Good morning, or good evening, wherever you may be, It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City."

I wish I could say that I got up for a particular reason, but sometimes you just become awake and then you might as well get up and not disturb your spouse. In our case, Mary has a unique ability to wake up, do some small thing, and then fall right back to sleep. I envy her ability to do that, but alas, I have never been able to accomplish that feat.

We have a current temperature of 68° under clear skies as we fall to the overnight low of 62°. Along with today's forecast high of 84°, there is a 20% chance for additional showers. That was true yesterday and we actually got some much needed rain. The sun will rise today @ 6:53 a.m. and set tonight @ 8:42 p.m.

Today marks day two of the reopened South Pier at the mouth of the Grand River here in GH. The pier has been closed for two years for renovations to the concrete structure that had eroded over many years. Constriction progress was slowed by the weather and sometimes high waves of the Big Lake. Part of the reopening celebration was a a two hour picnic time on the pier. No food was provided, but the chance to picnic there was offered anyway. No, we didn't go and "enjoy" the crowds that always descend on the pier in tourist season. We'll wait until after Labor Day for that opportunity.

In addition, our famous "Catwalk" will be reinstalled sometime this fall after it too was removed, renovated, and readied for re-installation. That part of the project called for additional funding, raised through generous local donations. Our pier and catwalk are major tourist attractions, like the coal scuttle.

Ginger and I witnessed only the southbound run of the train as it traversed the RSTL layout yesterday @10:00 a.m.. I don't think there was a northbound run later in the day. We saw MMRR EMD GP 38-2 locomotives 2025 and 2019 towing 17 CHCs, three DBTCs, and one DWTC with a green anti-corrosive stripe around its mid-section. As Jimmy Buffett intoned in his song No Plane on Sunday, with regards to a trip to the Caribbean Islands he loves so dearly, "No plane on Sunday, maybe one come Monday." Actually, he was describing the U.S. bound plane running on "Island Time." At any rate, he noted that there would be, "No plane on Sunday. maybe one come Monday." So, I'll just add this YouTube™ selection of his song here. Hope you enjoy my brief sojourn down memory lane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzXvK9niw4

Baseball news yesterday was eerily similar to Thursday's results. Well actually, that is only partially true, as the Cubs, my beloved Red Sox, and the Caps all won their games, while the Tigers, as usual, lost theirs.

The 71 - 50, 1st place in the NL Central, Cubs, took a 4.5 game lead over the 2nd place Brewers, with a 1 - 0 victory over the 4th place, 61 - 62 Pirates. Cole Hamels didn't have his best "stuff", according to Cubs' manager Joe Maddon, but with the aid of a home-run off the bat of Kyle Schwarber and a record-tying seven double-plays, the Cubs netted the win. While the Cubs' record in the NL Central doesn't rival the record of my beloved Red Sox in the AL East, I'll take it. The Cubs and the Pirates square off again tonight @ 7:05 p.m. EDT.

Speaking of my beloved, 71 - 59, 1st place in the AL East Red Sox, they too have a commanding lead over the 2nd place Yankees in their division, following a 7 - 3 win over the 3rd place, 62 - 69, Tampa Bay Rays. As usual, Jackie Bradley Jr., was a human highlight reel. He contributed two RBIs, and a spectacular catch in center-field, a ball that was hit by the Rays Tommy Pham and which had a 74% chance of being a hit. Bradley made the not-routine catch, look routine as he robbed Pham, like he has done to so many others. The Sox came from behind to win the game. The Sox and the Rays play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. EDT.

The 50 - 73, 3rd place in the AL Central Tigers lost another game to the 2nd place, 58 - 63 Twins, 4 - 5. I'd like to say there was bright spot, but there wasn't. The Tigers and the Rays play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. Nuff said.

The MWL East, 4th place Caps, got a 5 - 0 win over the 2nd place, 73 - 51 Lansing Lug Nuts last night. The Caps are off to OH to play the Lake County Captains. tonight@ 7:00 p.m.

I was busy in the kitchen yesterday, both early in the morning and later in the morning/early afternoon too. In the early morning, I was able to save our lives by clearing out some "science experiments" that were in the refrigerator, which I often refer to as the "Ice Box." I often call it that because that's how my depression-era father used to refer to the one in our kitchen many years ago. At any rate, I discovered some things in there that had a label from January of 2017, or which had been put away for future use/consumption and then forgotten. I even tossed out a failed experiment that I made in trying to replicate HP Steak Sauce™. While I didn't get all of the "Ice Box" cleared, I made a nice dent.

Since I was done with my highlighting duties, I decided to make some vegan sausages and vegan Italian meatballs. If I do say so myself, and I often do, these are my best ones to date. I'm not sure why, but they turned out better than past incarnations. Maybe it is just experience. We had some of the sausages for dinner along with some home-made applesauce that I had made and frozen last fall. I now have room for more applesauce in the freezer.

Mary too was busy, indexing another of those indexes from HE double hockey sticks and later doing some of those famous indoor chores that I often reference. I was upstairs in the media-room, too tired from my day's activities to stay awake for long.

Today is the third Saturday of the month, so I am off to my Irish Jam Session at the Loutit District Library this afternoon @ 1:00 p.m. Mary will be cursing and continuing her efforts on that index from HE double hockey sticks while I am jamming. I'm certain that Ginger and STWD will keep her company. Ciao.