Good morning GH. As Mary likes to say in her kitchen, this blog will be down and dirty. The sun rose this morning at 7:55 a.m. and will set later today at 5:11 p.m.  There is s 10% chance of rain today, but the forecast calls for a serious chance of precipitation both tomorrow and Wednesday.. Today's high is expected to be 42°, but right now we are at freezing.

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of my time watching the oven bake. Yes, that's a lot like watching paint dry, I know, but sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. I baked the pumpkin for STWD after our morning walk and then worked on my jigsaw puzzle.

Our morning walk was abbreviated due to Sugar's acute hearing. We made it to Central Park where Sugar heard the sound of far off hunters and their guns, and she was off tot he races towards home. We stopped long enough for her to do her duty, and then we made it back in record time. That allowed me to make that pumpkins, roast some breadcrumbs for the dressing I made later, with a bit of assistance from a harried Mary who had been hard at work. She worked until about 9:00 p.m. on the index from...Well, you get the idea. This all happened after I had time to chop the veggies that were part of the aforementioned dressing.

More of my jigsaw puzzle is coming together, but I am still unable to complete the edges, which I like to do. Somewhere in there, I read some of my latest novel too.

I didn't watch much TV, and only watched enough sports to learn that the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots, 30 - 24. Maybe that proves that the QB who is the backup for Peyton Manning in Denver is really as good as his win over the Bears proved he was. Maybe he is not a fluke. Time will tell.

Today, not much on tap. A morning walk with the intrepid weather dog, no more leftovers as they are now all gone, and more highlighting. Mary will be hard at work as soon as she rises and I will be on my own for much of the day. That's OK, I can handle it. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City." A current temperature of 22° will give way to an overnight low of 21°. Once the sun rises in the sky at 7:54 a.m., we are expecting today's high to reach all the way to 42°.

I was happily ensconced in front of the TV at noon to watch the Wolverines get thoroughly outplayed by the Buckeyes, 13 - 42. The Wolverines were never in he game once the Buckeyes were the recipients of a questionable roughing the kicker penalty from the officials. The Buckeyes marched down the field and then continued to score, seemingly at will, nearly every time they touched the ball. The Michigan defense had no clue how to stop them.

The Spartans fared much better in their game, seemingly scoring at will over the Penn State Nittany Lions, 55 - 16. Connor Cook, their regular starting QB was back under center, and looked great. Jake Ruddock, starting QB for the Wolverines was knocked out of the game when he was slammed to the ground, with a bone crunching tackle by the Buckeyes. No word yet on the severity of his injury. I prepared some snacks for my Game-o-Rama. I ate and worked on my puzzle.

Slow progress, but progress, none the less.

Our leftovers came back to visit again yesterday. I like them, and Mary is still being creative, but even she decided it was time to go to the favorite watering hole for dinner. That was after she and I visited the Muskegon Museum of Art to see the Christmas trees on display. We were too late to see the Hackley and Hume homes, but they will be open to visitors the day after Christmas. Naturally, I took some pictures of the museum exhibits and the trees, which are being auctioned off to raise money for the museum. I've included some, but not all, in no particular order.

Today, I have no particular plans as Mary gets back to her work and I try to figure out how to use the photos that are on my computer, but which I have no real idea how to access for my blogs and other uses. 

The sun will set at 5:11 p.m. later today. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in The City", where the current temperature is 31° as we fall slowly towards the overnight/early morning low of 25°. Later today, we'll rebound to 40° under partly cloudy skies. Sunday promises to be a sunny day with a high temperature of 45°.

I'd like to get Mary to join me for a final chance this year to tour the Muskegon Museum of Art for their annual Festival of Trees that runs until Sunday. The actual festival runs from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. I've wanted to see this exhibit for all of the years we have lived in West Michigan. If we miss it, it's gone for another year. 

I also understand that there is a guided tour of the Hackley and Hume historic homes between 1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. http://www.lakeshoremuseum.org/project/hackley-hume/ Sunday afternoon, Both of these homes were painstakingly restored to their 1890s appearance and feature decorations for Christmas. A lot depends on the progress that Mary makes on her current indexing projects, which seem to be piling up of late. Here's hoping.

Speaking of Mary, I've taken the liberty of including some photos below of her Thanksgiving Day dinner preparations from this past Thursday. Her blog shows the glamorous side of the dinner. We always laugh that when we were first married, when Mary made macaroni and cheese, generally a simple dish in those days, she seemed to use every dish and utensil in the kitchen. I think this year she may have actually done it with her dinner preparations. However, it was worth the mess, as the dinner itself was delicious. In fact, like with so many Thanksgiving dinners, the leftovers are still with us and may be for several more days. 

So far, Mary has been creative in her leftover usage. Yesterday's lunch was toasted "ham" and cheese sandwiches, and dinner was more gravy, dressing, biscuits, "ham" and for me, the jellied cranberry sauce returned to the table. Mary doesn't eat the cranberry sauce, so more for me. Yes!

Later today, the Michigan Wolverines face the Ohio State Buckeyes at 12:00 p.m. The Buckeyes are still stinging from their loss last week to the Spartans of MSU, so they will be a tough opponent for Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines. The Spartan take on the team that Michigan beat last week, the Penn State Nittany Lions, at 3:30 p.m. Looks like a full day of college football for me. I'll have plenty of snack food available while Mary works. I'm betting that my loyal sous dog will be there too.

Speaking of the intrepid one, she and I had a nice walk to the newspaper box on a brisk but pleasant morning in GH. I followed the advice of the canine psychologist and let Sugar sniff as much as she wanted both going and coming. It took extra time, but I wasn't in a hurry. My indoor chores were going to get done later than sooner, that's all. 

Mary walked to Health Hutt while Sugar and I were out,and then later Mary and I walked to the downtown and then to the Post to see Sally.

I did get in some time with Blue, my Ovation six string guitar, when I first arose yesterday. I like to think that play time with the girls keeps me young. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. While I'm watching football later today after the morning safari, I'll try to bake some pumpkin for Sugar's breakfast pleasure. I have two non-pie pumpkins that I have to either throw away or bake for Sugar's breakfasts. I am just not that big of a fan of cleaning out the seeds anymore, but it really isn't that hard to do.

Otherwise, not much will be happening here at the PE. Football, snack foods, more leftovers, and more snacking. Hmmm, I love it when a plan comes together. 

The sun will rise at 7:52 a.m. and set at 5:12 p.m. Ciao. 

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It has just passed 12:30 a.m. in "The City."

I just finished watching the Bears defeat the Packers, 17 - 13 at Lambeau Field. Amazing. Unfortunately, the Bears are now 1 - 3 in the division that they share with the Packers, and 5 - 6 overall. Earlier in the day, the Lions handily defeated the Eagles, 45 - 14, with Matthew Stafford throwing five touchdown passes. That's three in a row for the Lions, but they are only sporting four wins. Naturally, I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from New York City. You can't do Thanksgiving without that parade.

The weather today was rainy, and only a short break in the rain allowed Mary and I to take the morning safari with STWD down to the waterfront. On a holiday morning in GH, the streets were deserted.

We returned home, and it was time for me to get out of the way and let Mary get to  work on our Thanksgiving dinner. She wants me to review her efforts, and so I will. I'll start with the main course, her interpretation of a vegan ham. It was great. Nicely spiced, and very tasty. However, neither of us realized that the recipe which called for the two piece vegan ham to spend five hours in the slow cooker would result in two ginormous "hams." We had more than enough and leftovers will be on the menu for many more meals. In addition, prior to the meal and after we each had a piece of my latest apple pie, Mary made snack foods that included celery, carrots, olives, home grown scallions, store bought pickles, vegan cheeses, and crackers. An incredible feast prior to the main meal.

She also crafted delicious scalloped potatoes using a recipe from a vegan cookbook. Along with the meal, she baked biscuits, and made mushroom gravy to go on those biscuits and the dressing that she made. Once again, a copious amount of leftovers resulted. The only store bought item on in the main meal was the jellied cranberry sauce that I can't live without. As with most Thanksgiving dinners, too much food and too little activity led to sleepiness. But overall, I pronounce all the foods a keeper, as they were all delicious. For further information and pictures of her activities and the results of her efforts in the kitchen yesterday, I urge you to take a look at Mary's blog, http://marygoeswalking.blogspot.com/

We decided that we have a lot to be thankful for this and every year. I am thankful that Mary chose to spend her life with me. I love her more than I ever express. I am thankful for Adam and Stephany, two young people who make our lives richer by the very act of their being. I am thankful for Sugar the Weather/Sous Dog who always brings a smile to may face and joy to my life. I am also thankful for being able to do most things on a daily basis, like walking, doing yard work on the PE, playing with the girls, and the chance to live in a small city with great people, and a great library.

I'm still working on the jigsaw puzzle, striving to complete the edge/border. I guess that I haven't found all the pieces, I guess, because I haven't made all the connections.

Speaking of the library, I finished my latest novel last night. It was the large print edition and it was so easy to read. I'll be returning that book to the library either today or Saturday on the morning walk with the intrepid weather dog. Saturday if the rain is too heavy tomorrow.

Today, some indoor chores, more reading, a possible morning walk with Sugar, and some time with that jigsaw puzzle. I'd also like to get in some time with the girls too. MAry has to get back to work, I think.

The sun will rise at 7:51 a.m. and set at 5:12 p.m. Rain is expected with a high temperature of 54° after a low later this morning of 26°. Brrrr. Ciao.

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

I got it all done yesterday. By all, I mean my outdoor chores. With a bit of assistance from Mary, I was able to move all of the front porch furniture into the man-cave. Then, I finished off the outdoor chores by piling up all of the remaining furniture and miscellany located on the back deck and on the vast acreage of the PE on the concrete patio at the back of the PE or on the deck. I then covered those items with two tarps. shown below. I also bagged up the last of the leaves, not shown.

The covered pile in depths of the PE.

The deck.

Then it was time for lunch and my next activity, baking an apple pie for Thanksgiving, shown below.

I haven't taste tested it yet, but the aroma is very enticing.

Finally, it was time for recreation and reading. Mary spent way too much of her time in the afternoon trying to resolve a problem with the current index. Between she and our IT guru, they have created a work around, but by the time they were done, the afternoon had gotten away from her, much like my day often does. 

Since I had installed Mary's new clock in the living room the day before, near where the previous clock had hung, we decided that the previous clock should go to Sally. She likes having clocks in her house, and I believe she has in excess of 30 of various types. That necessitated a trip to the Post to see Sally and then out to dinner at JWs. A vegetarian burrito and some adult beverages and it was time to get home to STWD. 

Speaking of the intrepid one, she helped me make the pie earlier in the afternoon in her role as sous dog. Our morning walk was uneventful on a perfect day for a safari. 

I was wrong, no trains yesterday. I guess the railroad gave their personnel time off for the Thanksgiving holiday until at least Friday.

Today, football, snacking, playing with the girls, reading, and dinner, not in any particular order. Mary will be indexing part of the time and then working on her dinner recipes. Since I got my outdoor chores done yesterday, I have no specific plans. I may do a few indoor chores, but I don't have to. I believe that there are parades on TV, so I may watch part of those.

That looks like enough for yesterday and today. The sun will rise at 7:50 a.m. and set at 5:13 p.m. Rain is still part of the forecast for today and tomorrow. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City." Strangely enough, I'm listening to the inspiration for that opening, George Noory, on Coast to Coast AM. What a strange show it has been, but that's what you mostly get at 4:00 a.m.

The current temperature outside the WW is 35°, the bottom of the slide for this early morning. We'll go up the down escalator later today to reach the high of 51°, perfect for my outdoor chores. Mary suggested that I could wait, but the weather will not be getting any better. Rain, as much as one-half inch according to our other favorite weatherman, Bill Steffen at WOOD TV. Rain and possible T-storms and a high of 43° on Friday, with similar temperatures for the foreseeable future too. So the pie I will be making for T-Giving will have to wait until later in the day.

I had enough of shopping yesterday. A trip to the big-box home center was so filled with those people that Mary doesn't suffer well, fools. Like she has been known to say, "Make a decision, it doesn't matter what, just make it", or words to that effect. People who resemble the cast of Night of the Living Dead. Lines at the checkout that never move. Cashiers that seem to find nothing wrong with calling out for change as the line grinds to an even slower pace if that's possible. Lines that open up after you have been standing there and you have to watch as new arrivals jump into those new lines. Managers who seemingly don't care that you are there. But, you don't want to give up and leave your potential purchases, because you have waited so long already. Arrrgh!

Ah, but then you get to leave, and you do so as expeditiously as possible. You end your trip with a stop in the downtown business district of GH and make purchases that seem to be appreciated, from merchants who seem to care that you are alive. Better, much better.

No trains yesterday, but that means that we should see two today.

In sports news, the NIU Huskies fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 21 - 26, missing a chance to clinch their sixth straight MAC West division title. By the time the game was over, both teams were using their third string QBs due to injuries to the starters and their backups.

After the morning safari with STWD, I'll be doing those outdoor chores, more reading, and baking that apple pie with the able assistance of STSD. I need to enlist Mary's aid for about 15 minutes to help me get the furniture from the front porch to the outer doors of the man-cave. After that I can handle things. I could do it all myself, but the time would extend greatly.

Otherwise, not much on tap. The sun will rise at 7:49 a.m. and set at 5:13 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City", where a current temperature of 33° precedes today's high of 42°. However, as previously described, the best day, both temperature and precipitation wise, for outdoor chores will be Wednesday. No rain and a high  temperature of 51° looks like a great late fall day. So as also previously described, that's the day for those outdoor chores. T-giving will be similar in temperature, but the forecast calls for rain.

That should be a great day for me to read, play with the girls, and stay mostly out of Mary's way in the kitchen as she prepares our sumptuous holiday repast. I have to be careful to not snack too much before the dinner she has planned. I will have to assist some, I'm sure, but that's okay.

After our extended, but carefully planned trip to the big-box everything store for supplies, we are on track for Mary to do the voodoo that she do so well.

We did get the first incarnation of the latest index off to the publisher for additional input and comment yesterday afternoon. However, two others await. For the next one, my highlighting is nearly complete. I believe that there is yet another job, but I have nothing to do with that one other than editing.

Today I plan to take that trip to the big-box home center that we didn't take time to accomplish yesterday. By the time we were done with the grocery trip it was late, so we eschewed that trip in favor of a walk to our favorite watering hole for dinner after unloading the grocery getter. It was a great evening for walking in GH both going and coming. No wind to speak of, and comfortable temperatures.

Mary will continue to slog through her next index while I am out. All of that takes place after the morning safari with STWD.

Speaking of the morning safari, STWD and I had to detour around the Community Center, local home to a community college, and our library where I had intended to return a book. Apparently, a note was found in a restroom at another location of that college regarding a problem that necessitated Public Safety closing the streets and the buildings that occupied the entire block on which the Community Center/college is sited. The all clear came about 11:00 a.m., but by then, Sugar and I had detoured and I had carried my library return to and from the newspaper box. I guess I'll try again today.

I only witnessed the southbound run of the train yesterday at 11:19 a.m. We must have been at the big -box everything store when the northbound run passed through. Heading south were the familiar locomotives, #2057 and #2019, towing three BCs, and seven CHCs, all seemingly empty as evidenced by their swaying motion.

So I've summed up yesterday's excitement, described today's activities and given a nice summary of the weather. Today the sun will rise at 7:48 a.m. and set at 5:14 p.m. Ciao.