Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in The City." However, even for most people of the US, it is probably closer to morning.

A not so quick commentary about recent sports results. The Cubs behind the solid pitching of Jake Arrieta and with the assistance of Albert Almora Jr. and his spectacular leaping catch in deep centerfield, robbed the Cardinals of a sure home run and gave the Cubs a "W". The Cubs now have a season record of 1 - 1 following their 2 - 1 victory over the Cardinals and they are in 1st place in the NL Central. Those same teams meet later today in St. Louis @ 1:45 p.m.

The Tigers were also victorious yesterday, finally getting to play their season opener against that other team from Chicago, which the Tigers won, 6 - 3. Those two teams play again today @ 2:10 p.m. The Tigers are now in 2nd place in the AL Central with a record of 1 - 0.

My beloved Red Sox defeated the Pirates in their opener @ Fenway by a final score of 5 - 3. That gives the Sox the lead in the AL East, also with a record of 1 - 0. The Sox have the day off and return to the field tomorrow against the Pirates @ 1:35 p.m.

The current weather conditions, according to the NWS, my DTWS and my personal observations, tell me that the current temperature is 34° and 38° respectively. I was outside with Ginger just after 4:00 a.m. and it is partly cloudy and cool. Later today, we are expecting a mix of rain and snow with a high temperature of 46° and windy conditions with winds as high as 25 mph! Ouch!

We made all of our appointments yesterday and then made a short stop @ JWs for a new taste treat sensation, beer battered portobello mushrooms. We both agreed that these should be a permanent part of the menu rather than a special.

I am nearly finished with the selection for our book club, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, which can't always be said about non-fiction tomes. In a side note, there is an exhibition of Curtis' photographs on now @ the M M A, that's the Muskegon Museum of Art. The pictures in the book are spectacular and so the full-size versions at the museum should be outstanding. We have journeyed to the museum many times over the last five years and they do a great job of staging in all seasons. We should be getting there next week.

The trains did pass through on the RSTL yesterday. I witnessed the southbound run of locomotives 2057 and 2019 as they towed 18 CHCs, two DWTCs, and six DBTCs. We were at the accountants when I heard the returning locomotives @ 2:10 p.m., but I did not actually see their passage.

Today, as previously mentioned, I have some baking to do before we walk to the book club meeting @ 3:00 p.m. That walk will be into the face of those 25 mph winds. I am probably going to keep it simple as I bake oatmeal raisin cookies. I may also bake a few chocolate chip cookies for my personal enjoyment. Mary prefers the oatmeal raisin cookies over the chocolate chip cookies.

Theoretically, John will be here today to begin the bathroom remodeling.

The sun will rise today @ 7:19 a.m. and set @ 8:16 p.m. Ciao.