Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:50 a.m. in "The City."

I just finished reading a novel I started a few days ago, entitled The Travelers, by Chris Pavone. I'd read a review of the book in the N.Y. Times. It is/was an espionage thriller that had many twists, turns, and misdirections, some of which I picked up on and then lost. In short, a great read for someone like myself who loves these kind of books. I had to put it down for a short while to assist Mary with the indexing. My job as chief highlighter and editor necessitated that I maintain my focus. Mary says that I was obsessed, but that's how I prefer to read. The real world is just too scary.

The current temperature is 34°, but it feels like 23°. The NWS is forecasting hazardous driving conditions along with rain/wind for this morning. In addition, there is a possibility of thunder overnight. I know a certain Weather Dog who will not be happy. Today's high is expected to reach 42° with the rain continuing. However by Saturday, we'll reach 51° under cloudy skies. It will take until April to get any real signs of lasting spring.

Trainspotting was back on track yesterday, pardon the pun. Locomotives 2057 and 2019 were plying the tracks of this reality scale trainboard heading south at 10:28 a.m. It was good to see the familiar tandem back together again. In tow were a series of empty cars that included 17 plain CHCs, with one painted mostly blue. There were also five DBTCs, two DWTCs filled with HCl acid, two GTCs, and one lone BC.

Later in the afternoon, at 2:28 p.m., as I was awaiting my next editing task, the same pair of locomotives had reversed position and they were now heading north towing a more heavily laden set of cars that included: 12 fully loaded CHCs, five DBTCs, one GTC, and two DWTCs with HCl acid as their cargo.

I was reading the Grand Haven Tribune earlier, and I noted that the retired Dick Fox who used to wrote the Ship's Log column, has been replaced by a new writer. I don't recall his name, but he has a nice style.

Here is something worthy of note, Grand Haven, MI was named one of the top ten cities in the in which to retire. In fact, we are number eight out of ten. Also in the USA, are Concord, CA, Santa Fe, NM, and Louisville, KY. I don't know about the first two, but when Mary and I last passed through Louisville, the traffic was a killer. Our boardwalk, our beaches, access to healthcare, the Harbor Transit buses and the miles of bike paths were all factors that combined to make GH a great place to retire according to Conde Nast Traveler. Who knew?

Mary knocked it out of the park with her latest incarnation of roast beast. A combination of cooking time in her new Crockpot™ and the addition of mushroom powder to the recipe, made this one the best yet. She also made her latest batch of cottage tofu even better than the last.

We finished that previously mentioned index yesterday and sent it on its way. While Mary was doing the final touches, I was doing housework. There is something soothing about dusting and cleaning that makes you feel good when you are done, especially when you spread it out over several days.

Today, we have no specific plans. We do plan to get up late and then hang those pictures. If possible, I'll take the morning safari with STWD and pick up the newspaper. If the sidewalks look too foreboding, the intrepid one will be on her tether.

The sun will rise at 7:41 a.m. and set at 8:03 p.m. Ciao.