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

Yes, my loyal readers, in spite of recent changes to my sleeping pattern, I awoke around 6:30 this mornig and decided I needed to get up for a while. That allowed me time to go to the kitchen of  the manse and do my regular nighttime rounds.

We have a current temperature of 45° under cloudy-skies with only a slight chance for precipitation of 10%. Tuesday, that percentage rises to 70%, when the precipitation has a chance of becoming snow-showers or just plain rain. Either way, it is a good thing that our fall clean-up is done.

Tomorrow, the NWS has issued a Small Craft Advisory that begins tomorrow @ 1:00 a.m. in the wee hours, and continues until 7:00 p.m., from St. Joseph to Manistee. WInd speeds will be 20 - 25 knots with waves of 3 to 6 feet. 

Much of that weather information is based on the current barometric pressures supplied by the NWS in GR and my won DTWS. The NWS is reporting 30.34" and falling, whilst my DTWS is displayinhg 29.71" and steady here on the shores of the :Big Lake."

The sun rose this morning @ 7:46 a.m. and it will set this evening @ 5:15 p.m.

Yesterday, Mary and I completed the final details in the vast gardens.We trimmed the rose bushes and the mums along with cutting Mary's Giant Hibiscus, "Pink", down to her base. Next Thursday, when I take the yard-waste recycling bin to the curb for Friday's pickup, it should be the last time this year, as we put 2020 in the rearview mirror and I can place that bin behind the garage for the winter months.

We finished our collective reading of the Sarah Kendzior book, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America yesterday afternoon after we were done in the vast gardens. That was also after we had given our fur-children an unexpected treat when they were out there with us. Actually, I'm not sure how unexpected their treat of dental cleaning chews was, as Ginger seemed to know that when they go out together on their tethers, they get a treat. Smart cookie, or scammer? We may never know. 

We also watched another episode of Victoria and we are liking it a lot. That bodes well for a few weeks. And then, who knows. We realized that we have been watching all of these shows as a replacement for our semi-regular visits to the various restaurants and/or bars that we frequented when we didn't want to cook or didn't want to do anything beyond the minimum. Our sense is that those days may be gone forever. 

Last night, I/we watched the annual Chicago pre-Thanksgiving concert given by Wayne Faust. In the past, that concert took place at the Elk's Lodge in Des Plaines, IL. But with the Covid-19 illness and death tolls rising rapidly across the country, Wayne made his appearance via the internet in another of his Living Room concerts. Mary watched some, but mostly she stayed downstairs to read. 

Here's hoping that 2021 sees a return to somewhat more before and more normal times and Wayne can return to Des Plaines in person. Still, our own attendance may depend on the widespread distribution of a vaccine for the virus and our advancing ages. We do want to get down to see our children, Adam and Stephany next year too. 

Today, we have only a few things that are on our must-do agenda. We have some library books to return, a package to drop off at the UPS box downtown without others present, and perhaps a walkabout with our fur-children. As the temperatures drop, and the Covid-19 pandemic rages, we expect to see fewer people on the streets and out and about in general. As for ourselves, we are staying safe and out of harm's way here at the manse. 

However, the news reports that show large numbers of people at airports traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday and our own observations here in GH, we are not sure what the short-term future will bring. 

I nearly forgot. I also watched a PBS broadcast of a program called Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour that originates in Knoxville, TN. Last evening's broadcast featured various artists performing with back-up musicians as they played their ukuleles. My favorite had to be a young woman, EmiSunshine and her band Rain, which is composed of her own family members. Her voice is pure and unique and the fact that she can flat out play her ukulele was a treat. I've included a sample of her efforts from a concert performed in Vienna, VA in June of 2019, at the Jammin' Java venue there and recorded for us on YouTube, entitled Somewhere over the Rainbow. Her unique version really rocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A1ptoGwr4E&feature=youtu.be

If you haven't gotten enough, here is Emisunshine performing the classic song, Crazy written by Willie Nelson and made famous by the late Patsy Cline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOFb7aUOF1A

Now I think it's time I signed off. Ciao.