Grandpa Stauber

November 24, 2012 – Saturday

16 degrees/cloudy/snow flurries

Pentoga Road

My condolences go out to Yooper Brother Mark and the family. Mark’s dad, Ed, passed away in Arizona yesterday after an ongoing battle with cancer.

 I enjoyed Grandpa so much when he and Mark visited last year in Sitka. We had a week of real guy-time… fishing, gabbing, and eating, mixed with no small amount of laughing. I feel fortunate that Mark would share his father with me.

Our guy time sporadically continued via Skype this past year. We talked about one thing or the other, it really didn’t make any difference what the subject was. We simply enjoyed each other’s company. I was lucky to get to know him. Grandpa was a gem. We’ll all miss him.

And just like that, we’re into winter. I well remember way back, two days ago, when the boys were outside following the Thanksgiving meal in shirtsleeves, playing basketball while I sat on a bench and talked with my sons on the phone, laughing about how warm the weather was.

Sargie putting up the tree on Friday

An inch or two of driving snow fell on Friday. It’s hard to tell how much as it fell at an angle. Sargie and I ventured into town and the roads were slick. At one point, she rounded a curve and the car unexpectedly performed a full 180 degree circle in the middle of the road. Thankfully, there were no others nearby. It’s that time of year.

Other than the quick trip to town, most of Friday was spent inside. I took the time to make two pumpkin pies from Grandma Reinhardt’s recipe. Other’s pies are good, but I’ve always loved Grandma’s recipe. I think they were okay. For sure, I made Sargie a believer and she even suggested that possibly, I make the pies for next year’s Mighty Milligan Thanksgiving feast. I’m not sure about that, but maybe I’ll contribute a couple.

Yesterday was spent feeding the fire and working on next semester’s classes. Sargie was busy decorating the house, putting up the Christmas tree, and together, we listened to Christmas music, sang, and at one point, even danced in the dining room. It was fun… just plain, good, old-fashioned, silly, filled-with-the-Christmas-spirit fun.

I don’t like to decorate. It’s not that I’m a Scrooge; I love Christmas, but oh, to decorate… it ranks right up there with having a root canal. Thankfully, there are the Sargie’s of the world, otherwise, wouldn’t Christmas be dull and boring?

I was crowned Rummy Champion of Pentoga Road after playing a quick game to 500 last night. I barely won… by forty points or so. No doubt, the Rummy Queen who lives here will demand a rematch in the near future.

I’ll be working on classes for part of today. I want to finish those as soon as possible and get that worry out of the way. It’s all coming together and I’m confident I’ll be ready to teach in six weeks.

Sargie has to work at the Vision Center today then will have supper with Mr. Milligan at the VA tonight.

It’s getting light outside. Time to greet the day and get busy. A man’s work is never done, you know.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…