Good morning GH. It is just past 4:30 AM in "The City" and our current temperature is 42 degrees. Brrrr! We are heading for a high of 51 degrees under partly cloudy skies. No precipitation appears imminent until Thursday. This forecast is probably a bit more seasonal than what we have been experiencing. Of course as a newly minted Michigander, this is all new for me. See me in 20 or 30 years and I'll let you know what normal or the new normal is actually like. : - ),

Yesterday went well. In the AM, my knees hurt as usual, but by the afternoon I was able to get outdoors and rake a few leaves. I know from experience that today will be even better. Mary, Sugar and I walked downtown to get a loaf of bread and that was a challenge on that first full day post treatment. Sugar was even being attentive of my less than 100% state. Today I don't expect that she will be as forgiving.

Yesterday saw both Sugar and I in the backyard of the palatial estate. As I noted, I was raking leaves before I sat down to read, while Sugar was in the "Bone Zone." We had both repaired to the outdoors because the Sun was inviting and the thrill was gone from baking my famous banana nut bread. Sugar enjoyed her role as Sous Dog, but she wanted more. She found it in the "Bone Zone."

Mary was working and that left my baby and I to our own devices. I think we used our time well. When I first wrote this sentence it sounded like Yoda speak. I'll leave the structure to your imagination.

I also learned something while I was outdoors. My neighbor was taking pictures of a rose with her phone camera. I just had to ask, "If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing?" She replied, "I got engaged, and I am sharing the good news with my friends on one of the social network services." I changed the name of the social networking service to a generic form to protect my sources. I told her congratulations as I knew this was something that she sincerely wanted. I was assured that we would get an invitation for her St. Valentines's Day wedding. I can't wait.

Today not much on tap. More walking, more reading and that's about it. I will also find time to watch the World Series again tonight, which leads me to some good and bad sports news. In NCAA football, the Northern Illinois Huskies handily defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 59 - 20. The Huskies are now 9 - 0 in their conference. Can a bowl bid be far behind? The MSU Spartans also had an easy time with the Fighting Illini winning by a margin of 42 - 3. For a team that has been struggling offensively, that's quite an accomplishment. Of course their offensive showing could be the result of a somewhat inept defensive effort by the Illini.

Now the bad news from St. Louis. My beloved Red Sox fell behind early 2 - 0. However, they tied it up in the top of the fifth and sixth. The Cardinals went ahead again in the bottom of the seventh and then the Sox tied it  up in the top of the eighth. The stage was set for a bizarre turn of events that led to a walk off victory by the Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth. A putout at the plate and then an obstruction call at third led to the winning run scoring. I watched the whole thing. The Sox will get them tonight. By way of information, the Bears are in their bye week and the Lions face off against the Cowboys at 1:00 PM.

So that's about it for now. No trains nor no other exciting events to report. Ciao.