Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 1:15 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is 48° under cloudy skies with windy conditions prevailing. The "Real Feel" temperature is 40° with 23 mph winds directly out of the east. 

Today's high temperature will be 22° lower than yesterday's high, reaching only 33° with an overnight low of 28°. Winter-like weather has returned with a vengeance.

The sun will rise this morning @ 7:55 a.m. into cloudy skies, with the wind blowing @ 27 mph with gusts possible up to 40 mph!

Those winds are part of the Wind Advisory that is in effect until 8:00 a.m. today for portions of central, south-central, southwest, and west Michigan, which may cause loose objects to be blown around and some damage to trees and a few power lines. 

In addition, there is a Gale Warning in effect until 4:00 a.m. Thursday from St. Joseph to Manistee, with wind speeds up to 35 knots and wave heights from eight to thirteen feet. Surfs up!

We decided it was time for our annual visit to the Holland, MI Kerstmarkt for a perusal of the things available for purchase. Ginger likes to get out and ride with her humans and we were happy to oblige.  

It seems as though some vendors are holding off until December, but we found yet another ornament for our Christmas tree that depicts the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan.

I took along my camera to capture some pix of the Kerstmarkt. 

Many stalls or booths were not open yesterday afternoon. 

But, this vendor was displaying various wooden toys for sale.

Ginger was especially interested in this booth selling hot dogs.

The booth where we purchased our ornament used lasers to cut ornaments and this coffee table.

Additionally, on our way home, we stopped at the Grand Haven State Park for some pix of Lake Michigan, the lighthouses, and the environs.

I like to include this dune in my photos.

Naturally, the beach was devoid of most people as the waves crashed upon the shore. 

I zoomed in for this shot. 

But pulled back a bit for this one. 

What is any photo op without a shot of an empty playground?

Today we plan to be retired. I will be making more vegan burgers, setting up our Christmas tree, possibly replacing our cable modem with a high-speed version, and working some crosswords, that is if I can find the time. Being retired takes a lot of time and effort. 

That looks like enough for one day. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:15 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is 41° under clear skies with a "Real Feel" temperature of 38°. owing to a slight wind out of the northwest @ four mph. 

The NWS is showing a current barometric pressure of 29.64" of Hg and falling, while my own DTWS is showing 29.00" of Hg and rising, here on the shores of Lake Michigan. 

The low temperature this morning has already been reached with that 41° reading, and today's forecast from the NWS calls for rain beginning around 6:00 a.m. and continuing off and on throughout today and into this evening as we hit our high temperature after sunrise @ 7:52 a.m. and later our sunset @ 5:12 p.m. 

There are no advisories, watches, warnings, or alerts for any additional weather-related events. 

Yesterday was a day for college football fans, as the 12 - 0 Wolverines of Michigan destroyed the Buckeyes of the Ohio State University, 45 - 23, without the Wolverines star RB, Blake Corum, injured in last week's game. The running and passing prowess of Wolverine's QB J.J. McCarthy overwhelmed the efforts of the OSU defense and the Buckeyes Heisman Trophy candidate, QB C.J. Stroud. 

Now it's on to Indianapolis, IN, and Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big 10 Championship game versus the 8 - 4 Big 10 West champions, the Boilermakers of Purdue, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday night, 12/03/22. After yesterday's strong showing, I think that the Wolverines' chances for a 13 - 0 Big 10 season look very good.

The 5 - 7 Spartans of MSU fell hard to the 10 - 2 Nittany Lions of Penn State yesterday, 16 - 35. Nuff said.

Sadly, the 3 - 9 Huskies of NIU were also outplayed by the 2 - 9 Akron Zips yesterday, losing 12 - 44. Also, Nuff said.

I once again put on my plumber's hat yesterday and repaired the downstairs toilet for the final time, replacing the last of the mechanical pieces that I had not already replaced. My able apprentice plumber, Mary, and my own sous terrier and plumber's assistant, Ginger, who later assisted with my latest batch of Funfetti cookies, had already gone to that nearby big-box home center for the replacement part before I was even up and about. Mary got the part, and Ginger got petted. The actual repair took less than five minutes. 

Mostly, we read the newspapers, listened to our collective ear-read, worked the crosswords, assisted with the cryptograph in the Grand Haven Tribune weekend edition, and watched that aforementioned Wolverines' defeat of the Buckeyes.

Today should be another day of retirement, ear-reading, watching the rain fall, cross-stitching, and other artistic pursuits. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:55 a.m. in "The City" on a dark and wintry night. Oops, I was channeling Snoopy there for a second. 

Our current temperature under cloudy skies is a seasonal 43° with a wind out of the northeast @ 16 mph that makes it feel more like 35°. 

We have a Small Craft Advisory in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until 4:00 p.m. today, with winds blowing @ 25 knots producing waves up to five feet in height, In short, to borrow from the Bard, "Much ado about nothing" here on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Today, the sunrise will occur @ 7:49 a.m. and the sunset will be @ 5:13 p.m. In between, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 45°, which is five degrees cooler than yesterday, with the day starting out cloudy, but giving way to sunny skies later before we drop to an overnight low temperature of 40°.

Well, another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone and that means two things. First, Mary with slight assistance from yours truly pulled off another Vegan Thanksgiving repast. Ph, I can now get to my annual Christmas decorating, that's number two.

We had my personal favorite, Ocean Spray™ jellied cranberry sauce, along with a delicious vegan roast, not turkey, but a much better tasting and more moist version that required no sacrifice on the part of another living thing. This was a new recipe and is a definite keeper, although Mary would probably agree that the effort to get it into the oven was considerable. Mushrooms, onions, garlic, and myriad herbs and spices along with some strenuous kneading made this a memorable main dish. 

Mary also made the bread the day before that became one of our side dishes, dressing, with Mary's secret blend of herbs and spices, and finally, her version of green bean casserole. It was all delicious.

As an aside, Mary believes that because she did not have her cooking schedule calculated and written down, she had to work extra hard to accomplish our meal. I appreciate her work nonetheless. 

Here is a pic of her efforts, with yours truly in the background.

I was delighted by Mary's efforts.

All in all, Thanksgiving was a day to give thanks, that is unless you are a Detroit Lions fan, as they fell to the Buffalo Bills, 25 - 28. I think that the Lions were jobbed by the zebras several times during the course of the game. That's just one semi-partisan fan's opinion. 

Earlier in the afternoon, we made it out to the back forty to do some light outdoor chores, after which it was time for Mary's kitchen extravaganza. 

Today should be a day of relaxation for all parties here at the manse. We'll continue to listen to our ear-reading, Mary will do more cross-stitching and ear-reading on her own book, and I'll try to get to some artistic pursuits and reading too.

Tomorrow my early afternoon will be consumed by the contest @ 12:00 p.m. in Columbus, OH between the Buckeyes of the Ohio State University, and our own Wolverines of Michigan. I am concerned that the Wolverines may get stomped by the Buckeyes, who are looking for revenge over last year's loss to the Wolverines. 

Otherwise, not much is on tap here at the manse. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a seasonal 42°, although it feels more like 35° with a wind out of the southeast @ 12 mph under partly cloudy skies. 

Our low-temperature forecast from the NWS calls for a drop to 36° overnight before we rebound to a very lovely 46° for tomorrow's high temperature with an overnight low of 41°.

Sunset today happened @ 5:15 p.m. The sunrise tomorrow will occur @ 7:47 a.m. with sunset @ 5:14 p.m.

We didn't do much today. However, we are listening to a book about the code-breaking women and men both before and during WWII. That inspired Mary to try her hand at the Cryptograph in today's Grand Haven Tribune. She was successful!

Earlier this afternoon, we traveled to Muskegon to make a return. Then we stopped at Hidden Cove Park on the shores of Mona Lake, a memorial to all veterans, but very specifically to the veterans of the War in Vietnam. I took some pictures of the Bell UH-1 helicopter located there. The UH-1 in its many incarnations began service in 1959 and saw extensive use during the Vietnam conflict. The UH-1 is commonly called The Huey.

A Bell UH-1 "Huey"

A pic of a restored US Marines Sikorsky UH-34D, as used in Vietnam that I found on Facebook™. These were also used by the US Marines during that war.

I also took pictures of Mona Lake and the flora found there.

Dandelions are hearty perennials. 

It was an overcast day.

But, the lake is not frozen over, yet, due to the warm temperatures.

I wanted to include this shot of Mona Lake through the now leafless trees in the park.

Recent Gale Force winds are the likely cause of this tree's demise. 

The same tree is seen from the opposite side. 

Nearby, these trees are just overgrown.

Otherwise, we didn't accomplish much today. I say we, but Mary started a loaf of "Pot Bread" for her vegan Thanksgiving feast, which will be accompanied by a vegan faux turkey. green bean casserole, and my favorite, cranberry sauce, as prepared by the fine folks at Ocean Spray™.

A quick note on sports. Last Saturday, the Spartans of MSU fell to the Hoosiers of Indiana in OT, 31 - 39. The Wolverines of MI were nearly upended by the Fighting Illini of Illinois, but the Wolverines prevailed, 19 - 13.

On Sunday in two games I did not watch, the Lions were victorious over the  Giants, 31 - 18. However, the Bears succumbed to the Falcons, 24 - 27. 

Next Saturday @ 12:00 p.m. the 11 - 0 Wolverines travel to Colombus, OH to face the also 11 - 0 Buckeyes of OSU, in a game that many pundits say will not produce a good outcome for the Wolverines. 

That looks like enough for one blog. 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 under cloudy skies the current temperature is a snowy 33° with a "Real Feel" temperature of 26° due to wind out of the northeast @ seven mph.

But wait, there's more! The NWS has issued two alerts for our area. A Winter Weather Advisory for Allegan, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties until 7:00 a.m. Saturday. That comes with a prediction for eight to fourteen inches of snow, but our perusal of the weather map indicates that it will miss us and go south and inland. Here's hoping.

In addition, the NWS has also issued a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee, with wind speeds of 15 to 25 knots with possible gusts up to 30 knots that may propel waves of nine feet in height! 

The sunrise tomorrow will occur at 7:38 a.m., with sunset at 5:19 p.m.

While it was a chilly day today, we managed to get Ginger to her grooming appointment, do several loads of laundry, with more set for tomorrow, and also go to the city beach and our own back forty for a photo shoot. I am also going to add some shots to show how much things can change over a very short period of time. 

The first snow was yesterday, 11-15-22. I think the grasses in the parkway look good in snow.

Harry the Hare is now a snow bunny!

Today, the outer lighthouse and south pier were in calm waters.

But, that's not always the case.

 

Sometimes the "Big Lake" is roiling.

And sometimes she is calm.

The gulls are always present.

As previously noted, we have no specific plans for tomorrow. We have those aforementioned indoor chores and an ear-read to finish. 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 6:30 a.m. in "The City."

Our current temperature under cloudy skies is 33°, although it feels more like 26° with a wind out of the east @ eight mph. 

Today's forecast calls for snowy/rainy conditions with a high temperature of 37° and an overnight low temperature of 32°. Lest you forget, due to the addition or subtraction of BTUs, that's British Thermal Units, you can have both liquid water and ice at 32°, so watch your step and your speed tonight. 

The sunrise this morning will be @ 7:37 a.m. and the sunset will be @ 5:20 p.m.

Not much happened at the manse over the last few days. 

Saturday afternoon, I watched the Wolverines and the Spartans win. Sunday afternoon, I saw the Lions win over the Bears. Which team was worse? I'd have to say the Bears, as they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with bone-headed penalties and missed opportunities. Nuff said about that. 

Elsewhere, we had a contractor install our CleanCut™ tub entrance and an additional grab bar in our downstairs bathroom yesterday. It took about two and one-half hours total and the results exceed our expectations. 

Today, Mary and Ginger will be going to the small box grocery store for a pick-up I'll have to help get the groceries into the manse upon their return. That means that I have to stay at the foot of the stairs and then hand things up to Mary. My old knees are resistant to excessive trips up and down stairs these days. I'll be here doing more reading and watching more sappy but enjoyable Christmas-themed movies on various channels. 

Later, Ginger and I may also bake some cookies. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:00 p.m. in "The City", where the current temperature is a balmy 66° as we drop down from today's high temperature of 71° under partly cloudy skies. The "Real Feel" temperature is also 66° with a wind out of the southwest @ 16 mph. Our overnight low-temperature tonight will drop to 47°.

We have a Small Craft Advisory from St. Joseph to Manistee in effect until 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, with winds blowing from 15 to 20 knots with gusts possibly up to 30 knots producing waves up to five feet in height. 

Sadly, today's high temperature is the last we'll see in the 60° range for quite some time. Tomorrow, we'll see a high temperature of 50° and by Saturday, the NWS is forecasting a possibility of rain/snow showers with a prediction for Sunday of snow showers without rain. I am so not ready for that. 

The sunset today occurred @ 5:25 p.m. and tomorrow's sunrise will be @ 7:32 a.m. with sunset @ 5:24 p.m.

Be that as it may, we had originally planned to do nothing today, but the beautiful weather forced our hands, so to speak, and we set out for Hofma Park, the channel, and our own manse for a photo op.

A beautiful place.

And Ginger loves the trails. But, she also encountered several off-leash dogs while we were there. 

I like the playground.

And the surrounding trees.

The sun was shining brightly through the trees. 

And people were out on the trails.

This gull was content to sit on the dock at the bay, oops I mean at the channel.

And this pair of ducks were enjoying the beautiful day too.

Since we parked at Chinook Pier, I had to take this shot of the Pere Marquette, #1223.

At home, we were getting ready to head inside, but I heard that train a coming, it was rolling round the bend.

The lone engineer in the cab of old # 2019, blowing his horn.

Since I was out there, I snapped this picture of our parkway garden

While near our deck, the perennials are still in bloom too. 

I almost forgot that earlier in the day, our Senior Staff Photographer and her intrepid companion, use our Smart Phone to capture a picture of the channel. But I said nearly, so here is their photo.

I chose this pic with wispy cirrus clouds and the shadow of our Senior Staff Photographer.

It is worthy of note, that this is the 47th anniversary of the sinking of the ill-fated Great Lakes freighter, the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. Many will remember that the sinking was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, so naturally, I had to add a link to that song from YouTube™. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A

I believe it is time to close this blog. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:30 p.m. in "The City", where the Gale Warning has been lifted, but there is still a Small Craft Advisory in effect from St. Joseph to Manistee until 4:00 p.m., tomorrow. Wind speeds of 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots will propel waves up to seven feet in height, causing dangerous conditions for small craft and beachgoers. I'll include some pix I took of those waves shortly.

The current temperature is 57° with a wind out of the southwest @ 16 mph. The sunset @ 5:30 p.m. and the temperature will drop to a still comfortable 43° overnight. Sunrise tomorrow is @ 7:27 a.m. with sunset @ 5:29 p,m. In between, the high temperature under sunny skies and with 17 mph winds will be nine degrees cooler than today, topping out @ 48° before an overnight low temperature of 35°.

At any rate, Mary, Ginger, and I went to the channel and the lakefront for some photos yesterday and today. 

Lake Michigan is a magnet for photography buffs.

And tourists too.

While the waves pounded the outer lighthouse.

People were still willing to walk on the rocks and the pier.

As well as the beach. However, the strong winds stopped Ginger in her tracks.

We made it home before the skies took on an ominous look.

Ginger was not happy about leaving the beach. She loves it there, just not in the water.

So today, we went back to the channel and the beach for more photos.

Old Glory was majestic in the strong winds.

But the gulls were grounded by those winds.

Jet skiers willingly brave the wind and waves.

As do the kite surfers.

Locals and tourists are awestruck by the waves away from the shoreline.

While some willingly brave the windborne waves at the water's edge.

Which were much more prominent today.

In sports news yesterday, the Wolverines of Michigan, had a sluggish first half but they roared back to defeat the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. 52 - 17. The Spartans of MSU upset the Fighting Illini of Illinois, 23 - 15.  

Earlier this afternoon, the Bears faced the Dolphins at Soldier Field in a hard-fought game, but the Bears succumbed, 32 - 35. The Lions took it to the Packers today, winning their game, 15 - 9. 

Next Sunday, the Lions and the Bears will play @ 1:00 p.m.

Having finished our last ear-read yesterday, we started a new ear-read today, and so far it is excellent. We also finished our indoor chores earlier, both pre and post-our trip to the channel/lakefront.

Tonight, I have another ukulele strum session @ 9:00 p.m.

Tomorrow, Mary and Ginger will walk over to Ginger's doctor for Ginger's regular check-up and some vaccinations. I plan to stay home and out of trouble. Ciao.