Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in Curleyworld. I once again left the house first, and headed directly to Lee. I cut dear old dad's postage stamp size grass. Dad wasn't home at the time, and I am guessing that he was socializing with his friend's at the local McDonalds' in Lee.
I then went to the nursing home to visit dear old Mom for about an hour before returning home and doing some yard work. Mom was in good spirits, and like I always say, she definitely recognizes her son. When I walked in the room, the television was on. The program that was on the television was one of the Sportsmen programs where they were hunting Whitetail Deer. I don't know why this program was on because she never hunted in her life time.
Before I departed for home, I put on an old time western with the closed caption on.
As I arrived home, Linda was heading off to the Lilac Park Crafts' Fair in downtown Lenox. None of her girlfriends were available, so she went alone.
After a couple of hours of poking around in Lenox, she did a little recreational shopping before she arrived home.
We had a quiet evening alone. We had some hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob which I cooked on the grill (side burner for cooking the corn) before I settled down and watched the Red sox in the screened in room on the deck while Linda watched her previously recorded programs in the family room.
Observation -- We did make a telephone call last evening to our Lt. Colonel son who is a pilot, and who begins his journey to Afghanistan. He will be deployed for 3.5 months if those plans don't change. How do parents tell their son, who will be in harms way, to be safe during his deployment in a war zone? The A-10 Thunderbolt (nicknamed the Warthog) airplane, which he flies, is being used on a daily basis in Afghanistan in support of the troops on the ground. If the troops on the ground are in a fire fight, and they call up for ground support, the A 10 pilots fly in and do their thing.
As all of you know, the bad guys have weapons which can put these brave pilots in dangerous and life threatening situations.
So as Linda and I are doing fun things like going to the beach, or going to a cookout, having a few beverages at a Pub, etc., there are some brave men and women putting their lives on the line on a daily basis. Whether you agree or disagree about the United States being involved in these military conflicts, it really hits home when it is your own loved one that is right in the middle of it.
Note -- Our daughter-in-law Danielle, our military son's wife, went through the same thing when she was flying missions in her A-10 during the Iraq war.
Danielle is currently a stay at home mom and she will definitely have her hands full taking care of a one year old and a three year old on her own.
Social Calendar -- While our son is being transported to Afghanistan, Linda and I will be heading off to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. A bus trip was organized by the Italian American Club which we are members of. We meet at the Italian American Club at 7:15 AM for some coffee and doughnuts before the bus departs at 8 AM. It will be a fun day for us before this day is over. We always hope that either one or both of us come back as big winners, but Casinos wouldn't be in business if there were too many winners.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hello on Saturday
Dear Friends,
Our Westerly, Rhode Island Beach adventure ended after we had breakfast on Friday. The skies were cloudy, the heat and humidity started rolling in, and we packed up and headed home. The forecasters predicted thunder storms, and scattered showers, but we left before they ever arrived.
We arrived back in Pittsfield in time for me to squeeze in a nap. I unpacked half of the car when we arrived home and the other half after I awoke from my nap.
For supper, we headed off to the Shamrock Restaurant & Pub. We sat at the bar, and played Keno, and socialized with some former students as well as with some total strangers. We sat next to one couple who happen to live on our street. We haven't socialized with this couple since they got married 5 years ago. The wife was a former student of mine who manages an optician's office, and the husband has been a UPS driver for 29 years. The husband's dad was a print shop teacher at my school when I first started teaching in the late 60's / early 70's. The conversation flowed so nicely that eventually we got a table and dinned together. As we left the restaurant, we promised to socialize more often, or at least have a cookout together. It turned out to be such an unplanned pleasant evening.
Sports -- The Red Sox and Yankees both lost their respective games. The major talk in New England has not been about baseball, but the newest acquisitions of the New England Patriots' football team.
I did see where Tiger Woods will be playing in a couple of tournaments after overcoming some physical disabilities. I know he will be a bit rusty when he returns to the professional tour. I do hope that he can keep his head in the game after all that he has gone through even though his fall from fame was his own fault.
Social Calendar -- Linda wants to be left alone today, and do things at her own pace. She does have plans to head off to Lenox for their weekend festivities, but I will not be accompanying her. She has already lined up some girlfriends to go with.
I have a whole bunch of yard work to take care of. The weeds are starting to out number the flowers. I am going to give our lawn a trim too. I also should go to Lee and visit with dear old dad, and see what chores need to be done at his home.
I normally would be playing golf on this day. There is a Pethitory Memorial Tournament in Adams, Massachusetts for a soldier who lost his life several years ago in combat. The profits go to scholarships for student graduating from the same high school that the soldier graduated from.
My leg issue was the stumbling block.
Speaking of my leg, it has not healed completely. There were times at the beach when my leg was bothering me, and I wore the boot. My strained Achilles feels good when I first wake up, but then it sometimes starts to ache as the day progresses. Oh Darn!
Politics -- The deadline is approaching as the budget wrangling still goes on. The Stock Market didn't like the "lack of budget" news, and took some severe hits this week.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities before the Queen wakes up. I hope that her friends don't call before 10 AM. Linda seemed so exhausted after our 2.5 day beach adventure that I think that she can sleep to almost noon.
Have a great weekend.
The weather today is supposed to be picture perfect.
Get out there and enjoy it!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Westerly, Rhode Island Beach adventure ended after we had breakfast on Friday. The skies were cloudy, the heat and humidity started rolling in, and we packed up and headed home. The forecasters predicted thunder storms, and scattered showers, but we left before they ever arrived.
We arrived back in Pittsfield in time for me to squeeze in a nap. I unpacked half of the car when we arrived home and the other half after I awoke from my nap.
For supper, we headed off to the Shamrock Restaurant & Pub. We sat at the bar, and played Keno, and socialized with some former students as well as with some total strangers. We sat next to one couple who happen to live on our street. We haven't socialized with this couple since they got married 5 years ago. The wife was a former student of mine who manages an optician's office, and the husband has been a UPS driver for 29 years. The husband's dad was a print shop teacher at my school when I first started teaching in the late 60's / early 70's. The conversation flowed so nicely that eventually we got a table and dinned together. As we left the restaurant, we promised to socialize more often, or at least have a cookout together. It turned out to be such an unplanned pleasant evening.
Sports -- The Red Sox and Yankees both lost their respective games. The major talk in New England has not been about baseball, but the newest acquisitions of the New England Patriots' football team.
I did see where Tiger Woods will be playing in a couple of tournaments after overcoming some physical disabilities. I know he will be a bit rusty when he returns to the professional tour. I do hope that he can keep his head in the game after all that he has gone through even though his fall from fame was his own fault.
Social Calendar -- Linda wants to be left alone today, and do things at her own pace. She does have plans to head off to Lenox for their weekend festivities, but I will not be accompanying her. She has already lined up some girlfriends to go with.
I have a whole bunch of yard work to take care of. The weeds are starting to out number the flowers. I am going to give our lawn a trim too. I also should go to Lee and visit with dear old dad, and see what chores need to be done at his home.
I normally would be playing golf on this day. There is a Pethitory Memorial Tournament in Adams, Massachusetts for a soldier who lost his life several years ago in combat. The profits go to scholarships for student graduating from the same high school that the soldier graduated from.
My leg issue was the stumbling block.
Speaking of my leg, it has not healed completely. There were times at the beach when my leg was bothering me, and I wore the boot. My strained Achilles feels good when I first wake up, but then it sometimes starts to ache as the day progresses. Oh Darn!
Politics -- The deadline is approaching as the budget wrangling still goes on. The Stock Market didn't like the "lack of budget" news, and took some severe hits this week.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities before the Queen wakes up. I hope that her friends don't call before 10 AM. Linda seemed so exhausted after our 2.5 day beach adventure that I think that she can sleep to almost noon.
Have a great weekend.
The weather today is supposed to be picture perfect.
Get out there and enjoy it!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Hello on Tuesday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in Curleyworld. I did squeeze in the lawn cutting before the well deserved rains fell. The temperatures in the Berkshires dropped which meant that our air conditioners were able to be shut off.
While doing my outside chores on Monday, I was listening to my blogger friend who is a radio talk show host. He gave me a new name on the radio. I now have two names: "The Liberal Weenie", and he gave me the second name of "Captain Liberal!"
Observation -- One of his guests couldn't make the program because of a death in the family, so the "fantastic" radio show host decided to just to open the telephone lines. The usual callers flooded the air waves. One of the discussions was the fact that the two public high school bands didn't play or march in the Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade (which was part of our 250th Anniversary Celebration of the formation of Pittsfield) because the teachers and been in a long and protracted contract negotiations which included "Work to Rule." This means that the teachers did only what the teacher contract called for. They didn't do any of the extras. Marching in the Parade was considered an extra. Well, my radio talk show host expressed his anger during a multiple minute rant of how wrong it was for the bands to not participate in the Parade. Even though I never liked the "work to rule" tactic, we had used that tactic when I was President of the Teachers' Union. Teachers don't have much leverage when it comes to negotiating. There are very few tactics which can be used to wake the public up to our plight. No Union President and no Union members wanted to anger the taxpayers, and use the students as pawns during negotiations, but we have to do what we have to do to get things settled. Teachers are not greedy people (and we are taxpayers too), and all we want is a piece of the economic pie like everyone else does. When economic times are tight, the public wants city workers and teachers to "bite the bullet", and solve the crisis on the backs of us workers. The give and take aspect of negotiations gets "thrown out the window", and the management team wants to take away many of the gains that we have negotiated over the years. The public wants us workers to feel sorry for the financial situation that we might be in, and take the few "crumbs" which the management team offers us.
The people in the administrative contract love it when we do all the protesting, walk the picket lines, use work to rule, etc. because whatever hard fought gains we teachers secure, the administrators get the same contract raise. The only problem is that a percentage gain of a teachers' salary is not the same as what an administrator gets. In the latest contract, the teachers earned a 1% raise. Well as an example, 1% increase of a $40,000 teacher salary, and 1% increase of a $90,000 administrative contact can show you who the real winner is.
My Red Sox lost a 14 inning game last night to a team which is in last place in their particular division. The Yankees won their game as they inched closer to the Red Sox who have a slim lead in their division. Oh Darn! We Red Sox fans can hear the Yankee footsteps.
Social Calendar -- So far we have two other couples who will be going with us to the Steely Dan Concert at Tanglewood this evening. We will be partying on the lawn until the concert starts at 7 PM, and hopefully no rain is in the forecast. We will be there when the gates open at 4 PM. Do you think that three hours is enough time to party before the concert? There will be much food, fun, and merriment before this day is over. I better squeeze in an afternoon nap since I am up so early.
Dumb Things which I do to get myself in trouble -- I spray painted the lamppost several weeks ago. Linda was wondering why the Clematis plant next to the lamppost had black leaves, and not too many flowers this year. I admitted the error of my ways to Linda.
I even bug Linda when I am taking an afternoon nap. I came downstairs after my nap yesterday and saw that Linda had one of those neck devices which you heat up in the microwave before using. I asked Linda how she strained her neck. She said that someone (which might be me) always fails to remove change from their pockets before washing clothes. Being the short person that she is, she tried to reach in the washing machine and take out the loose coins. She strained her neck reaching for the coins. Oh Darn!
Well, I have to take care of some quiet activities, and make sure that all the stuff which we are taking this evening to the concert is ready to go. We are going to try and pack light for the concert, but it never happens!
Have a great Tuesday!
You know that the Curley's will be having a fun on Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned in Curleyworld. I did squeeze in the lawn cutting before the well deserved rains fell. The temperatures in the Berkshires dropped which meant that our air conditioners were able to be shut off.
While doing my outside chores on Monday, I was listening to my blogger friend who is a radio talk show host. He gave me a new name on the radio. I now have two names: "The Liberal Weenie", and he gave me the second name of "Captain Liberal!"
Observation -- One of his guests couldn't make the program because of a death in the family, so the "fantastic" radio show host decided to just to open the telephone lines. The usual callers flooded the air waves. One of the discussions was the fact that the two public high school bands didn't play or march in the Pittsfield Fourth of July Parade (which was part of our 250th Anniversary Celebration of the formation of Pittsfield) because the teachers and been in a long and protracted contract negotiations which included "Work to Rule." This means that the teachers did only what the teacher contract called for. They didn't do any of the extras. Marching in the Parade was considered an extra. Well, my radio talk show host expressed his anger during a multiple minute rant of how wrong it was for the bands to not participate in the Parade. Even though I never liked the "work to rule" tactic, we had used that tactic when I was President of the Teachers' Union. Teachers don't have much leverage when it comes to negotiating. There are very few tactics which can be used to wake the public up to our plight. No Union President and no Union members wanted to anger the taxpayers, and use the students as pawns during negotiations, but we have to do what we have to do to get things settled. Teachers are not greedy people (and we are taxpayers too), and all we want is a piece of the economic pie like everyone else does. When economic times are tight, the public wants city workers and teachers to "bite the bullet", and solve the crisis on the backs of us workers. The give and take aspect of negotiations gets "thrown out the window", and the management team wants to take away many of the gains that we have negotiated over the years. The public wants us workers to feel sorry for the financial situation that we might be in, and take the few "crumbs" which the management team offers us.
The people in the administrative contract love it when we do all the protesting, walk the picket lines, use work to rule, etc. because whatever hard fought gains we teachers secure, the administrators get the same contract raise. The only problem is that a percentage gain of a teachers' salary is not the same as what an administrator gets. In the latest contract, the teachers earned a 1% raise. Well as an example, 1% increase of a $40,000 teacher salary, and 1% increase of a $90,000 administrative contact can show you who the real winner is.
My Red Sox lost a 14 inning game last night to a team which is in last place in their particular division. The Yankees won their game as they inched closer to the Red Sox who have a slim lead in their division. Oh Darn! We Red Sox fans can hear the Yankee footsteps.
Social Calendar -- So far we have two other couples who will be going with us to the Steely Dan Concert at Tanglewood this evening. We will be partying on the lawn until the concert starts at 7 PM, and hopefully no rain is in the forecast. We will be there when the gates open at 4 PM. Do you think that three hours is enough time to party before the concert? There will be much food, fun, and merriment before this day is over. I better squeeze in an afternoon nap since I am up so early.
Dumb Things which I do to get myself in trouble -- I spray painted the lamppost several weeks ago. Linda was wondering why the Clematis plant next to the lamppost had black leaves, and not too many flowers this year. I admitted the error of my ways to Linda.
I even bug Linda when I am taking an afternoon nap. I came downstairs after my nap yesterday and saw that Linda had one of those neck devices which you heat up in the microwave before using. I asked Linda how she strained her neck. She said that someone (which might be me) always fails to remove change from their pockets before washing clothes. Being the short person that she is, she tried to reach in the washing machine and take out the loose coins. She strained her neck reaching for the coins. Oh Darn!
Well, I have to take care of some quiet activities, and make sure that all the stuff which we are taking this evening to the concert is ready to go. We are going to try and pack light for the concert, but it never happens!
Have a great Tuesday!
You know that the Curley's will be having a fun on Tuesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, July 25, 2011
Hello on Monday
Dear Friends,
It was another quiet and calm day for the Curley's on Sunday. The heat and humidity really creates an atmosphere of procrastination when it comes to doing outside chores and activities.
After reading the Sunday newspapers, Linda decided that it was time to see a chick flick. Knowing that my motivation level would be low, she called a girlfriend, and they went to an afternoon show at the Beacon Cinema. I decided to call the woman's husband, and asked if he wanted to join me in a Chicken Novena while the wives were at the movies. We watched the Red Sox and golf while I cooked a bunch of chicken leg quarters on the grill along with all the fixings for supper. Our wives went out to supper as my friend and I partied in the screened in room on the deck.
Both the Red Sox and Yankees won their respective games so the Sox are maintaining a three game lead over the Yankees.
The wacko home grown terrorist from Norway who caused so much death and destruction over the weekend didn't like all the foreigners which now make up Norway. The purity of the race certainly has Hitler like overtones. Good thing that this guy didn't live in the United States. If this guy didn't like diversity of races and different cultures, we in the United States would be in a whole lot of trouble.
I see where the militants in Afghanistan kidnapped and hung an 8 year old boy whose father was policeman. The Afghan policeman refused to supply the militants with police cars so that the bad guys could do their dirty work.
Politics -- The Budget crisis still is in Limbo. The August deadline is a week or so away. The World is watching and waiting for the Americans to do the right thing. Stocks opened lower in Japan already because of a lack of the American budget. Oh Darn!
Social Calendar -- A 7 AM Therapy session and a 6 PM meeting is the only thing on my social calendar today. I am going to give our lawn a trim at some point today too.
Even though Linda doesn't have anything on her social calendar, we will be deciding what we will be bringing to the "Steely Dan" Concert at Tanglewood on Tuesday evening. Our goal is to pack light with respect to food and beverages, but that usually never happens. My Physical Therapist made fun of me the other day when I said that we were going to the Steely Dan Concert. He said that the band was ancient even though he like the Curley's has vinyl records of the band. Our local newspapers had pictures of three of the band members, and they did look like they were quite mature. Let us hope that they haven't lost their voices as well as their youth.
July certainly has been flying by. I am so glad that we are not still teaching. Many schools throughout the nation will be heading back to school starting around the 15th of August. We in Massachusetts still use Labor Day as our back to school guide. Teachers usually have to go to school before Labor Day. Some districts have their students reporting to school before the Labor Day weekend arrives.
I have been retired for 7 years now, and I don't miss teaching at all. I am in the retirement phase of my life when I often don't know what day of the week it is. It is like having a clock or a non digital wrist watch with the hands of the clock missing.
I count my lucky stars because during those 7 years I have been attending a lot of wakes and funerals for my baby boomer friends. Other baby boomer friends are currently fighting life threatening illnesses like breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart problems, lung and kidney disease, Alzheimer's, etc. I didn't want to retire, and die a couple years after retirement like several of my teacher colleagues have done.
On a happier note, "Life is Good" is still my motto even though there are a few minor bumps along the road which I will have to overcome.
Have a great week at work or play!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It was another quiet and calm day for the Curley's on Sunday. The heat and humidity really creates an atmosphere of procrastination when it comes to doing outside chores and activities.
After reading the Sunday newspapers, Linda decided that it was time to see a chick flick. Knowing that my motivation level would be low, she called a girlfriend, and they went to an afternoon show at the Beacon Cinema. I decided to call the woman's husband, and asked if he wanted to join me in a Chicken Novena while the wives were at the movies. We watched the Red Sox and golf while I cooked a bunch of chicken leg quarters on the grill along with all the fixings for supper. Our wives went out to supper as my friend and I partied in the screened in room on the deck.
Both the Red Sox and Yankees won their respective games so the Sox are maintaining a three game lead over the Yankees.
The wacko home grown terrorist from Norway who caused so much death and destruction over the weekend didn't like all the foreigners which now make up Norway. The purity of the race certainly has Hitler like overtones. Good thing that this guy didn't live in the United States. If this guy didn't like diversity of races and different cultures, we in the United States would be in a whole lot of trouble.
I see where the militants in Afghanistan kidnapped and hung an 8 year old boy whose father was policeman. The Afghan policeman refused to supply the militants with police cars so that the bad guys could do their dirty work.
Politics -- The Budget crisis still is in Limbo. The August deadline is a week or so away. The World is watching and waiting for the Americans to do the right thing. Stocks opened lower in Japan already because of a lack of the American budget. Oh Darn!
Social Calendar -- A 7 AM Therapy session and a 6 PM meeting is the only thing on my social calendar today. I am going to give our lawn a trim at some point today too.
Even though Linda doesn't have anything on her social calendar, we will be deciding what we will be bringing to the "Steely Dan" Concert at Tanglewood on Tuesday evening. Our goal is to pack light with respect to food and beverages, but that usually never happens. My Physical Therapist made fun of me the other day when I said that we were going to the Steely Dan Concert. He said that the band was ancient even though he like the Curley's has vinyl records of the band. Our local newspapers had pictures of three of the band members, and they did look like they were quite mature. Let us hope that they haven't lost their voices as well as their youth.
July certainly has been flying by. I am so glad that we are not still teaching. Many schools throughout the nation will be heading back to school starting around the 15th of August. We in Massachusetts still use Labor Day as our back to school guide. Teachers usually have to go to school before Labor Day. Some districts have their students reporting to school before the Labor Day weekend arrives.
I have been retired for 7 years now, and I don't miss teaching at all. I am in the retirement phase of my life when I often don't know what day of the week it is. It is like having a clock or a non digital wrist watch with the hands of the clock missing.
I count my lucky stars because during those 7 years I have been attending a lot of wakes and funerals for my baby boomer friends. Other baby boomer friends are currently fighting life threatening illnesses like breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart problems, lung and kidney disease, Alzheimer's, etc. I didn't want to retire, and die a couple years after retirement like several of my teacher colleagues have done.
On a happier note, "Life is Good" is still my motto even though there are a few minor bumps along the road which I will have to overcome.
Have a great week at work or play!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Hello on Sunday
Dear Friends,
It was quiet, but pleasant day in Curleyworld. We did a couple of errands in the middle of the afternoon. We went off to the Rainbow Restaurant for supper with our Dalton friends. After supper, we went back to our own homes. Linda watched her previously recorded programs, and I proceeded to watch the Red Sox in bed while reading a book on Linda's kindle. After about two minutes on the Kindle, the low battery signal came on. Oh Darn!
The Red Sox did win their game, and the Yankees lost their game so the Red Sox have a three game lead over the second place Yankees. If the Red Sox team can stay healthy, only good things can happen.
As I skim the CNN news report, there are not a lot of nice things going on in the world. We have the Norway mass killings, the killing of many people when a couple of bullet trains collided in China, the guest of honor at a party at a roller skating rink in Texas goes into a shooting rampage and kill 6 guests, Amy Winehouse dieing most likely with a drug overdose, continuation of the budget wrangling process, etc.
I can see why my friend stopped the delivery of most newspapers. There is a lot of depressing news that we can see on television or read about on a daily basis.
It is better to direct my positive energy toward family and friends than to get involved with too many outside activities.
We have another quiet day for Linda and me for today. This is very good because we have another full schedule from Monday through Friday of this coming week. Some days we even have more than one event.
Well, I am going to read the Berkshire Eagle and the Sunday Boston Globe, before I do any quiet activities.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It was quiet, but pleasant day in Curleyworld. We did a couple of errands in the middle of the afternoon. We went off to the Rainbow Restaurant for supper with our Dalton friends. After supper, we went back to our own homes. Linda watched her previously recorded programs, and I proceeded to watch the Red Sox in bed while reading a book on Linda's kindle. After about two minutes on the Kindle, the low battery signal came on. Oh Darn!
The Red Sox did win their game, and the Yankees lost their game so the Red Sox have a three game lead over the second place Yankees. If the Red Sox team can stay healthy, only good things can happen.
As I skim the CNN news report, there are not a lot of nice things going on in the world. We have the Norway mass killings, the killing of many people when a couple of bullet trains collided in China, the guest of honor at a party at a roller skating rink in Texas goes into a shooting rampage and kill 6 guests, Amy Winehouse dieing most likely with a drug overdose, continuation of the budget wrangling process, etc.
I can see why my friend stopped the delivery of most newspapers. There is a lot of depressing news that we can see on television or read about on a daily basis.
It is better to direct my positive energy toward family and friends than to get involved with too many outside activities.
We have another quiet day for Linda and me for today. This is very good because we have another full schedule from Monday through Friday of this coming week. Some days we even have more than one event.
Well, I am going to read the Berkshire Eagle and the Sunday Boston Globe, before I do any quiet activities.
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, July 22, 2011
Hello on Friday
Dear Friends,
The throngs of residents and tourists did come out to the downtown Pittsfield Third Thursday event. Our Irish Sister City booth was hopping after a slow start. The event started at 5 PM, but when we looked north and south at that time, the streets were deserted except for vendors. We thought that the oppressive heat was going to keep everyone away. Well, as the time approached 6 PM, the streets became alive. There was some form of music every few blocks from one another including an Irish Band at our booth called "Dublin Porter".
I was wearing my boot last night. I brought a chair so that I could get off of my feet. A new member, who is good at working a grill, and who is also ServSafe Certified, allowed me to do more supervising than working.
We did have one technical problem from an electrical standpoint. The musician's electrical equipment, two electric griddles to cook the Irish Bangers, and the air conditioner in the store where we plugged into the outlets couldn't handle all the devices. The circuit breaker kept on switching off. Luckily, the taking care of details kind of guy that I am, had guessed that we might have electrical problems. I just happened to pack my propane "Grill to Go". We shut down one griddle, and the air conditioner, and we were able to cook the bangers.
One of Neville Brothers who lives in New Orleans, who has a summer home in the Berkshires, was on another stage. Most people came to the Third Thursday to listen to Liam Geddes belt out tune after tune. Liam, who is 19 years old, is from our Irish Sister City in Ballina, Ireland. Some of the Irish Sister City Committee Members took turns working our booth, and going to hear him sing.
After the Third Thursday ended, and we packed up our gear, a bunch of us walked over to Spice for a little reception for Liam. A local band called Xavier was playing in the room where the reception was being held. Liam sang a couple of songs while the band was taking a break.
Despite the heat, the evening turned out great for Linda and me.
Liam has two CD's out now which can be purchased at Pasko Gift and Frame.
The potential Politicians were out in force getting their nomination papers signed. Linda and I signed four or five for sure. I started to lose count!
While chatting with a lot of people throughout the evening, I found out more of our baby boomer friends have developed all kinds of life threat illnesses. I can't go into details because of privacy issues, but I get kind of leery when I ask people; "How are you doing?" It seems that all of my sayings really turn out to be true --> "Life is a crapshoot", "Life is too short", "Enjoy every moment that you are on this earth because you never know what each day will bring", "Don't sweat the little stuff", and most of all tell you family members that you love them. Also surround yourself with a network of good friends so that if disaster strikes, you have someone to comfort you besides you family.
Politics -- The budget battle continues as the August deadline is just around the corner. Our President doesn't like the Republican proposal. Compromise on certain issues doesn't look like it will happen in the near future.
Weather -- We are in for another day of heat and humidity before the weather changes. Today is supposed to be the opening day for the Saratoga Horse Race Track season. There was some rumor of track association postponing the start. I wouldn't want to be a race horse with the current heat and humidity. I would think that the PETA organization would begin protesting at the track.
Social Calendar -- We are socially engaged this evening!
Well, I have to clean the grease laden grill that we used last night. It is one quiet, but messy task.
Have a great weekend, and pray for some relief from the heat.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
The throngs of residents and tourists did come out to the downtown Pittsfield Third Thursday event. Our Irish Sister City booth was hopping after a slow start. The event started at 5 PM, but when we looked north and south at that time, the streets were deserted except for vendors. We thought that the oppressive heat was going to keep everyone away. Well, as the time approached 6 PM, the streets became alive. There was some form of music every few blocks from one another including an Irish Band at our booth called "Dublin Porter".
I was wearing my boot last night. I brought a chair so that I could get off of my feet. A new member, who is good at working a grill, and who is also ServSafe Certified, allowed me to do more supervising than working.
We did have one technical problem from an electrical standpoint. The musician's electrical equipment, two electric griddles to cook the Irish Bangers, and the air conditioner in the store where we plugged into the outlets couldn't handle all the devices. The circuit breaker kept on switching off. Luckily, the taking care of details kind of guy that I am, had guessed that we might have electrical problems. I just happened to pack my propane "Grill to Go". We shut down one griddle, and the air conditioner, and we were able to cook the bangers.
One of Neville Brothers who lives in New Orleans, who has a summer home in the Berkshires, was on another stage. Most people came to the Third Thursday to listen to Liam Geddes belt out tune after tune. Liam, who is 19 years old, is from our Irish Sister City in Ballina, Ireland. Some of the Irish Sister City Committee Members took turns working our booth, and going to hear him sing.
After the Third Thursday ended, and we packed up our gear, a bunch of us walked over to Spice for a little reception for Liam. A local band called Xavier was playing in the room where the reception was being held. Liam sang a couple of songs while the band was taking a break.
Despite the heat, the evening turned out great for Linda and me.
Liam has two CD's out now which can be purchased at Pasko Gift and Frame.
The potential Politicians were out in force getting their nomination papers signed. Linda and I signed four or five for sure. I started to lose count!
While chatting with a lot of people throughout the evening, I found out more of our baby boomer friends have developed all kinds of life threat illnesses. I can't go into details because of privacy issues, but I get kind of leery when I ask people; "How are you doing?" It seems that all of my sayings really turn out to be true --> "Life is a crapshoot", "Life is too short", "Enjoy every moment that you are on this earth because you never know what each day will bring", "Don't sweat the little stuff", and most of all tell you family members that you love them. Also surround yourself with a network of good friends so that if disaster strikes, you have someone to comfort you besides you family.
Politics -- The budget battle continues as the August deadline is just around the corner. Our President doesn't like the Republican proposal. Compromise on certain issues doesn't look like it will happen in the near future.
Weather -- We are in for another day of heat and humidity before the weather changes. Today is supposed to be the opening day for the Saratoga Horse Race Track season. There was some rumor of track association postponing the start. I wouldn't want to be a race horse with the current heat and humidity. I would think that the PETA organization would begin protesting at the track.
Social Calendar -- We are socially engaged this evening!
Well, I have to clean the grease laden grill that we used last night. It is one quiet, but messy task.
Have a great weekend, and pray for some relief from the heat.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in Curleyworld! The funeral and receptions after the funeral for the son of an Irish Sister City Committee Member went as well as could be expected. No mother every wants to bury their children. It is against the laws of nature!
Linda had fun at her Knitting group gathering at Panera Bread. The Knitters were together for almost three hours. Since my Red Sox won an afternoon game, half of which I missed because of my afternoon nap, I didn't have many sporting contests to watch last evening. I decided to start reading another book on the IPad. I did turn on a sporting contest, but I turned the volume on low as I watched the professional soccer match. I am not good at reading while the television is on at the normal volume setting.
Today the only thing on our social calendar is the Third Thursday which takes place in downtown Pittsfield from 5 PM to 8 PM. Our Irish Sister City group begins setting up our two canopies in the 3:30 PM range. The oppressive heat will be the only thing that we will have to deal with. The temperatures today will be in the mid 90's, but the heat index will be in the 104 degree range.
The heat wave moving across the country has already caused 22 deaths.
How about the horses which will be racing at the Saratoga, New York Race Track beginning this weekend? Could horse racing be considered as animal cruelty during this heat wave?
When day light arrives, I am going to water all the flowers. I hate to say it after a wet spring, but I wouldn't mind a little rain (of course not on our Third Thursday). The weather which we have been having for the past few days is a reminder that I could never be a year round resident in any of the Southern States.
The world is waiting for the budget crisis in the United States to end so there hasn't been a whole bunch of political stuff to discuss. When you spend most of the day trying to figure out how to stay cool and hydrated, it is difficult to get motivated to do much of anything. Days like we have been facing for the past few days would be a good reason to have beach front property.
It is hard to imagine that the month of July is almost gone. Our summers are so short in the Northeast that we have just about enough time for corn to go from seed to full grown corn on the cob. The local corn is just starting to come in. Pretty soon we will be overdosing on corn!
We do have a day or two free coming up, but it is even too hot to have a cookout. I have no desire to hover over a hot grill when the outside temperatures are in the 90's.
My ramblings about the crazy drivers on the roads no matter where you are did hit home for one of my email recipients. He said that parking lots in places like grocery stores, Home Depot, Walmart, etc., scare him the most. Getting to and from the vehicle when you are at one of these stores could be quite challenging. When drivers are trying to secure parking places closest to the entryway to a store, these drivers don't even see people walking to and from their cars.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities one of which is to clean and sanitize the Herb AeroGarden. Linda has some herbs growing on our deck, so we won't need the AeroGarden until the fall.
Have a great Thursday.
If you live locally, come and join us for Third Thursday. Sample some Irish Bangers, Irish Whiskey Cake, and some cookies too.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned in Curleyworld! The funeral and receptions after the funeral for the son of an Irish Sister City Committee Member went as well as could be expected. No mother every wants to bury their children. It is against the laws of nature!
Linda had fun at her Knitting group gathering at Panera Bread. The Knitters were together for almost three hours. Since my Red Sox won an afternoon game, half of which I missed because of my afternoon nap, I didn't have many sporting contests to watch last evening. I decided to start reading another book on the IPad. I did turn on a sporting contest, but I turned the volume on low as I watched the professional soccer match. I am not good at reading while the television is on at the normal volume setting.
Today the only thing on our social calendar is the Third Thursday which takes place in downtown Pittsfield from 5 PM to 8 PM. Our Irish Sister City group begins setting up our two canopies in the 3:30 PM range. The oppressive heat will be the only thing that we will have to deal with. The temperatures today will be in the mid 90's, but the heat index will be in the 104 degree range.
The heat wave moving across the country has already caused 22 deaths.
How about the horses which will be racing at the Saratoga, New York Race Track beginning this weekend? Could horse racing be considered as animal cruelty during this heat wave?
When day light arrives, I am going to water all the flowers. I hate to say it after a wet spring, but I wouldn't mind a little rain (of course not on our Third Thursday). The weather which we have been having for the past few days is a reminder that I could never be a year round resident in any of the Southern States.
The world is waiting for the budget crisis in the United States to end so there hasn't been a whole bunch of political stuff to discuss. When you spend most of the day trying to figure out how to stay cool and hydrated, it is difficult to get motivated to do much of anything. Days like we have been facing for the past few days would be a good reason to have beach front property.
It is hard to imagine that the month of July is almost gone. Our summers are so short in the Northeast that we have just about enough time for corn to go from seed to full grown corn on the cob. The local corn is just starting to come in. Pretty soon we will be overdosing on corn!
We do have a day or two free coming up, but it is even too hot to have a cookout. I have no desire to hover over a hot grill when the outside temperatures are in the 90's.
My ramblings about the crazy drivers on the roads no matter where you are did hit home for one of my email recipients. He said that parking lots in places like grocery stores, Home Depot, Walmart, etc., scare him the most. Getting to and from the vehicle when you are at one of these stores could be quite challenging. When drivers are trying to secure parking places closest to the entryway to a store, these drivers don't even see people walking to and from their cars.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities one of which is to clean and sanitize the Herb AeroGarden. Linda has some herbs growing on our deck, so we won't need the AeroGarden until the fall.
Have a great Thursday.
If you live locally, come and join us for Third Thursday. Sample some Irish Bangers, Irish Whiskey Cake, and some cookies too.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hello on Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Another day in Curley World went as planned. Linda played Mah Jongg. I had physical therapy after finishing the lawn cutting, and I squeezed in a nap.
We went off to a wake together, later than I wanted to go, and then we went to a gathering at a friend's home. There was much food, fun, and merriment before our evening ended at the gathering. Grilled beef tenderloin was the main meat (which I didn't have to cook), and a whole bunch of delicious salads. Home made Key Lime pie, and a chocolate pie were for dessert.
The best part of the gathering was not only the food and beverages and the great group of friends, but it was the fact that a couple, who have been trying to have a baby for a long time, announced that she was pregnant. This woman was one of a set of triplets some of whom I had in my math classes at Taconic. When she was born, she weighed one pound at birth. All of the triplets survived the premature birth, and none had any physical problems.
Our military son Michael graduated from high school with the husband.
Speaking of Therapy, there is a hand therapy part of the complex, and then the regular part that deals with all other body ailments. As I was making a co-payment, I look over and I see my Dalton friend being worked on in the Hand Therapy division. I went through my whole session for my leg, and I saw that my friend was still being worked on. He has a hairline crack of an index finger. The Orthopedic doctor said that he should be wearing a splint on the finger for four to six weeks. Well the therapist said that she has seen many of those cracked fingers, and that my friend should be thinking 6 to 8 weeks. She told my friend and me that 4 to 6 weeks is on the low side.
The good thing is that the index finger doesn't hinder my friend's golf game too much. This injury occurred while my Baby Boomer friend thought that he could keep up with his thirty something relatives while tossing a football over the Fourth of July weekend.
Sports -- The Red Sox and the Yankees both lost their games last night. Oh Darn!
Social Calendar -- I enlisted a person over 65 to be with me when I pick up the thirty pounds of bangers today at Guido's. Wednesday is senior citizen discount day at Guido's. To get the 10 percent discount, you must be 65 or over. I still have until December before that will happen. I am pretty sure that Linda only has her Wednesday evening Panera Bread Knitting group at 6 PM. I might have to have a chicken novena when she is gone.
Weather -- The heat and lack of rain is wreaking havoc on some of our deck flowers. Even watering them doesn't seem to be a big help. Some of our other friends are noticing the same things with their flowers too. The plants do better when we have a couple days of nice weather, and then a day of rain.
Third Thursday -- Tomorrow is the July Third Thursday in downtown Pittsfield from 5 to 8 PM. The temperatures are supposed to reach the 90 degree mark.
Grilling Irish Bangers in the warm temperatures will require assistance from our Irish Sister City volunteer workers.
A few doors north from our booth and the canopy, under which the Irish Band Dublin Porter will be playing just outside of Pasko Gift and Frame, will be the Irish Idol from our Sister City in Ballina, Ireland. Liam Geddes will be performing in front of Spice from 6 to 8 PM, as well as promoting two of his albums. Liam was on the radio yesterday being interviewed on a live talk show program that one of the bloggers above hosts Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 1 PM (1340 on the AM dial). Liam will be performing at multiple venues during his visit to the Berkshires.
On Saturday, Liam will be performing in the city of Saratoga Springs, New York which is located not to far from the Saratoga Horse Race Track.
Politics -- As the Budget wrangling still goes on, the Dow Jones had the best day so far in 2011. The market jumped 202.26 points yesterday. The rich are getting richer. Apple announced that their profits had doubled.
The Space Shuttle employees across the nation have now entered the unemployment lines. Every day there seems to be good news mixed in with some not so good news.
Observation -- As I get older, I see a lot of crazy drivers behind the wheel of their cars. The drivers aren't just the young ones who think going fast will get them to their destination quicker. I am afraid to go in and out of parking lots outside of stores. People seem to come at me from all directions. I feel like I should be driving a car surrounded by bumpers, or a vehicle so large that people would just stay out of my way. People in parking lots continue to bang our cars when they get out of their cars.
Being courteous on the highways is almost non existent. While walking, I am often afraid of crossing at a cross walk. Those "Stop for Pedestrians" signs at crosswalks for some people are meaningless. The best cross walk in Pittsfield is where the Physical Therapy Parking garage is located which is across from the Hospital. They actually have flashing lights at the cross walk. No matter what age or vision ability a person has while driving, you can never miss this cross walk. I wish that our city had all cross walks with these flashing lights.
Well, my first task of the day is to water every flower on our property. I might put on the lawn sprinkler for some of the dry spots on our lawn too.
Have a great Wednesday.
Remember to drink plenty of water like beverages, and put on sun tan lotion to prevent sunburns.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day in Curley World went as planned. Linda played Mah Jongg. I had physical therapy after finishing the lawn cutting, and I squeezed in a nap.
We went off to a wake together, later than I wanted to go, and then we went to a gathering at a friend's home. There was much food, fun, and merriment before our evening ended at the gathering. Grilled beef tenderloin was the main meat (which I didn't have to cook), and a whole bunch of delicious salads. Home made Key Lime pie, and a chocolate pie were for dessert.
The best part of the gathering was not only the food and beverages and the great group of friends, but it was the fact that a couple, who have been trying to have a baby for a long time, announced that she was pregnant. This woman was one of a set of triplets some of whom I had in my math classes at Taconic. When she was born, she weighed one pound at birth. All of the triplets survived the premature birth, and none had any physical problems.
Our military son Michael graduated from high school with the husband.
Speaking of Therapy, there is a hand therapy part of the complex, and then the regular part that deals with all other body ailments. As I was making a co-payment, I look over and I see my Dalton friend being worked on in the Hand Therapy division. I went through my whole session for my leg, and I saw that my friend was still being worked on. He has a hairline crack of an index finger. The Orthopedic doctor said that he should be wearing a splint on the finger for four to six weeks. Well the therapist said that she has seen many of those cracked fingers, and that my friend should be thinking 6 to 8 weeks. She told my friend and me that 4 to 6 weeks is on the low side.
The good thing is that the index finger doesn't hinder my friend's golf game too much. This injury occurred while my Baby Boomer friend thought that he could keep up with his thirty something relatives while tossing a football over the Fourth of July weekend.
Sports -- The Red Sox and the Yankees both lost their games last night. Oh Darn!
Social Calendar -- I enlisted a person over 65 to be with me when I pick up the thirty pounds of bangers today at Guido's. Wednesday is senior citizen discount day at Guido's. To get the 10 percent discount, you must be 65 or over. I still have until December before that will happen. I am pretty sure that Linda only has her Wednesday evening Panera Bread Knitting group at 6 PM. I might have to have a chicken novena when she is gone.
Weather -- The heat and lack of rain is wreaking havoc on some of our deck flowers. Even watering them doesn't seem to be a big help. Some of our other friends are noticing the same things with their flowers too. The plants do better when we have a couple days of nice weather, and then a day of rain.
Third Thursday -- Tomorrow is the July Third Thursday in downtown Pittsfield from 5 to 8 PM. The temperatures are supposed to reach the 90 degree mark.
Grilling Irish Bangers in the warm temperatures will require assistance from our Irish Sister City volunteer workers.
A few doors north from our booth and the canopy, under which the Irish Band Dublin Porter will be playing just outside of Pasko Gift and Frame, will be the Irish Idol from our Sister City in Ballina, Ireland. Liam Geddes will be performing in front of Spice from 6 to 8 PM, as well as promoting two of his albums. Liam was on the radio yesterday being interviewed on a live talk show program that one of the bloggers above hosts Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 1 PM (1340 on the AM dial). Liam will be performing at multiple venues during his visit to the Berkshires.
On Saturday, Liam will be performing in the city of Saratoga Springs, New York which is located not to far from the Saratoga Horse Race Track.
Politics -- As the Budget wrangling still goes on, the Dow Jones had the best day so far in 2011. The market jumped 202.26 points yesterday. The rich are getting richer. Apple announced that their profits had doubled.
The Space Shuttle employees across the nation have now entered the unemployment lines. Every day there seems to be good news mixed in with some not so good news.
Observation -- As I get older, I see a lot of crazy drivers behind the wheel of their cars. The drivers aren't just the young ones who think going fast will get them to their destination quicker. I am afraid to go in and out of parking lots outside of stores. People seem to come at me from all directions. I feel like I should be driving a car surrounded by bumpers, or a vehicle so large that people would just stay out of my way. People in parking lots continue to bang our cars when they get out of their cars.
Being courteous on the highways is almost non existent. While walking, I am often afraid of crossing at a cross walk. Those "Stop for Pedestrians" signs at crosswalks for some people are meaningless. The best cross walk in Pittsfield is where the Physical Therapy Parking garage is located which is across from the Hospital. They actually have flashing lights at the cross walk. No matter what age or vision ability a person has while driving, you can never miss this cross walk. I wish that our city had all cross walks with these flashing lights.
Well, my first task of the day is to water every flower on our property. I might put on the lawn sprinkler for some of the dry spots on our lawn too.
Have a great Wednesday.
Remember to drink plenty of water like beverages, and put on sun tan lotion to prevent sunburns.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hello on Tuesday
Dear Friends,
Our Monday went as planned. Washing clothes took a great deal of our time. I would start mine, and Linda would get up and down to tend to hers and my clothes for most of the day. The rain stopped my giving the lawn a trim which I will finish this morning.
Therapy also went well, but I am seeing a lot of my baby boomer friends being worked on too. Many of them have rotator cuff injuries. One guy plays in a softball league. He asked his therapist when he can get back to throwing a ball. The therapist said in about a year! The other acquaintance is trying to avoid rotator cuff surgery by going through therapy.
My therapist rubs the Achilles area part of the leg, and then hooks me up to some electrodes and an ice pack for a fixed amount of time. I do it again today at 11:30 AM.
Politics -- A bipartisan "debt gang", as they are called, will propose a plan to cut trillions from the national debt. I keep telling my independent and conservative friends that the two party system can work. My talk show host friend, who is on this daily blog, wants every politician to be voted out of office. He tries to convince his listeners each day that the system does not work. I might agree that it needs some tweaking, but I was never a fan of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" as the saying goes.
Social Calendar -- Today is Linda's normal Tuesday Mah Jongg session at a friend's home. We are attending an evening event at a friend's home after attending a wake for the son of Irish Sister Committee member. I will be at the wake when the doors open at 4 PM today. Linda will be going to the wake after her Mah Jongg session is over. The funeral is Wednesday morning. The chance of either of us having a totally free day will not happen until the weekend.
Observation -- While at the wedding reception in Vermont over this past weekend, many of the females were wearing some really beautiful looking dresses. What caught my eye were the women who were wearing those strapless ones. They spent most of the time pulling them up as they were slipping off of their mammary glands. Dancing increased the slippage. I realize the need for women to look spectacular, but at what price? It is like when women select shoes that look so cute. After one dance, they go barefoot or whip out a pair of more comfortable shoes to make it through the rest of the evening. Like I always say, men are such simple creatures when it comes to clothes and footwear selections.
CNN News -- I see where a 17 year old from the State of Florida killed his parents by way of a hammer, stuffed them in a closet, and had a 40 to 60 person party in the family home. The parents probably said "No" when the son wanted to have a party. I hope that the 17 year old doesn't use the temporary insanity plea when the case goes to trial.
Sports -- I watched the Red Sox win their game in Baltimore last evening in the screened in room on our deck. The Yankees were victorious in Tampa Bay.
Well, I have to do a bunch of quiet activities. I am hoping that Linda can sleep as long as she wants to before that darn telephone rings.
Speaking of telephones, I have noticed that the younger generation has eliminated land lines in their homes. I wonder when Linda and I will decide to do so.
Have a great Tuesday!
Enjoy the super weather which we have been having. Don't complain about things if it gets hot outside; just remember the days of snow and ice that we had for most of the winter.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Monday went as planned. Washing clothes took a great deal of our time. I would start mine, and Linda would get up and down to tend to hers and my clothes for most of the day. The rain stopped my giving the lawn a trim which I will finish this morning.
Therapy also went well, but I am seeing a lot of my baby boomer friends being worked on too. Many of them have rotator cuff injuries. One guy plays in a softball league. He asked his therapist when he can get back to throwing a ball. The therapist said in about a year! The other acquaintance is trying to avoid rotator cuff surgery by going through therapy.
My therapist rubs the Achilles area part of the leg, and then hooks me up to some electrodes and an ice pack for a fixed amount of time. I do it again today at 11:30 AM.
Politics -- A bipartisan "debt gang", as they are called, will propose a plan to cut trillions from the national debt. I keep telling my independent and conservative friends that the two party system can work. My talk show host friend, who is on this daily blog, wants every politician to be voted out of office. He tries to convince his listeners each day that the system does not work. I might agree that it needs some tweaking, but I was never a fan of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" as the saying goes.
Social Calendar -- Today is Linda's normal Tuesday Mah Jongg session at a friend's home. We are attending an evening event at a friend's home after attending a wake for the son of Irish Sister Committee member. I will be at the wake when the doors open at 4 PM today. Linda will be going to the wake after her Mah Jongg session is over. The funeral is Wednesday morning. The chance of either of us having a totally free day will not happen until the weekend.
Observation -- While at the wedding reception in Vermont over this past weekend, many of the females were wearing some really beautiful looking dresses. What caught my eye were the women who were wearing those strapless ones. They spent most of the time pulling them up as they were slipping off of their mammary glands. Dancing increased the slippage. I realize the need for women to look spectacular, but at what price? It is like when women select shoes that look so cute. After one dance, they go barefoot or whip out a pair of more comfortable shoes to make it through the rest of the evening. Like I always say, men are such simple creatures when it comes to clothes and footwear selections.
CNN News -- I see where a 17 year old from the State of Florida killed his parents by way of a hammer, stuffed them in a closet, and had a 40 to 60 person party in the family home. The parents probably said "No" when the son wanted to have a party. I hope that the 17 year old doesn't use the temporary insanity plea when the case goes to trial.
Sports -- I watched the Red Sox win their game in Baltimore last evening in the screened in room on our deck. The Yankees were victorious in Tampa Bay.
Well, I have to do a bunch of quiet activities. I am hoping that Linda can sleep as long as she wants to before that darn telephone rings.
Speaking of telephones, I have noticed that the younger generation has eliminated land lines in their homes. I wonder when Linda and I will decide to do so.
Have a great Tuesday!
Enjoy the super weather which we have been having. Don't complain about things if it gets hot outside; just remember the days of snow and ice that we had for most of the winter.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, July 18, 2011
Hello on Monday
Dear friends,
There is no place like home even though we had a spectacular adventure at the Herman Wedding which took place in Okemo Valley, Vermont. It is a nice place to visit, but we are not the type of people who are happy to be living in the woods with neighbors living miles apart from one another. We like having the choice of going to 5 or more grocery stores (Ludlow has one), having a Walmart, Home Depot, locally owned hardware stores, movie theaters, playhouses, Girls and Boys Clubs, sports fields, etc. You have to go to places like this to really appreciate what we have to offer in the Berkshires.
After we had breakfast in downtown Ludlow Vermont, Linda proceeded to shop her way out of Vermont as we headed back home. While at one Ceramics place in the middle of nowhere, she received a telephone call inviting us for a 5 PM cookout. One of the main things that Linda talked about before the invitation was having corn on the cob, and cherries which we on sale at Harry's Supermarket. The cherries were being sold at a price of $1.99 per pound which was the cheapest price in any of the supermarket fliers. As we headed south on Route 7, we made a detour to Harry's Supermarket. They were out of cherries, and she was told a shipment should be arriving today.
Our friends who invited us to the cookout had cherries and corn on the cob, so Linda was so happy. The hosts also grilled so of some racks of Dine Inn ribs, and some marinated shrimp on skewers. The hosts also served oven roasted potatoes, and a nice tossed salad, and cherries and watermelon for dessert. This is what having friends are all about.
We departed the cookout so that I could settle down and watch the Red Sox which was on ESPN Sunday night baseball at 8 PM. I decided to watch the game in bed thinking that I would fall asleep in the middle of the game. Well, I stayed up and listened to and at times watched the entire game. The 16 inning game lasted until almost 2 O'clock in the morning with the Red Sox squeaking out a 1 to 0 win. Only retired people and fanatical fans would be doing such a thing. I will need an afternoon nap for sure.
Social Calendar -- Linda has a totally free day today. She could play some Monday afternoon golf, but severe thunderstorms are forecasted for when her girlfriends would be on the golf course.
I have two things on my social calendar which includes a 11:30 AM Physical Therapy Appointment, and a UNICO golf committee meeting at 6 PM.
I do need the therapy session because I tried to do a little dancing at the wedding reception, and I ended up limping from the reception party tent to the car. As the wedding party continued to party on at Killarney's Irish Pub, I was wearing the boot once again. If I had worn the boot to the reception, I would not have tweaked the Achilles once again. I tried to keep up with the "thirty something" crowd, but I keep on finding out the hard way that youth wins out over us more mature folks.
I also want to wash the Kia which has quite a few squashed bugs all over the vehicle.
Linda does have full schedule from Tuesday through Friday.
Also later on in the week is our monthly Third Thursday which will keep me busy.
Politics -- I see where the budget is still in debate. I sure didn't miss much by not watching television news for several days while we were in Vermont.
Our neighbors did a great job keeping our flowers alive all around the house as well as dealing with our mail and local newspapers. This is another reason to have friendly neighbors. They just had hot tub installed on their deck. I might use it while they are both at work for therapeutic reasons.
Just Kidding! Actually, I am afraid of hot tubs because I fall asleep while in them because I usually become so relaxed that I have a tendency to pass out. Can you visualize the neighbors coming home and finding a body floating in their hot tub?
Our West Stockbridge friends flew out to visit their oldest daughter in the State of Washington over the weekend. Their daughter is a mountain climbing guide. I hope that this trip won't be one of those trips where the parents try keeping up with their 20 something daughter as they hike various mountain ranges. During the hiking part of their bonding with their daughter they will be at high altitudes. Mom didn't do so well during the last visit at those high altitudes.
When our son attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado, I was a passenger in a car in which he drove to the top of Pikes Peak. When we got to the top of the mountain, I witnessed many people in pulmonary distress because of the thin air at 14,000 feet.
Well, Linda is up. She forgot to shut off the alarm clock. When she finally shut the alarm off, she couldn't get back to sleep. Oh Darn!
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
There is no place like home even though we had a spectacular adventure at the Herman Wedding which took place in Okemo Valley, Vermont. It is a nice place to visit, but we are not the type of people who are happy to be living in the woods with neighbors living miles apart from one another. We like having the choice of going to 5 or more grocery stores (Ludlow has one), having a Walmart, Home Depot, locally owned hardware stores, movie theaters, playhouses, Girls and Boys Clubs, sports fields, etc. You have to go to places like this to really appreciate what we have to offer in the Berkshires.
After we had breakfast in downtown Ludlow Vermont, Linda proceeded to shop her way out of Vermont as we headed back home. While at one Ceramics place in the middle of nowhere, she received a telephone call inviting us for a 5 PM cookout. One of the main things that Linda talked about before the invitation was having corn on the cob, and cherries which we on sale at Harry's Supermarket. The cherries were being sold at a price of $1.99 per pound which was the cheapest price in any of the supermarket fliers. As we headed south on Route 7, we made a detour to Harry's Supermarket. They were out of cherries, and she was told a shipment should be arriving today.
Our friends who invited us to the cookout had cherries and corn on the cob, so Linda was so happy. The hosts also grilled so of some racks of Dine Inn ribs, and some marinated shrimp on skewers. The hosts also served oven roasted potatoes, and a nice tossed salad, and cherries and watermelon for dessert. This is what having friends are all about.
We departed the cookout so that I could settle down and watch the Red Sox which was on ESPN Sunday night baseball at 8 PM. I decided to watch the game in bed thinking that I would fall asleep in the middle of the game. Well, I stayed up and listened to and at times watched the entire game. The 16 inning game lasted until almost 2 O'clock in the morning with the Red Sox squeaking out a 1 to 0 win. Only retired people and fanatical fans would be doing such a thing. I will need an afternoon nap for sure.
Social Calendar -- Linda has a totally free day today. She could play some Monday afternoon golf, but severe thunderstorms are forecasted for when her girlfriends would be on the golf course.
I have two things on my social calendar which includes a 11:30 AM Physical Therapy Appointment, and a UNICO golf committee meeting at 6 PM.
I do need the therapy session because I tried to do a little dancing at the wedding reception, and I ended up limping from the reception party tent to the car. As the wedding party continued to party on at Killarney's Irish Pub, I was wearing the boot once again. If I had worn the boot to the reception, I would not have tweaked the Achilles once again. I tried to keep up with the "thirty something" crowd, but I keep on finding out the hard way that youth wins out over us more mature folks.
I also want to wash the Kia which has quite a few squashed bugs all over the vehicle.
Linda does have full schedule from Tuesday through Friday.
Also later on in the week is our monthly Third Thursday which will keep me busy.
Politics -- I see where the budget is still in debate. I sure didn't miss much by not watching television news for several days while we were in Vermont.
Our neighbors did a great job keeping our flowers alive all around the house as well as dealing with our mail and local newspapers. This is another reason to have friendly neighbors. They just had hot tub installed on their deck. I might use it while they are both at work for therapeutic reasons.
Just Kidding! Actually, I am afraid of hot tubs because I fall asleep while in them because I usually become so relaxed that I have a tendency to pass out. Can you visualize the neighbors coming home and finding a body floating in their hot tub?
Our West Stockbridge friends flew out to visit their oldest daughter in the State of Washington over the weekend. Their daughter is a mountain climbing guide. I hope that this trip won't be one of those trips where the parents try keeping up with their 20 something daughter as they hike various mountain ranges. During the hiking part of their bonding with their daughter they will be at high altitudes. Mom didn't do so well during the last visit at those high altitudes.
When our son attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado, I was a passenger in a car in which he drove to the top of Pikes Peak. When we got to the top of the mountain, I witnessed many people in pulmonary distress because of the thin air at 14,000 feet.
Well, Linda is up. She forgot to shut off the alarm clock. When she finally shut the alarm off, she couldn't get back to sleep. Oh Darn!
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
Our Thursday went as planned. Therapy went semi well. I had to use the word "semi" because the Therapist is President of the Pittsfield Little League.
He was reliving the Little League playoff game which took place on Tuesday to me and all the people in therapy. The Pittsfield team was one out away from winning the game, and a bunch of misplays let the other team score four runs and tie the game up. The Pittsfield team lost in the first extra inning. As he was rubbing down the portion of my leg where the Achilles is strained, he was taking the loss out on my leg. I should have told him that he was actually hurting me instead of loosening up the whole Achilles area, but I did not. Because the baseball story was along one, he worked on my leg for what seemed to be an eternity. I actually enjoyed it when he hooked up some electrodes to my leg, turned on the electricity until I could feel the electrical impulses, set the timer and starting taking care of another client.
After the strange therapy session, I went home and both Linda and I packed for the weekend wedding. Linda always starts helping me first because she has to pick the tie to match what I selected to wear. This is another case where being color blind makes Linda feel that she is taking care of a child, and not an adult. We also had to take in consideration whether I will be wearing the boot or not. My leg right now feels pretty good even though it is not 100 percent back to normal. My laying low for several days has really helped with the healing process.
Linda did have fun with her Knitting Group at Panera Bread last evening. She always comes home happy from that Wednesday night gathering!
Minnesota News -- The Miller / Coors brewing company has to take out all the Miller beer products in all bars and restaurants, and Liquor stores because of a license issue. During the government shut down because of money issues, the Beer Company filed paperwork for the permit to dispense their line of products. With the government being shut down, the application was "lost in translation". So the fight is taking place right now whether the paper work was filed before or after the government shut down. This means that the shut down not only affected 22,000 State workers, but the average citizen can't by Miller products. This sound like a no big deal issue, but Miller has a
38 % share of the market in Minnesota. I do remember trying to get a Budweiser product while at a wedding in Minnesota, and the bar tender said that they don't sell Budweiser beer in that particular restaurant which we were at. Why is it that the little guy always seems to get beaten up during a financial crisis?
California -- A woman in California decided to take her husband's unfaithfulness into her own hands. She drugs her husband; ties him up in bed, cuts off his penis, and throws it down the garbage disposal. I would imagine all of us males can feel his pain. Whatever happened to just filing for a divorce in matters of infidelity like this?
Politics -- The Republicans want to increase the eligible age for Medicare recipients from 65 to 67 years old. This is the year for me where I am eligible to get off of the City of Pittsfield's Health Insurance on my December birthday which is when I turn 65 years old. If this Federal cost cutting measure does pass, I will have to wait for a couple more years to get into the Medicare system. I guess that I can live with the change, but I am wondering if I will be grandfathered because I am so close to the current eligibility age. Our City has made a rule as their cost saving measure that if either spouse is eligible for Medicare, we have to go on the federal form of health insurance. Linda and I will have to wait until a decision is made by Congress, and when it takes effect.
Local Politics -- We have two public high schools in Pittsfield. My radio show host friend, and email recipient got all of his listeners fired up on his program yesterday. One high school was built in 1936, and the other in 1969. The big debate was whether to build one super high school, and shut down the other two, or to renovate the two aging schools. I say shut down the old ones and build a new one since our high school population has been dwindling over the past several years. Of course, the people who called up on the program want to renovate, no new taxes, etc. The State of Massachusetts is in a financial crisis, but they usually pay for 67 % of the cost of building a new school. This means the City will have to float a bond for the remaining cost. The cost of renovations of the two high schools might end up being more that building a new high school. Often it is cheaper to build a new place then renovating the old one. The callers all used fixing their own homes as a case for not building a new school. The inside of a school is much different than ones' home. Take for example a science lab. Does the average perso, who has seldom been in a school, know how much it costs to renovate a High School Science Lab and get it up to code? Most high schools have an auditorium to hold plays and musical concerts. Does the taxpayer know how much money it would take to get the stage, lighting etc., up to code? A few years ago, the stage at the high school which I taught at was deemed unsafe, and plays for that year were either canceled or performed at another venue. Does the average person realize what it costs to refurbish a school cafeteria to get that up to code? I was involved with the renovation with the two kitchens at the ITAM. Just the fire suppressant systems cost a fortune to install after new kitchen appliances (at a cost of
$35,000) were installed. The examples are endless with respect to renovation costs. All this discussion on the radio program was brought about because a city councilor wanted a non binding referendum put on the ballot whether the taxpayers in Pittsfield wanted a new school or not. Well, a School Building Needs Commission (meetings open to the Public) has been working on the issue for several years, and they determined that building a new school was the best way to. This Commission made a mistake by not putting out a fact sheet showing what it would cost to renovate, or what it would cost to build one new school.
Social Calendar -- The weekend wedding in Vermont is the only thing on our minds right now. No meetings, no therapy sessions, no appointments of any kind is such a wonderful feeling. We are planning on having just a great time for the whole weekend, and we are not thinking about our busy schedule until next Monday.
Weather -- We will be having a couple days of cool nights and temperatures in the 70's. The heat and humidity returns toward the end of the weekend.
Sports -- The USA women's soccer team made it to the finals. They will be playing Japan in the Championship round. The British Open starts today.
The Red Sox and the rest of the Major League teams start the second half of the baseball season today.
The All Star Baseball Game had the least number of people in years watching the game on Tuesday night. I was one of the non viewers.
Well, I have to do some quiet chores, and pack some things likes beverages, snack food, etc., for our trip. The car needs a drink too!
Have a great Thursday, and weekend in general.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Thursday went as planned. Therapy went semi well. I had to use the word "semi" because the Therapist is President of the Pittsfield Little League.
He was reliving the Little League playoff game which took place on Tuesday to me and all the people in therapy. The Pittsfield team was one out away from winning the game, and a bunch of misplays let the other team score four runs and tie the game up. The Pittsfield team lost in the first extra inning. As he was rubbing down the portion of my leg where the Achilles is strained, he was taking the loss out on my leg. I should have told him that he was actually hurting me instead of loosening up the whole Achilles area, but I did not. Because the baseball story was along one, he worked on my leg for what seemed to be an eternity. I actually enjoyed it when he hooked up some electrodes to my leg, turned on the electricity until I could feel the electrical impulses, set the timer and starting taking care of another client.
After the strange therapy session, I went home and both Linda and I packed for the weekend wedding. Linda always starts helping me first because she has to pick the tie to match what I selected to wear. This is another case where being color blind makes Linda feel that she is taking care of a child, and not an adult. We also had to take in consideration whether I will be wearing the boot or not. My leg right now feels pretty good even though it is not 100 percent back to normal. My laying low for several days has really helped with the healing process.
Linda did have fun with her Knitting Group at Panera Bread last evening. She always comes home happy from that Wednesday night gathering!
Minnesota News -- The Miller / Coors brewing company has to take out all the Miller beer products in all bars and restaurants, and Liquor stores because of a license issue. During the government shut down because of money issues, the Beer Company filed paperwork for the permit to dispense their line of products. With the government being shut down, the application was "lost in translation". So the fight is taking place right now whether the paper work was filed before or after the government shut down. This means that the shut down not only affected 22,000 State workers, but the average citizen can't by Miller products. This sound like a no big deal issue, but Miller has a
38 % share of the market in Minnesota. I do remember trying to get a Budweiser product while at a wedding in Minnesota, and the bar tender said that they don't sell Budweiser beer in that particular restaurant which we were at. Why is it that the little guy always seems to get beaten up during a financial crisis?
California -- A woman in California decided to take her husband's unfaithfulness into her own hands. She drugs her husband; ties him up in bed, cuts off his penis, and throws it down the garbage disposal. I would imagine all of us males can feel his pain. Whatever happened to just filing for a divorce in matters of infidelity like this?
Politics -- The Republicans want to increase the eligible age for Medicare recipients from 65 to 67 years old. This is the year for me where I am eligible to get off of the City of Pittsfield's Health Insurance on my December birthday which is when I turn 65 years old. If this Federal cost cutting measure does pass, I will have to wait for a couple more years to get into the Medicare system. I guess that I can live with the change, but I am wondering if I will be grandfathered because I am so close to the current eligibility age. Our City has made a rule as their cost saving measure that if either spouse is eligible for Medicare, we have to go on the federal form of health insurance. Linda and I will have to wait until a decision is made by Congress, and when it takes effect.
Local Politics -- We have two public high schools in Pittsfield. My radio show host friend, and email recipient got all of his listeners fired up on his program yesterday. One high school was built in 1936, and the other in 1969. The big debate was whether to build one super high school, and shut down the other two, or to renovate the two aging schools. I say shut down the old ones and build a new one since our high school population has been dwindling over the past several years. Of course, the people who called up on the program want to renovate, no new taxes, etc. The State of Massachusetts is in a financial crisis, but they usually pay for 67 % of the cost of building a new school. This means the City will have to float a bond for the remaining cost. The cost of renovations of the two high schools might end up being more that building a new high school. Often it is cheaper to build a new place then renovating the old one. The callers all used fixing their own homes as a case for not building a new school. The inside of a school is much different than ones' home. Take for example a science lab. Does the average perso, who has seldom been in a school, know how much it costs to renovate a High School Science Lab and get it up to code? Most high schools have an auditorium to hold plays and musical concerts. Does the taxpayer know how much money it would take to get the stage, lighting etc., up to code? A few years ago, the stage at the high school which I taught at was deemed unsafe, and plays for that year were either canceled or performed at another venue. Does the average person realize what it costs to refurbish a school cafeteria to get that up to code? I was involved with the renovation with the two kitchens at the ITAM. Just the fire suppressant systems cost a fortune to install after new kitchen appliances (at a cost of
$35,000) were installed. The examples are endless with respect to renovation costs. All this discussion on the radio program was brought about because a city councilor wanted a non binding referendum put on the ballot whether the taxpayers in Pittsfield wanted a new school or not. Well, a School Building Needs Commission (meetings open to the Public) has been working on the issue for several years, and they determined that building a new school was the best way to. This Commission made a mistake by not putting out a fact sheet showing what it would cost to renovate, or what it would cost to build one new school.
Social Calendar -- The weekend wedding in Vermont is the only thing on our minds right now. No meetings, no therapy sessions, no appointments of any kind is such a wonderful feeling. We are planning on having just a great time for the whole weekend, and we are not thinking about our busy schedule until next Monday.
Weather -- We will be having a couple days of cool nights and temperatures in the 70's. The heat and humidity returns toward the end of the weekend.
Sports -- The USA women's soccer team made it to the finals. They will be playing Japan in the Championship round. The British Open starts today.
The Red Sox and the rest of the Major League teams start the second half of the baseball season today.
The All Star Baseball Game had the least number of people in years watching the game on Tuesday night. I was one of the non viewers.
Well, I have to do some quiet chores, and pack some things likes beverages, snack food, etc., for our trip. The car needs a drink too!
Have a great Thursday, and weekend in general.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Hello on Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in Curley World. I laid low for a second day and finished savoring another book. Linda had fun at her Red Hat picnic at a friend's home. She did come home with a queasy stomach, and she was hoping that it wasn't from any of the covered dish foods. The hostess didn't cook anything on the grill, but the covered dishes were endless.
By laying low, I can almost walk pain free. Like I said yesterday, I don't want to push it right now, and then restrain it.
My friend and his sister who were visiting their parents who live in the Atlanta area are heading back to the Berkshires. My friend doesn't mind the long drive, but I am not sure if I could drive such a long distance. Yes, I am a wimp when it comes to driving. 3.5 hours is about my maximum driving time which is how long it takes to get from Pittsfield to Cape Cod.
Politics -- I see where Michele Bachmann, a Republican candidate for President and her husband, run a business which claims that they can change gay people into straight people. It is a Bible based program. I guess Michele won't be celebrating Gay Pride Day when it comes to Minnesota. I can hear my Republican friends telling me that they crossed this candidate off of the list of candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring. Do you think that she might not have lost the Gay Vote nationwide too?
Linda's not feeling well after the afternoon Red Hat function was not caused by food poisoning. There is a good article which explains what you body does to protect itself on those hot and humid days. The stomach blood vessels actually constrict which doesn't allow digestion to take place as well as it normally does. Eating any kind of fatty foods even makes the situation worse. I had to ask Linda if I could eat some left over containers of food while we watched a couple programs together. I think my eating in front of her increased her not so good feeling.
Yesterday's email got me in trouble. I made some comments about my neighbor cutting his lawn as the ladies were trying to play Mah Jogg in the screened in room on the deck on Monday night. Linda thought that I might have lost the friendship of our neighbors. She sent an email apologizing for my comments. I sent an email too, but the neighbors didn't take my comments as bad as Linda did. You have to realize that Linda is the "don't make waves", "don't hurt anyone's feelings" type of people. Her horoscope sign is Libra.
I had to remind her that family and friends are the best source of material for my daily blog. I was just trying to get a laugh from my daily readers.
Taking about laughs, Linda received an email that the August monthly BONCO session was booked in for the same night as Tanglewood on Parade which we usually attend. A girlfriend sends an email to the host saying that she will not be attending BONCO unless the date was changed because she really wanted to go to Tannglewood (with the Curley's). Well, the date got changed, and now Linda can't go to BONCO because Linda is hosting a Dinner / Book Club meeting which had been booked in for months, and it can't be changed. Linda was actually leaning toward not going to Tanglewood, and going to BONCO on the originally scheduled date. This BONCO is one of the fun ones because the hostess has one of those pontoon boats where the ladies get to cruise around Pontoosuc Lake. See I am not the only one who sends emails, and gets themselves in trouble.
Sports -- I didn't watch much of the all Star Baseballl game, but I did see the Red Sox player hit a homerun. The National League won the game for a second year in a row.
Social Calendar -- I have to finish some shirt pressing after I come back from a 7 AM Therapy session, and do a little packing for our weekend wedding adventure.
Linda will be doing some packing too. She also has her Wednesday night Knitting Session at Panera Bread. It looks like I will be having a cookout on the deck alone once again. I started a book on the kindle last night.
There are no sporting contests to watch except for British Open Golf Tournament which started at 4 AM this morning.
Have a great Wednesday.
For us in the Berkshires, the humidity has dropped, and we are in for another summer like day. Get out and enjoy it.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned in Curley World. I laid low for a second day and finished savoring another book. Linda had fun at her Red Hat picnic at a friend's home. She did come home with a queasy stomach, and she was hoping that it wasn't from any of the covered dish foods. The hostess didn't cook anything on the grill, but the covered dishes were endless.
By laying low, I can almost walk pain free. Like I said yesterday, I don't want to push it right now, and then restrain it.
My friend and his sister who were visiting their parents who live in the Atlanta area are heading back to the Berkshires. My friend doesn't mind the long drive, but I am not sure if I could drive such a long distance. Yes, I am a wimp when it comes to driving. 3.5 hours is about my maximum driving time which is how long it takes to get from Pittsfield to Cape Cod.
Politics -- I see where Michele Bachmann, a Republican candidate for President and her husband, run a business which claims that they can change gay people into straight people. It is a Bible based program. I guess Michele won't be celebrating Gay Pride Day when it comes to Minnesota. I can hear my Republican friends telling me that they crossed this candidate off of the list of candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring. Do you think that she might not have lost the Gay Vote nationwide too?
Linda's not feeling well after the afternoon Red Hat function was not caused by food poisoning. There is a good article which explains what you body does to protect itself on those hot and humid days. The stomach blood vessels actually constrict which doesn't allow digestion to take place as well as it normally does. Eating any kind of fatty foods even makes the situation worse. I had to ask Linda if I could eat some left over containers of food while we watched a couple programs together. I think my eating in front of her increased her not so good feeling.
Yesterday's email got me in trouble. I made some comments about my neighbor cutting his lawn as the ladies were trying to play Mah Jogg in the screened in room on the deck on Monday night. Linda thought that I might have lost the friendship of our neighbors. She sent an email apologizing for my comments. I sent an email too, but the neighbors didn't take my comments as bad as Linda did. You have to realize that Linda is the "don't make waves", "don't hurt anyone's feelings" type of people. Her horoscope sign is Libra.
I had to remind her that family and friends are the best source of material for my daily blog. I was just trying to get a laugh from my daily readers.
Taking about laughs, Linda received an email that the August monthly BONCO session was booked in for the same night as Tanglewood on Parade which we usually attend. A girlfriend sends an email to the host saying that she will not be attending BONCO unless the date was changed because she really wanted to go to Tannglewood (with the Curley's). Well, the date got changed, and now Linda can't go to BONCO because Linda is hosting a Dinner / Book Club meeting which had been booked in for months, and it can't be changed. Linda was actually leaning toward not going to Tanglewood, and going to BONCO on the originally scheduled date. This BONCO is one of the fun ones because the hostess has one of those pontoon boats where the ladies get to cruise around Pontoosuc Lake. See I am not the only one who sends emails, and gets themselves in trouble.
Sports -- I didn't watch much of the all Star Baseballl game, but I did see the Red Sox player hit a homerun. The National League won the game for a second year in a row.
Social Calendar -- I have to finish some shirt pressing after I come back from a 7 AM Therapy session, and do a little packing for our weekend wedding adventure.
Linda will be doing some packing too. She also has her Wednesday night Knitting Session at Panera Bread. It looks like I will be having a cookout on the deck alone once again. I started a book on the kindle last night.
There are no sporting contests to watch except for British Open Golf Tournament which started at 4 AM this morning.
Have a great Wednesday.
For us in the Berkshires, the humidity has dropped, and we are in for another summer like day. Get out and enjoy it.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hello on Tuesday
Dear Friends,
It was another great day in Paradise for us in the Berkshires. I was the only one who had to leave the house because I needed propane for the gas grill. One tank ran out while I was doing my Chicken Novena on Sunday night, and the other tank ran out because I left the grill on all night after I took the Chicken of the grill. This was an $18 mistake which is the current cost for a refill.
Linda had a relaxing day right up to the arrival of the Mah Jongg ladies.
Three of the four ladies enjoyed the hot dogs and hamburgers which I cooked on the grill. The fourth lady couldn't make the cookout because she was ???????
The Ladies started playing Mah Jongg at 6:45 PM just as our next door neighbor decided to cut his lawn. The ladies couldn't hear themselves think because they were playing in the screened in room on our deck. Luckily, the lawn cutting ended in 15 or 20 minutes. The ladies were having so much fun that they played until almost 10 PM.
While the ladies were doing their thing, I started a new book. Linda told me to savor it because she has no more hard cover books, but there are whole bunch which I could read on my IPad or on her Kindle.
Speaking of her Kindle, it died a couple of days ago. A new one arrived at our house on Monday. All she has to do is send the old one back using the mailing label which came with the new device.
Weather -- I am watching the forecast right now, and we will be hitting 90 degrees by noon time. Relief is on the way in a day or so. That is why I call this place where we live Paradise. Our friends and relatives who live in the Southern States get this Hazy, Hot, and Humid weather and it lasts all summer long. How can you have a cookout when the weather is unbearable?
Home Run Derby before the All Star game -- It came down to a Yankee versus Red Sox player in the finals. The Yankee home run hitter won the contest. I didn't watch a minute of it because I had heard that the baseballs used were juiced up!
Politics -- The budget wrangling is still going on. The President might have to settle for a short term budget to keep government running, but he really wants a deal to be worked out.
Sarah Palin thinks that she can get the Republican nomination, and eventually beat the current President in the upcoming election. I chatted with a diehard Republican friend while at the baseball game last Friday night who knows very well that I have those Liberal Democratic tendencies.
He said that so far he hasn't seen Republican candidate who is strong enough for him to support and vote for.
CNN -- There was a good article about siblings coming to Mom and Dad requesting financial help. Mom and Dad know that the siblings won't repay what the parents supposedly lend them. The gist of the article was to just say "No"! We have told our children that if we every win the lottery, we would help them out. If we choose to give them a financial gift then we don't expect anything except for a "Thank You". If you helped you children with paying for College that is quite a gift in itself. In our family, we hope that we passed on the concept of solving your own financial problems in life as well as other bumps along the road. So far so good in Curley world!
Social Calendar -- Linda is the only one socially engaged today. She has a Red Hat Picnic at a friend's home at which they will honor a couple of colleagues who retired this year. The picnic starts at 2 PM. I will be napping when she exits the house. It is a covered dish affair, and I am not sure if the Red Hat host is doing any grilling.
Bootman -- My strained Achilles seems to be healing quite nicely. The danger is that if I return to normal activities before it has completely healed, I could re-injure it. We still have a full summer of activities, and I don't want to wear the boot all summer. Linda is already nervous about me working the next Third Thursday. She has already told me that if I hurt myself; other parts of my body might be inflicted with pain by way of her hands.
I have 7 AM Physical Therapy Appointment on Wednesday.
Grandchildren -- Our Isabelle called yesterday to talk to Nana. The 3.5 year old said that she misses us and that she is enjoying their home in Valdosta, Georgia. The recent pictures which they send us have Isabelle swimming in the family pool. Her one year old brother Gabriel wants to jump in the pool like his older sister so Danielle has to be super vigilant. Her Lt. Colonel dad is home for a few more weeks before being deployed to Afghanistan.
The Tewskbury grandchild, Max, loves water but of the sprinkler variety.
Kevin and Kyla took him to a water park in Lowell over the weekend which had multiple sprinklers. In the video which they sent us, he appeared to be having a lot of fun.
Well, I have to do some ironing of shirts which I will be wearing for the weekend wedding which we are attending. The pants and boot wearing issue has been resolved too, but I won't be playing golf with the wedding party males / couple female golfers the day of the rehearsal party.
Have a great Tuesday!
Drink plenty of water so that you don't get dehydration.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It was another great day in Paradise for us in the Berkshires. I was the only one who had to leave the house because I needed propane for the gas grill. One tank ran out while I was doing my Chicken Novena on Sunday night, and the other tank ran out because I left the grill on all night after I took the Chicken of the grill. This was an $18 mistake which is the current cost for a refill.
Linda had a relaxing day right up to the arrival of the Mah Jongg ladies.
Three of the four ladies enjoyed the hot dogs and hamburgers which I cooked on the grill. The fourth lady couldn't make the cookout because she was ???????
The Ladies started playing Mah Jongg at 6:45 PM just as our next door neighbor decided to cut his lawn. The ladies couldn't hear themselves think because they were playing in the screened in room on our deck. Luckily, the lawn cutting ended in 15 or 20 minutes. The ladies were having so much fun that they played until almost 10 PM.
While the ladies were doing their thing, I started a new book. Linda told me to savor it because she has no more hard cover books, but there are whole bunch which I could read on my IPad or on her Kindle.
Speaking of her Kindle, it died a couple of days ago. A new one arrived at our house on Monday. All she has to do is send the old one back using the mailing label which came with the new device.
Weather -- I am watching the forecast right now, and we will be hitting 90 degrees by noon time. Relief is on the way in a day or so. That is why I call this place where we live Paradise. Our friends and relatives who live in the Southern States get this Hazy, Hot, and Humid weather and it lasts all summer long. How can you have a cookout when the weather is unbearable?
Home Run Derby before the All Star game -- It came down to a Yankee versus Red Sox player in the finals. The Yankee home run hitter won the contest. I didn't watch a minute of it because I had heard that the baseballs used were juiced up!
Politics -- The budget wrangling is still going on. The President might have to settle for a short term budget to keep government running, but he really wants a deal to be worked out.
Sarah Palin thinks that she can get the Republican nomination, and eventually beat the current President in the upcoming election. I chatted with a diehard Republican friend while at the baseball game last Friday night who knows very well that I have those Liberal Democratic tendencies.
He said that so far he hasn't seen Republican candidate who is strong enough for him to support and vote for.
CNN -- There was a good article about siblings coming to Mom and Dad requesting financial help. Mom and Dad know that the siblings won't repay what the parents supposedly lend them. The gist of the article was to just say "No"! We have told our children that if we every win the lottery, we would help them out. If we choose to give them a financial gift then we don't expect anything except for a "Thank You". If you helped you children with paying for College that is quite a gift in itself. In our family, we hope that we passed on the concept of solving your own financial problems in life as well as other bumps along the road. So far so good in Curley world!
Social Calendar -- Linda is the only one socially engaged today. She has a Red Hat Picnic at a friend's home at which they will honor a couple of colleagues who retired this year. The picnic starts at 2 PM. I will be napping when she exits the house. It is a covered dish affair, and I am not sure if the Red Hat host is doing any grilling.
Bootman -- My strained Achilles seems to be healing quite nicely. The danger is that if I return to normal activities before it has completely healed, I could re-injure it. We still have a full summer of activities, and I don't want to wear the boot all summer. Linda is already nervous about me working the next Third Thursday. She has already told me that if I hurt myself; other parts of my body might be inflicted with pain by way of her hands.
I have 7 AM Physical Therapy Appointment on Wednesday.
Grandchildren -- Our Isabelle called yesterday to talk to Nana. The 3.5 year old said that she misses us and that she is enjoying their home in Valdosta, Georgia. The recent pictures which they send us have Isabelle swimming in the family pool. Her one year old brother Gabriel wants to jump in the pool like his older sister so Danielle has to be super vigilant. Her Lt. Colonel dad is home for a few more weeks before being deployed to Afghanistan.
The Tewskbury grandchild, Max, loves water but of the sprinkler variety.
Kevin and Kyla took him to a water park in Lowell over the weekend which had multiple sprinklers. In the video which they sent us, he appeared to be having a lot of fun.
Well, I have to do some ironing of shirts which I will be wearing for the weekend wedding which we are attending. The pants and boot wearing issue has been resolved too, but I won't be playing golf with the wedding party males / couple female golfers the day of the rehearsal party.
Have a great Tuesday!
Drink plenty of water so that you don't get dehydration.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, July 11, 2011
Hello on Monday
Dear Friends,
Sunday was a quiet day for me since I laid low for most of the day. My most strenuous activities were to water the plants, take a nap, watch the Red Sox, watch the last few holes of a professional golf tournament, watch "60 Minutes", grill some chicken leg quarters, respond to emails, and finish reading a Clive Cussler book. I am in my sneakers right now without my boot, and my strained Achilles feels pretty good. A little puttering around the house will remind me that I am not ready to jumping jacks. My Achilles thanked me for doing quiet activities!
While I was doing my thing, Linda had a restful morning and slept until about an hour before she had to go off to her 11 AM wedding shower. She had a fun time bonding with all of her female friends while having brunch at the Dakota Restaurant. The wedding takes place during mid October.
After the wedding shower, she had a little break before being picked by another girlfriend at 4:15 PM as they headed off to see a local production of "Guys and Dolls" at 5 PM. She said that it was spectacular and it was so professionally done. She understands why the New Yorker's, and the Boston crowds love coming to the Berkshires to see great plays at half of the costs of what they would normally pay in their respective cities.
They met a couple other girlfriends who were at the play, and they five ladies all headed off to Patrick's Pub for dinner after the show was over.
Linda has one of those totally free days until a 6:45 PM Mah Jongg session which she is hosting this evening. I was asked to cook some hot dogs and hamburgers for the ladies, but two ladies said that they couldn't make the cookout at 6 PM. I will be cooking for Linda, one girl friend, and myself.
We will get some down time this week where we will just be having fun. No baking, cooking, grilling, hosting will be taking place. We will be attending a weekend rehearsal party and wedding in Vermont. We are going a day earlier for just some plain old relaxation before the wedding stuff begins. Kevin and Kyla will be attending the wedding also without child and creatures which means that we could bond a little with them too.
Observation 1. -- While watching "60 Minutes, half the program focused on homeless vets. You watched heart breaking success and failure stories. Some of the Vets seemed so young to have been in the sorry state that they were in. Some of the interviewed Vets said that when they retuned from war, they could not adjust to a life of normalcy. After watching the program from beginning to end, I reached the conclusion that wars do a terrible harm especially to the men and women on the front lines. You just can't program a young person to be a killing machine, and then expect them to a normal functioning citizen when they return home. You can't expect a person who saw their buddy get killed or maimed, and not replay those images in their mind when they return to civilian life. As I said in an email months ago, the Mom of one of my former students who entered the Army right after High School, and did several tours of duty in Iraq, and she told me that her sons sleeps with one eye open. He reacts to any slight sound or noise.
Observation 2. The other half of the program focused on Fracking which is a process where Companies drill miles through shale until they reach Natural gas. They interviewed the CEO of one the companies who guaranteed that the process works. They showed farmers who were paid big bucks to let these companies drill on their properties. They then interviewed people who had their water supply affected by the process, and how they are suing the mess left in their yards by the less than above board companies. I arrived at the conclusion that it is such a good thing that we have the tree huggers and environmentalists looking out for our best interests. I would just keep purchasing crude oil from any country who wants to sell it to us. I wouldn't let these countries tell us what they will be charging us per barrel. I think that we could do a little better in the negotiation process. We would have to make cars a little more environmentally friendly. I would also have the best minds in the world working on finding a way to be less oil dependent.
Sports -- The Red Sox and Yankees won their respective contests on Sunday.
No Red Sox for the next couple of days because of the All Star break which is the half way point of the Major League Baseball season.
Tiger Woods is schedule to make an 11 AM statement on the Golf Channel today. The Sports' writers are trying to guess what he is going to say.
Weather -- We have a week of summer like temperatures scheduled for the whole week. We might reach the 90 degree mark today with increased humidity.
While we were entertaining some of our friends on Saturday night, who spend the winters down south, I noticed that they feel the coolness very quickly.
They started putting on sweaters and jackets as darkness arrived. Linda and I called the cooler temperatures refreshing, but they called it cold.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities. I hope that the telephone doesn't ring at our house until the Queen wakes up.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. Bootman (alias The Curley Lad)
Sunday was a quiet day for me since I laid low for most of the day. My most strenuous activities were to water the plants, take a nap, watch the Red Sox, watch the last few holes of a professional golf tournament, watch "60 Minutes", grill some chicken leg quarters, respond to emails, and finish reading a Clive Cussler book. I am in my sneakers right now without my boot, and my strained Achilles feels pretty good. A little puttering around the house will remind me that I am not ready to jumping jacks. My Achilles thanked me for doing quiet activities!
While I was doing my thing, Linda had a restful morning and slept until about an hour before she had to go off to her 11 AM wedding shower. She had a fun time bonding with all of her female friends while having brunch at the Dakota Restaurant. The wedding takes place during mid October.
After the wedding shower, she had a little break before being picked by another girlfriend at 4:15 PM as they headed off to see a local production of "Guys and Dolls" at 5 PM. She said that it was spectacular and it was so professionally done. She understands why the New Yorker's, and the Boston crowds love coming to the Berkshires to see great plays at half of the costs of what they would normally pay in their respective cities.
They met a couple other girlfriends who were at the play, and they five ladies all headed off to Patrick's Pub for dinner after the show was over.
Linda has one of those totally free days until a 6:45 PM Mah Jongg session which she is hosting this evening. I was asked to cook some hot dogs and hamburgers for the ladies, but two ladies said that they couldn't make the cookout at 6 PM. I will be cooking for Linda, one girl friend, and myself.
We will get some down time this week where we will just be having fun. No baking, cooking, grilling, hosting will be taking place. We will be attending a weekend rehearsal party and wedding in Vermont. We are going a day earlier for just some plain old relaxation before the wedding stuff begins. Kevin and Kyla will be attending the wedding also without child and creatures which means that we could bond a little with them too.
Observation 1. -- While watching "60 Minutes, half the program focused on homeless vets. You watched heart breaking success and failure stories. Some of the Vets seemed so young to have been in the sorry state that they were in. Some of the interviewed Vets said that when they retuned from war, they could not adjust to a life of normalcy. After watching the program from beginning to end, I reached the conclusion that wars do a terrible harm especially to the men and women on the front lines. You just can't program a young person to be a killing machine, and then expect them to a normal functioning citizen when they return home. You can't expect a person who saw their buddy get killed or maimed, and not replay those images in their mind when they return to civilian life. As I said in an email months ago, the Mom of one of my former students who entered the Army right after High School, and did several tours of duty in Iraq, and she told me that her sons sleeps with one eye open. He reacts to any slight sound or noise.
Observation 2. The other half of the program focused on Fracking which is a process where Companies drill miles through shale until they reach Natural gas. They interviewed the CEO of one the companies who guaranteed that the process works. They showed farmers who were paid big bucks to let these companies drill on their properties. They then interviewed people who had their water supply affected by the process, and how they are suing the mess left in their yards by the less than above board companies. I arrived at the conclusion that it is such a good thing that we have the tree huggers and environmentalists looking out for our best interests. I would just keep purchasing crude oil from any country who wants to sell it to us. I wouldn't let these countries tell us what they will be charging us per barrel. I think that we could do a little better in the negotiation process. We would have to make cars a little more environmentally friendly. I would also have the best minds in the world working on finding a way to be less oil dependent.
Sports -- The Red Sox and Yankees won their respective contests on Sunday.
No Red Sox for the next couple of days because of the All Star break which is the half way point of the Major League Baseball season.
Tiger Woods is schedule to make an 11 AM statement on the Golf Channel today. The Sports' writers are trying to guess what he is going to say.
Weather -- We have a week of summer like temperatures scheduled for the whole week. We might reach the 90 degree mark today with increased humidity.
While we were entertaining some of our friends on Saturday night, who spend the winters down south, I noticed that they feel the coolness very quickly.
They started putting on sweaters and jackets as darkness arrived. Linda and I called the cooler temperatures refreshing, but they called it cold.
Well, I have to do some quiet activities. I hope that the telephone doesn't ring at our house until the Queen wakes up.
Have a great week at work or play.
Talk to you soon. Bootman (alias The Curley Lad)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hello on Thursday
Dear Friends,
Another day went as planned in the Curley world. Linda accomplished her four (really five) things that she had on her busy schedule.
The Computer guy came to our house like the regular doctors used to do and made our lap run like a top after he got rid of some multiple mini viruses.
Our computer problems gave our guy a challenge, and he had to stay an extra hour before he solved the problem. The guy was enjoying the challenge, and he learned something new even though he has been doing computer stuff for over 30 years. If you are trying to visualize what the guy looks like, I would say that he is in his early 50’s and he is in relatively good shape. I didn’t ask him, but he was like the kid in school who didn’t play sports, but got on his computer when he got home from school. His parents probably had to tell him to shut off the lights and go to bed when he was in his teenage years.
He charges a very reasonable fee for his efforts. I took some of his business cards, and said that I would give them to friends who are experiencing problems with their PC. He doesn’t do Mac computer.
One thing he did say is that our computers are like our cars. Cars need some routine maintenance / tune-ups and so do our computers.
The fifth thing that Linda did was to go for a few groceries after her Panera Bread Knitting gathering. She has been my chauffeur for the past week or so unless I take off my boot and drive myself. She decided to take one of my driving tips. The tip backfired last night. I suggested that when I go to a grocery store, to park the car in the “Go Position” so you go forward instead of backing up. Well, she tried that last night and it didn’t work. She comes out of the grocery with a semi cart full of groceries while it was raining. She couldn’t into the back of the car. A big honker of a truck parked so close to the back of the Kia that she couldn’t open the hatchback. She had to put the groceries on the back seat of the car. So much for my helpful hints!
I did accomplish my tasks and had a chicken novena for supper. I grilled some leg quarters while watching the Red Sox. My neighbor saw me sitting in the screened in room on our deck so came to do a little socializing and to have a couple of beverages. He actually came over our house to pay for our Friday Picnic in the Park at the baseball park which will include fireworks. I offered to share the chicken, but he and his family had already eaten. His wife and daughter went off to do little bonding and recreational shopping. I did tell him that when he sees me in the screened in room on the deck that he is welcome to join me. At least last night, I wasn’t having a party on the deck by myself. I did have to put down a few blinds for a little while as the thunderstorms rolled in, but all in all we had a fun time solving all the problems of the world, and watching the Red Sox win.
He did admit that he likes to start the day by reading my words of wisdom.
A few of my friends, one of whom owns a boat, attended the Wednesday “Live on the Lake” concert at Onota Lake. The thunderstorms put a damper on their party.
I see where a person was killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. Bears are not like those cuddly little creatures that we had on our beds when we were children.
The State of Florida wants Casey Anthony to pay for the three years worth of services provided by the prosecution in their losing effort to convict her of killing her child. I don’t know how the State can recover these funds from her!
Social Calendar – Linda has a routine eye appointment, and I have my first physical therapy session today at noon. Tonight we are going off to a picnic at the home of an Irish Sister City friend. There will be much food, fun, and merriment before this party is over.
Observation – I started thinking about the budget wrangling which is taking place in Congress. The Republicans are standing by their wealthy friends, and don’t want them to pay higher taxes because they make more money. I sort of take their side because I wouldn’t want my hard earned dollars going to all those social programs for people who don’t want to work, but who just live off our taxes. On the other hand, I am not happy for those companies who pay no taxes, and use the guise of research and development, and providing jobs for the average worker. I would let them pay reduced taxes if they can prove to me that they are doing those things, and not just paying their executives huge salaries. They want their cake and to eat it too while the rest of us pay for the cake!
I have to end this email and get cooking. We are bringing a three bean concoction to the picnic this evening. My job is to cook the bacon, sauté onions and ground beef which will go in the bean dish. Now this is a quiet activity, but could you sleep through the good smell which will be wafting through our house in about five minutes? My friend who was with me last night said that he tried to make this recipe, but it never comes out as good as Linda’s. Every good cook tweaks a recipe, and puts in their own ingredients which make their dish special. Sometimes the cooks don’t want to give away those secrets.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Another day went as planned in the Curley world. Linda accomplished her four (really five) things that she had on her busy schedule.
The Computer guy came to our house like the regular doctors used to do and made our lap run like a top after he got rid of some multiple mini viruses.
Our computer problems gave our guy a challenge, and he had to stay an extra hour before he solved the problem. The guy was enjoying the challenge, and he learned something new even though he has been doing computer stuff for over 30 years. If you are trying to visualize what the guy looks like, I would say that he is in his early 50’s and he is in relatively good shape. I didn’t ask him, but he was like the kid in school who didn’t play sports, but got on his computer when he got home from school. His parents probably had to tell him to shut off the lights and go to bed when he was in his teenage years.
He charges a very reasonable fee for his efforts. I took some of his business cards, and said that I would give them to friends who are experiencing problems with their PC. He doesn’t do Mac computer.
One thing he did say is that our computers are like our cars. Cars need some routine maintenance / tune-ups and so do our computers.
The fifth thing that Linda did was to go for a few groceries after her Panera Bread Knitting gathering. She has been my chauffeur for the past week or so unless I take off my boot and drive myself. She decided to take one of my driving tips. The tip backfired last night. I suggested that when I go to a grocery store, to park the car in the “Go Position” so you go forward instead of backing up. Well, she tried that last night and it didn’t work. She comes out of the grocery with a semi cart full of groceries while it was raining. She couldn’t into the back of the car. A big honker of a truck parked so close to the back of the Kia that she couldn’t open the hatchback. She had to put the groceries on the back seat of the car. So much for my helpful hints!
I did accomplish my tasks and had a chicken novena for supper. I grilled some leg quarters while watching the Red Sox. My neighbor saw me sitting in the screened in room on our deck so came to do a little socializing and to have a couple of beverages. He actually came over our house to pay for our Friday Picnic in the Park at the baseball park which will include fireworks. I offered to share the chicken, but he and his family had already eaten. His wife and daughter went off to do little bonding and recreational shopping. I did tell him that when he sees me in the screened in room on the deck that he is welcome to join me. At least last night, I wasn’t having a party on the deck by myself. I did have to put down a few blinds for a little while as the thunderstorms rolled in, but all in all we had a fun time solving all the problems of the world, and watching the Red Sox win.
He did admit that he likes to start the day by reading my words of wisdom.
A few of my friends, one of whom owns a boat, attended the Wednesday “Live on the Lake” concert at Onota Lake. The thunderstorms put a damper on their party.
I see where a person was killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. Bears are not like those cuddly little creatures that we had on our beds when we were children.
The State of Florida wants Casey Anthony to pay for the three years worth of services provided by the prosecution in their losing effort to convict her of killing her child. I don’t know how the State can recover these funds from her!
Social Calendar – Linda has a routine eye appointment, and I have my first physical therapy session today at noon. Tonight we are going off to a picnic at the home of an Irish Sister City friend. There will be much food, fun, and merriment before this party is over.
Observation – I started thinking about the budget wrangling which is taking place in Congress. The Republicans are standing by their wealthy friends, and don’t want them to pay higher taxes because they make more money. I sort of take their side because I wouldn’t want my hard earned dollars going to all those social programs for people who don’t want to work, but who just live off our taxes. On the other hand, I am not happy for those companies who pay no taxes, and use the guise of research and development, and providing jobs for the average worker. I would let them pay reduced taxes if they can prove to me that they are doing those things, and not just paying their executives huge salaries. They want their cake and to eat it too while the rest of us pay for the cake!
I have to end this email and get cooking. We are bringing a three bean concoction to the picnic this evening. My job is to cook the bacon, sauté onions and ground beef which will go in the bean dish. Now this is a quiet activity, but could you sleep through the good smell which will be wafting through our house in about five minutes? My friend who was with me last night said that he tried to make this recipe, but it never comes out as good as Linda’s. Every good cook tweaks a recipe, and puts in their own ingredients which make their dish special. Sometimes the cooks don’t want to give away those secrets.
Have a great Thursday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, July 1, 2011
Hello on Friday
Dear Friends,
Our Thursday with our grandchild went very well. He and his parents arrived at 11:30 AM. His parents had a full car of camping gear, but they needed another place to put their friend's gear. Good old Dad to the rescue. We have one of those cloth car top carriers. Some the their luggage and sleeping bags ended up in this new space. Room had to be made for my "Grill to Go" and the tank of propane which goes with it. Kevin, Kyla, and their friend left the house within 30 minutes. Max waved and said "Goodbye" to his parents, and our baby sitting for Max, and the two dogs began. After a quick lunch, Linda, Max and me went to Springside Park which has all kinds of swings, climbing devices , etc. We then headed for Dalton to say "Hi" to our friend's grandchild and her Dad who are here for the weekend. On the way home, Max started to crash, and we put him and grandpa down for an afternoon nap. The both of us slept very well. I was so tired that I didn't even bother to take off my boot! We both woke up within 5 minutes of one another near 5 PM. Linda had a little time to put the finishing touches for the 11 BONCO ladies who were coming to our house at 7 PM.
I decided to take Max (and the two dogs) up the street to visit our friends whose wife is also wearing a boot because of her broken ankle. She happened to be walking down the street toward our house at the same time with her grandchild Eva. Eva is one year older than Max, They played so nice together. Max and I got invited for supper. It was wonderful, and Max ate like a trooper. He had corn on the cob along with the chicken, potatoes, etc. He had those mini yogurt cones for dessert.
Well things were going so well, that we stayed at our friend's home until a little after 8 PM.
Eva has one of those kitchen sets with all kinds of pots, pans, fake food, cups, and dishes. Eva and Max both put on aprons, and they made pretend dinners for all of us. When I got hom, I had one of those Velcro fake foods attached to my boot. Eva's mom took some pictures of the two of them playing together, and she promised to send them over the internet.
When we arrive home, Max said "Hi" to the BONCO women, and we put him to bed since he was exhausted.
As we were taking care of the energizer bunny, I was thinking of how whatever is happening in our messed up world is so inconsequential in the scheme of things. If more people devoted time to their families, we wouldn't read about or listen to all the crazy things which go on in the world. The mother in Florida who alleged killed her child, is "guilty as sin". If the woman didn't want her child because she wanted to party with her single friends, she could have put the child up for adoption. In a few short hours, Max will be calling for his "Papa" which he calls me. He wakes up with a smile every time I rescue him from his crib. There is no way that I could bring harm to this beautiful boy. I just wants to give him hugs!
Sports -- The Red Sox finally won a game, but the Yankees won their game too. Since I missed the afternoon Sox game, I watched a rerun as the women were playing BONCO. Linda didn't even know that I was in my man cave.
I slept in one of the spare bedrooms. Frankie Beans and I slept together while Billy slept at the foot of the bed on the floor. I almost tripped over Billy when I had to make a restroom trip in the middle of the night. Right now the two dogs, Max, and Linda are sound asleep. This is my quiet time before this day begins. I will definitely need an afternoon nap when Max takes his.
Social Calendar -- I normally would be teeing off with the seniors at 8:30 AM today, but playing golf with a boot on is an impossibility. We don't have anything on our social calendar except for taking care of Max and the dogs. This is enough to tire us out for sure.
BONCO went very well. Linda had three places set up in the house, but two tables of four women decided to play BONCO in the screened in room on deck. Linda has been playing BONCO for over 30 years, and she knows what the women like for beverages. Most of the ladies drinks all kinds of diet soda or diet juice drinks. For some reason, the women last night wanted to drink mostly wine. Of course, we were prepared to serve wine since I had a bottled chilled in the refrigerator. Usually there are two women who drink wine, but they weren't there last night. For some reason, people like alcoholic beverages when they are invited to our house.
Linda made a dessert called "Lemon lust". Several women stay away from desserts, but not last night. The ladies usually drink decaffeinated tea, but not last night! They wanted decaffeinated coffee. I think that the ladies like coming to our house because Linda is such a good host.
I hope that Kevin and Kyla and their friends had a fun night camping together in Watkins Glen, New York. I hope the band "Phish" performs well for the concerts.
Well, I have to enjoy a little more quiet time before Max wakes up. I am going to let Linda get some extra sleep, but she will hear Max, me and the dogs, and she will get up earlier than planned.
Have a great Friday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Our Thursday with our grandchild went very well. He and his parents arrived at 11:30 AM. His parents had a full car of camping gear, but they needed another place to put their friend's gear. Good old Dad to the rescue. We have one of those cloth car top carriers. Some the their luggage and sleeping bags ended up in this new space. Room had to be made for my "Grill to Go" and the tank of propane which goes with it. Kevin, Kyla, and their friend left the house within 30 minutes. Max waved and said "Goodbye" to his parents, and our baby sitting for Max, and the two dogs began. After a quick lunch, Linda, Max and me went to Springside Park which has all kinds of swings, climbing devices , etc. We then headed for Dalton to say "Hi" to our friend's grandchild and her Dad who are here for the weekend. On the way home, Max started to crash, and we put him and grandpa down for an afternoon nap. The both of us slept very well. I was so tired that I didn't even bother to take off my boot! We both woke up within 5 minutes of one another near 5 PM. Linda had a little time to put the finishing touches for the 11 BONCO ladies who were coming to our house at 7 PM.
I decided to take Max (and the two dogs) up the street to visit our friends whose wife is also wearing a boot because of her broken ankle. She happened to be walking down the street toward our house at the same time with her grandchild Eva. Eva is one year older than Max, They played so nice together. Max and I got invited for supper. It was wonderful, and Max ate like a trooper. He had corn on the cob along with the chicken, potatoes, etc. He had those mini yogurt cones for dessert.
Well things were going so well, that we stayed at our friend's home until a little after 8 PM.
Eva has one of those kitchen sets with all kinds of pots, pans, fake food, cups, and dishes. Eva and Max both put on aprons, and they made pretend dinners for all of us. When I got hom, I had one of those Velcro fake foods attached to my boot. Eva's mom took some pictures of the two of them playing together, and she promised to send them over the internet.
When we arrive home, Max said "Hi" to the BONCO women, and we put him to bed since he was exhausted.
As we were taking care of the energizer bunny, I was thinking of how whatever is happening in our messed up world is so inconsequential in the scheme of things. If more people devoted time to their families, we wouldn't read about or listen to all the crazy things which go on in the world. The mother in Florida who alleged killed her child, is "guilty as sin". If the woman didn't want her child because she wanted to party with her single friends, she could have put the child up for adoption. In a few short hours, Max will be calling for his "Papa" which he calls me. He wakes up with a smile every time I rescue him from his crib. There is no way that I could bring harm to this beautiful boy. I just wants to give him hugs!
Sports -- The Red Sox finally won a game, but the Yankees won their game too. Since I missed the afternoon Sox game, I watched a rerun as the women were playing BONCO. Linda didn't even know that I was in my man cave.
I slept in one of the spare bedrooms. Frankie Beans and I slept together while Billy slept at the foot of the bed on the floor. I almost tripped over Billy when I had to make a restroom trip in the middle of the night. Right now the two dogs, Max, and Linda are sound asleep. This is my quiet time before this day begins. I will definitely need an afternoon nap when Max takes his.
Social Calendar -- I normally would be teeing off with the seniors at 8:30 AM today, but playing golf with a boot on is an impossibility. We don't have anything on our social calendar except for taking care of Max and the dogs. This is enough to tire us out for sure.
BONCO went very well. Linda had three places set up in the house, but two tables of four women decided to play BONCO in the screened in room on deck. Linda has been playing BONCO for over 30 years, and she knows what the women like for beverages. Most of the ladies drinks all kinds of diet soda or diet juice drinks. For some reason, the women last night wanted to drink mostly wine. Of course, we were prepared to serve wine since I had a bottled chilled in the refrigerator. Usually there are two women who drink wine, but they weren't there last night. For some reason, people like alcoholic beverages when they are invited to our house.
Linda made a dessert called "Lemon lust". Several women stay away from desserts, but not last night. The ladies usually drink decaffeinated tea, but not last night! They wanted decaffeinated coffee. I think that the ladies like coming to our house because Linda is such a good host.
I hope that Kevin and Kyla and their friends had a fun night camping together in Watkins Glen, New York. I hope the band "Phish" performs well for the concerts.
Well, I have to enjoy a little more quiet time before Max wakes up. I am going to let Linda get some extra sleep, but she will hear Max, me and the dogs, and she will get up earlier than planned.
Have a great Friday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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