Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past the sunrise of 6:46 a.m. and well before the sunset tonight @ 8:39 p.m. this evening. The actual time is just after 8:00 a.m. EDT

We have a current temperature of 36° under cloudy-skies that feels like 28° with a wind out of the north @ 12 mph. That wind is likely part of the  Small Craft Advisory that is in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight from St. Joseph to Manistee. During the day today, windspeeds of 15 to 25 knots are possible, with wave heights from four to seven feet. As the day wears on, the winds will diminish slightly to 15 to 25 knots and the waves should decrease slightly too, as they may only be two to four feet in height.

Today's high temperature forecast from the NWS calls for only 46° with a low temperature of 37° overnight. Great news though, tomorrow's high temperature forecast calls for 64°, with 69° on Tuesday. No more 40s from now on!

A way too quick and sad report in baseball. My teams went 0 for 3 yesterday. But, today is another day. The 10 - 10 Cubs take the field @ 2:20 p.m. EDT this afternoon, as RHP Jake Arrieta, 3 - 1, goes for the boys in blue against their division rivals, the 12 - 8 Milwaukee Brewers. 

Cubs; middle-infielder, Nico Hoerner, after being called up late Thursday to replace the inured Joc Pederson, got a good start @ 2nd base on Friday and played a credible SS in yesterday's game in place of Javier Baez. Sadly a few mistakes with pitches led to the Cub's downfall and a no decision for starter Adbert Alzolay, 0 - 3. 

The 7 - 14 Tigers fell in a close game to the 12 - 7 Royals yesterday, 1 - 2, in spite of a stellar pitching performance by starting and losing LHP Matthew Boyd, who fell to 2 - 2 on the season. Today's game begins @ 1:10 p.m. EDT when RHP Michael Fulmer, 1 - 1 takes the mound for the Tigers. There is a possibility of Miguel "Miggy" Cabrera being activated today and making a start @ 1st base. But if the cold temperature weather forecast is correct, the cold may force Tigers' manager A. J. Hinch to hold off on that and spare the 37yo Cabrera the risk of further injury. 

My beloved 13 - 9 overall, but just 7 - 8 @ home Red Sox, had nothing going yesterday, as they lost big-time to the 13 - 8 Mariners, 2 - 8. What can I say? The Sox have the players, but they are not getting the job done as RHP Nathan Eovaldi saw his record drop to 2 - 2. Today's game, which also begins @ 1:10 p.m. EDT features RHP Eduardo Rodriguez, 3 - 0, on the mound for the beloved. 

We had a great day in the vast gardens yesterday. The mid 50s temperature allowed us and our fur-children to spend lots of time in the great outdoors. Mary helped me assemble her new planters, which true to the description, were easy to assemble with the right tools. She did some raking and weed removal. I removed some weeds too, but my main focus was those planters.

I moved a little dirt around, Mary directed the placement of those aforementioned planters and some other things, and we finished up our outdoor activities with some aches and pains, but also a sense of accomplishment. By the by, although our local deer population tried their best to decimate our tulips in the parkway garde, Mary saved a few flowers and brought them inside to open in front of my abstract painting.

Here is a pic of their new home taken by our Senior Staff Photographer with our Smart Phone.

As previously noted, to save them from future feedings, the bulbs will be moving. 

In between a nice lunch of salad with homemade ranch dressing and assorted toppings and our outdoors adventures, I completed Friday's crossword puzzle and did some reading. We watched another episode of Primeval while eating and then it was time to get out there and tame the gardens as our fur-children watched and chewed on their dental bones. Usually we offer those as treats, but they got them yesterday just for being cute.

We got a lot done yesterday before we came in and Mary crafted one of her taste-treat sensations, a homemade pizza topped with diced tomatoes, yellow sweet-peppers, vegan salami, black olives, oregano, banana peppers, and nutritional yeast. I like this style of pizza a lot. Here is a pic of the finished pizza fresh out of the oven.

Delish!

Later, I was upstairs in the media-room, doing what I like to do, watching car shows, a Hallmark Channel™ movie, and reading. while Mary was downstairs completing a needle-art project. I was summoned to assist in her next project. I needed to sand the rough edges of the frame that supports the project and also help with placing the tacks in the backing material for her project. See how easily I avoided having to choose the correct name for her activity by using the term "needlecraft" versus a more-specific description? Pretty good footwork if I do say so myself.

Today will be a good day to be retired. Cool outdoor temperatures, brisk winds, and our recognition that we aren't as young as we used to be, will make retirement and less strenuous activities very appealing. I'll work another crossword puzzle, probably watch and listen to baseball, and do more reading. 

The indoor chores are done, so there is nothing on the agenda for today that needs to be done. Ciao.