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

The current temperature is 29° under snowy skies with windy conditions. Today's high is forecast to reach 32° under skies that will be snowy until mid afternoon.and windy most of the day  The sun will rise today @ 8:16 a.m. and set later @ 5:19 p.m.

There will be a Gale Warning in effect today until 7:00 a.m. Those Gale Force Winds will be blowing @ 35 to 40 knots and producing waves as high as 12 feet from Holland to Manistee. Those same strong winds will cause hazardous waves which has necessitated a River Flood Warning from now until 7:00 p.m. Sunday!

There will also be a  Lakeshore Flood Advisory in effect for the "Big Lake", also until 7:00 a.m. Minor beach erosion and lakeshore flooding are expected for Mason, Oceana, Muskegon and Ottawa counties. Parking lots and roads along the immediate lakeshore will experience minor flooding.

The NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 7:00 p.m. tonight. Drivers are warned to add extra time to the morning commute and to expect poor visibility throughout the day and early evening.

Finally, there is also a Flood Advisory in effect until 12:45 p.m. today. Flooding caused by recent heavy rains has already overflowed into low lying areas in most of the communities along the shores of the "Big Lake."

Well, that's five advisories or warnings. Not necessarily unusual, but the effects of Climate Change are becoming very evident throughout our part of the world.

I watched around 4:00 a.m. as the crews from our very own Grand Haven Dept. of Public Works plowed in the end of our shared driveway. The street in front of the Palatial Estate is now very passable, unfortunately, our shared driveway is not. Fortunately, our neighbor appears to have taken off a few days from work for the holidays, so once our own snow-removal service comes by later today, we should be good to go.

We had homemade pizza for lunch yesterday with Mary's hand-tossed dough and my vegan Italian sausage coupled with pineapple. It was delicious. Dinner was mostaccioli ala Mary with the balance of my own vegan Italian meatballs. That too was delicious.

Yesterday we got our errands run and that will allow us to stay indoors today. We have some indoor chores to do, but that is mostly wash, dry, watch, and fold.

No walk for the fur-children today. They may have four-paw drive, but we don't and neither of us bounces nor heals as well as we used to.

Mary is making slow progress on my apron and it should be finished sometime in January. I hope to spend some time in the man-cave and do more reading today. I am currently reading a novel by James Patterson and Brendan Dubois entitled The First Lady. So far, I like it. As both Mary and I have often said, if we can't get into a story by 10 to 15 pages, we won't waste our time.

Tonight, is the annual dropping of the ball at Washington and and Harbor Drive at 12:00 a.m. When we were younger, New Year's Eve was a big deal. But now, not so much. We'll wait for coverage and pix by the Grand Haven Tribune.

So, that looks like enough for one day. I'll add some pix of the snowfall once the sun rises this morning. I hope to be able to get the pix before snow removal and after. But if I don't... Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 44° under rainy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 54° under skies that will be rainy this morning, giving way to cloudy skies this afternoon. The sun will rise today @ 8:16 a.m. and set later @ 5:17 p.m.


There is currently a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 4:00 p.m. today. Why that advisory has not been extended through tomorrow is a mystery to me, as we will have a Gale Warning in effect from 7:00 a.m. tomorrow until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. South winds of 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 40 knots and waves from 6 to11 feet are expected from Holland to Manistee. Strong winds will cause hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility. Winds and waves will peak Monday morning into Tuesday afternoon. Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course, and/or secure the vessel for severe conditions.


There will also be another Lakeshore Flood Advisory in effect for the "Big Lake" from 7:00 a.m. tomorrow until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. Minor erosion of beaches and sand dunes are also expected due to those southwest winds gusting to 40 knots that will generate those aforementioned 6 to 11 foot waves.

Since it is going to be very ugly weather-wise for several days, I began the removal of our outdoor Christmas decorations. I hated to see them go, but they will return next year in a bigger and better incarnation.  

We walked the fur-children once the skies had cleared early yesterday afternoon. Since the rainy conditions will continue through Tuesday, that was a stroke of fortune.

We ran an errand to Holland for me yesterday afternoon. I got those LED shop lights that I "needed" for my man-cave from that big-box importer of all things tool related. Then we meandered our way home, with at least a 10 minute delay for what had to be a train composed of every hopper car in the tri-state area. We had seen this same train as we drove down to Holland and it was still slowly moving through Holland 30 minutes later. We had decided to take the back way towards home and we got caught in the ensuing traffic jam. Oh well, we had all day to get there and so we just listened to the radio.

As we neared home, we stopped @ Kirk Park, one of the parks in the Ottawa County Park System, and that allowed our Senior Staff Photographer to take some pix with her Olympus TG-6 "Tough" weatherproof camera. I hadn't brought my camera, because when we left home the day was overcast and not well suited to my kind of camera nor pix. However, Mary captured some nice shots of the "Big Lake" and the eroding beach area @ Kirk Park. I'll add those below. Remember, any that catch your eye can be easily enlarged by clicking on the pic.

Sadly, the Freshwater Dunes are being badly eroded by the high water levels of Lake Michigan, so this stairs was closed to the pubic.

Apparently, the Freshwater Dunes of Lake Michigan are a unique feature here in West Michigan.

In spite of signs beseeching people to stay off of the dunes, footprints from inconsiderate people were everywhere.

Sigh!

All dunes take many decades or centuries to form, but the inconsiderate actions of a few people, who apparently can't read, are making them less than enjoyable for future generations

We had a great time just watching the lake and taking pix, but by the late afternoon the weather had changed and the winds had picked up making for less than ideal hiking. Back in our warm car, we headed for our favorite watering hole and then home where I went upstairs to watch the remainder of the football game between the Tigers of LSU and the Sooners of Oklahoma. The Tigers routed the Sooners, 63 - 28! 

Let's just say that the Heisman Trophy Winner for 2019, Joe Burrow of LSU, demonstrated why he won that prestigious award, throwing for 29 completions and 493 yards and scoring eight touchdowns! He may or may not be a great NFL QB, but he definitely has the potential.

I slept for a while and then came around to watch a much closer game between the Buckeyes of Ohio State and another Tigers team, this one from Clemson. It was neck and neck, until the Tigers scored late in the game and defeated the Buckeyes, 29 - 23. 

Today should be a bit more quiet as we stay out of the weather and do some reading. I'd like to paint, but the lack of sunlight in my studio will make that much more difficult.Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just after 6:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 37° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 38°, nearly 15° cooler than yesterday, with mostly-cloudy skies in the morning and sunny-skies in the afternoon. We still expect to see temperatures in the 40s and lower 50s for several more days, with a 90% chance for rain on Sunday. The sun will rise today @ 8:15 a.m. and set later @ 5:16 p.m.

Well, I promised an update on yesterday and now it can all be revealed. I went to the hospital yesterday for some "minor" surgery. It has been 55 or 56 years since the object pictured below came into my life. It finally had became a regular pain, so I had Dr. Richard Baszler of Grand Haven Bone and Joint and Orthopedic Associates of Muskegon perform the necessary surgery for its removal. Dr. Baszler worked with the highly professional staff and nurses of North Ottawa Community Hospital to facilitate my treatment. I spent more time waiting than I did in the OR.

By the by, Dr. Baszler and his associates are my go to orthopedic specialists here in West Michigan. All of my "repairs" have been done by these fine people.

This picture was taken with the able assistance of our Senior Staff Photographer and her Smart Phone. This pellet had not seen the light of day since about 1963 or so.

This 22 caliber pellet had taken up residence in my left-forearm, courtesy of a long-ago friend of my older brother. That "friend" had erroneously believed that the gun that he placed near my arm was unloaded. You know what they say about unloaded guns? At any rate, he had pumped up the gun to show us how powerful it was.

A long time ago, a general practitioner in Illinois had tried to remove this pellet with no success. According to Dr. Baszler, the pellet was not just below the skin, but between the skin, bone, and muscle, making its removal a bit difficult for the rudimentary tools available in the backroom of a general practitioner. At any rate, we plan to make it a regular feature of our annual Christmas tree ornaments.

I was released from the hospital and being as I had fasted we segued to "The Bell" for lunch and then to the grocery store, after which we searched in vain for a car wash that wasn't crowded. Instead, we found ourselves in the back country of Grand Haven, where I took some additional pictures, after which we tool a walk and picture taking session with the fur-children.

We finally headed home for some rest and a fine dinner of lasagna later in the evening. Since Mary had no commercially-made sauce for the lasagna, she did her usual augmentation of tomato sauce, using what I believe were as many spices as she could from her cabinet. I know I was very hungry, but I liked this incarnation the best.

At any rate, here are some of the pix I took after my release.

As we started our walkabout I took this shot of  the GHBLP power plant which will be mothballed forever.

As of yesterday, the only snowman in town belonged to our neighbor.

I just like the way this shot drew my attention down, or is it up, the tracks.

At the Coastal Zone Marina, this boat was tied up at the pier.

Rough and ready?

Looking west, towards home.

Today, we need to do some indoor chores, read more, and maybe paint. I tried playing with the girls last night, but my arm isn't quite ready for that. According to Dr. Baszler, I don't have any restrictions on the use of my arm, just whatever I can tolerate. How prescient can a doctor get?

Later, we'll finish the errands that my waning energy curtailed yesterday. I think that Mary's energy had waned too, as we both got up earlier than expected to accommodate the pre-surgery arrival time that was supposed to be @ 1:00 p.m., but which got moved up to 10:00 a.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 49/51° under clear skies. Today's high is forecast to reach that aforementioned 49°, also under clear skies with winds of 15 - 20 knots and gusts possible to 25 knots! So, in spite of the balmy temperatures yesterday and today, those winds will mean that yet another Small Craft Advisory will be in effect from 8:00 a.m. today until 9:00 p.m. tonight. Waves will be building to 3 to 4 feet. Those winds and waves are expected to produce hazardous conditions to small craft. Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.

The sun will rise today @ 8:15 a.m. and set later @ 5:15 p.m. on what is Boxing Day in parts of what used to be the United Kingdom. There are competing theories espoused for the origins of the term Boxing Day, none of which is definitive. One gives the earliest attestations from Britain in the 1830s, defining it as "The first weekday after Christmas day, observed as a holiday on which postmen, errand boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas box." In any case, the day is still officially and unofficially observed in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, and many other countries and territories that were part of the British Empire.

We had a remarkably unremarkable day yesterday. We don't celebrate Christmas Day with presents any longer as we have everything we need, but we do enjoy a vegan Christmas Dinner with all of the trimmings.

Of course, to drag out that phrase from the old Shake and Bake commercials, I helped!" A perfect place to insert a link to that long-forgotten commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhUTboHTrO4

Of course, there have been updates to that commercial, but I believe that this one was the definitive version.

Since we are now vegans, none of the references to chickens are apropos, but with the assistance of our Senior Staff Photographer and her trusty Smart Phone Camera, I do have some pix of our repast, as well as our choice for a holiday movie, Love Actually, which we watched during the  consumption of that meal,

As I've noted many times, you can't replace Ocean Spray™ jellied cranberry sauce.

I had a small role in the preparation of the Herbed Scalloped Potatoes and the Hammish, and a big role in the consumption.

Proof, that we watched Love Actually.

Today should be relatively routine. We'll be dropping Ginger at daycare before making our appointed rounds. STWD will be staying home and enjoying her time on the bed.

Tomorrow, we will run more errands and then kick-back to read and relax. I don't have to take down our outdoor Christmas decorations until next week, when I'll take advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures. According to the 10-day forecast from the NWS, New Years Day will have a high temperature of 40° with only a slight chance for precipitation. Or, I may do that as soon as Saturday. We shall see. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 36° under partly-cloudy skies that are forecast by the NWS to possibly become leaden with dense fog this morning. Today's high is forecast to reach 44° under mostly-cloudy skies. We still expect to see temperatures in the lower 40s for several more days, including today, Christmas Day. In fact, the current forecast calls for a high of 50° on Sunday, but with a 90% chance for rain. The rain is likely, that 50° is highly suspect.

The sun will rise today @ 8:15 a.m. and set later @ 5:14 p.m.

Yesterday was another one of those days that are part and parcel to being retired, but family and friends are never far from your heart. Mary, my love and best friend is here, while Adam and Steph may be miles away, but close in our hearts. Of course, our fur-children, STWD and Ginger, are here too, so I have everything that I want this year.

I was thinking earlier, back when I was a wee lad, Christmas was spent wanting and waiting for presents from Santa Claus, such as the one pictured here. My brothers and I received a similar battery-operated "Ray Gun" one year, but don't ask me what year.

I think the ones we received looked much like this one.

Another year, as a "Stocking Stuffer", we received a small wind-up car similar to the one pictured below, made by Shuco, a company founded in Germany in 1912!

Today, these are available from sites like eBay at what is a much higher cost.

I don't remember what year, but we all received a battery-operated Santa Claus similar to the one shown here. Naturally, not all of us thought they might someday have value. I believe that my "Little Brother", Randy, still has his.

I could go on and on, but the important thing to remember is that the real meaning of Christmas is not about what you get or give, it's about the memories that you make and keep. There is no price tag on those. Each of us carries with us memories that are priceless and which no one can buy, sell, lose, or take away.

Here at the manse, we have endeavored each year to add to our storehouse of memories and each year, I believe that we have been more successful than the last, if the "ornaments" on our tree are any indication.

Today, we will continue to add to our memories as Mary and I, well mostly Mary, slave in a hot kitchen making more of our own old family vegan recipes. I hope she also serves my long-remembered favorite, Ocean Spray™ canned jellied cranberry sauce. I fondly remember that Mary worked very hard one year to make homemade cranberry sauce from scratch, which was good, but which could never replace the one from the can.

Along with the kitchen activities, we'll read, listen to Christmas music and enjoy some time together. Tomorrow, life resumes as before.

So, I think I'll stop for now. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 33° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 44°, albeit under mostly-cloudy skies. We still expect to see temperatures in the lower 40s for several more days, including Christmas Day.

The sun will rise today @ 8:14 a.m. and set later @ 5:14 p.m.

What a day yesterday. We were awakened by the sound of STWD doing her every few weeks retching sound in the middle of the carpet. Sadly, it was more than a sound effect. So, it was necessary to get out the Rug Doctor™ that we bought for just these occasions and clean up after her. By the by, STWD felt fine afterwards

Once that excitement was over, I decided it was time to get up and get on with my day. We ate breakfast that consisted of bagels with vegan cream-cheese, thinly sliced onions and vegan pepperoni with a salad on the side. Fancy no, but tasty yes.

We took some time to read and then Dawn came over to do her regular weekly cleaning of the manse. We decided a long time ago, that time is something that should be reserved for things you like to do, not things you have to do. The exceptions to that rule are indoor chores and meal preparation.

Once everything had settled down, we set forth on a journey to run some errands to the cell phone store and that nearby big-box home center. We followed that with a random photo-shoot in Spring Lake. Thereby hangs a tale.

"The City" is just across the bridge from Spring Lake and yet, we have barely explored that fine village. Each time we set out to look around, we discover new things to see and photograph. As always, it is a lot easier to take pix when someone else is driving.

We drove along the shore of the Grand River where it has expanded to form what is now Spring Lake and we found several interesting sights. I am going to include a few pix here for your enjoyment and edification. Don't forget, a click on any pic yields a larger version.

With the sun setting in the sky, this turned out to be an excellent shot.

A leafless tree.

For Adam, here's Scooby Doo and friends!

We inadvertently traversed a private driveway and encountered some deer in the woods. We stared, they stared, then they ran and jumped.

This deer cleared the fence four or five foot as though it wasn't even there.

Nearby, this deer also stared at us before bounding away.

Wildlife?

Metallic wildlife?

A nice juxtaposition of dark and light.

The sun was setting when we came back across the bridge.

With the sunset as a backdrop sans trees, steam from the GHBLP Power Plant on Harbor Island..

Further along with trees now part of the shot

Today, promises to be a bit less frenetic. Mary has plans to make another batch of her slow-cooker vegetable broth in preparation for our vegan Christmas dinner of hammish and herbed scalloped potatoes. I'm thinking that I might also get her to make biscuits for our dinner since we won't be over-carbed with dressing etc.

I never got to painting yesterday, but I did get some reading done. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, who knows? Otherwise, that looks like a wrap. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 40° under clear skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 42°, albeit under partly-cloudy skies. There is only a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 5:00 p.m. today. We expect to see temperatures in the lower 40s for several more days, including Christmas Day.

The sun will rise today @ 8:14 a.m. and set later @ 5:13 p.m. Yes, the days are getting longer. Before you know it, we can put both the college and professional football seasons in our rear-view mirrors and get on to what is really important, Baseball!

Since I didn't blog yesterday, let me mention that I had a great time at Saturday's final Irish Jam Session of 2019, which was also the final session of the decade. We've been playing together, well sort of, for over six years. A large group of players played, told jokes, and sang to a sizeable audience. I took along my Holiday Cookies and they went over well.

I guess this is as good as any time to say that the the Lions and a QB who may or may not ever be heard from again, lost to the almost as woeful Denver Broncos, 17 - 27 yesterday afternoon. Last night, a team that should go unnamed, but which was supposed to challenge for the Super Bowl this season, Da Bears, looked even more hapless, as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 3 - 26. Both QBs in the game, Da Bears Mitchell Trubisky, and the Chief's Patrick Mahomes, were drafted the same  year. Mahomes and the Chiefs are having a great year @ 11 - 4, while Trubisky and Da Bears are not even treading water with a record of 7 - 8. Nuff said.

I think that's why I watch Hallmark Channel™ movies. The outcome is predictable, man and woman meet, a misunderstanding occurs, they struggle through it and then they both end up in a small town pronounce their love and live happily ever after. What's not to like?

I was up early yesterday and used my Olympus DSLR to take some pix of our Christmas tree as it adorns our foyer. I used the basic photo manipulation software that comes with Windows 10™ and altered the pic to produce what you see here. Not great, but a nice first effort.

I cropped the pic, cleaned up the image, centered the photo, and changed the tone.

When we got up yesterday, Mary had latkes on the brain due to the season. So with my assistance, she made potato latkes that she served with vegan sour cream and homemade applesauce. My assistance amounted to grating the potatoes and reaching ingredients on the top shelf. I liked the latkes a lot. Mary says that she should make them more often. I agree.

We also did some indoor chores yesterday and took the fur-children for a walk before their dinner and ours. Once they were sated, we collectively made a vegan TVP meatloaf. We altered the recipe by using the food-grinder attachment for my KitchenAid™ stand-mixer versus our small serving food-processor. Into the pans, bake for a total of 45 minutes with a pause for some ketchup basting about 1/2 way through, and voila, vegan meatloaf. Great taste and no animals were harmed in the process.

Today, we have very little on the agenda. I hope to paint some and also read more. I've started another novel, James Patterson's 19th Christmas, written with Maxine Paetro, another in the Women's Murder Club series. I am also starting to read another book by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse, entitled Mycroft and Sherlock, a followup to the their first collaboration, entitled, Mycroft Holmes, a novel that I finished a couple of weeks ago. Both of the latter books are based on the popular books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

So, I hope to have time to do as little as possible today. Ciao for now.

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

The current temperature is 32° under partly-cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 40°, also under partly-cloudy skies. Once again, there are no watches, advisories, nor warnings in effect. We expect to see temperatures in the lower 40s for several more days.

The sun will rise today @ 8:13 a.m. and set later @ 5:12 p.m.

Yes my loyal readers, it is once again time for the Winter Solstice, that time of year, when, according to the website Mental Floss™ and many other sites, the sun is at the point where it is inclined away from those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere and it appears to sit the lowest on the horizon. Our daylight hours will now get longer with each passing day, while just the reverse of the above will now be happening in the Southern Hemisphere.

Best of all, and this is just a teaser, MLB™ will be opening Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report to their respective training camps for the new MLB™ baseball season in early 2020. While the Cubs and the Tigers have no official dates as of yet, my beloved Boston Red Sox will have their pitchers and catchers reporting on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, and they will begin full squad workouts on Monday, February 17, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL1VCv2kCI

Yesterday was relatively pedestrian. It was warm enough for us to take the fur-children for a short walk and then to go for a more long-distance walkabout ourselves. One great thing about this time of year is that the day to day weather always brings surprises.

I'm not sure that I worry too much about the snow any more, as we generally have nowhere to go and all day to get there, with the exception of appointments at doctor's offices. Oops, am I giving away our ages?

Mary made our brunch yesterday that consisted of chickpea fettuccine with garlic and olive oil accompanied by a salad. Dinner was her best to date, vegan toona casserole. She might disagree, and I may have been really hungry by 8:00 p.m. last night, but I really liked this incarnation.

Today, I have my last Irish Jam Session of 2019 and also the last of the decade. Wow, that sounds so final when I write it that way. As previously noted, I'll be taking my recently baked Holiday Cookies for all to enjoy.

Otherwise, Mary will be soloing to the grocery store while I am jamming. I believe that I get the best of the deal.

Everything else will be on hold until tomorrow. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 29° under cloudy-skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 38° under skies that will be cloudy until around 12:00 p.m. and then sunny thereafter. There are no watches, advisories, nor warnings in effect at this time.

The sun will rise today @ 8:12 a.m. and set later @ 5:12 p.m.

A pretty mundane blog so far, isn't it?
 
Yesterday was filled with activity. Mary got up early to get her Prevnar13 inoculation against pneumonia. Other than a bit of redness, she seems to be doing fine. The fur-children and I got up late, I fed them and let them out. By then, Mary had returned and we ate lunch, which was Mary's version of vegan BLTs, sans the "T". That was after she made vegan Tofu bacon.

With lunch done, and with Ginger's assistance, I took time to make Christmas cookies, ostensibly for my Irish Jam Session on Saturday, and finished the remainder of the indoor chores. Actually, I put things into the washer and dryer, and helped fold them.

My cookies turned out great after I followed another of those old family recipes that I am fond of using. I just don't know whose old family the recipe came from, as I got it off of the internet and modified it to suit my available ingredients and baking utensils. I did use my newly acquired cookie-cutters to make the various shapes and so I guess that this is now "our" old family recipe.

Later, we went out to get some things from the Dollar Store™ and make a stop at Stan's.

Today, I hope to get to make that vegan chocolate fudge I had planned to make yesterday. If it turns out as I hope, then another old family recipe will be a success. If not, I blame that other old family. My grandmother, Nane, used to make white fudge, but I don't have her old family recipe, so I have never been able to replicate her efforts. That's probably a good thing.

Otherwise, not much is planned for what should be a slow day at the manse. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 20° under snowy-skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 21° under skies that have a 40% chance of yielding snow showers until 12:00 p.m. Therefore, there is a Winter Weather Advisory in effect with accumulations of up to two inches possible.

Windy conditions, with wind speeds possibly reaching 30 knots and wave heights of six to nine feet are possible, which has necessitated yet another Small Craft Advisory in effect for the "Big Lake" until 11:00 p.m. tonight.

Of course, the windy conditions will necessitate still another Lakeshore Flood Advisory with a chance for minor flooding and minor beach erosion.

The sun will rise today @ 8:11 a.m. and set later @ 5:11 p.m.

Not much was happening yesterday. We traveled to my orthopedist appointment for a final look-see at my left shoulder and I was pronounced good to go. I've now run out of shoulders in need of repair. Since we were out, we took my camera and my new monopod along to get some pix of the "Big Lake" and nearby Spring Lake and its associated bayous. By the by, I really like my monopod. It allows me to more steadily hold the camera, both in and out of the car.

At any rate, as is often the case, we were a bit early. Lake Michigan was relatively calm yesterday. It made for a different kind of pic than will be available today. Still, I did get some nice shots of our lighthouses, the lake itself, our own power plant, and the adjacent Grand Haven State Park from the Grand Haven City Beach.  Don't forget, any pic that catches your eye can be enlarged simply by clicking on the image.

The coal supply will be gone by late next month or early February and then the plant will be shuttered and ultimately razed.

This was a nice way to capture the outer lighthouse.

The inner lighthouse.

Both with light waves crashing on the shore.

A pavilion in the closed for the season state park.

Since we were out and Mary was driving, I asked to be taken to Spring Lake for some pix of the Bald Eagles that are often seen there. But, like is all too often the case, all I got was this solitary crow in a tree.

A nice pic, but not an eagle.

As Mary drove I was snapping happily away, taking whatever caught my eye. I'll include some of what we saw/photographed in no particular order.

Yes, we did.

The lake is trying to reclaim the land in Mill Point Park as you enter Spring Lake.

Fortunately, there was more road to the left.

Which led to this unused small playground.

No doubt, as any other choice would require an Amphicar™.

Trees add interest, don't you think?

Near the intersection of Book Rd. and 144th Ave. is this old barn.

Construction continues apace along the shores of Spring Lake itself.

That's the cooling tower of the GH Municipal Power Plant as seen from the shores of Spring Lake.

As we were headed towards home, this old farm truck caught my eye.

It was gnarly as you can imagine, but it was still running down the road. Year Adam?

A solitary birdhouse sits at the shoreline by this submerged pier.

I took a lot of pix, some that came out blurry and for which I have no explanation. I guess I have a lot to learn.

Today, we have to go to Muskegon to visit the orthopedist's office there for another in the series of injections that keeps me mobile. The injections are good for about four-months of pain-free ambulation. That should be about it for today. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 a.m. in "The City." I don't carry a badge, but I blog here.

The current temperature is 29° under snowy-skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 33°, also under snowy-skies with a 70% chance for light snow in the morning that will give way to cloudy-skies in the afternoon. In spite of the relatively warm temperatures yesterday, today's high temperature will be about five degrees lower. The sun will rise today @ 8:10 a.m. and set later @ 5:10 p.m.

We had a great day yesterday. We had planned that aforementioned walk to the Grand Haven Community Center to see the play Little Women, based on the book by Louisa May Alcott and written for the stage by Thomas Hischak. This production was presented by our own Central Park Players. We were not disappointed. As has generally been the case for us, any live theater or musical production is always a delight!

I was in the "male minority" and I had never read the book nor seen any version of the story, and yet I liked it. Maybe that's because it was much like the Hallmark Channel™ movies that I love.

Because I liked this production so much, I "borrowed" this picture from Facebook™.



For anyone, like me, who has no experience with this story, there is a movie version coming out on Christmas Day.

We had left the fur-children at home for the afternoon and we then journeyed to Don Luis for dinner. While it was cold without any wind to speak of, the walk to Don Luis was invigorating and the dinner, as always, was excellent.

By the by, both the Lions and the Bears lost their respective games yesterday.

I went up to the media room shortly after our arrival at home and by 11:00 p.m., I was spent. I slept until around 5:00 a.m.

While I slept, Mary made more progress on my kitchen apron. It is looking great.

Today, I plan to play more music, work in the kitchen, and do more reading. That's enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 32° under cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 36°, also under cloudy skies with a 40% chance for snow-showers in the afternoon. So, in spite of the balmy temperatures yesterday, today's high temperature will be much lower. The sun will rise today @ 8:08 a.m. and set later @ 5:010 p.m.

Another Small Craft Advisory will be in effect from 4:00 p.m. today until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. Winds will be increasing out of the east this morning into the 20 knot range. Conditions should give pause to small craft and inexperienced mariners.

We had a great day yesterday. We got up early, at least for us and had a light breakfast after I returned from my walk with STWD. Neither of us go as far or as fast as we used to, owing to our respective ages. But, we eventually get where we are going.

Since our plans called for us to go to Newaygo and visit Mary's favorite yarn store, The New Ewe, to pick up this year's Stuff My Stocking bounty, we dropped Ginger off at daycare and allowed STWD to have the house all to herself..

I told the folks at The New Ewe that I'd give them a shout-out in my blog, so I'll include a few pix I took of the shop and the bags for their Stuff My Stocking program. Mary likes this shop a lot as do I, as the people are very friendly and the store just feels comfortable, even to the men who are along for the ride.

This year, it seemed like there were more bags.

I believe this was Jody, as she was pulling bags for several lucky knitters who had stopped by.

The shop is tucked nicely between the older buildings in the City of Newaygo.

An easy to see and eye-catching sign on the main street through Newaygo.

Since I was there with my camera, along with pix of I took of the shop, I took a lot of pix of the surroundings. Naturally, those shots included some industrial scenes.

The last time we were in Newaygo, this old building was being restored and it is still a work in progress.

I believe that this is a grain elevator located behind The New Ewe and across the railroad tracks.

Using my telephot lens, I took this shot of the city's holiday display from in front of the The New Ewe.

A closer shot as we headed towards home.

I'd be remiss if I didn't add some shots of things that caught my eye, so here they are in no particular order.

Yes, it was.

I like how this looked as I took this shot up the stairs.

Just because.

As we headed towards home, we meandered the back-roads rather than the highways and byways. Mary was driving, so I was able to shoot out the windows and jump out when possible to get additional shots.

Trains are always an inviting shot, even wooden ones.

Newaygo is situated along another branch of the MMRR that passes through our fair city.

These horses and mules are used for kid's rides on the farm that is home to the apples I use for pies.

Since the train was parked and idling, Mary was willing to stop on the tracks and let me take this pic out the side window.

One of the towns that we pass through going to and from Newaygo is Grant, where I asked Mary to pull over and let me take pics of this old, but still in use facility.

Time was passing quickly, so we motored towards home and I took more pix of our surroundings, including these of an old barn somewhere in Newaygo County..

We were getting close to home, so I took some pix of the high waters of Spring Lake, from which the Village of Spring Lake got its name after it was changed from Mill Point many years ago.

Yes Virginia, the docks are underwater too.

Reports indicate that this will be the future of lake levels for a while.

I think I've been here too long, so I'll close out by saying that our day was full, our time was well spent, and that means that today's light schedule suits me just fine. Ciao.