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

What can I say, it is late or early, depending on your perspective. I hadn't planned on being up, but you know what the ephemeral "They" say about the best-laid plans.

I didn't go outside with Ginger or STWD because Mary was already on the job downstairs. That's OK with me.

What a sad day in baseball news. I had to reach all the way into the "A" level minor leagues of Major League Baseball to find a winner, the Caps, the "A" level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, to find a win. The Caps won their MWL East game over the Bowling Green, KY Hot Rods, 8 - 5 yesterday afternoon. That win gives the Caps a record of 41 - 21 and a 2.5 game lead over the 2nd place Ft. Wayne, IN TinCaps. The Caps are home tonight to once again face the Hot Rods @ 7:00 p.m.

The Cubs once again found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They were cruising along with a three run lead when the 5th inning got in the way. A shoestring catch by the Phillies rookie outfielder, Rhys Hoskins, and a triple play set the tone as the Phillies came roaring back in the bottom of the 5th. Then an error and some timely hits led to a final score of 3 - 6. The Cubs are still in 1st place in the NL Central with their record of 69 - 60, but fell to a 2.0 game lead over the winning  Brewers and a 4.5 game lead over the losing Cardinals. The Cubs are home tonight to face the Pirates @ 8:05 p.m.

My beloved Red Sox once again had their bats fall asleep as they couldn't outscore the Orioles in an AL East game. The Sox fell, 1 - 2 and saw their 1st place record slip to 73 - 57 and also saw their lead over the 2nd place and winning Yankees narrow to 2.5 games. The Sox travel to Toronto to face the Bluejays tonight @ 7:07 p.m.

The Tigers can't even beat the last place team in their AL Central division, that other team from Chicago. The Tigers fell 1 - 7 to move them to 56 - 73 and only a four game lead over that other team. The Tigers travel to Colorado tonight to meet the Rockies @ 8:05 p.m.

The weather here in GH is, as usual, erratic. We had a few drops of rain early last evening and we are anticipating showers beginning around 2:00 a.m. today and continuing in earnest until around 11:00 a.m. We shall see. A current temperature of 64° under cloudy skies portends that the forecast from the NWS may be, and I stress may be, accurate. The sun will rise later this morning @ 7:05 a.m. and set later tonight @ 8:25 p.m.

We are nearing the finish line on the index. I am logging way too much chair time in my office as I edit, which is not doing my hip or my yak any favors.

Steph and Adam pulled out yesterday morning and headed back to the Windy City. They had a good time and we all enjoyed just relaxing. It will probably be next spring when they return. Busy schedules have a way of intruding on life when you are young, working, and not retired. I feel as though we paid our dues to get where we are.

We have more to do on the index today. Mary has some additional changes to make and I have about 50 pages on which to do a final edit. One good thing about this index is that it is a catalog and so the entries are somewhat easier to follow, I think.

We will take the morning safari, weather permitting, and then settle in to do some serious reading and editing. Ciao.