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

The current temperature is 36° on both the NWS report and the DTWS. That temperature is under cloudy skies, and with a quick trip outdoors with GTWD and STWD, I can affirm that report. Later today, the high temperature is expected to reach 39° per the NWS with a 70% chance of precipitation, hopefully in the form of rain. Tomorrow we'll see a high of 37° with only a 20% chance of additional precipitation. Sunday looks about the same. However, Monday, Boxing Day, the high temperature is forecast to rise to a very unseasonal 47°. with a light rain and winds @ 27 mph.

By way of information, Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain and much of the former British Empire. The origins are somewhat murky, with some saying it was a day set aside for postmen and other servants and errand boys to receive a Christmas box. A Christmas box may have meant a gratuity from a donor. One source notes that it was the day that serving people or tradespeople were given a gift for having to work serving their "Masters" on Christmas Day. In other words, it is a holiday whose origins have been lost through time.

Our stop @ the podiatrist yesterday was uneventful. I'll see them in another three months. Lunch was everything we'd hoped for as the hospital salad bar had all of the good things yesterday. Romaine lettuce, chickpeas, fruit, beets, and fat-free dressing. What's not to like?

We were then off to the big-box everything store for some additional groceries and that stop was also uneventful. Given that the majority of people in the store were there in a frenzied effort to buy last-minute gifts for giving and groceries for holiday dinners, that was a surprise to us. Once again, what's not to like?

Returning to the weather, I spent about one hour yesterday after we returned from our errands clearing the snow cover from the driveway in front of the garage, off of the deck, and in front of the manse. I moved the larger piles to open spaces to make way for the additional snowfall that will inevitably come. I also cleared a place for the trash bin to sit as it awaits the trash pickup at the curb. How long that space will last in the face of the city plows is unknown.

Since I had an entire bunch of bananas to use, Mary suggested that I make two loaves of my world famous banana nut bread, one for freezing. With two baking pans, that was possible and it also allowed me to use my new hand mixer, which worked as I'd hoped. However, the latest flour sifter that we got not that long ago was consigned to the trash. I've ordered a new one that may or may not be better. I do know that the one we had gotten at an antique store and that I gave to the thrift store worked better.

I spent some time reading after my outdoor efforts and as I awaited the finish of my loaves. Then I just sat and vegged. Mary got us up and out for a trip to JWs around 3:45 p.m.

Today, I want to stay in until it is time for our chiropractor's appointment. One of us will have to walk the fur-children to the back forty for their outdoor activities. In spite of my efforts @ clearing the snow, the city sidewalks around the PE are still ice and snow covered so that will preclude any real walking with the fur-children. I am finally going to spend some quality time with the girls here in the music room. Mary is going to hit the sewing machine before she chats with her indexing colleagues.

The sun will rise @ 8:14 a.m. and set @ 5:14 p.m. Ciao.