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

It is raining in "The City." That rain wasn't in the original forecast from the NWS. Now the rains are expected to be off and on through Thursday and may include T-storms. The high temperature today will be 57° after our overnight low of 43°. While Mary loves fall weather, I prefer the high temperatures that will be in the 60s and low 70s thereafter. The sun will rise today into mostly-cloudy skies @ 7:41 a.m. and set later @ 7:28 p.m. There is a concert later today @ the Lynn Sherwood Waterfront Stadium that Mary thinks we should attend. The current weather forecast means that she will be soloing.

We missed our appointment for the fur-children @ their doctor yesterday. We were so over getting up early, that we slept right through.. We've rescheduled for Monday.

Mary made a nice lunch of vegan tuna sandwiches with potato chips as a side before I made more of my famous Italian vegan meatballs. In there somewhere, she also made a quickie version of roast beest while I was out with STWD getting the newspaper. It looks and tastes great, just like my Italian meatballs.balls.

Once I was done and I had watched the MSU Spartans overcome an early deficit to defeat the Central Michigan Chippewas 31 - 21 and after Mary had walked Ginger, we headed out to that big-box nearly everything store for groceries. While we generally dread that experience, this time it went well and we were in and out in about 40 minutes. Then it was on to Stan's Bar and Grill in Spring Lake for the first half of the Michigan Wolverines game against the Northwestern Wildcats.

The Wildcats gave Jim Harbaugh's squad all they could handle, but the Wolverines prevailed over the Wildcats, 20 - 17. I am betting that the lackluster performance by the Wolverines drops them in the rankings for the BCS.

Good news for NIU Hussies fans. The Huskies eked out a win over the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 26 - 23. to remain atop the MAC 10 standings.

Sadly, the news in baseball was not good. The Tigers lost to the Brewers, 5 - 6, while the Cubs fell to the Cardinals, 1 - 2. That means that the Cubs and the Brewers are statistically tied for 1st in the NL Central. If the Cubs win and the Brewers lose today, the Cubs are the division champions. However, if things turn out different, then there will be a one-game playoff @ Wrigley Field on Monday. I want/need the Tigers to beat the Brewers today starting @ 3:30 p.m. But I also want/need the Cubs to beat the Cardinals today starting @ 2:20 p.m. My beloved Red Sox fell to the Yankees yesterday, 5 - 8 as those two teams prepare for the final regular season game today @ 3:05 p.m.

The Bears are atop the NFC North as they await the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today in Soldiers Field @ 1:00p.m. The Lions are in 4th in the NFC North as they visit the Dallas Cowboys today, also @ 1:00 p.m.

We plan to stay in bed this morning, once I get there. I fell asleep in my La-Z-Boy last night, so I am not really tired right now. Whatever pro-football game is available in our viewing area I'll watch in between following the Cubs and the Brewers. Mary will do that voodoo that she do so well. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

I know that some of my loyal readers were concerned that my blogging has been erratic of late. While I can't promise that I'll be an everyday blogger in the future, I hope to be a bit more consistent, especially since we are in the midst of the MLB™ playoffs and my second favorite sport, college football. Don't get me wrong, I like pro-football too, but for yours truly, there is still something more pure about the college game, at least for now. That may change with all of the recruiting scandals, coaching moves, and money.

Speaking of the MLB™ playoffs, my beloved 107 - 63, 1st place in the AL East Red Sox have already clinched their division. Sadly, they fell to those damn Yankees last night, 6 - 11. That was in spite of a grand-slam home-run off the bat of Steve Pearce. The Yankees are still in the Wild Card hunt, so they have a lot to play for, while the Sox are trying to conserve pitchers for the playoffs. The Sox and the Yankees play again today @ 1:05 p.m.

The 94 - 66, 1st place by one-game over the 2nd place, 93 - 67 Brewers in the NL Central, used a home-run by Kris Bryant, and some solid pitching by starting and winning pitcher, Kyle Hendricks, to defeat the Cardinals yesterday afternoon, 8 - 4. The Cubs have yet to clinch their division and their Magic Number is two, i.e., any combination of Cubs wins and Brewers losses that total 2 will give the Cubs the division title.

The Brewers have been hot lately, so it may get down to the final games on Sunday to determine the winner of the division. Or, it could happen today @ 1:05 p.m. EDT when the Cubs and the Cardinals meet at the "Friendly Confines" as Cole Hamels takes the hill for the Cubs, while the 93 - 67 Brewers take the field against the hapless, 64 - 96 Tigers @ 6:10 p.m. Like I've often noted, the Tigers are still a professional team, so anything can happen.

Speaking of the Tigers, they fell to those aforementioned Brewers last night, 5 - 6. It took two Ryan Braun home-runs for the Brewers, to seal the deal. However, the Tigers are still trying to win, so....

On to my second favorite fall sport, college football. The Spartans of MSU literally tee it up against the Chippewas of Central MI, today @ noon. The Spartans are tied with the Wolverines of Michigan atop the Big 10 East.

A perfect segue to the Wolverines, who also play today @ 4:30 p.m., as they host the Wildcats of Northwestern @ 4:30 p.m. The Wolverines have the chance to prove themselves a contender, while the Wildcats can be a spoiler.

The Huskies of NIU, who sit atop the MAC 10 West, host the Eastern Michigan Eagles tonight in DeKalb, IL @ 6:00 p.m.

It was a tad chilly yesterday as the high temperature never got out of the 50s. That occasioned the first chance to wear the long-sleeved T-shirts that Stephany got us during last winter's NCAA basketball playoffs, as the "Big School" Loyola Ramblers went to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1963! Their improbable run ended in defeat, but the Ramblers, who represent Mary's Alma Mater, gave it everything they had, as they tried to "Win One for the Nun", Sister Jean of Loyola. While the Ramblers came up short, they proved that with grit and determination, anything is possible. So, for Stephany, here is that requested pic of us in those T-shirts.

Mary is pointing to Sister Helen Prejean in the vestibule of JWs as we had our pic taken by one of the staff from JWs.

Sister Helen is a tireless, 79 YO advocate for the abolition of the death-penalty, a belief shared by Mary and me. Sister Helen will be speaking here in GH on October 27, @ 7:00 p.m. regarding Humanity for  Prisoners.

Speaking of humanity, we have been following the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings for the potential confirmation of the next Supreme Court Justice. The current nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, was nominated by the POTUS, Trump. Judge Kavanaugh is a polarizing figure who is a strong opponent of women's rights with regard to their health issues, including a woman's right to choose, i.e., abortion. Mary feels very-strongly about those women's health issues. And, stemming from an incident in her own past, brought back into her consciousness by allegations of the sexual misdeeds of Kavanaugh, she had a visceral reaction to him.

But let me lighten things up just a bit. While we were out the other day, we stopped off at Ace Hardware™ in Spring Lake so that I could get some items to organize the various cords and cables that have been displaced by our now-completed carpet re-installation. I was allowed to go into a hardware store without a chaperone, while Mary stayed in the car to listen to to those aforementioned Senate hearings. However, while she awaited my return, she noticed that there was a Monarch Butterfly atop some goldenrod in the parkway outside the store. So, she quickly changed to her trusty macro lens and snapped a great pic or three of that butterfly before he/she departed for Mexico.

I think that this is the best.

But this one is very good too,

But, so too is this one.

So, the decision is yours my loyal readers.

We have a current temperature of 52° as we head towards today's also chilly high temperature of 56° under partly-cloudy skies. There is no rain in the forecast from the NWS until Monday with a 40% chance for showers in the morning. As of now, the NWS is forecasting a 90% chance for T-storms on Tuesday. STWD will not be happy. She hasn't been happy for the past week as her world has literally been turned upside down by the great carpeting caper. Thankfully, the very professional installer is now done and we can all get some meaningful sleep-time.

Since we got our indoor chores done yesterday, today we'd like to sleep in for the morning and then do some vegan cooking that we've wanted to do. After walk with the fur-children, I plan to read more of my book, maybe tidy up those cables and cords, watch some baseball and football, and just relax. Mary wants her kitchen back and the fur-children just want whatever passes for normal around the PE. The sun will rise today @ 7:40 a.m. and set later @ 7:29 p.m. Ciao.

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

Yes my loyal readers, it has been a few days since my last blog. Gee, that sounds like part of the opening that my Catholic friends used to recite when they entered a confessional. Oh well, I have no need for penance. As the writer and editor of my blog, I can do/say whatever I want without fear of retribution nor need for an "Our Father nor Hail Mary.".

It was a great day yesterday. I got my few remaining hairs cut and then we boarded Ginger and set out for a ride to find some apples to make applesauce for a recipe that I plan to make. Sadly, our first destination had no apples, but that's okay. On the way home, we stopped @ the Embassy Bar & Grill, and had some of their onion straws. We'll get thos apples soon. Then we made it to Ace Hardware™ for some cable clamps and twist ties to organize the cords for my computer and our cable modem and router.

Why is that a pressing need now? Well, we are nearing the completion of the installation of the replacement carpeting throughout the manse and so some things that I had planned to get to for months or perhaps years now, seem like a more pressing need. Like our old neighbor, Marshall, I find that in retirement things do get done, albeit on a one at a time schedule.

Naturally, the house being in an uproar is upsetting to STWD. She went through this process less than one-year ago. However, the defective carpeting had to be replaced, so this is it, make no mistake about it.

Yesterday, the 93 - 66 Cubs moved their magic number to 3, with a 3 - 0 shutout of the visiting Pirates. The Cubs are just a scant 1/2 game ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central. Jon Lester won his 18th and David Bote stroked a two-RBI triple en route to the win. The Cubs and the Cardinals meet today in the Friendly Confines @ 2:20 p.m. EDT.

My beloved, 107 - 52 Red Sox had yesterday off before meeting the Yankees tonight in Fenway Park @ 7:10 p.m. The 2nd place Yankees are 10 games behind the Sox in the AL East.

Sadly, the Tigers fell hard once again to the Twins, 3 - 9. The Tigers record of 64 - 95 assured them of a seat on the couch for the playoffs again this year.

Today, the carpeting should be finished, the manse should be returning to normal, and all should be right in the world of STWD, unless you count the 60% chance for showers this afternoon. We also have a Beach Hazard Statement issued by the NWS until at later this evening. Rip-currents and high-waves from as far south as South Haven to as far north as Manistee are expected. Looks like another year where I don't make it into the "Big Lake." Sigh. We also have a current temperature of 62° as we drop towards today's high temperature of 59°. That's about 6° cooler than yesterday!

The sun will rise this morning @ 7:38 a.m. and set less than 12 hours later @ 7:33 p.m. Fall is indeed upon us.

I am working my way thorough another large-print novel and I'll hopefully get to another crossword puzzle after our morning walk with the fur-children. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

I was awakened by Ginger around 3:00 a.m. and she asked to go out which took my down to the bowels of the manse and then the great outdoors. I learned that the NWS forecast of  a 53° current temperature was accurate under mostly clear skies in which can be seen our own moon and several of the planets in our solar system. The NWS is also using scientific data to forecast that the sun will rise today @ 7:34 a.m. and set later @ 7:38 p.m. In between, that forecast calls for partly-cloudy skies and a high of 74°.

While I was downstairs, I discovered that one of the cabinet hinges needs to be replaced due to a noise problem that is more annoying than anything else. In other words, when I/we get time and inclination. In addition, I cleaned up the dishes and the stove from earlier kitchen activities and also from Mary's fine dinner of spaghetti and my famous vegan Italian balls. She did have one "failure." Her garlic bread that she had carefully planned for dinner, stayed in the oven about one-minute too long and it became charcoal bread. Oh well, the balance of dinner was superb.

Speaking of those vegan Italian balls, Mary had requested that I make them now that I am feeling better. Like I always seem to say, this was my best effort to date. In addition, I also made some of my famous vegan sausages, They look great, but I haven't tasted them yet. However, in the process, I succeeded in making them larger than ever before. Go figure.

Part of my clean-up efforts was the final washing of the steamer I used to make the sausages. I had left it for about eight hours soaking in vinegar to descale the heating element. That worked well and so now all the parts are drying and ready to be put away.

We had journeyed out yesterday afternoon to see the kite-boarding competition at the Grand Haven City Beach, but we were too late. So we ended our day @ Stan's in Spring Lake to watch Tiger Woods win his first tournament since 2013 and also watch the Bears defeat the AZ Cardinals, 16 - 14 to go to a record of 2 - 1. Stan's had a Sunday Funday going on that included a barbecue of non-vegan foods and a DJ, that was surprisingly OK. We made it home with Mary's prized baguette, the one that became charcoal instead of garlic bread.

Dinner ensued and then I traveled upstairs to watch my beloved Red Sox lose to the Indians, 3 - 4 and also to watch a great thing, the 1 - 2 Lions win their first game of the season, 26 - 10 over the visiting 1 - 2 Patriots. A good evening was had by yours truly. Oh, the Tigers final home game of the season was a loss to the Royals, 2 - 3.

Today, we have a visit to the dentist and also the carpet installer will be coming to get started on the installation of our replacement carpeting. The claim is that he can move all the furniture by himself and get the job done in four days. We shall see. I am most worried about "The Girls" in my office and also the larger pieces of furniture.

Otherwise, not much is happening. I am reading a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1973 for our history book club and the story is fascinating. Mary is doing something, but I forget what right now.

I have an aside to add. I was looking at various business signs around GH and also at some TV commercials that tout the fact that a particular business was established in 2008, etc. Wow, 10 years! I guess every business has to have a starting date, but I don't know whether a company's claim that they have been, "Doing business for 25 years!", is a great thing. Perhaps it is my own perspective of 67 years. I dunno. Ciao.

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

Wow, I had a busy day yesterday, as did Mary. With her assistance, I accomplished a lot of indoor chores. While she was out at the Equinox Expedition taking pictures yesterday afternoon, I got some reading done and finished my chores. More on Mary's expedition later.

It was great day in sports. Well great, if you aren't a NIU Huskies fan nor Red Sox fan. Plus, I got the chance to see pro-golfer, tiger Woods, play some of the bst golf he has played in years, as he leads the Fed Ex Cup™ by three strokes heading into the final round today.

The 1 - 0 in the Big 10, Spartans of MSU, dispatched the 0 - 1 in the Big 10, Hoosiers of Indiana, 35 - 21. The Spartans play next Saturday @ Central MI.

Not to be overshadowed, the also 1 - 0 in the Big 10, Wolverines of Michigan, demolished the 0 - 1 in the Big 10 Cornhuskers of Nebraska, 56 - 10. The score was deceptive, as the Huskers were never in the game. The Wolverines meet the 1 - 0 in the Big 10 Wildcats of Northwestern next Saturday @ 4:30 p.m.

Sadly, the 1 - 0 in the MAC 10 conference NIU Huskies, were soundly defeated by the 2 - 2 overall Seminoles of Florida State yesterday, 19 - 37. The Huskies travel to meet the 2 - 2 overall Eastern Michigan Eagles next Saturday @ 6:00 p.m.

Baseball news was mostly good. Unfortunately, my beloved, 105 - 50, 1st in the AL East Red Sox, were defeated by the 86 - 68, 1st place in the AL Central Indians, 4 - 5 in 11 innings. The Sox have to wait until tonight to win a franchise record 106th game @ 7:05 p.m. against those same Indians.

The 90 - 64, 1st by 2 1/2 games over the 2nd place Brewers in the NL Central Cubs, had to work hard to win over that hapless other team from Chicago, with a final score of 8 - 3. That means the Cubs now have a Magic Number" of 6 games to clinch their division. A magic number in baseball is any combination of Cubs wins and Brewers losses that totals 6.

MVP candidate Javier Baez, playing shortstop in place of Addison Russell, got his 34th home-run on the first pitch he saw, driving in Ben Zobrist for an early lead and recording his 110th RBI. Starting and winning pitcher Jon Lester did not have his best "Stuff", but with the assistance of a relief squad, also somewhat decimated by injury, Lester got his 17th win, which ties him with Max Scherzer of the Nats. The Cubs and that other team finish out their series today @ 1:10 p.m.

The 63 - 92 in the AL Central Tigers, eked out another win over the equally hopeless, 53 - 103 in the AL Central Royals, 5 - 4. The Tigers close out their home season today against the Royals @ 1:10 p.m.

The 0 - 2 Detroit Lions are home tonight to face the 1 - 1 NE Patriots @ 8:20 p.m. The Patriots may get the win to move to 2 - 1, or the Lions may get win over the Patriots to move to 1 - 2.

The 1 - 1 Bears meet the 0 - 2 Arizona Cardinals today in AZ @ 4:25 p.m. What will happen? Who knows!

Back to Mary's activities yesterday. She made what I like to think was her best Tater Tots™, mushroom and tofu casserole yesterday for our brunch. She didn't think it was her best effort. I guess I'll have to disagree. Then after she assisted with my chores, she was off to Hemlock Crossing County Park for that aforementioned Equinox Expedition. She took numerous pictures, I'll include some random shots, and then went to the grocery store. She came by to pick me up for a run to Stan's Bar and Grill in Spring Lake before we returned home to a dinner of left-overs.

At the risk of being over the top, she had the leftover lasagna, while I had the leftover Tater Tot™ casserole. It was just as good the second time. She did acquiesce to my way of doing things, reheating and serving both in their storage bowls. She calls this a male way of doing tings, I just call it expeditious.

I promised that I'd share some of her pix, so here goes in no order whatsoever.

I especially liked this pic.

Knobs on a tree.

Kayakers enjoying a fine fall day.

Preying Mantis's, I think.

Once again, I somehow managed to near the end of my blog and was nearly unable to close it in the way I know how. Like all things blog, it is operator error. But, with a little help from the blogger forums, I was able to resolve my issues.

We have a current temperature of 48° under clear skies. Mary pointed out that there are many planets visible in the early morning sky, including Mars, Venus, Jupiter and out own moon. Ginger and I briefly enjoyed the view around 3:00 a.m.

Today, football, golf, baseball, and reading are on tap for us. I need to rebuild my stamina that has waned due to my recent, nearly over illness, so we'll be taking an extended walk with the fur-children. I am about 95% over my virus. I've found that when you get to a certain age, these things aren't as easy to overcome as they were in your youth.

The sun will rise in a few hours @ 7:33 a.m. as the sunny skies allow us to reach today's high of 70° Later tonight, the sun will set @ 7:40 p.m. Hopefully, the sun will not also be setting on the Lions' season too. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City."

We have a current temperature of 55° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high will be about seven degrees cooler that yesterday as we reach a sunny high of 65°. The sun will rise today, the first official day of Mary's favorite season, fall, @ 7:32 a.m. and set later @ 7:42 p.m. No precipitation is in the forecast from the NWS until Tuesday.

Ginger and I saw 1/2 of of a train run yesterday, as we espied MMRR locomotives 2025 and 2019 heading south @ 10:15 a.m. towing 18 CHCs. We did not see a northbound run, so we anticipate that that will occur sometime Monday.

Sports news yesterday was fascinating, as my beloved Red Sox tied a team record with 105 wins in their 7 - 5 defeat of the Indians. The Sox and the Indians take the field in Cleveland tonight @ 7:10 p.m .

The Cubs are still struggling to score runs, as they lost to that other team from Chicago, 4 - 10. That other team all too often has the Cubs' number. The Cubs take the field behind Jon Lester  tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Tigers still look bad, as the fell to the Royals 3 - 4. The Tigers and the Royals play again tonight, also @ 7:10p.m.

The Spartans of MSU play against the Hoosiers of Indiana tonight @ 7:30 p.m.

The Wolverines of Michigan play at noon today in "The Big House" against the Cornhuskers of Nebraska.

The Huskies of NIU play this afternoon in Florida against the Seminoles @ 3:30 p.m.

I was asleep in my La-Z-Boy while Mary was out yesterday afternoon, when I awoke and decided to come up here to my office. I had been hearing popping sounds from outside and when I looked out the WW, I saw one of the trucks from the GHDPS parked across the street along with a patrol car, also from the GHDPS. The fireman and the police officer were speaking to my neighbor about the house next-door to hers.

 
Turns out from my observations, that the high winds of yesterday were causing a tree branch to come in contact with a power line behind the houses, which produced that popping sound. Linemen from the GHBLP arrived and cut away the offending tree branch, solving the problem.

Also in this pic, is the banner from our front porch that I had to retrieve after the high-winds dislodged it from our pole.

Here are the lineman as they venture into the backyard of the house with the problem.

Since I was out on the front porch of the manse, I decided it was a great time to take additional pix of various subjects. No particular order, rhyme, nor reason.

The lone rose on one of our front bushes, taken with our regular 14 - 42 mm lens.

Same rose, different angle

I think I captured thar rose in a whimsical way.

Once I espied this bane of Mary's existence, a Brown Recluse Spider, that had spun its web nest to that rose bush, well, I had to do a very non vegan-like thing and kill it dead. The choice came down to the spider or Mary's health. Sorry.

Speaking of health, I am still not 100%. My latest illness turned out to be a virus, not a bacterial infection. So no antibiotics can fix me, only time can do that. Mary wants to go to Hemlock Crossing for a presentation entitled Equinox Expedition! from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. I wanted to go, but at this point in time, I don't have the necessary stamina. Soon, I hope. In lieu of that expedition, I'll stay home and read my book for our History Book Club. All of that will occur later in the day due to our ability to sleep in. Ciao.

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

I'm gong to depart from my regular format of sports scores, weather and the like, to muse on some things that have been on my mind of late.

For too many people, the American Dream has remained elusive and in all too many cases, it has been snatched from their hands just as it seemed that their dream had a chance to reach fruition.

As a society, we are either fast losing the American Dream, or we never had it in our grasp at all. As you will recall from my previous blogs, Mary and I had the opportunity to go to Road America and view the cars and races that represent a portion of the my Dream that was never even available to too many, regardless of their personal desires.

Mary and I have individual "Bucket Lists", you know those things that you want to accomplish before your time comes. In some cases, our lists are like Venn Diagrams, there is some overlap between the two. But for many items, there is no overlap whatsoever. For example, Mary indulges me when it comes to something that should be anathema to her, automobile racing and allows me to feed my needs. I indulge her need to do crafty things and decorate the house, more tastefully I might add that I could ever do. But I guess what I am saying, is that there are things that we have to recognize that will remain elusive to us in spite of our best intentions.

Another example is that I really wanted to see that concert last night, something that Mary can take or leave, but which I like because of my personal love for music of most genres. No matter what, I still don't like opera, but I have a new found appreciation for the music of Bob Dylan. Alas, my up and down health status made attending that concert impossible.

If I'm sounding maudlin, I don't mean to. I just believe that there is a better way to approach life, a way that can appreciate all of the facets and all of the possibilities open to some members of our society, albeit not yet open to all.

So, rather than belabor my points, let me add that until you have walked a mile in another man's moccasins, you can't fully appreciate what you have.

Just a few random thoughts on life ar 4:00 a.m. Ciao..

Well, I was not able to close out my previous blog in the usual fashion, so I''ll just continue this one @ just before 7:00 a.m. in "The City."

I was outside yesterday and noticed that we had more toadstools growing in our parkway garden. I asked Mary to grab the camera and take some pix, which I'll include here.

Since I can't decide which pic of the toadstools I like the most, I'll include several.

Plus, a couple of shots of a bee on our Sedums.

And last but not least, of the "All Gone" pizza pan from the dinner that I asked Mary to make before she ran some errands without me in tow. This was my first real meal of solid food in several days.

I think I am finally done. I am still not feeling 100%, so our plans to go to a concert @ Seven Steps Up tonight are in a state of flux. My mind is willing, but my flesh is weak. I hope to do as little as possible today and spend as much time as possible resting and doing nothing. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City."

It is raining, however, the thunder that was forecast ti accompany the rain did not seem to materialize. As an aside, the change in pressure still drove STWD to her hide-e-hole. This morning, the NWS is forecasting the T-Storms to last until around 7:00 a.m., and then be scattered throughout the day. The sun will rise into the mostly-cloudy skies @ 7:30 this morning and set later @ 7:45 p.m. Plus, today's high temperature of 82° is forecast to be 10° higher than yesterday. By the weekend, we'll see temperatures fall back into the 70s and the skies will be sunny once again.

Speaking of the intrepid Weather Dog, I was downstairs in my La-Z-Boy reading and watching TV news last evening, when Sugar arrived and jumped into my lap, pushing Ginger aside. Sugar made herself and me comfortable, just like the good old days. I can confess, that I was moved by her need for lap time and I got a bit misty. Back when I was hospitalized in both 2010 and 2011, I missed our lap time. Before then, we used to fall asleep in a similar chair and that was fine with both of us.

I still remember when I was released from my first extended hospitalization in 2010. Mary had to sequester Sugar in the bedroom until I got situated in my chair. Once Mary released Sugar, I believe that like Michael Jordan, Sugar proved that dogs can fly, as she took a leap across the living room starting at the kitchen, and executed a perfect landing in my lap to welcome me home. She is my baby and that will never change.

While I was still hospitalized, in 2011, Mary arranged for Sugar to visit me and Sugar made herself at home in my lap in the wheelchair that I was using. She was very reluctant to leave me when it was time to go. The Beatles intoned that you, "Can't buy me love." But I know for certain that you can adopt love in Huntley, IL. I was smitten the first day that Sugar and I met, and nothing has changed in the last 10 years.

But in my own maudlin way, I once again digress. I'll keep the sports report simple. All of my teams lost by lopsided scores. The less said about that, the better.

Ginger and  I did some trainspotting yesterday as we observed MMRR locomotives 2019 and 2025 @ 8:55 a.m. heading south, towing 15 CHCs, one DBTC, and one DWTC with a green anti-corrosive stripe, all empty. Later, @ 12:27 p.m., those same locomotives were espied heading north towing 10 CHCs, three DWTCs, and one GTC. All of those cars were loaded.

Moving on to the promised pictures from our trip to Road America, I'll finish the pix and descriptions now and then move on to some pix from yesterday's photo-sessions here at the manse and on the PE. The manse and PE pix will probably wait until a future blog.

I don't have a particular order for the pix from Road America, but it doesn't really matter until our arrival in Muskegon aboard the Lake Express High Speed Catamaran.

Cars like this homage to the Mustang from the movie, Bullet, were set to depart,

as was this mid-60s Ford,

and this 1960s Corvette,

along with this 1920s era Bentley,

and dozens of vintage cars.

They were all lined up to go on a recreation of the races as they were run on the roads near Elkhart Lake, before the track was built in Plymouth in the mid-1950s

They traveled to Elkhart Lake for a show and tell.

I landed on the bench outside the Brown Baer.

We had a few adult beverages and then walked back to our Airbnb.

We arose the next morning and traveled to Milwaukee for our ferry ride back to Michigan aboard the Lake Express. Both Mary and I took some pictures of the ship arriving, during our trip across the "Big :Lake", and finally as we headed into the dock in Muskegon.

We came prepared with hammish sandwiches on homemade rye and a novel.

A rare shot of my lovely bride of 45 years.

We departed the Port pf Milwaukee at high speed.

And we knew we had arrived on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan when we were  greeted by many small craft,

the lighthouse at the end of the channel,

the dunes of the harbor,

and people waving to us as we arrived.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 6:30 p.m. in "The City."

Yes, I know, I am either early or late, depending on your perspective. However, since it has actually been a few days since my last blog, I'll keep this one short on prose and long on pictures. That will also aid me in not taxing my limited energy reserves as I picked up a virus or bacterial infection over the weekend and so I was barely able to make it to bed Sunday night. I am just now beginning to feel better.

We have a current temperature of 67° under cloudy skies. In fact, when I had the fur-children out for their pre-dinner sojourns, it was trying to rain. There is a chance for scattered T-storms this evening and an 80% chance for additional T-storms tomorrow morning. The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:29 a.m. and set later @ 7:47 p.m

Meanwhile, I'll mention that the Bears defeated the Seahawks last night 24 - 17.

The Cubs used home-runs by Javier Baez and Kris Bryant to seal the fine pitching performance of Kylie Hendricks who got 8 Ks as the Cubs defeated the D'Backs, 5 - 1. The Cubs now lead the Brewers in the NL Central by 2 1/2 games as they head into tonight's game in AZ @ 9:40 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox eked out another win over the Mets, 4 - 3. The Sox have already clinched their division as they travel to the Big Apple to face the 2nd place Yankees tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

The Tigers are still playing out the string as they lost to the Twins last night, 1 - 6. The Twins and the Tigers square off again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

Now on to the most important events of the past several days. Mary and I traveled to Road America in Plymouth, WI, Friday, even thought they list Road America as being in Elkhart Lake, WI, where we stayed for two night in what was a marvelous Airbnb. It was a cozy unit on the second floor of a building on Rhine Street, the main street in town. We arrived mid-afternoon at the track and picked up our golf cart and toured the grounds of Road America. We watched a few races and then headed for our temporary home. I confess that the trip was tough on me as the virus/bacterial infection was taking its toll.

A nice view over the patio of our rental.

Inside, the kitchen was spacious and well equipped.

Not surprisingly, we set up our base camp in what we like to think of as our regular location.

A nice companion shared the falling chestnuts with our site.

Careful timing, and I got theses great shots of cars as they sped towards turn #1.

The Sargento Bridge is a fan favorite

Even in the high-speed back straight, I was able to capture some great pix.

A car at full speed was no match for me as it passed under the aforementioned Sargento Bridge.

I liked it!

We were atop the hill near Canada Corner, awaiting the pace car and the participants in the first race we witnessed.

Behind the fence from our regular vantage point, I caught these two cars barreling into turn # 1.

I have a lot more pix, but I'm growing weary and there is always tomorrow. When next I blog, I'll show more cars and the ferry we took on our way home. The ferry takes 2 1/2 hours to cross the "Big Lake", but compared to the multiple hours spent in the snarled traffic of Chicago and Illinois, it was a pleasure trip. Ciao.

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

We have a current temperature of 60° under partly-cloudy skies. Later this morning, the sun will rise @ 7:23 a.m. and set later @ 7:56 p.m. IN between, the high is forecast to reach 77°

We had a busy day yesterday. I finished two loaves of rye bread that turned out superb. It took two days of rise time and several stirring/mixing sessions, followed by about one-and one-half hours of time in the oven. I have renewed respect for the bakers of the world.

Mary made her famous hammish and also gave me a hand with my vegan jerky. In both cases, they turned out wunderbar. I just returned from the kitchen where I cleaned up the various appliances and utensils that we used in our activities. I find that I like the time in the kitchen in these early morning hours. There is a lyric in a Michael McCloud song, Peace and Quiet, that sums it up nicely, as Michael intones words to the effect of "I ain't bothering no one and there ain't no one bothering me."

Naturally, I had to include a live performance from 2009 on YouTube™ by Michael at the Schooner Wharf Bar and Grill, in Key West, FL.You're welcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9shfbv7uVs

Otherwise, Mary got the forms filed out for the fur-children to be boarded and also did most of the packing. My task was to get everything I wanted to take set out for her to pack, neatly. We also did some indoor chores in preparation.

Somewhere during the day, we collectively read the manual for our camera and figured out how to get it set to take the pictures I want to take at Road America.

Dinner last night was hammish sandwiches on my fresh rye bread with a sweet potato.

Otherwise I was and am a bit under the weather, but I will muddle through.

The Cubs took ten innings in D.C. last night to pull a rabbit out of their collective hats, and defeated the Nationals 4 - 3. Javier Baez is on a tear and should be the NL MVP. The Cubs returned to Chicago after the game so that they can play the Reds tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox used the same score as the Cubs to defeat the Blue Jays last night. The Sox welcome the Mets to Fenway tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Tigers are in Cleveland tonight to play the Indians @ 7:10 p.m.

We'll be walking the fur-children early today and then dropping them off for boarding. Then its on the road again to Elkhart Lake, WI. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

I am going to deliberately keep this one short.

We have a current temperature of 57° before the sun rises @ 7:22 a.m. That's long before it sets @ 7:58 p.m. Yes my friends, the days are getting shorter. However, today's high of 75° under partly-cloudy skies should be pleasant before the weekend arrives with high temperatures in the low 80s. After all that rain we had last week, there is very little in the forecast for several days.

We walked to the veterinarian's office yesterday to pick up some papers needed to board the fur-children. This is Ginger's first kennel experience since we adopted her nearly two years ago. Sugar is an old pro.

While we were out, I took some pix that caught my eye, pix that incorporated shadows and lines, natural and man-made elements. I'll share them now.

Yesterday was not a good day for the Cubs, as they fell to a slim one-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central, following a 1 - 5 loss to those same Brewers. The Cubs are supposed to fly to D.C. today for a make-up game, but I believe that Hurricane Florence will change those plans. If that happens, the Cubs welcome the Reds to Wrigley @ 7:05 p.m. Friday night.

My beloved Red Sox eked out their 100th win, with a 1 - 0 defeat of the Blue Jays last night. The Sox and the Jays close our their series tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Alas, the rebuilding Tigers fell to the Astros yesterday, 4 - 5. The Tigers will be in Cleveland to play out the string against the Indians Friday night beginning @ 7:10 p.m.

Otherwise, we have several things that need to get done today. I have to finish baking the rye bread I started yesterday, Mary has to make a Hammish, and we have to fill out the forms for the boarding of the fur-children. In addition, the fur-children still need their daily walks and we need to do some packing. I guess that my actually sleeping in this morning was a good thing, Ciao.