Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

Since we have to get up early today to walk STWD and to allow Mary to get to Holland for her knitting activity by 10:00 a.m., I am going to attempt to create a truncated blog. Only time will tell how well I do.

Sports news was interesting yesterday. The Cubs needed all of their innings in Washington, D.C. to win 4 - 3 over the Nats. That win ended the Nats winning streak and gave the Cubs a record of 44 - 19, which is 9.5 games ahead of the Cardinals and also gives the Cubs the best record in the major leagues and in the N. L. Central.

The Tigers dropped that other team from Chicago by a score of 11 - 8, as the Tigers' bats came to life. That gives the Tigers a record of 33 - 31 in the A.L. Central, 2.0 games behind the Indians, and 1.5 games ahead of that other team.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Orioles, 2 - 3 for a division record of 36 - 27. That moves them into 2nd place, 1.0 games behind the Orioles in the A.L. East.

The Caps fared better, as they beat the Ft. Wayne TinCaps 7 - 4. That gives the Caps a M.W. L. East record of 37 - 25, 1.0 games behind the division leading South Bend Cubs.

We didn't get up until late yesterday and then it was time for Mary to chat with her indexing colleagues. She had gotten up earlier to craft a new version of her vegan ham, which became a portion of our luncheon sandwiches. While she was chatting, I was one-handed cleaning. I think I did well, and collectively, we divided up things according to our preferred likes and abilities. STWD was waiting on her morning meal, which became an afternoon meal. Somewhere in there, the tree trimmers were clearing the electrical wires in the back of the PE of excessive foliage. They were careful to watch out for our new plantings, so all is good.

Finally, it was time for the afternoon safari with the intrepid one. Therein lies a tale. As we started down the sidewalk, the dog that lives across the street came charging across in front of two cars to attack Sugar, and I do mean attack. With teeth bared, growling and ready for conflict, the dog attacked Sugar. Mary pulled Sugar, and I kicked the dog to end the attack. For once, the question of why is there never a cop around when you need one, was answered.

A local GHDPS officer was just heading out from the DPS (Department of Public Safety) near the PE and saw the whole incident. He didn't talk to us, but the owner of the dog was issued a ticket for not having the dog on a leash, as required by local ordinance. Sadly, later in the evening, we saw that dog and two others in the yard across the street, all without leashes.

According to a February, 2015 article in the Chicago Tribune, science finally proved that, "You can't fix stupid." That's according to a study done by a professor at Cornell University, whose premise is based on interviews with thousands of people that seems to demonstrate that dumb people don't, or rather can't, tell they are stupid. I don't know what to add to that.

After the attack, all three of us had a case of increased pulse rate. In addition, Sugar was so excited, that the lady who brought Sugar's dog food couldn't even get past Sugar to deliver the food and get paid. Mary had to lock Sugar in the downstairs hide-e-hole while she wrote the check for payment. Finally, we made our way down the block to get on with our day.

We returned and walked to the library so that I could get two additional initials on my Beachcomber's Book Bingo card. one for non-fiction and one for mystery. We also picked up some additional books for my reading pleasure. Mary got some books too, one a cookbook of vegan casseroles that looks very promising.

Then we were off to the grocery and fabric stores in Spring Lake. Those stops were uneventful and ended with a stop at our favorite watering hole on the other side of the bridge. Dinner became bean tacos from the local purveyor of all good Mexican food things. That was after Mary went to the nearby yarn store, the Needlesmith™ for some knitting needles to take with her to the class in Holland today.

The current temperature is 69° per the NWS and the DTWS. 6:00 a.m. is supposed to see the start  of showers and possible T-storms with a 95% certainty. While I won't have to water, I think I'm safe in assuming that Mary hopes that the prediction for rain throughout the day is inaccurate for her drive. I'll be staying home, and STWD will likely be in her hide-e-hole and unwilling to go out if the forecast is accurate.

I guess I didn't succeed in a truncated version of this blog. Sigh.

The sun will rise at 6:04 a.m. and set at 9:26 p.m. Ciao.