Hello on Saturday

ear Friends,

Another day went as planned in my world. I accomplished all the tasks which I set out to do. I had a picnic on the deck by myself. I grilled some chicken leg quarters, and tried to watch television in the screened in room on the deck until hypothermia set in (as well as rain). I moved indoors, and ate the chicken and watched the Red Sox go down to defeat. I didn't get too much chicken grease on the leather couch or on my clothes. I didn't have to light a candle since I cooked the chicken outdoors.

The Red Sox are keeping pace with the Yankees because they lost their game too. Since both teams are playing National League Teams, there is no designated hitter. The pitcher has to come to bat while designated hitters like David Ortiz are on the bench. The Sox have now lost three games in a row. Oh Darn!

Linda called from Cape Cod as I was sitting on the deck waiting for the chicken to cook. Four of the ladies were sitting on their beach chairs in the sand hoping that the sun would peek through the clouds. Not! The other women were out doing a little recreational shopping. When these ladies returned from shopping, it was going to be cocktail hour. Bloody Marys were going to be the cocktail hour drink. They had reservations at Doyle's Restaurant for supper. Can you imagine the conversation which would have been like with the 14 women at that restaurant? The ladies are hoping that they will see the sun on Sunday and Monday. Linda told me that after they check out on Monday, they (only four of them) will spend the day at the beach and in the sun. It could be a late Monday night arrival back in the Berkshires as they shop their way off of Cape Cod.
I am not sure if Linda wants to return home. On this coming Tuesday she is booked in for two events. Her calendar is full through Thursday. This coming weekend is the Fourth of July, and we will be taking care of Max, going to a James Taylor Concert, me marching in the Pittsfield Fourth of July parade with UNICO, and attending picnics.

Speaking of picnics, when I was in a grocery store purchasing my chicken, I met a former student of mine Ed Mylarzchik (sp). He had three pork butt / shoulder roasts (high fat content) in his grocery cart. He was going to slow cook the meat, and make pulled pork for his Fourth of July picnic. He said that he owns two smokers, one which is electric. He prefers the old fashion one over the electric one. If we weren't booked into a picnic on the Fourth of July, I would have invited myself to his picnic.

I have been having some unusual aches and pains lately. I went on internet, and got on WebMd. I looked up my symptoms of where the aches and pains are occurring in my body. My self diagnosis was that I might have developed a kidney stone. The medical treatment is to drink a lot of water which helps to flush the kidney stone out. I have had one kidney stone in my life, and I don't want to go through that ordeal again. Shortly after my incident, which occurred about 10 years ago, a teacher had a kidney stone. As he described what the doctors did to surgically remove his trapped kidney stone, I started to feel ill. I was lucky to have passed my stone. Currently my pain is in the dull ache variety. If the pain hits the severe range, I will take myself to Berkshire Medical Center.

Another issue which I am dealing with is an Achilles Tendon problem. I ruptured an Achillies Tendon about 25 years ago in my right leg. Well that same leg is bothering me in the same area. I pretty much limped while doing all my errands on Friday. There was no "pop" which happened when I first ruptured the tendon. I am hoping that it is just a strain that will heal itself. If I had to march in the Parade today, I would be in real trouble.

I can hear my blog reader Albert saying that if I lose weight, there would be less strain on my body.

Social Calendar -- Linda is at the Cape. I and my fellow UNICANS will be helping out at the YMCA Fundraiser Wing Fling at Berkshire Community College. We are part of the serving and clean up crew. When the wings are gone and we are done cleaning up, our responsibilities will be over. There will be a band playing until midnight for the dancing pleasure of the guests. We workers were advised to show up at 5:15 PM even though the Wing Fling starts at 7 PM.

New York is now the 6th State which allows gay marriage. The vote took place on Friday. It was signed in law by Governor Cuomo.

I decided to watch the Boston news channel while my chicken was cooking. The whole news broadcast was about the arraignment of Whitey Bulger and his girlfriend who were captured in Santa Monica, California after being on the run since 1992.

Weather -- We have a 60 % + chance of rain and thundershowers. There is a light rain falling right now. The weather channel said that there might be some severe weather in the Southern Georgia area which is exactly where my military son and his family will be living for the next few years. Oh Darn!

Observation -- Besides this rain creating more weeds in our flower beds, the mosquitoes will be out in force. The cool damp weather is an ideal condition for these blood suckers to grow. We used to be part of a county wide mosquito control project. Our city thought be a long and painful summer for we homeowners in Pittsfield. When the mosquitoes are active, we really appreciate our screened in room on our deck. There must be some environmentally safe chemical that I can purchase and spray on the bushes in our yard. I wanted to get a bat house, and attach it too our storage shed. Bats do eat a lot of mosquitoes. This concept was not well received by my wife.

One of my friends is going to Tanglewood this evening to see the ageless band "Earth, Wind, and Fire". I do hope that he has tickets in the shed. If he has lawn tickets, he and his family better bring rain gear. Linda and I saw this band while at a teacher convention in Philadelphia during a Fourth of July weekend several years ago. They closed down the streets, and a good time was had by all at this free concert.

Well, I have to tend to some clothes which are in the dryer. Have a great weekend despite the rain if it is in your area. Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad