Dear Friends,
If you go outside this morning in the Berkshires, you will need a light jacket. Baby it is cool outside and I love it! Cool mornings with a warm up as the day progresses is exactly why people from Boston and New York flock to the Berkshires in the summer. When you can shut off the air conditioner at night, and let Mother Nature cool your house down, then Life is Good!
After doing a couple errands on Thursday, I loaded up the car with items that could help Kevin and Kyla to put on the birthday bash to remember for their soon to be one year old son. Even though Max won’t remember his first birthday, all 60 + of us party goers will. A lot of pictures will be taken for sure.
Speaking of pictures, Linda made prints of the pictures which she took in Kansas while we were visiting Mike and his family. We do have some good looking grandchildren.
My car has so much stuff in it right now that we couldn’t fit any other person in it besides Linda and me. If we had children, we would have to strap them to the roof of the car.
Sports – My Red Sox had the night off last evening. The Yankees keep rolling along. The Red Sox are at home for a few games. The Yankees travel to Tampa this weekend. It will be a battle between the first and second place teams in the Eastern division. Somebody is going to come out wounded, and we Red Sox fans are hoping that it will be the Yankees.
It doesn’t look like we will be leaving Pittsfield before 8 AM this morning. Getting Linda up and functioning for 8 AM is a challenge in itself.
We will be in food preparation mode as soon as we arrive in North Tewskbury. Linda, Kyla, who is taking the day off, and I will be whipping up multiple side dishes for the party. We will be making the usual potato salad, baked beans, regular salad, vegetable pasta salad, appetizers which we haven’t decided on right now. Kevin will be going into work for a half day, and preparing some foods in his restaurant after he makes it through the lunch crowd.
I didn’t realize that Kevin had mentally separated lunch from supper. The hot dogs and hamburgers are coming out for lunch, but some ribs, and either some pulled pork or pulled chicken (or both), and whatever else he has decided to put out. I packed our electronic pressure cooker so that we don’t have to wait 10 hours for the pork to cook in a crock pot. Essentially we want most of the stuff prepared before hand. We don’t want Kevin and Kyla to be the caterers; they should be the hosts of the festivities, and not running around like crazy people. I will most likely be the master of the grill.
Speaking of the grill, I was thinking of cooking a couple of beer can chickens for supper this evening with all the fixings. I took the liberty of inviting the Brodeur’s for supper since we will be using their spare refrigerator to store the side dishes which we are preparing today.
I think that it is so good to have the Brodeur’s living one street over. If Kevin needs a tool of some kind, a barrel for the keg of beer, from the vast Brodeur hardware supply, or Kyla needs a temporary baby sitter for Max (which Ginny has done before), it is the Brodeur’s to the rescue. Of course, if Linda and I need a place to sleep, which we will this weekend, the Brodeur’s said that we are totally welcome.
Remember me saying that family and friend’s are what life is all about. This weekend will be a good example of that.
We communicated with the contractor on Thursday. He wanted to start replacing the floors on Monday. We would love to stay in North Tewksbury until everything is done, but our social calendar won’t allow us to do so. Linda and I both have commitments on Monday.
Also, much of the stuff that I have packed in the car will be used for the Ethnic Fair which takes place on Sunday of next week (August 8, 2010 from 12 PM until 6 PM rain or shine)
Gulf Oil Spill – It looks like the cap on the well is working. What I didn’t realize was that there are 100’s of oil wells that have been capped, and which are sticking out of the waters in the Gulf. We are talking about 15 to 20 foot structures where a runaway barge could just crash into, and send more oil spilling out into the Gulf.
News – I see where an overweight woman in France over a 17 year period had 8 babies, and smothered them without her husband even knowing that she was pregnant. I don’t know how and why a person can kill those little bundles of joy. After having children of our own, and watching our three grandchildren go from birth to their current state of growth is a wonderful thing. We have several sets of friends who weren’t able to have children, but even they know what it is like through their active participation in the lives of their nieces and nephews.
While we were on a date night on Wednesday at Matt Reilly’s I was doing so well not spilling any food on my shirt. I was having the last few bites of some sweet potato fries from Linda’s plate. I dipped a fry in some leftover tartar sauce. A couple globs of tartar sauce went tumbling down my dress shirt. After washing the shirt twice, I found a 5 dollar bill in the washing machine. It was mine! I paid for some beers at Matt Reilly’s, and stuff the change in my shirt pocket. I have a very clean 5 dollar bill. I was also thankful that I didn’t have a cell phone in the pocket of my shorts (which I have washed before).
This will be the second weekend that I won’t be playing golf with the seniors. I hope that I didn’t miss the mid season cookout at our treasurer’s home!
Well, I am going to read the local newspaper, and do some noisy activities.
I am ready to head to North Tewksbury, but I am not sure about Linda.
Have a great and fun weekend.
The Curley’s will be having one for sure.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Dear Friends,
Linda accomplished what she wanted to do on Wednesday. I went off to visit dear old dad at the family home in Lee.
I had all intentions of visiting Mom at the nursing home on the way back to Pittsfield. Not!
Mom was taken to the hospital on Tuesday night. Her lungs were a mess, and they were treating her as if she had Pneumonia. She was all congested when I arrived at Berkshire Medical Center, and she was on oxygen. My sister and her daughter were there when I arrived, and said that Mom was much better compared to when she was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening. Well, I didn’t think so.
Mom’s target date for discharge back to the nursing home is tentatively set for Friday morning. Of course, Linda and I will be on the road to North Tewksbury if the discharge actually takes place. There always seems to be a crisis when we have travel plans. Oh Darn!
Speaking about taking care of parents, a family in the eastern part of the State of Massachusetts left their Grandma sitting in a recliner for over a month. The daughter, her husband, and three grown grandchildren have been arrested. It was so lucky that the woman is still alive. The description of her physical ailments, which she developed over the month of being in the recliner chair, was too awful to put in print!
Social Calendar -- Linda has a body maintenance procedure today as well as her monthly session of BONCO this evening.
I will be running errands as well as loading up our car with items which can assist Kevin and Kyla for their weekend party at their home in North Tewksbury. This sounds simple, but I am trying to guess what kind of items that they would need to pull off a trouble free party for over 60 people. If we lived closer, I could just drive back home if there was a particular item which was needed. Since we live 2.5 hours away, this is impossibility. I might have to enlist help from the Brodeur’s since they live once street away from Kevin and Kyla.
My comments about the war in Afghanistan generated a lot of discussion. Linda asked me not to bring up such things in my e-mail. She doesn’t like it when I “stir up the pot.” She didn’t want me to put our military son in an awkward position because his boss is the President of the United States. You saw what happened when General McCrystal made those comments. He is now retired from the military.
So to summarize yesterday’s discussion: Military people do feel that we are making progress in all the war torn areas in the Middle East. The military should be given all that is needed to win the war especially if this is not the case at the current time. My only thoughts from this perspective are that do we have the support from the people who we are protecting? We train the good guys in the Middle East, and then several of them go rogue, and kill our troops. The bad guys even kill their own people like the ones who were blown up while riding on a bus by a roadside bomb. Who are our real enemies?
We then have the perspective from some of my e-mail recipients who believe that killing people is no way to resolve conflicts. I am leaning toward this perspective, but I have also learned to be a bit more realistic. We in the United States haven’t learned anything from all the wars that we have been involved with over the past 200 years. We went to war with the British in the 1700’s to establish this great nation. We fought civil wars and killed one another to end slavery in the United States. We engaged ourselves in World Wars, Cold Wars, Vietnam, have seen nations split into two regions like in Germany (and eventually ended the split) and Korea (the split continues), we fought communism and had a semi success with a country like Russia realizing that communistic government doesn’t seem to work, we have China beating us up economically because they produce what the Americans used to produce, the Gulf conflict, etc. I guess war is a fact of life. Resolving conflicts by killing each other is the norm. I just think that this is so sad!
I just got back from Retro Fitness. It was quiet except for a person who was grunting while lifting huge weights. I am not a grunter. I don’t want to strain myself in the name of physical fitness.
I did watch the Red Sox game on Wednesday afternoon. They did win with a total of four homeruns, one of which is a grand slam. The Yankees won their game too!
I see where Terrell Owens has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals professional football team. I will see Terrell in action on the opening day in Foxboro as the Bengals go up against the Patriots. I can’t wait!
Weather – The humidity is leaving the Berkshires by the end of the day. We are going to be into my kind of summer weather for the next several days. Low humidity, cool nights, and day time temperatures in the 70’s will be the norm for 4 or 5 days.
Have a great Thursday.
I have to take a shower, and get to some chores.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Linda accomplished what she wanted to do on Wednesday. I went off to visit dear old dad at the family home in Lee.
I had all intentions of visiting Mom at the nursing home on the way back to Pittsfield. Not!
Mom was taken to the hospital on Tuesday night. Her lungs were a mess, and they were treating her as if she had Pneumonia. She was all congested when I arrived at Berkshire Medical Center, and she was on oxygen. My sister and her daughter were there when I arrived, and said that Mom was much better compared to when she was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening. Well, I didn’t think so.
Mom’s target date for discharge back to the nursing home is tentatively set for Friday morning. Of course, Linda and I will be on the road to North Tewksbury if the discharge actually takes place. There always seems to be a crisis when we have travel plans. Oh Darn!
Speaking about taking care of parents, a family in the eastern part of the State of Massachusetts left their Grandma sitting in a recliner for over a month. The daughter, her husband, and three grown grandchildren have been arrested. It was so lucky that the woman is still alive. The description of her physical ailments, which she developed over the month of being in the recliner chair, was too awful to put in print!
Social Calendar -- Linda has a body maintenance procedure today as well as her monthly session of BONCO this evening.
I will be running errands as well as loading up our car with items which can assist Kevin and Kyla for their weekend party at their home in North Tewksbury. This sounds simple, but I am trying to guess what kind of items that they would need to pull off a trouble free party for over 60 people. If we lived closer, I could just drive back home if there was a particular item which was needed. Since we live 2.5 hours away, this is impossibility. I might have to enlist help from the Brodeur’s since they live once street away from Kevin and Kyla.
My comments about the war in Afghanistan generated a lot of discussion. Linda asked me not to bring up such things in my e-mail. She doesn’t like it when I “stir up the pot.” She didn’t want me to put our military son in an awkward position because his boss is the President of the United States. You saw what happened when General McCrystal made those comments. He is now retired from the military.
So to summarize yesterday’s discussion: Military people do feel that we are making progress in all the war torn areas in the Middle East. The military should be given all that is needed to win the war especially if this is not the case at the current time. My only thoughts from this perspective are that do we have the support from the people who we are protecting? We train the good guys in the Middle East, and then several of them go rogue, and kill our troops. The bad guys even kill their own people like the ones who were blown up while riding on a bus by a roadside bomb. Who are our real enemies?
We then have the perspective from some of my e-mail recipients who believe that killing people is no way to resolve conflicts. I am leaning toward this perspective, but I have also learned to be a bit more realistic. We in the United States haven’t learned anything from all the wars that we have been involved with over the past 200 years. We went to war with the British in the 1700’s to establish this great nation. We fought civil wars and killed one another to end slavery in the United States. We engaged ourselves in World Wars, Cold Wars, Vietnam, have seen nations split into two regions like in Germany (and eventually ended the split) and Korea (the split continues), we fought communism and had a semi success with a country like Russia realizing that communistic government doesn’t seem to work, we have China beating us up economically because they produce what the Americans used to produce, the Gulf conflict, etc. I guess war is a fact of life. Resolving conflicts by killing each other is the norm. I just think that this is so sad!
I just got back from Retro Fitness. It was quiet except for a person who was grunting while lifting huge weights. I am not a grunter. I don’t want to strain myself in the name of physical fitness.
I did watch the Red Sox game on Wednesday afternoon. They did win with a total of four homeruns, one of which is a grand slam. The Yankees won their game too!
I see where Terrell Owens has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals professional football team. I will see Terrell in action on the opening day in Foxboro as the Bengals go up against the Patriots. I can’t wait!
Weather – The humidity is leaving the Berkshires by the end of the day. We are going to be into my kind of summer weather for the next several days. Low humidity, cool nights, and day time temperatures in the 70’s will be the norm for 4 or 5 days.
Have a great Thursday.
I have to take a shower, and get to some chores.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hello on Wednesday from Pittsfield
Dear Friends,
Tuesday was one of those days where we were able to see the two grandchildren from Kansas, and the one from North Tewksbury all in one day. It was sad to say goodbye to Isabelle, and Gabriel at the airport in Kansas, but our spirits picked up when we reached Tewksbury to see Max for a brief couple of hours.
The non stop plane flight from Kansas to Boston went very well. Kyla was just arriving from Fall River(where her latest job is located) to pick us up as we exited the baggage claim area. Kyla ordered pizza on the way to their home in North Tewksbury. We socialized with Kevin, Kyla, their two house guests, and the Brodeur’s, who live one street away joined us too.
Max still gravitates to Grandpa Curley, and he gives me a big hug when I pick him up. I love it!
We left North Tewksbury at 8:30 PM on Tuesday.
It must be time for me to get a haircut because I was patted down (by hand and not a wand) by the security guard at the Kansas City Airport after I went through the metal detector. I must have those terrorist looking features. This is why when I travel with Linda or other friends; they have to expect a delay when they travel with the Curley Lad. My sleep apnea device has to go through a security check also. Just before I went through the check point, a family of two adults, and four children went through the security check point faster than I did.
I am on schedule to go Retro Fitness with the 4:30 AM crowd even though I slept for only about fours last night.
The air outside right now is just the way I like it. The air outside is cool and crisp. If our house wasn’t like an inferno when we arrived home last evening, I would have slept with the windows open. We had to turn on the air conditioner to cool the bedrooms down. Mother Nature is like having central air conditioning in the Berkshires. There is no place like home.
We came home to a painted first floor, and also up the stairs, and in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. The upstairs hallway we are paying for. The colors Linda chose are wonderful. I like to paint, but I can see where these painters do a much better job than I could ever do. The installation of the floors comes next. Linda and I can’t wait for the confusion to go away.
Linda will be doing bills, and dealing with the insurance company today. I will be doing stuff in the flower beds, and flower pots. I think my neighbor might have given our lawn a trim while we were away in Kansas.
We are home for Wednesday and Thursday before we are on the road again. Friday morning we are heading back to North Tewksbury. Linda and I will be preparing food, and helping with the Saturday birthday party for our Grandson Max. This party starts at 11:30 AM on Saturday. The Berkshire people are invited according to Kevin and Kyla, but I am not sure if many of our friends want to drive 2.5 hours for a birthday party for a one year old, and then drive another 2.5 hours back home after the party. I will leave that decision up to them.
I believe that there are at least 60 people from the Boston area who will be attending. I know that a keg of beer will be one of the beverages. The food part of the party will be worked out by Kevin and Kyla, and Linda and me.
Our goal is to prepare most of the salad type foods the day before. I might be working the grill the day of the party so that Kevin and Kyla can socialize with their guests. This will be a kid friendly party too.
Retro fitness was kind of quiet today which is the way that I like it.
Sports – I fell asleep listening to the Red Sox game last evening as they gained the lead in the game. The Red Sox did win their game while the Yankees lost their game. I have an afternoon Red Sox game to watch today. I am so happy!
The weather guy said that we are going to heat up today. The coolness that I am enjoying right now will be changing to hazy, hot, and humid by 5 PM with temperatures nearing the 88 degree mark.
Even last evening while we were socializing in North Tewksbury, we were doing so on Kevin’s upper deck.
Afghanistan – Does any American feel that we are winning the war in that country? A bus of local Afghanistan people was blown up by a roadside bomb yesterday.
The war on terror is like us fighting communism during the Vietnam War. On the other hand, how can we just pull out of Afghanistan right now after the deaths and maiming of so many of our American military personnel?
I am going to miss another Friday with golf with the seniors. Family takes precedent over extracurricular activities.
Well, I have to take a quick shower, and go off and get one week’s worth of mail at the Post Office. Sorting the mail and writing out checks to pay bills will cut into Linda’s play time today.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday was one of those days where we were able to see the two grandchildren from Kansas, and the one from North Tewksbury all in one day. It was sad to say goodbye to Isabelle, and Gabriel at the airport in Kansas, but our spirits picked up when we reached Tewksbury to see Max for a brief couple of hours.
The non stop plane flight from Kansas to Boston went very well. Kyla was just arriving from Fall River(where her latest job is located) to pick us up as we exited the baggage claim area. Kyla ordered pizza on the way to their home in North Tewksbury. We socialized with Kevin, Kyla, their two house guests, and the Brodeur’s, who live one street away joined us too.
Max still gravitates to Grandpa Curley, and he gives me a big hug when I pick him up. I love it!
We left North Tewksbury at 8:30 PM on Tuesday.
It must be time for me to get a haircut because I was patted down (by hand and not a wand) by the security guard at the Kansas City Airport after I went through the metal detector. I must have those terrorist looking features. This is why when I travel with Linda or other friends; they have to expect a delay when they travel with the Curley Lad. My sleep apnea device has to go through a security check also. Just before I went through the check point, a family of two adults, and four children went through the security check point faster than I did.
I am on schedule to go Retro Fitness with the 4:30 AM crowd even though I slept for only about fours last night.
The air outside right now is just the way I like it. The air outside is cool and crisp. If our house wasn’t like an inferno when we arrived home last evening, I would have slept with the windows open. We had to turn on the air conditioner to cool the bedrooms down. Mother Nature is like having central air conditioning in the Berkshires. There is no place like home.
We came home to a painted first floor, and also up the stairs, and in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. The upstairs hallway we are paying for. The colors Linda chose are wonderful. I like to paint, but I can see where these painters do a much better job than I could ever do. The installation of the floors comes next. Linda and I can’t wait for the confusion to go away.
Linda will be doing bills, and dealing with the insurance company today. I will be doing stuff in the flower beds, and flower pots. I think my neighbor might have given our lawn a trim while we were away in Kansas.
We are home for Wednesday and Thursday before we are on the road again. Friday morning we are heading back to North Tewksbury. Linda and I will be preparing food, and helping with the Saturday birthday party for our Grandson Max. This party starts at 11:30 AM on Saturday. The Berkshire people are invited according to Kevin and Kyla, but I am not sure if many of our friends want to drive 2.5 hours for a birthday party for a one year old, and then drive another 2.5 hours back home after the party. I will leave that decision up to them.
I believe that there are at least 60 people from the Boston area who will be attending. I know that a keg of beer will be one of the beverages. The food part of the party will be worked out by Kevin and Kyla, and Linda and me.
Our goal is to prepare most of the salad type foods the day before. I might be working the grill the day of the party so that Kevin and Kyla can socialize with their guests. This will be a kid friendly party too.
Retro fitness was kind of quiet today which is the way that I like it.
Sports – I fell asleep listening to the Red Sox game last evening as they gained the lead in the game. The Red Sox did win their game while the Yankees lost their game. I have an afternoon Red Sox game to watch today. I am so happy!
The weather guy said that we are going to heat up today. The coolness that I am enjoying right now will be changing to hazy, hot, and humid by 5 PM with temperatures nearing the 88 degree mark.
Even last evening while we were socializing in North Tewksbury, we were doing so on Kevin’s upper deck.
Afghanistan – Does any American feel that we are winning the war in that country? A bus of local Afghanistan people was blown up by a roadside bomb yesterday.
The war on terror is like us fighting communism during the Vietnam War. On the other hand, how can we just pull out of Afghanistan right now after the deaths and maiming of so many of our American military personnel?
I am going to miss another Friday with golf with the seniors. Family takes precedent over extracurricular activities.
Well, I have to take a quick shower, and go off and get one week’s worth of mail at the Post Office. Sorting the mail and writing out checks to pay bills will cut into Linda’s play time today.
Have a great Wednesday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Hello on Tuesday Morning
Dear Friends,
Mike went off to work. We all had pancakes for breakfast. I am dressed and packed, and ready to go. Linda is getting ready right now.
We are exiting the house around 10:30 AM. We will do lunch at a restaurant by the airport before we say our goodbyes and leave Kansas.
It will be a sad departure since we are only able to visit Danielle and the family every few months. Grandchildren change so much in 3 or 4 months.
It was 95 degrees yesterday, and we have a repeat for today with a heat index of 110 predicted for the state of Kansas. I hope that the Northeast is a little bit cooler.
Kyla is picking us up at Logan Airport on the way from a job that her company is doing in Fall River. We will be landing at the perfect time for traffic to be backed up for miles.
I slept well last night for a change, but I got into some weird dreams. I even got up in the middle of the night for a bathroom stop, and returned to my dream. I think the movie “Inception”, and the discussion with some friends who loved the movie caused the dreaming. I will save the discussion of the contents of my dream fro another day.
It is so quiet right now. Gabriel is resting in is rocking / musical device. Isabelle is watching a video on a portable CD device.
Sports – My Red Sox finally won a west coast game.
It would be awful to be a Kansas Royals fan. They lost at home with their last years Cy Young Pitcher award winner on the mound. They Royals lost by a score of 19 to 1. The front page of the Kansas Star Sports section had a headline which read “Close your eyes!” At least the Red Sox give me a little something to cheer about.
Well, I have to go. Isabelle needs attention while Danielle, and Linda get dressed.
She is playing with a remote control car right now. Like father, like daughter! Mike and Kevin both owned remote control cars, and they were masters at the controls.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon, and for the Berkshire people, see you soon. The Curley Lad
Mike went off to work. We all had pancakes for breakfast. I am dressed and packed, and ready to go. Linda is getting ready right now.
We are exiting the house around 10:30 AM. We will do lunch at a restaurant by the airport before we say our goodbyes and leave Kansas.
It will be a sad departure since we are only able to visit Danielle and the family every few months. Grandchildren change so much in 3 or 4 months.
It was 95 degrees yesterday, and we have a repeat for today with a heat index of 110 predicted for the state of Kansas. I hope that the Northeast is a little bit cooler.
Kyla is picking us up at Logan Airport on the way from a job that her company is doing in Fall River. We will be landing at the perfect time for traffic to be backed up for miles.
I slept well last night for a change, but I got into some weird dreams. I even got up in the middle of the night for a bathroom stop, and returned to my dream. I think the movie “Inception”, and the discussion with some friends who loved the movie caused the dreaming. I will save the discussion of the contents of my dream fro another day.
It is so quiet right now. Gabriel is resting in is rocking / musical device. Isabelle is watching a video on a portable CD device.
Sports – My Red Sox finally won a west coast game.
It would be awful to be a Kansas Royals fan. They lost at home with their last years Cy Young Pitcher award winner on the mound. They Royals lost by a score of 19 to 1. The front page of the Kansas Star Sports section had a headline which read “Close your eyes!” At least the Red Sox give me a little something to cheer about.
Well, I have to go. Isabelle needs attention while Danielle, and Linda get dressed.
She is playing with a remote control car right now. Like father, like daughter! Mike and Kevin both owned remote control cars, and they were masters at the controls.
Have a great Tuesday.
Talk to you soon, and for the Berkshire people, see you soon. The Curley Lad
Monday, July 26, 2010
Hello on Monday Morning
Dear Friends,
We had a chill day in Kansas on Sunday.
Linda and I took care of the little ones in the evening as Mike and Danielle went on a date night. They had a fun time and we did too.
Today is our last full day in Kansas. Mike just went of to work at the military base in Fort Leavenworth.
Linda and Gabriel are the only ones sleeping right now.
I am not sure what we are doing today. We are content to help with child rearing, and helping out when we can.
I am missing another UNICO Golf Committee meeting this evening.
We have a direct flight from Kansas to Boston on Tuesday. Our flight leaves at 2:30 PM with a 6 PM arrival time at Logan airport. If I am not too tired, we might go back to Tewksbury, and pick up my car, and head back to Pittsfield.
As I said yesterday, I am not looking forward to going back to the business, and the continuing saga of the house restoration procedure.
The Sox lost another one on Sunday. The bullpen let them down.
The big excitement around Kansas is that the local professional soccer team played Manchester United at Arrowhead Stadium. The local team, the wizards, won the soccer match by a 2 to 1 score. There were over 52,000 people in the stands. Soccer is so big around here that they are building a soccer stadium for the professional soccer team which should be ready in 2011. It is right next the Kansas City Race Car Track.
Swallows – I am starting to detest swallows even though we have two families living peacefully in our back yard on Pittsfield. I was dive bombed once again as I went out to get the local newspaper from the driveway. I would bet that Mike can’t wait to get rid of the nest once the youngsters leave.
A guy robbed a local bank wearing a Darth Vader outfit on the other day. He decided that all black was too much to bear on a hot day so he wore camouflage pants.
Have to go.
Both grandchildren are up and ready for some adult attention.
See all of our Berkshire friends soon. The Curley Lad
We had a chill day in Kansas on Sunday.
Linda and I took care of the little ones in the evening as Mike and Danielle went on a date night. They had a fun time and we did too.
Today is our last full day in Kansas. Mike just went of to work at the military base in Fort Leavenworth.
Linda and Gabriel are the only ones sleeping right now.
I am not sure what we are doing today. We are content to help with child rearing, and helping out when we can.
I am missing another UNICO Golf Committee meeting this evening.
We have a direct flight from Kansas to Boston on Tuesday. Our flight leaves at 2:30 PM with a 6 PM arrival time at Logan airport. If I am not too tired, we might go back to Tewksbury, and pick up my car, and head back to Pittsfield.
As I said yesterday, I am not looking forward to going back to the business, and the continuing saga of the house restoration procedure.
The Sox lost another one on Sunday. The bullpen let them down.
The big excitement around Kansas is that the local professional soccer team played Manchester United at Arrowhead Stadium. The local team, the wizards, won the soccer match by a 2 to 1 score. There were over 52,000 people in the stands. Soccer is so big around here that they are building a soccer stadium for the professional soccer team which should be ready in 2011. It is right next the Kansas City Race Car Track.
Swallows – I am starting to detest swallows even though we have two families living peacefully in our back yard on Pittsfield. I was dive bombed once again as I went out to get the local newspaper from the driveway. I would bet that Mike can’t wait to get rid of the nest once the youngsters leave.
A guy robbed a local bank wearing a Darth Vader outfit on the other day. He decided that all black was too much to bear on a hot day so he wore camouflage pants.
Have to go.
Both grandchildren are up and ready for some adult attention.
See all of our Berkshire friends soon. The Curley Lad
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Hello on Sunday Morning
Dear Friends,
The heat and humidity finally took a break for a few days here in Kansas. The cool down started after we woke up from our afternoon nap.
When we depart on Tuesday afternoon, it will be back in the 90’s.
I went to find a mixture for the drink that I was making myself while Mike was with his family at a birthday party. I looked in the refrigerator, and saw a bottle of red stuff. I read the label before pouring it into my beverage. It was humming bird food red sugar water. It wouldn’t have killed me, but I would have felt bad taking food from the birds.
After the grandchildren went to bed last evening, we decided to play cribbage. The team of Fran & Danielle, beat the team of Mike and Linda. After winning two games in a row, we called it a night. Since Linda and I both had naps, we weren’t as tired as Mike & Danielle.
We chatted with our Berkshire County friends, by way of the cell phone, who were having a cookout without Linda and I. They were having grilled salmon and chicken for supper as well as different appetizers, and desserts. The hosts had a houseful of guests.
When our house gets back to normal, we will host a party too.
I read the Sunday newspaper already. They had a front page article of a person who spent time in the military who claimed to have all these service medals, and he was proven to be a fraud. They almost named some building after the guy until this group investigated all of his claims. They actually found the deceased Veteran who actually did earn most of the medals legitimately. This is one of worse kind of identity thefts that a person can engage in.
I am not sure what we have planned for us in Kansas today. As of last evening, we wanted today to be a lazy hazy day of summer. With the decrease in humidity, those plans could change.
Sports – The Red Sox pitcher John Lester pitched a pretty good game last evening, but the final score was not in favor of the Red Sox.
The local newspapers are relishing in the fact that the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees yesterday.
The local papers are also talking a lot about the upcoming Kansas City Chiefs Football season. Every team has high hopes until they break the hearts of the local fans.
I see where two teams are interested in Terrell Owens. Good luck to the team who gets him. I was sort of hoping that the Patriots were interested.
I also see where the wife of the former Steers’ coach, Bill Cowher, died of skin cancer. She was a couple years shy of the 60 year old mark.
I have been reading the Berkshire Eagle on line during our stay in Kansas. It is the same old same old back in the Berkshires.
The craziness in our social lives starts as soon as we get back to the Berkshires. I don’t want to think about all the things that I am involved. We might have some free days during the middle of each week, but there a very few free weekends. We are starting to book into September and October already. We have friends who don’t even know what an appointment book is, but this is not true for Linda and me.
I was perusing a restaurant guide yesterday for the Kansas City area. I have never seen so many steak and Barbecue places concentrated in one area. Living in Kansas would be a meat lovers’ paradise. The obituaries do indicate that eating red meat so often might be a problem.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee, and read a couple of books to Isabelle. Her mom and me are the only adults up right now.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
The heat and humidity finally took a break for a few days here in Kansas. The cool down started after we woke up from our afternoon nap.
When we depart on Tuesday afternoon, it will be back in the 90’s.
I went to find a mixture for the drink that I was making myself while Mike was with his family at a birthday party. I looked in the refrigerator, and saw a bottle of red stuff. I read the label before pouring it into my beverage. It was humming bird food red sugar water. It wouldn’t have killed me, but I would have felt bad taking food from the birds.
After the grandchildren went to bed last evening, we decided to play cribbage. The team of Fran & Danielle, beat the team of Mike and Linda. After winning two games in a row, we called it a night. Since Linda and I both had naps, we weren’t as tired as Mike & Danielle.
We chatted with our Berkshire County friends, by way of the cell phone, who were having a cookout without Linda and I. They were having grilled salmon and chicken for supper as well as different appetizers, and desserts. The hosts had a houseful of guests.
When our house gets back to normal, we will host a party too.
I read the Sunday newspaper already. They had a front page article of a person who spent time in the military who claimed to have all these service medals, and he was proven to be a fraud. They almost named some building after the guy until this group investigated all of his claims. They actually found the deceased Veteran who actually did earn most of the medals legitimately. This is one of worse kind of identity thefts that a person can engage in.
I am not sure what we have planned for us in Kansas today. As of last evening, we wanted today to be a lazy hazy day of summer. With the decrease in humidity, those plans could change.
Sports – The Red Sox pitcher John Lester pitched a pretty good game last evening, but the final score was not in favor of the Red Sox.
The local newspapers are relishing in the fact that the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees yesterday.
The local papers are also talking a lot about the upcoming Kansas City Chiefs Football season. Every team has high hopes until they break the hearts of the local fans.
I see where two teams are interested in Terrell Owens. Good luck to the team who gets him. I was sort of hoping that the Patriots were interested.
I also see where the wife of the former Steers’ coach, Bill Cowher, died of skin cancer. She was a couple years shy of the 60 year old mark.
I have been reading the Berkshire Eagle on line during our stay in Kansas. It is the same old same old back in the Berkshires.
The craziness in our social lives starts as soon as we get back to the Berkshires. I don’t want to think about all the things that I am involved. We might have some free days during the middle of each week, but there a very few free weekends. We are starting to book into September and October already. We have friends who don’t even know what an appointment book is, but this is not true for Linda and me.
I was perusing a restaurant guide yesterday for the Kansas City area. I have never seen so many steak and Barbecue places concentrated in one area. Living in Kansas would be a meat lovers’ paradise. The obituaries do indicate that eating red meat so often might be a problem.
Well, I have to grab a second cup of coffee, and read a couple of books to Isabelle. Her mom and me are the only adults up right now.
Have a great Sunday.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Hello on Saturday evening
Dear Friends,
Linda and I have come to the conclusion that the daily temperatures of the lower to mid nineties each day is too much for this retired couple to handle. If wanted weather like this, we would have bought a place in Florida.
The heat saps the energy right out of you.
Today’s adventure began at 8 AM as we loaded up the car and headed off to a big time farmer’s market not like the one we have in the Berkshires in the parking lot of the local Sears store. It was a great place to see all the various vendors for food, vegetables, fruits, jewelry, kids slides, etc., but the heat and the wall to wall bodies made our trip short.
Our next stop was the Rain Forest restaurant deigned for kids and their families. Both children were good once again as we had an early lunch. We were at the doors of the place a little after 11 AM, and good thing that we arrived early because there was a line as we exited the restaurant. We stopped at an ice-cream store called Sheridans before we headed home. We unloaded the car with our framer’s market purchases, and children, and I went directly to bed. Linda stayed up a while, and she eventually went for a nap too. We slept until 5 PM, and missed the next adventure which was a birthday party for a child in the neighborhood. Danielle said that they tried knocking on our door, but we were out like a light. They left without out us, but she left us a note.
I think that we will just enjoy the next couple of hours of quiet time even though the note said that we could call, and find out where the party is located.
Once again, I have come to the conclusion that our little place in the country in the western part of the State of Massachusetts is a wonderful place to call home. I hope Mike’s next assignment next June is in a place where temperature is a few degrees cooler than in Kansas.
Have a great Saturday evening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
Linda and I have come to the conclusion that the daily temperatures of the lower to mid nineties each day is too much for this retired couple to handle. If wanted weather like this, we would have bought a place in Florida.
The heat saps the energy right out of you.
Today’s adventure began at 8 AM as we loaded up the car and headed off to a big time farmer’s market not like the one we have in the Berkshires in the parking lot of the local Sears store. It was a great place to see all the various vendors for food, vegetables, fruits, jewelry, kids slides, etc., but the heat and the wall to wall bodies made our trip short.
Our next stop was the Rain Forest restaurant deigned for kids and their families. Both children were good once again as we had an early lunch. We were at the doors of the place a little after 11 AM, and good thing that we arrived early because there was a line as we exited the restaurant. We stopped at an ice-cream store called Sheridans before we headed home. We unloaded the car with our framer’s market purchases, and children, and I went directly to bed. Linda stayed up a while, and she eventually went for a nap too. We slept until 5 PM, and missed the next adventure which was a birthday party for a child in the neighborhood. Danielle said that they tried knocking on our door, but we were out like a light. They left without out us, but she left us a note.
I think that we will just enjoy the next couple of hours of quiet time even though the note said that we could call, and find out where the party is located.
Once again, I have come to the conclusion that our little place in the country in the western part of the State of Massachusetts is a wonderful place to call home. I hope Mike’s next assignment next June is in a place where temperature is a few degrees cooler than in Kansas.
Have a great Saturday evening.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad
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