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

It is official. I am now in possession of my "Free" insulated lunch bag from the library. I finished my last book early yesterday afternoon, so I just had to go and pick up my "Free" insulated lunch bag and some additional books. I've taken the liberty of adding a picture of my "Free" gift below.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is as cool as it looks!

Mary has three more books to complete and then she too will qualify for her "Free" insulated lunch bag.

Speaking of Mary, she finally finished the index from H E double hockey sticks and sent it on its way. In fact, the publisher's representative just emailed her to say he had received it. Sadly, she now needs the chiropractor more than ever, having spent multiple hours in her office chair. TANSTAFL. That's an acronym from the early 20th century, popularized in the Kurt Vonnegut science-fiction novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and it is a stand in for "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." There is, however, such a thing as a "Free" insulated lunch bag. Just saying. To put it into plain English, to get something, you've got to give something, a quid pro quo.

Mary and I got up late, again, yesterday. Mary made sandwiches using her extraordinary beest made into sloppy joes on my pretzel buns and accompanied by a side of sweet potatoes. Dinner was a salad with chickpeas, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and for me, some salad olives and chow mein noodles. Each of us had Mary's homemade French dressing on top.

GTTSD and I spotted the southbound train run @ 12:08 p.m. yesterday. Locomotive #2057 was soloing towing 14 CHCs, some extra long, two DBTCs, and one DWTC. Neither of us observed the northbound run, so either we missed it, which is unlikely for Ginger, or it will be returning today.

The current temperature is 37° under clear skies, but it feels like 28° due to the wind. The high today will reach 41° before we experience rain/snow showers in the evening. We'll be experiencing a few cool days before we warm up by the weekend.

STWD and I did make it to The Bookman for her treat and the Monday edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. However, my indoor chores took a turn for the worse, as our wash machine refused to work properly. We have the repairman scheduled for between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. today. Since a new machine is anywhere from $600.00 - $800.00, or more, a repair seems prudent. However, if the repair cost is more than 40% of the cost of a new machine, it might be time to consign the current machine, which is 20 years old, to the ash heap of history.

Once we have made that determination, we will get on with the business of retirement. If we have to buy a new machine, we'll have to devote as much time as needed to going to the big-box home center near here to make the purchase and arrange for delivery.

Otherwise, we have no specific plans. The sun will rise today @ 7:43 a.m. and set @ 6:15 p.m.

You thought I forgot, didn't you? Wrong! The pitchers and catchers for my beloved Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers reported to camp yesterday and the pitchers and catchers for the Cubs report today. Life is good!

Ciao.