Good early morning GH. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City."  Our current indoor temperature is 71 digitally reported degrees. Outdoors, the temperature is 40 analog reported degrees. Today we expect a partly cloudy sky. When Sugar the Weather Dog, Mary, and I went walking yesterday, the temperature was reported to be 52°. Both Mary and I thought that our fleece jackets would be fine. However, the front that was supposed to be moving in to produce the predicted rain was moving through at that time.

So, in the face of a hurricane west wind, well, not really. it just felt that way, we didn't get as far as planned before we turned back. My thanks to Gordon Lightfoot for the paraphrased lyrics from The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, appropriate for our home here on the Great Lakes. Today, we expect a high of 61° under partly cloudy skies, this time with a wind out of the south. That rain never really happened

Thursday, after our walk, I came back and did some serious housecleaning. I polished the cabinets in the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen using orange oil. They look great. I took down the shade for the light fixture over the kitchen sink and cleaned the bulbs and the shade. Mary thinks it may be too bright to work at the sink now. Then I polished the surfaces in the living room and foyer. Then I sat down to finish our puzzle. I still have to find a way to remake that missing piece, but that's something that I'll have to ruminate on for a while.That was enough for me.

I sat down to work a crossword or two, but Mary came down to ask if I wanted to go to the mall with her. Lacking any compelling reason to do nothing, I went along. We stopped in one place and nothing appealed to Mary. At our next stop, she found a pair that she liked and she bought those. They were "on sale," and that made them even more appealing. Home to GH and an early dinner. Then I went upstairs for some TV and rest. Mary stayed downstairs for some rug hooking. I soon fell asleep in the media room. I awoke to the sound of the train going south at 8:37 p.m. I knew it was time for bed.

Speaking of the train, the northbound run happened at about 11:40 p.m. on Thursday. As I think about it, the normal daily turnaround time is about three hours. That's what woke me for this blog. Once I finish, I am returning to the bed for some additional rest. I just had to get up to look and listen to the train as it went by. A train crossing reference for sure. That's the beauty of living on a reality-scale train board. This train was a short one. The usual twin EMD GP 38 locomotives in the usual livery, followed by two covered hopper cars, a lone box car, and a single white tanker car.

Today I plan to bake that banana nut bread with my Sous Dog at my side. I will work more crossword puzzles and listen to more radio. I have to help Mary on one thing, but that shouldn't take long. Otherwise, not much on my agenda.

In sports, the boys in blue were up to their usual tricks. A masterful pitching performance by the lone representative on last year's All-Star squad, was wasted by the bullpen. I think they should come in from the bullpen in a gasoline tanker, as they seem to succeed in torching a victory and turning it into a defeat. They did it again, 4 - 5 from a 4 - 0 lead over the Pirates. Now the boys in blue are at 3 - 6. The Tigers pulled out a win late Wednesday over the Dodgers in 10 innings, 7 - 6. They lead the AL Central 5 - 2. My beloved Red Sox weren't so lucky. They fell to the hated Yankees, 1 - 4. Now they are at 4 - 6 and one full game behind the Yankees. Of course, the Yankees are only at 5 - 5. The Caps fell to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 0 - 3, and the Caps are now 3 - 4 on the season. They next visit Beloit, Wisconsin to face the Snappers, for a night game.

Sunrise today will be at 7:09 a.m. Sunset will happen at 8:19 p.m. Ciao.