Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

We show a current temperature of 51° as we head towards sunrise @ 6:31 a.m. Later today, the high temperature has been forecast by the NWS to reach 55° with a 70% chance for rain. So much for our plans to get outside and do some gardening in the vast gardens of the PE. The sun will set @ 8:51 p.m.

I had a great morning/early afternoon in the kitchen yesterday. I made my world famous vegan Italian meatballs, some of which became part of our lunch, along with some vegan Ball Park™ hot dogs from an internet recipe. So, I don't know whether those hot dogs will become world famous or join the ranks of my epic failures. Only time and taste will tell.

While I worked in the kitchen, Mary went to work culling her vast collection of cookbooks, some vegan, some not. She reduced her cookbook stash down to one shelf in her china cabinet. During our afternoon errand runs, we dropped off four bags of cookbooks at the library's used book store, Cheap Stacks, for them to sell and give the Friends of the Loutit Library some additional funds for various projects and programs. The was a win-win, for us and for Cheap Stacks, to use that overly used phrase.

Mary's efforts were propelled/impelled by the repainting of the kitchen and the removal of the shelves in the corner of that room that have been there for over 20 years. I know that some things are meant to be, but those shelves were not integral to the house or the kitchen, unless you count that they were installed when the kitchen was remodeled in the late 1990s. The carpenter who built the shelves made them very substantial, making each piece independently and gluing/screwing them to the wall.

As you may recall, Mary had originally planned to have John repaint the old shelves and then reinstall them. However, one of our errands yesterday was a trip to one of the big-box home centers for replacements that are totally different and more modern. John will be installing them today.

We also made a stop at J C Penneys for some articles of clothing I had ordered for me. I tried them on earlier this morning and I think they fit and look fine, but I will await Mary's opinion later this a.m.

We also stopped at the discount grocery store and another of the big-box home centers in Norton Shores, before ending our day @ Stan's in Spring Lake. Home for a dinner of vegan gyros. Mary had previously made the tzatziki sauce to go on the gyros that also worked well as salad dressing @ lunchtime. Truly, multi-purpose. All good, and then it was time for me to head upstairs to watch baseball while Mary went down the worm-hole of quirky movies that she loves so well.

Baseball news yesterday was once again 75%.

My beloved, 17 - 18, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, took another game from that other team from Chicago, 14 - 18, 4th in the AL Central. Final score, 9 - 2. The X man, Xander Bogaerts, nailed a Grand Slam late in the game to seal the deal. Red Sox RHP Brandon Workman, 2 - 1, got the win over that other team's RHP Delvin Herrera, 0 - 2. The Sox move on to Baltimore to face the Orioles tonight @ 7:05 p.m., when RHP Josh Smith, 0 - 0 goes for the Red Sox while RHP John Means, 3 - 3, pitches for the Orioles.

The 15 - 16, 3rd place in the AL Central Tigers, defeated the 12 - 23, 5th place in the AL Central Royals, 5 - 2. Tigers' RHP Buck Farmer, 2 - 2, got the win over the Royals losing pitcher, Ian Kennedy, 0 -1. OF Brandon Dixon got the walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to get the win for the Tigers, who welcome the 15 - 19, 4th place in the AL West Angels to Comerica Park tonight @ 7:10 p.m., when LHP Dan Norris, 1 - 0 takes the ball against the Angels RHP Griffin Canning, 0 - 0.

The 13 - 15, 6th in the MWL East White Caps, fell to the 18 - 12, 2nd place in the MWL West, Burlington, IA Bees, 5 - 9. The Caps welcome the 13 - 14, 5th place in the MWL West Peoria Chiefs, to the Fifth/Third Ballpark tonight @ 7:05 P.M.

I thought I'd save the 19 - 12, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, for last. The Cubs rode a strong pitching performance by LHP Jose Quintana, 4 - 1, to sweep the 2nd place on the NL Central Cardinals and their RHP Adam Wainwright. 3 - 3, to record a solid 13 - 5 win. The win was the Cubs 7th in a row. The Cubs 3rd baseman, Kris Bryant committed two errors in the field, but he looks to be back on track at the plate, going 2/4 and nailing a Grand Slam of his own. The Cubs other big-boppers, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward, and Ben Zobrist also hit well, as Zobrist sparkled in left field with great catches and terrific throws. All in all, the game would have been a total blowout if the Cubs relief corps hadn't yielded some late runs to the Cardinals.

The Cubs are home again tonight to face the 9 - 24, 5th/ last place in the NL East Miami Marlins, as the Marlins send RHP Sandy Alcantara, 1 - 3, go against the Cubs LHP Cole Hamels, 3 - 0 @ 8:05 p.m. EDT.

Today, indoor chores, music. art, reading, to go with retirement. I don't know what Mary has in store. I've already started my day in the kitchen, as I made my soon to be famous apple and cabbage Cole slaw with creamy dressing. Ciao.