Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City."

Amazingly, I am able to blog at this time because the fine folks at the cable company decided to allow the internet to return It took about 50 minutes this time. Reliability is not their middle name, Perhaps not even their third or fourth name. Oh well, it sure is a good thing that there is no such thing as a cable monopoly. Oops. I spoke too soon. The internet went out again @ 1:31 a.m. Wait, it's back, again @ 1:33 a.m. Will it last? Stay tuned to this space for further developments.

We had two train runs yesterday. The first @ 10:29 a.m. and the second @ 4:08 p.m. In both cases, there was a single locomotive, EMD GP 38 - 2 #2019. The morning southbound relatively short, with only seven CHCs, four, DBTCs. one GTC, and five DWTCs. The afternoon northbound train consisted of 10 DBTCs and three DWTCs. with one of those bringing up the end and girdled by a green corrosion resistant paint stripe.

Sports news yesterday was mostly bad. The Cubs took an early two-run lead but watched it slip away to result in a 2 - 3 loss to the Padres. That loss following two wins over the Padres left the Cubs with a record of 36 - 35 in the NL Central, still good enough for 2nd place. As I've said before, a long winning streak not followed by a long losing streak is an imperative. The Cubs travel to Miami to meet the Marlins tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

The Tigers dropped another one to the Mariners in a game that just finished on the West Coast. The final score was 5 - 7 and dropped the Tigers to 32 - 40 and kept them firmly in 4th place in the AL Central. The only bright spot, if it was a bright spot, was that Justin Verlander, JV, was sharp through four innings, but then gave up three runs on four hits in the 5th. The game took 10 innings to complete, but the outcome was not a positive one for the Tigers in spite of a lead-off home run by Ian Kinsler and a game-tying home run by J. D. Martinez in the 8th. Verlander's relief gave up the winning runs to the Mariners in the bottom of the 10th. The Tigers meet the Mariners again tonight @ 10:00 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox dropped one to the Royals, 4 - 6, following a rare collapse by the Sox' bullpen. The Sox are still in 2nd place, 1/2 game behind the Yankees. The Sox welcome the Angels to Fenway tonight @ 7:10 p.m. One bright spot for the Sox is the play of left fielder Andrew Benintendi, whose 454 foot home run in last night's game was a sight to behold according to observers. The Sox still need a good hitting solid third baseman.

The Caps return to Fifth/Third Ballpark tonight @ 7:00 p.m. to face the Lansing Lug Nuts as the second half of the MWL East season opens. The Caps finished the first half with a record of 46 - 22 and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs at the end of this season.

We got some good news yesterday. Our carpet is finally in at the carpet store. Now, we have to await a scheduled installation time. In addition, I picked up the mirror that we had completed @ City Glass and Mirror here in GH. We picked up the frame on Monday and then dropped it off that afternoon. The mirror is a good fit and the polished brass frame is a perfect match with the other fixtures in the room.

The current weather conditions show a temperature of 64° per the NWS, under partly cloudy skies. This morning there is a 40% chance for T-storms as the temperature climbs to a forecast high of 86° with 17 mph winds and 66% humidity. We'll drop back into the low to mid-70s by Friday and stay there until July 3.

We are hoping to get some household things done today. Mary needs to do some sewing as soon as I get the machine changed over to a different color thread. I decided that since I am awake that I'd do it now. Done!


I am reading yet another Amish based romance novel in my favorite, large print, entitled The EBB TIDE, by Beverly Lewis. Amish based novels are one of my little vices that Mary turned me on to about two years ago, much like watching romances on the Hallmark Channel.

The sun will rise @6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:08 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in "The City."

Of both desire and necessity. I'm going to try to keep this one short,. Will I make it? Stay tuned.

We have a current temperature of 62° under clear skies. Sorry Steph, I don't feel like going outside and trying to take sky shots with the sun about to rise. Maybe tomorrow. We are anticipating a high today of 70° with sunny skies in the morning and a 50% chance of showers and/or T-storms in the afternoon and evening, The Sun will rise in a short while @ 6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:27 p.m.

Sports results yesterday were mostly tragic. Yes, the Cubs eked out a win over the Padres last night 3 - 2, to move to 35 - 34 in the NL Central, still good enough for 2nd place, but that doesn't mean that they are in good shape. Until they run off a string of wins in the seven to ten game range without a commensurate number of losses following, I won't pronounce them in good shape., The Cubs play the Padres again tonight @ 8:05 p.m.

The Tigers, what can I say? They fell to 32 - 37 in the AL Central following another loss, this time to the Mariners, 2 - 6. The Tigers are still mired in 4th place and going nowhere, except to their couches in the fall. In addition, manager Brad Ausmus will take the fall at season's end because that's what happens to managers when their teams don't win. The Tigers are once again in Seattle tonight @ 10:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Royals last night by a score of 2 - 4 and also fell back into 2nd place in the AL East with a record of 39 - 31. They'll try again tonight in KC @ 8:15 p.m.

Six members of the Caps play will in the MWL All-Star game tonight.

We ran some errands yesterday before I retired to the front porch of the manse for some R & R.

I was on the porch yesterday afternoon reading and watching the clouds roll in when @ 5:15 p.m., locomotive 2019 passed slowly by heading north. In tow were five CHCs, two DBTCs and two DWTCs, I wasn't around for the southbound run. My apprentice trainspotter recorded the passage for me.

However, since I was there, I did snap some pictures of the clouds and our surroundings for posterity. Here they are with no particular significance nor order.

Blue skies shining on me.

Nothing but blue skies did I see.

Unless you count the fur-children staring out the window @ me.

But then, the skies turned gloomy, as though a rain event was imminent.

But no, nothing, as usual.

We plan to stay in today and do those indoor chores I need to get to. Otherwise, Mary will be chatting and something else that I forgot. Before that, we'll walk with the aforementioned fur-children and then... Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

I had a great Father's Day. Adam called before he and Steph headed out to the traditional Father's Day car show. He did send me some pictures of the cars there, so I felt bonded. I was happily in bed, listening to the morning news programs. A win-win for all.

The weather yesterday was very comfortable here in W. Michigan, as it should be in mid-June. We've had too many hot days already, so the respite was very welcome. We have a current temperature of 62° under partly cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to be 71°, also under partly cloudy skies. The NWS is forecasting temperatures in the mid to upper 70s for the foreseeable future. Much better. The sun will rise today @ 6:05 a.m. and set later @ 9:27 p.m.

Part of my Father's Day was enjoying the latest vegan culinary creation from Mary's Kitchen. She tried a recipe for vegan meatless meatballs that turned out great. She served them with pasta and I pronounce them a keeper.

I have some indoor chores to do today, but they can wait as we may run some errands instead. My cuckoo clock needs some repairs and a tune-up. One of the hands is broken, so it needs a professional to provide some TLC. Fortunately, we have "The Clock Doctor" nearby in Spring Lake, so the repairs should be expedited.

The sports that I watched/checked into yesterday produced mostly solid results.

The Cubs once again reached the .500 mark in the NL Central with a mark of 34 - 34, following their 7 - 1 win over their division rivals, the Pirates. Sadly, while that gives the Cubs a 2nd place position in their division, that same record would put them in 5th in the AL East and 4th in the NL West. Most of the divisions in the Major Leagues are showing weak results this year. The Cubs are home tonight to face the Padres @ 8:05 p.m.

The Tigers continued their losing ways with a 1 - 9 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. That loss gives the Tigers a 32 - 36 record in the AL Central and sole possession of 4th place. The Tigers play the Mariners tonight in Seattle @ 10:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox eked out a win over the Astros, 6 - 5 to move into a tie for 1st place with their record of 38 - 30, statistically tied with the Yankees, who lost yesterday, their 6th loss in a row. The Sox are in Kansas City tonight to play the Royals @ 8:05 p.m.

The Caps dispatched the Lansing Lug Nuts yesterday, 10 - 1. That gives the Caps a 1st half record in the MWL East of 45 - 24. The Caps are off today and will send several players to the All-Star game on Tuesday,

I have no specific plans for today other than to read and those aforementioned indoor chores. Mary may or may not have specific plans, but I don't know. I took GTTSD out @ 3:00 a.m. and then I put away the dishes that Mary had washed following her kitchen adventures yesterday. She showed remarkable creativity in the stacking of the dishes and utensils in the drainer, utilizing one utensil to hold another. I was impressed.

She also had a flash of brilliance while at the grocery store yesterday, snapping a picture of the navigational map attached to every shopping cart to assist her in organizing her future shopping trips. I have it on good authority that she had to make several trips back and forth in the store aisles yesterday to get all of the things that she wanted, so the picture should remove or reduce those back and forth trips in the future.

That looks like enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

Well, another year has come and gone and it's once again Father's Day, a day set aside by the greeting card purveyors and retailers to sell cards and the myriad variations of "World's Greatest Father/Dad" merchandise. Does that mean that I don't appreciate the sentiment of the day? No, it means that I recognize the opportunity afforded children to reach out and say "Thanks, Dad" just for being you.

At any rate, the best thing that can come of this day for many fathers is the chance to play golf, watch TV, or just get up late and do nothing. I guess it's the Yang to the Yin of Mother's Day.

I had a nice time at our Irish Jam session yesterday. However, our number of players has diminished over the months and years, so we need to find a way to get fresh blood so to speak. We had a good audience, but.....

The current temperature, according to the NWS, is 68° under rainy skies. Saturday/early morning today has been rainy, something that we have been needing for many weeks now. As of late yesterday, areas north and west of "The City" had over 2 1/2 inches of rain while we had a scant, by comparison, 2/3 of an inch. Here's hoping that the additional rains that have fallen since have brought us up to near the one-inch range. The current view out the WW indicates that the rain is over and the skies are drying out, in spite of the usual Significant Weather Advisory issued for our area by the NWS. The rainfall amounts are certainly no record nor nearly enough, but welcome nonetheless. Today, the high temperature is forecast by the NWS to be 73° with cloudy skies. The sun will rise @ 6:05 a.m. and set @ 9:27 p.m.

Sports news was not good yesterday. The Cubs, the Tigers, and my beloved Red Sox all lost and the Caps were rained out in Lansing. The Cubs have once again fallen below .500 in the NL Central @ 33 - 34, albeit still good for 2nd place. Jake Arrieta served up an early home run and in spite of tying the game later with his own home run, the Cubs fell to the Pirates, 3 - 4. The old saying was "What's the matter with Kansas?" Now it's"What's the matter with the Cubs?"

The answer isn't simple, but their once reliable pitching staff is now much like the fire department in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, where the fire department is charged with burning books in a dystopian future. While that story was set in the future, the Cubs are in my present and they are experiencing a "June Swoon" too much like the Cubs' teams of my youth and most of my adulthood. Weak pitching, weak hitting, and sloppy fielding are once again becoming the team's hallmark. Sigh. The Pirates and the Cubs meet again today @ 1:35 p.m.

The Tigers fell to the Rays 2 - 3 to fall to 32 - 35. They still find themselves in 3rd place in the AL Central, but they are going nowhere. The Tigers once again face the face the Rays @ 1:10 p.m. today.

My beloved Red Sox lost big time to the Astros, 1 - 7. The 38 - 30 Sox are one game behind the 1st place Yankees in the AL East. What will happen today? Find out @ 8:05 p.m. tonight when the Sox once again play the Astros.

The Caps were once again rained out. However, they are in 1st place in the MWL East with a record of 44 - 22. That mark gives the Caps a playoff position for the 4th year in a row. One more win and/or a loss by the Dayton Dragons, give the Caps the MWL East Divison title. A reminder that the MWL has two parts to their season.

Otherwise, today is a day of rest and relaxation. We'll take the morning safari with the fur-children after lazing in bed for the morning. That lazing and the safari will come after the fur-children have had their breakfast and their first out of the day.

Otherwise, I'd like to do some cooking, some reading, and some baseball watching. Mary will be knitting and cooking too. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City."

The NWS is showing a current temperature of 68° under cloudy skies. My DTWS is showing 71°. Like always, the NWS and my own weather station do not agree, but they are close. Later today, the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 76° with a 20% chance for showers/T-storms.

I finished mowing the vast lawns of the PE yesterday and then did some weeding. Today, I have to water, again, and then I have another appointment at the chiropractor to get yet another treatment on my yak. Otherwise, I don't have plans to do much of anything. I need to rest my yak and so I shall.

Sports news yesterday was mostly unchanged. The Cubs had the day off before visiting the Pirates tonight @ 7:05 p.m. The 32 - 33 in the NL Central, 2nd place Cubs, are in serious need of pitching help. One starting pitcher has tendonitis, another has a cut on his thumb, one is showing his age, serving up home runs like blue-plate specials @ the local diner, while still another has been consistently inconsistent. Alas, the Cubs starting pitchers and the relievers from their 2016 World Series Championship team are all too human. Time for an infusion of new blood in the bullpen and a real leadoff hitter. You know you are in trouble when Anthony Rizzo is leading off.

The Tigers eked out a win over the Rays, 5 - 3, but the Tigers are still in 3rd place in the AL Central @ 31 - 34. Another team in need of consistent pitching and consistent hitting? The Tigers play the Rays again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox dropped a squeaker to the Phillies, 0 - 1. They are fortunate that the 1st place in the AL East Yankees, also lost, so the Sox 2nd place position @ 2.0 games behind is unchanged. The 37 - 29 Sox are in Houston tonight @ 8:10 to face the AL West division leading Astros with their record of 45 - 22. If you peruse their respective records, you get an idea of how weak the NL Central is versus the AL East or West.

The Caps wee rained out in Bowling Green, so they remain in 1st place in the MWL East @ 43 - 22, a full 4.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Dayton Dragons. The Caps are in Lansing tonight to face the Lug Nuts @ 7:05 p.m.

Otherwise, we are off to a wedding this evening. Our neighbor is getting married. Ginger will have to be crated while we are out. I plan to do some reading after my chiropractor's appointment and also get in some additional play time with the girls in preparation for our Irish Jam session on Saturday afternoon. We will be taking July, August, and September off before resuming our sessions in October.

The sun will rise today @ 6:04 p.m. and set @ 9:26 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City."

K.I.S.S. once again.

Current temperature, 66° to 68° under cloudy skies. Later today, high temperature, per the NWS = 74°. Sunrise, 6:04 a.m. Sunset, 9:26 p.m. 30% chance of isolated T-storms.

Last night I slept through high winds, drenching rain, and heavy thunder and lighting. I won't have to water but I do need to mow the lawns of the vast PE.

Sports news:

Cubs lose to Mets, 4 - 9, fall to 32 - 33 in NL Central, 2nd place. Off today, @ Pirates Friday @ 7:05 p.m.

Tigers lose to D'Backs, 1 - 2. Fall to 30 - 34. Still in 3rd place in the AL Central. Tonight's game @ Tampa Bay Ray 7:05 p.m.

Beloved Red Sox triumph over the Phillies, 7 - 3. Still in 2nd place in the AL East with a record of 37 - 28, two games behind the Yankees. The Sox play the Phillies again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Caps win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 6 - 1, to increase their 1st place record to 43 - 22 in the MWL East to 3.5 games over the Dayton Dragons. Caps play again today in Bowling Green. KY against the Hot Rods @ 1:05 p.m.

Saw one train around 11:50 a.m. EMD GP-38-2 locomotive #2057 was soloing on the RSTL towing CHCs, DBTs, and DWTs heading south. We were out running errands and did not witness the northbound run.

Accomplished everything we set out to do. Ginger went to daycare and came back exhausted. Sugar stayed home.

Dinner and then bed time.

Today's plans, after the morning safari with the fur-children, a few phone calls, and a chiropractor's appointment. More reading, more playing with the girls. Mary's plans, unknown.

Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

Ginger and I were outside @ 3:00 a.m. and the skies are indeed partly cloudy and the weather is as described by the NWS, fair. The current temperature is 69° to 72° per the NWS and my own DTWS. Today's high is forecast by the NWS to be 86° with a 30% chance of isolated T-storms. Thursday the NWS is forecasting a high temperature of 76% with a 50% chance of a.m. T-storms that changes to 82°by Friday and a 60% chance for T-storms. I have little faith in the NWS. They warn of weather events that never come to pass and I end up watering. Sigh.

We accomplished very little yesterday. That's okay, as I had time to read and then go to my Tuesday evening art class. I may never achieve great things artistically, but I am enjoying my time and some of my efforts are good.

Sports news yesterday was mixed.

The Cubs blew out the Mets, 14 - 3 to move back to 32 - 32 and 2nd place in the NL Central. The NL Central is a weak division when compared to the AL East or West and the NL East or West. The Cubs need to feast on weaker teams within their own division. They also need to be more consistent in their pitching. Jon Lester dominated the Mets last night, but the night before, the Mets clobbered John Lackey. As for Jake Arrieta, well, he has been very inconsistent. He is not pitching like a man who wants/deserves a big Cy Young winner type of big-money contract. The Cubs and theMets play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Tigers got down early to the D'Backs and yet the Tigers managed to stage a comeback, as predicted by their announcers, only to fall in the end 6 - 7. That loss gives the Tigers a 30 - 33 record in the AL Central and sole possession of 3rd place. The Tigers host the D'Backs again tonight @ 7:10 p.m. Is Miggy slowing down? Are the Tigers pitchers being shelled early? Possibly both.

My beloved Red Sox topped the Phillies 4 - 3 to move to 36 - 28 in the AL East. They are three games behind the division-leading Yankees with a record of 38 - 24. The Sox and the Phillies play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

The Caps were rained out in Bowling Green yesterday for their game against the Hot Rods, Both teams attempt to play again tonight @ 5:35 p.m. The Caps have a three-game lead in the MWL East over the Dayton Dragons. The Caps are 41 - 22.

We had a visit from the cable company technician yesterday to resolve our slow internet speed. It is somewhat better, but around here, that's a relative plane of existence. Only time till tell.

Today we have nothing specific on our agenda except perhaps for a visit to the cell phone store for some questions regarding our replacement phone. Too many duplicates in the calendar etc. Oh, I have to mow the lawns of the vast PE.

Otherwise, I plan to read more, play with the girls more and that's about it. Mary, I don't know.

The sun will rise @ 6:04 a.m. and set @ 9:26 p.m. Ciao.