Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City."

Not much to be said about the weather except, WOW! Mary suggested for this blog that I simply say, "We did some stuff and then the skies opened up" or words to that effect. I can definitively state that we had another gully-washer tonight.

The winds blew, the lighting flashed, and the thunder roared. All of that, coupled with the misguided efforts of some pyromaniacs with leftover 4th of July aerial bombs, were too much for STWD. She repaired to her hide-e-hole for the duration, which could be sometime tomorrow afternoon if the forecast from the NWS is accurate. Of course, they didn't predict what happened tonight either, so...

We have a current temperature of 73° with rain. The people in the Grand Haven State Park must have gotten quite a show. My view out the WW (Weather Window) was as close as I wanted to get to the storm. Tomorrow's weather forecast calls for more T-storms in the morning and rain continuing throughout the day. At least I won't have to water for a few days. The sun will rise @ 7:11 a.m. and set later @ 8:15 p.m.

We did get out for a short walk with the fur-children yesterday, but the high humidity made for less than ideal walking conditions. Mary had planned to walk to the waterfront with Ginger, but those plans melted with the humidity. We did go to the big-box home center for a few things, but after a quick stop @ Stan's in Spring Lake, we too are in for the duration. We have no desire to brave the traffic heading home after the Labor Day holiday. Mary may take the back way to the grocery store, but that is about it.

I got so excited about the weather, that I nearly forgot to mention the fabulous brunch that Mary made yesterday. I contributed by slicing the tofu just right for the "Takon" vegan bacon that Mary made for our vegan BLTs. She made the marinade and after 20 minutes of oven time with one side up and the other down, She came up with an innovative way to flip all the slices over at the same time for the next 20 minutes. I can't really describe that method, but it worked great!

Sports news yesterday was 3/4 good. Well, maybe a bit better, since the 55 - 82 in the AL Central Tigers, pounded the 86 - 51, 2nd in the AL East Yankees, 11 - 7. What was that I said about any Major League™ team being able to defeat any other team on any given day? The Tigers are in Chicago to play that other team tomorrow @ 2:10 p.m. EDT.

That Tigers' win offset the loss by my beloved, 94 - 44, 1st place in the AL East Red Sox, who were themselves pummeled by that other team from Chicago. 0 - 8. I know that the Sox are going to finish well ahead of the other teams in the AL, but a few more wins would look good en route. The Sox are on their way to Atlanta to play the 1st place in the NL East, 76 - 60 Braves tomorrow @ 1:05 p.m.

The 81 - 55, 1st place by five games over the 2nd place Brewers Cubs, were still on the East Coast yesterday to play the 72 - 74, 2nd place in the NL East Phillies, whom they defeated handily, 8 - 1. Jon Lester was in good form, recording 7 Ks over six scoreless innings of work. Javier Baez added more weight to his chances for the NL MVP honors by getting his 30th home run and his 100th RBI! Anthony Rizzo and Daniel Murphy also got home runs. The Cubs travel nearer to home as they go to Milwaukee to meet the 2nd place Brewers tomorrow @ 2:10 p.m. EDT.

The Caps avoided missing the MWL playoffs by defeating the Tin Caps yesterday, 2 - 1. The Cap's playoff hopes hinge on the outcome of today's game against the TinCaps @ 2:00 p.m.

Today looks like a typical day in retirement. We may get to walk the fur-children, weather permitting. Mary may go to the grocery store, and I will read. Mary has promised to finish critiquing my unfinished novel in the next couple of days. She also plans to use up some of the leftovers in the refrigerator. One problem with being just two for most meals is the amount of leftovers generated. Ciao.

“How many Minnesota boys spilled their guts and blood on that same