Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City."

Yesterday started early for us. The fur-children were restless and so I went downstairs to feed them and let them out. I returned upstairs, showered, and then went to work on another stir-fry in the kitchen. This version was much better than my last effort. Naturally, it is hard to cook for two and so we have a copious amount of leftovers. That's OK, because we are finally done with the Thanksgiving leftovers. However, Mary plans to dig into the refrigerator and decide what needs to be saved and what can be tossed to save our lives.

I'm always reminded of that old saw about leftovers. You feel good when you don't overeat, thus giving you leftovers. You feel good that you aren't throwing food away, thus being frugal. And, you feel good when you toss something out, thus saving yourself from food poisoning.

We got out yesterday to do some returns, one at the big-box home center. That turned out to be fortuitous, as the fur-children got to go along and walk the aisles of the store for a while and get some exercise and treats. We made our next stop at Cooks Kitchen and Pantry in downtown GH. We started out to buy a new funnel, but also ended up with some new measuring spoons and a small sieve. To both of us, going to a store that sells kitchen gadgets is the same as it used to be when I went to a tool store.

Our final stop for a return was the big-box nearly everything store. Since we didn't have a receipt, we ended up with a store credit. We tried to buy some new slippers for Mary, but ended up with some new toys for the fur-children. We got one for each of the girls, but STWD only enjoyed hers for a short time. Then, Ginger appropriated both toys as hers. As of now, one of the new toys has been nearly shredded and has joined many others in Ginger's toy stash under our bed. Mary tells me that Ginger is still working on one downstairs.

Our dinner last night was the last of those Thanksgiving leftovers with some of my homemade applesauce. After that, I journeyed to our media room where I watched the Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. Each time I watch, I see or hear things that I'd not noticed before. One thing is for certain, the characters are played as caricatures, so over the top, as they exaggerate the historically known traits of the people that the actors were portraying.

Today, I/we have no plans. We may be able to take to the sidewalks with the fur-children, but there is a possible fly in the ointment, so to speak.

The NWS has forecast a 100% chance for rain showers later today, with the percentage increasing to 50% around 11:00 a.m. and continuing well into the late evening hours up to 100%. Sadly, as I mentioned previously, the annual Jingle Bell Parade is scheduled to step off in downtown GH @ 6:00 p.m. followed by the tree lighting and the arrival of Santa Claus. A few years ago, we went downtown and viewed the parade and then as we walked through Central Park on the way home, it began to rain in earnest. The festivities were cut short that night. Tonight, the rain will already be happening, so....

Otherwise, we/I have no plans except to watch the Wildcats of Northwestern take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game. Mary has promised me a humongous bowl of popcorn for my viewing pleasure. I know where the fur-children will be at that time. The sun will rise today @ 7:56 a.m. ans eta later, before the parade steps off, @ 5:10 p.m. Ciao.