Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

It sure is hard to face another long off-season for a Die-Hard Cubs Fan. Spring training is always the harbinger of spring for me, But until then, my need for baseball will have to be sated by trade news, free-agent signings, and a lot of, "Wait til next years." Sigh.

Naturally, I am going to be somewhat mollified by the success of my beloved Red Sox if they make it to and through the World-Series™, but there is no real solace until the Cubs and the beloved meet in the fall classic. Sigh again.

Theo Epstein has already started his post-season autopsy, by stating the obvious. The Cubs lacked that killer instinct last season. The Cubs players couldn't mount an offense. Maybe hitting-coach Chili Davis didn't emphasize the right things etc. All of that may be true, but in baseball, the ultimate prize will elude the Cubs for a second year in a row. Yes, Joe Maddon will be back to finish his five-year contract, but after that, who knows. Maybe a new philosophy is needed if the Cubs are not to fail for a third consecutive year. Maybe Yu Darvish will be back better than ever. Maybe closer Brandon Morrow won't be placed on the Injured Reserve List. Maybe, lots of maybes.

But enough about that. We had a great time at our book club yesterday. We gained some new members in our book club, had some great discussions and everyone enjoyed my chocolate-chip cookies. We finally got around to celebrating our 45th anniversary @ Don Luis with a dinner last night after our meeting. The food was excellent and we even had some leftovers.

We have a current temperature of 69° as we drop down to the overnight low of 55° before rebounding to today's high of 60°. We reached a temperature zenith yesterday of 83°! That allowed me to get in one more wearing of my summer uniform. Today, I may not give in to the cooler temperatures and wear my uniform one more time. 

There is a 60% chance of scattered T-storms today, so I got Ginger out around 2:00 a.m. for one final time. The sun will rise today @ 7:45 a.m. and set @ 7:20 p.m. Fall is here, a fall once again without Cubs baseball.

Today, we have nothing on the agenda. The fur-children have now had their monthly meds and they are sleeping soundly now. I am reading my latest novel and enjoying it immensely. All in all, it should be a great day. Ciao.