Good early morning GH. It is just after 3:00 AM here in our quiet city. Early Fridays here in town are usually quiet as the tourists don't begin to roll in until later today. Not that we mind the tourists. They are fun to watch as they go the wrong direction on one-way streets and in general make each day an adventure. But I digress.


It is currently 74 degrees here in the Weather Center and the outdoor temperature is 57 as we head for a high of 70. No precipitation on the radar and the winds are not doing much of anything. On Wednesday night, the rain came down and the winds blew hard in what was billed as a manifestation of a weather phenomenon known as derecho. That is a line of thunderstorms, high winds, and flash floods that follow a well-defined pattern and generally occur in June and July in the northern hemisphere. Given the way the wind was blowing and the way that the rain came down and drove Sugar the Weather Dog to her hide-e-hole, it seemed to fit the bill. Today should be calm.

I took the car to the dealer Wednesday morning for the wheel alignment and the results were all that I'd hoped. The service writer explained to me about how alignments worked for this car and I listened, but having spent a lot of years in the car business and having being certified in the chassis area, I probably knew more than he. In any event, they got it right and I was on my way home within an hour. I made several stops on the way back in a search for a picnic basket and finally got one at one of the big-box stores. Lots of stops that made me tired by day's end. I know why I don't do that kind of shopping very often.

Yesterday, I tried putting up and taking down our new tent. The up part was easy and probably took only a bit more than the one minute that they promise. However, the fold up took a little longer probably do to the fact that rarely, if ever, do things go back into their packaged state as easily as they come out. I also inflated the air mattress using the built-in foot pump that made the small 12 volt air pump I got with it superfluous. I have to ask Adam if he has a use for it before I return it for a credit. Like the tent, the mattress inflated easily enough, but once I let the air out, it too was tough to get back in the package. Once I find a place and time to use the tent and mattress I will be ready, I hope.

In other news, I got all of my housework done and then I helped Mary more with her work. I appreciate her zeal for explaining, but as I am a hands-on kind of learner, I have to try things and learn as I go along. Until I try something, I don't place the ideas into my long-term memory, they just stay on the periphery of my random access memory and quickly disappear. Of course, since I really don't have much of an interest in the rote kind of activity that much of her work entails, that makes it all that much more difficult.

Today, I'll help her more and then get on with more guitar playing. Those things of course come after...Tea time and allowing time for Sugar to take me for a walk. A very short train just rumbled through blowing its horn. What was that I said about a quiet Friday morning?

In sports, the Blackhawks beat the Bruins in overtime 4 - 3 on Wednesday night. Next game, Saturday. The boys in blue found another way to lose on Wednesday, but won on Thursday in a game that took 14 innings. Given the futility that they exhibit, it must be hard to go out there each day/night. The team's owners are once again making noises about moving the team to the suburbs. That has long been a negotiating ploy as they seek money for their ballpark renovations and overly inflated payroll. Without their iconic ballpark, no one would come to the games as exhibited in many other cities.

The Tigers lost on Wednesday 2 - 3 to the Royals and then got Thursday off. They play again tonight against the Twins. My beloved Red Sox eked out a win on Wednesday against the Rays 2 - 1, but then lost to the Orioles 4 - 5 on Thursday. The Caps beat the Loons 5 - 2 on Thursday. The NBA finals are now tied at 2 - 2 following Thursday night's game. The Heat beat the Spurs 109 - 93 last night after being thoroughly outplayed on Tuesday 77 - 113. Next game, Sunday.

So until I have more to say, ciao.