Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

Yesterday was a hot day here in the Tri-Cities area. The high-temperature rose into the upper 80s and the skies were clear and no precipitation was in the offing. In fact, the next best chance for rain is one week from today, and that's a maybe. We have a current temperature of 68° as we strive to reach the high for today of 83° under partly cloudy skies. The sun will rise today @ 7:36 a.m. and set exactly 12 hours later @ 7:36 p.m.

However, the sports news was surprisingly good. The Cubs upended the Brewers in Milwaukee, 5 - 0 in an NL Central contest to move to 5.5 games ahead of the Brewers and reduce the Cubs' magic number to two. That means that any combination of Cubs' wins and Brewers' losses that equal two means that the Cubs clinch the division. However, since both the Cubs and the Brewers are off until Tuesday, we'll have to wait.

On Tuesday, the Brewers will welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Miller Park @ 7:40 p.m., while the Cubs will travel to St. Loius to face the Cardinals @ 8:15 p.m. Currently, the Cardinals are six games in back of the Cubs with the Cubs sporting a record of 87 - 68.

My beloved Red Sox eked out another win over the Reds 5 - 4. to move to 91 - 64 in the AL East, five games ahead of the 2nd place Yankees. The Sox meet the Bluejays tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Tigers lost again, this time to the Twins, 4 - 10. The Tigers with a record of 62 - 94 are at the bottom of the AL Central in 5th place, 1.5 games behind that other team from Chicago. The Tigers play the Royals in Kansas City Tuesday night @ 8:15 p.m.

Here is a short report on the Bears game yesterday, they won, 23 - 17. They now have a record of 1 - 2 and play at Lambeau Field against the 2 - 1 Packers Thursday night @ 8:25 p.m.

Mary and I went to that aforementioned play yesterday afternoon in Muskegon. The venue was terrific and the play was very enjoyable. What's not to like about the songs of Sinatra?

Mary made French toast for breakfast and taco bake for dinner. Both were excellent. In the case of the taco bake, Mary actually followed the recipe and her results were very tasty. In between, we went to that play and I made that Colcannon soup that I had planned. It too turned out great, however, to accommodate our various allergies, I substituted vegan sour cream for the cashew cream called for in the recipe and the taste was fine. This is one of my keeper recipes.

Today, I have my semi-annual appointment with my internist when I will request that I be scheduled for a full set of blood tests and also get a general checkup. I am hoping that my still gimpy yak will get better. Right now, the pain is a day to day proposition. I don't like it. When I return, Mary will be going to her appointment to get a final report on her recent allergy tests.

Otherwise, not much is on tap for today. I'll be resting after my doctor's appointment and Mary will continue her cross stitching. Ciao.