Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City."

As predicted by the NWS, it is snowing and the flakes are falling at a pretty good clip. In fact, the NWS is showing a Winter Weather Advisory for our area, and when interpreted by the Weather.Com website, that forecast calls for an additional three to six inches of snow on top of what we already have on the ground. The current temperature is 20° per the NWS, while my own DTWS is showing 23°. The overnight low is forecast by the NWS to be 16° before we climb back to 26° later today.

That forecast is one of the reasons that Mary and I traveled to Newaygo yesterday to visit what Mary has proclaimed as her favorite yarn store, The New Ewe. In spite of her substantial stash of yarn, that I believe holds enough yarn for several years of projects, she purchased more. Of course, to make me feel good about that purchase, she bought some yarn to make me a new winter hat too, so who am I to complain?

Not all of this yarn will go into my hat, just the dark blue in the back.

Of course, no mid-winter road trip is complete without a stop to buy flowers for our foyer, although I don't have a picture of those. While at that flower stop, Mary espied the "Perfect" clock for our living room. I was happily sitting in the car listening to the radio when she called me in to see it. I have to agree, it is perfect, but now I have to hang that clock as another chore.

However, I do have a picture of the apples from our third stop near Newaygo where we, well, actually where Mary, stopped at a farm stand and bought half a bushel of mostly Jonagold apples. A small portion of her purchase were Granny Smith apples too. In any case, the apples are good for pies and other things like sauces and Coleslaw. Oddly, those apples won't peel themselves nor turn themselves into a sauce, Coleslaw or a pie. That task falls to me.

We headed towards home, but before we got there, we stopped at JWs for some adult libations. We finally traveled to Sitting Pretty to pick up the fur-children from daycare, where it turns out, STWD really didn't want to be so she will be staying home from now on and Ginger will be soloing. That is always better for Ginger as she takes STWD coming along as a sign that she, Ginger, will be bathed and groomed. I suppose it is better for STWD too.

Once home, Mary took her culinary skills to the kitchen and made a terrific veggie pizza for dinner. She thinks it was her best effort to date, and I have to agree. What was different you ask? I don't know, but I liked it.

Lots of Portabello mushrooms, heavy sauce, a great thick crust, a touch of vegan cheese, and one of my vegan sausages perhaps.

Given the wintry conditions, staying in today to read, bake, knit, and do whatever strikes our collective fancies, seems like a good way to while away the day after we get up from bed and chair in later this morning. My yak is feeling okay right now, but that isn't a long-lived state, I'm sure.

The sun will rise this morning @7:50 a.m. and set later @ 6:08 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City."

This time for sure! I am going to follow the KISS formula. No trainspotting to report, no significant weather events, and I have not read enough of my latest book to have a comment on it, yet.

We have a current temperature of 21° according to my DTWS and the NWS is predicting an overnight low of 16°. Later today, the NWS is predicting a high of 21° with partly cloudy skies and only a 20% chance of more snowfall. The next chance of above freezing temperatures is Tuesday when that same NWS is predicting 35°! We shall see.

The sun will rise later this morning @ 7:51 a.m. and set later today @ 6:06 p.m.

We had a good meeting of our history book club, but the attendance was more sparse than hoped. Alas, @ 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, the only people able to attend are retired people, like me, or almost retired people, like Mary.

Speaking of Mary, at this point, I am subjecting her to the worse part of the marriage vows with my yak problems. I can't do many of the things I used to do and I am not being very good company. Truth be told, I can't even sleep in our bed because the pain when I awake is too intense. I am surviving on acetaminophen and cold packs in my La-Z-Boy in the media room, often accompanied by Ginger, who is doing a great job of being a therapy dog. Hopefully, next Monday, when we meet with the yak surgeon, he'll have some answers for me.

Today will be one of those days when I sit around and read and do little else. I am watching car shows on the Velocity channel and other sundry television programs. Mary is surfing the internet and doing some crafty things.

Even the fur-children aren't getting out much due to the effects of the cold on their paws. Plus, I can't walk very far, so any walking that they would do would of necessity fall on Mary's shoulders.

So that looks like enough for one day. Don't forget, that the pitchers and catchers report to spring training on the 13th, just five days away. Put it on the board, Yes!

Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

I am going to endeavor to follow the KISS formula once again. It looks like that WWA, (Winter Weather Advisory) issued by the NWS in Grand Rapids is going to be like a memo from the Congress, a dud. We are still on track to get about one-inch of additional snowfall, but that's a far cry from the two to four inches in the original forecast. That's fine by me.

Yesterday we had plenty of snowfall that required the intervention of both of our neighbors. Fortunately, they came through and we were able to get out a run a few errands, several local and one in nearby Muskegon. I guess you could say we dodged the proverbial bullet.

We have a current temperature of 15° which should be our low for today. Later, we anticipate a high of 22° as we hopefully travel to our monthly history book club meeting. In anticipation of that meeting, I spent time in the kitchen yesterday baking cookies, which if I do say so myself, turned out great. I upped my game yesterday and baked both vegan chocolate-chip and sugar cookies with internal sprinkles.

Ginger was there to help, but due to the presence of the chocolate, she couldn't partake of the product. However, she is doing fine, so fine in fact that she and I were able to do some trainspotting yesterday.

At 9:04 a.m., we spotted the southbound run of locomotive #2019 at the head of eight CHCs, one DBT, and two DWTCs as they plowed through the freshly fallen snow. Later @ 1:47 p.m., we spotted the northbound run on the RSTL as it made its way towards Muskegon and points north at a much faster rate of speed. The same locomotive was towing five CHCs, five DBTCs, and three DWTCs.

Today, I hope to stay out of the kitchen and rest up for our 3:00 p.m. book club meeting. I finished our book for this meeting, All Quiet on the Western Front, last week, and having read it many years ago, I remembered why a book written 90 years ago was still important today. I don't think we have learned much in those ninety years.

I also finished my latest novel yesterday, Gunmetal Gray, by Mark Greaney, and I found it to be action-packed and very satisfying. I took it back as one of our errands and got my fifth signature for the annual winter reading activity. Five more to go.

I also learned that the Loutit Library's Outreach Coordinator, Larry Halvorsen, has finalized arrangements to bring several Irish musicians to the library in early June. Dave Curley, of the group Slide, Tadhg O Meachair of the Irish band Goitsee, pronounced Gwitcha, and Joanna Hyde, of The Hydes, for several hours of foot-stomping music and fun. Opening for those musicians will be Larry's own Irish band, Uneven Ground. The evening's activities are scheduled to run from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

It looks like I failed in my KISS quest, but that's okay. It keeps my mind off of the pain in my yak. I also spent some time in meditation before this blog, which also helps.

The sun will rise today @ 7: 52.a.m. and set later this evening @ 6:05 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City."

Did you ever have one of those good news-bad news kind of days? I had one yesterday. I awoke with a major-league ache in my lower yak, indicating that the steroid injection I had less than two weeks ago was losing its effectiveness well before I'd hoped it would. I had been feeling good for about eight or nine days and then wham, the pain became difficult to bear. Not totally unbearable, not totally debilitating, but enough so that my activities of daily living stopped being enjoyable.

So, I did the only thing I could do, I called the yak doctor and made an appointment to see him yesterday afternoon. I'd already resigned myself to the fact that he would not be able to wave a magic wand over me and fix the problem and sadly, I was told the facts of life. He made a referral for me to a spinal surgeon as he had no more injections to offer that would make me feel better. I was no longer going to be able to be conservative. So, I have an appointment for next Monday to see that doctor for a consultation and to probably set a date for more surgery. I guess I'll know more then.

In other news, we made a stop at the grocery store and also at our favorite watering hole after the yak doctor's appointment, then home.

The NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for our own Ottawa, County, which also includes the majority of the counties, cities, and towns along the shores of the "Big Lake" as far inland as Grand Rapids and as far south as Kalamazoo. Additional accumulations of two to four inches of additional snow are expected between now and 5:00 a.m. today. I'm hoping that my neighbor to the east will get out and do the snow removal in the shared driveway, as I can't and Mary is also limited in her ability to do a complete job. Fortunately, we have nowhere to go in a car today or for the next several days.

The sun will rise today @ 7:54 a.m. and set later today @ 6:04 p.m. In between, I have plenty of things to do in the kitchen and elsewhere in the manse as I have cookies to bake for our book club and other activities to keep me busy. Likewise for Mary, with the exception of an appointment that she has at her barber. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 8:30 p.m. in "The City."

I've just come upstairs after several rousing games of Control, all of which I lost. I guess you could say that as a card player, I am a better musician. Prior to that, we were listening to Celtic Radio on Pandora, followed by 70s Easy Listening. I offer as proof, these two pictures taken by Mary with her phone.

A new recipe from the internet, that actually turned out fine.

As you can see, at the time this picture was taken, the band Chicago was being played

Otherwise, not much was happening. My yak is feeling better now, but when I arose this morning, it was kind of achy. Not as good as it has been for the last several days. I did a lot of reading and looking at my tablet along with working a crossword puzzle from the Grand Haven Tribune Friday edition. We have yet to pick up the weekend edition, but maybe tomorrow if we go out.

Tomorrow, we may go to the Grand Haven 9 Cinema to watch the movie Gigi starring Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jordan, and many others. Of course, if we go, there is a humongous bucket of popcorn and a ginormous cherry cola with my name on them waiting for me. Those plans are weather dependent. We had quite a bit of snow the last two days, and more is expected overnight. We seem to be in a lull at the moment.We do have a current temperature of 30°. The low tonight will drop to 20° before we soar to tomorrow's high of 24°! The sun will rise tomorrow @ 7:56 a.m. and set @ 6:01 p.m.

I refuse to go out and remove the snow due to my yak, but fortunately, our next door neighbor, Ron, has been kind enough to remove the snow from the front porch and sidewalk of the manse. I have to find a way to say thanks. Now, if our other next door neighbor clears the shared driveway, we'll be set to go.

If we don't go out, I/we have plenty to do here. Mary has a yarn stash that could last until next year and I have songs to play and new instruments to learn along with more reading.

I know the fur-children are getting antsy due to a lack of walks, but. in our opinion, it has been too cold for them to go out. I/we may watch part of Superbowl LII in hopes that I/we can see the Patriots lose. I suspect that I share that sentiment with many others. 

Worthy of note is that the pitchers and catchers for my beloved Boston Red Sox, the Detroit Tigers, and the Cubs all report to camp on the 13th, just 10 days from today! I'll be born again as there will be baseball, and as John Fogerty intoned in his song, Centerfield, there will be new grass on the field. Oh what the hey, let me insert a YouTube link to that song now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04KQydlJ-qc

That looks like enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

The NWS was/is right, the snow arrived here in GH around 3:00 p.m. yesterday and at times, it was snowing so briskly that I actually looked out the window in the living room and thought it was foggy. Not that much snow has fallen, but it is hiding the ugly side of winter. Soon, the city plows will be by to bury the driveway and the sidewalks in front of the manse. Not my problem though, as I have nowhere to go and all day to get there.

I was sitting around yesterday afternoon and watching John do his thing. As I noted yesterday, it is a lot easier to watch someone do the work than it is to do it yourself. At any rate, he finished repainting and rehanging the lights on the garage and a few of those sundry things that needed doing. He still has more to do, but those will await the springtime of the year when the windows can be open and the fresh air can get in.

Mary made it to the store yesterday, while I availed myself of that big online etailer to order the bulbs for our ceiling fan in the media room. The local big-box home center has none in the store and none available on their website. I guess their Asian supplier is totally out of stock.

Today, I may still get into the kitchen and make those veggie balls and sausages I had planned to make yesterday. I am in no rush and so I may just make do with some other indoor chores. Plus, I have another edition of the Grand Haven Tribune to peruse and to work the crossword puzzle.

We did make it to the chiropractor yesterday afternoon and then made a short stop at JWs for libations and a snack. Sadly for the fur-children, we were unable to walk with them due to the icy and cold conditions that wreak havoc on their paws. Today is probably going to be the same.

We have a current temperature of 14° with light snow falling. If the NWS is correct, we won't see a great deal of accumulation, but it will be cold. Since it is February 2, Punxatawney Phil will be all over the news. Will he see his shadow or not? Will it make any difference?

The sun will rise today @ 7:57 a.m. and set later in the day @ 5:59 p.m. Ciao.

Just a reminder, the pitchers, and catchers will be reporting in just 11 days.

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

I probably wouldn't be up right now if it wasn't for Ginger's seemingly insatiable need to go out several times before she will settle in for the night. I did manage to get the small number of dishes washed that remained in the kitchen sink while I was downstairs, so the trip wasn't a total waste, but I could've lived without the trip. Oh well, I can use the exercise.

We had a rather mundane day yesterday. I got some reading done while I watched John and Dawn work. John was busy changing that pesky light switch in the media room, chopping the ice at the end of the driveway, and doing some wall patching along with other sundry home-repair type things, while Dawn did the heavy cleaning. John will be returning today, as our list of home maintenance things seems to grow exponentially. We'll see Dawn again next week. All of the above is my way of saying that I am going over to the Dark Side of the Force and letting others do what I used to do. It is a lot, and I do mean a lot, easier on my yak.

Since I am tangentially on the topic of weather, the reason we had John chop away some of that ice was the WWA (Winter Weather Advisory) issued by the NWS for the counties on the western shore of the "Big Lake." As of now, the forecast calls for that advisory to be in effect from 10:00 a.m. today through 1:00 p.m. Friday. Snow accumulations of from one to three inches are in the forecast, possibly more in localized areas. Today's high temperature is forecast to reach 30°, just warm or cold enough to cause slippery driving conditions.

That means that we won't be driving. Instead, we'll walk to The Bookman with the fur-children and then hunker in for the next two days. Fortunately, we got those things that are on the must-do list accomplished yesterday afternoon. Since John will be doing the hard work, I'll get more time for reading, crossword solving, and whatever I feel like doing. Since the kitchen is now ready for further activities, I may, and I stress may make some vegan sausages.

As an aside, I like being able to use the word sausages to describe the results of my kitchen endeavors without having to use the word meat, as in meatball. I think I may have to come up with a word that better connotes the vegan Italian meatballs that I make that is more in keeping with what they are. 

I'm also hoping to coax Mary towards her Craft Room and her sewing machine, to do some work on the projects that are in there. I know she wants to start with the sink curtain for the mud-room to be sure she is ready for the task of making the window valances for my office/music room/weather center. I can't say as I blame her, as the guitar-themed fabric that we got several years ago in Plymouth, WI is not available any longer. We were there on a side-trip during our Road America excursion during a trip to The Hawk, the annual vintage car races held at America's National Park for Speed, just outside of the city of Elkhart Lake, WI.

As another aside, we have purchased our tickets for the other vintage series to be held there later this year, the Ariens Art on Wheels races scheduled for the weekend of September 14 - 16, 2018. We've rented a home in Elkhart Lake for the trip that should provide an excellent place to view the vintage cars as they navigate the route that nearly replicates the way the cars raced on the streets in the early 1950s!

So that looks like enough for a couple of days.

I have some additional information regarding the soon to commence spring-training sessions in Florida and Arizona. My beloved Red Sox are still on target to have their pitchers and catchers report on February 13 as do the Tigers. The Red Sox begin full-squad workouts on February 17, while theTigers wait until the 18th. The Cubs also share those dates, albeit in AZ, with the Tigers. The Sox and the Tigers both have new managers this season.

The sun will rise today @ 7:59 a.m. and set later @ 5:57 p.m. We do have an appointment at the chiropractor for this afternoon, weather permitting, @ 3:30 p.m. Ciao.