Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City." I got up around 5:30 a.m. after sleeping soundly from about 12:30 a.m. last night. I then proceeded to one of my regular chores, emptying the dishwasher.

The low for yesterday is coincidentally the high for today, 24°. The sun will rise @ 7:42 a.m. and set later @ 6:16 p.m. Today, we have no Weather Watches nor Weather Warnings issued by the NWS for the Tri-Cities nor Ottawa County areas. However, today's forecast from the NWS does call for snow showers, the possibility of rain, and wind-speeds of between 20 and 30 mph!

In CA, they are experiencing torrential rains and mudslides, as homes slide down hills, cars are buried, and water rescues have been necessary. So, in spite of the snow on the ground here, I would not wish to be in CA right now.

However, throughout the world, we are approaching a Super Moon on February 19. A super moon occurs when the moon is at or near its closest approach to earth, about 221,000 miles away, as opposed to 256,000 miles away, when it is at its farthest point from earth. The moon will appear about 30% brighter and 14% bigger than usual on that date. An amazing fact that won't alter anyone's life, but one which is still interesting.

Yesterday, we made it, without a problem, to my P/T appointment My therapist, Ben. put me through my paces and gave me a series of new/additional exercise or routines to perform at home. I can now lift one to three pounds as long as I am careful. My shoulder was fatigued when we were done. Thus begins my 50th day of recovery since my surgery on December 27, 2018.

I managed to get in some time with Abigael yesterday and I anticipate more today. It felt good to hold and strum her, to say the least. I won't be able to play for long stretches @ my Irish Jam Session tomorrow, but I can play with rusty, if not great precision. Oddly, I seem to have opened some new neural pathways during my long layoff, as some chords seem easier to play. Go figure.

My replacement end table arrived yesterday, undamaged, along with the floor mat that I ordered to catch the dust and debris. In this picture, caught by Mary in a nice use of back-lighting, I can be seen adding some color to a drawing that I started in July of 2017. That was at the art studio around the corner from the manse, that has since become another in the long line of stores that seem unable to last at thqat location.

Portrait of the"Artist" at work.

We never got to those indoor chores yesterday, but we had a nice lunch of salad and leftover TVP loaf along with another very tasty vegan pizza with ground vegan pepperoni, green peppers, onions, and vegan mozzarella cheese and nutritional yeast atop Mary's dough and favorite pizza sauce. I have to remind her that she needs to make more dough for freezing, since she likes to use the dough after it has been frozen and thawed rather than used fresh. I don't get it, but if it works for her...

I liked it!

I read yesterday's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune, but I never got to the crossword puzzle. Instead, I read more of the novel I am currently reading by James Patterson, Target: Alex Cross. I almost always enjoy Patterson's efforts, and especially his Alex Cross series, of which this is the latest.

I hope to do as little as possible today other than those aforementioned indoor chores, reading, puzzle solving, playing with Abigael, coloring, and placing of the new floor-mat in my art room/music room/office/weather center. All of that is dependent on Mary's needs to travvel with regard to finding a source for the additional yarn she needs for her latest project.

Apparently, when we were in K'Zoo, AKA Kalamazoo, MI, last year for their annual Irish Music Festival, she purchased the yarn she currently has on one set of needles, @ a yarn store that I spied as we were leaving the Air Zoo in K'Zoo. The yarn was spun by a famous mill, but the chances of Mary finding another skein in the dye lot that she has is slim to none and slim left town months ago. However, the yarn color may be available at a yarn shop in Holland, Garenhuis Yarn Studio, or Mary's favorite, The New Ewe in Newaygo. I will get in some time on my shoulder exercises no matter what. Ciao.