Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a cool and comfortable current temperature outside the WW (Weather Window) of 56° under clear skies. Today's high has been forecast by the NWS (National Weather Service) to be 78°. If you are calculating, that's a spread of > than 30°.

Mary, STWD (Sugar the Weather Dog), and I arose @ 8:00 a.m. so that I could be sure that Mary's brother, Ed, was up and ready to travel to the ferry stop for his 10:15 departure. Sugar and I soloed for the morning safari in the cool, crisp, morning air and it was totally enjoyable. We took a different route that allowed Sugar's Beagle nose to track nearly every dog that had passed that way in recent days. Her Corgi half went along for the walk. Collectively, we had a great time.

Mary and I sojourned to Muskegon so that Ed could board the ferry. The "Big Lake" looked much calmer yesterday. We bid Ed adieu and then set out to visit some big-box stores. Our first stop was the big-box home center in Muskegon to pick up some items that I needed and to also take advantage of the rebate available. Our second stop was @ the big-box most everything store to get a few needed items. We got everything we wanted/needed, except for the item that had precipitated that stop in the first place, shoe laces.

We returned home and I did some outdoor chores that included harvesting the potato crop. I watered and trimmed the edges. I also pulled some weeds that were trying to encroach on the lawns and gardens of the PE (Palatial Estate). Mary was inside trying to sort through her kitchen and organize her desk. Good news. In the need to organize, she found where she had placed the second set of car keys for safety, keys being a euphemistic term since our new car doesn't actually have keys, She found them in what we call our travel drawer where we keep things for upcoming trips. I have to agree that that was logical, but only good if you recorded that fact in my "Where I put things" file that I keep on my computer's hard drive. The location is now recorded.

Since I had forgotten to get those shoelaces @ the big-box nearly everything store, once I had finished my chores, I set out to buy some @ our local shoe repair store. He had nearly every type and kind of shoelaces imaginable, except for what I needed, so I had to ride further to the local drug and everything else store to get them. With a bit of assistance from a staff member, I got several pairs to ensure that I'd have them when I needed them. In this case, they won't go to waste.

Lunch ensued when I returned. Since I had harvested the potatoes earlier and had slightly damaged some, Mary converted the damaged potatoes and a few others into potato salad. She also used some of the oldest bread, toasted to take advantage of the remaining roast beest and spicy tomato loaf that was in the refrigerator. Her original plan was to make one type of sandwich for me and one type for herself. In typical male fashion, I encouraged her to place some of each on both sandwiches.

Since I needed to make a copy of some documents for a reapplication at the Post, we set out towards the library and then to the Post to turn the papers into the appropriate party. While @the Post, we learned that the slower but historic lake ferry travels between Ludington, MI, and Manitowoc, WI, which is closer to the final destination, Elkhart Lake, WI, that we plan to travel to next summer. As we were enjoying our adult libations, Sally came in for a visit. She looked good, but she was tired from her thrice-weekly therapy that followed her lengthy hospitalization for her recent illness.

Yesterday's sports news was mixed. The Cubs clinched their division, the NL Central, while losing to the Brewers by a final score of 4 - 5. Fortunately for the Cubs, the 2nd place Cardinals lost to the Giants in San Francisco, so the Cubs clinched but didn't get to celebrate. Cubs' manager Joe Maddon came to spring training this year with a list of several plans for the year. First on his list was winning the division. Mission accomplished. This is the Cubs' first division championship since 2008.

Second on his list was a positive attitude, which the young cadre of players all exhibited. The Cubs play the Brewers again today @ 2:20 p.m. EDT. Soon it will be time for the second season to begin, the 1st round of the playoffs. With a 1st place finish in their division, the Cubs will get to play a series against the wild card winner and/or one of the other division winners. It is more involved than that, but it would take a long time to explain.

The Tigers lost another game to the Twins by a final score of 1 - 5. The Tigers still languish in 2nd place in the AL Central with a record of 84 - 62. They play the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians tonight @ 7:10 p.m. EDT. A win moves the Tigers to within five games of the Indians while a loss drops them to seven games back.

My beloved Red Sox were victorious over the Yankees by a final score of 7 - 5. The 1st place Sox lead the 2nd place Orioles and Blue Jays by 2.0 games. The Sox play the Yankees again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. EDT.

Today we have some final trip planning to do and then Mary will be chatting and we'll both be reading our backlog of books along with the Grand Haven Tribune, which we'll pick up on today's morning safari. I plan to spend some time restringing the girls and then playing for a while. I can't strengthen my thumb/wrist without more playtime. Then I'll get on to reading.

Today's weather forecast will lead to a 50% chance of p.m. showers after 6:00 p.m. That is the same forecast from the NWS for Bangor, MI, where we hope to travel for their annual Apple Festival on Saturday. Rain will instead send us to the GHFM (Grand Haven Farmer's Market) for a bushel of apples. We plan to use those apples in my morning cereal, in pies and to make applesauce for ourselves and Sugar's eating pleasure. Sugar likes applesauce with her morning yogurt.

The sun will rise today @ 7:26 a.m. and set @ 7:52 p.m. Ciao.