Good early morning GH. Our current temperature is 43 degrees, heading for a high of 63 today. Wow, it is about time. Too bad it won't last. By Tuesday, we'll be back into the 50s and the chance of precipitation increases to 80%. Given the state of affairs for the people of Grand Rapids and environs, that isn't good. The Grand River will be above historical flood crest records, so it won't be pretty.

Sugar the Weather Dog, Mary, and I will be walking to the local pet supply store to check out the fit of some crates for our traveling safety; ours and and Sugars. Given the fact that Sugar doesn't like being seat belted in, the cage is safer for all concerned. Since the temperature is going to be in the low 60s, it should be a great day for this activity.

I spent some time in the man cave today. When you don't read the New York Times, you gain a lot of extra time. I worked on the return spring for my pruning shears, and then since I was there, I sorted the beads for my snowman Christmas tree ornaments. Once I had that done, I decided I would cut the wire that was to be used for the assembly. Then I thought, why not cut the ribbon to be used for the scarves on the snowmen. Of course, since I was there, I figured I could try making one to see how it would go. 12 snowmen later, I had the answer. The directions were literally just pictures, and they were partially drawn upside down, at least to me. Once I figured that out, I was off to the races. I have a few left over beads, which is unusual, but at least I had too many, not too few, which often happens.

Then, I came upstairs for more reading of The Night Ranger. I realized that the character was one with whom I was familiar. So since I have to finish by the Tuesday due date, that will make it easier. Mary decided she wanted to go for a walk, so I had to convince Sugar that she wanted to leave the comfort of my lap, and let me get up. It was a nice day for a walk downtown, and today should be even better.

No trains yet tonight, but this is/was Sunday night, so we may not see any until later.

Mary made banana bread today, and of course, Sugar was enthralled by the entire process. She is after all, the official sous dog of the house, so she just had to stay and help. Mary put the banana bread in the oven, set the timer, and left the removal from the oven in my capable hands. She was off to chase more facts in in her ongoing pursuit of facts about the previous owners of our home. She is doing well, but admits she has a long way to go.

The bread was somewhat stuck, but I managed, and the finished product was better than mine. I hate to admit it, but when I bake, I find that I do it with less elan. Maybe in another 20 years, I 'll get the hang of it.

I am up late/early this morning, as I was working on my knitting machine. Mary thought it would work better with a crochet hook, but I found that the hook that came with the machine actually works better. Any difficulties are with the operator, not the hook.  I took out my original efforts, because something went haywire. Once again, the operator was the problem. This time, it is looking better. Once again, in 20 years, I should have it down pat. Nothing like practice to make perfect.

In the sports department, the boys in blue are fading fast, and they are only 17 games into the new season. I know that these are the Cubs, but when the manager threatens to send the future of the team to the minors, you know they have problems. If there is a plus for the day, the White Sox lost too. My beloved Red Sox lost both ends of a double header, the second game was a make up for the game that had to be cancelled due to the lock down in Boston on Friday. The Tigers lost badly on Saturday, giving up nine runs in the bottom of the 1st. They never recovered. They have dropped to third in their division. The Caps lost on Sunday to he Silverhawks of West Bend. All in all, not a good baseball weekend. However, Sebastian Vettel of the Red Bull team won the Grand Prix of Bahrain. At the NASCAR race in Kansas City, KS, Matt Kenseth won a race marred by more than enough accidents.

Enough sports, it is time for bed. Tea time will be here before you know it. Ciao.