Nope, that's not the New Garage Door Fairy, that's Little Andy. Though he's taller than I am, as the youngest of my four sons, he'll always be Little Andy.

October 5, 2013 – Saturday

52 degrees/heavy rain/breezy

Pentoga Road

The rain woke me earlier this morning and rather than serving as a sleeping aid, it kept me awake. It’s pouring and has been for sometime. A month or two from now, this rain could very well be falling as snow… and lots of it.

I get the distinct impression winter is coming.

Since I was up so early, I decided to transform into today’s modern guy and start a huge load of laundry. I’ve been holding out for nice weather so I might hang the clothes on the line, but looking at the forecast, we’d be wearing yesterday’s underwear before good drying conditions return to the UP. I’ll watch the electric meter spin and use the dryer.

Andy and I have been working on putting up a new garage door for the past two days. We were going to purchase one at Menards in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Thursday, but discovered the particular one (the least expensive) I wanted was out of stock. A further check on the internet showed that Home Depot in Iron Mountain had similar ones for an additional twenty dollars.  

In the end, I was happy we saved the miles and time and shopped closer to home. While in Iron Mountain, we kidnapped Sargie from work to have lunch at an old-fashioned mom and pop diner. I enjoyed a large chili cheese dog and fries; hard on the cholesterol, but easy on the taste buds.

My newest BFF whose name I can't remember. I purchased a new knob for the kitchen door and had the lock rekeyed to match the others in the house. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon removing the old garage door, unpacking the new one, and building new braces on which to hang the track. We were slow, but methodical, and by day’s end, had one section of door in place.

Friday was spent hanging the tracks and continuing to assemble the sections of the door. By late Friday afternoon, everything was finished. The only problem we’ve encountered is a rough place when opening the door and we’ll spend a bit of time this morning readjusting the track. The new door must be crooked.  Surely this ninety-three year-old house can’t be out of square, can it?

Dad even got in on the action. I know there's a bubble somewhere in that darn level.

Assembling and mounting the electric opener is on today’s list of things-to-do and other than new outside trim around the door, this summer’s renovation of the garage will be complete. Going from an old cracked floor that was heaving and rapidly breaking up to a new one, plus a new door and opener, has been quite a change.

Before

After

We took a break in Friday’s labor to go into town and get the limb trimmer that was back ordered. Andy informed me yesterday that we’d be taking a break in the garage door activities today and trying out the new device. He likes toys as well as I do.

Mollie, Andy, and I, met Sargie at the VA last night where we visited with Mr. Milligan. As always, it was good to see Sargie’s dad and I was happy that Andy and Mollie could meet one of my heroes. At my age, there aren’t a lot still around. After, we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and pigged out on all goodies too numerous to mention. My personal favorite was the mussels into which I put a major dent.

Sargie is working today, her sixth in a row. Thankfully, she’s going in early and will be bringing pizzas home so we can enjoy those and a movie this evening. Andy and I will, hopefully, get the garage door opener installed.

Oops, I just heard the buzzer on the washer letting me know the current load of laundry is finished. Oh if only you had my life. But then, as everyone knows, a man’s work is never done.

A single rose. The last bloom before winter.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…