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

I was awakened by the passage of MMRR locomotives 2019 and 2170 @ 4:20 a.m. Of course that was the northbound run. I didn't see any of the cars nor the locomotives, but since it was the northbound run, I knew that those same locomotives had passed by. 

I knew that it was those locomotives, as late last night, at exactly 12:00 a.m., I observed the southbound run of those locomotives. In tow, they had two LCs (Lumber Cars) and six CGCs (Covered Gondola Cars).

We have a current temperature of 35° that feels like 27° with a wind out of the south @ 11 mph under cloudy skies. Today, the sun will rise @ 8:16 a.m. and set later this afternoon/evening @ 5:23 p.m. In between, our high today is forecast to reach 36° with only a 5% chance for precipitation. The low later tonight will drop to only 33° before we rebound to Tuesday's balmy high temperature of 38°!

I was a glutton for punishment yesterday, as I watched the Lions close out their dismal 5 - 11 season with a 35 - 37 loss to the 7 - 9 Vikings. Both teams will be watching whatever passes for a Super Bowl this year from their respective couches.

Sadly, the 8 - 8 Bears were soundly defeated by the 13 - 3 Packers in Soldier Field late yesterday, 16 - 35. The Bears will limp into the playoffs following that defeat and the 7 - 18 loss of the Cardinals to the 10 - 6 LA Rams. If yesterday's game is any indicator, the Bears will be watching the Super Bowl from a location that resembles that of the Lions. One pundit said the the Packers were a great team who earned their bye week as the # 1 seed, while the Bears were not a good team who got lucky a few times.

I finished a novel last night, Vince Flynn's Total Power. I liked it, but now I'll take a few days off from reading. 

Today, I have to start taking down our Christmas decorations. I'll start outside and then get to the indoor things after that or tomorrow. No hurry. Sigh, now I have to wait another 11 months to decorate again.

Otherwise, Mary tried a new recipe for baked tofu nuggets that I liked a lot. Great taste and texture. A definite keeper. 

Also today, more music, more reading, and more retirement. Ciao.