Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City."

Although hot and humid yesterday, the day went well. We are nearly done with the carpet installation and with the exception of one chair, all of the furniture has been delivered and set up. That last chair is still being made so it will be available when it is done.

Ginger went to daycare as she can't deal with being in her crate. I am sure that the real consternation comes from her human caretakers, but that's one of the reasons that we adopted her, to enjoy us and so that we can enjoy her company.

Our current weather conditions, as forecast and detailed by the NWS, show a current temperature of 64° under partly cloudy skies. Today's high should reach 73° under sunny skies with lower humidity. The chance of precipitation is less than 20%. The sun will rise @ 6:13 a.m. and set @ 9:26 p.m. If anyone is planning a wedding in Central Park, they should have a great day.

As I described in yesterday's blog, the severe storms blew directly through GH between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. yesterday. The rains came hard, the winds blew at tornadic speeds that were given the designation of EF 0, which translates to 65 - 85 mph. Mary, STWD, Ginger, and I went walkabout yesterday morning to see what those wind speeds had produced. Many tree limbs were down and roads were blocked by fallen trees. Sadly, a tree fell on the house of a 72-year-old man here in GH and he was killed. In that instance, the Grand Haven Tribune stated that the winds were unofficially clocked @ 102  mph! Otherwise, there were no casualties. We are still in search of our recycling bin which is probably in another township by now.

For those interested, here is a link to pictures of the storm damage in West Michigan.

http://woodtv.com/gallery/west-michigan-storm-damage-july-7-2017/.

Sports news yesterday was 3/4 good. The Cubs returned to .500 with a 2nd place record of 43 - 43 in the NL Central following a 6 - 1 win over the Pirates @ "The Friendly Confines" yesterday. The Cubs and the Pirates reprise their roles again tonight @ 7:15 p.m.

The Tigers were manhandled by the Indians yesterday 2 - 11. That gives the 4th place Tigers a 38 - 47 record in the AL Central as they return to the field tonight to face those same Indians @ 7:15 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox toppled the Rays yesterday 8 - 3. That gives the 1st place Sox a 50 -37 record in the AL East, 4.5 games ahead of the losing Yankees. The Sox face the Rays again today @ 4:15 p.m.

The Caps eked out a win in Ohio over the Captains 6 - 5. That win gives the 1st place in the MWL East White Caps an overall 2nd half record of 12 - 4. I read a short description a few days ago about how difficult it is for an "A" level team to be consistently successful, as their players are almost always new every season. The Caps have a 1st-year manager, Mike Rabelo, this year, and this is another in their string of playoff appearances and MWL Championships. The Caps came to GR in 1994. The Caps and the Captains play again tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

We retrieved our cuckoo clock yesterday after some maintenance. This clock was in my grandmother's home and my parent's home for many years and I believe it to be somewhere between 60 and 75 years of age. It was made in Germany and has an eight-day movement that according to the clock repairman is showing its age. It may not survive many more years without being replaced.

While in Spring Lake, we also purchased a new lamp at the resale store to add to our new living room furniture. It needs a new shade, but otherwise, it works and looks great.

Today, it looks like we can kick back and relax as we await the final carpet installation and some finishing touches on the thresholds. The furniture looks great and it was a terrific feeling to be able to eat at our new dining room table. In honor of that new table, Mary made one of mine and Adam's
favorites, spaghetti role casserole.

So, that looks like enough for one day. Ciao.