Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. Since I decided to update this blog, I'll also update the time of creation. It is just before 5:30 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of 19° in our fair city, and with only a slight wind blowing, it feels like 23°. per the readout of my DTWS and its partner, the FPMS. According to the NWS (National Weather Service), today's high will reach 26°, but the winds will pick up and the wind-chill will feel much colder. In addition, the NWS has also forecast snow-showers for later this a.m. In fact, I was just downstairs to give the fur-children a late night or was that an early morning visit to the back-forty, and it was beginning to snow. Oh well, that's Michigan for you.

Sadly, we won't be escaping to the sunnier climes of Florida this year, as I went to the yak doctor yesterday and got news that I expected to hear, but that I didn't want to hear. The steroid injection that I got for my yak pain is losing its effectiveness and I have to return to the doctor for another try next week. Also, unfortunately, this appears to be the norm. If I don't have any long-term success with the steroids, I have a few alternatives. Surgery, which is never a sure thing, more injections, or, some OTC pain medications and meditation that can change how you live with the pain. If upon further review, the doctor can state with some degree of certainty, that I can't do any further damage, I may just go the non-invasive routes.

Like the late and some say legendary Ohio State football coach, Woody Hayes said of throwing a forward pass, there are three possible outcomes when you put the ball into the air, and two of them are bad. In my case, my yak could get worse, it could stay the same, or it could get better. Plus, there are other factors that mitigate against this being a simple procedure which I won't go into but suffice it to say that I am 66 years old with degenerative arthritis in my spine and that is not a good place to be. I am not depressed, but I am disappointed about the news. I'll continue to meditate, do my prescribed exercises and get on with my life.

In better news, the MLB season begins in earnest in a mere 28 days as the pitchers and catchers for both my beloved Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers report to camp on February 13, 2018. Their position players report respectively on February 19 and February 18, 2018. The Cubs have changed their reporting dates to a TBA status as of now. Stay tuned to this space.

I was here to witness the southbound train run yesterday and I saw good old engine #2019 plying the rails of the RSTL heading south towing one CHC, three DBTCs, and one DWTC with a green non-corrosive stripe around its mid-section. By way of explanation, I use the term Dreaded Tank Car because of the checkered history of railroads and the all too common occurrence of derailments that cause damage to the environment and sometimes, death to humans. So, I live not in fear, but in amazement that there have been no derailments on the RSTL that passes just outside the boundaries of the PE (Palatial Estate).

I know for a fact, that just north of here, in Ferrysburg, MI, a derailment occurred about one year ago, and there was damage that closed a road for several days. No loss of life, a good thing, but the risk is always there.

Otherwise, I have to spend some time today undoing some things that I put into motion recently. I have to restart our trash service which I had placed on temporary seasonal stop since we hadn't planned to be here. I also have to arrange for someone to do the snow removal around the PE that I won't be doing this or any other future winter to give my yak all the rest it can get. My health is far more important than the money that we'd save by doing it ourselves. Mary has to deal with the place in Florida that we had planned to visit. We believe that that can be worked out, but it will take some doing.

Otherwise, more reading, more TV and it is time to take out my annual jigsaw puzzle and get to work after the sun rises @ 8:12 a.m. and before it sets @ 5:37 p.m. Plus, time for more meditation and more exercises. Ciao