Hello on Thursday

Dear Friends,

Our one social event of the day went well on Wednesday. The 65th birthday party (four people) for our friend from West Stockbridge went very well. The food at Mario's is all made from scratch including the desserts. It was an expensive meal, but we all agreed that when you pay top dollar for a meal, it better be good. Our meals were spectacular.

Today is the first day in a long time that we have absolutely nothing on our social calendar. I am going to whip up a batch of red sauce with some sausages, and homemade meatballs. I also like to put in a handful of peppers and onions in the sauce too. We will have some form of pasta, a salad, some Italian Bread, and maybe a glass of heart healthy red wine. It doesn't get any better than this!
I feel bad for the people who have trouble consuming red sauce which is another heart healthy food that we all should be eating.

I see where the Hostess Brands Company has filed for bankruptcy. They still will be making Twinkies, and similar type products that they are known for. Their Wonderbread line, which we all grew up with, might be a thing of the past. The last time that we had that bread product in our house is when our two children were really young. Now when we go to either son's home, there is some kind of multigrain bread in their bread boxes.
The health conscious people have put a curse on white flour. I always marvel at those people who have an aversion to white bread, but who will eat it when they are out at a restaurant. Last night, the waitress brought out some homemade warm Italian bread and some olive oil to dip in. Every person didn't hesitate to grab at least one slice of the white bread. I got the feeling that their bodies were just calling for some of the unhealthy white bread.

Speaking of the white stuff, we have a coating of snow outside right now. The temperatures are supposed to rise and the precipitation is supposed to change over to rain, and the winds are going to pick up. We have some chilly weather heading our way. Some of the temperatures for us in the Berkshires this weekend will not even hit the 20 degree mark. There are still no major storms heading our way.

They showed a picture the other day in our local newspaper of an elderly man with a walker ice fishing on one of our lakes here in Pittsfield. The ice was only three inches thick in some spots, but lower in other places. Our fire chief warned ice-fishing enthusiasts to stay off of the ice until we get several more days of cold weather. When I got Sporting License the other day, they had a couple rows of ice fishing gear. I have never seen the amount ice-fishing gear on the shelves during the middle of January. Our mild winter has put a damper on a lot of winter type products.

One of the quiet projects that I am going to do today is to go through my tackle boxes and remove the small lead sinkers. As of January 1, 2012 in Massachusetts, it is illegal to use lead sinkers 1 ounce or smaller. Our aquatic birds are consuming lead sinkers, and the lead is killing them. You can't use shotgun shells which had lead pellets in them any more. You must purchase shotgun shells with steel pellets.

I made some comment yesterday about impatient drivers, and what do they gain by tailgating, and passing you when you both meet at the next stop light. My friend said that it happened to him the other day. The impatient driver was a Massachusetts State Trooper, and he wasn't heading toward some accident or crime scene.

There is always some commercial of some weight loss device. It could be in the form of pills, shakes, diet food, gym equipment, etc. Whatever happened to the "Shake Weight" commercial that seemed to be on every station? The company made their millions, and it seems to have fallen by the wayside.

I remember when our children were small and a company was selling "Pet Rocks" in a box. Someone had the idea of gluing artificial eyes to a rock, and putting the rock in a box and selling them. The Curley's contributed to someone's wealth, and their simple idea.

Politics -- I have to sit down with my conservative minded friends, and see who they are leaning towards as the person who can best represent the Republican Party. In my mind, there is not one individual so far that has the ability to make our President a one term guy.

Well, I have to start prepping the sauce for tonight's supper, read the local newspaper, and continue with quiet activities. I do hope that the telephone does not ring, and does not wake up the Queen.

Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad