Hello on Friday Morning

Dear Friends,



Packing for a weekend wedding is much more different and difficult than packing to go off and visit the grandchildren. Linda did help me select which ties went with which outfits. She spent many more hours choosing her clothes than I did.



Our evening affairs went well. Linda had a great time with her girlfriends celebrating a friend’s birthday.



We both arrived home a little after the 9 PM hour. I went upstairs to watch a few innings of a playoff baseball game. I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes.



My evening went very well at Jae’s Spice Restaurant. There were only 7 of us, and we paid for the finger food that I thought we were getting. Liam Geddes Sr. was the only one who came over from Ireland. He was here to set up some singing gigs for his son who competed and was a finalist in the Irish version of American Idol. Liam and a local manger were heading off to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut today to see if they could arrange a gig there. They are also looking to do a show in the Albany area, and one in Northampton, and even more places if they can work out financial arrangements for these venues.



If Linda and I weren’t going to this New Hampshire wedding, a bunch of us, including Liam Sr., would be heading off to a gathering at Patrick’s Pub tonight where one of our Irish Sister members and his Jazz band will be performing this evening. They will have to party without Linda and me.



Observation – While at Jae’s Spice, I did notice that the place was packed with people in both the dinning and bar area. The economy must be very good for a whole bunch of people. To be a regular patron, you have to have a good cash flow just to afford the drinks at the place. The foods on the menu other hand are reasonably priced. You can pretty much go out to any restaurant around the supper hour, and find many people dinning out.

I still like to eat at home, and control what spices and salt goes into my food. This is the nice thing about being around the Berkshires in the winter time. It doesn’t matter whether the roads are covered with snow and ice or you are stuck in your house as long as you have a house full of comfort food. Our crock pot always gets a workout in the winter time. Now that we have an electronic pressure cooker, I can cook slow food fast without losing the flavor.

Pretty soon, we will be setting up our AeroGarden, and we will have fresh cooking spices all winter long.

With Mom in the nursing home, and dad trying to manage life on his own, it is difficult for me personally to close up our house, and head south for the winter.



Speaking of Mom, she didn’t remember that I visited her the other day. The nurse told my dad that I was there a little after lunchtime.

She still asks the same questions about how old she is, and where and why is she there at this particular nursing home? It is so sad when I leave after a visit, to see this once vibrant women confined to a nursing home while trying to function with one leg. If the doctor just left the aneurism that she had alone, and didn’t try and fix it with a stent which eventually kinked and caused irreparable blood clotting, she would still be living and functioning in the family home in Lee.



Our exit strategy for today is to leave a little after 9 AM. I am not looking forward to driving almost four hours to the wedding destination. We are using the Kia for our trip, and I am driving it. We haven’t taken the Kia outside of Pittsfield, or on any major highways. I am also realizing that my 2000 Subaru Wagon is okay, but it is not comparable to the Kia. I still have dreams of putting my XL ice fishing sled, my gas leaking ice auger, and all my ice fishing gear in the Kia, but Linda said not in her life time! She said that I can drive the Kia to our social functions, and drive it when she does some recreational shopping or while making grocery runs, and that it the extent of my using the Kia. Of course, I am in charge of keep the vehicle clean both inside and out as well as getting oil changes.



Yesterday, while eating handful of nuts, I felt something a little gritty in my mouth. The grit was a piece of one of my teeth. I hope that the particular tooth that it came from doesn’t bother me this weekend. I do have a 6 month check up coming up pretty soon, but it might be earlier if the broken tooth starts to bother me. Most normal people don’t need Dental Insurance because it is not really worth it. I am an exception to this rule.



Have a great Columbus Day weekend.

The weather in the Northeast will be sunny and fall like.

It is the kind of weather which Linda and I really love.



Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad