Good early morning GH. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City," and the current temperature is 43° as we drop to our overnight low of 36°. Once again, the snow is almost gone with yesterday's 52° high. We netted out with 2 1/2 inches of snow on Monday night and most of that has now melted. In Detroit, they had to cancel Tuesday's Tiger's game against the Indians due to snow on the field at Comerica Park. In addition, the snow that fell in Detroit set a record for seasonal snowfall. Personally the snow set a record for me too, in the category of  "Oh no, not again!"

To make sure that all of the parts were there, I set up Mary's new planter in the living room. The parts were all there, but now we are trying to decide where to place it on the deck, if and when spring ever springs. I suggested that maybe Mary could start her seedlings in it to give them a head start. Mary's indoor garden is getting too big for its pots. If we don't get them outdoors soon, they'll become so root bound that they may not survive.

Mary and I did the second leg of her Yarn Quest on Tuesday. It was a nice ride for me, but for Mary it was a voyage of discovery in the cold. We traveled through Kentwood on our trip and we confirmed what we already knew or thought. Weekdays are palatable on the roads there as compared to weekends, but it is not the stuff of "Pure Michigan," that the state touts. Part of our journey even caused Mary to take the expressway and she even survived, much to our collective dismay. Still, I doubt that she would want it as a steady past time. Neither would I.

I just watched the southbound train go by. The usual twin EMD GP 38 locomotives trailing 22 covered hopper cars. Once again, four of those cars looked like they have seen better days.

Since I am on the subject of trains, I should mention that the South Shore line that we took on Saturday and Monday traveled through some rather depressed neighborhoods in Indiana. Closed factories, and boarded up houses. Not unexpected for an area that saw its main employer, big steel, slowly close the mills and then their associated businesses. Then of course, the grocery, hardware and drug stores soon followed. Finally, all that is left are homes that no one can sell. It isn't the fault of the people who live there, it is a sign of the times and the lack of spine by too many in power. World trade improves the bottom line, but not the lives of people who are left behind.

Further evidence of our industrial was provided as Mary and I finished off her Yarn Quest at a new shop in Muskegon. The city is trying to make a comeback, but when you have no residents in an industrial town, you have no customers. It is going to be a long haul. What is left, is a city of torn down or abandoned buildings and little else. I like Muskegon, but if it survives, it will be a miracle. A tiny downtown area surrounded by blight. Smaller than Detroit, so there is a chance. We'll see.

In sports, the boys in blue fell to the Yankees yesterday, twice. First game, 0 - 3. Second game, 0 - 2. That leaves the boys with a 4 - 10 overall record. My beloved Red Sox are at bat in the top of the 14th tied at 4 - 4 against that other team from Chicago. The Red Sox took a two run lead in the top of the 14th and now it is up to them to hold it. If they do, they will improve to 6 - 9 on the season. Its over! Red Sox win, although they are not faring much better than the boys in blue. As I noted earlier, the Tigers were snowed out on Tuesday night and yesterday they lost to the Indians 2 - 3. They are now in second place in their division, behind that other team form Chicago and just ahead of the Indians. The Caps dropped a close one to the Quad City River Cats 2 - 3. However, they still an overall winning record of 7 - 6.

Today, I have to help Mary wind the yarn for the finish of my Christmas afghan. Given the way that the winter is hanging on, I may still need it in June. I may play the girls again today, just as I did on Wednesday, While due to my scratchy throat, I couldn't sing well, I think that my playing was better. Less pain in my shoulder than in days and weeks past. Perhaps one is the result of the other.

Mary has some broth cooking in the slow cooker overnight. The house smells great. Neither of us had enough ambition to pour it off last night, but it wall wait. It is probably driving Sugar the Weather/Sous Dog crazy. Too bad that it is filled with onions, so she can't even have the leftovers. However, by the time that the slow cooker is done, there won't be anything left to the vegetables anyway.

Laundry is done. Our puzzle is still waiting. Mary picked up some new to us books from the library yesterday. I still have to finish the one I"m reading now. Given how it is going, I am not sure I want to. Too much blood and gore for me. If you are a fan of that type of fiction, fine. But I am not.