Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 10:30 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is 23° under cloudy skies, but it feels like 23° with a slight wind out of the east @ one mph. The overnight low temperature will be 22°.

However, the NWS has issued two alerts for tonight into tomorrow. First, is a Flood Watch for the southwest, MI area, including Ottawa, County, in effect until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Joining that Flood Watch will be a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joesph to Manistee from 4:00 a.m. tomorrow until 7:00 a.m. Sunday. Windspeeds up to 30 knots may propel waves up to nine feet! The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:27 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 6:29 p.m.

Tomorrow's high temperature will reach 31° with an overnight low temperature of 30°, with cloudy skies in the a.m. and sunny skies in the afternoon. Best of all, the NWS is forecasting warmer daytime temperatures beginning Sunday and continuing in the 32° plus range for the foreseeable future. 

Today was an average day in retirement here at the manse. We had several inches of snow overnight, but our snow removal service came by earlier this morning and it was soon gone. 

Our fur-children had to go out around 9:00 a.m. this morning before the snow had been cleared but by the time they had to go out after their brunch, their area had been cleaned. 

This morning, well actually early this afternoon, Mary made some tempeh sausages and French toast for our brunch. She had prepared the sausage last night and the bread for the French toast was from the loaf she had baked the other day. Coupled with maple syrup, it was delicious. 

This afternoon, after brunch, we read the newspapers, worked on some crossword puzzles, and Mary listened to her latest book and cross-stitched in her office upstairs. Other than those crossword puzzles, I didn't accomplish much today.

Earlier this evening, while Mary was once again in her office upstairs, I read more of the biography of Lady Bird Johnson, and then she came down and using a previously prepared pizza dough, created our dinner of thick-crust pizza topped with two kinds of vegan cheese and in a first for us, barbecue chickpeas. Another delicious repast.

The pizza tasted even better than it looks as it sat atop the wooden pizza paddle I made many years ago. 

Tomorrow, I have some indoor chores to do, and Mary has more ear reading to go with her cross-stitching. I have no specific plans, but that's okay, as I am quite content to enjoy retirement here on the Palatial Estate. 

No baseball yet, not even spring training, with the lockout still in progress as two groups of millionaires haggle over how to split up the huge pot of money. Baseball is a business, but the two groups are taking away the fun in the game for me and many other fans. Sigh Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 9:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature being reported by the NWS is 32°, although it feels like 22° with a wind out of the east @ 15 mph. Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 7:33 p.m. and set later @ 6:24 p.m.

Lest you think that things here in West MI never change, I have to report that the NWS has issued a combination Flood Advisory/Flood Warning for most of West Michigan's lakeshore including our own Ottawa, County until early tomorrow evening. In addition, there is also a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow from Holland to Manistee, with wind speeds up to 25 knots!\

Tomorrow, the high temperature is forecast to reach 43° before we drop to an overnight low temperature of 22°. As we approach the month of March, the high temperatures will bounce around in the twenties to lower thirties. 

The chance of showers, tomorrow will be about 91%, but in reality, here's something we don't see all that often in February. Tonight, beginning around 11:00 p.m., the rain showers may be accompanied by T-Storms. STWD will probably not be bothered, as she has been losing her hearing these past few months. Any of her reactions may be based on changes in the barometric pressure or the vibrations caused by the thunder. 

At any rate, we had a good day today.

Mary finished baking a loaf of bread that smelled great as it baked. She also listened to more of her latest book and did some additional cross-stitching. I spent some time in my studio completing a couple of paintings and starting a new novel.

Since we had to pick up some meds for Sugar, we took a couple of side trips for some exercise and photoshoots at Lake Forest Cemetery and near the downtown. I captured some nice shots at the cemetery and of the sunset at both the cemetery and near the channel.

I've shot this pic many times, but the leafless surrounding trees made it more interesting.

I was going for the reflection in this shot.

At the Columbarium, this cat was keeping watch. 

As our intrepid Senior Staff Photographer contemplated the trees.

Many colors and textures made this of interest to me.

I think I did a better capture of the reflection in this shot. 

Sunset over the channel near Dewy Hill.

More of the background for this shot. 

The setting sun through the trees at Lake Forest Cemetery.

Tomorrow, we have no specific plans. Some light indoor chores, some reading, and that's about it. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 9:00 p.m. in "The City." 

Does it always seem that I am writing about the conditions on Lake Michigan? It does to me, and tonight's blog will see no deviation, as the NWS has issued yet another Gale Warning from St. Joseph to Manistee that will remain in effect until 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night. South Gale Force Winds up to 40 knots and waves as high as 10 feet are possible.

However, the winter weather in Michigan is mostly as it should be, with a current temperature of 28° that feels more like 15°, with winds out of the southeast @ 18 mph! Our overnight low temperature will drop to 27° before we rebound to tomorrow's high temperature of 44° with a 78% chance for rain in the afternoon and of course, windy conditions. 

The overnight low temperature tomorrow night will drop to 28°, but the high temperature on Thursday will only reach 32° with a chilly overnight low temperature of 14°. We will continue to see wide variations in the daytime temperatures from the 20s to the 40s as we head into March. 

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:42 a.m. ans set laer @ 6:16 p.m.

We had another visit from our snow service earlier today along with a visit by the snowplow driver who takes care of our neighbor. Collectively, everything got nicely cleaned up.

Ginger went to her grooming appointment earlier this afternoon and she looks terrific. STWD stayed behind, but she was locked out of her "Office" in Mary's Craft Room as we waited for the carpet to dry there. She has now once again happily taken up residence.

Since we had to pick up Ginger from her spa treatment, we decided it was a good opportunity to go downtown and make use of the heated sidewalks for some exercise and a photo op before we retrieved her.

Every winter in February, each merchant or organization creates a "Snow Person" to depict their business or organization. Not all of the snow people have yet been displayed, but here are some that were on display during our visit.

Odd Side Ales snow person is a Mardi Gras-themed display.

Whereas the Surf Shop snow person is Sandy, the coconut snow person.

The GH Dept of Public Works display is this Hard Hat wearing snow person

I'm not sure who this snow person was deployed by. Perhaps the Tri-Cities Historical Museum or a nearby jewelry store.

Jumpin' Java gave us this skiing snow person.

Dogs were the theme of this window display.

Otherwise, I have been happily reading a new book entitled The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Mary has this book in her electronic queue, so I can't be very specific. However, I can say that I am enjoying the book immensely. I also read two newspapers and worked on two crossword puzzles today too.

Speaking of Mary, she is currently listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer along with cross-stitching another project. I tried reading the print version of that book, but it just wasn't working for me. Perhaps I should try watching the movie version instead.

Mary watched another session about birding presented by the chief naturalist for the Ottawa County Parks. She had also watched a session last Saturday morning. I am not that into birding, but she is enjoying the presentations. 

Tomorrow, it is time for more indoor chores and more reading. 

I should mention that I had the chance to play my ukulele along with a Zoom™ ukulele group last Sunday night and I plan to do so again this coming Sunday. I miss having a group with which to play music. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature under rainy skies is 30° with the wind blowing @ 22 mph that makes it feel more like 17°. Our overnight low is forecast to drop to 29°.

We have that aforementioned Gale Warning in effect until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow with wind speeds possibly up to 40 knots that may produce waves up to 12 feet in height from St. Joseph to Manistee!

Our current barometric pressure readings are 29.09" of Hg and rising per my DTWS, while the NWS in GR is reporting 29.70" of Hg and falling. 

The high-temperature today is expected to reach 40°, albeit with a 59% chance for additional rain and/or snow showers. The overnight low tonight will fall to 18° causing whatever falls from the sky to freeze on roads and sidewalks. The sun will rise this morning @ 7:49 a.m. and set later @ 6:09 p.m.

I regret that I have but one picture to offer on this blog, but it is a picture taken by our Senior Staff Photographer of my afternoon's activities in the kitchen. The picture depicts both the end product and my new apple peeler which helped me speed up the process. The peeler actually worked as advertised.

The pie crust turned out great, and the mechanical peeler was a great tool. The pie itself? We'll be sampling that later this morning. As you can see it is another apple pie.

Otherwise, yesterday was another in a series of days in which I worked on two crosswords puzzles. read two newspapers, Thursday's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune, and the Wednesday edition of the USA Today, and watched another episode of Suits.

Mary spent some time cross-stitching and listening to her own book after reading the same newspapers and also watching Suits. She also made a nice lunch of leftover stir fry. Dinner was fried tofu with tartar sauce and a side salad. I liked both meals.

Today, the cloudy conditions will likely force me to postpone my painting activities, which will allow me time to play some music, read two more newspapers, complete two more crossword puzzles, and continue reading my latest novel, Fear No Evil, by James Patterson. Mary has plans for brunch after our fur-children have been out for their morning offerings, which will include something for the main dish and apple pie for the second course.

Otherwise, retirement should consume most of our time. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 10:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature under rainy skies is 36°, as we drop to our overnight low temperature of 29°. However, with a wind blowing directly out of the west @ 15 mph, it feels more like 27°.

There is a Small Craft Advisory in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night, with wind speeds gusting up to 30 knots and waves up to six feet in height.  

That Small Craft Advisory will be superseded by yet another Gale Warning beginning @ 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night and continuing until 9:00 a.m. Friday, with wind speeds possibly up to 40 knots and the waves may reach heights up to 11 feet. I may have to grab my camera and get down to the shores of the "Big Lake" at Grand Haven State Park for some action shots.

That being said, the sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:50 a.m. and set later @ 6:08 p.m.

We got out late today to make yet more donations at the local Goodwill™ store as Mary continues to pare down our things and stuff. I agree wholeheartedly that we have accumulated too many things over the last 10 years and too much stuff that either cluttered up the manse or that we never use. 

We followed that stop with a visit to Hofma Preserve for a possible photoshoot. Unfortunately, there was too much ice on the pathways so we decided that discretion is truly the better part of valor and so we stopped only long enough to take a couple pix of the ice-covered trails. While it looks like I took these shots in black and white, they were taken under very cloudy conditions. 

What looked inviting out the windows of our car, proved less than safe close up.

Same in this direction.

So, we quickly hopped into the car and took off for the waterfront and the downtown area of GH to take some pix of the channel and the downtown area. It felt good to just get out and walk with a camera in my hands. 

No small craft nor ships were in the ice-covered channel.

Dewey Hill from the east side of the channel.

Looking south towards the mouth of the Grand River.

 Looking to the east, Mary suggested this shot of the Grand Theater Marquee through the leafless tree.

I decided that this shot of the Portobello Restaurant sign at the old piano factory mall was interesting too. 

Although she is decluttering the manse, this corner of her desk is reserved for some of her cross-stitch efforts, a picture of a butterfly that she took this past summer at Ottawa Sands Park, and the dragon globe I gave her last Christmas.

Yesterday afternoon, I made a stirfry for our dinner, as Mary employed our steamer to make the rice. Collectively, we created a great dinner with a lot of leftovers. 

Earlier tonight, we collaborated on making Coleslaw using our food processor. The slaw turned out fantastic!

Tomorrow, I hope to get into the kitchen and bake another apple pie. I have a new apple peeling device that is supposed to cut the time of apple peeling by 50%. We shall see.

Otherwise, that's enough for one day after I let our fur-children out for their duties. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 11:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is an actual 20° under cloudy skies, but it feels like just 6° with a wind out of the south @ 18 mph!. Tomorrow's high temperature will reach 33°, which is about 9° warmer than today's high and the low tomorrow night will drop to only 25°. However, the skies will remain cloudy all day with a 24% chance for additional precipitation. 

There is currently a Gale Warning in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow with sustained winds of 20 - 30 knots and gusts possible from 35 - 40 knots that may propel waves up to 10 feet in height. All mariners are strongly cautioned to alter their plans, if they had any, regarding venturing out on the "Big Lake."

The sun will rise tomorrow morning @ 7:55 a.m. and set tomorrow evening @ 6:02 p.m. All times shown are in eastern standard time.

We had some errands to run today after we finished the indoor chores, which included a stop for a drop-off and pick up at the library, a stop at the post office, and a drop-off of a defective item received from that big-box e-tailer. Once those were accomplished, Mary drove and I deployed my camera on a long-delayed trip across the bridge to Spring Lake and to the parking lot at "The Bell."

I didn't get any paint on canvas today, but the photoshoot more than made up for that. Here are some pix from our journey.

I took many pix at Mill Point Park in Spring Lake.

I wasn't sure how this shot would turn out, but the Golden Hour sunset came out great.

Over the snow mound in the park, this playground called out to me.

My son can probably tell me the year of this snow-bound Fiero.

Clouds with the sun in the background are great subjects.

               

As the sun was setting over the channel of the Grand River.

                                         

The drive-thru line at "The Bell" was moving slowly, so I used the time to take some cloud and factory pix.

Dusk was moving in, but there was enough light to get this shot. 

Overall, we had a nice outing without the fur children. Tomorrow is a day of no plans but reading and stitching. It was nice to get out, but it can be nice to stay in too. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 11:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature under partly-cloudy skies is 15°, but it feels like 4° with a wind blowing out of the northeast @ 9 mph. Our overnight low temperature is forecast by the NWS to drop to a very chilly 6° before we rebound to tomorrow's high temperature of 20° under mostly-cloudy skies. 

All of the snow that hit western Michigan yesterday fell to the south of our little corner of the world, mostly towards Kalamazoo. That's fine with me and our snow removal service which came by today and cleared the almost two inches of snow that fell here versus the 12 inches that fell south of here. 

Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 7:57 a.m. and set later @ 6:00 p.m. 

I took a nap last evening after we placed our new area rug in the foyer. It looks great.

While I slept, Mary made one of my favorites, spaghetti-role casserole. It was delicious and totally vegan. 

Today, I had a hankering for vegan hot dogs, which Mary prepared for lunch by wrapping them in tortillas, served with a side of Tater Tots™. 

Afterward, I worked on some crossword puzzles and read more of our collective read,  At War With Government edited by Amy Fried and Douglas B. Harris. It is very eye-opening, to say the least. I read from that book twice today, and in between, I made some vegan Italian burgers, two of which became part of our dinner, preceded by a salad. 

I hope to spend some time in my studio tomorrow, playing music, putting paint on canvas, adding more to my colored pencil drawing, and in general, doing what I want to do, not what I have to do. 

During the day today, Mary was happily listening to my reading as she cross-stitched. Tonight, like many nights, she is downstairs listening to her own book and cross-stitching on a project of her choice.

I just watched a romance movie on Prime Video™ and like all of the romances I watch, the guy meets the girl, they have a misunderstanding, reconcile, and live happily ever after, usually in a small town. This one turned out just as I'd hoped. Ciao.