ABE GETTING EVEN?

  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH., 2019
            ABE GETTING EVEN?

    There are a lot of schools closed around
here today. It's because of a snow and ice
storm. That's the official reason.
     But I think it may be just Abe's way of
getting even!
     You see today, February 12th,. is
Abe Lincoln's Birthday. Back in the day,
that is back in the days when I was in
school, we celebrated his birthday by
getting a day off from school.
      We did the same thing for George
Washington's birthday.
      The along came that Monday holiday
law where a number of holidays were
moved from their actual dates to a
Monday so folks would get a few
long weekends!
       The planners threw George and Abe
together (and added all the rest) in what
we now call "President's Day."
        Maybe Abe wants his day back. The
kids can think about that while they're
home because of the storm!
         Honest Abe, it wasn't my idea!
         Hope you all enjoy your day off
and that all your NEWS is good!
         

WINTER ICE CREAM!

     MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH., 2019
               WINTER ICE CREAM!

   I'm trying to figure out who came up with
the idea there is a "season" for ice cream.
   You pass all those ice cream stands crowded
with cars and customers in June, July, and
August and find they now feature little signs
that read "Closed for the Season."
   My appetite for ice cream knows no
season.
    I realize it's available in convenience
and grocery stores throughout the year.
But I'm not talking about those pre-packaged
half gallon look alike containers or cones
wrapped in cardboard.
     It's that hand dipped, wide selection treat
that get my attention.
      I understand standing outside in
20 degree temperatures at the window of a
soft serve stand might discourage one. But
an old fashion Ice Cream Parlor can offer
comfort and cones whatever the weather.
       The trick is to be open!
       One of our favorite places cuts its
days of operation during the winter but,
again, my ice cream interest is not
limited to weekends.
        We are fortunate to have two places
fairly close by that serve year round.
Ironically, both are in West Pittston.
        Recently we discovered a new
establishment, "The Milk House" in
Mountaintop, that has both great hours,
cones and quarts, and the biggest
variety of flavors we've seen in a long
time.
        I'm OK with football in the fall,
basketball in winter, and baseball in
the summer. Seasons are for sports
not for sundaes! Think I'll have one!
        Hope your cones are filled and
your NEWS is good!

GOT YOU COVERED!

   SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 TH., 2019
             GOT YOU COVERED!

     On February 10th we salute the value

of an appliance we seldom think about.

Until it's needed!

     It's "Umbrella Day!"

     I got my wife two new umbrellas as

part of her Christmas haul two years ago.

    She was under the impression that a

few rips and tears in our existing umbrellas

rendered them useless. I thought they

might each have another year or so left.

But when I saw umbrellas on her

Christmas wish list I figured she was

serious.

     We like those huge "golf type"

umbrellas. They've come in handy to

shade us from the sun and protect us

from the rain during our grandkids

soccer games.      

      My search for new ones was not

easy. Although I found a large selection

without too much trouble I quickly found

that the purchase of one, let alone two,

with a popular team logo would leave

my wallet soaked!

       I turned my attention to another,

non logoed, that seemed to have two

separate upper sections. It took me

about 12 minutes to find out how to get

it open. I never did find out how to

close it again! I left the one I tried

fully open in the hope a clerk with

better mechanical knowledge might

happen along.

        I found a better choice in a local

big box store where I found two, slightly

different, models that one could open

and close without an engineering

degree. I even got a break on one without

a price tag that was reduced, for me, to

the same price as the other.

        On occasion we used to rent a beach

umbrella on our vacations at the shore.

We pretty much gave up that habit after

seeing others flying through the air in

front of us when the winds whipped up!

         Our umbrellas have now weathered

two years and have even been opened on

non rainy days for protection against the

sun. Those days, however, have been very

rare. They've had a lot of use against the

rains that seemed all too constant last

summer!

          Hope you don't open yours inside

(bad luck you know) and that all your NEWS

is good!

FREE AT LAST!

      SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH., 2019
                     FREE AT LAST!

      The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  echo in my mind today.
      On Wednesday the pin that held my wife's
surgically repaired toe in place was removed.
On Thursday she was able to walk around the
house with just a special support shoe. On
Friday she was able to accompany me to the
Valentine's dinner at our church.
       Since the support shoe is still in use I
was able to enjoy the dinner without having
to publicly display my dance inability.
       Our pastor served as DJ and played a
tune for my wife and I while suggesting we
had originally listened to it on the road to her
home with the top down in my Chevy
convertible. In reality it was a different road
and the top was up!
        Anyway within the next couple days that
support shoe will come off and she'll be able
to get around in sneakers.
         All of these developments signal my
parole and release from KP duties! I will be
"free at last."
          Hope the menu around here improves
and that all your NEWS is good!

BE PREPARED!

  FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH., 2019
               BE PREPARED!

   Happy Birthday to the Boy Scouts!
On February 8, 1910, Chicago publisher William
Dickson Boyce filed incorporation papers in the
District of Columbia to create the Boy Scouts of
America.
   Of course the Boy  Scouts, as an organization, 
was actually formed in Great Brittan several years
earlier.
    I never made it to Boy Scouts here or in England
but I was a Cub Scout, a Lion as I recall.
    I remember going to meetings at the home of
one of my friends. His mom was our Den Mother.
We did all kinds of crafts and worked on badges.
I wanted one that would make me a policeman
but that wasn't one of the options.
    I even remember making my first trip to New
York City, on a train, by myself, in my Cub Scout
uniform! My Dad met me at Penn Station in New
York. All the attendants on the train watched out
for me. I guess they all liked a guy in uniform!
    We didn't have any girls in Cub Scouts back
then. That may have played a role in my short
scouting career!
    I don't remember a heck of a lot more about my
Cub Scouting days except that I learned the salute,
and our moto, "Be Prepared."
    I always figured that was good advice for
anyone whether they be a scout or not.
    Hope you're always prepared and that all
your NEWS is good!
 

MUST HAVE BEEN A DUD!

    THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH., 2019
          MUST HAVE BEEN A DUD!

     Excitement filled the air! The specialist
indicated he was ready. I fought off the
desire to yell "Fire in the hole" and the
doctor pulled the pin!
      Nothing exploded! Although there
was a brief moment when I thought a
blast from my wife's lungs might fill the
air.
       You see the "pin" wasn't from a
grenade. It was the long metal rod that
held my wife's big toe in place while
it and her foot recovered from bunion
surgery!
       It actually came out fairly easily
and her one moment of pain was caused
by the very slight bend in the pin
incurred sometime over the past week
or so but without her knowledge.
       She never once kicked me when I
was feeding her so we can eliminate
that possibility. There may have been a
couple moments watching Super Bowl
when she might have mimicked a kick
in the hope of promoting some actual
action in the game,
        Whatever the cause the pin has
been removed and she'll soon be back
in sneakers and able to get her own
Spam!
         Hope that comes pretty soon and
that all your NEWS is good!

HELPING HANDS!

    WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH., 2019
                    HELPING HANDS

      Thursday will mark 3 weeks since my
wife had food surgery to correct a troublesome
bunion.
       Regular readers already know that I have
been trying to handle many of the chores she
would normally take care of without any
problem.
       I have made a few mistakes. I allowed
her to put her foot down and sit on the porch
awhile while the sun warmed it Tuesday,
Unfortunately, for me, the sun's warming
rays also illuminated the dust under the couch
and she spotted it. Had to get the broom and
the dustpan out!
       I have burned one finger and one thumb
on hot pans. Nothing serious. Just reminders
there are hot pads in one of the kitchen drawers.
I have now located them.
       Meals, as you might expect, have been the
biggest challenge. I've been doing all right,
especially with scrambled eggs and grilled cheese
sandwiches.
        Fortunately I've had some helping hands
when it comes to the daily menu! Our pastor's
wife has provided several delicious dishes and
in such quantity that I'm now able to offer left
overs!
        My son delivered a breakfast sandwich
when he brought our grandson the other day
and my daughter-in-law brought both soup and
chili prepared by her Dad!
        My granddaughter stopped at Moe's before
she visited Tuesday and brought a whole separate
order for my wife. And since that offering isn't
what I'd normally choose I finally got to open
and fry some of the Spam I originally thought
we'd be living on during her recuperation!
         I now have plenty to carry us through the
final days of her "off the feet orders." We're
all good!
         Hope I can keep the sun from shining in
under the couch and that all your NEWS is good!