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've been up for a while, but in the land of computers, there seems to be a never-ending and insatiable need for updates that bog my computer's speed down to almost zero. In this case, I had to reboot and wait for the updates to complete before I could get anything done. Plus, I had to stop to watch an old B & W TV show, Highway Patrol and a repeat episode of my favorite program on Motor Trend TV, Wheeler Dealers.

The current temperature is 66° under cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 75°, under partly-cloudy skies this morning giving way to sunny-skies this afternoon. The sun will rise today @ 7:25 a.m. and set later @ 7:53 p.m.

What a great day in sports yesterday. I watched as the 81 - 68, 2nd place by a mere two games in the NL Central Cubs, crushed the 65 - 85, 5th place Pirates, 16 - 6, to complete the weekend series sweep. Coupled with the loss by the 1st place Cardinals to the 3rd place Brewers yesterday, the Cubs are still in the hunt for the division lead or at least a Wild-Card berth.

Unfortunately, Cubs 1st baseman, Anthony Rizzo was injured as he rolled his ankle and maybe out for a while. Perhaps it was that injury that shook starting pitcher Jose Quintana, but he was pulled from the game and replaced by several relief pitchers, with the win going to Brad Wieck.

During the weekend, the Cubs set another franchise record, as they hit a record 14 home runs and 47 RBIs! The Cubs open a series tonight against the 4th place Reds @ 8:05 p.m. EDT when Cole Hamels takes the mound. The Cubs always have trouble with the Reds.

My beloved, 79 - 70, still in 3rd place Red Sox, tripped up the Phillies yesterday, 6 - 3, as Rick Porcello got the win for the beloved. The Sox and Nathan Eovaldi welcome the 72 - 78, 3rd place in the NL West Giants for a game tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The 5th place, 44 - 104 in the AL Central Tigers, well, they are the 2019 Tigers and they lost once again to the 49 - 100, 5th place in the AL East Orioles, 2 - 8. Edwin Jackson chalked up another loss for the Tigers as they prepare to meet the Orioles again this afternoon @ 4:10 p.m., when Tyler Alexander takes the mound for the Tigers.

The 1 - 0 - 1 Detroit Lions eked out a 13 - 10 win over the 1 - 1 LA Chargers yesterday. The Lions are once again hopeful, but... The Lions take the field next Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The perplexing, 1 - 1, Chicago Bears nearly snatched another defeat from the jaws of victory in a game against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos thought they had the game won with a two-point conversion late in the game allowed the Broncos to move ahead, 14 - 13. Somehow, amidst penalties and myriad misplays, the Bears were able to kick a field-goal with one second on the clock to upend the Broncos, 16 - 14. A win is a win, but the Bears were considered a Super Bowl contending team this season and this was not a game that proved that to be a likelihood.

Yesterday morning, I was downstairs with my camera and I took some pix of the sunrise over GH from the front-porch of the manse. I like how they turned out as I captured the clouds just after sunrise.

A view to the northeast of the manse.

Same direction, different results.

Due north.

Plus, I took some shots of the roses in bloom just in front of our porch and also of our new weather-vane in our parkway garden. Why? Because I had the camera in my hands.

As I've noted before, a little fertilizer goes a long way.

We assembled and installed our weather-vane a few days ago and it looks perfect in our garden.

We had a simple lunch yesterday and then dinner at Don Luis in what has become a Sunday night tradition for us.

I had asked Mary to knit another scouring pad that I like to use when I am cleaning the kitchen early each morning. I guess the previous one got inadvertently tossed. So, she found the special yarn required and in about one-hour, a new scouring pad was born. She likes to call them "Scrubbies", but whatever the name, I like how they work. Therein lies a tale.

When I clean our white porcelain sink, I like to use vinegar and baking soda to get that whiteness back. I  have used the sink-sponge for that purpose, but I learned something one morning. We like to "Nuke" the sponge for cleanliness before washing dishes. I thought that I had rinsed it out well before I placed in the microwave, but apparently I didn't rinse it well enough and the sponge caught fire. What can I say, apparently there is something metallic about baking soda that microwaves interact with and...

I'm not really surprised, as I have used baking-soda for freshening our throw rugs and when I have, I used to get shocked through the handle of the vacuum. So, that seems to give credence to the metallic nature of baking-soda, especially the generic store-brands versus the more famous Arm and Hammer brand. The manufacturers of the Arm and Hammer brand have publicly stated that their brand has no aluminum in it, just 100% sodium bicarbonate. Who knew?

At any rate, here is our newest "Scrubbie" as knitted by Mary last night.

Apparently easy to knit, but I don't have that ability.

Afterwards, I read some and then joined Mary in the media-room for a repeat watching of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. I always enjoy this movie, generally picking up new things with each viewing.

Today, not much is on tap. I have an Art Meetup session at the library tonight and that's about it. Ciao.