Sunset over Pentoga Road on Sunday evening

November 25, 2013 – Monday

22 degrees/cloudy/windy

Pentoga Road

Hard to believe a month from this very moment will be Christmas day. The dimension of time seems to be going faster and faster. Wasn’t it just a couple of months ago I planted garden? Or a few weeks past when the drive was paved?  I swear it was just in the past two weeks that I ran the mower over the grass for the last time. Oh wait a minute, it really was only two weeks ago. Never mind.

It got warm during the night, but a big wind is accompanying the rise in temperatures. I don’t believe it’s to get over thirty today before the thermometer heads back down. That’s okay, I’ve mentally made up my mind that I’ll be ice fishing in the next week or so. Actually, I’ve set a week from today as the first time I’ll go… assuming there’s at least three or four inches of ice on the lake.

I hope to be ice fishing about two hundred yards straight out there a week from today.

Sunday began early, way too early, and after doing any correspondence, I decided to take my walk. It was only four above zero and I had to step quickly to keep warm.

Coyote tracks alongside the road in front of our house

I was chilled when I got back; no, I was downright cold. Rubbing my hands together while standing alongside the wood stove, I heard Sargie stirring upstairs. She usually tries to sleep in on those days she has off.

The girl’s not slow to put her frozen feet on me when initially getting into bed each night. I just assumed she’d be happy to repay the favor.

I headed upstairs, took off my cold clothes, and climbed between the sheets. She was so nice and warm but I’ll tell you what… that woman can move at lightening speed.

I had to talk quickly… about love, sharing (in this instance, one’s body heat), what’s fair for one is fair for the other, and philosophically mentioned the fact that sometimes, we have to take one for the team. Sargie’s the most kind and loving person I’ve ever known, truly, but when it comes to allowing me to plaster my shivering body next to hers, I quickly discovered there is no such thing as team or fairness.

Still, she was a trooper, but in the end, all I really did was make her a bit peeved and cool her down to my temperature. It became obvious that no amount of snuggling was going to get me warm. In the end, I sprang from bed, sprinted down the steps, and shivered in front of the shower stall until the water warmed to near scalding, then stepped in and allowed it cook me back to 98.6.

I watched the Packers play to a tie with the Vikings on Sunday. Our playoff chances are becoming slimmer as the weeks go by, but I fully understand we can’t be world champions every year. Sometimes the glory needs to be spread around, let others have a chance at winning the Super Bowl.

Page Two

It amazes me the number of people who read this blog and their countries of origin. Those who read Tales from Pentoga on Sunday were from the following countries:

It's hard to believe that Tales from Pentoga is read completely around the world. I'd love to meet the readers from South Africa, India, or really, any of the foreign countries. Actually, I have corresponded with a few over the years.

We went for our usual Sunday afternoon drive and made a stop at the grocery store. I am looking forward to making a couple of pumpkin pies using Grandma Reinhardt's recipe today. I’ve never tasted pumpkin pie as good as Grandma’s. There are a couple of other recipes I want to experiment with. If they’re good enough, I may take some extra goodies to the big Milligan Thanksgiving meal. And if they’re a flop? Brutus will like them. He loves me unconditionally, regardless of my occasional culinary failures.

Speaking of food, I’ve lost exactly ten pounds in the past three weeks. I started weighing in at 215.5 lbs. and yesterday, when I stepped on the scales, they tipped at 205.5. I’d love to get down to my usual 200 by Christmas, but doubt that will happen. My goal is to be under 210 lbs. when I emerge on the other side of the holidays and lose the rest this winter and early spring.

Sargie works today and will have dinner with Mr. Milligan this evening. Other than play in the kitchen, I have copious amounts of papers to read and grade; probably half a day’s worth. Those silly things just keep appearing in my email’s inbox. Darn university; they pay me then expect me to teach in return. 

I’m not surprised. After all a man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…

Our much bigger and deeper lake is just beginning to freeze