ear Friends,
I went to bed a happy man last evening, not only because the Red Sox swept the series against the Angels, but also because Linda and I became grandparents for the third time. Our angel, Gabriel Michael Curley, arrived during the Red Sox game last evening. He came into this world weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces, and he is 21.5 inches long.
May 6 will be an easy day to remember with respect to his birthday because this is the same day as his Mom’s birthday.
Danielle’s mom drove to Kansas from Minnesota, and she was taking care of Isabelle as the birth was taking place.
In a day or so, Danielle and Gabriel will be discharged from the hospital, and Isabelle will have a chance to see her new brother.
It is a balmy 44 degrees in the Berkshires right now. We are not getting out of the 60’s today, but it will be a nice day to be on the golf course with my senior friends. I might be wearing a sweater when we tee off at 8:30 AM.
While I am on the golf course, Linda will be having a body maintenance procedure.
This procedure will require her to be waited on for supper this evening.
This evening, I will be in my man cave working the remote control feverishly because the Celtics, Bruins, and the Red Sox will be doing battle at the same time. The Red Sox will be playing against their arch enemies, the New York Yankees. I can’t wait!
Thursday went well. I did go to Home Depot, but it was raining when I went there so I didn’t purchase the cedar mulch. I had to by a repair kit for part of one of the air conditioners which I installed the other day. The fan like portion on either side of air conditioner that you slide out to fill up the space on either side to keep the bugs and rain out became detached. I tried Gorilla Glue to fix the original problem. The glue stuck to everything, and the fan like devices wouldn’t even open. Home Depot has a repair kit that worked as described, but I had to spend most of my time trying to get the Gorilla Glue off of everything.
While working in the other spare bedroom, I decided to open the windows to let a little fresh air into the house. Well, the wind really picked up during the day, and knocked a framed picked off one night stand, and a vase of dried flowers off of the another night stand. A plastic piece of the picture frame broke when it hit the carpet. Luckily the vase on the other night stand didn’t break when it hit the floor. Anything in the room that wasn’t heavy or tied down ended up on the floor.
We had a bone in breast of chicken which I cooked on the grill along with some rice, and some corn on the cob. The corn wasn’t too sweet because it wasn’t local, but I did use the electronic pressure cooker to cook the corn. A half of a cup of water, and setting the timer for one minute was all it took to cook the corn. If I was cooking for a bunch of people over for a party, I would have to cook it in two batches. They could be eating one ear of corn while the second batch would be cooking.
News / Politics – The stock market took a really big hit yesterday. It dropped 347+ points. The oil spill and the turmoil in Greece contributed to the decline. I am going to take an optimist position, and bet that the stock market will recover even if it might take a while. Of course, our President will take a hit for the drop. The usual Presidential bashers will use some of the social programs that our President has been trying to get passed as a cause of the crash.
I tried to watch a power point presentation sent to me by one of my relatives yesterday, and I had to hit the delete button. The presentation tried to have you believe that we are turning into a socialist country like Argentina. The creators of the piece did a before and after sequence of Argentina, and the claimed that the United States was heading in the same direction. I say “Hogwash!”
If most of the world was filled with people who just took care of their own family, and took pleasure in seeing their family grow, there would be no conflicts. If people of other nations weren’t jealous of what other nations had or did not have, then life would be so good. If people really believed that war or killing your neighbor is not a good solution to conflicts, our world would be in less turmoil. If we let people practice whatever religion that they believe in, and stay out of their business, we would be better off.
There is no religion that requires or demands violence against your neighbors, but we have people in places that take the Bible, or the Koran, etc., and they twist the words of the documents into acts of violence.
Well, I have to stop rambling, and read the local newspaper, and select my wardrobe for today’s round of golf.
Have a great weekend!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, but I contend that every day is Mother’s Day.
I do appreciate what my mother did to raise me, and I see what Linda has done to raise our two boys.
The fruit of all their hard work appears to be paying off.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Hello on Thursday Morning
Dear Friends,
Linda and her girlfriends had a wonderful time in New York. They even had a chance to see the King Tut Exhibit before going to the play. Every time Linda returns home from one of her adventures, she always comes into the house “Happy”. She just loves plays so much, and I am so happy that she has girlfriends to go with.
My day had me making two trips to Home Depot, and filling up the car with 15 bags of cedar mulch during each trip. My routine would be to attack the flower beds until I ran out of mulch. I did all of the flower beds except for one bed which would require about five more bags of mulch. I know I could have and a couple yards of mulch delivered to my house, but I don’t like a pile of mulched dumped in my driveway. With bags, I can hide them in the back yard, and do the mulching at my own pace.
Just before my afternoon nap, I gave my lawn, and the neighbor’ lawn, who watch the Casa del Curley home when we are away, a little trim. I was ready for a nap as the time approached 2 PM. I worked from 6:45 A.M. straight through until nap time. I never stopped for lunch because I had “completing the task” on my brain.
After my nap, I tried to figure out what I should make for supper. I decided to use our electronic pressure cooker. I am really getting to like the device because it is so simple to use. I found a pack of country style ribs buried in our freezer. I defrosted them for a while in the micro wave before using the searing cycle in the pressure cooker. I painted the ribs with some store bought barbecue sauce, put in a half a cup of liquid (I used white wine), closed the lid, and set the timer on the device. 45 minutes later I had the most delicious, fall off of the bone ribs that you can possibly imagine. I did save Linda one rib, and she did agree that the country style ribs turned out great.
I normally would cook the ribs in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. I guess using this device is really slow cooking fast.
As the country ribs were cooking, I was perusing the recipe book which came with the device. Cooking 4 to 6 ears of corn on the cob will take one minute once the high pressure is reached. I can’t wait for the corn on the cob to grow and be harvested at our local farms.
The pressure cooker that I have is not the same one as you see on QVC. When they do their food demonstration on television, they can put in frozen items in their electronic pressure cooker. With all of us having micro-waves with defrost cycles, it is no big deal to thaw beef, pork, or poultry first, and then use the pressure cooker. I did call the 800 number to see if I could cook frozen foods in my particular device, the person who I talked to said “No”. This won’t stop me from trying it anyway. I might try it on a couple of frozen boneless chicken breasts. There are safety valves on the device. If you hear an explosion in the neighborhood, you know that it was just me doing what I am not supposed to do.
I still can’t get used to the noiselessness of the device. There is no ticking like on those old pressure cookers that most of us grew up with. When the cooking is done, the device beeps a couple of times, and that is all the noise that you hear.
For busy families, this might be a good device to add to your repertoire of kitchen appliances.
This is one of those days where Linda wants to just relax and do things at her own pace. She also will be glued to a local radio station for a portion of the day because they having another one of the Radio Auctions. There is always something (mostly restaurant certificates for us) that we end up getting. They even have a snow blower with a retail value of $1300 as one of the items.
I am going to finish the flower bed, and do some weed whacking which I didn’t do yesterday because I was so tired from playing in the flower beds.
Speaking of bed, I did go to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox, and the Boston Bruins won their contests. I was particularly excited about the Bruins’ win because they were victorious on their opponent’s home ice.
I did see where the damage in Tennessee has topped the $1 billion mark. If you made plans to go to the Grand Old Opera House in Nashville this summer, you might want to rethink going there. It will be closed for at least three months. One of Linda’s girlfriends, whom she went to New York City with on Wednesday, has married children and their families living in Tennessee. I hope that they were not affected by the flooding.
The Berkshires are still looking pretty good as a place to live. Us Berkshirites are away from many of the natural disasters that are happening throughout the United States.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, get dressed, and head off to Home Depot. Mulching is a quiet activity!
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Linda and her girlfriends had a wonderful time in New York. They even had a chance to see the King Tut Exhibit before going to the play. Every time Linda returns home from one of her adventures, she always comes into the house “Happy”. She just loves plays so much, and I am so happy that she has girlfriends to go with.
My day had me making two trips to Home Depot, and filling up the car with 15 bags of cedar mulch during each trip. My routine would be to attack the flower beds until I ran out of mulch. I did all of the flower beds except for one bed which would require about five more bags of mulch. I know I could have and a couple yards of mulch delivered to my house, but I don’t like a pile of mulched dumped in my driveway. With bags, I can hide them in the back yard, and do the mulching at my own pace.
Just before my afternoon nap, I gave my lawn, and the neighbor’ lawn, who watch the Casa del Curley home when we are away, a little trim. I was ready for a nap as the time approached 2 PM. I worked from 6:45 A.M. straight through until nap time. I never stopped for lunch because I had “completing the task” on my brain.
After my nap, I tried to figure out what I should make for supper. I decided to use our electronic pressure cooker. I am really getting to like the device because it is so simple to use. I found a pack of country style ribs buried in our freezer. I defrosted them for a while in the micro wave before using the searing cycle in the pressure cooker. I painted the ribs with some store bought barbecue sauce, put in a half a cup of liquid (I used white wine), closed the lid, and set the timer on the device. 45 minutes later I had the most delicious, fall off of the bone ribs that you can possibly imagine. I did save Linda one rib, and she did agree that the country style ribs turned out great.
I normally would cook the ribs in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. I guess using this device is really slow cooking fast.
As the country ribs were cooking, I was perusing the recipe book which came with the device. Cooking 4 to 6 ears of corn on the cob will take one minute once the high pressure is reached. I can’t wait for the corn on the cob to grow and be harvested at our local farms.
The pressure cooker that I have is not the same one as you see on QVC. When they do their food demonstration on television, they can put in frozen items in their electronic pressure cooker. With all of us having micro-waves with defrost cycles, it is no big deal to thaw beef, pork, or poultry first, and then use the pressure cooker. I did call the 800 number to see if I could cook frozen foods in my particular device, the person who I talked to said “No”. This won’t stop me from trying it anyway. I might try it on a couple of frozen boneless chicken breasts. There are safety valves on the device. If you hear an explosion in the neighborhood, you know that it was just me doing what I am not supposed to do.
I still can’t get used to the noiselessness of the device. There is no ticking like on those old pressure cookers that most of us grew up with. When the cooking is done, the device beeps a couple of times, and that is all the noise that you hear.
For busy families, this might be a good device to add to your repertoire of kitchen appliances.
This is one of those days where Linda wants to just relax and do things at her own pace. She also will be glued to a local radio station for a portion of the day because they having another one of the Radio Auctions. There is always something (mostly restaurant certificates for us) that we end up getting. They even have a snow blower with a retail value of $1300 as one of the items.
I am going to finish the flower bed, and do some weed whacking which I didn’t do yesterday because I was so tired from playing in the flower beds.
Speaking of bed, I did go to bed a happy man last evening. The Red Sox, and the Boston Bruins won their contests. I was particularly excited about the Bruins’ win because they were victorious on their opponent’s home ice.
I did see where the damage in Tennessee has topped the $1 billion mark. If you made plans to go to the Grand Old Opera House in Nashville this summer, you might want to rethink going there. It will be closed for at least three months. One of Linda’s girlfriends, whom she went to New York City with on Wednesday, has married children and their families living in Tennessee. I hope that they were not affected by the flooding.
The Berkshires are still looking pretty good as a place to live. Us Berkshirites are away from many of the natural disasters that are happening throughout the United States.
Well, I have to read the local newspaper, get dressed, and head off to Home Depot. Mulching is a quiet activity!
Have a great Thursday!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Hello on Wednesday Morning
Dear Friends,
My biorhythm is a bit off today because I went to bed too early. An afternoon nap will be a definite.
My time with the dentist went well on Tuesday. I endured a filling replacement without a shot of Novocain. I skipped the Novocain because I didn’t want to drool while playing golf.
I hacked my way through 18 holes of golf while Linda was playing Mah Jongg. We both had fun doing our own thing. For me, it was a nice time in the sunshine. We were at the 19th hole when the predicted rain finally started whipping through the golf course.
All 18 greens at our golf course are in terrible shape. My friends, who have played several times already, said that the greens have improved quite a bit since March. I would be rather embarrassed to have a guest play our course. The fairways are in great shape.
I am leaving the house with Linda at 6:30 AM this morning. I am driving Linda to one of her friend’s home so that Linda and three other friends can go off to New York City by way of a train. They are going to see a play.
I will be home alone, but this is not a sad thing. I might attack the flower beds, do some mulching, etc. This is a multi day project. Linda said that she has lost the desire to work in the flower beds. We need to win the lottery so that we can pay people to do what we are slowing getting tired of doing.
Some of my elder relatives warned me that I would start to get tired of maintaining the stuff that we as homeowners have done in the past. These relatives sold their homes, and moved into ranch style housing where they pay a maintenance fee, and let someone else cut the lawn, trim bushes, plant flowers, and take care of the property in general. This sounds good to me!
As we have been traveling and visiting our sons and their families in North Tewksbury, and in Kansas, traveling to Mexico, etc., Linda came up with a good idea. She thinks that we should sell our house, and we should live with one son for a week or so. Get on an airplane, and visit the other son for a week or so. We then would travel to places which we haven’t been to before. We would repeat the process every couple of months.
We would have to establish a place of residency. We could have one of the sons agree to put us on their tax forms as their dependents.
Do you think that this concept can work?
The above thoughts were brought about by the fact that the neighbors, who live directly across the street, have their house up for sale, and the asking price is $309,000. This couple is a few years older than Linda and I. Last year they started paying someone to cut their lawn. I think that they both got tired of taking care of their home. They probably got tired of climbing up and down stairs to get to their bedrooms too.
I fell asleep watching the Red Sox. Maybe my friend was correct that watching professional sports could be kind of boring.
Observation – While at the golf course on Tuesday, I saw a bunch of former colleagues who were at a two day conference which was taking place in the ballroom of the Berkshire Hills Country Club. They were on a little break on a deck overlooking the first and tenth tee watching us three retired school department employees try and whack the ball. It brought back memories of all those conferences which we had to attend for Professional Development Points to maintain our certifications. A day on the golf course for four or five hours, even if you are playing badly, sure beats sitting in a ballroom all day long whether there are a lot of breaks in between the guest speakers.
Well, I hope that you all have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
My biorhythm is a bit off today because I went to bed too early. An afternoon nap will be a definite.
My time with the dentist went well on Tuesday. I endured a filling replacement without a shot of Novocain. I skipped the Novocain because I didn’t want to drool while playing golf.
I hacked my way through 18 holes of golf while Linda was playing Mah Jongg. We both had fun doing our own thing. For me, it was a nice time in the sunshine. We were at the 19th hole when the predicted rain finally started whipping through the golf course.
All 18 greens at our golf course are in terrible shape. My friends, who have played several times already, said that the greens have improved quite a bit since March. I would be rather embarrassed to have a guest play our course. The fairways are in great shape.
I am leaving the house with Linda at 6:30 AM this morning. I am driving Linda to one of her friend’s home so that Linda and three other friends can go off to New York City by way of a train. They are going to see a play.
I will be home alone, but this is not a sad thing. I might attack the flower beds, do some mulching, etc. This is a multi day project. Linda said that she has lost the desire to work in the flower beds. We need to win the lottery so that we can pay people to do what we are slowing getting tired of doing.
Some of my elder relatives warned me that I would start to get tired of maintaining the stuff that we as homeowners have done in the past. These relatives sold their homes, and moved into ranch style housing where they pay a maintenance fee, and let someone else cut the lawn, trim bushes, plant flowers, and take care of the property in general. This sounds good to me!
As we have been traveling and visiting our sons and their families in North Tewksbury, and in Kansas, traveling to Mexico, etc., Linda came up with a good idea. She thinks that we should sell our house, and we should live with one son for a week or so. Get on an airplane, and visit the other son for a week or so. We then would travel to places which we haven’t been to before. We would repeat the process every couple of months.
We would have to establish a place of residency. We could have one of the sons agree to put us on their tax forms as their dependents.
Do you think that this concept can work?
The above thoughts were brought about by the fact that the neighbors, who live directly across the street, have their house up for sale, and the asking price is $309,000. This couple is a few years older than Linda and I. Last year they started paying someone to cut their lawn. I think that they both got tired of taking care of their home. They probably got tired of climbing up and down stairs to get to their bedrooms too.
I fell asleep watching the Red Sox. Maybe my friend was correct that watching professional sports could be kind of boring.
Observation – While at the golf course on Tuesday, I saw a bunch of former colleagues who were at a two day conference which was taking place in the ballroom of the Berkshire Hills Country Club. They were on a little break on a deck overlooking the first and tenth tee watching us three retired school department employees try and whack the ball. It brought back memories of all those conferences which we had to attend for Professional Development Points to maintain our certifications. A day on the golf course for four or five hours, even if you are playing badly, sure beats sitting in a ballroom all day long whether there are a lot of breaks in between the guest speakers.
Well, I hope that you all have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Our Monday went as planned except for a few changes throughout the day.
My day started with the first change, but I initiated this change. I called the dentist to see if I was supposed to come in for my routine 6 month check up and cleaning since the date had been changed. The receptionist said that my appointment was for Tuesday, and not Monday. The receptionist said that she just received a cancellation, and asked if I could go in on Monday instead of Tuesday. I jumped at the chance to do so.
I almost made it through the check up with the dentist finding no problem teeth. He was on the last phase of the procedure, and he found a chip in the filling for one of my teeth. Well, I am keeping my originally scheduled Tuesday appointment, and the dentist is going to redo the damaged filling. The question is do I get a shot of Novocain, or do I just grip the handles of the dentist’s chair?
I did go to the family home after the dentist visit to cut the postage size grass, and to do some house work and to bond with my father.
A little before noon, I headed off to visit with Mom in the nursing home. I was there just as her lunch arrived. After an hour visit, I went home to take a nap in preparation for the three sporting events that I was planning on watching in my man cave on Monday night.
I did go to bed a happy Boston Sports fan. My Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins all won their games.
Linda did enjoy her several hours of me out of the house, but she did say that the world wanted to talk to her. This means that other people kept her from her stress free day. While I was napping, she did weave in a couple of recreational shopping hours before heading off to golf with her lady friends. While I was napping, I even missed a brief, but intense rain shower. I never heard a drop of rain fall.
She came home happy from her golf adventure. There were only five women so they played in a five some. Some of the women were playing with new and “cute” colored golf clubs and golf bags. I think that it is time for Linda to get a new set of clubs so that she too can make a fashion statement. Isn’t it so appropriate that Mother’s Day is just a few days away?
It is my turn to play golf today. I am teeing off at 11:04 AM with a couple of friends.
Linda has her usual 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM Tuesday Mah Jongg session at a friends home.
There is a Polenta Dinner at the Italian American Club this evening, but Linda and I are a bit tired of Polenta Dinners since we went to so many this past winter season, or I helped in the kitchen for some of those Polenta dinners. I will most likely cook something on the grill for supper. It might be just dogs, and burgers, or a juicy steak. In the summer time, we have a tendency to eat later.
Weather – One day I am putting in air conditioners, and the next day I don’t even need them. Last night, a couple of open windows made for a pleasant and restful evening.
News – It was good to see that they do have a suspect in the Times Square bombing incident.
The rains and flooding in the Southeast are doing a great deal of damage.
The continuous oil spill in the Gulf Coast is wreaking havoc. Do you think that proponents of off shore drilling might be rethinking the urge to keep drilling for oil?
We are already paying the price for the oil spill. The price of shrimp (and cat fish) is already starting to rise since we get half of our shrimp from the Gulf Coast region. Gasoline is nearing the $3 a gallon mark just as the summer approaches.
Politics – President Obama can do stand up comedy when he leaves the Whitehouse.
The good news is that Curley world is doing fine even though the rest of the world is in turmoil.
Have a great Tuesday.
Think Positive, and your life will be a little brighter.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
P.S. Happy Birthday Jerry Brodeur! You are still a youngster even though you are now 63 years old!
Our Monday went as planned except for a few changes throughout the day.
My day started with the first change, but I initiated this change. I called the dentist to see if I was supposed to come in for my routine 6 month check up and cleaning since the date had been changed. The receptionist said that my appointment was for Tuesday, and not Monday. The receptionist said that she just received a cancellation, and asked if I could go in on Monday instead of Tuesday. I jumped at the chance to do so.
I almost made it through the check up with the dentist finding no problem teeth. He was on the last phase of the procedure, and he found a chip in the filling for one of my teeth. Well, I am keeping my originally scheduled Tuesday appointment, and the dentist is going to redo the damaged filling. The question is do I get a shot of Novocain, or do I just grip the handles of the dentist’s chair?
I did go to the family home after the dentist visit to cut the postage size grass, and to do some house work and to bond with my father.
A little before noon, I headed off to visit with Mom in the nursing home. I was there just as her lunch arrived. After an hour visit, I went home to take a nap in preparation for the three sporting events that I was planning on watching in my man cave on Monday night.
I did go to bed a happy Boston Sports fan. My Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins all won their games.
Linda did enjoy her several hours of me out of the house, but she did say that the world wanted to talk to her. This means that other people kept her from her stress free day. While I was napping, she did weave in a couple of recreational shopping hours before heading off to golf with her lady friends. While I was napping, I even missed a brief, but intense rain shower. I never heard a drop of rain fall.
She came home happy from her golf adventure. There were only five women so they played in a five some. Some of the women were playing with new and “cute” colored golf clubs and golf bags. I think that it is time for Linda to get a new set of clubs so that she too can make a fashion statement. Isn’t it so appropriate that Mother’s Day is just a few days away?
It is my turn to play golf today. I am teeing off at 11:04 AM with a couple of friends.
Linda has her usual 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM Tuesday Mah Jongg session at a friends home.
There is a Polenta Dinner at the Italian American Club this evening, but Linda and I are a bit tired of Polenta Dinners since we went to so many this past winter season, or I helped in the kitchen for some of those Polenta dinners. I will most likely cook something on the grill for supper. It might be just dogs, and burgers, or a juicy steak. In the summer time, we have a tendency to eat later.
Weather – One day I am putting in air conditioners, and the next day I don’t even need them. Last night, a couple of open windows made for a pleasant and restful evening.
News – It was good to see that they do have a suspect in the Times Square bombing incident.
The rains and flooding in the Southeast are doing a great deal of damage.
The continuous oil spill in the Gulf Coast is wreaking havoc. Do you think that proponents of off shore drilling might be rethinking the urge to keep drilling for oil?
We are already paying the price for the oil spill. The price of shrimp (and cat fish) is already starting to rise since we get half of our shrimp from the Gulf Coast region. Gasoline is nearing the $3 a gallon mark just as the summer approaches.
Politics – President Obama can do stand up comedy when he leaves the Whitehouse.
The good news is that Curley world is doing fine even though the rest of the world is in turmoil.
Have a great Tuesday.
Think Positive, and your life will be a little brighter.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
P.S. Happy Birthday Jerry Brodeur! You are still a youngster even though you are now 63 years old!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
When I went out the door to Retro Fitness, the air that hit me had me questioning whether I was in Mexico or not.
I did get a late start. The air conditioner that I installed in two of three bedrooms made it very comfortable to get a good night’s sleep, but I did sleep past the 4:30 AM opening time at the gym. There were a few distractions just because I was 30 minutes later than normal.
On Sunday, I did a few things around the house before settling down to take an afternoon nap, and eventually watch the Red Sox be swept by the last place Baltimore Orioles’ team.
The best sporting contest of the day was watching a soon to be 21 year old win his first American Professional Golf Tournament in the United States. This freckled kid from Ireland shot a record breaking 62 on the final day of the tournament. He was four strokes better than the nearest competitor who happened to be Phil Mickelson.
Continuing on with the sports’ teams theme, I will be in my man cave this evening watching the Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins all do battle. I will have to do a series of hand exercises earlier in the day so that I won’t get cramps working the remote control.
I have to do a couple of errands today, and then I am going to try and see both parents also – Mom at the nursing home, and dad at the family home in Lee.
Linda gave me strict instructions not to bug her at all today. She wants me to be invisible. She doesn’t want to become engaged in any of my activities.
Did I bug her on Sunday? The answer is yes! While she was reading the local newspaper, and I was upstairs preparing my body for the day’s activities, I had a load of clothes in the washing machine. The clothes must have been imbalanced, and the washing machine started jumping around, and clunking in the laundry room. Linda had to stop reading her newspaper, and tend to my clothes.
I decided that I should probably leave the house so that she could enjoy finishing reading the two Sunday newspapers. I headed off to Home Depot to find some kind of way to hide wires coming from the surround sound system from the television in the family room. Disruption number two occurred as I tried to install some wire covers. Linda had to stop reading the newspapers, and assist me with the installation. Once again my project became her project. I tried to ease her pain by saying that she was the one who got tired of the loose wires dangling from around the door frame of the sliding glass doors of the deck. When the project was done, she did like how the wires became pretty much invisible.
After lunch, I decided to take a power nap. Linda decided that she need to do a little recreational shopping as well as doing some grocery shopping. We were pretty much out of everything because we left the refrigerator empty knowing that we would be away for over a week.
I am not socially engaged today, but Linda is. She is going to start up her late Monday golf with some girlfriends at a nine hole golf course almost across the street from my golf course.
On Sunday, it was the usual news across the nation. The oil spill, excessive rains down south, car bomb in New York City, water main break in Boston, immigrants protesting in Arizona because the police want to be able to ask for a person’s I.D. if the need arises, etc. dominated the headlines. Maybe it was better when we were in Mexico to not have access to what is going on in the world.
With respect to the illegal immigrants, make them all American citizens, and get them paying taxes like the rest of us.
Well, have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
When I went out the door to Retro Fitness, the air that hit me had me questioning whether I was in Mexico or not.
I did get a late start. The air conditioner that I installed in two of three bedrooms made it very comfortable to get a good night’s sleep, but I did sleep past the 4:30 AM opening time at the gym. There were a few distractions just because I was 30 minutes later than normal.
On Sunday, I did a few things around the house before settling down to take an afternoon nap, and eventually watch the Red Sox be swept by the last place Baltimore Orioles’ team.
The best sporting contest of the day was watching a soon to be 21 year old win his first American Professional Golf Tournament in the United States. This freckled kid from Ireland shot a record breaking 62 on the final day of the tournament. He was four strokes better than the nearest competitor who happened to be Phil Mickelson.
Continuing on with the sports’ teams theme, I will be in my man cave this evening watching the Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins all do battle. I will have to do a series of hand exercises earlier in the day so that I won’t get cramps working the remote control.
I have to do a couple of errands today, and then I am going to try and see both parents also – Mom at the nursing home, and dad at the family home in Lee.
Linda gave me strict instructions not to bug her at all today. She wants me to be invisible. She doesn’t want to become engaged in any of my activities.
Did I bug her on Sunday? The answer is yes! While she was reading the local newspaper, and I was upstairs preparing my body for the day’s activities, I had a load of clothes in the washing machine. The clothes must have been imbalanced, and the washing machine started jumping around, and clunking in the laundry room. Linda had to stop reading her newspaper, and tend to my clothes.
I decided that I should probably leave the house so that she could enjoy finishing reading the two Sunday newspapers. I headed off to Home Depot to find some kind of way to hide wires coming from the surround sound system from the television in the family room. Disruption number two occurred as I tried to install some wire covers. Linda had to stop reading the newspapers, and assist me with the installation. Once again my project became her project. I tried to ease her pain by saying that she was the one who got tired of the loose wires dangling from around the door frame of the sliding glass doors of the deck. When the project was done, she did like how the wires became pretty much invisible.
After lunch, I decided to take a power nap. Linda decided that she need to do a little recreational shopping as well as doing some grocery shopping. We were pretty much out of everything because we left the refrigerator empty knowing that we would be away for over a week.
I am not socially engaged today, but Linda is. She is going to start up her late Monday golf with some girlfriends at a nine hole golf course almost across the street from my golf course.
On Sunday, it was the usual news across the nation. The oil spill, excessive rains down south, car bomb in New York City, water main break in Boston, immigrants protesting in Arizona because the police want to be able to ask for a person’s I.D. if the need arises, etc. dominated the headlines. Maybe it was better when we were in Mexico to not have access to what is going on in the world.
With respect to the illegal immigrants, make them all American citizens, and get them paying taxes like the rest of us.
Well, have a great day at work or play.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
Our Saturday went as planned.
Linda went off to her noon time wedding shower at Zucchini’s Restaurant. She loves going to these types of functions. She could actually be a professional shower attendee. I am amazed how many family members and friends really dread going to these wedding and baby showers. Linda could fit in so well even if the shower was for a total stranger.
While she was at the shower, I was cutting the lawn, and setting up deck furniture for the bi-level deck, and for the screened in room on the deck. I was wondering why I was kind of exhausted setting up four tables, 18 chairs, a wicker couch, and two wicker chairs, and 7 side tables. Do you think that the Curley’s have a bit too much furniture? It sounds like it is a lot of furniture, but when we entertain, the excesses come in handy. I still have another table, and 6 plastic chairs in the storage shed.
I had the Boston Bruins on two televisions as I was puttering around on the deck. It was an exciting overtime win for the Bruins. The Boston Celtics weren’t so lucky against the Lebron James and his teammates.
I think that the Red Sox lost their game too.
My missing piece of luggage arrived yesterday just about the time I ended my project. It arrived by way of a Fed Ex delivery truck. My bottles of alcohol and Linda’s bottles of vanilla made it through the long ordeal without being broken.
Speaking of Vanilla, one of the security people stopped Linda as we departed from Mexico. Linda had purchased a boxed container of vanilla that was four ounces large. She forgot that she packed it in her knapsack. The security person confiscated the Vanilla. This got me thinking about where does all the confiscated stuff go? Can the security people take the confiscated stuff, or do they have to throw it out? I was also thinking that if it was four ounces of alcohol, I would drink an ounce to make it the legal amount.
The Kentucky Derby Party at a friend’s home went very well. There was a good selection of finger foods. Linda’s tuna sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches were gone by the time we left the party. We had no winners on the horses for which we placed a friendly wager. The mint juleps were wonderful. We asked the hosts how long that they have been having this Kentucky Derby Party? The Patriarch of the family quickly responded;”Since 1989!” It started off as a get to know the in-laws party when one of the sons was getting married. The party just happened to have fallen on the day of the Kentucky Derby. The hosts decided to have a Kentucky Derby from that day forward.
We went out for a pizza at the East Side on the way home from the party.
Today is a chill day. Once Linda wakes up, I am going to crank up the washing machine. We both have enough clothes to wash so that it would take us three or four days to complete the task.
Afternoon thunderstorms are going to put a damper on any thoughts me of doing some cooking on the grill.
Observation – I was never a big fan of drilling for oil in the ocean unless there are safeguards to stop any kind of oil spill. The oil spill in the gulf coast area is an environmental disaster. I feel bad for the people who try and scratch out a living on those shrimp boats. We need the oil, but at what price? The winds, and directional flow looks like the spill could reach the upper coast of Florida unless the specialists can contain it.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee and read the Sunday newspapers.
Talk to you soon! The Curley Lad
Our Saturday went as planned.
Linda went off to her noon time wedding shower at Zucchini’s Restaurant. She loves going to these types of functions. She could actually be a professional shower attendee. I am amazed how many family members and friends really dread going to these wedding and baby showers. Linda could fit in so well even if the shower was for a total stranger.
While she was at the shower, I was cutting the lawn, and setting up deck furniture for the bi-level deck, and for the screened in room on the deck. I was wondering why I was kind of exhausted setting up four tables, 18 chairs, a wicker couch, and two wicker chairs, and 7 side tables. Do you think that the Curley’s have a bit too much furniture? It sounds like it is a lot of furniture, but when we entertain, the excesses come in handy. I still have another table, and 6 plastic chairs in the storage shed.
I had the Boston Bruins on two televisions as I was puttering around on the deck. It was an exciting overtime win for the Bruins. The Boston Celtics weren’t so lucky against the Lebron James and his teammates.
I think that the Red Sox lost their game too.
My missing piece of luggage arrived yesterday just about the time I ended my project. It arrived by way of a Fed Ex delivery truck. My bottles of alcohol and Linda’s bottles of vanilla made it through the long ordeal without being broken.
Speaking of Vanilla, one of the security people stopped Linda as we departed from Mexico. Linda had purchased a boxed container of vanilla that was four ounces large. She forgot that she packed it in her knapsack. The security person confiscated the Vanilla. This got me thinking about where does all the confiscated stuff go? Can the security people take the confiscated stuff, or do they have to throw it out? I was also thinking that if it was four ounces of alcohol, I would drink an ounce to make it the legal amount.
The Kentucky Derby Party at a friend’s home went very well. There was a good selection of finger foods. Linda’s tuna sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches were gone by the time we left the party. We had no winners on the horses for which we placed a friendly wager. The mint juleps were wonderful. We asked the hosts how long that they have been having this Kentucky Derby Party? The Patriarch of the family quickly responded;”Since 1989!” It started off as a get to know the in-laws party when one of the sons was getting married. The party just happened to have fallen on the day of the Kentucky Derby. The hosts decided to have a Kentucky Derby from that day forward.
We went out for a pizza at the East Side on the way home from the party.
Today is a chill day. Once Linda wakes up, I am going to crank up the washing machine. We both have enough clothes to wash so that it would take us three or four days to complete the task.
Afternoon thunderstorms are going to put a damper on any thoughts me of doing some cooking on the grill.
Observation – I was never a big fan of drilling for oil in the ocean unless there are safeguards to stop any kind of oil spill. The oil spill in the gulf coast area is an environmental disaster. I feel bad for the people who try and scratch out a living on those shrimp boats. We need the oil, but at what price? The winds, and directional flow looks like the spill could reach the upper coast of Florida unless the specialists can contain it.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee and read the Sunday newspapers.
Talk to you soon! The Curley Lad
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Hello on Saturday Morning
Dear Friends,
It is so nice to be back in our own home, and to be able to sleep in your own bed, and be in your own surroundings.
I really do appreciate my man cave even though I sat through an extra inning Red Sox game last evening in which they lost.
We have a great day weather-wise on tap for today. It should approach the middle 80’s for us in the Berkshires.
My lawn needs a good trimming today. It is long enough to use the rear bagger on the mower which requires more work. Oh Darn!
We went out to Panera Bread last evening with friends who were in the Berkshires while we were playing in Mexico this past week. I asked the male how his golf game was, but he said that it was too cold to really play much golf. He said that he had a couple inches of snow on his car when he went off to work one morning.
April is one of those tricky months around here in the Berkshires. You want to get out side and do some yard work, hit a few golf balls, etc., but the weather always tells you that it is too early to do so.
Our friends,the Brodeur’s from North Tewksbury,have become grandparents for the first time. We are not sure of the name of the new baby boy, but all is well in the Brodeur home.
Speaking of babies, it appears our second grandchild from Kansas will be born a week earlier than planned. Everything is okay with the Mom, but it is the size of the baby (he is on the large size) that concerns the doctors. Our two boys were over 8 pounds when they were born. It must be a size thing with the Curley men in the family.
Continuing with the baby theme, our grandchild, Max, from North Tewksbury had his first haircut at a kid friendly place. He definitely looks like a boy. Linda and I hated to leave him yesterday morning but we have things on our social calendar today.
Linda has already wrapped a wedding shower gift for her noon time affair today.
We are then going off to a Kentucky Derby Party from 4 PM until 7 PM. I am looking forward to having a couple of mint juleps while doing a little friendly wagering on who will win the race.
While in Mexico, we met a guy at our resort that had a pair of those swim fins which you see in the Sky Mall magazine while on the airplane. These are the fins where the flap lifts up, and looks like you have shin guards on. You then can walk with your swim fins on. His company makes those swim fins. He was letting people try them out at the resort pool. They appeared to work as advertised.
We had so much fun in Mexico that my stories can’t truly describe how great that the trip was. Yesterday, Linda wanted me to whip up a couple of frozen Margaritas just to keep the memories going.
My missing luggage was found. It will be delivered to our home at some point this morning. As a matter of fact, we met another couple who had a piece of luggage which went missing. Can you believe that this person was from Pittsfield too? His got lost coming from London.
Well, one of the couples, whom we normally go out with on Friday evenings, is currently on their way to Logan airport as I type this e-mail. They are heading off to Atlanta to do some things in their new home. All their brand new appliances are being delivered today, and someone has to be present in their home while they hook them up. I can’t wait for them to furnish the multiple spare bedrooms because I have already mentally invited Linda and me to stay at heir place for a couple of weeks next winter.
Speaking of wintering somewhere warm, if I owned a home, or rented property down south during the winter, I would not come back to the Berkshires until May 1. Some of our friends who do winter down south, and who have returned to the Berkshires have told me that they shouldn’t have come north so soon. The month of April can be a cold and raw month in the Northeast part of the country.
As we drove home from Panera bread last evening, I saw a for sale sign on our neighbor’s lawn. I will have to find out why they decided to sell their house. They are in the baby boomer age group. I know that they have a summer place in Maine, but it is not a year round one.
Observation – While in Mexico, we had no computer, no access to newspapers, and no cell phone service (our choice). Life still went on while we were there. There was the usual wackiness that went on in the United States and the World.
I wasn’t able to read the daily page of obituaries and births in our local newspaper, but people were born, and died while we were gone. Some were young like a friend of a friend who had a massive heart attack, and died at an age of only 51 years old.
This last death reminded us that this is exactly why Linda and I really try and keep ourselves busy, and go on an occasional trip somewhere. When our time is up, I want to make sure that we lived life to the fullest. When I leave this earth, I want to do so with a smile on my face!
Well, I have to make a decision to head off to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening, or wait until Sunday to get back into the workout mode.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
It is so nice to be back in our own home, and to be able to sleep in your own bed, and be in your own surroundings.
I really do appreciate my man cave even though I sat through an extra inning Red Sox game last evening in which they lost.
We have a great day weather-wise on tap for today. It should approach the middle 80’s for us in the Berkshires.
My lawn needs a good trimming today. It is long enough to use the rear bagger on the mower which requires more work. Oh Darn!
We went out to Panera Bread last evening with friends who were in the Berkshires while we were playing in Mexico this past week. I asked the male how his golf game was, but he said that it was too cold to really play much golf. He said that he had a couple inches of snow on his car when he went off to work one morning.
April is one of those tricky months around here in the Berkshires. You want to get out side and do some yard work, hit a few golf balls, etc., but the weather always tells you that it is too early to do so.
Our friends,the Brodeur’s from North Tewksbury,have become grandparents for the first time. We are not sure of the name of the new baby boy, but all is well in the Brodeur home.
Speaking of babies, it appears our second grandchild from Kansas will be born a week earlier than planned. Everything is okay with the Mom, but it is the size of the baby (he is on the large size) that concerns the doctors. Our two boys were over 8 pounds when they were born. It must be a size thing with the Curley men in the family.
Continuing with the baby theme, our grandchild, Max, from North Tewksbury had his first haircut at a kid friendly place. He definitely looks like a boy. Linda and I hated to leave him yesterday morning but we have things on our social calendar today.
Linda has already wrapped a wedding shower gift for her noon time affair today.
We are then going off to a Kentucky Derby Party from 4 PM until 7 PM. I am looking forward to having a couple of mint juleps while doing a little friendly wagering on who will win the race.
While in Mexico, we met a guy at our resort that had a pair of those swim fins which you see in the Sky Mall magazine while on the airplane. These are the fins where the flap lifts up, and looks like you have shin guards on. You then can walk with your swim fins on. His company makes those swim fins. He was letting people try them out at the resort pool. They appeared to work as advertised.
We had so much fun in Mexico that my stories can’t truly describe how great that the trip was. Yesterday, Linda wanted me to whip up a couple of frozen Margaritas just to keep the memories going.
My missing luggage was found. It will be delivered to our home at some point this morning. As a matter of fact, we met another couple who had a piece of luggage which went missing. Can you believe that this person was from Pittsfield too? His got lost coming from London.
Well, one of the couples, whom we normally go out with on Friday evenings, is currently on their way to Logan airport as I type this e-mail. They are heading off to Atlanta to do some things in their new home. All their brand new appliances are being delivered today, and someone has to be present in their home while they hook them up. I can’t wait for them to furnish the multiple spare bedrooms because I have already mentally invited Linda and me to stay at heir place for a couple of weeks next winter.
Speaking of wintering somewhere warm, if I owned a home, or rented property down south during the winter, I would not come back to the Berkshires until May 1. Some of our friends who do winter down south, and who have returned to the Berkshires have told me that they shouldn’t have come north so soon. The month of April can be a cold and raw month in the Northeast part of the country.
As we drove home from Panera bread last evening, I saw a for sale sign on our neighbor’s lawn. I will have to find out why they decided to sell their house. They are in the baby boomer age group. I know that they have a summer place in Maine, but it is not a year round one.
Observation – While in Mexico, we had no computer, no access to newspapers, and no cell phone service (our choice). Life still went on while we were there. There was the usual wackiness that went on in the United States and the World.
I wasn’t able to read the daily page of obituaries and births in our local newspaper, but people were born, and died while we were gone. Some were young like a friend of a friend who had a massive heart attack, and died at an age of only 51 years old.
This last death reminded us that this is exactly why Linda and I really try and keep ourselves busy, and go on an occasional trip somewhere. When our time is up, I want to make sure that we lived life to the fullest. When I leave this earth, I want to do so with a smile on my face!
Well, I have to make a decision to head off to Retro Fitness for the 6 AM opening, or wait until Sunday to get back into the workout mode.
Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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