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

I was happily ensconced in bed for several hours, but when nature calls... Sugar decided for whatever the reason, that she wanted to go downstairs and maybe to go out. However, if I had been awake, I would have read my email from Mary and learned that STWD had been down twice before @ 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. So, she and her sister, Ginger, just wanted treats. Surprise!

I emptied the dishwasher while I was downstairs and when I came back to my office, I treated them from the stash I keep in my desk. Now Sugar is lying @ my feet. Go figure.

At any rate, the current temperature in GH is a sultry 67° under partly-cloudy skies. The sun will rise later this morning @ 6:09 a.m. and set later @ 9:28 p.m. In between, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 75° under mostly-cloudy skies accompanied by a 20% chance for rain. That is quite a change from their original forecast for severe weather coming across the "Big Lake" from the West.

Apparently, there was a big blow in the southwestern Chicago area, that put the NASCAR race @ Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL on hold for a while yesterday afternoon, That storm was supposed to move our way, but petered out over Lake Michigan. Once again, go figure.

Speaking of big blows, the 45 - 39, still 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, blew another road-game in Cincinnati, losing to the 38 - 43, 5th/last place Reds, 6 - 8. Yes, there were many miscues by the Cubs, such as; a missed catch by Kyle Schwarber that set the table for a Reds' 2-run home run by the Reds, a fan interference call that went against Anthony Rizzo, erasing a possible chance for additional runs, and a ground-out by Willson Contreras that he felt hit his foot, but which the umpires called a fair-ball and the ball was thrown to 1st for the final out.

All of that happened, but the truth is with the way that Jon Lester was pitching, the Cubs should have won the game. Lots of excuses, same old results. Good news, Kris Bryant was added to the All-Star team as a reserve, giving the Cubs three representatives. The Cubs are off to Pittsburgh for tonight's game against the 39 - 43, 4th place in the NL Central Pirates @ 7:05 p.m.

A quick question. How can the more more eastern located Pirates be in the Central division, while the more western located Atlanta Braves are in the Eastern division. Just asking.

My beloved, 44 - 40, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, lost once again to the 54 - 28, 1st place in the AL East Yankees, 8 - 12, in London, England. The Sox burned through pitchers like they were popcorn to no avail, hence the loss. The Sox are off today before they land in Toronto for a game against the 31 - 53, 4th place in the AL East Blue Jays, @ 7:07 p.m. Tuesday night. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez will be the All-Star representatives for the Sox.

The 27 - 52, 5th/last place in the AL Central Tigers, lost another game, this one to the 42 - 41, 3rd place in the NL East Washington Nationals, 1 - 2. The Tigers are mercifully off until Tuesday night, when they move on to face that other team from Chicago with their record in the AL Central of 39 - 42, good enough for 3rd place, @ 8:10 p.m. EDT. The Tigers have one All-
Star representative in closer Shane Greene.

The 25 - 53 overall, 4 - 5 in the 2nd half of the MWL East season West Michigan White Caps had their game against the 46 - 32 overall, 6 - 3 and 2nd place in the MWL East Lake County, OH Captains, postponed due to a power outage, The Caps and the Captains will finish that game tonight as part of a double-header. The regularly-scheduled game will begin @ 6:00 p.m. and the postponed game shortly after the 1st game is finished, I think.

I made more of my famous vegan Italian meatballs yesterday, and these are as good as my last batch, maybe better. We had some for dinner and I think that the addition of fresh basil, fresh parsley and soy-milk powder, coupled with smaller sized meatballs that browned up nicely, all contributed to my success.

Otherwise, we traveled to the north to get  some things at Target and the big-box arts and crafts store there. Once again, that store sent us more 60% off coupons, but in spite of appearances to the contrary, there is no news regarding an impending closure. How they can stay in business, offering big discounts all the time, is beyond me. We don't help, buying only one discounted item and then departing with our 60% discounted item(s) in hand.

Today, I plan to read more, paint more, sunshine permitting, and play some music before I may go to the library for a session entitled Grand Haven Art Meetup. The library calendar has the sessions commencing tomorrow night, while the email announcement from the library shows the 15th, so... I'll have to call or stop in. Ciao.