitting in my garage right now. I will be at the doors of the City yards at 9 AM!
If Linda is feeling healthy, we will be heading off to a yarn sale at Webs of Northampton. She tried finding a girlfriend to go with, but not too many of her friends are knitters. Oh Darn!
The yarn sale is normally dominated by women! There are a few men who attend, and they are knitters too. Linda always asked me if I want to learn how to knit, but so far knitting hasn’t peaked my interest.
Also, how could I eat a bowl full of snack food, drink beverages, and knit at the same time as I am watching a sporting contest. I am not good at multi-tasking!
The wind is blowing quite strongly right now and that will keep the temperatures down for today. Sunday is supposed to be the best day of the weekend.
Well, I am going to get dressed, and load up the car with all the disposable electronics items that I can find in the house.
I don’t know if I could do this quietly but it has to be done.
Have a great Saturday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
My golf went okay on Friday. I did break 100 but I must admit it was playing from the senior tees. Even though my score wasn’t great, my ball striking is improving.
The gloomy start to the day kept many people off the golf course. We only had a threesome, and a foursome. We normally have at least 4 foursomes.
While I was doing my thing, I thought that Linda was enjoying her multiple hours alone. Not! She caught a stomach bug and felt sick for most of the day. I did take my nap after golf, but I woke up to a still sick woman. She didn’t rally until I was in the middle of watching the Bruins and the Red Sox but it was too late to go out.
The Bruins got knocked out of the playoffs after leading the series by a 3 games to 1 margin. If they did win, they were going to play the Montreal Canadians next. This team gave them trouble during the regular season.
The Red Sox won their opening game against the Tigers. Big Papi hit two home runs. Could he be making a comeback?
Today is the annual Collection of Electronics for Pittsfield Residents only. Most electronics are free except for televisions. Televisions can be dropped off at a fee of $10 each. I have two sitting in my garage right now. I will be at the doors of the City yards at 9 AM!
If Linda is feeling healthy, we will be heading off to a yarn sale at Webs of Northampton. She tried finding a girlfriend to go with, but not too many of her friends are knitters. Oh Darn!
The yarn sale is normally dominated by women! There are a few men who attend, and they are knitters too. Linda always asked me if I want to learn how to knit, but so far knitting hasn’t peaked my interest.
Also, how could I eat a bowl full of snack food, drink beverages, and knit at the same time as I am watching a sporting contest. I am not good at multi-tasking!
The wind is blowing quite strongly right now and that will keep the temperatures down for today. Sunday is supposed to be the best day of the weekend.
Well, I am going to get dressed, and load up the car with all the disposable electronics items that I can find in the house.
I don’t know if I could do this quietly but it has to be done.
Have a great Saturday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, May 14, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends
Our Thursday went as planned except for me not going out in the evening. I got caught up in the Celtic game which ended at 11 PM, and of course there was the post game show.
Linda had a relaxing day after her appointment. She enjoyed herself even more when I went off for my afternoon nap.
Linda had fun at her all girl function on Thursday evening. She returned home around 9:30 PM.
I have golf with the seniors in a couple of hours. I think that Linda has nothing on her social calendar. She will have at least 5 or 6 hours to move at her own pace.
We are going to get a warm up over the next few days. Maybe summer like weather is finally returning to the Berkshires. I just want to be able to shut off the heat one of these days.
There isn’t much happening in the local news as well as what is going on in our nation and the world in general.
The oil spill continues in the Gulf. The experts are still trying to figure out how to deal with the leak.
They finally showed a picture of the guy who calls himself “Lord Jesus Christ!” He looks like a person of color with extremely braided hair. He has so much hair that you can hardly see his face, He doesn’t look anything close to what we would call normal. My military son says that he is just another “Masshole!”
While puttering around yesterday, and loading up my car with all my golf paraphernalia, I noticed that my golf shoes could do with some new spikes. I was going to go to Walmart, and purchase some replacement spikes, and do the job myself. I then remembered that my club would do the job for $10 per pair of shoes. Now you might think that this is a waste of money. Not! The replacement spikes that I like cost about $10 per set, so I decided to let the guys in our pro shop do the job.
I mentioned the Celtics in my first paragraph. They did knock out the Cleveland team from the playoffs. The word is that the Cleveland coach will be fired. Lebron James will be a free agent, and the MVP Player of the year might be getting out of Cleveland.
I have the Red Sox and Boston Bruins to watch this evening. The Bruins are down to the deciding game. They have to win to move on to the next round. It will be a home game for them. The Red Sox are heading to Detroit. The Tigers beat the Yankees three out of four games. I hope good Red Sox pitching stops this hot team tonight.
I used the electronic pressure cooker again last evening. I am really getting to like this device. Since they were serving pizza at Linda’s party, I decided to cook a small batch of country style ribs. I mixed some jar bought barbecue sauce with some “Red Hot”, and lathered both sides of the ribs. I used a ½ cup of white wine for the required liquid. In 40 minutes I had the tenderest / fall off the bone ribs that you could imagine.
I think that we might be heading off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club this evening for some food, fun, and merriment.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Thursday went as planned except for me not going out in the evening. I got caught up in the Celtic game which ended at 11 PM, and of course there was the post game show.
Linda had a relaxing day after her appointment. She enjoyed herself even more when I went off for my afternoon nap.
Linda had fun at her all girl function on Thursday evening. She returned home around 9:30 PM.
I have golf with the seniors in a couple of hours. I think that Linda has nothing on her social calendar. She will have at least 5 or 6 hours to move at her own pace.
We are going to get a warm up over the next few days. Maybe summer like weather is finally returning to the Berkshires. I just want to be able to shut off the heat one of these days.
There isn’t much happening in the local news as well as what is going on in our nation and the world in general.
The oil spill continues in the Gulf. The experts are still trying to figure out how to deal with the leak.
They finally showed a picture of the guy who calls himself “Lord Jesus Christ!” He looks like a person of color with extremely braided hair. He has so much hair that you can hardly see his face, He doesn’t look anything close to what we would call normal. My military son says that he is just another “Masshole!”
While puttering around yesterday, and loading up my car with all my golf paraphernalia, I noticed that my golf shoes could do with some new spikes. I was going to go to Walmart, and purchase some replacement spikes, and do the job myself. I then remembered that my club would do the job for $10 per pair of shoes. Now you might think that this is a waste of money. Not! The replacement spikes that I like cost about $10 per set, so I decided to let the guys in our pro shop do the job.
I mentioned the Celtics in my first paragraph. They did knock out the Cleveland team from the playoffs. The word is that the Cleveland coach will be fired. Lebron James will be a free agent, and the MVP Player of the year might be getting out of Cleveland.
I have the Red Sox and Boston Bruins to watch this evening. The Bruins are down to the deciding game. They have to win to move on to the next round. It will be a home game for them. The Red Sox are heading to Detroit. The Tigers beat the Yankees three out of four games. I hope good Red Sox pitching stops this hot team tonight.
I used the electronic pressure cooker again last evening. I am really getting to like this device. Since they were serving pizza at Linda’s party, I decided to cook a small batch of country style ribs. I mixed some jar bought barbecue sauce with some “Red Hot”, and lathered both sides of the ribs. I used a ½ cup of white wine for the required liquid. In 40 minutes I had the tenderest / fall off the bone ribs that you could imagine.
I think that we might be heading off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club this evening for some food, fun, and merriment.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day on Wednesday. We left the house around 11:15 AM to help set up for the REAM Meeting. The meeting went very well. The guest speaker from the Norman Rockwell Museum, Tom Daly, made an excellent power point presentation. The only negative of the couple hour meeting was that the food was cold.
During the meeting we had our usual raffles. The guest speaker, who was sitting at our table, won a prize. Linda won two prizes. She won a magnum of Pinot Grigio, but donated the money prize back to a foundation which helps needy elder retired teachers. Linda has won prizes at almost all these luncheons. The people who attend the function are starting to look at the head table kind of funny thinking that the raffle might be fixed, especially since I am President of our local chapter.
The head waitress was a Curley (by marriage) at the Country Club, but not related to our family. She said that she is constantly asked if she is related to “Fran Curley.” I would bet that her husband is related. When I did a little family research before one of my cousins did a whole family tree, I found that the Curley Patriarch, Bernard, came to the Berkshires with a Patrick Curley. They both worked in woolen mills when they first arrived, and they lived in the same Berkshire County town. Patrick got married and started his own family just like, my great, great, Grandfather Bernard. There has to be a connection!
We did come home directly after the luncheon, and I took a two hour nap. I slept right through the Red Sox losing an afternoon game. I was well rested to watch a Boston Bruin team go down to defeat. I wasn’t a happy camper when I went to bed.
Linda’s Mah Jogg session went very well. The ladies seemed to all have smiles when they left our house.
Linda is going off to a routine doctor’s appointment at 9 AM. I am going off to a meeting with a neighbor at 10 AM. We are doing a little business for the Annual August UNICO Golf Tournament.
This evening Linda is socially engaged with her girlfriends who are going on their annual Cape Cod trip at the end of June.
I was going to sit home and watch the Celtics, but I just received an invitation to attend a birthday party at the Brew Works Pub. A boyfriend of a Sister City member wants to celebrate the event around 9 PM. Maybe Linda can join us after her all girl event.
Tonight is also the last night for the Pub to function as a restaurant. It will strictly be a Brewery after tonight. Oh Darn!
It appears that I will need an afternoon nap if I am going to be up past 9 PM.
Going to one of these last minute events is another joy of being retired. There is no way that I would be attending a 9 P.M. event if I was still teaching. Life is definitely good!
I couldn’t find anything that jumped out at me with respect to news, and the daily turmoil that takes place. I did like the article that the anti gay minister was forced to resign from the organization he belongs to because he was traveling through Europe with a male escort. The minister says that he is not gay, but !!!!!!
Even though it is foggy and 36 degrees right now, we are supposed to reach the 60 degree mark with sunny skies.
All three grandchildren are doing well. I was especially pleased to learn that the bird feeder that I bought and put out for Isabelle in Kansas is attracting all kinds of beautiful birds. They don’t have to worry about bears like we do here in the Berkshires. I put away my birdfeeders, but once the bears settle down, I am going to put them out once again.
Well, I have to do my morning routine.
I have strict orders to wake Linda up at 7:45 AM for her 9 A.M. appointment.
Maybe she will need a nap so that she can make it through her busy day.
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day on Wednesday. We left the house around 11:15 AM to help set up for the REAM Meeting. The meeting went very well. The guest speaker from the Norman Rockwell Museum, Tom Daly, made an excellent power point presentation. The only negative of the couple hour meeting was that the food was cold.
During the meeting we had our usual raffles. The guest speaker, who was sitting at our table, won a prize. Linda won two prizes. She won a magnum of Pinot Grigio, but donated the money prize back to a foundation which helps needy elder retired teachers. Linda has won prizes at almost all these luncheons. The people who attend the function are starting to look at the head table kind of funny thinking that the raffle might be fixed, especially since I am President of our local chapter.
The head waitress was a Curley (by marriage) at the Country Club, but not related to our family. She said that she is constantly asked if she is related to “Fran Curley.” I would bet that her husband is related. When I did a little family research before one of my cousins did a whole family tree, I found that the Curley Patriarch, Bernard, came to the Berkshires with a Patrick Curley. They both worked in woolen mills when they first arrived, and they lived in the same Berkshire County town. Patrick got married and started his own family just like, my great, great, Grandfather Bernard. There has to be a connection!
We did come home directly after the luncheon, and I took a two hour nap. I slept right through the Red Sox losing an afternoon game. I was well rested to watch a Boston Bruin team go down to defeat. I wasn’t a happy camper when I went to bed.
Linda’s Mah Jogg session went very well. The ladies seemed to all have smiles when they left our house.
Linda is going off to a routine doctor’s appointment at 9 AM. I am going off to a meeting with a neighbor at 10 AM. We are doing a little business for the Annual August UNICO Golf Tournament.
This evening Linda is socially engaged with her girlfriends who are going on their annual Cape Cod trip at the end of June.
I was going to sit home and watch the Celtics, but I just received an invitation to attend a birthday party at the Brew Works Pub. A boyfriend of a Sister City member wants to celebrate the event around 9 PM. Maybe Linda can join us after her all girl event.
Tonight is also the last night for the Pub to function as a restaurant. It will strictly be a Brewery after tonight. Oh Darn!
It appears that I will need an afternoon nap if I am going to be up past 9 PM.
Going to one of these last minute events is another joy of being retired. There is no way that I would be attending a 9 P.M. event if I was still teaching. Life is definitely good!
I couldn’t find anything that jumped out at me with respect to news, and the daily turmoil that takes place. I did like the article that the anti gay minister was forced to resign from the organization he belongs to because he was traveling through Europe with a male escort. The minister says that he is not gay, but !!!!!!
Even though it is foggy and 36 degrees right now, we are supposed to reach the 60 degree mark with sunny skies.
All three grandchildren are doing well. I was especially pleased to learn that the bird feeder that I bought and put out for Isabelle in Kansas is attracting all kinds of beautiful birds. They don’t have to worry about bears like we do here in the Berkshires. I put away my birdfeeders, but once the bears settle down, I am going to put them out once again.
Well, I have to do my morning routine.
I have strict orders to wake Linda up at 7:45 AM for her 9 A.M. appointment.
Maybe she will need a nap so that she can make it through her busy day.
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Hello on Wednesday morning
Dear Friends,
We had another pleasant day on Tuesday. I did my lawn thing before the Mah Jongg ladies arrived for lunch at 11:30 PM. They all liked Linda’s chicken and vegetable Crock Pot Soup. I dined with the ladies before I went off for an afternoon nap.
We went off to Matt Reilly’s for some fish and chips before our 6 PM Irish Sister City Meeting. After the meeting, I dropped Linda off at home, and I went off to a sports bar which was having a fund raiser for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pittsfield Fire Department acted as celebrity bartenders for the 6 PM until 10 PM event. Since we had a short Sister Meeting, many of us went from the meeting to the bar.
The place was still hopping when I left the place at 11 PM. I knew it was time to go when I got up to go the bathroom, and the waitress took my full bottle of beer thinking that I had left the place.
There were some interesting happenings during the evening. I saw my first female butt crack while out in public (and not at a beach). There were a whole bunch of young women in the mid 20 year old range. This particular female had on a pair of those hip hugger jeans. She was dancing in a space between the booth that my friends and I were in, and the bar. At first, I thought that she could be a male plumber. She never pulled her jeans up all night long, not that I was looking.
Some of the firemen and some of these females were dancing on the bar throughout the night which was probably illegal, but who is going to stop the fun that they were having when it was for a good cause, and city employees were involved.
One of the fund raising events was a fireman getting a dollar for every push up that he could do. He did 44 push ups before he was unable to continue. They also had a Chinese raffle.
My neighbor came over while I was cutting the lawn and spoke to me about why he and his wife have their house up for sale. They bought a foreclosure house in Venice, Florida. They have a seasonal home in Maine as well as family who live there. They are going to winter in Florida, and live in Maine during the summer months. They actually had a couple last night look at their house for a second time. A deal may be in the works!
I have to read the local newspaper, do the minutes for the Sister City Meeting which took place last evening, type up an agenda for REAM, and run off copies at Staples, help set up for today’s retired teachers’ luncheon, and run the meeting. When the luncheon breaks up around 2:30 PM, we will head home, and this boy will be taking a nap. I have two sporting contests to watch tonight while Linda hosts a Mah Jongg which starts at 6:30 PM.
I think that I might have a free day tomorrow, but Linda is going out with some girlfriends who are going to the Cape at the end of June. It is a party in which they will finalize details for their trip.
We weren’t this busy in Mexico!
For my golfing friends, the Irish American Club will be having their annual golf tournament (starts at noon) on the last Sunday in June. The cost is $75 per person. It is the usual wonderful day of food, fun, and merriment. It is a Captain and Crew format. Just contact me if you want to join me for the day. There will be hot dogs and hamburgers before you tee off, and at the turn. There is a roast beef dinner with all the fixings after golf. There is a huge raffle so that even if your team doesn’t score well on the course, the raffle prizes will ease the pain.
Well, I have to get to my tasks.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We had another pleasant day on Tuesday. I did my lawn thing before the Mah Jongg ladies arrived for lunch at 11:30 PM. They all liked Linda’s chicken and vegetable Crock Pot Soup. I dined with the ladies before I went off for an afternoon nap.
We went off to Matt Reilly’s for some fish and chips before our 6 PM Irish Sister City Meeting. After the meeting, I dropped Linda off at home, and I went off to a sports bar which was having a fund raiser for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pittsfield Fire Department acted as celebrity bartenders for the 6 PM until 10 PM event. Since we had a short Sister Meeting, many of us went from the meeting to the bar.
The place was still hopping when I left the place at 11 PM. I knew it was time to go when I got up to go the bathroom, and the waitress took my full bottle of beer thinking that I had left the place.
There were some interesting happenings during the evening. I saw my first female butt crack while out in public (and not at a beach). There were a whole bunch of young women in the mid 20 year old range. This particular female had on a pair of those hip hugger jeans. She was dancing in a space between the booth that my friends and I were in, and the bar. At first, I thought that she could be a male plumber. She never pulled her jeans up all night long, not that I was looking.
Some of the firemen and some of these females were dancing on the bar throughout the night which was probably illegal, but who is going to stop the fun that they were having when it was for a good cause, and city employees were involved.
One of the fund raising events was a fireman getting a dollar for every push up that he could do. He did 44 push ups before he was unable to continue. They also had a Chinese raffle.
My neighbor came over while I was cutting the lawn and spoke to me about why he and his wife have their house up for sale. They bought a foreclosure house in Venice, Florida. They have a seasonal home in Maine as well as family who live there. They are going to winter in Florida, and live in Maine during the summer months. They actually had a couple last night look at their house for a second time. A deal may be in the works!
I have to read the local newspaper, do the minutes for the Sister City Meeting which took place last evening, type up an agenda for REAM, and run off copies at Staples, help set up for today’s retired teachers’ luncheon, and run the meeting. When the luncheon breaks up around 2:30 PM, we will head home, and this boy will be taking a nap. I have two sporting contests to watch tonight while Linda hosts a Mah Jongg which starts at 6:30 PM.
I think that I might have a free day tomorrow, but Linda is going out with some girlfriends who are going to the Cape at the end of June. It is a party in which they will finalize details for their trip.
We weren’t this busy in Mexico!
For my golfing friends, the Irish American Club will be having their annual golf tournament (starts at noon) on the last Sunday in June. The cost is $75 per person. It is the usual wonderful day of food, fun, and merriment. It is a Captain and Crew format. Just contact me if you want to join me for the day. There will be hot dogs and hamburgers before you tee off, and at the turn. There is a roast beef dinner with all the fixings after golf. There is a huge raffle so that even if your team doesn’t score well on the course, the raffle prizes will ease the pain.
Well, I have to get to my tasks.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
If anyone in the Berkshires planted flowers, or purchased hanging baskets, and didn’t cover them or take in the hanging baskets, then they are dead. The temperature is 29 degrees right now.
We will be a little warmer today, but Wednesday we are in for a rainy day with highs never getting out of the 40’s, and with higher elevations possibly getting some of the white stuff.
Our Monday went as planned. Linda and I did some house cleaning because she is hosting the Tuesday Mah Jongg session as well as a Wednesday evening session for a different group of ladies. She didn’t tell her Tuesday group that she was making a crock pot of chicken vegetable soup which has been brewing all night long.
Speaking of food, the UNICO board meeting last night was an epicurean delight. Instead of having the meeting in the back room of an Italian American Club, the incoming President ( June 4, 2010) decided to host the meeting at his home. I would classify his home as a “McMansion.”
We started off the evening with some beverages and an antipasto which was to die for. Another member, who is one of our premier chefs for many of our fundraisers, cooked a putanesca for the main meal. The host made tiramisu for dessert. Someone else brought some Italian cookies.
This could be the start of something new. Like someone said at this meeting, if this is a preview of coming attractions, we will have no problem getting members to run for office.
Stock market – Like I always say, there are bumps in the road along the path to life. You have to work a little to get through these bumps, but things will turn out okay. When the stock market fell over 300 points last week, the gloom and doom people started to panic. Well, yesterday, the stock market rebounded, and more than made up for last weeks loses.
Oil Spill – This is one of the worse natural disasters that we have ever had. It eclipses the Valdez oil spill in Alaska. I hope that a solution is found quickly.
Local News – One of my e-mail recipients has been named director of the Ralph Froio Senior Center. It hasn’t hit our local newspaper yet. The friend is in his early 60’s. He managed the Catholic Youth Center for many years before becoming director of the senior center. Good Luck Vinny!
The wife of a past president of UNICO died last Friday. She had a multi month battle with lung cancer. She didn’t smoke, but her husband still does. 73 years old is a youngster in my mind. She requested no wake. The funeral Mass is tomorrow at 10 AM.
I am not sure if I can make the Mass because Linda and I have a REAM (Retired Educator Association of Massachusetts) luncheon. I have to go early to help set up, and prepare to run the meeting. I also have to greet our guest speaker from the Norman Rockwell Museum. This meeting will be taking place at the Wahconah Country Club in Dalton.
Politics – The President did introduce his choice for Supreme Court to replace the judge who is retiring. Wouldn’t it be great if the person had absolutely no skeletons in her closet? Wouldn’t it also be great if she made no political errors, decisions, etc., in her life leading up to her nomination?
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, move some furniture, and set up a card table and chairs for the Mah Jongg ladies.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
If anyone in the Berkshires planted flowers, or purchased hanging baskets, and didn’t cover them or take in the hanging baskets, then they are dead. The temperature is 29 degrees right now.
We will be a little warmer today, but Wednesday we are in for a rainy day with highs never getting out of the 40’s, and with higher elevations possibly getting some of the white stuff.
Our Monday went as planned. Linda and I did some house cleaning because she is hosting the Tuesday Mah Jongg session as well as a Wednesday evening session for a different group of ladies. She didn’t tell her Tuesday group that she was making a crock pot of chicken vegetable soup which has been brewing all night long.
Speaking of food, the UNICO board meeting last night was an epicurean delight. Instead of having the meeting in the back room of an Italian American Club, the incoming President ( June 4, 2010) decided to host the meeting at his home. I would classify his home as a “McMansion.”
We started off the evening with some beverages and an antipasto which was to die for. Another member, who is one of our premier chefs for many of our fundraisers, cooked a putanesca for the main meal. The host made tiramisu for dessert. Someone else brought some Italian cookies.
This could be the start of something new. Like someone said at this meeting, if this is a preview of coming attractions, we will have no problem getting members to run for office.
Stock market – Like I always say, there are bumps in the road along the path to life. You have to work a little to get through these bumps, but things will turn out okay. When the stock market fell over 300 points last week, the gloom and doom people started to panic. Well, yesterday, the stock market rebounded, and more than made up for last weeks loses.
Oil Spill – This is one of the worse natural disasters that we have ever had. It eclipses the Valdez oil spill in Alaska. I hope that a solution is found quickly.
Local News – One of my e-mail recipients has been named director of the Ralph Froio Senior Center. It hasn’t hit our local newspaper yet. The friend is in his early 60’s. He managed the Catholic Youth Center for many years before becoming director of the senior center. Good Luck Vinny!
The wife of a past president of UNICO died last Friday. She had a multi month battle with lung cancer. She didn’t smoke, but her husband still does. 73 years old is a youngster in my mind. She requested no wake. The funeral Mass is tomorrow at 10 AM.
I am not sure if I can make the Mass because Linda and I have a REAM (Retired Educator Association of Massachusetts) luncheon. I have to go early to help set up, and prepare to run the meeting. I also have to greet our guest speaker from the Norman Rockwell Museum. This meeting will be taking place at the Wahconah Country Club in Dalton.
Politics – The President did introduce his choice for Supreme Court to replace the judge who is retiring. Wouldn’t it be great if the person had absolutely no skeletons in her closet? Wouldn’t it also be great if she made no political errors, decisions, etc., in her life leading up to her nomination?
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, move some furniture, and set up a card table and chairs for the Mah Jongg ladies.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hello on Monday morning
Dear Friends,
Hope that your Mother’s Day went as planned. Our two sons called to wish Linda a “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Our day went exactly as we had planned.
We went off to the breakfast at the Italian American club which was okay, but not great.
We went from the Italian American Club to visit my mother in the nursing home. I wanted to stop in and see another friend who is there, but her daughter and son-in-law brought her to their home for Mother’s Day.
Dad was at the nursing home when we arrived and he had lunch with her as we were leaving the nursing home. Also, dad told me that the discussion about having Mom being able to leave the nursing home, and go back home has ended. The home health care supervisor and the case worker for my parents convinced my father that it wasn’t feasible to do so. Oh Darn!
In between our kind of chill day, I was able to watch the Celtics win their game, and the final round of a professional golf tournament. The South African, who eventually won the tournament, has won $14.7 million dollars, but yesterday was his first win of a major tournament in the United States.
Tiger Woods dropped out of the tournament on the 7th hole. He is guessing that a bulging disk might be causing his back pain. The bulging in a different area of his body started his downfall.
We did leave the house at 7:30 PM to hook up with our godchild whom we haven’t seen since last October. She heads back west on Tuesday. She will be a mountain climbing instructor for the duration of the summer. She spent the winter as a Ski Patrol person on some big mountains out west. I think that she was working on getting certified as an EMT too.
It is a balmy 33 degrees as I start this e-mail. We are supposed to have a day of sunshine, but the breezy weather will make for wind chills in the mid forty ranges.
Monday is Linda’s golf day with her girlfriends. When they tee off at 3:30 PM, the wind chill temperature will be 45 degrees. I am not sure that golf would be on my mind with temperatures like this. We have freeze warnings for this evening.
I would like to cut the lawn, but I refuse to get dressed up in a winter coat, hat, and gloves to cut the lawn.
I have a UNICO Board meeting at 6 PM.
We do have the heat on. Linda got a chill yesterday which she couldn’t get rid of. She had the first floor part of the house cranked up to over 70 degrees, and she was still cold. I wore a turtle neck all day long to retain body heat as I watched my sporting contests in the man cave. Yes, I turned the heat on in my man cave so that I could comfortably watch the games.
It was nice to see the Boston teams rebound from their losses of the other day. The Celtics won their contest, and the Red Sox last night finally were able to beat the Yankees. The old adage of “good pitching can beat good hitting” really came true in last night’s game. The Boston Bruins had the day off, but their playoff games resume tonight. I also have the Red Sox game on at the same time, but on a different channel. The remote control will get a workout this evening.
Politics – I see that our President is going to nominate a Jewish born 50 year old female for the Supreme Court. There was no mention of her sexuality in the articles which I read about her. The Republicans don’t seem to find fault with her right now, but she will still have to go through the hearings process. She has worked for Democrats in the past, but she does have conservative tendencies.
More pictures of our grandchild Gabe are coming over the internet from Mike and Danielle. Linda is trying to figure out how to get them on a flash drive so that she can print them using the CVS machines. She wants to add them to her Grandmother’s album which she carries in her pocketbook. Yesterday, we did give my mother and father some up to date pictures of Max, and Isabelle. The next will be pictures of our grandson Gabriel.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hope that your Mother’s Day went as planned. Our two sons called to wish Linda a “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Our day went exactly as we had planned.
We went off to the breakfast at the Italian American club which was okay, but not great.
We went from the Italian American Club to visit my mother in the nursing home. I wanted to stop in and see another friend who is there, but her daughter and son-in-law brought her to their home for Mother’s Day.
Dad was at the nursing home when we arrived and he had lunch with her as we were leaving the nursing home. Also, dad told me that the discussion about having Mom being able to leave the nursing home, and go back home has ended. The home health care supervisor and the case worker for my parents convinced my father that it wasn’t feasible to do so. Oh Darn!
In between our kind of chill day, I was able to watch the Celtics win their game, and the final round of a professional golf tournament. The South African, who eventually won the tournament, has won $14.7 million dollars, but yesterday was his first win of a major tournament in the United States.
Tiger Woods dropped out of the tournament on the 7th hole. He is guessing that a bulging disk might be causing his back pain. The bulging in a different area of his body started his downfall.
We did leave the house at 7:30 PM to hook up with our godchild whom we haven’t seen since last October. She heads back west on Tuesday. She will be a mountain climbing instructor for the duration of the summer. She spent the winter as a Ski Patrol person on some big mountains out west. I think that she was working on getting certified as an EMT too.
It is a balmy 33 degrees as I start this e-mail. We are supposed to have a day of sunshine, but the breezy weather will make for wind chills in the mid forty ranges.
Monday is Linda’s golf day with her girlfriends. When they tee off at 3:30 PM, the wind chill temperature will be 45 degrees. I am not sure that golf would be on my mind with temperatures like this. We have freeze warnings for this evening.
I would like to cut the lawn, but I refuse to get dressed up in a winter coat, hat, and gloves to cut the lawn.
I have a UNICO Board meeting at 6 PM.
We do have the heat on. Linda got a chill yesterday which she couldn’t get rid of. She had the first floor part of the house cranked up to over 70 degrees, and she was still cold. I wore a turtle neck all day long to retain body heat as I watched my sporting contests in the man cave. Yes, I turned the heat on in my man cave so that I could comfortably watch the games.
It was nice to see the Boston teams rebound from their losses of the other day. The Celtics won their contest, and the Red Sox last night finally were able to beat the Yankees. The old adage of “good pitching can beat good hitting” really came true in last night’s game. The Boston Bruins had the day off, but their playoff games resume tonight. I also have the Red Sox game on at the same time, but on a different channel. The remote control will get a workout this evening.
Politics – I see that our President is going to nominate a Jewish born 50 year old female for the Supreme Court. There was no mention of her sexuality in the articles which I read about her. The Republicans don’t seem to find fault with her right now, but she will still have to go through the hearings process. She has worked for Democrats in the past, but she does have conservative tendencies.
More pictures of our grandchild Gabe are coming over the internet from Mike and Danielle. Linda is trying to figure out how to get them on a flash drive so that she can print them using the CVS machines. She wants to add them to her Grandmother’s album which she carries in her pocketbook. Yesterday, we did give my mother and father some up to date pictures of Max, and Isabelle. The next will be pictures of our grandson Gabriel.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee, and read the local newspaper.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Hello on Sunday
Dear Friends,
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s on my e-mail list including the mother’s to be.
I hope that everyone takes time out today to reflect on what all mothers have gone through, and continue to go through with respect to making our world a better place to live.
Mothers still rule the family no matter how much the male participates in child rearing.
Even though our children have left the nest, and now have families of their own, the families are Matriarchal.
Linda still rules our home after 38 years of marriage.
Us males always need someone to smooth off the rough edges. For me, Linda realizes it continues to be a work in progress.
Well, the temperature outside right now is 35 degrees with a stiff wind blowing. I decided to turn the heat back on. The weather channel predicts that we will reach no higher than the middle 40’s.
Of course, this always happens after we get a tease of summer weather, and right after I install the air conditioners in the three bedrooms.
We have a freeze advisory for us in the Berkshires starting at 6 PM this evening. This is why we never plant flowers until Memorial Day or the first week of June.
Sports – I couldn’t bear to watch my Red Sox getting beat up once again by the New York Yankees on Saturday in a rain delayed game. The Red Sox appear to be mediocre right now. The Yankees look like World Series Champions once again. I am going to use what the Yankees fans always used to tell us Red Sox fans when the tables were reversed: “It is early in the season!”
Yesterday went okay. Linda had decided to work in her closets, but it didn’t happen. Her girlfriends seemed to have the urge to talk to her on the telephone. She carried on 30 minute + conversations all day long. She gave up working on her closets.
I spent the day doing a little reading, and puttering around the inside of the house before I took a wonderful afternoon nap.
For supper, we used one of those Radio Auction discount coupons, and went off to an Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, and we both couldn’t finish our meals.
Linda talked to Danielle yesterday afternoon. She had arrived home an hour before Linda made the call. Circumcised, Gabriel Michael Curley and his Mom are doing very well. Linda asked Danielle and Mike to send some new pictures of “Gabe.”
Isabelle seemed to be in awe of her new brother.
Social Calendar – As of this moment, we have decided that we are going to do brunch at the Italian American Club. After brunch we will come home and wait for a telephone call from a friend who will be celebrating Mother’s Day in Worcester with her Mom and other family members. When they arrive back home in the Berkshires, we will hook up with them for a beverage or two and conversation. Their daughter, who works at the western end of the country, is in between jobs. She is back east for a short amount of time, and we haven’t seen her in many months. Oh, I almost forgot that Linda is her godmother!
We have a busy start to the up coming week at least through Wednesday. I want to play golf, but if you asked me to play on a day like today, I would definitely decline. The temperature has dropped two degrees since I started this e-mail.
I also see that where our son who lives in Kansas, has a severe storm watch with the potential of tornadoes for several hours.
Well the news story of a guy who is legally named “Lord Jesus Christ” being hit while crossing a side walk would make national news. It was on the front page of The Berkshire Eagle on Saturday. A Berkshire County 20 year old female from Dalton (5 miles from Pittsfield) hit “Jesus” in a crosswalk in a town about 40 minutes from Pittsfield. Like our son Michael said: “It could only happen in wacky Massachusetts!”
Well, I have to read the two Sunday newspapers, and grab a second cup of coffee.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s on my e-mail list including the mother’s to be.
I hope that everyone takes time out today to reflect on what all mothers have gone through, and continue to go through with respect to making our world a better place to live.
Mothers still rule the family no matter how much the male participates in child rearing.
Even though our children have left the nest, and now have families of their own, the families are Matriarchal.
Linda still rules our home after 38 years of marriage.
Us males always need someone to smooth off the rough edges. For me, Linda realizes it continues to be a work in progress.
Well, the temperature outside right now is 35 degrees with a stiff wind blowing. I decided to turn the heat back on. The weather channel predicts that we will reach no higher than the middle 40’s.
Of course, this always happens after we get a tease of summer weather, and right after I install the air conditioners in the three bedrooms.
We have a freeze advisory for us in the Berkshires starting at 6 PM this evening. This is why we never plant flowers until Memorial Day or the first week of June.
Sports – I couldn’t bear to watch my Red Sox getting beat up once again by the New York Yankees on Saturday in a rain delayed game. The Red Sox appear to be mediocre right now. The Yankees look like World Series Champions once again. I am going to use what the Yankees fans always used to tell us Red Sox fans when the tables were reversed: “It is early in the season!”
Yesterday went okay. Linda had decided to work in her closets, but it didn’t happen. Her girlfriends seemed to have the urge to talk to her on the telephone. She carried on 30 minute + conversations all day long. She gave up working on her closets.
I spent the day doing a little reading, and puttering around the inside of the house before I took a wonderful afternoon nap.
For supper, we used one of those Radio Auction discount coupons, and went off to an Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, and we both couldn’t finish our meals.
Linda talked to Danielle yesterday afternoon. She had arrived home an hour before Linda made the call. Circumcised, Gabriel Michael Curley and his Mom are doing very well. Linda asked Danielle and Mike to send some new pictures of “Gabe.”
Isabelle seemed to be in awe of her new brother.
Social Calendar – As of this moment, we have decided that we are going to do brunch at the Italian American Club. After brunch we will come home and wait for a telephone call from a friend who will be celebrating Mother’s Day in Worcester with her Mom and other family members. When they arrive back home in the Berkshires, we will hook up with them for a beverage or two and conversation. Their daughter, who works at the western end of the country, is in between jobs. She is back east for a short amount of time, and we haven’t seen her in many months. Oh, I almost forgot that Linda is her godmother!
We have a busy start to the up coming week at least through Wednesday. I want to play golf, but if you asked me to play on a day like today, I would definitely decline. The temperature has dropped two degrees since I started this e-mail.
I also see that where our son who lives in Kansas, has a severe storm watch with the potential of tornadoes for several hours.
Well the news story of a guy who is legally named “Lord Jesus Christ” being hit while crossing a side walk would make national news. It was on the front page of The Berkshire Eagle on Saturday. A Berkshire County 20 year old female from Dalton (5 miles from Pittsfield) hit “Jesus” in a crosswalk in a town about 40 minutes from Pittsfield. Like our son Michael said: “It could only happen in wacky Massachusetts!”
Well, I have to read the two Sunday newspapers, and grab a second cup of coffee.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
Golf was okay for me on Friday. There is still much room for improvement.
Linda made it through her body maintenance procedure, and did a whole bunch of errands while I took an afternoon nap.
My nap was designed to keep me totally awake so that I could watch all three Boston teams do battle. Well, I didn’t go to bed a happy man last evening. All three Boston teams lost their games.
We did go to the Shamrock last evening. We did choose to go alone so that we had no commitments so that we could come directly home so that I could watch my sporting contests. The sports’ watching was a waste of time.
It was relatively quiet at the Shamrock. The waitress said that there was a rush at 5 PM, but there was a lull by the time that we sat down to eat. The Clam Chowder and Lobster roll that Linda had was wonderful as usual. My fish and chips were great too.
Speaking of fish and chips, I was really trying to be a conversationalist last evening, but I failed. I tried to slow down the speed at which I eat, and converse while eating. I just couldn’t do it. I dropped a forkful of fried fish laden with tartar sauce down my shirt, and onto my cargo pants. When we returned home, Linda had to spend a portion of her quiet evening trying to get out the massive grease stains.
Today should be a quiet day for us. We have nothing booked in right now. Since it is Mother’s Day weekend, I will let the Queen dictate what she wants to do.
If she wants to be left alone, there is still one more flower bed that needs immediate attention.
A little thunder and lighting storm is taking place right now. The temperatures are supposed to cool off a little today when the front moves through.
Another front moves through tomorrow, and the temperatures will be cool enough to have snow in the higher elevations. This is exactly why I tell our friends who winter in Florida to not come back until June 1.
The Red Sox do battle against the Yankees once again today. I believe this game is an afternoon one.
Another baby boomer couple who had children in the 70’s like Linda and I, will be experiencing a grandchild for the first time. They are so excited just like we were / currently are. The grand mother to be has started knitting baby clothes. The grand parenting thing is just another phase on the road of life. The flower beds and the garden take on a lower priority once the grand children start arriving. This has already happened to Linda and me.
Well, I have no more words of wisdom for right now.
I am going off to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Golf was okay for me on Friday. There is still much room for improvement.
Linda made it through her body maintenance procedure, and did a whole bunch of errands while I took an afternoon nap.
My nap was designed to keep me totally awake so that I could watch all three Boston teams do battle. Well, I didn’t go to bed a happy man last evening. All three Boston teams lost their games.
We did go to the Shamrock last evening. We did choose to go alone so that we had no commitments so that we could come directly home so that I could watch my sporting contests. The sports’ watching was a waste of time.
It was relatively quiet at the Shamrock. The waitress said that there was a rush at 5 PM, but there was a lull by the time that we sat down to eat. The Clam Chowder and Lobster roll that Linda had was wonderful as usual. My fish and chips were great too.
Speaking of fish and chips, I was really trying to be a conversationalist last evening, but I failed. I tried to slow down the speed at which I eat, and converse while eating. I just couldn’t do it. I dropped a forkful of fried fish laden with tartar sauce down my shirt, and onto my cargo pants. When we returned home, Linda had to spend a portion of her quiet evening trying to get out the massive grease stains.
Today should be a quiet day for us. We have nothing booked in right now. Since it is Mother’s Day weekend, I will let the Queen dictate what she wants to do.
If she wants to be left alone, there is still one more flower bed that needs immediate attention.
A little thunder and lighting storm is taking place right now. The temperatures are supposed to cool off a little today when the front moves through.
Another front moves through tomorrow, and the temperatures will be cool enough to have snow in the higher elevations. This is exactly why I tell our friends who winter in Florida to not come back until June 1.
The Red Sox do battle against the Yankees once again today. I believe this game is an afternoon one.
Another baby boomer couple who had children in the 70’s like Linda and I, will be experiencing a grandchild for the first time. They are so excited just like we were / currently are. The grand mother to be has started knitting baby clothes. The grand parenting thing is just another phase on the road of life. The flower beds and the garden take on a lower priority once the grand children start arriving. This has already happened to Linda and me.
Well, I have no more words of wisdom for right now.
I am going off to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, May 7, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning
ear Friends,
I went to bed a happy man last evening, not only because the Red Sox swept the series against the Angels, but also because Linda and I became grandparents for the third time. Our angel, Gabriel Michael Curley, arrived during the Red Sox game last evening. He came into this world weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces, and he is 21.5 inches long.
May 6 will be an easy day to remember with respect to his birthday because this is the same day as his Mom’s birthday.
Danielle’s mom drove to Kansas from Minnesota, and she was taking care of Isabelle as the birth was taking place.
In a day or so, Danielle and Gabriel will be discharged from the hospital, and Isabelle will have a chance to see her new brother.
It is a balmy 44 degrees in the Berkshires right now. We are not getting out of the 60’s today, but it will be a nice day to be on the golf course with my senior friends. I might be wearing a sweater when we tee off at 8:30 AM.
While I am on the golf course, Linda will be having a body maintenance procedure.
This procedure will require her to be waited on for supper this evening.
This evening, I will be in my man cave working the remote control feverishly because the Celtics, Bruins, and the Red Sox will be doing battle at the same time. The Red Sox will be playing against their arch enemies, the New York Yankees. I can’t wait!
Thursday went well. I did go to Home Depot, but it was raining when I went there so I didn’t purchase the cedar mulch. I had to by a repair kit for part of one of the air conditioners which I installed the other day. The fan like portion on either side of air conditioner that you slide out to fill up the space on either side to keep the bugs and rain out became detached. I tried Gorilla Glue to fix the original problem. The glue stuck to everything, and the fan like devices wouldn’t even open. Home Depot has a repair kit that worked as described, but I had to spend most of my time trying to get the Gorilla Glue off of everything.
While working in the other spare bedroom, I decided to open the windows to let a little fresh air into the house. Well, the wind really picked up during the day, and knocked a framed picked off one night stand, and a vase of dried flowers off of the another night stand. A plastic piece of the picture frame broke when it hit the carpet. Luckily the vase on the other night stand didn’t break when it hit the floor. Anything in the room that wasn’t heavy or tied down ended up on the floor.
We had a bone in breast of chicken which I cooked on the grill along with some rice, and some corn on the cob. The corn wasn’t too sweet because it wasn’t local, but I did use the electronic pressure cooker to cook the corn. A half of a cup of water, and setting the timer for one minute was all it took to cook the corn. If I was cooking for a bunch of people over for a party, I would have to cook it in two batches. They could be eating one ear of corn while the second batch would be cooking.
News / Politics – The stock market took a really big hit yesterday. It dropped 347+ points. The oil spill and the turmoil in Greece contributed to the decline. I am going to take an optimist position, and bet that the stock market will recover even if it might take a while. Of course, our President will take a hit for the drop. The usual Presidential bashers will use some of the social programs that our President has been trying to get passed as a cause of the crash.
I tried to watch a power point presentation sent to me by one of my relatives yesterday, and I had to hit the delete button. The presentation tried to have you believe that we are turning into a socialist country like Argentina. The creators of the piece did a before and after sequence of Argentina, and the claimed that the United States was heading in the same direction. I say “Hogwash!”
If most of the world was filled with people who just took care of their own family, and took pleasure in seeing their family grow, there would be no conflicts. If people of other nations weren’t jealous of what other nations had or did not have, then life would be so good. If people really believed that war or killing your neighbor is not a good solution to conflicts, our world would be in less turmoil. If we let people practice whatever religion that they believe in, and stay out of their business, we would be better off.
There is no religion that requires or demands violence against your neighbors, but we have people in places that take the Bible, or the Koran, etc., and they twist the words of the documents into acts of violence.
Well, I have to stop rambling, and read the local newspaper, and select my wardrobe for today’s round of golf.
Have a great weekend!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, but I contend that every day is Mother’s Day.
I do appreciate what my mother did to raise me, and I see what Linda has done to raise our two boys.
The fruit of all their hard work appears to be paying off.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I went to bed a happy man last evening, not only because the Red Sox swept the series against the Angels, but also because Linda and I became grandparents for the third time. Our angel, Gabriel Michael Curley, arrived during the Red Sox game last evening. He came into this world weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces, and he is 21.5 inches long.
May 6 will be an easy day to remember with respect to his birthday because this is the same day as his Mom’s birthday.
Danielle’s mom drove to Kansas from Minnesota, and she was taking care of Isabelle as the birth was taking place.
In a day or so, Danielle and Gabriel will be discharged from the hospital, and Isabelle will have a chance to see her new brother.
It is a balmy 44 degrees in the Berkshires right now. We are not getting out of the 60’s today, but it will be a nice day to be on the golf course with my senior friends. I might be wearing a sweater when we tee off at 8:30 AM.
While I am on the golf course, Linda will be having a body maintenance procedure.
This procedure will require her to be waited on for supper this evening.
This evening, I will be in my man cave working the remote control feverishly because the Celtics, Bruins, and the Red Sox will be doing battle at the same time. The Red Sox will be playing against their arch enemies, the New York Yankees. I can’t wait!
Thursday went well. I did go to Home Depot, but it was raining when I went there so I didn’t purchase the cedar mulch. I had to by a repair kit for part of one of the air conditioners which I installed the other day. The fan like portion on either side of air conditioner that you slide out to fill up the space on either side to keep the bugs and rain out became detached. I tried Gorilla Glue to fix the original problem. The glue stuck to everything, and the fan like devices wouldn’t even open. Home Depot has a repair kit that worked as described, but I had to spend most of my time trying to get the Gorilla Glue off of everything.
While working in the other spare bedroom, I decided to open the windows to let a little fresh air into the house. Well, the wind really picked up during the day, and knocked a framed picked off one night stand, and a vase of dried flowers off of the another night stand. A plastic piece of the picture frame broke when it hit the carpet. Luckily the vase on the other night stand didn’t break when it hit the floor. Anything in the room that wasn’t heavy or tied down ended up on the floor.
We had a bone in breast of chicken which I cooked on the grill along with some rice, and some corn on the cob. The corn wasn’t too sweet because it wasn’t local, but I did use the electronic pressure cooker to cook the corn. A half of a cup of water, and setting the timer for one minute was all it took to cook the corn. If I was cooking for a bunch of people over for a party, I would have to cook it in two batches. They could be eating one ear of corn while the second batch would be cooking.
News / Politics – The stock market took a really big hit yesterday. It dropped 347+ points. The oil spill and the turmoil in Greece contributed to the decline. I am going to take an optimist position, and bet that the stock market will recover even if it might take a while. Of course, our President will take a hit for the drop. The usual Presidential bashers will use some of the social programs that our President has been trying to get passed as a cause of the crash.
I tried to watch a power point presentation sent to me by one of my relatives yesterday, and I had to hit the delete button. The presentation tried to have you believe that we are turning into a socialist country like Argentina. The creators of the piece did a before and after sequence of Argentina, and the claimed that the United States was heading in the same direction. I say “Hogwash!”
If most of the world was filled with people who just took care of their own family, and took pleasure in seeing their family grow, there would be no conflicts. If people of other nations weren’t jealous of what other nations had or did not have, then life would be so good. If people really believed that war or killing your neighbor is not a good solution to conflicts, our world would be in less turmoil. If we let people practice whatever religion that they believe in, and stay out of their business, we would be better off.
There is no religion that requires or demands violence against your neighbors, but we have people in places that take the Bible, or the Koran, etc., and they twist the words of the documents into acts of violence.
Well, I have to stop rambling, and read the local newspaper, and select my wardrobe for today’s round of golf.
Have a great weekend!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, but I contend that every day is Mother’s Day.
I do appreciate what my mother did to raise me, and I see what Linda has done to raise our two boys.
The fruit of all their hard work appears to be paying off.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
Linda and her girlfriends had a wonderful time in New York. They even had a chance to see the King Tut Exhibit before going to the play. Every time Linda returns home from one of her adventures, she always comes into the house “Happy”. She just loves plays so much, and I am so happy that she has girlfriends to go with.
My day had me making two trips to Home Depot, and filling up the car with 15 bags of cedar mulch during each trip. My routine would be to attack the flower beds until I ran out of mulch. I did all of the flower beds except for one bed which would require about five more bags of mulch. I know I could have and a couple yards of mulch delivered to my house, but I don’t like a pile of mulched dumped in my driveway. With bags, I can hide them in the back yard, and do the mulching at my own pace.
Just before my afternoon nap, I gave my lawn, and the neighbor’ lawn, who watch the Casa del Curley home when we are away, a little trim. I was ready for a nap as the time approached 2 PM. I worked from 6:45 A.M. straight through until nap time. I never stopped for lunch because I had “completing the task” on my brain.
After my nap, I tried to figure out what I should make for supper. I decided to use our electronic pressure cooker. I am really getting to like the device because it is so simple to use. I found a pack of country style ribs buried in our freezer. I defrosted them for a while in the micro wave before using the searing cycle in the pressure cooker. I painted the ribs with some store bought barbecue sauce, put in a half a cup of liquid (I used white wine), closed the lid, and set the timer on the device. 45 minutes later I had the most delicious, fall off of the bone ribs that you can possibly imagine. I did save Linda one rib, and she did agree that the country style ribs turned out great.
I normally would cook the ribs in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. I guess using this device is really slow cooking fast.
As the country ribs were cooking, I was perusing the recipe book which came with the device. Cooking 4 to 6 ears of corn on the cob will take one minute once the high pressure is reached. I can’t wait for the corn on the cob to grow and be harvested at our local farms.
The pressure cooker that I have is not the same one as you see on QVC. When they do their food demonstration on television, they can put in frozen items in their electronic pressure cooker. With all of us having micro-waves with defrost cycles, it is no big deal to thaw beef, pork, or poultry first, and then use the pressure cooker. I did call the 800 number to see if I could cook frozen foods in my particular device, the person who I talked to said “No”. This won’t stop me from trying it anyway. I might try it on a couple of frozen boneless chicken breasts. There are safety valves on the device. If you hear an explosion in the neighborhood, you know that it was just me doing what I am not supposed to do.
I still can’t get used to the noiselessness of the device. There is no ticking like on those old pressure cookers that most of us grew up with. When the cooking is done, the device beeps a couple of times, and that is all the noise that you hear.
For busy families, this might be a good device to add to your repertoire of kitchen appliances.
This is one of those days where Linda wants to just relax and do things at her own pace. She also will be glued to a local radio station for a portion of the day because they having another one of the Radio Auctions. There is always something (mostly restaurant certificates for us) that we end up getting. They even have a snow blower with a retail value of $1300 as one of the items.
I am going to finish the flower bed, and do some weed whacking which I didn’t do yesterday because I was so tired from playing in the flower beds.
Speaking of bed, I did go to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox, and the Boston Bruins won their contests. I was particularly excited about the Bruins’ win because they were victorious on their opponent’s home ice.
I did see where the damage in Tennessee has topped the $1 billion mark. If you made plans to go to the Grand Old Opera House in Nashville this summer, you might want to rethink going there. It will be closed for at least three months. One of Linda’s girlfriends, whom she went to New York City with on Wednesday, has married children and their families living in Tennessee. I hope that they were not affected by the flooding.
The Berkshires are still looking pretty good as a place to live. Us Berkshirites are away from many of the natural disasters that are happening throughout the United States.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, get dressed, and head off to Home Depot. Mulching is a quiet activity!
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Linda and her girlfriends had a wonderful time in New York. They even had a chance to see the King Tut Exhibit before going to the play. Every time Linda returns home from one of her adventures, she always comes into the house “Happy”. She just loves plays so much, and I am so happy that she has girlfriends to go with.
My day had me making two trips to Home Depot, and filling up the car with 15 bags of cedar mulch during each trip. My routine would be to attack the flower beds until I ran out of mulch. I did all of the flower beds except for one bed which would require about five more bags of mulch. I know I could have and a couple yards of mulch delivered to my house, but I don’t like a pile of mulched dumped in my driveway. With bags, I can hide them in the back yard, and do the mulching at my own pace.
Just before my afternoon nap, I gave my lawn, and the neighbor’ lawn, who watch the Casa del Curley home when we are away, a little trim. I was ready for a nap as the time approached 2 PM. I worked from 6:45 A.M. straight through until nap time. I never stopped for lunch because I had “completing the task” on my brain.
After my nap, I tried to figure out what I should make for supper. I decided to use our electronic pressure cooker. I am really getting to like the device because it is so simple to use. I found a pack of country style ribs buried in our freezer. I defrosted them for a while in the micro wave before using the searing cycle in the pressure cooker. I painted the ribs with some store bought barbecue sauce, put in a half a cup of liquid (I used white wine), closed the lid, and set the timer on the device. 45 minutes later I had the most delicious, fall off of the bone ribs that you can possibly imagine. I did save Linda one rib, and she did agree that the country style ribs turned out great.
I normally would cook the ribs in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. I guess using this device is really slow cooking fast.
As the country ribs were cooking, I was perusing the recipe book which came with the device. Cooking 4 to 6 ears of corn on the cob will take one minute once the high pressure is reached. I can’t wait for the corn on the cob to grow and be harvested at our local farms.
The pressure cooker that I have is not the same one as you see on QVC. When they do their food demonstration on television, they can put in frozen items in their electronic pressure cooker. With all of us having micro-waves with defrost cycles, it is no big deal to thaw beef, pork, or poultry first, and then use the pressure cooker. I did call the 800 number to see if I could cook frozen foods in my particular device, the person who I talked to said “No”. This won’t stop me from trying it anyway. I might try it on a couple of frozen boneless chicken breasts. There are safety valves on the device. If you hear an explosion in the neighborhood, you know that it was just me doing what I am not supposed to do.
I still can’t get used to the noiselessness of the device. There is no ticking like on those old pressure cookers that most of us grew up with. When the cooking is done, the device beeps a couple of times, and that is all the noise that you hear.
For busy families, this might be a good device to add to your repertoire of kitchen appliances.
This is one of those days where Linda wants to just relax and do things at her own pace. She also will be glued to a local radio station for a portion of the day because they having another one of the Radio Auctions. There is always something (mostly restaurant certificates for us) that we end up getting. They even have a snow blower with a retail value of $1300 as one of the items.
I am going to finish the flower bed, and do some weed whacking which I didn’t do yesterday because I was so tired from playing in the flower beds.
Speaking of bed, I did go to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox, and the Boston Bruins won their contests. I was particularly excited about the Bruins’ win because they were victorious on their opponent’s home ice.
I did see where the damage in Tennessee has topped the $1 billion mark. If you made plans to go to the Grand Old Opera House in Nashville this summer, you might want to rethink going there. It will be closed for at least three months. One of Linda’s girlfriends, whom she went to New York City with on Wednesday, has married children and their families living in Tennessee. I hope that they were not affected by the flooding.
The Berkshires are still looking pretty good as a place to live. Us Berkshirites are away from many of the natural disasters that are happening throughout the United States.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, get dressed, and head off to Home Depot. Mulching is a quiet activity!
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Hello on Wednesday Morning
Dear Friends,
My biorhythm is a bit off today because I went to bed too early. An afternoon nap will be a definite.
My time with the dentist went well on Tuesday. I endured a filling replacement without a shot of Novocain. I skipped the Novocain because I didn’t want to drool while playing golf.
I hacked my way through 18 holes of golf while Linda was playing Mah Jongg. We both had fun doing our own thing. For me, it was a nice time in the sunshine. We were at the 19th hole when the predicted rain finally started whipping through the golf course.
All 18 greens at our golf course are in terrible shape. My friends, who have played several times already, said that the greens have improved quite a bit since March. I would be rather embarrassed to have a guest play our course. The fairways are in great shape.
I am leaving the house with Linda at 6:30 AM this morning. I am driving Linda to one of her friend’s home so that Linda and three other friends can go off to New York City by way of a train. They are going to see a play.
I will be home alone, but this is not a sad thing. I might attack the flower beds, do some mulching, etc. This is a multi day project. Linda said that she has lost the desire to work in the flower beds. We need to win the lottery so that we can pay people to do what we are slowing getting tired of doing.
Some of my elder relatives warned me that I would start to get tired of maintaining the stuff that we as homeowners have done in the past. These relatives sold their homes, and moved into ranch style housing where they pay a maintenance fee, and let someone else cut the lawn, trim bushes, plant flowers, and take care of the property in general. This sounds good to me!
As we have been traveling and visiting our sons and their families in North Tewksbury, and in Kansas, traveling to Mexico, etc., Linda came up with a good idea. She thinks that we should sell our house, and we should live with one son for a week or so. Get on an airplane, and visit the other son for a week or so. We then would travel to places which we haven’t been to before. We would repeat the process every couple of months.
We would have to establish a place of residency. We could have one of the sons agree to put us on their tax forms as their dependents.
Do you think that this concept can work?
The above thoughts were brought about by the fact that the neighbors, who live directly across the street, have their house up for sale, and the asking price is $309,000. This couple is a few years older than Linda and I. Last year they started paying someone to cut their lawn. I think that they both got tired of taking care of their home. They probably got tired of climbing up and down stairs to get to their bedrooms too.
I fell asleep watching the Red Sox. Maybe my friend was correct that watching professional sports could be kind of boring.
Observation – While at the golf course on Tuesday, I saw a bunch of former colleagues who were at a two day conference which was taking place in the ballroom of the Berkshire Hills Country Club. They were on a little break on a deck overlooking the first and tenth tee watching us three retired school department employees try and whack the ball. It brought back memories of all those conferences which we had to attend for Professional Development Points to maintain our certifications. A day on the golf course for four or five hours, even if you are playing badly, sure beats sitting in a ballroom all day long whether there are a lot of breaks in between the guest speakers.
Well, I hope that you all have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
My biorhythm is a bit off today because I went to bed too early. An afternoon nap will be a definite.
My time with the dentist went well on Tuesday. I endured a filling replacement without a shot of Novocain. I skipped the Novocain because I didn’t want to drool while playing golf.
I hacked my way through 18 holes of golf while Linda was playing Mah Jongg. We both had fun doing our own thing. For me, it was a nice time in the sunshine. We were at the 19th hole when the predicted rain finally started whipping through the golf course.
All 18 greens at our golf course are in terrible shape. My friends, who have played several times already, said that the greens have improved quite a bit since March. I would be rather embarrassed to have a guest play our course. The fairways are in great shape.
I am leaving the house with Linda at 6:30 AM this morning. I am driving Linda to one of her friend’s home so that Linda and three other friends can go off to New York City by way of a train. They are going to see a play.
I will be home alone, but this is not a sad thing. I might attack the flower beds, do some mulching, etc. This is a multi day project. Linda said that she has lost the desire to work in the flower beds. We need to win the lottery so that we can pay people to do what we are slowing getting tired of doing.
Some of my elder relatives warned me that I would start to get tired of maintaining the stuff that we as homeowners have done in the past. These relatives sold their homes, and moved into ranch style housing where they pay a maintenance fee, and let someone else cut the lawn, trim bushes, plant flowers, and take care of the property in general. This sounds good to me!
As we have been traveling and visiting our sons and their families in North Tewksbury, and in Kansas, traveling to Mexico, etc., Linda came up with a good idea. She thinks that we should sell our house, and we should live with one son for a week or so. Get on an airplane, and visit the other son for a week or so. We then would travel to places which we haven’t been to before. We would repeat the process every couple of months.
We would have to establish a place of residency. We could have one of the sons agree to put us on their tax forms as their dependents.
Do you think that this concept can work?
The above thoughts were brought about by the fact that the neighbors, who live directly across the street, have their house up for sale, and the asking price is $309,000. This couple is a few years older than Linda and I. Last year they started paying someone to cut their lawn. I think that they both got tired of taking care of their home. They probably got tired of climbing up and down stairs to get to their bedrooms too.
I fell asleep watching the Red Sox. Maybe my friend was correct that watching professional sports could be kind of boring.
Observation – While at the golf course on Tuesday, I saw a bunch of former colleagues who were at a two day conference which was taking place in the ballroom of the Berkshire Hills Country Club. They were on a little break on a deck overlooking the first and tenth tee watching us three retired school department employees try and whack the ball. It brought back memories of all those conferences which we had to attend for Professional Development Points to maintain our certifications. A day on the golf course for four or five hours, even if you are playing badly, sure beats sitting in a ballroom all day long whether there are a lot of breaks in between the guest speakers.
Well, I hope that you all have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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