This being Thanksgiving, I'll just be thankful and start out by saying, thanks to Mary, Stephany, and Adam, just for the sheer joy of having family. Thanks to everyone who helps out the homeless, the needy, the hungry, and any lost souls, whether animal or human.

That being said, I wasn't going to get up and blog, but sometimes the best laid plans, etc., etc.

Just outside the Weather Window, it is still cold and there is snow. More on the way, but I don't have to travel today, so that's fine with me. Sugar the Weather Dog and I will take our regular morning constitutional, if that counts as traveling. The sun will rise at 7:52 a.m., and set at 5:11 p.m., and nothing I do will change that. That in itself feels good and reassuring.

I got all of the housework done yesterday, so today I think I'll peel the remaining apples and make apple sauce. I may also take time to bake an apple pie, and since Mary will be upstairs and out of her kitchen, I should be able to accomplish that without interference from the "owner" of the kitchen. Sugar will be at the ready in her role as Sous Dog extraordinaire to lend a paw whatever I do. I will also find more time to play with the girls. Of course, I may also find time to watch the Lions and the Bears at noon after the annual Thanksgiving parades.

Yesterday, we had plans to go see those Christmas trees in Muskegon, but the pre-holiday traffic on the highway made us change our minds. Instead, we decided to visit Sally and the folks at the Post. Then it was off to the favorite watering hole for dinner. For the people who have tired of their families by then, the watering hole will open at 4:00 p.m. today.

So that looks like enough for me. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in "The City." Our current temperature outside the Weather Window is 31 cloudy degrees. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature will not drop further under partly cloudy skies, however with a 10 mph wind, it feels like 21°. That's all before the sun rises at 7:50 a.m. We should be light on precipitation today, but on Thanksgiving that changes to an 80% chance of one to three inches of snow, and don't tell Mary, but that may be the same on Friday. Temperatures are expected to stay the same. at 31°. We have plans to travel on Friday, but neither of us is thrilled about driving in those conditions. Once again, a game-day decision.

I got bad news earlier on Tuesday. I got my few hairs cut, but my Barber, Joe, told me that December 18, will be his last day in his shop. He'll be moving his expertise across town for one to two months, and then he's off to Florida for a well earned retirement. That means I'll have to break in a new barber, close to home, and probably pay higher prices for my limited needs. Best wishes Joe.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the floors got swept and washed in all the tiled rooms. Today, I have plans to finally get to that dusting and vacuuming that I have been putting off. Then I'll be done with my housework and I can get back to playing with the girls. Well, I generally find time for that activity everyday. I also have to get to work on some ornaments for our Christmas tree. That and work on my latest puzzle. Mary pointed out that for a retired guy and a work at home person we are certainly busy. I am beginning to understand why my late mother-in-law was always so busy. Work and other activities expand to fill your time in retirement.

On her part, Mary will be working on business activity while I am dusting and vacuuming around her. She spent about three hours the other night cleaning "her" kitchen Sunday or was that Mondays night. She professed that it was physically taxing. No doubt. But once I had changed the overhead light bulbs to some that are significantly brighter, the need for cleaning became all too apparent. As she says, she uses her kitchen, it is not a "Set" for a commercial or magazine. I am "allowed" to use it too. Naturally, it is also Sugar the Weather Dog's "mess hall" also. In addition, in Sugar's role as household Sous Dog, she spends nearly as much time there as Mary, certainly more than me.

Speaking of her kitchen, Mary made leftovers for lunch yesterday, and then using things that she had in her freezer and cabinets, she made a delicious spinach lasagna for dinner. This recipe is a definite keeper. Spices, tomato paste, and tomato juice were in there somewhere, along with the lasagna noodles, I believe. I just watched TV.

I'll be dong that vacuuming and dusting before the sun sets at 5:11 p. m. As I said, I'll get in some play time with the girls and then probably finish my novel. I am liking both the author's style and the subject matter. All of that will come after the morning constitutional with the intrepid weather dog. She didn't get a walk yesterday, and she wasn't happy about that. Both she and I will miss waving at Joe when we pass in the morning, and in the better weather, the afternoon. Ciao.

Good morning GH. It is just past 3:30 a.m. in "The City." That's the newly snow covered city Mary and I call home. Not really a lot of snow, but there is a chance for a bit less than two inches of snow total by the time this snow event ends. That's a lot different than the earlier alert which has since been revised downward from four to seven to that maximum of two inches. We have a current temperature outside the Weather Window of 30°, which will rebound to 32° as Tuesday comes into focus. Of course, that forecast is courtesy of the National Weather Service, who was also predicting one to three inches of new snow before the sun sets at 5:11 p.m. this evening. In short, like all the forecasts that they and I offer, it is subject to change.

Elsewhere on Monday, I awoke to the sound of a power shovel digging up the yard of the house two doors down. Apparently their sewer line needed repair. Sugar the Weather Dog was Sugar on the spot, and let us know that that was happening. Mary and I did a few errands after lunch, going to the shoe store and the big-box home store in Muskegon. Mary got new household slippers, I got light bulbs. That quick departure gave us the chance to avoid the latest storm front that moved in about 3:00 p. m. yesterday. The wind it blew, the snow it flew, and the temperature fell as the evening wore on. We had dinner and then, I went upstairs to watch TV, while Mary was cleaning the kitchen. In this case, I got the better part of the day's/evening's activities.

I also spent some time reading my latest fiction novel too, and I like the style of this author, Patrick F. McManus. This book was one I picked from the N.Y. Times Review of Books, titled Circles in the Snow. There are many earlier works in this series, so I should have another author to read.

Today, Mary and I will be walking to our hair stylists. Both of us will walk in the street to avoid the ice patches on the sidewalks. She will have to go about one-half block less than me. Her long hair will get styled, while my shorter hair will get cut. She'll pay more, I'll pay less, but my hair is a work in progress, while hers continues to grow.

I'll pick up today's Grand Haven Tribune, on my way home. Sugar the Weather Dog will have to go out on her tether, as I don't want to be pulled down icy sidewalks. I need the walk as does she, but I am too afraid of falling on the ice and snow that is now clinging to every horizontal surface in our fair city.

That looks like enough for yesterday and today. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night in "The City." The view outside the Weather Window is dark with a side of rain. That is a harbinger of things to come tomorrow. Our current temperature is 51°. When the sun rises tomorrow at 7:49 a.m., the temperature will rise to 46° from the low of 46°, with a 100% combination of rain/snow/wind. That's a far cry from the weather that we experienced today which was, mostly mild, some rain, and a good day to take a walk with Sugar the Weather Dog.

Tomorrow, the sun will set at 5:14 p.m., with little chance for a repeat performance in the weather department. Oh well, at least the snow was gone for a day. We can expect to see less than one inch of accumulation on Monday.

Mary and I have plans to go out and about again tomorrow, but that is dependent upon her work schedule ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. There is an exhibit at the Muskegon Museum of Art that I have wanted to see for three years, called the Festival of Trees which is only displayed for 10 days each year. It started on the 20th, so it will only run through the end of the week.

Today's errands included picking up the additional embroidery hoops Mary needed to complete our tree skirt, and I got the puzzle saver for my winter puzzles. Then we stopped off at the big-box hardware store to get some LED light bulbs and a clamp to repair my desk, which I will do tomorrow in the daylight. We decided that we like the LED bulbs and their brighter light so much, that we now need to get several more.

Mary worked hard on today's dinner, and it was excellent. It featured a Celebration Roast from the fine folks at Field Roast Products™, and some potatoes and carrots that Mary had on hand. I like the Field Roast™ products a lot. The taste is great, the texture is perfect, and their offerings are all natural combinations of fruits and vegetables.

After we get the bulbs tomorrow, we'll go to the museum and view the exhibits and perhaps visit a yarn store that we visited once before, but which may not be there any longer. That seems to be our luck with yarn stores lately. However, we won't know until we get there. Then it's home to the palatial estate for some rest and relaxation.

That looks like enough for tomorrow and a good description of today's activities. Ciao.

Good evening GH. It actually is evening, or late night if  you prefer. Since I took a nap in my chair in the media room earlier this evening, I am now awake to blog at an earlier hour. Not all bad I guess, but this has to stop. At any rate, it is just past 11:30 p.m. in "The City." We have a current temperature of 45°, and we'll be dropping to a low of 39° before the sun rises at 7:45 a.m. Sunday promises a 90% chance of more rain and a high of 51°. Sugar the Weather Dog likes the warmer temperatures, but she doesn't like not getting her morning constitutional. However, she also doesn't like the rain either. We'll have to see if we can get that walk done before the sun sets at 5:13 p.m. tomorrow evening.

Sugar might have gotten a walk this morning, but Mary was experiencing some eye issues, so we had to go to the eye doctor for a quick checkup. Everything turned out normal, apparently a consequence of her nearsightedness and her recently acquired 61 years of age. She probably won't like my mentioning that, but I like to report the facts, just like my police hero, Sgt. Joe Friday, badge #713, Dragnet, you know, the show that gave me my catch phrase. "The City", when he and his partner intoned each week, "Just the facts ma'am, just the facts."

The got the day off to a rousing start, from which we never quite recovered. We came home, had lunch and then Sugar went out on her tether. I retired to the Weather Office/Music Studio, and played the girls and read the end of my latest novel. I tried watching the MSU football game on TV, but with four possible channels from which to choose, none had the game. They were all showing Ohio State vs. Indiana. I bet there were more than a few upset fans throughout West Michigan.

So that;s how the day progressed. I spent the evening in the media room after Mary and I played a Scrabble™ type dice game. It was fun, but it soon wore itself out. As I noted earlier, I retired to the media room, and Mary stayed downstairs and read what she has called a great book.

Tomorrow the day will open more quietly, I hope. I know what it's like to experience odd symptoms that you have never experienced before. Sugar and I may get out for the newspaper we didn't get today and I may have time to read it. I'll probably start a new non-fiction book and then play more with the girls. The Lions are on at 1:00 p.m., so I may devote some of my time to that non-energy expending activity after the intrepid weather dog and I return from our morning safari. That looks like a good activity roundup. Ciao.

Good morning GH. It is just past 6:30 a.m. in "The City." Sunrise today will be at 7:45 a.m., just a short time from now. Our current temperature of 38° is as low as it will get. As the day progresses, we will see a high of 43° with a 90% chance of rain. Apparently we will miss the freezing rain due to our nearness to the shore of the "Big Lake." Tomorrow, the chance of rain will be 80% with a high temperature of 47°.

I'm not sure what the forecast portends for the morning constitutional with Sugar the Weather Dog. She likes the snow, but isn't a big fan of rain. I can't say as I blame her. Maybe I can convince Mary to take the constitutional as I have been under the weather myself the last few days. Mary convinced me to go out yesterday afternoon, and last night I was less than 100%. Oh well, that's the luck of the draw.

I made it to the dentist yesterday, and my appointment lasted all of 15 minutes. There are benefits to regular brushing.

Today, I plan to read more, play with the girls more, and maybe do that dusting I have not gotten around to, yet. Or maybe not.

Otherwise, I'll be going back to bed shortly and listening to the Saturday morning lineup on WOOD radio; Autotalk, The Pet Files, and The Flowerland Show. That will take care of the morning. Then it will be time for breakfast/lunch. I guess you could say that I plan to laze away the day.

The sun will set at 5:13 p.m. this evening. That's okay with me too. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:30 a.m. in "The City." The current temperature of 19° is not as low as we will get this morning. That's 11°. In addition, the temperature will rise after the sun comes up to a high of 32° with a 10% chance of additional precipitation. Saturday, the temperature rises to 41° with a 60% chance of showers. Sunday, we are expecting a 100% chance of rain and a high temperature of 45°. That snow shovel Mary and I went out to get earlier on Thursday isn't going to be needed for a few days. However this is only November. The fine folks at Ace Hardware, the helpful hardware place™ still had shovels in stock, so we bought one there along with some salt while they had that too. Last year, you couldn't buy a bag of salt as the winter wore on, and on, and on.

Mary and I traveled to the hospital for a lab appointment and doctor's visit. We also had lunch at the hospital cafeteria's salad bar. They have a great salad bar that is labeled as to fat content, nutrition, etc. Two salads were less than $9.00.

I was so cold early last evening, that I tucked myself into bed with my fleece on, and promptly fell asleep around 7:30 p.m. Later, I was so warm that I had to uncover myself. I've been down that road before.

Today I have a dental appointment, but I have to decide if it is a good idea to go. I may call the dentist and see if they think it is a good idea. It is hard to get an appointment, so I don't want to skip it if I don't have to do so.

I wasn't going to include a trainspotting report, but I'm up and the southbound train is going by, so here it is.
Two locomotives towing one box car and seven covered hopper cars. As Porky the Pig would say, "That's all Folks."

Otherwise, I don't have any plans for today. Maybe some laundry, but Mary may not let me touch that due to my feverish state. We'll have to see. The sun will set this evening at 5:15 p.m. At the rate I'm going, I may set with it. Ciao.