Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 7:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 28° under mostly-clear skies, but still with windy conditions. Today's high is forecast to reach 39° under sunny-skies with no significant snow in the forecast for several days. The sun will rise today @ 8:16 a.m. and set later @ 5:20 p.m.

There is a River Flood Warning in effect today until 1:00 p.m. Monday, January 6, 2010.

In addition, yet another Small Craft Advisory has been issued from St Joseph to Manistee from today until 7:00 p.m. tomorrow. Conditions will be hazardous will not be safe for small craft through at least midday on Thursday. Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.

One bright spot is that the high temperature tomorrow may reach 43°, thus melting at least some of the snow that accumulated yesterday.

Speaking of that snow, I had to go down ahead of the fur-children and clear part of their path to the back-forty so that they could do their duty. I took some pix of what I was up against as I exited the manse to the back deck.

I had to ppush the storm door through the accumulated snow drifts just to get out to clear part of the deck.

I didn't do these steps, just those leading to the fur-children's play area.

I was almost there.

Fortunately,with our snow-removal service, the entire shared driveway, deck, and the front-porch were cleared by late yesterday.

This area was cleared after the deposits left by the city plows.

So too was the shared driveway.

And the front-porch

We accomplished those aforementioned indoor chores yesterday and I started a new novel entitled The Wall by John Lancaster. So far, this seems more like a book in Mary's genre, but I'll give it a few more pages to see if it can draw me in, otherwise....

I finished The First Lady by James Patterson and Brendan Dubois. A few twists and turns, just the way I like them.

I also got down to the man-cave and hung the shop lights I purchased a few days ago. They are very bright, also as I'd hoped.

Last night, Mary and I made it to midnight to watch the New Years festivities on TV and we also looked out the window of Mary's office to see that the celebration on the waterfront were happening as scheduled. However, all we could see were some hints of the low-level fireworks that accompanied the dropping of the ball.

Unfortunately for STWD, our local amateur pyromaniacs decided after the official fireworks, that they should join in the celebration and scared poor Sugar to the point of despair. She came upstairs shaking and I calmed her some once the mayhem had subsided. Sugar and I hope that the next fireworks will wait until the Fourth of July in mid-summer.

Mary is making significant progress on my apron and it should be ready soon. She may not be a fast, but she is meticulous.

Today, should be relatively quiet with no mail nor newspaper, no appointments, and no additional snow to be removed. We do have to give the fur-children their monthly meds, which consist of beef-flavored chews that they look forward to receiving each month. I think that they are only due for one type of med this time around.

I actually remembered to change to a new calendar before several days had elapsed. For me, that is an accomplishment in itself.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, as usual. I don't believe that resolutions that are quickly discarded or ignored are worth the time and trouble. I believe that I should try to be more patient, more thankful, and more appreciative of Mary and everyone. So, if I have anything that resembles a resolution, it is just to be a better person this year than last.

I also hope that this new decade gives me respite from so many medical things. My medical misfortunes started in September of 2010 and have included so many surgeries and procedures that I felt like they would never end. So, here's hoping. I am reasonably certain that Mary feels the same.

For all of us, like Miss America used to intone, I hope for World Peace and Prosperity for all, especially the children and the animals. Maybe this is the year that more people should consider veganism. It doesn't hurt you and it certainly doesn't hurt any animals.

Ciao.