Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of 68° under clear skies. While the DTWS is showing precipitation on its digital display, the reality is that there are no showers in the Tri-Cities area. That means that the conditions are such that it could rain, but it isn't. The NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 87° under sunny skies for later today. There are no storms, T or otherwise, in their forecast until Friday @ 20% in the early morning hours. I guess that means that I'll be watering again today, sigh.

I did take the time to accomplish some watering and other assorted outdoor chores around the PE yesterday, so I have nothing outdoors on tap for today. I do have to assist in the final edit of the current index. Then the next one will be hitting my desk and my highlighting chores will begin anew.

We made it to Holland yesterday for my dental appointment and an abbreviated knitting session for Mary. I  had to work my way through the construction and farmer's market traffic to get to my appointment and then back to pick up Mary. All went well.

When we returned home, Mary prepared lunch of sandwiches made with what we've decided to call vegaloney served on slices of  the whole wheat bread that we picked up in a small store in Holland. Mary nuked some sweet potatoes that nicely accompanied the sandwiches.

I don't remember what happened to my afternoon, but like often happens, it got away from me. Dinner time soon rolled around and Mary tried a new recipe for something that we are calling smoky mushroom, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches, SML & T. The side was cottage tofu that was perfect, in fact, the vegaloney we had for lunch and the SML & T sandwiches we had for dinner were both great.

Sports news was mostly good, with my teams combining for a .750 record. The Cubs rallied late  in the bottom of the 9th to score the winning run on a wild pitch and stun the "Fish" from Florida. That win over the Marlins moves the Cubs to an N. L. Central record of 66 - 41. That's good enough for a 9.0 game lead over the Cardinals who also won, The Cubs are off today as they travel to the West Coast to play the Oakland As on Friday night @ 10:05 p.m. PDT.

The Tigers continue to surprise, as they have moved to an A. L. Central record of 59 - 48. However, that's still only good enough for 2nd place, as they are 2.0 games in back of the Indians who lost yesterday. There was some very good news, as the Tigers' beat that other team from Chicago by a score of 2 - 1. The Tigers are now just 2.0 games behind the Indians who lost yesterday, J. D. Martinez returned from the D. L. to come off the bench and hit a pinch-hit dinger for the Tigers. Those same teams play later today @ 1:10 p.m. CDT.

My beloved Red Sox are still struggling, as they lost to the Mariners in Seattle by a final score of 1 - 3. They are still solidly mired in 3rd place with an A. L. East record of 58 - 48. That finds them 3.0 games behind the Orioles who won. They play the Mariners again tonight @ 10:10 p.m. PDT time.

The Caps would have made Ernie Banks proud yesterday, as they won two, the suspended game by a score of 4 - 1, and the regularly scheduled game by a score of 3 - 2. In bath cases, the Caps defeated Mary's sentimental favorites, the Dayton Dragons. The Caps now sport a Midwest League East record of 19 - 18 and they are back in 3rd place. The Caps and the Dragons play again @ Fifth-Third Ballpark @ 7:00 p.m. tonight EDT.

I only have a report on the northbound run of the trains on the RSTL outside the WW. The regular cast of locomotives, #s 2057 & 2019, had the lead of two BCs, one heavily tagged with graffiti, 22 CHCs, one bent on the end, and six DBTCs, with two of those bringing up the rear. We were in Holland when the southbound run took place. The northbound run was fully loaded.

Today, I have that editing chore and the morning walk with STWD. That is about the extent of my ambition for today. The sun will rise @ 6:39 a.m. and set @ 9:01 p.m. as the days get continually shorter as fall approaches. The annual Coat Guard Festival and carnival continue through Saturday, culminating with the fireworks display. This year, the city council has passed a temporary ordinance that bans the use of personal fireworks and pyrotechnics on Coast Guard Saturday. We'll see how well that ordinance is followed. Ciao.