Good morning GH. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City." Our current temperature is 69° as we head down to the overnight low of 64°. Sugar the Weather Dog is asleep on the couch, so I know that the predicted disturbance in the force showing a 30% chance of showers is not imminent. On Sunday the chance of T-storms increases to 50%. I suspect that I"ll be out in the back forty watering the gardens of the palatial estate today, which gives a sense of how much faith I have in the forecast.

Today we have the carpet cleaning people coming shortly after 8:00 a.m. We waited out the road construction nearby, so the chance of additional dirt entering the estate is small from that source. The intrepid weather dog is still present, so we have vowed to vacuum twice a week. We'll see how long that lasts. Sugar will have to be kept in her downstairs hide-e-hole while the cleaning personnel are here. We'll also once again wash her couch cover as the steam cleaners will be cleaning "Sugar's" couch too.

Yesterday, we and the weather dog strolled to the cable office once again. The line was not as long, so I opted to stay while Mary and Sugar headed back home. I waited about 15 minutes total and was given everything that I needed to hook up the new box, everything other than instructions that I could understand.

My feeble old brain didn't realize that the new box had to be connected to the cable, previously connected to the TV itself. Plus the HDMI cable had to be connected from the only available port on the cable box to the "appropriate" port on the TV. I'm pretty certain that Steph and Adam will get a laugh out of that. Once I got that right, everything began to work. We now have one year of "free" box. I assume that at this point next year, the cost of the box rental will be added to our monthly bill. Cable is an expensive proposition.

Friday I was a cleaning machine. Once we got back from our morning constitutional,. Mary listened to the radio and whipped up a pasta salad that is definitely a keeper. I dusted everything in and out of sight, upstairs and down. Given the fact that I didn't want to getup and down, I stayed on my knees and crawled around on the upper floors. I followed with a thorough vacuuming. We felt that since the carpets were being steam cleaned, that this was the appropriate time. Mary followed up my vacuuming and dusting with a steam cleaning of the tile floors.

This morning, we have to get the balance of the estate ready to be cleaned. I already put the girls away,  so now it is various table top items both upstairs and down. I agree with Mary that if you don't want it broken or misplaced, we need to put it away. My guitars are too important to me to risk them. So books on the tables in the living room, radios and other items in the bedrooms, and some knitting items that Mary is working on or uses will have to be moved. I won't notice many things and Mary will remind me. A good division of duties.

In sports, the boys in blue defeated the Cardinals 7 - 6. My beloved Red Sox lost to the Rays, 4 - 6. The Tigers were outdone by the Angels 1 - 2, but they lead their division by six games. The Caps downed the Clinton, IA Lumber Kings 9 - 0.

No trains on a Friday night/Saturday morning. Mary sent me a message from her phone regarding those dreaded black tank cars, but I think she must have been referring to the movie she was watching.

The sun will rise at 6:15 a.m. and set at 9:12 p.m. As the day wears on, I plan to do very little other than the morning walk with Sugar, while Mary works with the carpet cleaning people. If I can time it right, I'll stay out on the town with Sugar while the cleaners are here. However, it may take them about two to three hours of work given the size of the estate. So Sugar may have to be confined for a short period. Ciao.