Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:00 a.m. in "The City." As I gaze out the Weather Window, we have a current temperature of 67° as we drop to today's high of 63°and the streets of our fair city are wet. Later today, we are expecting a 100% chance of T-storms. Saturday, more of the same, with a high of 48° and light rain. Sunday we get a brief respite from the rain with only a 20% chance of showers, albeit with clouds in the a.m. and the temperatures rebounding to 54°. Monday, the temperature rises back to the mid fifties and the rain returns.

Mary and I walked downtown last evening to get a cold one. We took umbrellas, but didn't need them.  But alas, our first choice was closed, our second choice was too full and noisy, and our third choice proved to be like the one Goldilocks made, just right. Turns out it was the favorite watering hole. A quick one turned into three. Oops!

The Tigers were on and being creamed by the Orioles. Ultimately, they lost 3 - 12. There were a lot of groans and long faces at the watering hole. Later, the Royals slipped past the Angels, 3 - 2. I know that the Packers beat the Vikings, but the score is irrelevant to me. Sorry. Later today, the Tigers try again in Baltimore as they try to come away with one win on the road. In addition, the Royals face the Angels again, the Dodgers take on the Cardinals and the Nationals attempt to win over the Giants.

My biscuits made a return visit to our table for dinner last night. Without Mary's gravy they still tasted good, so I believe they were well made. They were a side dish to the salad that Mary made for dinner. I have a hankering for some eggs later this morning. If Mary has other plans, I'll make my own.

Mary says that I should explain my recent reference to her making a macaroni and cheese size mess in the kitchen, so I'll endeavor to do that on the way to explaining something else. Once upon a time, in a land far far away...Oops, I think I got the script for Star Wars mixed up with reality. As I started to say, once when we all were younger, Mary made macaroni and cheese, from a box. Normally that takes a large pot of boiling water, one-half stick of butter or margarine, and one-quarter cup of milk. Once the elbow macaroni is done, you also need a colander of some type to drain the macaroni. Finally, you must return the macaroni to the pot along with the other ingredients, stir and serve in small bowls.

If you have that vision in your mind, you should be seeing a very small pile of pots, dishes, and utensils. Somehow that small pile of dishes morphed into a large mess in the kitchen. To this day, neither Mary nor I know how. So whenever she creates a huge mess in the kitchen on her way to making one of her delicious meals, we refer to that fateful day when she made a simple box of Kraft™ macaroni and cheese. I should point out that lunch yesterday was grilled cheese sandwiches made with a coating of Vegenaise™ instead of butter with a side of cottage cheese. No muss, no fuss, no pile of dishes, and delicious.

But I promised that I would use that explanation to describe the mess that I made in my music room/office yesterday afternoon. Mary pulled my index for my travelling music book off the printer and remarked that it wasn't in alphabetical order. Since I had simply added new music as I thought about it, I hadn't alphabetized. Well, her indexer's mind felt that I should do something about that. I agreed, but by the time I had alphabetized the list and then taken apart the book itself to reorganize it, I had papers all over my office. Mary just had to take a picture of what I came to call a musical macaroni and cheese mess.

What should have been a simple activity, morphed into a huge endeavor, just like that long ago box of macaroni and cheese. The actual reason stems from the fact that some of the music has two or three songs on a page, while other songs are two pages in length. Still others are one page in length, all with bold print on the guitar chords and large print for the lyrics, due to my old eyes. So that's the story of macaroni and cheese and the great music indexing project. Prior to that, I got my few remaining hairs cut and I also managed to repair that drain in the upstairs bathroom.

All of that being said, I'll tell you that the sun rises at 7:41 this morning and sets at 7:23 p.m. I may find time to play the girls and do some reading too. Oh if she is willing, Sugar the Weather Dog will need to go out for her morning constitutional. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening,wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City." In spite of the forecast, there is no visible precipitation outside the Weather Window. Currently, the temperature out there is 59° as we dive down to our low of 56°. Today, the forecast calls for a high of 69° with rain and thunder. If that thunder thing comes to pass, Sugar the Weather Dog will not be going out. Her choice, not ours, but I'm okay with that. I used to like walking in the rain, and I even played golf in an electrical storm, but I can get by these days watching out the Weather Window. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all have a forecast for rain and windy conditions, as the temperature continues to drop.

I didn't hear the train yet tonight. I heard it last night, and the northbound run seemed long and heavily laden.

Yesterday, I watched Mary work, but before that, collectively, we made biscuits and gravy. Mary taught me how to make sausage gravy using the no meat breakfast sausages she got at the store the day before. The taste was excellent when coupled with the biscuits that I had made the day before. I like to think that it was the biscuits that made the difference.

About 4:00 p.m. we went out to the big box hardware store in Muskegon. With a list, we got everything we wanted and nothing we didn't. However the one thing that I had hoped to get was not available. So, I've moved the strike from the closet door to the main door to my office. I may have a strike in the junk drawer of the workbench in the man cave. I'll check later today. If not, it was more important to make the door to the music room close securely than that of the closet. Neither actually lock, but I'd rather the door close securely when I am playing the girls and Mary is working in her office down the hall. I still can't sing when she is concentrating, but that's a small price to pay.

I also did some transcription of music yesterday. I am assembling a travelling book for trips and the like. Plus, some of the old music was getting yellowed and hard to read. That makes the transcriptions a win-win, to use an overused phrase. This is a project that reminds me of the old days in the workshop of our previous home. I used to spend more time organizing than building. Hey, retirement is good for many things.

In sports, the Giants routed the Pirates, 8 - 0 in a National League Wildcard game last night. The Pirates were my sentimental favorite, but I still want to see the Tigers get to the World Series. They play later tonight. I know that the television people prefer to have a West Coast versus an East Coast team World Series, but I want a certain team from Detroit. As of now, the Nationals are the odds on favorite to take the series. Tonight we'll see the Tigers versus the Orioles and then the Royals versus the Angels. Tomorrow night, the Cardinals face off against the Dodgers, the Giants take on the Nationals, the Tigers once again face the Orioles, and the Royals get the Angels once again.

If the weather forecast is accurate, which it often isn't, then that precludes any outdoor work on the grounds of the palatial estate. So, I'll do my work indoors.

When the sun sets tonight at 7:23 p.m., I'll be watching baseball. All of the weather forecasts are for the rain to commence sometime tonight/early morning, sometime before the sun rises at 7:41 a.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:00 a.m. in "The City." Outside the Weather Window, it is 54° as we close in on tonight's/today's low of 48°. Then after the sun rises at 7:42 a.m., we'll rebound to a high of 60° under sunny skies. Thursday promises to be a different story, with a high of 70° and an 80% chance of T-storms. Friday has a 90% chance of T-storms with winds and a high of 60°. If we wait, Saturday has a lower 40° temperature forecast with a 70% probability for rain.

I wore my summer clothes one more time on Tuesday, and there is a possibility of the same for today. Maybe even on Thursday and Friday too. But Saturday, I'll be lucky to get out without a parka, gloves, and one of my winter hats. I'll also be lucky to get Sugar the Weather Dog out on any of those days.

I did some outside work on Tuesday, but that is probably all I have in me this week. I have some other things to do, but I'll need energy reserves I don't have. Plus, some of those tasks require warm, dry weather, which appears to be in short supply for the foreseeable future. So, more reading and music playing. So sad.

I worked in the kitchen after Mary made macaroni and cheese. Well actually, she crafted a delicious stir-fry. But the kitchen looked like she had made macaroni and cheese. Adam and Mary know what I mean. I then cleared up the remains and baked biscuits for today's breakfast. I think the biscuits turned out well, but we won't know until we try them later this morning. Mary plans to make faux sausage gravy to go with the biscuits. That's way above my pay grade, yet.

I heard the southbound train go by about 11:00 p.m. last night. I may or may not hear or see the northbound run. If it is like yesterday, it could be 4:30 a.m. before it goes by.

In sports, the Royals eked out a 12th inning win over the As in their Wildcard game. Now they move on to the Dodgers on Thursday at 9:07 p.m. The Tigers, after winning their division,  also play on Thursday, in Baltimore, at 5:37 p.m.

That looks like enough for today. I'll be watching the weather and playing the girls before the sun sets at 7:25 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is fast approaching 4:00 a.m. in "The City." The temperature outside the Weather Window is 49° brisk degrees as we head towards a sunrise low of 48° at 7:39 a.m. By the time the sun sets at 7:28 p.m., the temperature will have hit the high for today of 60°. Alas, it looks like my days of wearing my summer clothes may be at an end. Wednesday, the temperature will be 67°, and then Thursday, we maintain that temperature, but we also get a 60% chance of rain. By Friday, the temperature drops to 59° with a 70% chance of rain. Saturday, we're looking at 51 very chilly degrees with a 60% chance of more rain. Mary had wanted to go to an apple fest south of here on Saturday, but that forecast mitigates against her plans.

Speaking of rain, we went to the big box everything store last night, and by the time we got back, it was raining. One of the few times that the National Weather Service got it right for GH. So, the temperature and rain forecasts may have to be taken with a grain of salt.

With regard to that visit to the big box everything store, it was not a pleasant experience. Not many people in the store, but the wait at the deli counter seemed to be, and actually was, interminable. One of the things that we wanted to get in the grocery section was not available. Not an odd item, a staple of the grocery business. If this is the price that you have to pay for low prices, it may not be worth it.

In sports, the large lady sang. For the boys in blue and my beloved Red Sox, the season is over, except for the crying, in spite of what Tom Hanks said about crying and baseball. The Tigers open the playoffs on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. EDT against the Orioles in Baltimore. The Tigers are hoping to get back to the World Series following their fourth division tile in a row. Contrast that with the five losing seasons long-suffering Cubs fans have recently experienced.

In other news, I spent the morning doing floors. Now I am done with housework for a few days. I also sealed the window in the downstairs bedroom after replacing the storm window. It should be a lot warmer in there this winter. We don't use that room much, but like the guy in the beer commercials, when we do, we choose warmth.

If there was a train heading south or north, I didn't hear it.

Today, reading, playing with the girls, and walking with Sugar the Weather Dog, with me in my long pants. Sigh. Walk, newspaper, crossword puzzle, reading, rest, relax, repeat. That's my prescription for the next several days. I finished my highlighting duties yesterday morning.

Well there you have it, that's all folks. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 12:00 a.m. in "The City. Our current temperature outside the Weather Window is a pleasant 57° as we head toward sunrise at 7:37 a.m. By then we'll be down to a low of 54°, but we'll rebound to a high of 68° after that. We will have a 20% chance of showers today. Tuesday promises similar temperatures, but the chance of shower increases to 50%. Wednesday the National Weather Service has predicted that showers are not in the forecast, but by Thursday, an 80% chance of T-storms is expected.

The southbound run of the train is just coming into range. The regular twin locomotives with the latest livery, pulling 21 heavily laden covered hopper cars, one  box car, and  0 of those dreaded black tank cars.

I must put in a reminder for everyone to visit Mary's blog, which as promised, has terrific pictures of Art Walk 2014. http://marygoeswalking.blogspot.com/ I think her pictures show a nice artistic touch. Elsewhere in GH, it was a beautiful day for walking on Sunday. The entire clan, Sugar the Weather Dog, Mary the blogger, and yours truly went walkabout. Sugar went once, Mary and I went twice. In the early part of the afternoon, Sugar and I adjourned to the "Bone Zone" for some music, reading, and of course, chewing. Once Sugar was done with her bone, she was tired and just lounged about in the sun. We finally came in, and I moved to my music room It was after that when Mary and I went for the second walkabout.

Once home, we watched two movies on the Hallmark Channel. Both were romances with happy endings. Mary is finding that she likes the Hallmark Channel, as do I.

In sports, it was a mixed day. The Boys in blue finished out the season with the all too usual losing record, but they did beat the Brewers 5 - 2. My beloved Red Sox once again lost over 90 games, losing to the Yankees, 5 - 9. The Tigers clinched their division by defeating the Twins, 3 - 0. I saved several hours yesterday afternoon by not watching any pro football. That was just as well, as the Bears lost to the Packers, 17 - 38. The Lions moved into sole possession of first place in the Central Division with a win over the Jets, 24 - 17. I didn't watch that game either.

Other than that, not much was happening. The sun will set at 7:30 p.m. tonight after I play with the girls, read some, do more highlighting, and walk with the intrepid weather dog to pick up the newspaper. That should consume most of my day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City." The air right outside the Weather Window is 59° as we head down to the overnight low of 56° under dark skies. As the week begins today, the temperature is forecast to be 71° under partly cloudy skies. As the week progresses, the days will all be around the 70° mark. However on Thursday, the National Weather Service has issued a forecast for a 90% chance of T-storms. That's a guess on their part and too far out to put much credence in the forecast.

Yesterday morning, Sugar the Weather Dog, Mary, and I went on safari to the farmer's market. Some eggs, tomatoes, and lettuce came home with us. We picked up the Grand Haven Tribune Saturday/Sunday edition on the way back. Once home, Mary went back to work, and I returned to laundry duty. It is all done and put away. In the afternoon, Mary went walkabout to see the various art displays that are part of Art Walk 2014. She took numerous pictures, and they will be available in a future edition of her blog. When the time comes, I'll let you know where to look.

While I was in the lower level of the palatial estate, I put the storm window in the downstairs bedroom. I used that bedroom during my recuperation last winter, and the screen did not provide much protection from the cold. I just have to seal the window for the winter.

I also spent some time in the kitchen. I finished making the Cajun chickpeas that I started the other night. Since I had also harvested the kale from the garden, I decided to combine it with the potatoes we had in the larder. I found a recipe for a modified version of Irish Colcannon. Interestingly enough, as an aside, the spell check in my word processing program doesn't know the word Colcannon. At any rate, this recipe used kale instead of cabbage. Since I am now bereft of kale, I'll switch to cabbage and add the onions that are usually called for in Colcannon recipes. My culinary skills are growing by leaps and bounds.

Mary came down from working and we shared the Colcannon for lunch. What we didn't eat, Mary packaged up for Sally at the Post. Then Mary went on her Art Walk walkabout while I finished the laundry and that window. I'm up to page 273 in my highlighting duties, so I think I can take today off to spend time in the "Bone Zone" with Abby and the oldies station. Mary will have to work. 

In sports, the boys in blue tried to win their third in a row over the Brewers. Alas, they lost 1 - 2. The Brewers won't make the playoffs this year after getting off to a hot start. My beloved Red Sox lost another to the Yankees, 4 - 10. The Tigers were crushed by the Twins, 3 - 12.

The Wolverines of Michigan were soundly defeated by the Utes of Utah, 10 - 26. The MSU Spartans soundly defeated the Wyoming Cowboys, 56 - 14. Wisconsin soundly defeated South Florida, 27 - 10 to hold on to their Big 10 lead.

That looks like enough for today. The sun will rise at 7:35 a.m.,and set at 7:32 p.m. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:00 a.m. in "The City", where our current temperature outside the Weather Window stands at 66°, as we drop to the overnight/early morning low of 55°. Once the sun rises at 7:35 this morning, we are expecting what could best be described as the perfect fall day. 73°, sunny, and no precipitation in the forecast. Sunday looks like more of the same, and Monday will be similar with a high of 66°. As I've often said here, "What's not to like?"

In other news, the boss gave me the day off to recuperate from our long work day overnight on Thursday and early Friday morning. We didn't get up until noon, and then I thought I was fine. However as I predicted, by shortly after sunset I was like burnt toast. I went to bed shortly after we got back from the Post and was sound asleep while Mary watched Turner and Hooch on one of the movie channels. Like I said, the sun set and so did I.

In sports, the boys in blue defeated the Brewers in Milwaukee, 6 - 4. Hopefully "Next Year" with their newly renovated park, they will win more than they lose. Wrigley Field was constructed n 1914 and has undergone name changes and capacity increases over the years. Currently, the park can hold 41,160 fans. In Boston, my beloved Red Sox, are planning to add seats to historic Fenway Park, the oldest park in either league. It was built in 1912, and has a current seating capacity of 37,493 fans. As long as the don't try to remove the "Green Monster in left field, they can do pretty much what they want. My beloved lost to the Yankees, 2 - 3. In a much newer ballpark the Tigers fell to the Twins, 4 - 11. The Tigers are now just one game ahead of the Royals. There is no joy in Bean-town, but there is trepidation in Detroit, Michigan.

The Wolverines of Michigan play at Minnesota later today. They have a 2 - 2 record. The Spartans of MSU play at Wyoming later today too. Both Michigan and MSU are tied for second in the Big 10. Wisconsin leads the conference. The Northern Illinois Huskies have the day off, after being drubbed in Arkansas last week.

Today an early walk withe Sugar the Weather Dog, possibly to the farmer's market, and then home for a day of laundry. We have been so busy that it had to be put aside, and now it can no longer wait. Mary will be working, so Sugar and I will be on our own. While we didn't get to the "Bone Zone" yesterday, and I didn't play with the girls much, between loads we should be able to get those activities in.

That's about all for today. The sun will set at 7:34 p.m., which if you do the math, is one minute less than 24 hours. Sigh. Mary and I like it here, and if the weather doesn't' go completely weird, we plan to stay the winter. The tourists are mostly gone for the year, and a quiet small town life will be ours for a few months. We know we need the tourism, but it is nice to be able to walk the streets in peace. Ciao.