Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 10:00 p.m. in "The City."

As you have already noticed, I skipped a day in my blog. Why you ask? Because I was sleeping soundly last night and I just didn't want to get up and get cold. When you have a setback thermostat, as we do, the temperature in the house drops to the mid-60s overnight. So it is a lot more prudent to stay under the covers. So I did. It was a one dog night, as Ginger was with us until 8:00 a.m. this morning when she decided it was time for breakfast. STWD was sleeping on the couch.

Speaking of Ginger, I feel as though it is time to change her acronym from GTWD, Ginger the Wonder Dog, to an acronym and moniker that is more in keeping with her new status as a trainspotter in training, So, from this point forward, she will be known as GTTSD, and acronym for Ginger the Trainspotting Dog. She is Ginger on the spot when a train rolls by on the RSTL. While she can only count up to two and since she can only bark and not speak, she cannot tell me how many cars or locomotives she sees. However, she is able to hear the trains approaching long before I ever can. So, with her assistance, I anticipate a better trainspotting effort in the future.

Speaking of transporting, @ 1:04 p.m., I was in the kitchen preparing a batch of cookies for baking. I didn't hear the approach of the southbound train run, but GTTSD sure did. I sprang to the window where she and I observed the passage of locomotive # 2019 at the head of a long line of cars. Locomotive #2057 must have been occupied elsewhere in the system. #2019 was towing 10 DBTCs, 34 CHCs, and four DWTCs. At 5:18 p.m. that same locomotive was observed and heard passing north as it towed 16 CHCs, one GTC, and three DTCs.

As I mentioned earlier, I was in the kitchen when the southbound run passed by making blueberry cookies. I used my new Kitchenaid™ stand mixer to thoroughly mix the flour, sugar, salt, egg substitute, vegan butter, baking powder, and vanilla before I added the blueberries by hand. By that time, I had to go to my orthopedist appointment and so I placed the dough in the refrigerator for later baking. When I got home, I rolled the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and then placed them on a cokie sheet and into the oven which I had preheated to 375°. 13 minutes later and my latest foray into baking had produced some very good looking and tasty cookies.

Since I had that doctor's appointment, Mary made a nice salad for lunch before we took the fur-children for a walk. Sugar was rewarded with a biscuit at The Bookman. Mary finished the laundry that I had started while I was away and then I sat down to read. Mary decided that we needed some onion rings, so we set out for the Tip a Few tavern, our favorite watering hole, for those and some adult libations. When we got back, Mary made a tasty vegan faux tuna casserole for dinner.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Ginger got into Mary's knitting kit while we were out and chewed her way through some rubber tips and a glass nail file. Fortunately, it appears that Ginger did not ingest any of the glass. However, it appears that Ginger will be in her crate when we go out in the future as her separation anxiety seems to get the best of her.

We watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy before Mary took STWD out for her final appearance and before I took GTTSD out for her curtain call. I went upstairs to watch Wheeler Dealers while Mary watched Chris Hayes on MSNBC.

Tomorrow, we have plans to walk with the fur-children, weather permitting, as well as a trip to Spring Lake for my glasses. Then we plan to settle in for some reading and crafting. I want to spend some time with the girls too.

Speaking of the weather, the current temperature is 36° under cloudy skies. That is also the forecast high for tomorrow. Right now the precipitation is in the form of rain, while tomorrow, it will be a combination of rain and snow.

I must get in a plug for the arrival of spring, that is spring as I see it. In 19 days, my beloved Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers report. The next day, the Cubs pitchers and catchers report. In 30 days, the first spring training game is scheduled for the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs.

The sun will rise tomorrow @ 8:05 a.m. and set @ 5:49 p.m. Ciao.