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