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

Yesterday was a busy day here on the PE. John finished the railings of the front porch and Mary and I gardened in the back-forty. I planted three new rose bushes, moved several other perennials, and watered all the new plantings. Mary assisted by mowing the vast lawns of the PE and designating the various planting sites for the roses and the transplantations.

Naturally, like all things related to the PE and other activities, the various tasks took longer than expected. That means that John's hopes for an end to the painting will wait until Tuesday and the gardening took longer than either Mary or myself had planned. Oh well, that's the "Way it is" as Walter Cronkite used to intone at the end of the CBS Evening News many years ago.

I was smart enough to wear my yak brace to avoid further stress on my yak. Mary was surprised, but I can learn. In another surprise for Mary, I went downstairs yesterday morning to feed the fur-children and ate a banana without being coaxed or prodded. Tastes evolve.

Mary got busy in the kitchen yesterday after gardening and after I washed what seemed like an endless supply of dirty dishes and utensils. She made a batch of vegan Reuben Burgers that incorporated numerous spices and steaming of the burgers for one hour. Unfortunately, the water boiled away and left stains in the large pressure cooker that we use for many cooking tasks. I spent about 20 minutes earlier this morning removing the majority of the stains with steel wool. There are still some marks, but they will not affect usage for other meals. In addition, I washed the various trays of the food dehydrator that she used to make another batch of tofu jerky with a very different marinade that is much better than the last attempt. By the by, the burgers taste superb. I also made another batch of my world famous Coleslaw. That awaits another meal.

Sports news yesterday was mixed. The Cubs lost another game to the Dodgers, this time by a score of 0 - 5. That loss dropped the Cubs back into 3rd place in the NL Central with a record of 25 - 23. The Cub's' bats have gone to sleep on the West Coast. Plus, their pitching has been sleep-walking too. The Cubs and the Dodgers play again today @ 4:10 p.m.

The Tigers woke up long enough to snatch a win from that other team from Chicago, 4 - 3. That win gives the Tigers an AL Central record of 23 - 26, still good enough for 3rd place. The Tigers play that other team again today @ 2:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox kept up their winning ways with a 6 - 0 win over the Mariners. That gives the Sox a 27 - 21 record in the AL East, but still only good enough for 2nd place. The Sox play the Mariners again today @ 1:35 p.m.

The Caps finally lost one, this time to the Dayton Dragons, 2 - 5. That loss still allows the Caps to remain in 1st place in the MWL East, one game ahead of the Dragons. Both teams play again tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

Speaking of sports, as Howard Cosell used to say many years ago, the Greatest Spectacle in Motor Racing is still scheduled for today @ 12:19 p.m. That assumes that the rains hold off and allow pole sitter Scott Dixon and the other 32 drivers to take to the track and try to avoid mistakes that lead to crashes and delays. I'll be in the media room to watch if everything goes as planned.

We have a current temperature of 58° to 62° depending on the source consulted. The NWS is forecasting a 60% chance for T-storms this morning. Otherwise, not much is on tap for today. More reading, more batch cooking for Mary and more walks with the fur-children. The sun will rise @ 6:10 a.m. and set @ 9:14 p.m. Ciao.