September 30, 2013 – Monday

40 degrees/clear/calm

Pentoga Road

I just finished checking my email. There must be sixteen million, four hundred thousand, sixty-five, nine, two, fourteen, (plus tax) assignments that came in this weekend and all are waiting to be read and graded. I made the mistake, or enjoyed the luxury, of not checking to see what amount of student work arrived over the weekend. The kids are home and I wanted to enjoy them, not read assignments. I’ll pay for it today.

Sunday was a busy one. I started the day by making super duper pancakes and broke my own record by flipping the largest cake I’ve ever attempted to turn. Grandma Pennington used to make super duper pancakes and it’s been one of my goals in life to duplicate her culinary accomplishments. Of course, her pancakes were made from scratch and cooked in an old cast iron skillet over a wood stove. 

Although Dad didn’t really attempt super dupers, he was a champion at flipping large cakes without having them break apart. I hope one of my sons becomes a true pancakeaneer and carries on the tradition of not only making, but successfully flipping, true giant flapjacks. It’s one of the many things we do.

There’s an area on the north side of the drive that I’ve been wanting to clear of rocks and boulders so eventually, a perennial flower bed can be established there. With Andy and/or Mollie operating the tractor and front-end loader, we pried, lifted, or carried, several large loads of rocks from the area on Sunday morning. A few could have been classified as boulders and required a large pry bar to coax them from the ground. Still, within three hours, the area was fairly rock-free. I’ll have good dirt hauled in next spring then terrace and plant the future flowerbed.

It's Mollie's turn. Andy giving instruction. 

We took a break of a few hours and watched the Lions beat up on the Bears. It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever cheered for the Detroit Lions, but it appears that Chicago is our biggest threat this season. We laughed and cheered as the Lions sent them home crying like little schoolgirls with skinned knees. Andy and I will coach the Packers next Sunday as they play Detroit at Lambeau Field. 

Growing up in the Pittsburg area, Mollie is a Steelers fan. We flipped back and forth between the two games and witnessed Minnesota finally win a game as they barely beat Mollie’s favorite team. Of course, the Packers play Pittsburg December 22^nd, a game that Mollie, Andy, and I, will attend in Green Bay. I hope the kids are still happily married by game’s end. Someone has to lose and it better be Pittsburg.

Sargie was home by mid afternoon. We unloaded the car and since she’d not yet seen the kids, there was no small amount of talking, laughing, hugging, and more talking.

Andy and I were buzzed by Pentoga Road's own four-wheeler gang comprised of a couple of hot biker chicks.

I’ve accumulated quite a pile of tree limbs and scrap lumber from this past summer that needed burning. With a splash of coal oil and the spark of a match, giant flames were soon reaching skyward.

Andy hopped on the tractor and began pushing logs closer to the inferno or feeding fresh wood into it.

After the pile had burned to embers, we speared weenies and brats, and roasted those. Sargie had made a shrimp/pasta salad so we ate hearty last night.

I’m going to read and grade papers, hopefully getting many finished before the kids are up for the day. Sargie works early so possibly, she’ll be home fairly early this evening. There are a couple of dead maples that have fallen over and I know Andy’s getting itchy to work up some firewood. I’m about to make his wish come true. Mollie said last night that if I would point her in the direction of an apple tree, she’d pick enough to make a fresh apple pie. That girl knows how to make ol Dad a happy man.

Brutus thought we were hauling logs for his entertainment

But first, I need to pour another cup of coffee, throw a log on the fire, and get this uploaded. After all, a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…