Hello on Wednesday

Dear Friends,

Another day went pretty well for Linda and I with a hardly any bumps along the road of life.

The VNA nurse called and said that she was going to change Linda's bandage at noon on Tuesday. Not! Linda convinced the first caller from the VNA that noontime is too late for a bandage change. A nurse did the bandage change at 9:30 AM, and Linda was happy.

The open wound continues to be healing nicely, but Linda is still house bound.

The second bump along the road for Linda occurred when I was off working the Fundraiser at the ITAM. Linda decided to prepare some leftovers for her supper. When I arrived home a little after 8 PM her tummy was in turmoil. I don't think that she is going to eat another leftover for a very long time. After sending this e-mail, I am cleaning out the refrigerator of any leftovers. This problem with leftovers actually began at noontime when she wanted to make herself a sandwich. The deli meat that I purchased the other day had a distinct odor that it was time to feed the garbage disposal, and that it wasn't fit to be consumed by humans. Oh Darn!

The Pittsfield High School Italian Exchange Club Pasta Dinner went very well. We served over 250 people. The parents made some wonderful desserts (some were purchased), and they seemed to be endless. Our UNICO crew of food preparation workers and servers worked like a well oiled machine. The oil was Olive oil.

Observation 1 -- When there was a little lull as the last few families went through the buffet line, there was a discussion in the kitchen how we Italians interact to certain situations. Visualize a heated discussion going back and forth while sipping some homemade wine. Visualize a bunch of Italians talking, and sometimes yelling at each other with their hands in motion, and emotional as ever. You would think that someone is getting close to fisticuffs, and all of a sudden, the arguments end, and everyone are friends again. Some ethnic groups should learn some of these techniques in problem solving. Why do some people have to pull out a knife or a gun, and cause physical harm to someone as their way of resolving heated discussions?

Observation 2 -- In yesterday's local newspaper, there was an article about the little country of Quatar trying to help the rebels next door in Libya to overthrow the Libyan government. This just seems like another country involved in a Middle East conflict, but do you remember that this country was granted the right to host the next World Cup Soccer Tournament? I don't know how this poor country is going to be able to provide venues as well as the infrastructure to host such a tournament. Now that they have joined the Libyan conflict they will have more issues to deal with. What American, if they can afford to attend the World Cup, would want to get on a plane, and head to that part of the world? The Committee which selected Quatar to host the World Cup might have to rethink their decision.

Well I will spend the whole day bonding with Linda. My social calendar has nothing listed on it for today. Lind won't be getting leftovers today. When she wakes up, we will be preparing a Corn Chowder in the crock pot. We get a daily recipe on line each day, and this one sounded very interesting. We have all the ingredients to make the Chowder. There is one slight problem, and that is the weather. We are supposed to reach the 50 degree mark today which is not soup eating weather. We can't wait until Thursday because I am socially engaged with the UNICO Celebrity Bartending event at the Heritage Tavern in Lenox.

Speaking of weather, the Northeast might get a spring snow storm on Friday. There is the potential for a 6 to 12 inch wet snow event. If we do get snowed in on Friday, we will whip up a crock pot beef stew.

My golf clubs still remain in the back of my Subaru. Even though the Berkshire Hills Country Club Golf Course is officially open, it has been so windy and cold for the past week or so that the only action at the golf course has been in the members' bar area.

I threw my NCAA basketball pool out the other day. My final four are long gone. Next year Linda is going to enter the pool. It might be better to have a person who knows nothing about any team make selections. Who would have guessed Butler, and Virginia Commonwealth would be part of the final four? It definitely wasn't me!

My father called last night as I was driving home from the fundraiser. The hospital is discharging him today around the noontime hour. I am pretty sure that he is going to take up my sister's offer to stay with her on the first floor of her house. If you are wondering why don't Linda and I have him stay at our house it is because we have a Colonial, and all the bedrooms are on the second floor? Also my father had one of those stair lift devices in his house. He wouldn't be able to go up and down our stairs. Also Linda doesn't want to pass on her infection to my father. My father doesn't need an infection as he recovers from his surgery.

Well, I have to get to some quiet chores, one of which is to throw out those leftovers in the refrigerator. Have a great Wednesday! Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad