Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City."

I probably wouldn't be up right now if it wasn't for Ginger's seemingly insatiable need to go out several times before she will settle in for the night. I did manage to get the small number of dishes washed that remained in the kitchen sink while I was downstairs, so the trip wasn't a total waste, but I could've lived without the trip. Oh well, I can use the exercise.

We had a rather mundane day yesterday. I got some reading done while I watched John and Dawn work. John was busy changing that pesky light switch in the media room, chopping the ice at the end of the driveway, and doing some wall patching along with other sundry home-repair type things, while Dawn did the heavy cleaning. John will be returning today, as our list of home maintenance things seems to grow exponentially. We'll see Dawn again next week. All of the above is my way of saying that I am going over to the Dark Side of the Force and letting others do what I used to do. It is a lot, and I do mean a lot, easier on my yak.

Since I am tangentially on the topic of weather, the reason we had John chop away some of that ice was the WWA (Winter Weather Advisory) issued by the NWS for the counties on the western shore of the "Big Lake." As of now, the forecast calls for that advisory to be in effect from 10:00 a.m. today through 1:00 p.m. Friday. Snow accumulations of from one to three inches are in the forecast, possibly more in localized areas. Today's high temperature is forecast to reach 30°, just warm or cold enough to cause slippery driving conditions.

That means that we won't be driving. Instead, we'll walk to The Bookman with the fur-children and then hunker in for the next two days. Fortunately, we got those things that are on the must-do list accomplished yesterday afternoon. Since John will be doing the hard work, I'll get more time for reading, crossword solving, and whatever I feel like doing. Since the kitchen is now ready for further activities, I may, and I stress may make some vegan sausages.

As an aside, I like being able to use the word sausages to describe the results of my kitchen endeavors without having to use the word meat, as in meatball. I think I may have to come up with a word that better connotes the vegan Italian meatballs that I make that is more in keeping with what they are. 

I'm also hoping to coax Mary towards her Craft Room and her sewing machine, to do some work on the projects that are in there. I know she wants to start with the sink curtain for the mud-room to be sure she is ready for the task of making the window valances for my office/music room/weather center. I can't say as I blame her, as the guitar-themed fabric that we got several years ago in Plymouth, WI is not available any longer. We were there on a side-trip during our Road America excursion during a trip to The Hawk, the annual vintage car races held at America's National Park for Speed, just outside of the city of Elkhart Lake, WI.

As another aside, we have purchased our tickets for the other vintage series to be held there later this year, the Ariens Art on Wheels races scheduled for the weekend of September 14 - 16, 2018. We've rented a home in Elkhart Lake for the trip that should provide an excellent place to view the vintage cars as they navigate the route that nearly replicates the way the cars raced on the streets in the early 1950s!

So that looks like enough for a couple of days.

I have some additional information regarding the soon to commence spring-training sessions in Florida and Arizona. My beloved Red Sox are still on target to have their pitchers and catchers report on February 13 as do the Tigers. The Red Sox begin full-squad workouts on February 17, while theTigers wait until the 18th. The Cubs also share those dates, albeit in AZ, with the Tigers. The Sox and the Tigers both have new managers this season.

The sun will rise today @ 7:59 a.m. and set later @ 5:57 p.m. We do have an appointment at the chiropractor for this afternoon, weather permitting, @ 3:30 p.m. Ciao.