Penguins, Pot & Other Stuff

Some of the ladies I used to work with at VRS took me out for lunch on my birthday.  Didn’t post anything about our little get-together until today because I was waiting for a couple of pictures Liz took during our outing.

 

The ladies took me to The Modern India Buffet for some spicy Indian food.  I don’t know what I ate because I just asked them to go up there and fill my dish with anything that looked interesting.  Two dishes later and I was stuffed!  There were presents and lots of talk catching up on old times.  Thank you ladies, I really enjoyed myself!

 

I put a couple of pictures up from our little get-together-check them out!

Brother Mike and his lovely wife Cindy invited the Aquilina gang over for dinner & cake to celebrate my birthday.  It was nice to see all of us together at one table.  A delicious meal of sausages, salads and delicious breads made it a wonderful feast.  Then, a scrumptious ice cream cake for the celebration!

 

The lovely Trish came along as she is almost part of the family.  She took some fantastic pictures-check them out!

Well, today is the day.  55 years old!  Hope I can make it for another 55.  It’s becoming a tradition-took Trish, Paulo, Jeannine & Kaleb to The Keg for dinner.  Funny, my birthday but guess who paid?  You’re right: the birthday boy.  No problem!

 

I had mushroom caps stuffed with escargot, salad & ribs.  Garlic mashed potatoes of course!  Dessert was a lovely crème brûlée!  Fortunately, that was on the house.  Paulo had a zesty salmon steak while Jeannine & Trish each had steak.  Kaleb was more than happy with his chicken fingers!  A delicious evening with good friends.

 

To top it off, my new couch was delivered today.  Decided it was time to get something a little more comfortable for my guests to park their asses on.  It’s a pullout sofa bed just in case any of my frequent visitors need a place to lay their head!  Kaleb was kind enough to demonstrate the comfiness of my couch by posing for a picture.  Check it out!

The atmosphere before the game was tense.  It was a full house for the game.  Along with the usual Trish & Paulo, Brothers Mike & Joseph were here along with good friends Terry & Cam.  Even the little guy Kaleb got into the act.

 

Everyone except Paulo was cheering for Montréal so it was a friendly crowd.  Poor old Paulo was more worried about the Washington/Philadelphia game because all the players on his hockey pool team are from Washington.  Fortunately for him, Washington won and forced a seventh and deciding game.  Now, back to the game that really counted!

 

Carey Price kept Montréal in the game early.  Then, Montréal’s legs started to take over.  It was close for a while but Montréal slowly built their lead.  Final score: 5-0 for the good guys!  Needless to say, there were a bunch of relieved Montréal fans leaving apartment #805 last night.  Being the photographer she always is, the lovely Trish managed to get some pictures.  Check them out!

Decided it was time to visit dear Mom at the nursing home yesterday.  When I got to her floor the nurse told me she had a cold for the past day or two and was feeling a bit tired.  Sure enough, when I found her she was asleep in one of the many couches on her floor.

 

Tried waking her up but had no luck.  She gave me a look and then decided it was time to fall asleep again.  Stayed with her for half an hour or so.  She was surrounded by some of the other residents on her floor.  One lady was there smiling constantly while she held her "baby" (doll) in her arms.  Another woman was constantly asking me if I had seen her father who was supposed to be bringing her money to buy candy.  She was crying every time she asked.  Others were talking to people who weren’t there and generally living in their own little words.  Makes you think.

 

Then, it was off to visit a friend of mine who is in a local hospital.  The lovely Liz (she of Dickhead) works in the same facility.  Used to be called the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital.  My friend has severe paranoid schizophrenia so visiting her is always an adventure.  When I found her, she was outside smoking a cigarette.  I sat beside her so we could enjoy the weather.  Around us were 5 or 6 other patients from the hospital.  They too were definitely living in their own worlds.  Like my Mom’s neighbors, they were talking to people that weren’t there and generally living in their own very personal space.

 

Different causes-same results.  The human mind can take us to so many different directions.  Quite an interesting couple of visits!

For quite a few years now, some of the boys have been getting together at the start of the playoffs to conduct a playoff pool draft.  Just took place the other night here at 20 Jarvis.  This year we have 22 guys, no wait-I’m wrong, 21 guys & the lovely Trish participating.

 

The tension mounted as we drew for our draft positions.  Trish got a good one, drafting in the #3 spot.  Paulo got #8, Dickhead (I believe) got spot #5 whereas yours truly had to do with #10.  It was an 8 round draft so by the end, there were some lesser lights being taken.

 

Good luck to all (especially those who drafted Montreal Canadiens)!  Trish took a few pictures from the draft.  Check them out!

After my rollerblading escapades with Trish & Dickhead, I had Trish drop me off at the old Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital so I could visit a friend of mine who was there as a patient.  After seeing her, I remembered that Liz (Mrs. Dickhead) worked in the same building.  Found out where her office was and dropped in for an unexpected visit.

 

Along with Liz, 2 of my former coworkers also inhabit the same building.  Off Liz & I went to visit Mary Lou in her office.  After a lovely visit, Liz & I were them off to visit Leisa-the other coworker.  Being all trained in the social work field, getting together for lunch quickly came up.  April 25: my birthday!  The girls are taking me out for a treat.  What should I eat?

Dickhead called out of the blue wondering if I was interested in meeting him at Bayfront Park to enjoy the lovely weather and do some blading.  As it happened, Trish was here and said she was cool with the idea.  We met Dickhead and setoff on a leisurely pace down the path.  There was a brisk wind blowing in off the harbor but nothing we couldn’t handle.  As much as I was waiting for it to happen, neither of them went for a tumble.

 

Dickhead looked so cute in his ancient Finnish hockey helmet.  Reminded me of Jari Kurri.  Both he & Trish are pretty good on the blades.  There were no races but I foresee that happening if these little get-togethers continue.

 

Check out the pictures!

Yes, the boys did do what they had to do-beating Toronto Saturday night.  Then, we sat back and watched Philadelphia do us a favor on Sunday by beating Pittsburgh.  Now, the playoffs.  Montréal gets Boston in the first round.  We beat the Bean Towners every game this year.  No reason for that to change!  In the East-Montréal or Pittsburgh-take your pick.

 

In the West however, I see a dark horse.  Minnesota & Jacques Lemaire to advance to the Stanley Cup.  They better; I put money down all on them several months ago when a friend of mine was in Las Vegas!

Brother Joseph & I were supposed to go see blues guitarist Buddy Guy who was playing at Hamilton Place last Friday.  After we bought the tickets, Joe realized he was already committed to something else with the lovely Lady Kathryn.  No problem; a quick telephone call to my friend Ava and I had it taken care of.

 

After settling in our seats, the opening act came on.  A local musician by the name of Stephen Strongman and three other gentlemen provided some good blues themselves.  Strongman plays a mean guitar and got the crowd warmed up for The Man.  Then, it was Buddy’s turn.

 

The man is a legend.  Played some old, played some new.  During one song he started walking around the entire theater.  Even got up into the balcony!  Unfortunately though he only played for about one hour.  And to top that off, no encore!  Don’t know if I have ever been to a concert where the crowd begged for an encore that was not provided.  Still though, a good night.  Now, I wait for George Thoroughgood-he’s in town in late May.  I’ll be there-care to join me?