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

The current temperature is 36° under cloudy-skies with winds of 7 mph that make it feel more like 30°. Today's high is forecast to be 44°, also under cloudy-skies. It looks like we'll see 57° on Friday, but then we'll bounce around and be in the 40s or lower 50s for many more days.

The sun will rise today @ 7:27 a.m. and set later @ 8:10 p.m.

Not much happened yesterday. I do have a correction from yesterday's blog. My all too often larger than the keys on my keyboard hands, must have hit some key wrong for the death count, citing it as as 4,562. That was just flat out wrong. However, if my current source is correct, we have exceeded 3,000 deaths as of a few hours ago and the correct number is 3,173, with over 164,000 cases being reported! However, since the tests are generally only being administered to those people with actual cases in the hospital, that number is probably much higher. So, take it too with a grain of salt.

Mary often likes to refer to one of her apocalyptic movies, Contagion, wherein the character, Alan Krum, played by Jude Law, notes that you can do the calculations with regard to the spread of the disease on the back of an envelope. It appears that the movie and its technical advisor, Dr. Ian Lipkin, the Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University, helped get most everything correct in the script. Sadly, as of six days ago, Dr. Lipkin tested positive for the current Covid-19 virus.

We managed to slightly grind the nails on the fur-children yesterday. We have more to go, but it was/is a fight that needs to be waged in small bursts We will be getting to a light house-cleaning today. Mary started last night in the kitchen and she'll do more today, while I'll start today with some light polishing, some dusting, and some vacuuming.

I hope to spend more time not doing than doing today, if all goes according to my plans. Of course, like Marshall, our long-ago neighbor used to say, "There is always tomorrow", or something like that when he was painting the windows on his home. Hopefully there are many more tomorrows in everyone's future.

Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 38° under cloudy-skies with light rain in the vicinity and with winds of 16 mph that make it feel more like 30°. Today's high is forecast to be 40°. It looks like we'll be stuck in the 40s for many days.

A Small Craft Advisory is in effect from now until 2:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, from Pentwater to Manistee MI, with North winds to 30 knots producing waves of 5 to 8 feet.on the "Big Lake." As always, inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions. 

The sun will rise today @ 7:29 a.m. and set later @ 8:09 p.m.


Otherwise, not much is happening on the mean streets of Grand Haven. We have seen very few cars passing by the manse and the downtown is still very ghost-like in appearance, with few if any, pedestrians plying the sidewalks and visiting the mostly now-closed shops there. We have had several local eateries close for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, as they simply don't have enough business to warrant staying open. It is likely that that number will increase as the days turn into weeks and perhaps into months.

Locally, the price of gasoline continues to fall. It was down to $1.41/gallon at the station associated with our grocery store, D & W. With so many people either out of a job or working from home, that should come as no surprise. One local source has gone so far as to predict that prices for a gallon of regular unleaded may fall below $1.00/gallon! So what? The basic laws of economics are being applied here as supply is high while demand is low.

Speaking of that Covid-19 pandemic, the US is reporting 142,735 active cases and 4.562 deaths, so far. Remember when our illustrious POTUS assured us that the pandemic was under control and we'd be back in business very soon. Now, he is taking credit for keeping the death toll somewhere between 100,00 and 200,000 versus one to two million! I guess that would be fine, just as long as you or your loved ones are not part of that 200,000!

In happier news, we started a jigsaw puzzle yesterday for the first time in over two years. Here is a picture of someone getting the pieces sorted to begin the edges of that puzzle.

Somehow, our Senior Staff  Photographer mistakenly took a picture of some old guy doing the same thing I was doing.

The jury is still out on the puzzle mat that we've had in the closet for the last two years. It is supposed to make assembly go better and improve interim storage of the puzzle. But, I dunno.

Later, Mary used her kitchen magic and various leftovers, spices, and a tin of diced tomatoes to make a great tasting pasta meal. Now though, we now have used up my vegan pepperoni, as she ground that up to make her secret sauce. We are as we watched some old episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, the one where he plays a psychologist who lives and practices in Chicago.

It tasted even better than it looks!

I started to read 11/22/63 last night. This over 800 page tome by Stephen King that Mary recently finished, has me intrigued, so far. I guess that any book she is willing to devote many hours to and also give herself early-onset arthritis to read, must be good. Once again, the jury is still out.

I got a Facebook message from Kerry Fitzgerald last night regarding her completion of another page in the Grand Haven Coloring Book created by local artist, Barbara Carlson. Kerry is a talented artist and colorist in her own right, along with being the Assistant Head Librarian and the coordinator of my monthly Coffee and Coloring sessions at the Loutit District Library. She sadly noted that those sessions are on hold for the foreseeable future due to the pandemic. However, here is another example of her talents.

I think that Kerry's use of color and shading brought this mallard to life!

Today, we have to tackle some of that housework that we have been putting off. Long ago, Bob Apa, the proprietor of Triangle Mobil Service in Arlington Heights, IL, and a man whom I worked for in my formative automotive years, had a saying that went something like this. "Put off until tomorrow, what you can put off until tomorrow." He was a master procrastinator. I liked his style and also the ready access to the Pepsi machine in the garage of the station.

In a sad side-note, yesterday it was reported that country music performer, Joe Diffie, passed away due to the Covid-19 virus. He had many hit songs, including this one entitled Pickup Man.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I51JXpcLwk

Otherwise, we have no plans to break our isolation. We may walk the fur-children if the rains stop and take a crack at the crossword puzzle from the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. That's along with more playing of music, more reading, and whatever else time permits in our busy schedules. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 53° under rainy-skies, with winds of 11 mph that make it feel more like 50°! Today's high-temperature is forecast to reach 45°, before we drop down to the 40s for several more days of cool weather. All of that is accompanied by a 60% chance for rain today.

The Gale Warning remains in effect from 5:00 a.m. this morning until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Southwest gales to 40 knots and waves 6 to 10 feet are expected from St Joseph to Pentwater.

In addition the NWS has also issued a Wind Advisory, in effect from 10:00 a.m today until 8:00 p.m. tonight. Southwest winds of 20 to 35 mph will gust into the 45 to 50 mph range at times today. The strongest winds will likely occur during the afternoon. There are likely to be falling tree limbs that may damage homes and vehicles and result in power outages. High profile vehicles may become difficult to operate, especially on north to south roadways. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.Ya think?

But wait, there's more. A Lakeshore Flood Advisory will be in effect from 5:00 a.m. this morning until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Moderate beach erosion and minor lakeshore flooding are expected for Allegan, Oceana, Van Buren, Muskegon and Ottawa counties. Parking lots and roads along the immediate lakeshore will experience minor flooding. Moderate erosion of beaches and sand dunes is expected. Winds will increase significantly around daybreak this morning with strong winds expected throughout the day. The peak in the winds and waves will likely come during the midday and afternoon hours. Strong onshore winds will generate flooding of low areas along the lakeshore. Some minor beach and dune erosion is also likely. Not to worry, as we are all supposed to be off the roads and hiding in our homes for a long time.

However, Mary and I took some time from our busy schedule late yesterday, to watch a video presented by National Park Ranger and Ottawa County Parks naturalist, Kelly Morrissey. This was supposed to be her fifth and final presentation, given live and on tape at Hemlock County Park, but the Covid-19 quarantine has forced her to make this presentation from home. In addition, as a Seasonal Park Ranger Interpreter for the National Park Service, each year she has to apply for a position at one of the National Parks or National Lakeshores.

Over the last several summers, she has spent time at Isle Royale National and Grand Teton National Parks. This year, if the pandemic ever ends and people can venture forth, she will be stationed @ Michigan's own Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Glen Arbor, MI. That is in the Lower Western Peninsula of MI. She is looking forward to her posting.

She made this final presentation and also included a link to the video that we viewed. Here it is if you want to take the time out of your otherwise busy schedules to enjoy her adventures over the last several years, as we did. It is nearly one-half hour long, but well worth the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g0ntso88uc&feature=youtu.be

Of course, that motivated Mary and I to watch Episode 6 of Ken Burns' excellent documentary on America's National Parks, appropriately entitled, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. The entire documentary is about 12 hours in length, with each episode being nearly two hours in length But, what a terrific way to spend some time before and during our dinner of Mary's homemade pizza. As Amazon Prime members, we get these movies for "free."

Speaking of dinner, I commented in my previous blog about our leftover meals becoming boring. Mary reminded me that that is only true because we have not been able to intersperse those meals with dinners or snacks in the outside world. She made a good point.

Today, we again get to watch ourselves be isolated until we aren't, and that's about it. I'll play more music, read more, keep the fur-children in out of the weather and that's about it for my busy schedule. I'm sure that Mary has more exciting plans. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 43° under rainy-skies, with winds of 12 mph that make it feel more like 37°! Today's high-temperature is forecast to reach 54°, before we drop down to the 40s for several more days of cool weather. All of that is accompanied by a 100% chance for rain today and tonight.

That high temperature is okay, because it makes walking with the fur-children easier, especially with STWD who just doesn't have the physical stamina necessary for long walks in warm temperatures anymore. Her mind is willing, but....

The NWS has issued yet another Gale Warning  effective from 5:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. Sunday.
Southwest winds of 20 to 30 knots with gusts up to 35 knots and waves of 7 to 10 feet can be expected from St Joseph to Pentwater. Those Gale Force/Strong  winds will cause hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility. Mariners should alter plans to avoid these hazardous conditions such as remaining in port, seeking safe harbor, altering course, and/or securing their vessels for severe conditions.

With all of that as a backdrop, the Covid-19 pandemic continues unabated here in the US. We are now the country with the largest number of people, more than 104,000 cases of the Covid-19 virus, which means that we are now the epicenter of the pandemic. Somehow, I don't think that's a distinction that we want to have. Being exceptional is good, being Numero Uno for a pandemic, is not. The number of fatalities has exceeded 1,300!

Our illustrious POTUS has issued an executive order that allows Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper to order units and former active-duty and reserve service members, who are commonly considered out of the military and rarely recalled, into active duty. We are in serious trouble my friends.

Oh well, that's why Mary and I started our tomato and pepper seeds yesterday. If everything goes as planned and before everything goes south, we can at least have fresh vegetables after the plants mature and produce fruit. As soon as the soil temperature is consistently between 65° and 75°, we can get them planted in our vast gardens and plant the cucumbers and other vegetables too. We should be able to get the lettuce planted sooner, as this is a cool-weather crop.

We had another lunch of leftovers yesterday. That's okay, but I was getting bored with the same old same old, so I repaired to the kitchen last evening and made another stir-fry that was pronounced excellent by all the patrons of Chez Jacque!

It takes a while to chop, slice, dice, saute, and prepare, but it was excellent.

However, now we have more leftovers in our cozy little restaurant's refrigerator.

Today, we have no chores to accomplish. The fur-children will likely not be getting a walk today due to the rain, which I'm sure will be fine with STWD.

We did do some amateur grooming on Ginger yesterday, but we have much to learn and more to go. However, considering that her regular grooming salon is currently closed, we may be in the grooming business for the long-haul. We have yet to try our new nail-grinder, but we have to learn that too. STWD never likes her paws being touched, so that should be an adventure.

Otherwise, I've been stalling on starting a new book. By the by, I stand corrected, as Mary didn't start a new novel, she started a new non-fiction tome about life in Paris in the 1940s and 50s. So far, she is liking it.

We watched a Facebook™ live broadcast last night given by a performer, Wayne Faust, whom we saw when we and he were much younger. He was broadcasting live from his Colorado kitchen and while the sound quality was not the best, it was still very enjoyable.

Actually, Mary popped in and out, joining me at various times in the media-room and remembering how to do the various hand motions for Faust's version of the Unicorn Song composed a long time ago when the earth was green, by Shel Silverstein. Oops, I was channeling again. At any rate here is Faust performing that song on YouTube™.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BvbjHmMfwA

Oops again. I nearly forgot, again. I was awake yesterday @ 8:33 a.m., when the morning, southbound passage of the train occurred. I saw MMRR locomotives 2019 and 2025 towing nine CHCs, three DBTCs, and two, DWTCs, one with a green non-corrosive strip around its mid-section.

Later, @ 12:34 p.m., my apprentice train-spotter took careful notes and reported that those same locomotives passed by heading north, towing six CHCs, and one GTC.

Today, we should be able to get to doing what retirees are supposed to do, retire. We shall see. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 39°, although it feels like 34° with the 8 mph winds. That's under partly-cloudy skies. Today's forecast calls for the high to be 55°, also under partly-cloudy skies, but with a 0% chance for precipitation. That 55° forecast is a full 10° warmer than yesterday, but it won't last, as we drop back into the 40s by Sunday. Yesterday, we never really got that rain that was in the forecast.

The sun will rise today @ 7:35 a.m. and set later @ 8:06 p.m.

It was a sad day yesterday, as it was supposed to be Opening Day in Major-League™ baseball. Of course, with the Covid-19 pandemic, that didn't happen and there is no firm date for Opening Day. Sigh.

However, we did get a chance to walk with the fur-children and I and our Senior Staff Photographer got the chance to take some additional pix using the same Olympus DSLR camera.

Mary's "Secret Recipe" BBQ sauce before lunch.

The BBQ sauce went atop of the vegan Italian meatballs in this Leftover Palooza that was lunch.

My revised blackboard in our mud-room, drawn freehand in pastel chalks.

I wish I could say that we got a lot done yesterday, but I can't. I managed to retrieve the trash and recycling containers from the curbside, using latex gloves that went into the trash can.

Mary started a new novel and I finished one. I was able to complete the crossword from the Grand Haven Tribune that I received in my email from the paper's editor. Hopefully, when I get a chance to peruse yesterday's newspaper, the puzzle will be fine.

Mary noted that the front-page picture in yesterday's newspaper showed Washington Avenue in downtown GH looking like a ghost-town. The only activity was the arrival of the first cargo of the shipping season.

Dinner took a bit longer, as it was composed of baked potatoes slathered with vegan sour-cream as a side that accompanied some of Mary's spicy-tomato beest with ketchup and mustard for Mary and horseradish and Worcester sauce for me.

Our Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, answered questions regarding the current state of the state in a televised Town Hall that was broadcast live on WOOD TV from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. last night.

She forthrightly answered questions posed by residents of MI by email and telephone regarding the shutdown, the economy, and other issues related to the pandemic. In all, the station received over 3,000 questions for our governor.

We do have a lock-down/closing in place for restaurants, bars, beauty salons, barber shops and many other small businesses. In addition, Governor Whitmer noted that travel restrictions remained in place for anyone who did not need to be on the roads. That explains why gasoline prices continue their free-fall.

At the gas station associated with our favorite grocery store, D and W, the current price for unleaded regular gasoline is $1.47/gallon. At the nearby Meijer gas station, the price is $1.43/gallon! With nowhere to go, I'm relatively certain that those prices will continue to drop. The current price for a barrel of crude oil on the world market, is less than $22.00/barrel.

Today we should get those seeds planted and we are going to attempt to grind the nails of our fur-children. According to the directions that came with our new grinder, it is a two-person job. I have no doubt of that, as STWD is scared of anything that makes noise.

That is all that is different today versus yesterday. Ciao.

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

The sun will rise today @ 7:36 a.m. and set later @ 8:04 p.m.

The current temperature is 43°, although it feels like 37° with the 10 mph winds under cloudy/rainy-skies. Today's forecast calls for the high to be 48°, also under cloudy/rainy skies. Those skies are producing a light rain right now. Throughout the day today, there is a 60% chance for rain.. The high temperature tomorrow is forecast to be 54°. I'd like to say that we were done with the 40s, but we won't be until early next month.

We managed to do some indoor chores yesterday along with taking the fur-children for a late-afternoon walk. They wanted to go earlier, but Mary had her latest loaf of whole-wheat bread in the oven followed by another of her soon to be famous spicy-seitan roasts. I have it on the authority of a bread connoisseur, that this loaf of bread is terrific.

Here's how it looked as it was cooling on the rack.

It tastes even better than it looks, or so I've heard.

Since we had walked the fur-children and I had my shoes on, I decided to take my Olympus DSLR camera out for a walk around the vast gardens of the PE (Palatial Estate). More of my garlic is sprouting, the irises that we got from Adam and Steph's place in South Haven continue to grow, our tulips that we planted last fall and over the past several years are coming up nicely, the daffodils are growing at a ferocious rate, and Mary's roses are greening up and starting to show buds. In short, spring has sprung here on the lakeshore!

Garlic at the top of this pic.

South Haven irises.

Newer tulips in the Parkway Gardens.

A greening rose bush. also  in the Parkway Gardens

Daffodils near the deck.

In addition, since I was out there, here is a nice pic of the Cubs© frog that we got from John and Debbie several years ago when they visited the PE.

A tad weather-worn, but like the Cubs©, resilient and ready for the 2020 MLB© season, like yours truly!

In addition, we are mostly sure that the current configuration of the furniture and things on our deck is now the way we like it. That may change as we employ the various planters, the potting bench, and the furniture.

The third, and hopefully final, location for Mary's potting bench in its short-tenure on our deck.

One of the old planters in a new location under an outdoor map of Michigan.

I got an email from the editor of the Grand Haven Tribune yesterday that included a copy of yesterday's crossword, just in case. The Tribune has been great about responding to me, and by extension, their subscribers. It turns out that the crossword puzzle in Wednesday's newspaper also suffered that same fate of being partially cut off.

I heard the southbound run of the train go by at about 10:00 a.m. yesterday, but I only espied the northbound afternoon run @ about 2:30 p.m. MMRR EMD-GP-38 -2 locomotives 2025 and 2019 passed by @ a rapid speed, towing 49 CHCs, three DBTCs, three DWTCs, two GTCs, and 15 of those open hopper cars I described and pictured in my blog the other day.

My apprentice train-spotter was able to tell from the way the locomotives and the cars that they were towing were rocking and by the way that the manse wasn't shaking, that the cars were empty.

I am nearly done with my latest novel, Journey Of The Pharaohs, by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown, Cussler's collaborator. Mary finished her latest novel, 11.22.63 late last night before coming to bed. She thinks I should read it too, but that is one heavy tome, so I dunno.

Today, we will continue doing what we have been doing, staying away from other people and practicing Social Distancing. It is getting to be old, but it is still very necessary in spite of what our illustrious POTUS and too many in the right-wing believe. In fact, I ran into our neighbor yesterday, who along with his wife has been doing the same Social Distancing, and he was thankful that I had put out the trash bin and reminded him of what day it was. I'm just glad that I remembered.

I received an email from my old friend Dennis yesterday about a concert Friday evening that is being broadcast from the home of Wayne Faust, a performer that we'd all seen too many years ago to count. He had a certain schmaltzy way of performing, but he really was quite good. We're going to try to watch his performance on Facebook©.

Today, I may get to more reading, more playing with my girls, coloring, avoiding viewing our illustrious POTUS on the TV, and perhaps getting those vegetable seeds started in the man-cave with a little help from Mary.

I think that Mary has to choose a new book from her library pile so that she can start her reading anew. I'm betting that she chooses a lighter book this time, one that doesn't give her sore wrists. Ciao.

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

The sun will rise today @ 7:38 a.m. and set later @ 8:03 p.m.

The current temperature is 33° under cloudy-skies. Today's forecast from the NWS calls for the high to be 45° under partly-cloudy skies in the morning giving way to sunny skies in the afternoon. Late tonight, there is a 60% chance for rain.. The high temperature will be about the same as Tuesday.

Yesterday was rather laid-back. We collectively finished the crossword from Monday's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune and I installed the lighting in the man-cave above our greenhouse in preparation for the growing of our tomato and pepper seeds. Here's hoping.

While I was engaged in that activity, Mary drove to the medium-box grocery store and picked up our order. Many things she tried to order, like flour, disinfectant wipes, lettuce, and the scarce as hen's teeth TP, were not available.

Mid-afternoon, we took a walk with the fur-children.

For lunch, Mary used a recipe for creamed-corn that she found on the internet. I guess it is now an old-family recipe, as I liked it. She also used up some of her recently made seitan roast from another old-family recipe.

A bit blurry, but you get the idea.

Later, we watched a movie entitled Where'd You Go Bernadette, based on a novel of the same name and starring Cate Blanchett. A quirky movie, but we liked it.

Once we were done watching, Mary and I were hungry and so once again, she hit the refrigerator for some leftovers. In this case, more of the vegan Italian meatballs I made the other day, covered with that terrific pasta sauce from last night's dinner. The side was some Cottage Tofu.

All good!

Today, I hope to actually kick-back and do nothing. I want to play with my girls, add more to my manuscript, do some coloring, and... A busy schedule for a kick-back day.

Mary will try to read more of her novel, 11/22/63 and do whatever else comes to mind. Ciao.

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

The sun will rise today @ 7:40 a.m. and set later @ 8:02 p.m.

The current temperature is 34° under cloud skies with winds of 1 mph which make it feel like, wait for it, 31°. Today's forecast from the NWS calls for the high to be 47° under partly-cloudy skies. The high temperature will be about 10° warmer than yesterday.

What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours. Here's a nostalgic trip down memory-lane, featuring a cut from the late Dinah Washington taken from YouTube™.

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

Otherwise, not much is happening here in "The City." I did snap some pix of the snow that lay on the ground yesterday morning as I said I would. I had to get the pix in early as the snow was gone by mid-afternoon when the temperature climbed above freezing.

Gone and quickly forgotten.

Just enough to cause Ginger to feel the pull on her tether, so I had to "Rescue" her so that she could do her duty.

And of course, the aforementioned snow on the sidewalks.

And the front-porch steps.

Elsewhere in our self-imposed quarantine, I made a double-batch of vegan Italian meatballs. Mary used some of them for our dinner along with her old-family recipe for pasta sauce. Actually, this was her old family recipe, using her special blend of eleven herbs and spice. Oops, I was channeling an old ad from Kentucky Fried Chicken there for a moment.

I don't actually know how many herbs and spices she used, but I do know that the result was delicious. I could tell you exactly how many herbs and spices are in my old family recipe for vegan Italian meatballs, but you know what happens after I tell you a secret.

Once the meatballs were done, put away, and the dishes were washed, we took the fur-children for a short walk. They seemed happy with that.

Today, I have to go down to the man-cave and set up our greenhouse and some lighting so that I can get the seeds started for our garden later this spring. We received the seeds yesterday for all of our plantings, but only some need to be started and nurtured.

I hope to have nothing else to do today as I want some down-time. I need to read, play with my girls, perhaps take another walk with the fur-children, etc. I was unable to work the crossword puzzle from the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune due to technical difficulties beyond my control. The printing process cut off part of the puzzle and made it unworkable. That's the second time in recent printings.

Mary has plenty to do to day too, as I espied her cookbook for breads in the kitchen while I was downstairs earlier. I know that she will tell me that the actual bread making process is mostly letting the rising process take its course, but that's the part of the process that makes her breads so good. When I bake bread, I go for recipes that use a quick-rise process that generally take about one to two hours.

So, that's all folks. 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 sun will rise today @ 7:42 a.m. and set later @ 8:01 p.m.

The current temperature is 31° under cloudy/snowy skies with winds of 5 mph which make it feel more like 27°. Today's forecast from the NWS calls for the high to be 40°, also under cloudy/snowy skies this morning, that will give way to partly/cloudy conditions by early afternoon. That high temperature will be about the same as yesterday.

Our weekend was rather blah due to our self-enforced isolation caused by the Covis-19 virus pandemic. Just a side note, our illustrious POTUS in late February said that there were only 15 cases of the Covid-19 virus in the US and that once we got to warmer weather, that number would drop to 0. Here in Grand Haven, MI, we don't expect to see continuous days of 50° plus temperatures until about April 5, so...

The latest statistics show that we have 1,035 confirmed cases of the virus in MI and 8 deaths. In the US, there are over 35,000 cases and 458 deaths. In the world as a whole, there are nearly 342,000 cases and nearly 15,000 deaths being reported! One good bit of news, reports also indicate that slightly over 99,000 people have recovered worldwide.

It was a bit of a shock to get up earlier and see that we'd had enough snowfall to cover the grassy areas in GH with about one-inch of snow. The roads are mostly-clear, while a bit of snow is sticking to the sidewalks. It looks as though the fur-children won't be getting a walk today. I'll take some pix after the sunrise to include in my next blog.

I was just watching the morning news and they showed pix of Times Square in NYC. The place was like that proverbial ghost-town, deserted. No cars and just a few pedestrians. Here in GH, we've been out with our fur-children and there are few people on the streets and vehicular traffic has been considerably lighter. I guess that explains the low prices for gasoline. It is $1.56 now at the station that I pictured in a previous blog.

The MLB Channel™, is showing baseball games from previous years to fill their air-time. For someone like myself, that is just not enough. Sigh.

We collectively made three-ingredient, no cook chocolate fudge yesterday. I had a small piece earlier and it tastes great.

Speaking of yesterday, a local Irish band that we like, Peat in the Creel, was supposed to play at the Spring Lake District Library yesterday with us in attendance. But, with all of the libraries in MI closed until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that didn't happen.

That comes on the heels of a cancelled concert last Friday by the band Rainbow Girls originally scheduled for Friday night but which has since been rescheduled for October 22. We also have tickets to see a band called Young Fables on April 10, they too have been canceled with no make-up date as of yet. 
 
Another local duo that we like, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, had been scheduled for a concert on March 28. Instead, they will be playing @ Seven Steps Up on April 18 @ 8:00/7:00 p.m. via a live-stream broadcast. I urge you to tune in and donate to this "Free" concert with proceeds going to Ruth and max, Seven Steps Up and the terrific staff at that venue. 

Speaking of the fur-children, Ginger tried to get my attention in the media-room last night, but I was mostly asleep. So, she went downstairs and was probably more successful with Mary. Then she cuddled there for a while before her final out and coming to join me in bed. 
cuddled there for a while before her final out and coming to join me in bed. 

Who could you resist those eyes?

Tomorrow, I originally had an appointment to have my few remaining hairs cut and my beard trimmed. I cancelled that appointment Saturday morning. But yesterday, we learned that the State of Michigan had ordered all nail salons, beauty parlors and massage parlors closed, effective immediately. I'm guessing that included barber shops too. My barber relies on a part of the fees that she gets and tips for her income. So, I may have to find a way to help with that. Ciao. 

P.S. Don't ask me why the last part is highlighted in white. I chalk it up to my keyboard technique that pushed some button wrong.

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

The sun will rise today @ 7:43 a.m. and set later @ 8:00 p.m.

The current temperature is 23° under cloudy skies with winds of 5 mph which make it feel more like 17°. Today's forecast from the NWS in GR is for the high to be 42°, also under cloudy-skies and with 5 mph winds. That high temperature forecast will be about 10° warmer than yesterday.

There are no ups nor extras in the forecast for today.

This will be a short blog, as we were about as lazy as you can get yesterday. We accomplished some indoor chores and took the fur-children for a short walk, taking care to avoid other people.

We did get a delivery from Vintage Green yesterday. The owner of that little shop around the corner actually walked over with the newest addition to our deck, a potting table that Mary has wanted since we moved here.

It was crafted for some other purpose long ago, but it is now a potting table that fits nicely in its new home.

I have to remind Mary that it will have to find a winter location that will allow the snow-removal service to clear the deck next winter. A small problem, I hope.

Our lunch was partially the leftover veggies from that terrific pizza of the night before as a side for almost all of the vegan Italian meatballs I'd made the other day. 

Tastier than it looks, and certainly healthy.

I'm going to include a pic of Mary and Ginger in the Lazy-Boy in the living room because it is cute.

One terrier, one foot with a slipper, and Steven King's 11/22/63 What else do you need?

Collectively we slogged our way through two crosswords yesterday and that was the end of our efforts. We may get to the weekend edition of the Grand Haven Tribune later today, or not. No hurry, that's for sure.

I got to the end of editing my manuscript and now I have to begin writing additional prose for my story. In many ways it feels good to be done with the editing, but I'm now faced with adding additional details/words to the story. I hope that I have more words in my figurative quiver.

Otherwise, not much is planned for today. When you are retired, one day is much like the last. But with the pandemic isolation ongoing, it is not quite the same as making choices. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just after 8:00 a.m. in "The City."

The sun rose today @ 7:45 a.m. and it will set later @ 7:59 p.m.

The current temperature is 23° under cloudy skies with winds of 9 mph which make it feel more like 13°. Today's forecast from the NWS in GR is for the high to be 34°, also under cloudy-skies and also with 9 mph winds. A quick look out the WW (Weather Window) paints a different story, as the clouds on the horizon are painting a beautiful picture in shades of pink in the sunny-skies after dawn.

Yesterday, the NWS forecast called for rain-showers and snow in the morning propelled by Gale Force Winds. However, while those winds were present, the snow-event never came to pass. You might even call it a non-starter or maybe a bust. However, the temperatures until Monday, March 30, won't get out of the 40s. A chilly beginning to spring which began last Thursday @ 11:49 p.m. with the Vernal Equinox, that marks the meteorological start to spring. 

As I noted yesterday, I wanted to get some pix of the waves being caused by the windy conditions on the "Big Lake" and Mary assured me that as long as we stayed away from people we could go, and so we did, right after lunch. My non-waterproof DSLR camera was fine, as there wasn't any rain, but my non-insulated and also non-waterproof self felt chilled to the proverbial bones. The fur-children wanted to go too, but they got a walk later, so they were mollified by that.

Once we got to the Grand Haven State Park, we saw many people, some even huddled in the back of a pickup truck reading the Grand Haven Tribune, while others were doing what the "Third Coast" is famous for, surfing the waves on the "Inland Ocean."  I took some pix of them and of the area in general.

This surfer even achieved liftoff using his attached kite.

 Of course, one surfer knows another surfer, and so on.

Moving fast with those Gale Force Winds.

While we didn't take our own fur-children, another person brought one very happy fur-child to the beach.

When you're a dog with a very keen sense of smell, this must have been like finding a "Pirate's Treasure!"

In spite of admonitions about playground equipment, some people let their children play anyway.

On the leeward side of the south pier, the waves were not crashing very hard.

It was time to take a short cruise into the environs of GH and GH Township. Along the way, I took another pic of the current price for gasoline at the gas station that is part of our favorite grocery store, D & W.

Prices for gasoline that is low in demand are following the basics of economics, low demand equals low prices.

On to the township. More pix in areas we've never seen and then home to take an abbreviated walk with our own fur-children.

Not sure where we were in the township, but this structure caught our fancy.

Time to get home and give Mary a chance to work in the kitchen on our dinner. She had decided the night before that a pizza without any cheese, but with an abundance of veggies was in order, Several years ago, when we were in Pensacola, FL on winter hiatus, we stopped many times at a now closed place called Hopjacks. They made the most delicious pizza we'd ever eaten in the southern US.

So, Mary decided that she had enough vegetables to make her own version. Those included: portabello mushrooms, green and black olives, onions, leftover spinach, banana peppers, extra sauce, and garlic all atop Mary's homemade dough. It was was even better than Hopjacks. Plus, earlier this morning, I had the minuscule leftovers for a snack and like any great pizza, it was even better cold!

Many veggies chopped and ready to go!

Oven ready.

No longer any leftovers to worry about!

Today, we have nowhere to go and once again, all day to get there. It is time to start listening to the Flowerland Show on one of our local radios stations, WOOD from Grand Rapids. This program has run continuously for a long time and they give great advice on growing flowering plants and vegetables here in West MI.

Otherwise, we have two weekday editions of the Grand Haven Tribune to read and yest another chance to try our hands at the crossword puzzles from those. 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 after 6:30 a.m. in "The City."


The sun will rise today @ 7:47 a.m. and set later @ 7:58 p.m.

The current temperature is 37° under mostly-cloudy skies with winds that may reach 23 mph, but which make it feel more like 29°. That temperature seems low, but I'll have to go with the NWS on that one, as my meteorologist's degree has yet to arrive in the mailbox. Today's high is forecast to be 36° under cloudy-skies with 12 mph winds. The NWS forecast also calls for rain-showers and snow this morning propelled by those winds. Our high temperature is forecast to be 8° colder than yesterday.

As I noted yesterday, I'd like to get some wave pix of the waves being caused by the windy conditions on the "Big Lake" and Mary assures me that as long as we stay away from people, we can go. However, my non-waterproof DSLR camera may disagree as will my non-insulated and also non-waterproof self. The NWS is still forecasting a high temperature of only 34° for Saturday. But after that, we should see temperatures in the mid to upper 40s from now on.

The Gale Warning issued by the NWS for today from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. is still calling for northwest winds of 35 knots, but the waves may now reach 7 to 12 feet from St Joseph to Manistee. I'm not sure why, but the Gale Force Wind speeds of 35 knots don't seem to translate into on-shore strong wind speeds. Maybe it's because of the wind direction. But as I noted earlier, my meteorologist's degree isn't here yet, so...

A Lakeshore Flood Advisory in also still in effect for the same time, and it may cause minor beach erosion and lakeshore flooding for Mason, Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan and Van Buren counties. Parking lots and roads along the immediate lakeshore will experience minor flooding. Minor erosion of beaches and sand dunes is expected. 

I was lazy yesterday. We did find time to take the fur-children for a walk before the rains came, however, we were unable to complete the crossword puzzle from the Wednesday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune because it was only partially printed. The clues for the across hints were missing as was the entire top line of the puzzle itself. I will definitely need assistance with yesterday's puzzle.

While I was being lazy and drifting off yesterday, Mary was extremely busy. She completed washing of all of our bedding and many articles of clothing. Not being satisfied with that, she also used an old-family recipe for a Savory Vegan Seitan Roast that we had for dinner. Actually, we only had a small portion of the roast and as predicted by the old-family person who supplied the recipe, not only was the roast delicious, it should last for several days.

She also made one of my favorite sides to accompany the roast, chopped spinach. I've loved spinach in any form since I was a young-lad, whether just the spinach with no sauce or with a homemade cream-sauce. There's always another day for that cream-sauce given our current state of isolation.

Here are some pix of her kitchen efforts supplied by our Senior Staff Photographer and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer herself.

Fresh from the oven

And ready to eat with the spinach.

Today, we'll retrieve the Grand Haven Tribune from the mailbox and perhaps go to the shores of the "Big Lake" for some picture taking. Given the predicted weather conditions, getting the fur-children out after breakfast will be a challenge in and of itself, so a walk is highly unlikely.

Otherwise, we have no plans but to shelter in place and try to stay healthy. We've had to cancel several appointments to allow us to stay out of harms way. Things are not looking good with regard to the Covis-19 pandemic.

A shout out to all of the medical personnel and all of the clerks in the grocery stores for their efforts during these trying times. Plus, the teachers across the nation who have had to adapt on the fly to internet-based lessons are also to be commended.

So much time on our hands has not been a problem since we are retired, but still, it would be nice to see an end to the pandemic, the panic-buying, and the hoarding that is accompanying it. One person opined on Twitter©, that a lot of food will be thrown away by people and never eaten once thos is al over. That's just one result of poor planning on the part of the powers that be in D.C. and the public in general. Ciao.

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

The current temperature is 37° under mostly-cloudy skies with winds of 4  mph that make it feel more like 34°. Today's high is forecast to be 50° under cloudy-skies with 14 mph winds. Part of the forecast from the NWS also calls for showers this evening @ 90%. Unfortunately, the forecast  also calls for temperatures in the 30s through mid to upper 40s for several more days after today's warm spell.

A Gale Watch that had been issued by the NWS for Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. has been up[graded to a Gale Warning. Northwest winds of 35 knot and waves 7 to 10 feet are possible from St Joseph to Manistee. Strong winds can cause hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels. Mariners should consider altering plans to avoid possible hazardous conditions. They should consider remaining in port, seeking safe harbor, altering course, and/or securing the vessels for severe wind and waves.

An additional advisory has been issued by the NWS. A  Lakeshore Flood Advisory in effect for the same time as that Gale Warning, may cause minor beach erosion and lakeshore flooding for Mason, Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan and Van Buren counties. Parking lots and roads along the immediate lakeshore will experience minor flooding. Minor erosion of beaches and sand dunes is expected. 

The sun will rise today @ 7:49 a.m. and set later @ 7:56 p.m.

Yesterday was a busy day here at the manse. I made those aforementioned vegan Italian meatballs, which became part of our dinner. In addition, I made a batch of vegan butter and garlic pull-apart rolls. I've made them once before, but it has been a while. The rolls are baked in a Bundt cake pan to give them shape and texture.

To memorialize my efforts, our Senior Staff Photographer used her Smartphone camera to record the various stages of my efforts.

The dough was made and I had to separate it into 16 smaller pieces to be hand rolled, coated with herb and garlic butter and then placed in the greased pan in two layers with more butter and parsley flakes on top.

Once baked, the rolls separated easily and they were so good, that we had to put them away.

Fortunately, Mary is good @ shape-sorting and they fit nicely in a gallon-sized food storage bag.

I love to bake. A lot of work, but well worth the effort. Mary was hard at work on some indoor chores as I baked along with reading the Tuesday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. Since it was
Tuesday's newspaper, I was able to complete the crossword puzzle with no assistance after baking. I'll be working Wednesday's puzzle today and that may require assistance.

Traffic is very light around GH lately, owing to the Coronavirus shutdown of the schools, the restaurants, and the watering holes. A story in the Grand Haven Tribune described the problems that some of the restaurants are encountering due to the shutdown by the state. Plus, our favorite music venue in Spring Lake, Seven Steps Up, has had to cancel or hopefully reschedule several concerts. Some of the newer and smaller restaurants along with Seven Steps Up, may go out of business. Sigh.

A side and sort of sad note too. An artist that we have seen before, Scott Mulvahill, has canceled his April tour, on which one of his stops was supposed to be, Seven Steps Up. Instead of touring and exposing himself and others to the Covid-19 virus, he has opted to give a free concert on either Instagram™ or Facebook™ at the following sites today. Scott is a tremendous performer on both the upright bass and the guitar and his music is worth the time to hear. This concert will be from a studio with all the best electronics.

Instagram Live 7:30 pm CST (@scottmulvahill in the Instagram app)

Facebook Live 8:45 pm CST (https://www.facebook.com/ScottMulvahill/

If you'd like to sample his talents, follow this link to YouTube™ on which Scott covers James Taylor's How Sweet it Is. You may want to dodge the ads, but it will be worth your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCbP3Cj0dgc

We are fine here at the manse, and the fur-children are glad to have us around, but we are retired with no place to go and all day to get there. I'd like to take some pix of the wave action, but given the Coronavirus Pandemic, I may just opt to view the waves on the local TV stations. 

Don't forget, that if the skies are clear, and as of now that seems unlikely in GH, and if you are up during the early morning hours, you can look look to the east just before dawn and see what NASA has dubbed a Planet Palooza.

Yesterday, I heard the train pass by heading south @ about 9:30 a.m. I was too lazy to get up and look. Later, after I was done in the kitchen and as Mary handled the cleanup, I watched MMRR locomotive #2019 heading north towing 11 CHCs, one DWTC, and 15 open hopper cars, similar to the one pictured below, which I copied from Google Images™. All seemed to be brand new cars with no graffiti.

Today, I hope to kick back a bit and do some reading, play some music, and just relax. Mary wants to do the same. Ciao.