Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:45 a.m, in "The City."

We have a current temperature outside the WW of somewhere between 59° & 60°. That follows a day that is best described as nearly perfect. For us, it was a great day for a walk to the pier that juts out into the "Big Lake" to see the waves crashing into the shore and the pier itself. There was a bright red flag warning about dangerous conditions due to rip currents that meant no swimming, but that didn't deter people from swimming anyway. But as you can see, the skies were azure blue and the lake was inviting. So.....

The next chance for precipitation is Tuesday @ 20% or Wednesday's T-storms @ 60%. That may mean that I'll have to water today, or at the latest, Monday morning. It will be a game time decision.

Speaking of game time decisions, I'll have to admit that Mary may, and I stress may, have been right. I should not have let my early season fever, that's "Cubs Fever", get the better of me. As a long suffering Cubs fan, I should know better. I should realize that in spite of Ron Santo's exclamation that, "This is the year!", that it may not be the year. I should, but I'm not ready to give up yet. Why should I? Just like those tomatoes that Mary nearly gave up on, there is always hope until the boys in blue pinstripes are mathematically eliminated. 

That being said, the Cubs fell big time yesterday to the surging 2nd place Pirates, 6 - 12 in a N. L. Central match up. The Cubs are now a mere 6.5 games ahead of the Pirates, with a record of  52 - 35 for the Cubs. That's only 17 games over .500. The Cubs had been many more games over.500 not so long ago. As of now, it looks like the Pirates are playing and the Cubs are sleepwalking. They have been doing that lately as they limp towards the All-Star break. 

I don't care what excuses Cubs' manager Joe Maddon offers, the Cubs are not a very good team right now. Their starting pitching has been woeful, only slightly better than their relief pitching. Their hitters are only hitting, sometimes. Those same teams play again today @1:35 p.m. Sigh. 

The Tigers fared better, as they eked out a win over the Blue Jays, 3 - 2 in an A. L. Central game. That gives the Tigers a record of 46 - 42, good enough for a solid hold on 2nd place, just 6.5 games in back of the Indians, who are starting to show the wear and tear of the torrid pace they had been on, much like the Cubs. Same teams this afternoon @ 1:07 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox have been on the roll like that the Cubs were on earlier this year. The Sox defeated the Rays, 4 - 1, to move to 48 - 38 in the A. L. East, 2.5 games in back of the Orioles, The Sox play the Rays again today @1:35 p.m.

The Caps also eked out a win over the Ft. Wayne TinCaps, 2 - 0. That moves the Caps up to 4th place in the Midwest League East with a record of 7 - 8, 4. 0 games behind the Lansing Lugnuts. Same teams today @ 1:00 p.m.

Otherwise the day was rather uneventful. We took the morning safari with STWD, and then walked to the library to pick up some books and make some copies of some recipes that Mary wants to try. We tried to get out without any additional books beyond the ones that Mary had on hold, but we didn't make it. She gained another cookbook and I gained a novel that looked interesting as I sat near the quick pick shelves  and waited for her to return. Oh well, the best laid plans etc. 

As I noted earlier, we walked to the pier to view the waves and along the way, we took a few pictures of a novel wedding in Central Park. The attendants included two dogs dressed in wedding regalia that matched that of the human attendants, complete with French cuffs and cuff-links for the male dog, and a bridesmaid dress for the female dog.. 

The bride looked beautiful too. 

As I noted earlier, although the day started out cloudy, by the early afternoon wedding time it was a perfect day for a wedding in the park, or a drive in a roadster. 

We stopped in at the favor watering hole for a quick libation that morphed into dinner and then we wandered the rest of the way home. I walked nearly six miles yesterday, and Mary even more, before I settled on the deck to listen to the oldies station and finish my latest novel. I liked the story, but I didn't like what has become a commonplace way for the author set up a sequel, changing the travel plans of the main characters on their way home.

Mary has to get to work on the index today. I am nearly done with my part, so I can take the day for myself. I think that STSD and I will get to that banana nut bread today. Mary got some new bananas yesterday, so the ones that are in the basket should be ready for banana nut bread. 

I also have to do more of my O/T homework again today. As of now, that consists of using a Silly Putty™ like substance into which 10 beads of varying sizes have been placed. I have to flatten out the putty, extract those beads, place them into the palm of my hand, and then finally place them into the storage cup for that putty, all using only my left hand. To give you an idea of what I have to do, I used to have my students crumple up a piece of paper with one hand. Not to difficult you say? Then came the hard part, unfolding that same paper with one hand. Easy if you have a fully functional thumb. 

The sun will rise today @ 6:15 a.m. and set @ 9:25 p.m. Ciao.