Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned with a few changes.
I was the first one who left the house once again. I drove directly to Lee. I fired up my father's snow blower, woke him up when I started the machine, and cleaned up the driveway. He had a neighbor with a plow do his driveway after the storm, but there was room for improvement.
After the snow blowing, I left to see Mom in the nursing home while Dad went off to do his morning routine (get a couple newspapers, and socialize with some of the locals).
Mom and her roommate seemed to be in good spirits. Her 95 year old roommate can use a walker to get around, but if she does go back home, she will need elder service care.
My Mom was happy to see me. Her dementia had me repeating things over and over again, but all of us family members don't mind the repetition.
After some leftover beef stew we headed off to the grocery store. I wish that I could have stayed home because I thought the trip would be short. I started meeting all kind of friends in the store, and began long conversations with them. I found out that a guy who I taught with in the Math Department had two stents put in arteries next to his heart. He is a year or so younger than me. Now visualize a guy who is in relatively good shape. He and some friends are always going hiking all over the Berkshire Hills. On one hike, he tells his friend that he has to take a break because he was having trouble grasping for air. He goes to the doctor, and he finds out that the arteries have 98% blockage. He is lucky that he made it back from that hike.
While in the supermarket, Linda gets a call from a girlfriend who wants Linda to go with her to the Lee Outlets to return a couple of items.
This meant that Linda would miss her Wednesday night knitting group, but being with her friend was more important. The friend's husband has been out of town and won't return until Friday. I think that the woman needed a friend to bond with.
While the women were doing their thing, I went of to a celebrity bartending event at the East Side Café. The event went from 6 to 9 PM. The celebrity bartenders were all of the members of the Pittsfield City Council. I was there from 6 to 9 PM. When I left, the party was still going on. The fundraiser was for a guy who has colon cancer. As of yesterday, the guys colon has pretty much been removed. The guy is still in the hospital. The current prognosis is good, but who really knows.
My philosophy that "Life is a crapshoot" seems to come true on a daily basis. Enjoy your family and friends each day, and don't sweat the little stuff.
Our son called last night saying that they will be leaving Tewksbury no later than 8 AM. Max should be with us close to noon if all goes well. I still have to do a little child proofing of our house before he arrives. We are mentally set for the toddler to tire us out each day from Thursday through Sunday.
I almost forgot that we have to deal with the two dogs also. We will cover all the couches in the house so that the dogs can rest comfortably. Where the dogs will be sleeping is another issue. Frankie Beans likes to sleep in bed with their owners. He is more like a child who needs a lot of hugs.
Max will be attending his first New Year's Eve Party for an hour or so before we put him in a portable crib. The party starts around the 6 PM Hour.
Only one couple has seen Max walking and doing his toddler routine. The other couples will experience the joy of having a toddler observing and touching everything.
News -- There isn't much going on nationally that peaked my interest. It is good that Congress is on its Holiday recess.
Locally, an electric blanket started a house fire in Pittsfield. No one got hurt, and the fire department put out the fire quickly. I am guessing that some lawyer read the article, and he has already started formulating a lawsuit.
Sports -- The Celtics not only lost their game, but lost one of their stars to a leg injury. All of us fans are hoping that it is muscle pull, ankle sprain which were the initial indications.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine.
You know what Linda and I will be doing.
Have a great day.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned with a few changes.
I was the first one who left the house once again. I drove directly to Lee. I fired up my father's snow blower, woke him up when I started the machine, and cleaned up the driveway. He had a neighbor with a plow do his driveway after the storm, but there was room for improvement.
After the snow blowing, I left to see Mom in the nursing home while Dad went off to do his morning routine (get a couple newspapers, and socialize with some of the locals).
Mom and her roommate seemed to be in good spirits. Her 95 year old roommate can use a walker to get around, but if she does go back home, she will need elder service care.
My Mom was happy to see me. Her dementia had me repeating things over and over again, but all of us family members don't mind the repetition.
After some leftover beef stew we headed off to the grocery store. I wish that I could have stayed home because I thought the trip would be short. I started meeting all kind of friends in the store, and began long conversations with them. I found out that a guy who I taught with in the Math Department had two stents put in arteries next to his heart. He is a year or so younger than me. Now visualize a guy who is in relatively good shape. He and some friends are always going hiking all over the Berkshire Hills. On one hike, he tells his friend that he has to take a break because he was having trouble grasping for air. He goes to the doctor, and he finds out that the arteries have 98% blockage. He is lucky that he made it back from that hike.
While in the supermarket, Linda gets a call from a girlfriend who wants Linda to go with her to the Lee Outlets to return a couple of items.
This meant that Linda would miss her Wednesday night knitting group, but being with her friend was more important. The friend's husband has been out of town and won't return until Friday. I think that the woman needed a friend to bond with.
While the women were doing their thing, I went of to a celebrity bartending event at the East Side Café. The event went from 6 to 9 PM. The celebrity bartenders were all of the members of the Pittsfield City Council. I was there from 6 to 9 PM. When I left, the party was still going on. The fundraiser was for a guy who has colon cancer. As of yesterday, the guys colon has pretty much been removed. The guy is still in the hospital. The current prognosis is good, but who really knows.
My philosophy that "Life is a crapshoot" seems to come true on a daily basis. Enjoy your family and friends each day, and don't sweat the little stuff.
Our son called last night saying that they will be leaving Tewksbury no later than 8 AM. Max should be with us close to noon if all goes well. I still have to do a little child proofing of our house before he arrives. We are mentally set for the toddler to tire us out each day from Thursday through Sunday.
I almost forgot that we have to deal with the two dogs also. We will cover all the couches in the house so that the dogs can rest comfortably. Where the dogs will be sleeping is another issue. Frankie Beans likes to sleep in bed with their owners. He is more like a child who needs a lot of hugs.
Max will be attending his first New Year's Eve Party for an hour or so before we put him in a portable crib. The party starts around the 6 PM Hour.
Only one couple has seen Max walking and doing his toddler routine. The other couples will experience the joy of having a toddler observing and touching everything.
News -- There isn't much going on nationally that peaked my interest. It is good that Congress is on its Holiday recess.
Locally, an electric blanket started a house fire in Pittsfield. No one got hurt, and the fire department put out the fire quickly. I am guessing that some lawyer read the article, and he has already started formulating a lawsuit.
Sports -- The Celtics not only lost their game, but lost one of their stars to a leg injury. All of us fans are hoping that it is muscle pull, ankle sprain which were the initial indications.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine.
You know what Linda and I will be doing.
Have a great day.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned with a few changes.
I was the first one who left the house once again. I drove directly to Lee. I fired up my father's snow blower, woke him up when I started the machine, and cleaned up the driveway. He had a neighbor with a plow do his driveway after the storm, but there was room for improvement.
After the snow blowing, I left to see Mom in the nursing home while Dad went off to do his morning routine (get a couple newspapers, and socialize with some of the locals).
Mom and her roommate seemed to be in good spirits. Her 95 year old roommate can use a walker to get around, but if she does go back home, she will need elder service care.
My Mom was happy to see me. Her dementia had me repeating things over and over again, but all of us family members don't mind the repetition.
After some leftover beef stew we headed off to the grocery store. I wish that I could have stayed home because I thought the trip would be short. I started meeting all kind of friends in the store, and began long conversations with them. I found out that a guy who I taught with in the Math Department had two stents put in arteries next to his heart. He is a year or so younger than me. Now visualize a guy who is in relatively good shape. He and some friends are always going hiking all over the Berkshire Hills. On one hike, he tells his friend that he has to take a break because he was having trouble grasping for air. He goes to the doctor, and he finds out that the arteries have 98% blockage. He is lucky that he made it back from that hike.
While in the supermarket, Linda gets a call from a girlfriend who wants Linda to go with her to the Lee Outlets to return a couple of items.
This meant that Linda would miss her Wednesday night knitting group, but being with her friend was more important. The friend's husband has been out of town and won't return until Friday. I think that the woman needed a friend to bond with.
While the women were doing their thing, I went of to a celebrity bartending event at the East Side Café. The event went from 6 to 9 PM. The celebrity bartenders were all of the members of the Pittsfield City Council. I was there from 6 to 9 PM. When I left, the party was still going on. The fundraiser was for a guy who has colon cancer. As of yesterday, the guys colon has pretty much been removed. The guy is still in the hospital. The current prognosis is good, but who really knows.
My philosophy that "Life is a crapshoot" seems to come true on a daily basis. Enjoy your family and friends each day, and don't sweat the little stuff.
Our son called last night saying that they will be leaving Tewksbury no later than 8 AM. Max should be with us close to noon if all goes well. I still have to do a little child proofing of our house before he arrives. We are mentally set for the toddler to tire us out each day from Thursday through Sunday.
I almost forgot that we have to deal with the two dogs also. We will cover all the couches in the house so that the dogs can rest comfortably. Where the dogs will be sleeping is another issue. Frankie Beans likes to sleep in bed with their owners. He is more like a child who needs a lot of hugs.
Max will be attending his first New Year's Eve Party for an hour or so before we put him in a portable crib. The party starts around the 6 PM Hour.
Only one couple has seen Max walking and doing his toddler routine. The other couples will experience the joy of having a toddler observing and touching everything.
News -- There isn't much going on nationally that peaked my interest. It is good that Congress is on its Holiday recess.
Locally, an electric blanket started a house fire in Pittsfield. No one got hurt, and the fire department put out the fire quickly. I am guessing that some lawyer read the article, and he has already started formulating a lawsuit.
Sports -- The Celtics not only lost their game, but lost one of their stars to a leg injury. All of us fans are hoping that it is muscle pull, ankle sprain which were the initial indications.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine.
You know what Linda and I will be doing.
Have a great day.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
We supposedly picked up 20 inches of snow in Pittsfield from the Sunday storm. It is 12 degrees out right now on the North side of our house. It is difficult to believe that we will be in the 40ties by the weekend with the possibility of rain falling instead of snow.
Our plow guy did our driveway, and I snow blowed the sidewalks in front of our house, and made paths to my bird feeders. The snow blower turned over quickly. I went 15 feet and the engine died. I forgot to fill up the gas tank when I moved the snow blower from the storage shed to the garage this past fall. I am pretty good about things like that because I always go by the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared!”
As I was dealing with the snow, I was thinking about our grandchild who will be with us toward the end of the week. Some of the drifts around here are so huge that he could fall down and never be able to get up. Frankie Beans, the long haired Daschund, couldn’t go dashing through any snow because he is so low to the ground. Even Billy, the border collie, would struggle chasing the squirrels at my birdfeeders.
I did leave the house for my noon time physical therapy appointment. He had me do some exercises for the leg which has the torn meniscus. He said that he would work with me to see if the physical therapy could help, but he sort of implied that a scope job is the best was to go if I want the pain to go away. Oh Joy!
When I left the house for my noon time appointment, the roads in Pittsfield were not plowed well. I just locked in the four wheel drive in Linda’s Kia Sportage, and I went dashing through the snow. I really love this vehicle. I could see this car loaded up with my ice-fishing gear, but it is not going to happen according to Linda.
Our friends did fly out of Logan for the 6 PM flight back to Atlanta. Boston got about 19 inches of snow. Most of Boston was shut down for the day.
Our crock pot soup was fabulous. My neighbor, who is on my daily blog, decided to brew one too since him and his wife didn’t have to go to work because of the snow. Since we had started our crock pot on Sunday night, we were able to have the beef stew for lunch and supper. We never got tired of such good comfort food.
Yesterday was our first full day of using the Keurig Coffee machine. So far we absolutely love it.
I did watch some sports last evening. The first contest was the Air Force vs Georgia Tech game. Air Force won the game. During the game I saw these guys from the Air Force Academy named Service catch the ball from the quarterback named Freedom. It took me a while to realize that half the team had the name Service on the back of their jerseys, and the other half had the name of Freedom on their Jerseys.
I did watch the Bruins win; the men’s U-Conn basketball team lose, and part of the Monday night football game before I went to bed.
Observation – How about Hugh Hefner getting ready to marry a woman 60 years younger than himself. He is 84 years old and she is 24 years old. I was trying to visualize what that would be like as they went out in public, and what it would be like in their love nest. In my mind, it is against the laws of nature. Hugh is old enough to be the girls’ grandparent, or even great grandparent. I was wondering what was going on in this woman’s mind. It was probably financially motivated. Do you think that she is thinking that she should sign a pre nuptial agreement for a reasonable sum of money first, and go from there? I am guessing that she is also thinking that she could make this old guy happy for a few short years until he croaks, and then she will be set for the rest of her young life. Why couldn’t Hugh be happy with his life style of being surrounded by young and vibrant women, and having sex with them for most of his adult life? Do you think that he might want to have a child? Do you think that he wants someone to grow old with? Do you think Hugh uses or needs Viagra? He would be a great person to have for those Viagra commercials on television or in the magazines.
Social Engagements – Linda has her Tuesday Mah Jongg session today from 11:30 AM to 4 PM. She then has her Golf group gathering at a local restaurant at the supper time hour. Since I didn’t have a chicken Novena the last time that I was home alone, I might have one for supper this evening. Simple things make us men happy.
I do have to prep the house for Max and the two dogs. My Man Cave has some remnants of wrapping paper, and wrapping supplies. I have to dig out some toys for Max. We put back some decorations on coffee tables which have to be removed too. Hopefully we will be able to tire him by getting him outdoors in the fresh air by doing a little sliding, and dashing in the snow. Maybe, I will make him a snow fort too. I hope his Mom packs his snow pants, and snow boots.
Have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
We supposedly picked up 20 inches of snow in Pittsfield from the Sunday storm. It is 12 degrees out right now on the North side of our house. It is difficult to believe that we will be in the 40ties by the weekend with the possibility of rain falling instead of snow.
Our plow guy did our driveway, and I snow blowed the sidewalks in front of our house, and made paths to my bird feeders. The snow blower turned over quickly. I went 15 feet and the engine died. I forgot to fill up the gas tank when I moved the snow blower from the storage shed to the garage this past fall. I am pretty good about things like that because I always go by the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared!”
As I was dealing with the snow, I was thinking about our grandchild who will be with us toward the end of the week. Some of the drifts around here are so huge that he could fall down and never be able to get up. Frankie Beans, the long haired Daschund, couldn’t go dashing through any snow because he is so low to the ground. Even Billy, the border collie, would struggle chasing the squirrels at my birdfeeders.
I did leave the house for my noon time physical therapy appointment. He had me do some exercises for the leg which has the torn meniscus. He said that he would work with me to see if the physical therapy could help, but he sort of implied that a scope job is the best was to go if I want the pain to go away. Oh Joy!
When I left the house for my noon time appointment, the roads in Pittsfield were not plowed well. I just locked in the four wheel drive in Linda’s Kia Sportage, and I went dashing through the snow. I really love this vehicle. I could see this car loaded up with my ice-fishing gear, but it is not going to happen according to Linda.
Our friends did fly out of Logan for the 6 PM flight back to Atlanta. Boston got about 19 inches of snow. Most of Boston was shut down for the day.
Our crock pot soup was fabulous. My neighbor, who is on my daily blog, decided to brew one too since him and his wife didn’t have to go to work because of the snow. Since we had started our crock pot on Sunday night, we were able to have the beef stew for lunch and supper. We never got tired of such good comfort food.
Yesterday was our first full day of using the Keurig Coffee machine. So far we absolutely love it.
I did watch some sports last evening. The first contest was the Air Force vs Georgia Tech game. Air Force won the game. During the game I saw these guys from the Air Force Academy named Service catch the ball from the quarterback named Freedom. It took me a while to realize that half the team had the name Service on the back of their jerseys, and the other half had the name of Freedom on their Jerseys.
I did watch the Bruins win; the men’s U-Conn basketball team lose, and part of the Monday night football game before I went to bed.
Observation – How about Hugh Hefner getting ready to marry a woman 60 years younger than himself. He is 84 years old and she is 24 years old. I was trying to visualize what that would be like as they went out in public, and what it would be like in their love nest. In my mind, it is against the laws of nature. Hugh is old enough to be the girls’ grandparent, or even great grandparent. I was wondering what was going on in this woman’s mind. It was probably financially motivated. Do you think that she is thinking that she should sign a pre nuptial agreement for a reasonable sum of money first, and go from there? I am guessing that she is also thinking that she could make this old guy happy for a few short years until he croaks, and then she will be set for the rest of her young life. Why couldn’t Hugh be happy with his life style of being surrounded by young and vibrant women, and having sex with them for most of his adult life? Do you think that he might want to have a child? Do you think that he wants someone to grow old with? Do you think Hugh uses or needs Viagra? He would be a great person to have for those Viagra commercials on television or in the magazines.
Social Engagements – Linda has her Tuesday Mah Jongg session today from 11:30 AM to 4 PM. She then has her Golf group gathering at a local restaurant at the supper time hour. Since I didn’t have a chicken Novena the last time that I was home alone, I might have one for supper this evening. Simple things make us men happy.
I do have to prep the house for Max and the two dogs. My Man Cave has some remnants of wrapping paper, and wrapping supplies. I have to dig out some toys for Max. We put back some decorations on coffee tables which have to be removed too. Hopefully we will be able to tire him by getting him outdoors in the fresh air by doing a little sliding, and dashing in the snow. Maybe, I will make him a snow fort too. I hope his Mom packs his snow pants, and snow boots.
Have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, December 27, 2010
Hello on Monday morning
Dear Friends,
Our Sunday went very well. We left North Tewksbury around 10 AM hoping to beat the snow storm. The ride home was on dry pavement for most of the journey. There was a lot of cars on the Mass Turnpike going both east and west, and there were occasional slow downs, but all in all it was a smooth ride.
We unpacked the car when we arrived home, freshened up, and headed to see our Dalton friends. We went there in particular to see their son and his family who flew in from Atlanta. Their daughter, Noelle, is still afraid of me. I haven’t felt the warmth there since she was born. She has mellowed a little, but she keeps her distance from me. Of course, she gravitates toward Linda, and they were working on coloring books, draw pictures together, and she would let Linda read books to her. I was in their family room alone at one point, and she came in the room. When she saw me, she bolted back into the living room where all the women were hanging out.
The Dalton family has a 6 PM flight out of Logan today. I am not sure if it is going to happen today.
Kevin is supposed to open his restaurant in East Boston, but our Governor has told all State and municipal workers (except for the people who plow the roads) to stay home today. Boston and surrounding communities are all shut down. Newark Airport, and LaGuardia Airport are shut down as of this moment.
Linda and I have a crock pot Beef Stew brewing as I type this e-mail. I sliced and diced everything before I went to bed. Linda put in all the spices, etc., and started the Beef Stew before we went to bed.
I do have a physical therapy appointment at noon today, and I think that is the only thing on our social calendar.
I just set up and had my first cup of coffee in our new Keurig Coffee maker. Our sons and their families split the cost of the device, and gave it to us as a Christmas Present. I have used similar devices at the homes of families and friends so the set up was easy.
Linda also got me another gift which I absolutely love. My Food Saver Seal a Meal device, which I own already, was starting to get tired. We bought my Food Saver when they first came out on the market. She bought me the updated version of the device which can do so much more than my older one can do. I can even seal soft foods like cookies without crushing them. Yes, I know that some of you are thinking that: “Why does a retired couple with no children at home need such a device?” As an example, I can purchase a whole pork loin, and cut it up into three sections, and seal each piece, and put them in our freezer. When there is a sale on meats, I can purchase several of the sale items and seal them. Cheese is another food item that seals well. If we purchase a large hunk of cheese, and use a small portion, I can seal the rest. I have never had to throw out a piece of moldy cheese.
The weather guy said that the snow in the Berkshires will stop around noon, and the skies should clear. It is snowing pretty hard right now. While we were in Dalton yesterday, there was much, food, fun and merriment. When we left the gathering last evening, Linda decided to drive the car on the snow covered roads. Her Kia worked so well in the snow. She locked in the four wheel drive, and drove like she was Queen of the road. If she had to drive her Neon, she probably would have never left our friend’s home.
By the end of the week, the temperatures will rise to low 40’s.
Max will be staying with us later on this week. The dogs, Billy and Frankie Beans, will be vacationing in the Berkshires too.
Sports – I hope that your favorite football team won their game on Sunday. The Patriots did their thing, and they just keep on winning.
The Jets, who most of us Patriot fans detest, lose their game, but still make it to the playoffs.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine. When the snow stops, I will fire up the snow blower. My plow guy will do my driveway, but I will do the sidewalks, and make paths to my birdfeeders.
Have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Sunday went very well. We left North Tewksbury around 10 AM hoping to beat the snow storm. The ride home was on dry pavement for most of the journey. There was a lot of cars on the Mass Turnpike going both east and west, and there were occasional slow downs, but all in all it was a smooth ride.
We unpacked the car when we arrived home, freshened up, and headed to see our Dalton friends. We went there in particular to see their son and his family who flew in from Atlanta. Their daughter, Noelle, is still afraid of me. I haven’t felt the warmth there since she was born. She has mellowed a little, but she keeps her distance from me. Of course, she gravitates toward Linda, and they were working on coloring books, draw pictures together, and she would let Linda read books to her. I was in their family room alone at one point, and she came in the room. When she saw me, she bolted back into the living room where all the women were hanging out.
The Dalton family has a 6 PM flight out of Logan today. I am not sure if it is going to happen today.
Kevin is supposed to open his restaurant in East Boston, but our Governor has told all State and municipal workers (except for the people who plow the roads) to stay home today. Boston and surrounding communities are all shut down. Newark Airport, and LaGuardia Airport are shut down as of this moment.
Linda and I have a crock pot Beef Stew brewing as I type this e-mail. I sliced and diced everything before I went to bed. Linda put in all the spices, etc., and started the Beef Stew before we went to bed.
I do have a physical therapy appointment at noon today, and I think that is the only thing on our social calendar.
I just set up and had my first cup of coffee in our new Keurig Coffee maker. Our sons and their families split the cost of the device, and gave it to us as a Christmas Present. I have used similar devices at the homes of families and friends so the set up was easy.
Linda also got me another gift which I absolutely love. My Food Saver Seal a Meal device, which I own already, was starting to get tired. We bought my Food Saver when they first came out on the market. She bought me the updated version of the device which can do so much more than my older one can do. I can even seal soft foods like cookies without crushing them. Yes, I know that some of you are thinking that: “Why does a retired couple with no children at home need such a device?” As an example, I can purchase a whole pork loin, and cut it up into three sections, and seal each piece, and put them in our freezer. When there is a sale on meats, I can purchase several of the sale items and seal them. Cheese is another food item that seals well. If we purchase a large hunk of cheese, and use a small portion, I can seal the rest. I have never had to throw out a piece of moldy cheese.
The weather guy said that the snow in the Berkshires will stop around noon, and the skies should clear. It is snowing pretty hard right now. While we were in Dalton yesterday, there was much, food, fun and merriment. When we left the gathering last evening, Linda decided to drive the car on the snow covered roads. Her Kia worked so well in the snow. She locked in the four wheel drive, and drove like she was Queen of the road. If she had to drive her Neon, she probably would have never left our friend’s home.
By the end of the week, the temperatures will rise to low 40’s.
Max will be staying with us later on this week. The dogs, Billy and Frankie Beans, will be vacationing in the Berkshires too.
Sports – I hope that your favorite football team won their game on Sunday. The Patriots did their thing, and they just keep on winning.
The Jets, who most of us Patriot fans detest, lose their game, but still make it to the playoffs.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine. When the snow stops, I will fire up the snow blower. My plow guy will do my driveway, but I will do the sidewalks, and make paths to my birdfeeders.
Have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Hello on the day after Christmas
Dear Friends,
There is a light snow falling right now. I hope that the coastal one heading to
the Northeast cranks up after we are back home in Pittsfield.
After Linda and I said our goodbye's to the Brodeur family from our two hour
visit on Christmas Day, we started to get hungry. Kevin and I decided to cut up
the tenderloin, which we brought, into steaks. Kyla had an extra dish of
scalloped potatoes from the Christmas Day meal which we heated up too. Kevin
whipped up some frozen peas (which is the one vegetable which Kyla doesn't
like). I toasted up some rolls after I put butter and some Parmesan cheese on
them, and the meal was complete. There was a little of the trifle concoction
which we ate during a pay for view movie which we watched on the television.
It is 7 AM, and Max is still sleeping. I hope that he wakes up without the low
grade fever that he had yesterday. When he is not active, you know that he is
fighting some kind of illness.
Kevin's first activity of the day is purchase a couple of snow shovels. He said
that he does know some guys who he could pay to plow his driveway.
Have to go.
Max is throwing his toys out of his crib. He will be calling me to rescue him
very soon.
Have a relaxing day at whatever you are doing today.
Hopefully, I will be home to catch most of the 1 PM Patriot Game.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
There is a light snow falling right now. I hope that the coastal one heading to
the Northeast cranks up after we are back home in Pittsfield.
After Linda and I said our goodbye's to the Brodeur family from our two hour
visit on Christmas Day, we started to get hungry. Kevin and I decided to cut up
the tenderloin, which we brought, into steaks. Kyla had an extra dish of
scalloped potatoes from the Christmas Day meal which we heated up too. Kevin
whipped up some frozen peas (which is the one vegetable which Kyla doesn't
like). I toasted up some rolls after I put butter and some Parmesan cheese on
them, and the meal was complete. There was a little of the trifle concoction
which we ate during a pay for view movie which we watched on the television.
It is 7 AM, and Max is still sleeping. I hope that he wakes up without the low
grade fever that he had yesterday. When he is not active, you know that he is
fighting some kind of illness.
Kevin's first activity of the day is purchase a couple of snow shovels. He said
that he does know some guys who he could pay to plow his driveway.
Have to go.
Max is throwing his toys out of his crib. He will be calling me to rescue him
very soon.
Have a relaxing day at whatever you are doing today.
Hopefully, I will be home to catch most of the 1 PM Patriot Game.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Hello on Christmas Day
Dear Friends,
Hope that all of you had a great day before Christmas as we did. We had much food, fun, and merriment all day long starting a little after 1 PM. I did take a morning nap even before Max went down for his nap.
It was kind of nice watching Max and his one year older friend, Henry, interact, resolve conflicts, and enjoy each other.
Our main meal of the day was a whole ham. I am not talking about the ones that the average person buys in the grocery stores. Visualize that you are in a buffet line at a carving station with a chef cutting off pieces of ham as the guests go through the line. Jason Heard, who works for a big time Boston restaurant brined, seasoned, and smoked this beast in the smoker at the restaurant where he works. We have never had a ham dinner with ham that tasted like this one.
Kyla went into her domestic goddess mode, and made scalloped potatoes which were so good, and a mushroomed concoction to put on the ham, and creamed pearl onions (which I had never had before). No one left this dinner table hungry.
Kyla was a little nervous that the trifle, which she made the day before, didn't come out like the family recipe which she was using said that it should. Again, everyone at the dinner table enjoyed it including Max.
Max continues to be such a good eater. Kevin and Kyla have been doing a great job insuring that Max eats or at least tries to eat everything.
The two sets of guests left the house around 8:30 PM. I was bobbing and weaving on the couch, and occasionally starting to snore. I didn't last much longer than 9:30 PM. I know that Linda stayed up until her usual 1 AM.
I am currently fighting a little cold which I don't know where I picked it up. My friend up the street in Pittsfield, who picked me up for our UNICO meeting, was fighting a three week cold, and he was on antibiotics on that particular evening. No one appears to be sick in this household. I hope that I don't pass it on to anyone here in Tewksbury. I was also thinking that I could have picked it up last weekend when I attended a memorial Mass for an Irish friend. I never liked the part of the Mass where you share the sign of piece by shaking hands of the people all around you. Last year many churches in Massachusetts banned this practice as the flu season was in full force. You may think that I am paranoid, but after being with my Mom in hospitals and nursing homes for the past two years, hand washing was and still is part of the daily routine of all workers and for people visiting their loved ones.
Well, today is the big day. Max will be up very soon. I haven't figured out how I am going to control Max so that he doesn't open all the presents which Kevin put under the tree last night. Many presents are for Max, but there are some presents for the adults too. Linda and Kevin and Kyla will be taking some amazing pictures before this day is over.
Our plan today is to open presents when everyone wakes up. Breakfast will contain eggs and some of the ham leftover from yesterday. Linda said that she would cook a beef tenderloin with all the fixings for Christmas Day dinner. The Celtics are playing an afternoon game.
At some point today, we will head over to the Brodeur's who are hosting a dinner for their relatives. Ginny wants to serve their traditional Christmas Day Prime Rib Dinner at 1 PM. As long as there are some kind of desserts left when we arrive, I will be very happy.
Speaking of the Brodeur's, I dropped some presents off for their grandchild yesterday. Jerry and Ginny gave me a little something for my birthday. I told them if the lottery ticket which they put in with my birthday card was a big winner that I would share the winnings with them. Well, the lottery card was a bust. The other gift, which was in the bag, was a tee shirt. They must be tired of me saying that "Life is Good!". This tee shirt says "Life is Crap!" There is a a picture of a bird pooping on a figure on the tee shirt. What a very thoughtful and appropriate gift for me.
Our other son, who is with his in-laws in Minnesota, said that they have 2 feet of snow in Lakeville, MN. He has been taking Isabelle out for some sliding.
Linda and I hope that everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends like the one which we are going to have today.
We wish that everyone has a very Merry Christmas.
For us who are lucky to have grandchildren, we will continue on with the tradition of spoiling our grandchildren rotten.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hope that all of you had a great day before Christmas as we did. We had much food, fun, and merriment all day long starting a little after 1 PM. I did take a morning nap even before Max went down for his nap.
It was kind of nice watching Max and his one year older friend, Henry, interact, resolve conflicts, and enjoy each other.
Our main meal of the day was a whole ham. I am not talking about the ones that the average person buys in the grocery stores. Visualize that you are in a buffet line at a carving station with a chef cutting off pieces of ham as the guests go through the line. Jason Heard, who works for a big time Boston restaurant brined, seasoned, and smoked this beast in the smoker at the restaurant where he works. We have never had a ham dinner with ham that tasted like this one.
Kyla went into her domestic goddess mode, and made scalloped potatoes which were so good, and a mushroomed concoction to put on the ham, and creamed pearl onions (which I had never had before). No one left this dinner table hungry.
Kyla was a little nervous that the trifle, which she made the day before, didn't come out like the family recipe which she was using said that it should. Again, everyone at the dinner table enjoyed it including Max.
Max continues to be such a good eater. Kevin and Kyla have been doing a great job insuring that Max eats or at least tries to eat everything.
The two sets of guests left the house around 8:30 PM. I was bobbing and weaving on the couch, and occasionally starting to snore. I didn't last much longer than 9:30 PM. I know that Linda stayed up until her usual 1 AM.
I am currently fighting a little cold which I don't know where I picked it up. My friend up the street in Pittsfield, who picked me up for our UNICO meeting, was fighting a three week cold, and he was on antibiotics on that particular evening. No one appears to be sick in this household. I hope that I don't pass it on to anyone here in Tewksbury. I was also thinking that I could have picked it up last weekend when I attended a memorial Mass for an Irish friend. I never liked the part of the Mass where you share the sign of piece by shaking hands of the people all around you. Last year many churches in Massachusetts banned this practice as the flu season was in full force. You may think that I am paranoid, but after being with my Mom in hospitals and nursing homes for the past two years, hand washing was and still is part of the daily routine of all workers and for people visiting their loved ones.
Well, today is the big day. Max will be up very soon. I haven't figured out how I am going to control Max so that he doesn't open all the presents which Kevin put under the tree last night. Many presents are for Max, but there are some presents for the adults too. Linda and Kevin and Kyla will be taking some amazing pictures before this day is over.
Our plan today is to open presents when everyone wakes up. Breakfast will contain eggs and some of the ham leftover from yesterday. Linda said that she would cook a beef tenderloin with all the fixings for Christmas Day dinner. The Celtics are playing an afternoon game.
At some point today, we will head over to the Brodeur's who are hosting a dinner for their relatives. Ginny wants to serve their traditional Christmas Day Prime Rib Dinner at 1 PM. As long as there are some kind of desserts left when we arrive, I will be very happy.
Speaking of the Brodeur's, I dropped some presents off for their grandchild yesterday. Jerry and Ginny gave me a little something for my birthday. I told them if the lottery ticket which they put in with my birthday card was a big winner that I would share the winnings with them. Well, the lottery card was a bust. The other gift, which was in the bag, was a tee shirt. They must be tired of me saying that "Life is Good!". This tee shirt says "Life is Crap!" There is a a picture of a bird pooping on a figure on the tee shirt. What a very thoughtful and appropriate gift for me.
Our other son, who is with his in-laws in Minnesota, said that they have 2 feet of snow in Lakeville, MN. He has been taking Isabelle out for some sliding.
Linda and I hope that everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends like the one which we are going to have today.
We wish that everyone has a very Merry Christmas.
For us who are lucky to have grandchildren, we will continue on with the tradition of spoiling our grandchildren rotten.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
It is so difficult to believe that 64 year ago today that I came into this world. Even though bearing me wasn’t easy for my mother since I was a breach baby (butt first), and almost killed my mother during child birth, I think that I turned out okay.
I have so much to be thankful for since I found a wonderful woman to marry and have a family with. Our two sons then found their perfect mates, and are now carrying on the Curley tradition.
Besides a few aches and pains that Linda and I wake up with every day; “Life is Good!”
I was the first one to leave the house on Wednesday. I did a few errands while Linda was doing her morning routine.
She did have a successful body maintenance procedure done at noon. I decided to take a quick nap while she was going through her hour long procedure.
When she arrived home, I loaded up the car with gifts, and we both went off to deliver them. Our first stop was to the nursing home. Mom was in her bed resting when we arrived. I didn’t think that she looked that good. My sister had told me that certain medications will make her look that way.
We were hoping to see my dad during the visit. I called dad, and he was home in Lee suffering what seemed to be a bad cold.
He said that he will be having Christmas Day Dinner at the nursing home with Mom. My sister did invite him to come to her house on Christmas Day to have some dessert. He told me that he would see how he feels before making the trip from the nursing home to Pittsfield.
Our exit strategy is to depart Pittsfield no later than 10 AM today, earlier if I had my choice. When you have been married long enough, “Yes dear” is a key phrase to a happy marriage.
We had an unplanned date night last evening. Linda went off to be with her knitting group, but only Linda and a one other woman showed up. They decided to pack up their knitting and go home!
This woman is a teacher at Taconic, and she was there as I retired in June of 2004. She said that the kids in Pittsfield have a half day of school today, but the teachers have workshops for the other half of the day. Yes, I remember those teacher workshop days, and I don’t miss them at all.
It is so early, and I can’t make any noise until the Queen wakes up. The Kia will look like we are traveling sales people as we exit the house today. The car will be so full of stuff that we won’t have any room in the car except for the driver and one passenger. I might even need our soft luggage car top carrier. Just kidding!
Politics – I see where the Lame Duck Congress has been making some very good progress during these last few days before they have their Christmas Recess. Comprise is taking place at such a very rapid pace. President Obama is starting to look real good as our leader which is what the Republicans don’t want to hear as they gain control of Congress in January of 2011.
Christmas – This will be a real change for Linda and me this year. We have always been home for Christmas whether we have one or both of our sons home with us. We have already told at least two families that we won’t be at their house for Christmas Eve.
On the other hand, we are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day at our son’s home. We weren’t asked to bring or make anything. Our daughter-in-law said that she has that all covered. We are going to bring a Beef Tenderloin, and Linda and I have offered to make Christmas Day dinner.
Speaking of food, we ended up at Applebees last evening for supper. We ate from the two for $20 menu. Linda had the 7 ounce steak, and I had a healthy oriental salad, but with a large serving of Blue Cheeses since they ran out of the oriental dressing (which we couldn’t believe.)
Observation – We did notice that all of the wait staff was all dressed in blue jeans and an Applebees’ Shirt. We didn’t like how they were dressed. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference between the staff and the customers. Our immediate thoughts were that what the wait staff was wearing was very unprofessional. Of course, this goes back to the manager of the place allowing this loose dress code.
Another thing that we don’t like at Applebees is the person who takes your order doesn’t bring the food. The appetizers are delivered by a different person too. Linda asked for some steak sauce. She had to wait for a long time because all the people in the restaurant were sharing one bottle of A-1 Sauce. After the bottle did make it to our table, a waitress came over in about 2 seconds and took it away so that another person could use it for their steak.
What we observed, and what we were ticked off with is exactly why the Pittsfield School Committee is trying to do through contract negotiations. The Committee wants to set up a Dress Code for teachers as a bargaining tool. You would think that a person who made it through high school, college, and securing a Masters’ Degree would know how to dress properly, but there is no guarantee that this is the case. I still see people going to wakes and funerals in blue jeans. Some times the pall bearers will be walking along side of the casket in blue Jeans too.
My dentist said that he was asked to attend a wedding for one of his former employees. He dresses up in wearing a sport coat and a tie. He sees guests at the wedding wearing tee shirts. There is not one baby boomer that I know of who would attend a wedding in a tee shirt. I always go back to the saying that; “You act the way you dress!”
Have a super Christmas and a Happy New Year’s.
I hope that all of you have family and friends to share the day with no matter what religion or God which you believe in.
If you do feel the warmth during this Holiday season, hold on to it for as long as you can.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It is so difficult to believe that 64 year ago today that I came into this world. Even though bearing me wasn’t easy for my mother since I was a breach baby (butt first), and almost killed my mother during child birth, I think that I turned out okay.
I have so much to be thankful for since I found a wonderful woman to marry and have a family with. Our two sons then found their perfect mates, and are now carrying on the Curley tradition.
Besides a few aches and pains that Linda and I wake up with every day; “Life is Good!”
I was the first one to leave the house on Wednesday. I did a few errands while Linda was doing her morning routine.
She did have a successful body maintenance procedure done at noon. I decided to take a quick nap while she was going through her hour long procedure.
When she arrived home, I loaded up the car with gifts, and we both went off to deliver them. Our first stop was to the nursing home. Mom was in her bed resting when we arrived. I didn’t think that she looked that good. My sister had told me that certain medications will make her look that way.
We were hoping to see my dad during the visit. I called dad, and he was home in Lee suffering what seemed to be a bad cold.
He said that he will be having Christmas Day Dinner at the nursing home with Mom. My sister did invite him to come to her house on Christmas Day to have some dessert. He told me that he would see how he feels before making the trip from the nursing home to Pittsfield.
Our exit strategy is to depart Pittsfield no later than 10 AM today, earlier if I had my choice. When you have been married long enough, “Yes dear” is a key phrase to a happy marriage.
We had an unplanned date night last evening. Linda went off to be with her knitting group, but only Linda and a one other woman showed up. They decided to pack up their knitting and go home!
This woman is a teacher at Taconic, and she was there as I retired in June of 2004. She said that the kids in Pittsfield have a half day of school today, but the teachers have workshops for the other half of the day. Yes, I remember those teacher workshop days, and I don’t miss them at all.
It is so early, and I can’t make any noise until the Queen wakes up. The Kia will look like we are traveling sales people as we exit the house today. The car will be so full of stuff that we won’t have any room in the car except for the driver and one passenger. I might even need our soft luggage car top carrier. Just kidding!
Politics – I see where the Lame Duck Congress has been making some very good progress during these last few days before they have their Christmas Recess. Comprise is taking place at such a very rapid pace. President Obama is starting to look real good as our leader which is what the Republicans don’t want to hear as they gain control of Congress in January of 2011.
Christmas – This will be a real change for Linda and me this year. We have always been home for Christmas whether we have one or both of our sons home with us. We have already told at least two families that we won’t be at their house for Christmas Eve.
On the other hand, we are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day at our son’s home. We weren’t asked to bring or make anything. Our daughter-in-law said that she has that all covered. We are going to bring a Beef Tenderloin, and Linda and I have offered to make Christmas Day dinner.
Speaking of food, we ended up at Applebees last evening for supper. We ate from the two for $20 menu. Linda had the 7 ounce steak, and I had a healthy oriental salad, but with a large serving of Blue Cheeses since they ran out of the oriental dressing (which we couldn’t believe.)
Observation – We did notice that all of the wait staff was all dressed in blue jeans and an Applebees’ Shirt. We didn’t like how they were dressed. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference between the staff and the customers. Our immediate thoughts were that what the wait staff was wearing was very unprofessional. Of course, this goes back to the manager of the place allowing this loose dress code.
Another thing that we don’t like at Applebees is the person who takes your order doesn’t bring the food. The appetizers are delivered by a different person too. Linda asked for some steak sauce. She had to wait for a long time because all the people in the restaurant were sharing one bottle of A-1 Sauce. After the bottle did make it to our table, a waitress came over in about 2 seconds and took it away so that another person could use it for their steak.
What we observed, and what we were ticked off with is exactly why the Pittsfield School Committee is trying to do through contract negotiations. The Committee wants to set up a Dress Code for teachers as a bargaining tool. You would think that a person who made it through high school, college, and securing a Masters’ Degree would know how to dress properly, but there is no guarantee that this is the case. I still see people going to wakes and funerals in blue jeans. Some times the pall bearers will be walking along side of the casket in blue Jeans too.
My dentist said that he was asked to attend a wedding for one of his former employees. He dresses up in wearing a sport coat and a tie. He sees guests at the wedding wearing tee shirts. There is not one baby boomer that I know of who would attend a wedding in a tee shirt. I always go back to the saying that; “You act the way you dress!”
Have a super Christmas and a Happy New Year’s.
I hope that all of you have family and friends to share the day with no matter what religion or God which you believe in.
If you do feel the warmth during this Holiday season, hold on to it for as long as you can.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Hello on Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Please excuse the rather early hour that I am sending this e-mail. I am like a little kid thinking about Christmas and Santa Claus. My bio-rhythm is out of whack, but I still feel great!
Our Tuesday went as planned for the most part. I wrapped the presents which I was assigned to wrap, and completed that project before 7 AM. Since I wrapped them in the basement, I was extremely quiet.
Linda wakes up and comes downstairs at 8:30 AM, and said: “Why are you here?” I sat dumfounded until she told me that my doctor’s appointment was for 8:10 AM. I had 11 AM on the brain, but never checked the words written on our calendar. I got dressed in about two seconds, and headed off to the appointment which was about 5 miles from our home. I walked into the doctor’s office really wired. The two secretaries told me to calm down, and that it was no big deal that I was late. Sure, tell this to a person who is never late to anything including wakes and funerals. The dermatologist said that the “tags” on my body were all normal, and non cancerous. I felt great after the doctor gave me a clean bill of health.
While I was doing my thing, the telephone rang at home. Linda answered it when she saw the telephone call was from Kyla’s cell phone. Well the cell phone call was from our 16 month old grandchild, Max, from North Tewksbury. He was playing with her cell phone, and randomly pushed the buttons to make the call.
I stopped at the Subaru dealer on the way back home, and got the two rods which hold up my hatch back window on the Subaru replaced. One rod had rusted out and broken, and the other was close to falling apart. Within 30 minutes, they were replaced.
Linda was just about heading out the door to play Mah Jongg as I arrived home.
Linda was lucky playing Mah Jongg on Tuesday. I told her to go out and buy some lottery tickets hoping that her luck would continue.
While she was playing Mah Jongg, I squeezed in an early afternoon nap. I then went off to fill out my football pool at Berkshire Hills. I got caught up with a couple of guys socializing, and buying each other beverages.
Linda and I had another date night last evening. Fish and Chips for two at Matt Rielly’s Pub is where we went for supper.
Social Calendar – Today we are going to be like elves, and deliver some presents to people whom we are going to miss this year since we are going east for Christmas. We are also going to do a little packing for the few day adventure. Most of the packing of the car will involve packing stuff which we are bringing to Tewksbury, and not so much clothes. We had to make a list so that we wouldn’t forget anything.
Linda does have a body maintenance procedure at noon today.
I believe Linda is going off to her knitting group gathering at Panera Bread this evening. I might do a Chicken Novena while she is gone.
Linda booked in some flights for mid January for us to visit with our two grandchildren from Kansas. They can’t wait to see us, and we can’t wait to see them.
Politics – Sarah Palin’s Alaska is already booked in for another 8 weeks. She gets $250,000 per episode for the eight programs which she has done so far on The Learning Channel. The program has been so popular that she will be paid a bit more per episode. From The Learning Channel to President of the United States is quite a leap, but she appears to be heading in that direction.
Weather – It has been cool, but no snow for us in the Berkshires. Our weather guy is confident that snow will arrive Christmas night, and into the day after Christmas. Our local weather guy is convinced that we will be getting some measurable snow this time. I was amazed that Cape Cod got close to a foot of snow the other day while we didn’t get a flake to fall in the Berkshires. My snow blower needs a workout.
Sports -- I went into our storage shed to get some sun flower seeds to replenish my multiple bird feeders on Tuesday. My ice-fishing gear was calling me to get out there and commune with nature. Once I get my droopy eyelid gets fixed, and get my leg repaired, I will head out to the frozen ponds.
Linda loves it when I go ice-fishing too. I leave the house around daylight (while she is still sleeping), and she has no one to bug her as she goes through her morning routine. Ice-fishing days are the ones where I fire up the crock pot before I leave the house, and come home to a great comfort food type meal. I still haven’t convinced any of my baby boomer friends to join me on the ice. They seem to like going south, and wearing summer like clothes as opposed to dressing up for the cold weather. I do have one friend who is almost ready to retire that might join me on the frozen ponds.
Sports continued – The College Football Bowls have started. Does anyone really care about most of these games? A good number of the combatants are on teams which we have never seen on national television. There are so many College Bowl Games that the average sports’ fan can’t keep them all straight.
None of my New England based professional teams played on Tuesday. Oh Darn!
Gift Stealing – There have been a couple of incidents in the Boston area, and the Albany, New York area where people have broken into storage pods or rooms in buildings and have stolen thousands of dollars worth of “Toys for Tots.” I don’t know how people can be so cruel and heartless. Maybe if the thieves spent time with some of these needy people they wouldn’t think of stealing the toys. The police are working very hard to capture the bandits. If the police do catch them, I hope that they make examples of them through public humiliation.
Well, it is so early that I am going to try and go back to bed right now.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Please excuse the rather early hour that I am sending this e-mail. I am like a little kid thinking about Christmas and Santa Claus. My bio-rhythm is out of whack, but I still feel great!
Our Tuesday went as planned for the most part. I wrapped the presents which I was assigned to wrap, and completed that project before 7 AM. Since I wrapped them in the basement, I was extremely quiet.
Linda wakes up and comes downstairs at 8:30 AM, and said: “Why are you here?” I sat dumfounded until she told me that my doctor’s appointment was for 8:10 AM. I had 11 AM on the brain, but never checked the words written on our calendar. I got dressed in about two seconds, and headed off to the appointment which was about 5 miles from our home. I walked into the doctor’s office really wired. The two secretaries told me to calm down, and that it was no big deal that I was late. Sure, tell this to a person who is never late to anything including wakes and funerals. The dermatologist said that the “tags” on my body were all normal, and non cancerous. I felt great after the doctor gave me a clean bill of health.
While I was doing my thing, the telephone rang at home. Linda answered it when she saw the telephone call was from Kyla’s cell phone. Well the cell phone call was from our 16 month old grandchild, Max, from North Tewksbury. He was playing with her cell phone, and randomly pushed the buttons to make the call.
I stopped at the Subaru dealer on the way back home, and got the two rods which hold up my hatch back window on the Subaru replaced. One rod had rusted out and broken, and the other was close to falling apart. Within 30 minutes, they were replaced.
Linda was just about heading out the door to play Mah Jongg as I arrived home.
Linda was lucky playing Mah Jongg on Tuesday. I told her to go out and buy some lottery tickets hoping that her luck would continue.
While she was playing Mah Jongg, I squeezed in an early afternoon nap. I then went off to fill out my football pool at Berkshire Hills. I got caught up with a couple of guys socializing, and buying each other beverages.
Linda and I had another date night last evening. Fish and Chips for two at Matt Rielly’s Pub is where we went for supper.
Social Calendar – Today we are going to be like elves, and deliver some presents to people whom we are going to miss this year since we are going east for Christmas. We are also going to do a little packing for the few day adventure. Most of the packing of the car will involve packing stuff which we are bringing to Tewksbury, and not so much clothes. We had to make a list so that we wouldn’t forget anything.
Linda does have a body maintenance procedure at noon today.
I believe Linda is going off to her knitting group gathering at Panera Bread this evening. I might do a Chicken Novena while she is gone.
Linda booked in some flights for mid January for us to visit with our two grandchildren from Kansas. They can’t wait to see us, and we can’t wait to see them.
Politics – Sarah Palin’s Alaska is already booked in for another 8 weeks. She gets $250,000 per episode for the eight programs which she has done so far on The Learning Channel. The program has been so popular that she will be paid a bit more per episode. From The Learning Channel to President of the United States is quite a leap, but she appears to be heading in that direction.
Weather – It has been cool, but no snow for us in the Berkshires. Our weather guy is confident that snow will arrive Christmas night, and into the day after Christmas. Our local weather guy is convinced that we will be getting some measurable snow this time. I was amazed that Cape Cod got close to a foot of snow the other day while we didn’t get a flake to fall in the Berkshires. My snow blower needs a workout.
Sports -- I went into our storage shed to get some sun flower seeds to replenish my multiple bird feeders on Tuesday. My ice-fishing gear was calling me to get out there and commune with nature. Once I get my droopy eyelid gets fixed, and get my leg repaired, I will head out to the frozen ponds.
Linda loves it when I go ice-fishing too. I leave the house around daylight (while she is still sleeping), and she has no one to bug her as she goes through her morning routine. Ice-fishing days are the ones where I fire up the crock pot before I leave the house, and come home to a great comfort food type meal. I still haven’t convinced any of my baby boomer friends to join me on the ice. They seem to like going south, and wearing summer like clothes as opposed to dressing up for the cold weather. I do have one friend who is almost ready to retire that might join me on the frozen ponds.
Sports continued – The College Football Bowls have started. Does anyone really care about most of these games? A good number of the combatants are on teams which we have never seen on national television. There are so many College Bowl Games that the average sports’ fan can’t keep them all straight.
None of my New England based professional teams played on Tuesday. Oh Darn!
Gift Stealing – There have been a couple of incidents in the Boston area, and the Albany, New York area where people have broken into storage pods or rooms in buildings and have stolen thousands of dollars worth of “Toys for Tots.” I don’t know how people can be so cruel and heartless. Maybe if the thieves spent time with some of these needy people they wouldn’t think of stealing the toys. The police are working very hard to capture the bandits. If the police do catch them, I hope that they make examples of them through public humiliation.
Well, it is so early that I am going to try and go back to bed right now.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
I was totally useless on Monday with respect to helping Linda. She hauled gifts from an upstairs spare bedroom down two flights of stairs into the basement. She made multiple trips on her not so great knees, and by the end of the night she was PUP as the professional football expression goes (Physically Unable to Perform).
My hobbling around and staying off of my feet for most of the day on Monday actually helped out. I am almost pain free as this day starts. I guess the seven plus hour day on my feet on Sunday caused my leg problems on Monday. Right now, I feel as though I could carry our grandson up and down stairs. Yesterday, I could just about make it up and down stairs on my own.
At one point yesterday, I did leave the house with Linda and acted as her designated driver as she went in and out of stores for small gifts, gift certificates, Dunkin Donut Coffee deal (four pounds for $20), etc.
I had to use the restroom at Dunkin Donuts. I bounced off the walls to and from the restroom. A nimble guy in his early 70’s saw me limping out of the bathroom, and asked if I needed help. He thought that I was intoxicated because I was holding on, and bouncing off of the walls. I said that I was okay, but the guy didn’t believe me. I didn’t want to tell him that I am turning 64 years old on this Thursday, and that I am still a kid as far as my age goes.
My friend picked me up for our UNICO Dinner meeting at the Old Forge. As predicted, we had a better than normal turn out, and the food was spectacular.
I am going to try and stay off my feet today. I will be wrapping presents in the basement for most of the day. She labeled each gift that I am going to wrap. I will be doing the wrapping while sitting in a chair.
I do have to stop wrapping for a little while and go to an 11 AM doctor’s appointment. This is a planned appointment set up months ago with a dermatologist. The dermatologist will be checking out of various spots on my body which have developed over time. I want to make sure that none of these spots are of a cancerous nature.
I did get a call from the neurologist’s office on Monday, which is part two before I get my droopy eye problem fixed. I am booked in for an appointment after Christmas.
I am booked in for my first physical therapy session for my knee after Christmas which is part two before the arthroscopic surgery for the torn meniscus.
Pretty soon all my body parts will be working as they are supposed to work so that I can continue to enjoy retirement.
Linda is booked in for her normal Tuesday Mah Jongg session. I think that neither of us our socially engaged this evening for a change.
Supper might be fish and chips dinner for two at Matt Rielly’s Pub for their Tuesday night special.
Observation – People seem to be spending money like they have money trees in their backyards. People aren’t just purchasing small items. As we age, we should need less and less. I keep on thinking about what our children will have to deal with when we depart this earth. I think of the stuff in my parent’s house in Lee. Most of it will be put in a dumpster. Our children would do the same thing with all the stuff which we have accumulated over the years too. As the saying goes; “You can’t take it with you!”
Maybe when the time comes, our children will sell our house; ”As is” including the contents.
Well, I think that I will head off to the basement, and begin the wrapping.
I will squeeze in a short break to read the local newspaper when it arrives.
Have a great Tuesday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I was totally useless on Monday with respect to helping Linda. She hauled gifts from an upstairs spare bedroom down two flights of stairs into the basement. She made multiple trips on her not so great knees, and by the end of the night she was PUP as the professional football expression goes (Physically Unable to Perform).
My hobbling around and staying off of my feet for most of the day on Monday actually helped out. I am almost pain free as this day starts. I guess the seven plus hour day on my feet on Sunday caused my leg problems on Monday. Right now, I feel as though I could carry our grandson up and down stairs. Yesterday, I could just about make it up and down stairs on my own.
At one point yesterday, I did leave the house with Linda and acted as her designated driver as she went in and out of stores for small gifts, gift certificates, Dunkin Donut Coffee deal (four pounds for $20), etc.
I had to use the restroom at Dunkin Donuts. I bounced off the walls to and from the restroom. A nimble guy in his early 70’s saw me limping out of the bathroom, and asked if I needed help. He thought that I was intoxicated because I was holding on, and bouncing off of the walls. I said that I was okay, but the guy didn’t believe me. I didn’t want to tell him that I am turning 64 years old on this Thursday, and that I am still a kid as far as my age goes.
My friend picked me up for our UNICO Dinner meeting at the Old Forge. As predicted, we had a better than normal turn out, and the food was spectacular.
I am going to try and stay off my feet today. I will be wrapping presents in the basement for most of the day. She labeled each gift that I am going to wrap. I will be doing the wrapping while sitting in a chair.
I do have to stop wrapping for a little while and go to an 11 AM doctor’s appointment. This is a planned appointment set up months ago with a dermatologist. The dermatologist will be checking out of various spots on my body which have developed over time. I want to make sure that none of these spots are of a cancerous nature.
I did get a call from the neurologist’s office on Monday, which is part two before I get my droopy eye problem fixed. I am booked in for an appointment after Christmas.
I am booked in for my first physical therapy session for my knee after Christmas which is part two before the arthroscopic surgery for the torn meniscus.
Pretty soon all my body parts will be working as they are supposed to work so that I can continue to enjoy retirement.
Linda is booked in for her normal Tuesday Mah Jongg session. I think that neither of us our socially engaged this evening for a change.
Supper might be fish and chips dinner for two at Matt Rielly’s Pub for their Tuesday night special.
Observation – People seem to be spending money like they have money trees in their backyards. People aren’t just purchasing small items. As we age, we should need less and less. I keep on thinking about what our children will have to deal with when we depart this earth. I think of the stuff in my parent’s house in Lee. Most of it will be put in a dumpster. Our children would do the same thing with all the stuff which we have accumulated over the years too. As the saying goes; “You can’t take it with you!”
Maybe when the time comes, our children will sell our house; ”As is” including the contents.
Well, I think that I will head off to the basement, and begin the wrapping.
I will squeeze in a short break to read the local newspaper when it arrives.
Have a great Tuesday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, December 20, 2010
Hello on Monday
Dear Friends,
Linda and I did make it through 3 Christmas parties and one fundraiser on Sunday. The best food was at the Italian American Club! Linda and I could have stayed and grazed there all afternoon if we weren’t committed to attending the other parties too.
The Fundraiser for the two year old with leukemia went very well. Our local newspaper said that the fundraiser ended up making $14,000. When we left Patrick’s Pub at 7:30 PM, the figure was closer to $16,000. Linda won a few restaurant gift certificates at the Chinese Raffle which made her day even better.
I did bring a check from the UNICO organization which I belong to. The UNICO Charity board had me deliver a $500 check.
Linda and I continued to be celebrities because of our picture making it on the front page of Friday’s Berkshire Eagle. People at each gathering asked if I purchased the bird feeder that I was holding onto in the picture. Of course, when I said that I did purchase the bird feeder, the people started tell me about their bird feeding stories. One lady said that her husband designed baffles so that the squirrels would not eat all the seeds at their bird feeder. Some people jokingly said that they wanted our autographs.
By the end of the day on Sunday, my leg which I am experiencing some problems with, was really hurting. Right now, my leg is killing me as I try and move around the house. The positive effects of the injection have worn off. I feel like taking myself to the emergency room, and get that arthroscopic surgery over with. If we were baby sitting Max today, I wouldn’t be able to carry him up and down the stairs.
My first therapy session is on December 27, 2010. I hope that I can make it to my first session.
Social Calendar – I believe that I am the only one who is socially engaged today. I have a UNICO membership meeting at “The Old Forge” in Lanesboro at 6 PM. This December meeting is well attended one because this restaurant serves one of the best meals of all of our dinner meetings which we have throughout the year. I can’t wait!
Linda’s new camera – As we were reading the fliers in the Sunday newspaper, we saw the exact model for her Samsung Galaxy 5 camera listed for $49.95 at Target, and Radio Shack instead of the $199 which she paid at the A T & T store. Before we headed off to the Italian American Club party, she returned her telephone to the A T & T store and she was rebated $150. Linda didn’t make a scene because there were other customers in the store. The guy had to supposed go in the back room, and call his manager before the rebate was allowed. I might be getting my own telephone sooner than expected.
There was a front page article on our local newspaper about the decline in people hunting. It is muzzle loading season for deer hunting until the end of December here in Massachusetts.
Speaking of sports, while we at the ITAM, we saw bunches of people on Pontoosuc Lake Ice Fishing. When you look out through the windows of the ITAM Lodge, you have a perfect view of the lake. The weather was really nice yesterday, and I was jealous that I couldn’t be out there. I am going to renew my sporting license at some point in the next few days.
Continuing on with the sports theme, Michael and his family from Kansas had pheasant for supper last evening. He went on a few day hunting trip with some buddies, and did a little pheasant hunting. You have to watch out for the shotgun pellets when you eat the birds unless head shots were made.
I did stay up and watch the Patriots survive a closely contested game. They didn’t look like that they were really prepared for the game. Good teams find a way to survive the close ones. The other team lost because of a time management problem. The rookie quarterback for the Packers wasn’t mentally prepared to get a play off and score the winning touchdown with no timeouts, and 24 seconds on the clock. The game was within the grasp of the Packers.
I did watch the post game wrap up, and it did appear that the Patriot Coach was suffering from some kind of illness. He looked like he was sucking on throat lozenges as he was answered questions from the media.
The Patriots will be better prepared for this week’s game.
Well, I have to get moving, and hope that my leg pain will decrease as I move around.
Both Linda and I have a whole bunch of things to do like wrapping gifts, packing for the couple day trip east, washing some clothes, trying to figure out what extra items need to be packed, etc.
Have a great Monday at work or play.
Enjoy the lunar eclipse.
Think snow for Christmas because it is on our doorstep here in the Northeast.
Talk to you soon! The Curley Lad
Linda and I did make it through 3 Christmas parties and one fundraiser on Sunday. The best food was at the Italian American Club! Linda and I could have stayed and grazed there all afternoon if we weren’t committed to attending the other parties too.
The Fundraiser for the two year old with leukemia went very well. Our local newspaper said that the fundraiser ended up making $14,000. When we left Patrick’s Pub at 7:30 PM, the figure was closer to $16,000. Linda won a few restaurant gift certificates at the Chinese Raffle which made her day even better.
I did bring a check from the UNICO organization which I belong to. The UNICO Charity board had me deliver a $500 check.
Linda and I continued to be celebrities because of our picture making it on the front page of Friday’s Berkshire Eagle. People at each gathering asked if I purchased the bird feeder that I was holding onto in the picture. Of course, when I said that I did purchase the bird feeder, the people started tell me about their bird feeding stories. One lady said that her husband designed baffles so that the squirrels would not eat all the seeds at their bird feeder. Some people jokingly said that they wanted our autographs.
By the end of the day on Sunday, my leg which I am experiencing some problems with, was really hurting. Right now, my leg is killing me as I try and move around the house. The positive effects of the injection have worn off. I feel like taking myself to the emergency room, and get that arthroscopic surgery over with. If we were baby sitting Max today, I wouldn’t be able to carry him up and down the stairs.
My first therapy session is on December 27, 2010. I hope that I can make it to my first session.
Social Calendar – I believe that I am the only one who is socially engaged today. I have a UNICO membership meeting at “The Old Forge” in Lanesboro at 6 PM. This December meeting is well attended one because this restaurant serves one of the best meals of all of our dinner meetings which we have throughout the year. I can’t wait!
Linda’s new camera – As we were reading the fliers in the Sunday newspaper, we saw the exact model for her Samsung Galaxy 5 camera listed for $49.95 at Target, and Radio Shack instead of the $199 which she paid at the A T & T store. Before we headed off to the Italian American Club party, she returned her telephone to the A T & T store and she was rebated $150. Linda didn’t make a scene because there were other customers in the store. The guy had to supposed go in the back room, and call his manager before the rebate was allowed. I might be getting my own telephone sooner than expected.
There was a front page article on our local newspaper about the decline in people hunting. It is muzzle loading season for deer hunting until the end of December here in Massachusetts.
Speaking of sports, while we at the ITAM, we saw bunches of people on Pontoosuc Lake Ice Fishing. When you look out through the windows of the ITAM Lodge, you have a perfect view of the lake. The weather was really nice yesterday, and I was jealous that I couldn’t be out there. I am going to renew my sporting license at some point in the next few days.
Continuing on with the sports theme, Michael and his family from Kansas had pheasant for supper last evening. He went on a few day hunting trip with some buddies, and did a little pheasant hunting. You have to watch out for the shotgun pellets when you eat the birds unless head shots were made.
I did stay up and watch the Patriots survive a closely contested game. They didn’t look like that they were really prepared for the game. Good teams find a way to survive the close ones. The other team lost because of a time management problem. The rookie quarterback for the Packers wasn’t mentally prepared to get a play off and score the winning touchdown with no timeouts, and 24 seconds on the clock. The game was within the grasp of the Packers.
I did watch the post game wrap up, and it did appear that the Patriot Coach was suffering from some kind of illness. He looked like he was sucking on throat lozenges as he was answered questions from the media.
The Patriots will be better prepared for this week’s game.
Well, I have to get moving, and hope that my leg pain will decrease as I move around.
Both Linda and I have a whole bunch of things to do like wrapping gifts, packing for the couple day trip east, washing some clothes, trying to figure out what extra items need to be packed, etc.
Have a great Monday at work or play.
Enjoy the lunar eclipse.
Think snow for Christmas because it is on our doorstep here in the Northeast.
Talk to you soon! The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
Can you believe that another day went as planned, and even got better as the day and evening progressed?
Once again, I left our house first. I went directly to visit Mom in the nursing home in Lenox. When I walked in the room, my friend, who I used to go to tailgate with at the Patriot games, was with his wife visiting his mom, who just happens to be my mother’s roommate. This couple lives an hour away from Pittsfield, but they visit every Saturday.
While visiting my Mom, I replenished some pictures of our three grandchildren.
After a short visit, I headed off to Lee to visit my father. He seemed to be in good spirits. He was just about getting ready to get my mother a cup of coffee, and bring it to her in the nursing home.
When I arrived home, I saw that the Kia was still in the garage, but the house was totally quiet. Linda’s girlfriend from Dalton talked her into using some Macy’s coupons at our Berkshire Mall. This was a perfect opportunity for me to take a one hour nap which is what I did. Linda came home just as the sun was setting. She asked me if I went to the Scotch Tasting at George’s Liquor Store, and I said “No!” She asked if I wanted to take a chance, and see if the tasting was still going on. Well, we timed it perfectly. We were the first ones at the Single Malt Scotch Tasting event. We had samples of 12, 15, and 19 year old Scotches (two varieties). Linda, who is not normally a Scotch drinker, participated in the tasting. After about 45 minutes of tasting, and chatting with all kinds of people who we saw in the liquor store, we had a semi buzz on as we left. I always keep some crackers in the car just in case to absorb some of the alcohol which we consumed. Linda could become a high end Scotch drinker.
We always have Scotch in out house, but they tend to be the cheap end blends like Old Smugglers, or Dewars. The blends are the ones which you would mix with club soda and / or water. The ones which we consumed should be consumed in the “Neat” fashion.
Speaking of friends, we saw our neighbor who just moved from Winesap the other day. Two weeks ago, he put his own “For Sale” sign in his front yard (he saved a couple of thousand by selling it himself). A young couple (with one small child), who lives one street over, was taking a walk, and inquired about the house. The young couple closes on the Winesap house in March. My former neighbor has already moved into his $499,000 dollar home. In the Boston area, the price would cost at least $300,000 more than what he paid.
He said that his new house was in immaculate shape. It is in what you would call, the “Walk right in shape.” There was nothing that our neighbor has to paint, change, fix, etc. in his new house. He and his family are all set to have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s in their new home.
After the Scotch Tasting, we started to get a little hungry. We had a refrigerator full of coupons for various restaurants. I suggested that we head to Lee, and go to the Salmon Run Restaurant. As we were entering the restaurant, my sister and a couple, who they socialize with, were just exiting the restaurant. My sister said that the Prime Rib was excellent.
The restaurant’s specialty is fish, but they have a slow roasted Prime Rib on the menu on Saturday nights. I also went on line before we went to the Restaurant, and found out that they have a half off coupon with a maximum value of $12 off on the second meal. We both ordered a queen cut Prime Rib that was cooked to perfection, and with all the fixings. The Prime Rib, which I know that my health conscious friend will make a comment about, was cooked exactly the way that we wanted it. It was prepared and tasted better than places which specialize in meat entrées.
When we arrived home, I decided to watch the last couple periods of the Boston Bruins’ Hockey game. Since I did so in bed, I just about made it to the end of the game before I fell asleep. The Bruins were victorious.
As I said in yesterday’s e-mail, we have a very full day today. I am leaving the house first. There is a Memorial Mass for the brother of one of our Irish Sister City Committee members. His brother died in Ireland several months ago. His Mom lives in Pittsfield, but they have family in Ireland. His brother was buried in Ireland. I will be representing the Curley family at the 9 AM Mass.
After Mass, a few friends will beheading off to Patrick’s Pub, to set up for the Fundraiser for the Irish friend whose two year old son was diagnosed with leukemia. This fundraiser, which goes from noon until 6 PM, will be the fourth stop of the all the parties which we will be attending today.
We decided on the times for which we will be attending the other parties. We will be at the Italian American Club at 11:45 AM at the latest. This noon time event will have at least 300 members at the event. Our plan is to stay and eat, and socialize for at least one hour, and head off to the ITAM a little after 1 PM. We will be meeting two other couples who are members of the ITAM, but not members at the Italian American Club. After eating and socializing for an hour there, Linda and I and one of the other couples for sure will be heading off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club for a members party too. This one starts at 3 PM. After an hour of eating and socializing, Linda and I will then head off to Patrick’s Pub for the Fundraiser mentioned above. The organizers of this fundraiser have secured so many gifts and silent auction items that we have to make it there before the raffle takes place around 5 PM.
I would like the party portion of the day to end no later than 6:30 PM so that I can go home and take a one hour nap. I want to be able to go into my Man Cave, while in my sleepwear, and watch the 8:30 PM Sunday Night football game which features the Patriots playing the Green Bay Packers in Gillette Stadium. Go Patriots!
Linda continues to love, and learn how to use her new cell phone. When she masters her cell phone, I most likely will upgrade my cell phone, but that won’t take place for a couple of months.
Well, I am trying to figure out if I can make it through this very busy Sunday. No, I am not planning on skipping any of the above mentioned parties. I just have to pace myself for I know that this Sunday will turn out to be a long, but pleasant day.
It is 10 degrees out right now but we should reach the 30 degree plus mark before this day is over.
While we were out and about yesterday, we kept on getting comments about our pictures being on the front page of the Berkshire Eagle on Friday morning. Everyone in the City of Pittsfield and in surrounding towns now knows that I love birds since I was holding a bird feeder when the Eagle photographer took the picture. We will most likely receive a whole bunch of comments today while at Mass and while attending the four parties.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Can you believe that another day went as planned, and even got better as the day and evening progressed?
Once again, I left our house first. I went directly to visit Mom in the nursing home in Lenox. When I walked in the room, my friend, who I used to go to tailgate with at the Patriot games, was with his wife visiting his mom, who just happens to be my mother’s roommate. This couple lives an hour away from Pittsfield, but they visit every Saturday.
While visiting my Mom, I replenished some pictures of our three grandchildren.
After a short visit, I headed off to Lee to visit my father. He seemed to be in good spirits. He was just about getting ready to get my mother a cup of coffee, and bring it to her in the nursing home.
When I arrived home, I saw that the Kia was still in the garage, but the house was totally quiet. Linda’s girlfriend from Dalton talked her into using some Macy’s coupons at our Berkshire Mall. This was a perfect opportunity for me to take a one hour nap which is what I did. Linda came home just as the sun was setting. She asked me if I went to the Scotch Tasting at George’s Liquor Store, and I said “No!” She asked if I wanted to take a chance, and see if the tasting was still going on. Well, we timed it perfectly. We were the first ones at the Single Malt Scotch Tasting event. We had samples of 12, 15, and 19 year old Scotches (two varieties). Linda, who is not normally a Scotch drinker, participated in the tasting. After about 45 minutes of tasting, and chatting with all kinds of people who we saw in the liquor store, we had a semi buzz on as we left. I always keep some crackers in the car just in case to absorb some of the alcohol which we consumed. Linda could become a high end Scotch drinker.
We always have Scotch in out house, but they tend to be the cheap end blends like Old Smugglers, or Dewars. The blends are the ones which you would mix with club soda and / or water. The ones which we consumed should be consumed in the “Neat” fashion.
Speaking of friends, we saw our neighbor who just moved from Winesap the other day. Two weeks ago, he put his own “For Sale” sign in his front yard (he saved a couple of thousand by selling it himself). A young couple (with one small child), who lives one street over, was taking a walk, and inquired about the house. The young couple closes on the Winesap house in March. My former neighbor has already moved into his $499,000 dollar home. In the Boston area, the price would cost at least $300,000 more than what he paid.
He said that his new house was in immaculate shape. It is in what you would call, the “Walk right in shape.” There was nothing that our neighbor has to paint, change, fix, etc. in his new house. He and his family are all set to have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s in their new home.
After the Scotch Tasting, we started to get a little hungry. We had a refrigerator full of coupons for various restaurants. I suggested that we head to Lee, and go to the Salmon Run Restaurant. As we were entering the restaurant, my sister and a couple, who they socialize with, were just exiting the restaurant. My sister said that the Prime Rib was excellent.
The restaurant’s specialty is fish, but they have a slow roasted Prime Rib on the menu on Saturday nights. I also went on line before we went to the Restaurant, and found out that they have a half off coupon with a maximum value of $12 off on the second meal. We both ordered a queen cut Prime Rib that was cooked to perfection, and with all the fixings. The Prime Rib, which I know that my health conscious friend will make a comment about, was cooked exactly the way that we wanted it. It was prepared and tasted better than places which specialize in meat entrées.
When we arrived home, I decided to watch the last couple periods of the Boston Bruins’ Hockey game. Since I did so in bed, I just about made it to the end of the game before I fell asleep. The Bruins were victorious.
As I said in yesterday’s e-mail, we have a very full day today. I am leaving the house first. There is a Memorial Mass for the brother of one of our Irish Sister City Committee members. His brother died in Ireland several months ago. His Mom lives in Pittsfield, but they have family in Ireland. His brother was buried in Ireland. I will be representing the Curley family at the 9 AM Mass.
After Mass, a few friends will beheading off to Patrick’s Pub, to set up for the Fundraiser for the Irish friend whose two year old son was diagnosed with leukemia. This fundraiser, which goes from noon until 6 PM, will be the fourth stop of the all the parties which we will be attending today.
We decided on the times for which we will be attending the other parties. We will be at the Italian American Club at 11:45 AM at the latest. This noon time event will have at least 300 members at the event. Our plan is to stay and eat, and socialize for at least one hour, and head off to the ITAM a little after 1 PM. We will be meeting two other couples who are members of the ITAM, but not members at the Italian American Club. After eating and socializing for an hour there, Linda and I and one of the other couples for sure will be heading off to the Berkshire Hills Country Club for a members party too. This one starts at 3 PM. After an hour of eating and socializing, Linda and I will then head off to Patrick’s Pub for the Fundraiser mentioned above. The organizers of this fundraiser have secured so many gifts and silent auction items that we have to make it there before the raffle takes place around 5 PM.
I would like the party portion of the day to end no later than 6:30 PM so that I can go home and take a one hour nap. I want to be able to go into my Man Cave, while in my sleepwear, and watch the 8:30 PM Sunday Night football game which features the Patriots playing the Green Bay Packers in Gillette Stadium. Go Patriots!
Linda continues to love, and learn how to use her new cell phone. When she masters her cell phone, I most likely will upgrade my cell phone, but that won’t take place for a couple of months.
Well, I am trying to figure out if I can make it through this very busy Sunday. No, I am not planning on skipping any of the above mentioned parties. I just have to pace myself for I know that this Sunday will turn out to be a long, but pleasant day.
It is 10 degrees out right now but we should reach the 30 degree plus mark before this day is over.
While we were out and about yesterday, we kept on getting comments about our pictures being on the front page of the Berkshire Eagle on Friday morning. Everyone in the City of Pittsfield and in surrounding towns now knows that I love birds since I was holding a bird feeder when the Eagle photographer took the picture. We will most likely receive a whole bunch of comments today while at Mass and while attending the four parties.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Hello on Saturday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned.
My knee feels great for a second day. My first physical therapy appointment begins on December 27, 2010.
Linda and I did make it the movies at our Berkshire Mall. The Movie actually started at 2:30 PM, but the listed starting time for the movie was 2:10 PM. We saw a ”based on a true story” movie called “Unstoppable”. The movie was great, and was enjoyed by two other people, and Linda and I who were the only ones in this particular theater.
We left the Mall, and headed directly to an AT&T store and picked up Linda’s Early Christmas present. She purchased the Samsung version of the I Phone. Linda got a 2 hour lesson from the guy who sold her the cell phone. So far she loves it, but she is still in the learning stages. I am eligible for a new cell phone too, but I am not sure that I am worthy of owning one, or whether I have the patience to deal with one, and all the various applications. I will see if Linda loves her new cell phone, and make a decision at a later date.
We hooked up with our Dalton friends, and met them at the Shamrock Restaurant around 6 PM. This was prime time, and we waited for at least 20 minutes to get a table in this limited seated restaurant.
After supper, we went off to play men vs women cribbage at our friend’s house. The men won two out of three games, before we called it an evening. The third and final game was a close one. We were both within pegging distance of winning the game. The women had first count, and they didn’t have enough points in their hands to win the game.
Social Calendar – We aren’t booked into anything as of this moment. I did hear Linda and her girlfriend saying that they were going to call each other, and possibly do a little shopping. There is no way that I am going into any stores today. This is the last full weekend before Christmas. All the people will be finishing up their shopping, or doing Christmas shopping for the first time. It wil be a made house everywhere.
I heard that one of our local Liquor stores is having a Scotch Sampling event which starts at noon. You might find me at this event.
Of course there is always a load of clothes to do. And I might mentally pack for our trip next week to North Tewksbury. It should be a four night stay.
If Linda decides not to leave the house, she could always make some Italian Cookies. She got this secret recipe from one of her BONCO girlfriends.
Today, I have to conserve some energy for our four party day on Sunday. I am trying to figures out when to take a nap so that I can stay up for the Sunday night Patriot Game which starts at 8:30 PM.
I also would like to visit my Dad in Lee, and my mother in the nursing home at some point this morning.
The weather looks okay for the weekend. We might get some snow in first part of next week. I might need to pack some boots on our trip east, and take the grandchild sliding if they do get some white stuff.
The Political scene is a bit quiet now since our congressmen and congresswoman are getting ready to head home for their Christmas recess. I still think about the men and women who won’t be with their families this Christmas. It will not be an easy time for them mentally.
The terrorists want to do some nasty things as the rest of the world celebrates Christmas. I hope that their threats don’t come to fruition.
Observation – On a lighter note, is there an art to open cereal boxes, Saran wrap containers, foil containers, cracker boxes, etc. I am leaning toward the fact that it is more of a challenge for females than men. I have noticed this from the way my significant other opens all the above mentioned containers. If you saw the Cheerios Box that is in our house right now, you would know what I was talking about. Even Linda’s latest tape job was not good enough to close the top of the Cheerios box. I have noticed similar hacked up boxes at both daughter-in-laws homes too. I hope that it wasn’t their husbands who did the damage. For the Saran Box, I had to duck tape it to make it work correctly.
While at the Tuesday Christmas Party, which we attended last week, I need to wrap up Linda’s Crab Dip appetizer before putting it in the microwave. The host told me what drawer in her kitchen that I could find the Saran wrap. I grabbed the box, which was falling apart, and Saran wrap roll hit the kitchen floor. I couldn’t blame this woman’s husband because she is currently divorced, and doesn’t have a male companion at the current time.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine,
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned.
My knee feels great for a second day. My first physical therapy appointment begins on December 27, 2010.
Linda and I did make it the movies at our Berkshire Mall. The Movie actually started at 2:30 PM, but the listed starting time for the movie was 2:10 PM. We saw a ”based on a true story” movie called “Unstoppable”. The movie was great, and was enjoyed by two other people, and Linda and I who were the only ones in this particular theater.
We left the Mall, and headed directly to an AT&T store and picked up Linda’s Early Christmas present. She purchased the Samsung version of the I Phone. Linda got a 2 hour lesson from the guy who sold her the cell phone. So far she loves it, but she is still in the learning stages. I am eligible for a new cell phone too, but I am not sure that I am worthy of owning one, or whether I have the patience to deal with one, and all the various applications. I will see if Linda loves her new cell phone, and make a decision at a later date.
We hooked up with our Dalton friends, and met them at the Shamrock Restaurant around 6 PM. This was prime time, and we waited for at least 20 minutes to get a table in this limited seated restaurant.
After supper, we went off to play men vs women cribbage at our friend’s house. The men won two out of three games, before we called it an evening. The third and final game was a close one. We were both within pegging distance of winning the game. The women had first count, and they didn’t have enough points in their hands to win the game.
Social Calendar – We aren’t booked into anything as of this moment. I did hear Linda and her girlfriend saying that they were going to call each other, and possibly do a little shopping. There is no way that I am going into any stores today. This is the last full weekend before Christmas. All the people will be finishing up their shopping, or doing Christmas shopping for the first time. It wil be a made house everywhere.
I heard that one of our local Liquor stores is having a Scotch Sampling event which starts at noon. You might find me at this event.
Of course there is always a load of clothes to do. And I might mentally pack for our trip next week to North Tewksbury. It should be a four night stay.
If Linda decides not to leave the house, she could always make some Italian Cookies. She got this secret recipe from one of her BONCO girlfriends.
Today, I have to conserve some energy for our four party day on Sunday. I am trying to figures out when to take a nap so that I can stay up for the Sunday night Patriot Game which starts at 8:30 PM.
I also would like to visit my Dad in Lee, and my mother in the nursing home at some point this morning.
The weather looks okay for the weekend. We might get some snow in first part of next week. I might need to pack some boots on our trip east, and take the grandchild sliding if they do get some white stuff.
The Political scene is a bit quiet now since our congressmen and congresswoman are getting ready to head home for their Christmas recess. I still think about the men and women who won’t be with their families this Christmas. It will not be an easy time for them mentally.
The terrorists want to do some nasty things as the rest of the world celebrates Christmas. I hope that their threats don’t come to fruition.
Observation – On a lighter note, is there an art to open cereal boxes, Saran wrap containers, foil containers, cracker boxes, etc. I am leaning toward the fact that it is more of a challenge for females than men. I have noticed this from the way my significant other opens all the above mentioned containers. If you saw the Cheerios Box that is in our house right now, you would know what I was talking about. Even Linda’s latest tape job was not good enough to close the top of the Cheerios box. I have noticed similar hacked up boxes at both daughter-in-laws homes too. I hope that it wasn’t their husbands who did the damage. For the Saran Box, I had to duck tape it to make it work correctly.
While at the Tuesday Christmas Party, which we attended last week, I need to wrap up Linda’s Crab Dip appetizer before putting it in the microwave. The host told me what drawer in her kitchen that I could find the Saran wrap. I grabbed the box, which was falling apart, and Saran wrap roll hit the kitchen floor. I couldn’t blame this woman’s husband because she is currently divorced, and doesn’t have a male companion at the current time.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine,
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, December 17, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went exactly as planned.
Linda did accompany me for my 11 AM appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor. The doctor said that he did look at the X-Ray taken by the Physicians Assistant a couple of weeks ago. He thought he saw a slight crack in the kneecap (which Nature will heal by itself). While in the examining room, Linda kept on telling the doctor that I was pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain, and that I have low threshold tolerance for pain, which is true.
My self diagnosis was right on the money with respect to a meniscus tear. The doctor had me sit on the bed in the examining room. He said to relax and let my legs hang over the bed. He grabs my ankle, and twists one way, and I felt no pain. He twists the ankle the opposite way, and I felt pain. His diagnosis was a meniscus tear. He said that my health insurance doesn’t allow a surgical procedure until you go through a couple of things. He shot me up which a lubricant in the knee area. I then go to several sessions with a Physical Therapist. If thing aren’t any better or tolerable, then he will do a simple scope job.
Linda has had a similar meniscus tear for a couple of years, but she is not a whimp like me, so she deals with her on and off pain. Well, good for her!
The Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army went very well. Linda and I went on a date after the Belling ringing. I had to fill out a betting sheet for my NFL picks for this coming weekend. Of course, this pool that I am in is for entertainment purposes only.
We then went off to do a little shopping in downtown Pittsfield. Our downtown is trying to revive an old practice, which fell by the wayside, of keeping the stores open on Thursday night. Linda and I were in a family owned hardware store poking around when a photographer from the Berkshire Eagle newspaper came over to Linda and me as we were looking at a heavy duty squirrel proof bird feeder. He snapped 20 or 30 pictures of me handling the bird feeder. He took our names. Our pictures might be in the local newspaper this morning.
For supper we ended up at the 99 Restaurant. We had red meat with all the fixings. It was wonderful.
We did get home in time so that I could watch the Bruins lose their hockey game, and the Celtics win their basketball game.
Politics – The compromise Tax bill passed the House and Senate. It goes to the President’s desk for him to accept or veto. Could real progress have been made?
Holiday Plans -- Linda and I decided that we won’t be in the Berkshires for Christmas. We won’t be having our Christmas Party / Open House / my Birthday Party (December 23, 2010).
We are going to celebrate Christmas Eve with our son in North Tewksbury as well as Christmas Day.
Social Calendar – I am pretty sure that we have nothing on our social Calendar for Friday, but that is okay. There are some matinee movies which we can go to, or we could do a little recreational shopping. I will need a nap for sure if I am going to make into and through any evening activities.
While listening to a Sports’ Talk program, I heard that the injured quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, got engaged to television reporter. He is 30, and she is 24 years old, and she was a former Miss Missouri beauty queen. I see a prenuptial agreement in the very near future.
I was also thinking about our son Kevin and how that he is going to deal with snow removal for the Northeaster which is heading toward the Boston area starting on Sunday night while the Patriots play their 8:30 PM game at Gillette Stadium. Kevin’s inclined driveway goes downhill towards their two car garage. Kevin doesn’t own a snow blower. I know he has a snow shovel at his Restaurant in East Boston, but I am not sure if he owns one for his home in North Tewksbury. I hope that he knows someone that he could hire to plow his driveway. Shoveling his driveway would not be an easy task even for a thirty something young man.
The Northeaster might not even reach us in the Berkshires. We are 120 miles from Boston.
Well, I have some quiet activities to take care of, and I have to finish my morning routine.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went exactly as planned.
Linda did accompany me for my 11 AM appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor. The doctor said that he did look at the X-Ray taken by the Physicians Assistant a couple of weeks ago. He thought he saw a slight crack in the kneecap (which Nature will heal by itself). While in the examining room, Linda kept on telling the doctor that I was pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain, and that I have low threshold tolerance for pain, which is true.
My self diagnosis was right on the money with respect to a meniscus tear. The doctor had me sit on the bed in the examining room. He said to relax and let my legs hang over the bed. He grabs my ankle, and twists one way, and I felt no pain. He twists the ankle the opposite way, and I felt pain. His diagnosis was a meniscus tear. He said that my health insurance doesn’t allow a surgical procedure until you go through a couple of things. He shot me up which a lubricant in the knee area. I then go to several sessions with a Physical Therapist. If thing aren’t any better or tolerable, then he will do a simple scope job.
Linda has had a similar meniscus tear for a couple of years, but she is not a whimp like me, so she deals with her on and off pain. Well, good for her!
The Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army went very well. Linda and I went on a date after the Belling ringing. I had to fill out a betting sheet for my NFL picks for this coming weekend. Of course, this pool that I am in is for entertainment purposes only.
We then went off to do a little shopping in downtown Pittsfield. Our downtown is trying to revive an old practice, which fell by the wayside, of keeping the stores open on Thursday night. Linda and I were in a family owned hardware store poking around when a photographer from the Berkshire Eagle newspaper came over to Linda and me as we were looking at a heavy duty squirrel proof bird feeder. He snapped 20 or 30 pictures of me handling the bird feeder. He took our names. Our pictures might be in the local newspaper this morning.
For supper we ended up at the 99 Restaurant. We had red meat with all the fixings. It was wonderful.
We did get home in time so that I could watch the Bruins lose their hockey game, and the Celtics win their basketball game.
Politics – The compromise Tax bill passed the House and Senate. It goes to the President’s desk for him to accept or veto. Could real progress have been made?
Holiday Plans -- Linda and I decided that we won’t be in the Berkshires for Christmas. We won’t be having our Christmas Party / Open House / my Birthday Party (December 23, 2010).
We are going to celebrate Christmas Eve with our son in North Tewksbury as well as Christmas Day.
Social Calendar – I am pretty sure that we have nothing on our social Calendar for Friday, but that is okay. There are some matinee movies which we can go to, or we could do a little recreational shopping. I will need a nap for sure if I am going to make into and through any evening activities.
While listening to a Sports’ Talk program, I heard that the injured quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, got engaged to television reporter. He is 30, and she is 24 years old, and she was a former Miss Missouri beauty queen. I see a prenuptial agreement in the very near future.
I was also thinking about our son Kevin and how that he is going to deal with snow removal for the Northeaster which is heading toward the Boston area starting on Sunday night while the Patriots play their 8:30 PM game at Gillette Stadium. Kevin’s inclined driveway goes downhill towards their two car garage. Kevin doesn’t own a snow blower. I know he has a snow shovel at his Restaurant in East Boston, but I am not sure if he owns one for his home in North Tewksbury. I hope that he knows someone that he could hire to plow his driveway. Shoveling his driveway would not be an easy task even for a thirty something young man.
The Northeaster might not even reach us in the Berkshires. We are 120 miles from Boston.
Well, I have some quiet activities to take care of, and I have to finish my morning routine.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hello on Friday Morning
Dear Friends,
Another day went exactly as planned.
Linda did accompany me for my 11 AM appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor. The doctor said that he did look at the X-Ray taken by the Physicians Assistant a couple of weeks ago. He thought he saw a slight crack in the kneecap (which Nature will heal by itself). While in the examining room, Linda kept on telling the doctor that I was pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain, and that I have low threshold tolerance for pain, which is true.
My self diagnosis was right on the money with respect to a meniscus tear. The doctor had me sit on the bed in the examining room. He said to relax and let my legs hang over the bed. He grabs my ankle, and twists one way, and I felt no pain. He twists the ankle the opposite way, and I felt pain. His diagnosis was a meniscus tear. He said that my health insurance doesn’t allow a surgical procedure until you go through a couple of things. He shot me up which a lubricant in the knee area. I then go to several sessions with a Physical Therapist. If thing aren’t any better or tolerable, then he will do a simple scope job.
Linda has had a similar meniscus tear for a couple of years, but she is not a whimp like me, so she deals with her on and off pain. Well, good for her!
The Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army went very well. Linda and I went on a date after the Belling ringing. I had to fill out a betting sheet for my NFL picks for this coming weekend. Of course, this pool that I am in is for entertainment purposes only.
We then went off to do a little shopping in downtown Pittsfield. Our downtown is trying to revive an old practice, which fell by the wayside, of keeping the stores open on Thursday night. Linda and I were in a family owned hardware store poking around when a photographer from the Berkshire Eagle newspaper came over to Linda and me as we were looking at a heavy duty squirrel proof bird feeder. He snapped 20 or 30 pictures of me handling the bird feeder. He took our names. Our pictures might be in the local newspaper this morning.
For supper we ended up at the 99 Restaurant. We had red meat with all the fixings. It was wonderful.
We did get home in time so that I could watch the Bruins lose their hockey game, and the Celtics win their basketball game.
Politics – The compromise Tax bill passed the House and Senate. It goes to the President’s desk for him to accept or veto. Could real progress have been made?
Holiday Plans -- Linda and I decided that we won’t be in the Berkshires for Christmas. We won’t be having our Christmas Party / Open House / my Birthday Party (December 23, 2010).
We are going to celebrate Christmas Eve with our son in North Tewksbury as well as Christmas Day.
Social Calendar – I am pretty sure that we have nothing on our social Calendar for Friday, but that is okay. There are some matinee movies which we can go to, or we could do a little recreational shopping. I will need a nap for sure if I am going to make into and through any evening activities.
While listening to a Sports’ Talk program, I heard that the injured quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, got engaged to television reporter. He is 30, and she is 24 years old, and she was a former Miss Missouri beauty queen. I see a prenuptial agreement in the very near future.
I was also thinking about our son Kevin and how that he is going to deal with snow removal for the Northeaster which is heading toward the Boston area starting on Sunday night while the Patriots play their 8:30 PM game at Gillette Stadium. Kevin’s inclined driveway goes downhill towards their two car garage. Kevin doesn’t own a snow blower. I know he has a snow shovel at his Restaurant in East Boston, but I am not sure if he owns one for his home in North Tewksbury. I hope that he knows someone that he could hire to plow his driveway. Shoveling his driveway would not be an easy task even for a thirty something young man.
The Northeaster might not even reach us in the Berkshires. We are 120 miles from Boston.
Well, I have some quiet activities to take care of, and I have to finish my morning routine.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went exactly as planned.
Linda did accompany me for my 11 AM appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor. The doctor said that he did look at the X-Ray taken by the Physicians Assistant a couple of weeks ago. He thought he saw a slight crack in the kneecap (which Nature will heal by itself). While in the examining room, Linda kept on telling the doctor that I was pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain, and that I have low threshold tolerance for pain, which is true.
My self diagnosis was right on the money with respect to a meniscus tear. The doctor had me sit on the bed in the examining room. He said to relax and let my legs hang over the bed. He grabs my ankle, and twists one way, and I felt no pain. He twists the ankle the opposite way, and I felt pain. His diagnosis was a meniscus tear. He said that my health insurance doesn’t allow a surgical procedure until you go through a couple of things. He shot me up which a lubricant in the knee area. I then go to several sessions with a Physical Therapist. If thing aren’t any better or tolerable, then he will do a simple scope job.
Linda has had a similar meniscus tear for a couple of years, but she is not a whimp like me, so she deals with her on and off pain. Well, good for her!
The Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army went very well. Linda and I went on a date after the Belling ringing. I had to fill out a betting sheet for my NFL picks for this coming weekend. Of course, this pool that I am in is for entertainment purposes only.
We then went off to do a little shopping in downtown Pittsfield. Our downtown is trying to revive an old practice, which fell by the wayside, of keeping the stores open on Thursday night. Linda and I were in a family owned hardware store poking around when a photographer from the Berkshire Eagle newspaper came over to Linda and me as we were looking at a heavy duty squirrel proof bird feeder. He snapped 20 or 30 pictures of me handling the bird feeder. He took our names. Our pictures might be in the local newspaper this morning.
For supper we ended up at the 99 Restaurant. We had red meat with all the fixings. It was wonderful.
We did get home in time so that I could watch the Bruins lose their hockey game, and the Celtics win their basketball game.
Politics – The compromise Tax bill passed the House and Senate. It goes to the President’s desk for him to accept or veto. Could real progress have been made?
Holiday Plans -- Linda and I decided that we won’t be in the Berkshires for Christmas. We won’t be having our Christmas Party / Open House / my Birthday Party (December 23, 2010).
We are going to celebrate Christmas Eve with our son in North Tewksbury as well as Christmas Day.
Social Calendar – I am pretty sure that we have nothing on our social Calendar for Friday, but that is okay. There are some matinee movies which we can go to, or we could do a little recreational shopping. I will need a nap for sure if I am going to make into and through any evening activities.
While listening to a Sports’ Talk program, I heard that the injured quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, got engaged to television reporter. He is 30, and she is 24 years old, and she was a former Miss Missouri beauty queen. I see a prenuptial agreement in the very near future.
I was also thinking about our son Kevin and how that he is going to deal with snow removal for the Northeaster which is heading toward the Boston area starting on Sunday night while the Patriots play their 8:30 PM game at Gillette Stadium. Kevin’s inclined driveway goes downhill towards their two car garage. Kevin doesn’t own a snow blower. I know he has a snow shovel at his Restaurant in East Boston, but I am not sure if he owns one for his home in North Tewksbury. I hope that he knows someone that he could hire to plow his driveway. Shoveling his driveway would not be an easy task even for a thirty something young man.
The Northeaster might not even reach us in the Berkshires. We are 120 miles from Boston.
Well, I have some quiet activities to take care of, and I have to finish my morning routine.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned. Linda did have a chance to do a little shopping before going off to her Book Club Dinner at Il Trattoria. She said her friends raved about the food, but Linda thought what she ordered was “Okay”, but not great.
My UNICO brothers worked very hard to prepare, and put out Pizza, baked Chicken nuggets, and “make your own Sundays” for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. Of course, they thanked us profusely for putting out a great product. A couple from the Italian American Club dressed up as Santa and Mrs Claus.
Speaking of the Italian American Club, the 36 year old son of an Italian Club member collapsed and died. The parents are flying up from their winter home in Florida to deal with their loss.
It is so sad that the death occurred during the Christmas season. Don’t I always say that “Life is a crapshoot”, and to enjoy life every moment that you are on this earth, and don’t sweat the little things. The deceased has a brother who frequently purchases food from our son’ restaurant in East Boston. The obituary is in today’s local newspaper. There will be no wake and funeral, but there will be a memorial service at a later date.
Social Calendar – I believe that I am the only one with commitments today. Linda said that she would accompany me to my doctor’s appointment at 11 AM. I have a feeling that I will be getting an MRI done on my leg that has been giving me trouble. Oh Joy! Note – Linda brought her Kindle with her for my eye appointment the other day, and she will take it again today.
The temperature will be rising to the middle 20’s when I and three UNICO brothers do our 3 to 5 PM bell ringing shift at Walmart today. I am going to dig out my hunting boots that are guaranteed for temperatures reaching 20 below zero. Snow showers will be falling throughout the day.
Sports – I fell asleep last night as a last minute shot by a Celtic player ended up being the winning basket. The Bruins weren’t so lucky.
Game wardens in New York State arrested several people in a deer hunting sting. The hunters were using lights attached to their rifles, hunting at night time, and they killed as many deer as they could shoot. When you shine a light on a deer, they stand perfectly still which makes them easy targets. The game wardens confiscated the illegally obtained deer, and all the rifles of the hunters caught in the sting. These hunters usually lose their hunting licenses, and are fined heavily. I wonder how many years that they have been doing this illegal hunting?
It looks like the New York Jets’ conditioning coach might lose his job which is beyond the fine a four game suspension for tripping an opposing player as he ran by the Jets’ bench.
Politics – The Tax compromise bill is moving through Congress. I am really hoping that they can reach an agreement. A compromise doesn’t necessarily mean that each side gets exactly what they want when the bill is passed.
Observation – I have been finding people a little less grumpy during the Holiday season. I wonder if they could make that attitude last for a longer potion of the year.
On a different note, some of my UNICO brothers and sisters who help out with Bell ringing at Walmart have noticed that the Walmart customers who are dressed the best, and often carry out large ticket items, walk right by the Salvation Army kettle. The poorest of the poor happen to be the most generous.
Have to go and finish my morning routine. I also have to replenish my bird feeders. The creatures have been ravenous. A big fat bunny enjoys the sun flower seeds which hit the ground. They do their eating when it is dark. Yesterday, the squirrels had jumped into my suction cup bird feeder attached to the kitchen window. The squirrels will eventually knock this feeder onto the deck because they are too heavy. Oh Darn!
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned. Linda did have a chance to do a little shopping before going off to her Book Club Dinner at Il Trattoria. She said her friends raved about the food, but Linda thought what she ordered was “Okay”, but not great.
My UNICO brothers worked very hard to prepare, and put out Pizza, baked Chicken nuggets, and “make your own Sundays” for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. Of course, they thanked us profusely for putting out a great product. A couple from the Italian American Club dressed up as Santa and Mrs Claus.
Speaking of the Italian American Club, the 36 year old son of an Italian Club member collapsed and died. The parents are flying up from their winter home in Florida to deal with their loss.
It is so sad that the death occurred during the Christmas season. Don’t I always say that “Life is a crapshoot”, and to enjoy life every moment that you are on this earth, and don’t sweat the little things. The deceased has a brother who frequently purchases food from our son’ restaurant in East Boston. The obituary is in today’s local newspaper. There will be no wake and funeral, but there will be a memorial service at a later date.
Social Calendar – I believe that I am the only one with commitments today. Linda said that she would accompany me to my doctor’s appointment at 11 AM. I have a feeling that I will be getting an MRI done on my leg that has been giving me trouble. Oh Joy! Note – Linda brought her Kindle with her for my eye appointment the other day, and she will take it again today.
The temperature will be rising to the middle 20’s when I and three UNICO brothers do our 3 to 5 PM bell ringing shift at Walmart today. I am going to dig out my hunting boots that are guaranteed for temperatures reaching 20 below zero. Snow showers will be falling throughout the day.
Sports – I fell asleep last night as a last minute shot by a Celtic player ended up being the winning basket. The Bruins weren’t so lucky.
Game wardens in New York State arrested several people in a deer hunting sting. The hunters were using lights attached to their rifles, hunting at night time, and they killed as many deer as they could shoot. When you shine a light on a deer, they stand perfectly still which makes them easy targets. The game wardens confiscated the illegally obtained deer, and all the rifles of the hunters caught in the sting. These hunters usually lose their hunting licenses, and are fined heavily. I wonder how many years that they have been doing this illegal hunting?
It looks like the New York Jets’ conditioning coach might lose his job which is beyond the fine a four game suspension for tripping an opposing player as he ran by the Jets’ bench.
Politics – The Tax compromise bill is moving through Congress. I am really hoping that they can reach an agreement. A compromise doesn’t necessarily mean that each side gets exactly what they want when the bill is passed.
Observation – I have been finding people a little less grumpy during the Holiday season. I wonder if they could make that attitude last for a longer potion of the year.
On a different note, some of my UNICO brothers and sisters who help out with Bell ringing at Walmart have noticed that the Walmart customers who are dressed the best, and often carry out large ticket items, walk right by the Salvation Army kettle. The poorest of the poor happen to be the most generous.
Have to go and finish my morning routine. I also have to replenish my bird feeders. The creatures have been ravenous. A big fat bunny enjoys the sun flower seeds which hit the ground. They do their eating when it is dark. Yesterday, the squirrels had jumped into my suction cup bird feeder attached to the kitchen window. The squirrels will eventually knock this feeder onto the deck because they are too heavy. Oh Darn!
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Hello on Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Hope that all of you had a pleasant Tuesday.
Linda accompanied me to my eye doctor appointment on Tuesday. I have what is known as a “Droopy Eye”. If you go on Web MD, you can find out what it is, and what I am going to go through to get it fixed. The optometrist put me through the multiple usual tests because he has to prove that it is a medical issue so that our Health Insurance will cover the delicate surgery.
When we arrived home, after multiple hours at the optometrist, there was a message on our answering machine. My orthopedic doctor wants to see me since I dealt with a Physicians’ Assistant when I went for an appointment a month ago. I am booked in for an 11 AM appointment on Thursday.
Linda doesn’t like the fact that my body is falling apart faster than hers, but she said that she is willing to fulfill her wedding vows for a little while longer.
On a positive note, our Pittsfield Irish Sister City Christmas Party / Unofficial Meeting went very well. There was much food, fun, and merriment. Every one brought a dish of some sort without telling the host what they were bringing. There were no duplicates. From appetizers to the main meal, and into the desserts, everything was so good.
When a majority of us decided to go home, a few diehards were still there. After sending this e-mail, I have to write up the minutes of the meeting.
My UNICO brothers and sisters, who will be doing the bell ringing at Walmart for the Salvation Army, better dress warm. The temperatures will be hovering around 20 degrees for the high of the day with a wind, and snow showers. When I do my shift tomorrow, it will be a high of 24 degrees. When our crew starts our shift, the sun should give us the illusion of warmth. It will be quite cold when our shift ends at 5 PM.
Social Calendar -- Linda doesn’t have to leave the house until her Book Club Christmas Dinner at an Italian Restaurant. She spent so much time with me yesterday that she didn’t have a chance to go shopping and use some coupons. She will be doing so today.
I will be leaving the house a little before 3 PM today to help out with the UNICO sponsored Big Brothers and Big Sisters pizza party at the Italian American Club. As I said in yesterday’s e-mail, we will be preparing and serving the pizza for the event. It shouldn’t be a late night for me.
News – Every news station is broadcasting the video of the lone Florida gunman who went to a school board meeting to protest his wife’s firing. He whips out a hand gun. He fired 16 shots, got into a fire fight with a security guard, before killing himself. Luckily no one was killed except for the gunman.
Politics – It looks like the compromise that the President wants with respect to the tax issue might be a hard sell in the House. The American voters want to see a compromise take place, but I am not sure if it is going to happen.
We got invited to another party while at last night’s party. The host of yesterday’s party invited us, which will include our grandson Max since we will be baby sitting him, to brunch on January 1, 2011. She said that her friends are welcome to come to the house any time after 11 AM on New Year’s Day. Of course, this is after we go to a house party on New Year’s Eve. I will have to start a diet very soon after New Year’s.
The fundraiser for the 2 year old diagnosed with leukemia, which will be held on December 19 at Patrick’s Pub from 12 Pm until 6 PM, is coming together. A couple of the Irish Sister City females have been soliciting donations at a frenzied pace. The raffles include some wonderful items. There is even a pair of Celtic Tickets. Linda and I are going to leave our third party of that day early so that we can purchase raffle tickets.
Our son and his wife have been sending daily pictures of their two children. Linda and I can’t believe how fast that these two cherubs are growing since we last saw them in mid July. We haven’t purchased tickets to Kansas yet because Michael is waiting to get official word that his one week military trip to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas during mid January is still on. The trip depends on the Federal budget issues. We want to visit when both adults are home.
Observation – Two of our Irish Sister City members work for an agency which distributes food, and fuel vouchers, pet food, basic supplies like toilet paper, etc. to needy people. They do have the right to ask their clients for proof of need like tax returns, pay check stubs, etc., before helping these needy people. I always ask my friends how things are going at work when I see them. Their stories are absolutely heart wrenching. One man came in the other day hoping to get some dog food and or food for himself. He told our friend that the dog eats when he eats. Another female client came into our friend’s office, and saw a roll of toilet paper in her office. The toilet paper was for the worker’s personal use, but she gave it to her client. With the weather being so cold lately, people are running out of oil to heat their homes, or can’t pay for Natural gas bills, or electric bills. Our friends said that their clients line up each day seeking some kind of assistance.
As all this is going on, sports’ teams are paying ball players millions of dollars to play a game. We spend millions of dollars to keep wars going each month as we have people in the United States who need our help more than ever. Is there anything wrong with this picture?
Well, I have to end this e-mail, read the local news paper, and get to the minutes of last nights meeting.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Hope that all of you had a pleasant Tuesday.
Linda accompanied me to my eye doctor appointment on Tuesday. I have what is known as a “Droopy Eye”. If you go on Web MD, you can find out what it is, and what I am going to go through to get it fixed. The optometrist put me through the multiple usual tests because he has to prove that it is a medical issue so that our Health Insurance will cover the delicate surgery.
When we arrived home, after multiple hours at the optometrist, there was a message on our answering machine. My orthopedic doctor wants to see me since I dealt with a Physicians’ Assistant when I went for an appointment a month ago. I am booked in for an 11 AM appointment on Thursday.
Linda doesn’t like the fact that my body is falling apart faster than hers, but she said that she is willing to fulfill her wedding vows for a little while longer.
On a positive note, our Pittsfield Irish Sister City Christmas Party / Unofficial Meeting went very well. There was much food, fun, and merriment. Every one brought a dish of some sort without telling the host what they were bringing. There were no duplicates. From appetizers to the main meal, and into the desserts, everything was so good.
When a majority of us decided to go home, a few diehards were still there. After sending this e-mail, I have to write up the minutes of the meeting.
My UNICO brothers and sisters, who will be doing the bell ringing at Walmart for the Salvation Army, better dress warm. The temperatures will be hovering around 20 degrees for the high of the day with a wind, and snow showers. When I do my shift tomorrow, it will be a high of 24 degrees. When our crew starts our shift, the sun should give us the illusion of warmth. It will be quite cold when our shift ends at 5 PM.
Social Calendar -- Linda doesn’t have to leave the house until her Book Club Christmas Dinner at an Italian Restaurant. She spent so much time with me yesterday that she didn’t have a chance to go shopping and use some coupons. She will be doing so today.
I will be leaving the house a little before 3 PM today to help out with the UNICO sponsored Big Brothers and Big Sisters pizza party at the Italian American Club. As I said in yesterday’s e-mail, we will be preparing and serving the pizza for the event. It shouldn’t be a late night for me.
News – Every news station is broadcasting the video of the lone Florida gunman who went to a school board meeting to protest his wife’s firing. He whips out a hand gun. He fired 16 shots, got into a fire fight with a security guard, before killing himself. Luckily no one was killed except for the gunman.
Politics – It looks like the compromise that the President wants with respect to the tax issue might be a hard sell in the House. The American voters want to see a compromise take place, but I am not sure if it is going to happen.
We got invited to another party while at last night’s party. The host of yesterday’s party invited us, which will include our grandson Max since we will be baby sitting him, to brunch on January 1, 2011. She said that her friends are welcome to come to the house any time after 11 AM on New Year’s Day. Of course, this is after we go to a house party on New Year’s Eve. I will have to start a diet very soon after New Year’s.
The fundraiser for the 2 year old diagnosed with leukemia, which will be held on December 19 at Patrick’s Pub from 12 Pm until 6 PM, is coming together. A couple of the Irish Sister City females have been soliciting donations at a frenzied pace. The raffles include some wonderful items. There is even a pair of Celtic Tickets. Linda and I are going to leave our third party of that day early so that we can purchase raffle tickets.
Our son and his wife have been sending daily pictures of their two children. Linda and I can’t believe how fast that these two cherubs are growing since we last saw them in mid July. We haven’t purchased tickets to Kansas yet because Michael is waiting to get official word that his one week military trip to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas during mid January is still on. The trip depends on the Federal budget issues. We want to visit when both adults are home.
Observation – Two of our Irish Sister City members work for an agency which distributes food, and fuel vouchers, pet food, basic supplies like toilet paper, etc. to needy people. They do have the right to ask their clients for proof of need like tax returns, pay check stubs, etc., before helping these needy people. I always ask my friends how things are going at work when I see them. Their stories are absolutely heart wrenching. One man came in the other day hoping to get some dog food and or food for himself. He told our friend that the dog eats when he eats. Another female client came into our friend’s office, and saw a roll of toilet paper in her office. The toilet paper was for the worker’s personal use, but she gave it to her client. With the weather being so cold lately, people are running out of oil to heat their homes, or can’t pay for Natural gas bills, or electric bills. Our friends said that their clients line up each day seeking some kind of assistance.
As all this is going on, sports’ teams are paying ball players millions of dollars to play a game. We spend millions of dollars to keep wars going each month as we have people in the United States who need our help more than ever. Is there anything wrong with this picture?
Well, I have to end this e-mail, read the local news paper, and get to the minutes of last nights meeting.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Hello on Tuesday
Dear Friends,
Our Monday went as planned with no bumps along the road.
I am up early today because my body needs a light workout at Retro Fitness. I will be there with the 4:30 AM crowd.
My UNICO meeting went well last night. There are so many UNICO events for the month of January all lined up that I will be very busy. Some events I will miss because Linda and I are planning to head out to Kansas to see our other two grandchildren and their parents during the middle of January.
Of course, there are several UNICO events lined up for this month both before and after Christmas.
While Linda is out with her book club girlfriends on Wednesday night at an Italian Restaurant, I will be working a pizza party at the Italian American Club for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. I have to show up at 3 PM. We buy the pizza shells from a local bakery, but we put on the ingredients, and cook and serve the pizzas. We usually have ice cream for dessert.
The next day I am booked into a Salvation Army Bell Ringing event at Walmart. My shift goes from 3 PM until 5 PM.
Social Calendar – I have an eye appoint today at 11:30 PM. Linda will be going with me because her Tuesday Mah Jongg session had a few sick players, and others who had those “Can’t miss” meetings.
I want to squeeze in a short afternoon nap before we head off to a 6 PM Irish Sister City Christmas Party at the home of one of our members. It should be a fun time. Our grab bag gifts are all set.
Politics / The Learning Channel – After my meeting last night, I sat down with Linda to watch a program which Linda recorded. It was called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” If you were a gun toting life long member of the NRA (National Rifle Association) or like hunting and fishing, you would vote for Sarah as our next President. On this program, Sarah went on an Elk hunt with her Dad, and a guide. They were flown into the wilderness by a plane that could only have one person in the plane at a time besides the pilot. They slept in tents. They walked miles to find the elusive Elk. Sarah did shoot an Elk. They showed them cutting up the Elk, packaging up the meat, and eventually putting the meat in the refrigerator / freezer when they arrived home.
I tried to visualize the wives in our circle of friends being like a Sarah Palin with respect to going hunting, shooting an animal, carving it up, sleeping in the wilderness in tents with wolves, and bears nearby, but none of our female friends appear to be that type of person. We do have some friends who do go hiking, kayaking, biking, and aren’t afraid to sleep in a tent, but they have no firearms in their homes of any type in their homes except for a pellet gun to shoot garden pests.
Sports – Brett Farve was on the injured list for last night’s football game that was moved from Minnesota to Detroit. His streak of starting almost 300 consecutive games came to an end. His career should end also.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Monday went as planned with no bumps along the road.
I am up early today because my body needs a light workout at Retro Fitness. I will be there with the 4:30 AM crowd.
My UNICO meeting went well last night. There are so many UNICO events for the month of January all lined up that I will be very busy. Some events I will miss because Linda and I are planning to head out to Kansas to see our other two grandchildren and their parents during the middle of January.
Of course, there are several UNICO events lined up for this month both before and after Christmas.
While Linda is out with her book club girlfriends on Wednesday night at an Italian Restaurant, I will be working a pizza party at the Italian American Club for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. I have to show up at 3 PM. We buy the pizza shells from a local bakery, but we put on the ingredients, and cook and serve the pizzas. We usually have ice cream for dessert.
The next day I am booked into a Salvation Army Bell Ringing event at Walmart. My shift goes from 3 PM until 5 PM.
Social Calendar – I have an eye appoint today at 11:30 PM. Linda will be going with me because her Tuesday Mah Jongg session had a few sick players, and others who had those “Can’t miss” meetings.
I want to squeeze in a short afternoon nap before we head off to a 6 PM Irish Sister City Christmas Party at the home of one of our members. It should be a fun time. Our grab bag gifts are all set.
Politics / The Learning Channel – After my meeting last night, I sat down with Linda to watch a program which Linda recorded. It was called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” If you were a gun toting life long member of the NRA (National Rifle Association) or like hunting and fishing, you would vote for Sarah as our next President. On this program, Sarah went on an Elk hunt with her Dad, and a guide. They were flown into the wilderness by a plane that could only have one person in the plane at a time besides the pilot. They slept in tents. They walked miles to find the elusive Elk. Sarah did shoot an Elk. They showed them cutting up the Elk, packaging up the meat, and eventually putting the meat in the refrigerator / freezer when they arrived home.
I tried to visualize the wives in our circle of friends being like a Sarah Palin with respect to going hunting, shooting an animal, carving it up, sleeping in the wilderness in tents with wolves, and bears nearby, but none of our female friends appear to be that type of person. We do have some friends who do go hiking, kayaking, biking, and aren’t afraid to sleep in a tent, but they have no firearms in their homes of any type in their homes except for a pellet gun to shoot garden pests.
Sports – Brett Farve was on the injured list for last night’s football game that was moved from Minnesota to Detroit. His streak of starting almost 300 consecutive games came to an end. His career should end also.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, December 13, 2010
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
I hope that my snow bird friends postpone their trip down south. It will be about the same temperature in the Northeast as it will be down south as the latest front moves through. The southerners will be wearing winter jackets and gloves for sure. The snow in the Midwest is another story. We won’t be getting that white stuff they have been getting.
Speaking of snow, my New England Patriots did quite well in the snow and cold in Chicago. They showed the NFL that they might be the team to beat this year. I watched a New England Sports program after the game. One of the announcers, who was on two Super Bowl Championship teams said that this year’s team has more talented players than his two Super Bowl teams.
How about the coaching tactic that Belechik used in practice? He froze 12 balls, and forced the team to practice with frozen footballs.
How about Rex Ryan, the coach of the Jets, burying the football after losing to the Patriots on Monday night? First of all, he copied that motivational technique form Bill Belechik, and it didn’t work. They lost their Sunday afternoon game.
Our Sunday did do exactly the way which we had planned. I surfaced from my Man Cave for supper which was the crock pot beef stew which I mentioned in my Sunday e-mail. It was wonderful. Linda put in some fresh herbs from her Aero Garden. I did take a morning nap so that I could stay up and watch a whole day of football as the wind and rain drenched us in the Northeast. The weather guy said that the temperature will start dropping around 5 PM with snow showers, and the roads freezing over. I am the only one who has to go out this evening since I have a 6 PM UNICO meeting. I am hoping that the meeting is no more than an hour long. I have two football games to watch this evening since the Giants vs Vikings had their game postponed due to the collapse of the roof of the Metrodome in Minnesota.
Linda read the two Sunday newspapers, clipped some coupons, did some knitting, dealt with a load of my clothes, and watched her DVR recorded programs, and set the table for supper.
Politics – I do hope the Democrats and Republicans can put together a compromise bill about those tax break issues. The rich have becoming so rich over these difficult times us middle class Americans are trying to make ends meet. I don’t agree with the argument that rich will produce more jobs for the average American if we keep the tax cuts as they are right now.
Dream – I had a weird dream last night. I dreamt that I caught a teenage burglar in my back yard. He was driving a beat up pickup truck. He was loading up a bunch of stuff in a wheel barrel. He even stole my metal mailbox from the front yard. I was trying to figure out where this dream came from. I remembered a conversation from the Saturday night party. One of our retired teacher friends is a real estate broker. He said that he was with a client and another real estate broker as they were looking at a south county house. As soon as they all walked in the house, they all sensed something was wrong. Someone broke into the house by way of a rear door, and took out most of the easily accessible copper pipes in the basement. My brain sure works in mysterious ways.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine, get dressed and do a couple of errands.
I might whip up a couple of Irish Soda Breads as gifts for some of the parties which we will be attending.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I hope that my snow bird friends postpone their trip down south. It will be about the same temperature in the Northeast as it will be down south as the latest front moves through. The southerners will be wearing winter jackets and gloves for sure. The snow in the Midwest is another story. We won’t be getting that white stuff they have been getting.
Speaking of snow, my New England Patriots did quite well in the snow and cold in Chicago. They showed the NFL that they might be the team to beat this year. I watched a New England Sports program after the game. One of the announcers, who was on two Super Bowl Championship teams said that this year’s team has more talented players than his two Super Bowl teams.
How about the coaching tactic that Belechik used in practice? He froze 12 balls, and forced the team to practice with frozen footballs.
How about Rex Ryan, the coach of the Jets, burying the football after losing to the Patriots on Monday night? First of all, he copied that motivational technique form Bill Belechik, and it didn’t work. They lost their Sunday afternoon game.
Our Sunday did do exactly the way which we had planned. I surfaced from my Man Cave for supper which was the crock pot beef stew which I mentioned in my Sunday e-mail. It was wonderful. Linda put in some fresh herbs from her Aero Garden. I did take a morning nap so that I could stay up and watch a whole day of football as the wind and rain drenched us in the Northeast. The weather guy said that the temperature will start dropping around 5 PM with snow showers, and the roads freezing over. I am the only one who has to go out this evening since I have a 6 PM UNICO meeting. I am hoping that the meeting is no more than an hour long. I have two football games to watch this evening since the Giants vs Vikings had their game postponed due to the collapse of the roof of the Metrodome in Minnesota.
Linda read the two Sunday newspapers, clipped some coupons, did some knitting, dealt with a load of my clothes, and watched her DVR recorded programs, and set the table for supper.
Politics – I do hope the Democrats and Republicans can put together a compromise bill about those tax break issues. The rich have becoming so rich over these difficult times us middle class Americans are trying to make ends meet. I don’t agree with the argument that rich will produce more jobs for the average American if we keep the tax cuts as they are right now.
Dream – I had a weird dream last night. I dreamt that I caught a teenage burglar in my back yard. He was driving a beat up pickup truck. He was loading up a bunch of stuff in a wheel barrel. He even stole my metal mailbox from the front yard. I was trying to figure out where this dream came from. I remembered a conversation from the Saturday night party. One of our retired teacher friends is a real estate broker. He said that he was with a client and another real estate broker as they were looking at a south county house. As soon as they all walked in the house, they all sensed something was wrong. Someone broke into the house by way of a rear door, and took out most of the easily accessible copper pipes in the basement. My brain sure works in mysterious ways.
Well, I have to finish my morning routine, get dressed and do a couple of errands.
I might whip up a couple of Irish Soda Breads as gifts for some of the parties which we will be attending.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hello on Sunday
Dear Friends,
I am still in the “taking care of the grandchild” mode. I must admit that it was okay to wake up today to the solitude in a house, instead of checking the baby monitor while having my first cup of coffee. Of course, we both missed our grandchild as soon as we left North Tewksbury at 9 AM on Saturday. Yes, I do miss that smile when I rescue him from his crib in the morning. I will miss putting him down for his naps, and at bed time, and the way that he doesn’t fight going to sleep. I was with Max longer than Linda during this baby sitting gig, and not once did he object when we decided to put him in his crib for some needed rest for him and his grandparents. In my e-mails, I keep on saying how wonderful he is even at the touch, and grab, etc. toddler age. If you were with him for the over a week, you would know what I am talking about.
When we left Tewksbury on Saturday, we went right by the exit to get on the Massachusetts Turnpike. We drove about 20 minutes past the exit to the Wrentham Outlets. Linda went to only one store, and shopped for over an hour. When we arrived at the Vera Bradley store, there was a line out front. An attendant was letting one person in when one person exited the store.
As we left the Outlets, Linda was almost in tears because she wanted to go to all of her favorite stores in the place, but couldn’t do so. We needed to get home so that I could take a nap in preparation for the Saturday Night house party which we were invited to.
The party went very well. There was much food, fun, and merriment before the party broke up and we headed home. The hosts didn’t get the message that our grandchild would not be at the party. They were really looking forward to seeing Max. They will see him when we baby sit once again around the New Year’s time frame.
If Max was there, there were so many objects within his grasp that we would have been chasing him and protecting all the objects that he could touch. I walk into the host’s great room where they have their main Christmas tree. Max would have taken down at least 20 to 30 decorations which were in his grasping range.
The host had Christmas Candles and decorations on every coffee table. I would have to have put handcuffs on Max because he would have played with the objects. Now this doesn’t sound too harmless, but then he liked to bang the objects on the table too. This too doesn’t sound bad, but one of their tables has a glass top. At our house, Linda put runners on the coffee table, and maybe a Christmas book. He liked to pull the runner off of the table including whatever objects were on the table runner.
The hosts have two daughters so they didn’t go through what a male toddler was like when their children were growing up. My Dalton friend and I firmly believe that boys and girls are wired differently. He said that his granddaughter would just look at the Christmas tree, and observe how beautiful it was when it was all lit up. Max wanted to feel the beauty by not just looking, but grabbing everything that he could reach. At his home, Max liked to pull the cord out of the socket so that the lights would go off on the tree.
All this stuff which Max does sounds so negative, but it is what toddlers do. As parents, you have to be quick, and nimble, and have a set of eyes in the back of your head. Most of us baby boomers lack those skills.
While at the party we were discussing Healthcare, Social Security, and which body parts aren’t working so great. These types of conversations weren’t part of our daily vocabulary when we were in our 20’s and 30’s. We were trying to figure out where the next party was.
One of the couples, who would normally have been at the party, called to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas”. This is the couple whose daughter gave birth to twins a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t realize that the new parents lived in Stoneham which isn’t too far from where Kevin and Kyla live. Linda and I will have to stop in for a visit when we are in North Tewksbury.
The Curley’s aren’t leaving the house today. We are going to treat it like a snow day. I am going to set up a two person amount of beef stew in our crock pot. Linda bought a loaf of Italian Bread to soak up the juices. I am going to take an early afternoon nap, and wake up, go into my man cave, and watch the Patriot game which starts at 4:15 PM in a cold, snowy, and windy Chicago.
I will come up stairs at half time for some beef stew. After the Patriot game is over, I will get ready for Sunday night football.
Linda told me last night that she wants to sleep until noon. I am not sure if I could be that quiet for so many hours.
It is raining out right now, and the wind is blowing. The couple inches of snow on the ground will be gone in no time at all. Linda and I would rather see snow than rain.
We have an extremely busy week coming up. Either one or both of us are out every night of the upcoming week. For me, some are meetings, others our Christmas parties which we will go as a couple, and some are parties with Linda and her girlfriends.
We still haven’t figured out how we are going to make it through the four parties, one of which is a fund raiser, which take place this coming Saturday.
Well, I have to out to the driveway, and get the Boston Globe, and the Berkshire Eagle. My first quiet activity, after I set up the beef stew, is to read the newspapers. I am really hoping that we don’t get any telephone calls from anyone until after Linda wakes up.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
I am still in the “taking care of the grandchild” mode. I must admit that it was okay to wake up today to the solitude in a house, instead of checking the baby monitor while having my first cup of coffee. Of course, we both missed our grandchild as soon as we left North Tewksbury at 9 AM on Saturday. Yes, I do miss that smile when I rescue him from his crib in the morning. I will miss putting him down for his naps, and at bed time, and the way that he doesn’t fight going to sleep. I was with Max longer than Linda during this baby sitting gig, and not once did he object when we decided to put him in his crib for some needed rest for him and his grandparents. In my e-mails, I keep on saying how wonderful he is even at the touch, and grab, etc. toddler age. If you were with him for the over a week, you would know what I am talking about.
When we left Tewksbury on Saturday, we went right by the exit to get on the Massachusetts Turnpike. We drove about 20 minutes past the exit to the Wrentham Outlets. Linda went to only one store, and shopped for over an hour. When we arrived at the Vera Bradley store, there was a line out front. An attendant was letting one person in when one person exited the store.
As we left the Outlets, Linda was almost in tears because she wanted to go to all of her favorite stores in the place, but couldn’t do so. We needed to get home so that I could take a nap in preparation for the Saturday Night house party which we were invited to.
The party went very well. There was much food, fun, and merriment before the party broke up and we headed home. The hosts didn’t get the message that our grandchild would not be at the party. They were really looking forward to seeing Max. They will see him when we baby sit once again around the New Year’s time frame.
If Max was there, there were so many objects within his grasp that we would have been chasing him and protecting all the objects that he could touch. I walk into the host’s great room where they have their main Christmas tree. Max would have taken down at least 20 to 30 decorations which were in his grasping range.
The host had Christmas Candles and decorations on every coffee table. I would have to have put handcuffs on Max because he would have played with the objects. Now this doesn’t sound too harmless, but then he liked to bang the objects on the table too. This too doesn’t sound bad, but one of their tables has a glass top. At our house, Linda put runners on the coffee table, and maybe a Christmas book. He liked to pull the runner off of the table including whatever objects were on the table runner.
The hosts have two daughters so they didn’t go through what a male toddler was like when their children were growing up. My Dalton friend and I firmly believe that boys and girls are wired differently. He said that his granddaughter would just look at the Christmas tree, and observe how beautiful it was when it was all lit up. Max wanted to feel the beauty by not just looking, but grabbing everything that he could reach. At his home, Max liked to pull the cord out of the socket so that the lights would go off on the tree.
All this stuff which Max does sounds so negative, but it is what toddlers do. As parents, you have to be quick, and nimble, and have a set of eyes in the back of your head. Most of us baby boomers lack those skills.
While at the party we were discussing Healthcare, Social Security, and which body parts aren’t working so great. These types of conversations weren’t part of our daily vocabulary when we were in our 20’s and 30’s. We were trying to figure out where the next party was.
One of the couples, who would normally have been at the party, called to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas”. This is the couple whose daughter gave birth to twins a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t realize that the new parents lived in Stoneham which isn’t too far from where Kevin and Kyla live. Linda and I will have to stop in for a visit when we are in North Tewksbury.
The Curley’s aren’t leaving the house today. We are going to treat it like a snow day. I am going to set up a two person amount of beef stew in our crock pot. Linda bought a loaf of Italian Bread to soak up the juices. I am going to take an early afternoon nap, and wake up, go into my man cave, and watch the Patriot game which starts at 4:15 PM in a cold, snowy, and windy Chicago.
I will come up stairs at half time for some beef stew. After the Patriot game is over, I will get ready for Sunday night football.
Linda told me last night that she wants to sleep until noon. I am not sure if I could be that quiet for so many hours.
It is raining out right now, and the wind is blowing. The couple inches of snow on the ground will be gone in no time at all. Linda and I would rather see snow than rain.
We have an extremely busy week coming up. Either one or both of us are out every night of the upcoming week. For me, some are meetings, others our Christmas parties which we will go as a couple, and some are parties with Linda and her girlfriends.
We still haven’t figured out how we are going to make it through the four parties, one of which is a fund raiser, which take place this coming Saturday.
Well, I have to out to the driveway, and get the Boston Globe, and the Berkshire Eagle. My first quiet activity, after I set up the beef stew, is to read the newspapers. I am really hoping that we don’t get any telephone calls from anyone until after Linda wakes up.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, December 10, 2010
Hello on Friday Morning.
Dear Friends,
It was a balmy 5.4 degrees on the north side of our house as I started to compose this early morning e-mail.
We had another fun day with our toddler grandson, Max, on Thursday. He has only a few more days left before his vacation is over. It will be sad to see him depart this weekend. I must say it is like having the energizer bunny with you 24 / 7. His father was exactly like his son. It is so cute at the end of the day with Max when his batteries start to wear down. His little body gets to the point where he stops running around, and he will sit calmly next to you as we watch the final kid’s television program of the day. Yes, I know that some parents try and keep the television off and create some family activity, but it is difficult when most toddler children have short attention spans.
Note – Max has touched every single object on the first floor, and in the basement which is at his eye level. Not a single object has been broken or destroyed. We do have a few tire tracks from some of his car toys on the family room television which is lower that the television in his own home.
Our Dalton friend stopped over after work and after his cardio workout to see Max since Max was crawling the last time that he saw him. We got to discussing if boy toddlers and girl toddlers are wired differently. His granddaughter just turned two years old around Thanksgiving. I asked him if his granddaughter was as active as Max at the 16 month old age. He said that his granddaughter wasn’t as active from what he observed as he watched Max. My Dalton friend did say that when his daughter was a toddler she got into everything. I would bet that her older brother had influenced her decision making.
I received an e-mail yesterday from an Irish Sister member about a benefit next Sunday at Patrick’s Pub from 12 PM to 6 PM for an Irish Band member’s two year old son who was just diagnosed with leukemia. The Irish American community is reaching out to the public to help support this fundraiser. I always feel so sad when I hear about children who have these life or death situations. It seems so unfair that they have to go through so much suffering. The Curley’s will try and make an appearance even though we are booked into three Christmas parties starting at noon, and going until about 6 PM.
Details -- 2 year old Jacob Daniels has been diagnosed with Leukemia. There will be a benefit at Patrick’s Pub Sunday December 19, 2010 from noon to 6 pm.
$15 dollar donation
The Benefit will feature a day filled with musical performances by some of Berkshire County's most talented acts including, Rakish Paddy, Mary Verdi, Satellite Shine, Rev. Tor, Andy Kelly and friends, Cam Collins, Shaun Callaghan and more! We are having a 50/50 Raffle and a Chinese Auction. Donated items include: Special Gift signed by James Taylor, 2 Canyon Ranch Spa Renewal Days, Luxury Spa Gift Basket and Gift Certificates to Friends Grille & Catering, Olde Forge, Ski Fanatics and more coming in.
Observation -- While reading the local obituaries on Thursday, I saw that a former south county educator passed away at age 72 after a brief illness. I first met this gentleman when I was a youth and high school soccer referee. With his mentoring help, I made it into the college refereeing ranks. I was always impressed what great shape that he was in even as he got older. He liked to jog several miles each day which helped him keep up with those speedy college soccer players. He was one of those guys who I thought would live for ever because of his good workout and healthy eating habits.
This is another example that “Life is a crapshoot.” You have to enjoy every moment that you are on this earth. Celebrate your life by surrounding yourself with family and friends. Enjoy your grandchildren every moment that you can like Linda and I are doing right now. Also, don’t sweat the little stuff because there are people like the little boy mentioned above who are dealing with life and death issues.
Linda is working on flights to see our two Kansas grandchildren and their parents during the mid January time frame. Since we get almost daily e-mail pictures from Kansas, we can easily see how fast that these two cherubs are growing up. We haven’t seen these two grandchildren since mid July. I did tell their parents that when I give Max a hug, I always have their two children in mind.
Linda had fun at her BONCO gathering last night. I always ask her if she picked up any gossip from her lady friends. The host’s son, who is a friend of son Kevin, has a new girl friend. He had a long term relationship with another girl that we all thought would turn into a marriage. Well, it didn’t happen. His new girl friend is a Lee High Wildcat. I don’t know her, but I think that she is from a Lee family that I knew growing up in the town.
I got myself in trouble the other day when I announced pre-maturely that one of Kevin’s friends was engaged. The engagement is official now. The boy’s Mom called Linda yesterday, and said that the engaged couple has set a date for the summer wedding. The couple doesn’t want to drag out a whole year of planning, and arranging things. If this wedding turns out to be like his twin brother’s was, it will be another fun weekend.
Observation – I got to thinking about Marilyn Edwards whose husband abandoned her as she was dying of breast cancer. I thought that part of the marriage vows said something about “for better or worse”. I thought that a married couple was supposed to stick together “in good times or bad times”. Maybe every couple should have a framed copy of their marriage vows hanging on a wall in their house. Maybe some people should talk to my parents who will have their 65th wedding anniversary on January 5, 2010, and ask them how their marriage vows have worked over these many years of being together.
I fell asleep watching the Celtic game last night. The ending must have been exciting because the Celtics won by one point.
Well, the Red Sox organization must have deep pockets. They paid almost $300 million dollars for two players who were signed to long term deals. I think that it is outrageous to pay people such large sums of money for playing a sport when a lot of communities across the nation are struggling to balance budgets as well as talking about layoffs or cutting services.
The temperature has dropped to one degree since I started this e-mail. It is difficult to imagine that the temperatures on Saturday will rise to the high 30’s with total sunshine. In the Berkshires, we are in for a round of freezing rain and just rain for Sunday and Monday.
Social Calendar – We were thinking of taking Max to an Irish American Christmas Dance at the Elk’s Club this evening, but we don’t know where a portable crib could be set up. The band starts playing about the same time that we have been putting our grandchild to bed. It looks like the Irish American Club members and their guests will have to party on without the Curley’s. Oh Darn!
I am going to grab that second cup of coffee before Max wakes up.
Yes, Max and I have been on the same napping schedule.
We both enjoyed a morning nap on Thursday. We tried an afternoon nap, but Max would have nothing to do with a nap.
Maybe this is why we both faded early on Thursday.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It was a balmy 5.4 degrees on the north side of our house as I started to compose this early morning e-mail.
We had another fun day with our toddler grandson, Max, on Thursday. He has only a few more days left before his vacation is over. It will be sad to see him depart this weekend. I must say it is like having the energizer bunny with you 24 / 7. His father was exactly like his son. It is so cute at the end of the day with Max when his batteries start to wear down. His little body gets to the point where he stops running around, and he will sit calmly next to you as we watch the final kid’s television program of the day. Yes, I know that some parents try and keep the television off and create some family activity, but it is difficult when most toddler children have short attention spans.
Note – Max has touched every single object on the first floor, and in the basement which is at his eye level. Not a single object has been broken or destroyed. We do have a few tire tracks from some of his car toys on the family room television which is lower that the television in his own home.
Our Dalton friend stopped over after work and after his cardio workout to see Max since Max was crawling the last time that he saw him. We got to discussing if boy toddlers and girl toddlers are wired differently. His granddaughter just turned two years old around Thanksgiving. I asked him if his granddaughter was as active as Max at the 16 month old age. He said that his granddaughter wasn’t as active from what he observed as he watched Max. My Dalton friend did say that when his daughter was a toddler she got into everything. I would bet that her older brother had influenced her decision making.
I received an e-mail yesterday from an Irish Sister member about a benefit next Sunday at Patrick’s Pub from 12 PM to 6 PM for an Irish Band member’s two year old son who was just diagnosed with leukemia. The Irish American community is reaching out to the public to help support this fundraiser. I always feel so sad when I hear about children who have these life or death situations. It seems so unfair that they have to go through so much suffering. The Curley’s will try and make an appearance even though we are booked into three Christmas parties starting at noon, and going until about 6 PM.
Details -- 2 year old Jacob Daniels has been diagnosed with Leukemia. There will be a benefit at Patrick’s Pub Sunday December 19, 2010 from noon to 6 pm.
$15 dollar donation
The Benefit will feature a day filled with musical performances by some of Berkshire County's most talented acts including, Rakish Paddy, Mary Verdi, Satellite Shine, Rev. Tor, Andy Kelly and friends, Cam Collins, Shaun Callaghan and more! We are having a 50/50 Raffle and a Chinese Auction. Donated items include: Special Gift signed by James Taylor, 2 Canyon Ranch Spa Renewal Days, Luxury Spa Gift Basket and Gift Certificates to Friends Grille & Catering, Olde Forge, Ski Fanatics and more coming in.
Observation -- While reading the local obituaries on Thursday, I saw that a former south county educator passed away at age 72 after a brief illness. I first met this gentleman when I was a youth and high school soccer referee. With his mentoring help, I made it into the college refereeing ranks. I was always impressed what great shape that he was in even as he got older. He liked to jog several miles each day which helped him keep up with those speedy college soccer players. He was one of those guys who I thought would live for ever because of his good workout and healthy eating habits.
This is another example that “Life is a crapshoot.” You have to enjoy every moment that you are on this earth. Celebrate your life by surrounding yourself with family and friends. Enjoy your grandchildren every moment that you can like Linda and I are doing right now. Also, don’t sweat the little stuff because there are people like the little boy mentioned above who are dealing with life and death issues.
Linda is working on flights to see our two Kansas grandchildren and their parents during the mid January time frame. Since we get almost daily e-mail pictures from Kansas, we can easily see how fast that these two cherubs are growing up. We haven’t seen these two grandchildren since mid July. I did tell their parents that when I give Max a hug, I always have their two children in mind.
Linda had fun at her BONCO gathering last night. I always ask her if she picked up any gossip from her lady friends. The host’s son, who is a friend of son Kevin, has a new girl friend. He had a long term relationship with another girl that we all thought would turn into a marriage. Well, it didn’t happen. His new girl friend is a Lee High Wildcat. I don’t know her, but I think that she is from a Lee family that I knew growing up in the town.
I got myself in trouble the other day when I announced pre-maturely that one of Kevin’s friends was engaged. The engagement is official now. The boy’s Mom called Linda yesterday, and said that the engaged couple has set a date for the summer wedding. The couple doesn’t want to drag out a whole year of planning, and arranging things. If this wedding turns out to be like his twin brother’s was, it will be another fun weekend.
Observation – I got to thinking about Marilyn Edwards whose husband abandoned her as she was dying of breast cancer. I thought that part of the marriage vows said something about “for better or worse”. I thought that a married couple was supposed to stick together “in good times or bad times”. Maybe every couple should have a framed copy of their marriage vows hanging on a wall in their house. Maybe some people should talk to my parents who will have their 65th wedding anniversary on January 5, 2010, and ask them how their marriage vows have worked over these many years of being together.
I fell asleep watching the Celtic game last night. The ending must have been exciting because the Celtics won by one point.
Well, the Red Sox organization must have deep pockets. They paid almost $300 million dollars for two players who were signed to long term deals. I think that it is outrageous to pay people such large sums of money for playing a sport when a lot of communities across the nation are struggling to balance budgets as well as talking about layoffs or cutting services.
The temperature has dropped to one degree since I started this e-mail. It is difficult to imagine that the temperatures on Saturday will rise to the high 30’s with total sunshine. In the Berkshires, we are in for a round of freezing rain and just rain for Sunday and Monday.
Social Calendar – We were thinking of taking Max to an Irish American Christmas Dance at the Elk’s Club this evening, but we don’t know where a portable crib could be set up. The band starts playing about the same time that we have been putting our grandchild to bed. It looks like the Irish American Club members and their guests will have to party on without the Curley’s. Oh Darn!
I am going to grab that second cup of coffee before Max wakes up.
Yes, Max and I have been on the same napping schedule.
We both enjoyed a morning nap on Thursday. We tried an afternoon nap, but Max would have nothing to do with a nap.
Maybe this is why we both faded early on Thursday.
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
My bio rhythm is out of whack right now. I should be sleeping, but I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I tried fighting the urge to get up, but nothing I could do could get me back to sleep. So I am sitting at the computer with a cup of fresh coffee, and trying to create my morning blog. I will definitely need a couple of naps today.
Max was his good natured self on Wednesday. We took a mid morning nap at the same time. He slept for an hour longer than I did. After lunch, we packed up and headed off to do a few errands. We did go and visit Mom in the nursing home, and Dad was there at the same time. They both got a chance to see Max which turned out well.
Max prefers my “Man Cave” instead of running around the first floor. He gives me a clear signal when he doesn’t want to be on the first floor. In a few years from now, I can visualize Kevin and Kyla finishing off at least one of the two rooms in the basement of their home, and creating a Man Cave.
Max’s mom and dad have sent e-mails saying that they miss their son. Linda spent several hours sending the latest pictures to them over the internet. Maybe one day, when we get “I phones” like our children and their wives have, we can send pictures instantaneously.
Linda had fun with her Knitting group at Panera Bread last evening. She said that there were a large number of knitters. This was probably due to the cold weather which we have been having. Today we are going to hover around the 20 degree mark all day long. It is 16 degrees out right now, and it usually goes a few degrees colder by the time the sun comes up.
When the temperatures reach in the high 30’s on Sunday with rain, it will be like a heat wave. The temperatures then drop once again. By the time next Thursday gets here, it will be in the low 20’s once again. I will be bell ringing for the Salvation Army with my UNICO brothers and sisters. My shift goes from 3 PM until 5 PM on December 16, 2010. The first hour usually starts out okay, but as the sun goes down, it gets down right cold. I will be wearing my electric socks for sure.
There was an article in the CNN news blog that said that someone stole a Salvation Army Kettle (not in Pittsfield).
This week I would normally be writing out Christmas Cards, but I can’t do that while chasing Max around. I decided to send cards if I receive one from friends and relatives. Am I weird because I like sending cards out with a little personal note? Yesterday, I received a nice Christmas card from my Aunt Lil who lives in Ohio. Her hand writing (The Palmer Method) is just the way that we Catholics were taught in Elementary school. She often sends me an article related to something that I put in my daily blog. Yesterday, she sent me an article from her local newspaper about feeding the birds which she knows I love. The article said that it was a myth that we do harm to the furry and feathered creatures by feeding them.
While I was feeding Max lunch yesterday, Max started pointing to the suction cup bird feeder, which had a couple birds eating my sunflower seeds, which I have attached to the kitchen window. He knows that Grandpa likes to feed the animals too.
I think any family which has small children should put up bird feeders so that they can appreciate all of God’s creatures. Now if you happen to have bears coming to the feeders, like we do, you might want to alter times that you put the bird feeders out, or take the bird feeders in at night.
There is nothing prettier than seeing a bright red cardinal against a snow white background. Seeing a woodpecker attacking a suet cake is another great sight for kids to see.
Linda is socially engaged today, but I have nothing on my social calendar. She has a body maintenance procedure at 10 AM, and her monthly BONCO session at a friend’s home at 7 PM.
I have another sporting contest to watch after Max goes to bed.
Speaking of Sports, the Boston Celtics won their game last night. To summarize, the New England Patriots won their football Game on Monday night, the Boston Bruins won their hockey game on Tuesday night, and the Celtics last night. The Boston sports market seems to put out great teams whether in the football Stadium, at the Hockey rink, on the Basketball court, and on the Baseball diamond. The New England sports teams play to packed houses and tickets are often difficult to come by even in this depressed economy. There aren’t many States in this great country which can make this claim. This is why I love living in New England. I always have some team to cheer about.
Well, I am going to go back to bed.
I am getting a little tired even after having a cup of coffee.
I hope Max sleeps until 8 AM like he did yesterday.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
My bio rhythm is out of whack right now. I should be sleeping, but I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I tried fighting the urge to get up, but nothing I could do could get me back to sleep. So I am sitting at the computer with a cup of fresh coffee, and trying to create my morning blog. I will definitely need a couple of naps today.
Max was his good natured self on Wednesday. We took a mid morning nap at the same time. He slept for an hour longer than I did. After lunch, we packed up and headed off to do a few errands. We did go and visit Mom in the nursing home, and Dad was there at the same time. They both got a chance to see Max which turned out well.
Max prefers my “Man Cave” instead of running around the first floor. He gives me a clear signal when he doesn’t want to be on the first floor. In a few years from now, I can visualize Kevin and Kyla finishing off at least one of the two rooms in the basement of their home, and creating a Man Cave.
Max’s mom and dad have sent e-mails saying that they miss their son. Linda spent several hours sending the latest pictures to them over the internet. Maybe one day, when we get “I phones” like our children and their wives have, we can send pictures instantaneously.
Linda had fun with her Knitting group at Panera Bread last evening. She said that there were a large number of knitters. This was probably due to the cold weather which we have been having. Today we are going to hover around the 20 degree mark all day long. It is 16 degrees out right now, and it usually goes a few degrees colder by the time the sun comes up.
When the temperatures reach in the high 30’s on Sunday with rain, it will be like a heat wave. The temperatures then drop once again. By the time next Thursday gets here, it will be in the low 20’s once again. I will be bell ringing for the Salvation Army with my UNICO brothers and sisters. My shift goes from 3 PM until 5 PM on December 16, 2010. The first hour usually starts out okay, but as the sun goes down, it gets down right cold. I will be wearing my electric socks for sure.
There was an article in the CNN news blog that said that someone stole a Salvation Army Kettle (not in Pittsfield).
This week I would normally be writing out Christmas Cards, but I can’t do that while chasing Max around. I decided to send cards if I receive one from friends and relatives. Am I weird because I like sending cards out with a little personal note? Yesterday, I received a nice Christmas card from my Aunt Lil who lives in Ohio. Her hand writing (The Palmer Method) is just the way that we Catholics were taught in Elementary school. She often sends me an article related to something that I put in my daily blog. Yesterday, she sent me an article from her local newspaper about feeding the birds which she knows I love. The article said that it was a myth that we do harm to the furry and feathered creatures by feeding them.
While I was feeding Max lunch yesterday, Max started pointing to the suction cup bird feeder, which had a couple birds eating my sunflower seeds, which I have attached to the kitchen window. He knows that Grandpa likes to feed the animals too.
I think any family which has small children should put up bird feeders so that they can appreciate all of God’s creatures. Now if you happen to have bears coming to the feeders, like we do, you might want to alter times that you put the bird feeders out, or take the bird feeders in at night.
There is nothing prettier than seeing a bright red cardinal against a snow white background. Seeing a woodpecker attacking a suet cake is another great sight for kids to see.
Linda is socially engaged today, but I have nothing on my social calendar. She has a body maintenance procedure at 10 AM, and her monthly BONCO session at a friend’s home at 7 PM.
I have another sporting contest to watch after Max goes to bed.
Speaking of Sports, the Boston Celtics won their game last night. To summarize, the New England Patriots won their football Game on Monday night, the Boston Bruins won their hockey game on Tuesday night, and the Celtics last night. The Boston sports market seems to put out great teams whether in the football Stadium, at the Hockey rink, on the Basketball court, and on the Baseball diamond. The New England sports teams play to packed houses and tickets are often difficult to come by even in this depressed economy. There aren’t many States in this great country which can make this claim. This is why I love living in New England. I always have some team to cheer about.
Well, I am going to go back to bed.
I am getting a little tired even after having a cup of coffee.
I hope Max sleeps until 8 AM like he did yesterday.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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