Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

It is probably time for a reminder that that opening line owes its derivation to two sources. The first part is borrowed from Coast to Coast AM and its host, George Noory. The second part, "The City" is borrowed from the old TV series, Dragnet, which opened with star Jack Webb intoning, "This is The City, Los Angeles, CA. The other acronyms I use have been developed over time.

Oops, I was hoping to be brief this morning. Oh well, I'll endeavor to do that in the following lines.

I have 3/5 of a trainspotting. I heard the morning run as the train headed south, passing through GH on the RSTL @ about 10:25 a.m. However, I was otherwise occupied, so I can only report what I know. The northbound run occurred @ 2:17 p.m., with the regular cast of locomotives, #s 2057 & 2019 in the lead of a relatively short line of cars. Those were: one BC with a lot of graffiti and five DBTCs with one of those at the end. To borrow once again, "That's All Folks!" Lovingly borrowed from the folks @ Looney Tunes™ and the famous Porky Pig.

Mostly I didn't do much yesterday. We took the morning safari with STWD. She was still predicting that the storms would soon be coming, and she was right, as the skies opened up around 1:30 p.m. The rain lasted 20 - 30 minutes and then it was over. A light sprinkle happened later in the afternoon, but that wasn't enough to do anything but get noticed as Mary and I returned from an afternoon trip to the bank.

I got up and played with Susanna, my ganjo, for about 45 minutes yesterday morning, A ganjo is a banjo with six strings that is tuned like a guitar, hence, the name ganjo. It felt good to be able to play without the pain I used to feel in my thumb.

I also spent some time in the man-cave, but that was mostly because I could. I'm still waiting for the glazing to skin over on the lid to the cold frame before I can apply paint, but that's about 10 days in the future. I guess I can say that this actually is watching paint dry. Mary had gone off to the grocery store, so I was left to my own devices.

I hate to say it, but I don't really remember lunch. Dinner was open-faced tacos made with vegan tuna substitute, lettuce, garden fresh tomatoes and more of the Mary made pico de gallo. That was both memorable and delicious.

Today I have an appointment @ the eye doctor. I have been experiencing vision problems that are giving me headaches, so I expect that my prescription needs to be updated. Plus, my old frames are getting tired.

Sports news yesterday was mixed. The Cubs continued their winning ways on their West Coast road trip as they swept the Padres with a 6 - 3 victory. Ben Zobrist and Wilson Contreras hit home runs in support of Kyle Hendricks. It looks as though Contreras has arrived as the Cubs catcher. That gives the Cubs an NL Central record of 81 - 45. The team is off  today before beginning a series with the Dodgers tomorrow night @ 10:10 p.m.

The Tigers were also victorious over the Twins with a solid 9 - 4 win. Miggy, Miguel Cabrera, and J-Up, Justin Upton, both hit home runs in this AL Central matchup. Pitcher Anibal Sanchez looked like he had found his old form once again. The Tigers play the Twins today @ 1:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Rays in Tampa Bay 3 - 4. They are still tied with the Blue Jays for 1st place in the AL East with identical records of 71 - 55. However, with the Orioles win over the Washington Nationals, the Sox' division lead is down to one game. The Sox play the Rays again today @ 1:10 p.m.

We have a current temperature of 74° under mostly clear skies. Today's high is forecast by the NWS to be 78 humid degrees under partly cloudy skies. No rain is anticipated.

Otherwise, not much to do today. Mary has some work to do for a recent insurance claim and we still have to get our upcoming trips planned.

The sun will rise today @ 7:02 a.m. and set @ 8:30 a.m. Ciao.