Good morning or good evening wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City." This is an updated version of the blog I began @ 1:45 a.m.

 I had hopes of keeping it shorter than my last post. I failed due to the Severe Thunderstorm Alert.

We show a current temperature of 65° under rainy skies. The temperature @ 1:15 a.m. didn't begin to describe what it was like outside. It was sultry, muggy, steamy, oppressive, I'll leave it to my fellow travelers through the minefield that is the English language to decide which word works/describes conditions the best. I was outside with Ginger @ 1:15 a.m. or so, and it felt like one of the above descriptive words. We are anticipating a high today of 73° under sunny skies with less humidity.

Just before 2:45 a.m. I heard a Severe Thunderstorm Alert on WOOD radio as I was listening to Coast to Coast AM. The alert is for Allegan, southern Kent County, Ionia County, and most of the counties in West MI, including Ottawa.County, which includes GH, for the next 3/4 of an hour! Penny-sized hail and severe T-storms are possible. I'm here watching out the WW. I am hearing the rumble of thunder and seeing the flash of lightning. I am also seeing that the winds are blowing strongly and the rain is falling, in torrents. No hail yet! I can see that our trash can has been blown over and the trash is being scattered across the front lawn and down the street! The winds may reach speeds of 70 mph! The Severe Thunderstorm Alert is in effect until 3:45 a.m. for GH! However, it appears that the storm is nearly over and has moved south and east of "The City!" I guess I won't have to water today. It's over! It is 4:00 a.m. and the storm has blown to the east and the morning hours will once again be calm

Speaking of Ginger, she went to daycare/grooming yesterday and she came back mega-tired. Here she is on her downstairs bed on the newly installed carpet in our living room shortly after her arrival. Let's just say that she needed a recharge from her exhausting day of running with the big dogs along with being groomed.

Please, let me sleep!

More on that new carpeting. We are nearly there! The entire tack-down carpeting in the downstairs rooms of the manse and the media room and my office/music room/weather center has been replaced. One more threshold to go downstairs. Now on to the upstairs in our bedroom and Mary's office and crafts room along with the back stairs and we are done. In addition, the new furniture is arriving sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. today.

I installed my new A/C unit in the window yesterday. The carpet installers carried it upstairs for me. It is advertised as the #1 rated quiet A/C unit on the market and it lives up to its billing. I am enjoying the benefits right now!

Trainspotting yesterday was interesting, as it usually is. At 10:10 a.m., locomotives 2019 and 2057 were seen heading south towing 14 DBTCs and one CHC. Later in the afternoon, @ 3:03 p.m., those same locomotives were observed traversing the RSTL heading north. In tow were 22 DBTCs, four GTCs, and one CHC. In this case, the cars were loaded and there were no hot boxes to set fire to the right of way as the train headed north, as was the case the other day.

Sports news yesterday was 1/2 and 1/2. The Cubs lost to the Brewers in a one-sided rout, 2 - 11. The game was a makeup of a May rainout. Starting pitcher Mike Montgomery was shelled early and ultimately replaced on the mound by utility player Jon Jay, whose peak velocity barely moved the needle on the radar gun @ 56 mph! He actually floated one pitch over the plate @ 46 mph! The Cubs are now a sub-.500 team in the NL Central with a record of 42 - 43! The Brewers are a young club and they are leading the Cubs by 4.5 games. The 2nd place Cubs and the 4th place Pirates play in the "Friendly Confines" today @ 2:20 p.m.

The Tigers are still eight games below .500 in the AL Central following their win over the hapless San Francisco Giants yesterday, 6 - 2. The Tigers are going nowhere this season unless a major miracle occurs. I think we are about to see a fire-sale in Detroit. The Tigers play the Indians tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Rays last night, 1 - 4. The Sox still remain atop the AL East with an overall record of 49 - 37 following their loss and a loss by the 2nd place Yankees. The Sox and the Rays play again tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Caps are still flying high atop the MWL Central with their 3 - 2 win over the Lansing Lug Nuts. The Caps have a record in the 2nd half of their season of 11 - 4. They travel to Lake, County, OH to face the Captains tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

Other than that Severe Thunderstorm Alert, not much is happening. We can retire my puzzle building table to its regular status once our new dining room table arrives today. We ate lunch at our respective desks yesterday to make room for the carpet installers.

We visited the chiropractor for treatments on our respective aches and pains and special treatment on Mary's swollen left arm, which was bitten by some bug when she and Ginger were at the fireworks display on Tuesday. As of now, Mary's arm is looking much better. I told Mary that she cannot go outside without being fully covered until fall arrives.

The sun will rise today @ 6:13 a.m. and set tonight @ 9:28 p.m. Shortness was overridden by the Severe Thunderstorm Alert. Ciao.