Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 63°, which is also our overnight low. There is currently no precipitation of note in the forecast for the foreseeable future, with the exception of August 17, with a  40% chance for T-storms. That's way too far out to count on that. Thus, I believe that my new watering wand will be getting its second use today. The sun will rise @ 6:39 a.m. and set later @ 9:01 p.m.


Yesterday was a quiet day here in GH. The "Circus" has left town. By the "Circus", I mean the annual Coast Guard Festival is now in the history books. I think that this is the perfect place to insert a song by Jimmy Buffett entitled, When the Coast is Clear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIVVEvKOOgc


This is also the ideal place to insert another clip from Mr. Buffett entitled, A Pirate Looks At Forty. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df1E4NJu7ng Why? Because I love both of those songs and I think that A Pirate Looks At Forty is a nice way to think about gently growing older.

Moving right along, Adam and Steph headed out yesterday morning after a great and relaxing weekend. They made a choice to get ahead of the returning traffic coming from the north and also to stop in New Buffalo, MI for lunch at The Stray Dog Bar & Grill. Both good choices. While Ginger will miss them, she needed the afternoon to rest and relax herself. When people come and go and pass steadily by the manse en route to the activities of a Coast Guard Festival week, she is ever on the alert. Very tiring.

Baseball news yesterday had only one bright spot.

The 60 - 51, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs, swept the 3rd place Brewers with a convincing win, 7 - 2. Yu Darvish looked sharp for five innings and got his fourth win against five losses. I won't bother doing the math, but @ $126 million for six years, that win was very expensive. The Cardinals lost yesterday, so that puts the Cubs 1.5 games ahead of the Cardinals as the Cubs welcome the 64 - 48, 2nd place in the AL West Athletics to Wrigley for tonight's game @ 8:05 p.m. EDT. Kyle Hendricks, 8 -8, will go for the Cubs.

Sadly, my beloved, 59 - 55, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, continued losing, this time to the 72 - 39, 1st place in the AL East Yankees, 4 - 7. David Price returned from the paternity list to allow seven runs in the third inning and was tagged with the loss. With the continuing ineptitude of Chris Sale, 5 - 11, and that of tonight's starter, Rick Porcello, 9 - 8, the Boston pitching staff is not a strength this season.

I also won't do the math for Sale, but he got a $45 million, four-year contract extension last off-season based on the results of his stellar 2018 season. The Sox welcome the 40 - 73, 4th place in the AL Central Royals for tonight's game @ 7:10 p.m.

Speaking of the AL Central, the 32 - 75, 5th place Tigers found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They lost to the 57 - 54, 3rd in the AL West Rangers, 4 - 9. The Tigers and the Rangers were tied until late in the game and then.... The Tigers send Spencer Turnbull, 3 - 9,  to the mound for tonight's game against that other team from Chicago @ 7:10 p.m.

Once again, the 8th place West Michigan WhiteCaps fell to the 7th place Ft. Wayne TinCaps in a lopsided loss, 0 - 8. The Caps continue their series against the TinCaps tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Mary had a good day in the kitchen last evening after we returned from the big-box arts and craft store in Norton Shores. This time, our trip was for some silk flowers for her Flower Room display. I didn't need anything.

Later, she made what I think was her best cast-iron skillet pizza to date. Everything came together perfectly, as the mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, nutritional yeast, mixed-blend vegan cheese, and Mary's favorite pizza sauce melded together. I hope she can reprise this pizza every time. She usually adds some vegan sausage, but I enjoyed it fine without, perhaps more. I loved her efforts immensely as we watched a romance movie. As you know, I love a good romance movie.

I finished my outdoor painting yesterday, allowing me time to do the watering of the Vast Gardens of the Palatial Estate today. We also need to go to the big-box nearly everything store too. Lots of staples need to be replenished in our larders.

I have a session of the Grand Haven Art Meetup @ the Loutit District Library this evening. I enjoy the chance to share my work(s) and ideas and learn some new techniques.

That's enough for one day. Ciao.