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

I need to update my trainspotting report from the previous blog. Yesterday, I wrote that I had missed the northbound run of the Mid-Michigan RR, as it passed through GH. It turns out, that the northbound run didn't happen until 11:11 a.m. yesterday. That's when locomotives 2019 and 2057, the EMD GP 38 workhorses passed through. Apparently, they were getting serviced or something at the southern terminus. At any rate, they were towing 17 CHCs, seven DBTCs, five DWTCs, and a lone rusty colored TC. Now I don't know what to expect.

The weather yesterday delivered on the forecast supplied by the NWS. The snow began in earnest in the morning hours after sunrise. STWD and I took the morning/afternoon walk around 12:00 p.m., and she absolutely loved it. She has always been a snow dog. It seems that she likes it here in GH more than she did in FL. It was cold, and the walks were snow covered, but the addition of my winter boots made the walk much easier. Those and the heavy winter coat, winter hat, and gloves that I had to wear. All we accomplished was to pick up the newspaper.

I did more work on my puzzle, but it is still slow going.

I also spent some time yesterday with Leilani in the music room. She is a challenge, but I am doing OK. My large paws and her diminutive stature are not easily melded, but I'll get the hang of it. Her new stand arrives today.

The temperature never got above the promised 27° yesterday. As of right now, the temperature is 23.7° as we await today's high of. surprise, 27°. The sun will rise at 7:19 a.m. and set later at 6:36 p.m. Since we have nowhere to go and all day to get there, we plan to stay in bed most of the morning. Why not, we're retired!

Mary learned something during her chat yesterday. Apparently, there are computer hijackers that hold your personal data for ransom while allowing your computer to perform everyday tasks. In order to regain access to your data such as pictures, or other personal files, you have to pay a ransom that can be substantial. The recommendation from our IT guru is to have external back up and/or a cloud based service such as Carbonite™. I have to be sure that Mary looks at my things to see if they are all properly backed up.

In between, Mary futzed in her kitchen and reorganized her spice cabinet. She gets great joy out of the smallest activities. I know how she feels, as I used to spend more time organizing my tools than actually using them. In her case, she uses the spices and other tools regularly. In fact for lunch, she improvised her Coleslaw recipe due to a lack of needed ingredients. It turned out great, but different. For dinner, she modified her no boil lasagna recipe using vegan ingredients and it also tasted good. She felt that she should have added spinach to the final product, but it was still very tasty. After dinner, we watched NCIS and NCIS New Orleans. Since I had had wine with dinner, I was tired and went up to bed. Mary futzed a bit more and watched the election returns.

Otherwise, not much is on tap for today. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City." Yes ladies and gentlemen, I have been off the blogosphere for a few days, but to paraphrase the movie line, "I'm Back!"

It takes two days to drive from Florida to Michigan if you don't want to split the driving, which we don't. So, by the time we got packed, hit the road and then stayed overnight in KY, it took us two days either coming or going. All three of us, that's yours truly, Mary, and STWD are glad to be home.

Speaking of home, and the local weather, the current temperature is 24.6° according to the desktop weather station, Indoors, it is a cool but comfortable 65.8° As the day unfolds after the sun rises at 7:21 a.m., the high temperature is forecast to climb all the way up to 27°, with a winter storm warning in effect until Wednesday.  3 - 5 inches of blowing and drifting snow will make the roads hazardous, possibly close or delay some school openings, and in general make life in MI on the first two days of March, wintry.

I only viewed one half of the train runs as locomotives 2019 and 2057 towed a mix of 13 CHCs, nine DBTs, two DWTs, and two GTs at 10:07 a.m. We were out running errands when the afternoon run occurred. Hey, it's good to be back home again. Oops, I was channeling the late John Henry Deutschendorf A.K.A. John Denver there for a second.

In sports news, it is still spring in AZ and FL as all of the MLB teams are in spring training. My beloved Red Sox, the boys in blue, and the Tigers are all sporting perfect records as of this date. Is this the year? Here's hoping.

Since we had run down the basic supplies in Mary's kitchen, we had to make a run to the grocery store yesterday afternoon. Lots of heavy lifting later, we made it home and got the purchased items stowed.

We walked over to the USPS office here in GH in the morning to pick up our stopped mail, but the huge volume of mail that had accumulated over the past two months proved overwhelming. So Mary had to come home to get the car. By the time we had sorted the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, we had but a few items in need of attention.

Today, given the winter weather alert, we will be mostly staying in. That's OK by me. I have four girls calling for my attention and a few books to be read. Mary has me hooked on the series she is into about a woman who runs an Amish quilt shop in OH. There is a new one out, but I can't request it from our local library.

Otherwise, that's enough for one day. The sun will be setting as the snow falls at 6:35 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:45 a.m. in "This City." A temperature of 47° that feels like 39° with very windy conditions, is the current norm here.

Yesterday was a day of mostly doing nothing. I read and Mary ran some errands, but that was about it. I took the morning safari with STWD while Mary went to Pensacola.

Today, we have an appointment to have the intrepid weather dog bathed and given a general tune-up. That's about enough for one day.

The sun will rise at 6:20 a.m. and set at 5:41 p.m. Ciao.

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

Well, it is now over here in the Panhandle. Last night, there were tornadoes, T-storms, high winds, floods, and a nearly non-stop coverage of those weather phenomenon on the local TV stations. I must admit, that given the severity of the weather and the disastrous results of some of the most severe, it was not overkill. R/V parks were devastated, cars were overturned, and buildings were flattened or had their roofs torn off. STWD spent the evening hours in her hide-e-hole to shield herself from the worst of the storms.

Right now, the temperature is 65°, it feels like 63°, and we will be dropping to today's high of 57° by the time the sun rises at 6:22 a.m. Today, we will have windy and partly cloudy conditions to accompany that high temperature. As the week wears on, temperatures will improve and the skies will be sunny.

I finished one book yesterday and started another. These are books that Mary picked up in which the protagonist is a young woman who grew up in an Amish community, moved to Texas, and later inherited an Amish quilt shop from her aunt. who married an Amish man. The protagonist is not herself Amish. Pulp fiction? Yes, but it makes for a fun read. I can't tell you more, because Mary made me promise to not spoil the last book for her.

Today, I don't plan to do much of anything. I banged my ribs yesterday and they are a bit sore. As near as I can tell, none are broken, but I don't have the energy to do much. Fortunately, I don't have to.

The sun will set at 5:44 p.m. Ciao.

Good afternoon from "This City." Yes, it is nearly evening here on "The Beach", and that's because I never got around to blogging earlier this morning. It is currently 5:18 p.m. So, I think I'll just say a few words about today and yesterday.

In GH, the current temperature is 42°, while here, it is 68°. In GH, the NWS is warning of a last big snowstorm that could dump six inches of new snow. Here, the only concern is that it will be cloudy, with a chance of severe T-storms at 100%, with 3 - 5 inches of rain possible. Tomorrow, the temperature will drop into the upper 50s with windy conditions, By Thursday, we'll rebound to the lower 60s with sunny skies. It will take until Saturday for GH to return to the 40s.

Yesterday, we traveled to Pensacola to see the National Naval Aviation Museum that is located at NAS Pensacola. With the new access restrictions in place, the entrance to the museum is seven miles farther than it used to be. Plus, there are no signs to direct you as to where the west gate is located. That's the gate that all non-military personnel must use to access NAS Pensacola. But, we made it.In addition, there has always been a requirement to show an ID when entering the base. Now, you also have to show an ID when you go in and out of the various building at the Museum.

While there, Mary and I took some pictures that I'd like to share now.

I couldn't resist the chance to take a picture of this aircraft that was a part of the air wing of the USS Enterprise.

As a resident of "Coast Guard City USA" I had Mary take this picture of yours truly.

Yes, it is a POTUS.

Otherwise, not much is happening. All of the position players reported to baseball's spring training camps today and the experts in Las Vegas have already anointed the CUS as the favorite to win the World Series this year. Here's hoping. The sun will be setting at 5:43 p.m. here and at 6:26 pm in GH. Ciao

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

A current temperature of 63° that feels like 63°, will lead to today's high of 68°. The showers and T-storms that were in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday from the NWS, are now off that same forecast. Go figure. Only time will tell I guess. Yesterday, the temperature rose into the mid-seventies and that actually felt hot.

Yesterday's start to the taxicab racing season was mostly crash free, and there was very little change in the running order of the cars. A few penalties for pit crew infractions, a few crashes, one that took out the pole sitter, and that was about it. That is until the very end, when the driver who had led the race most of the time surged from the pack and took the checkered flag by the width of a bumper. Well actually, one-tenth of a second, but it was a great photo finish.

Mary and I watched as Mary did some batch cooking and knitting. She is much more able to multi-task than I ever am. STWD was the beneficiary of Mary's activities in her role as STSD. I benefited from the chopped veggies, the chips and salsa, the cheese and crackers, and the chili for dinner that she had made a few days ago and augmented yesterday.

Afterwards, we watched a movie on the Hallmark Channel, and then I was ready for bed. Sure it was early, but it had been a busy day. We had taken the morning walk with STWD, watched auto racing, and I did a few chores.

Today, more retirement, more walking, and more reading and playing with Leilani. I also have a few things that I had planned to get to while we were here that I must do. It has been seven weeks, and I haven't yet started.

Don't forget, the pitchers and catchers have all reported and the position players will report tomorrow.

The sun will rise at today 6:24 a.m., and set at 5:43 p.m. under cloudy skies. Ciao.

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

Yesterday was an interesting day. We made it to Pensacola for those errands and the ukulele jam at Blues Angel Music. With Pensacon going on, Mary had to work to find parking in the city center so that she could do the errands and go to the Palafox Market. She had to park several blocks away. That was after stops at the bread bakery and the health food co op.

I had a great time at the jam session, but prior to that, I adopted another member for my "Stringed Harem." I've decided that her name is Leilani, which depending on your desires, can be Hawaiian for Heavenly Flowers or Royal Child. Either way, the name seems to suit her.

I think she is beautiful. 

Mary says that I can't keep her and her sister, Winnie, and that I should donate Winnie to a young person who will give her the love and attention that she should have on a daily basis. I'm working on that now.

Otherwise, we made it home safely from Pensacola and watched TV and read for the balance of the day. STWD had to sniff the newest addition to our family. She seems to have found Leilani OK to stay.

In weather news, the current temperature is 62°, but it feels like 61°. Yesterday, the high reached into the 70s and the skies were sunny. According to the forecast from the NWS, the high temperature for today will be70° under cloudy skies. By tomorrow, we are supposed to begin seeing showers and then Tuesday into wednesday, T-storms are expected. However, temperatures should remain in the upper 60s until at least Thursday.

Today it is time for the annual start of the taxicab racing season at Daytona. Much like Adam, I tend to see this as a prelude to real racing when the Indycar season opens in Speedway, IN, Memorial Day weekend, with the running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Motor Car racing." I know that Adam prefers Formula One, but as long as a car has no fenders, he is good to go.

So, we'll be noshing, watching, and relaxing in the afternoon. Mary will watch some of the race, but I suspect that she'll be knitting more. That's fine, as I can do enough watching for both of us.

Otherwise, that's about it for today. The sun will rise at 6:25 a.m., and set at 5:42 p.m. Ciao.