Good morning or good evening, wherever you maybe, across the nation and across the world. It is nearing 1:00 p.m. in "The City", where the NWS is reporting a current temperature of 37° under partly cloudy skies as the sun makes occasional appearances on yet another winter's day here in the Tri-Cities area.

With a wind out of the southeast @ 15 mph, it feels more like 28°. The sun rose this morning @ 8:16 a.m. and it will set this evening @ 5:28 p.m.

As proof that the days are getting longer, I offer the following. Tomorrow, the sun will rise @ 8:15 a.m. and set later @ 5:29 p.m. While incremental, the daylight hours are growing longer, and the dark hours of the night is growing shorter.

Yesterday was an interesting day in the sports world. The Chicago Bears dropped yet another game, this one to the Minnesota Vikings, 13 - 29, to make their 2022-23 season record a dismal 3 - 14 - 0. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is that that loss combined with the win by the Houston Texans over the Indianapolis Colts, gave the Bears the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft. 

On a side note, former Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, University of Illinois, and Texans head coach, Lovie Smith, was fired by the Texans after only one season, following the Texans 3 - 13 - 1 2022-23 season. I suspect that he will be back before you miss him.

The Bears have had the first pick twice before, but the Bears never really saw any benefits from those picks in 1936 and 1947. Given the Bears penchant for failure with draft picks, anything is possible. 

On a positive note, the Detroit Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers last night, 20 - 16, to knock the Packers out of the playoffs and allow the Lions to have a winning, 9 - 8, 2022-23 record. Still not make the NFL playoffs. At the risk of redundancy, "Wait till next year!"

Today, Mary and I once again fought the good fight, and I came away from the morning with new respect and love for Mary and a positive outlook for my P/T appointment this afternoon. Oh, I am mostly using my quad cane for regular ambulation now.

We are still listening to our shared ear-read, The Book Woman's Daughter, by Kim Michelle Richardson, a sequel to the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. We liked the first book and this sequel too. 

Tomorrow looks like a day of renewed retirement and that is fine with me. I tried that new book recommended by Mary and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Too many twists, turns, and characters and cities with difficult to pronounce names for me. 

I'm on to a quick read, Janet Evanovich's Going Rogue, featuring Evanovich's heroine of this series, Stephanie Plum. Yes, I know that these books are what some call pulp fiction, but sometimes you have to add one of these genres to your reading list.

Okay, I'm done. Ciao.