Andy is drilling holes in preparation of doing some ice fishing

December 3, 2014 - Wednesday
16 degrees/partly cloudy/windy
Pentoga Road

I'm up early this morning, got a fire going in the stove, and the house is warming nicely. It appears its going to be another active winter day ahead with just a pinch of laziness thrown in.

Andy on his way to check a flag (tip up) while ice fishing in a pounding snow storm on Tuesday.

The fish had taken the minnow, but later dropped it. The hook came up empty.

Monday saw Sargie back to work for the week. With the new schedule that came out a month ago, it appears as if she's getting more weekends off compared to time's past. It's sure nice; to be able to plan two days in a row together.

Andy took Jessica back to the airport on Monday and she made it safely back to Maine. Unfortunately, our bitterly cold temperatures accompanied her and she told Andy last night that it was only 4 above in Caribou...  a huge drop over what they've experienced previously this year.

Tuesday saw Andy and me loading the two old dryers into the back of the Blazer and hauling them to the scrap metal place. They didn't bring much money, but I didn't care. Getting them out of the garage was worth the effort.

Hmm, it was kind of nice outside... breezy, but the sun was trying to shine. Ice fishing? It took no effort to convince Andy that there were giant fish swimming below the ice in our local lake and it was time to put meat on the table.

We'd just arrived at the lake when the clouds gathered overhead and it began to snow... and blow... and snow some more. 

We weren't daunted and though keeping our holes ice and snow free took more effort than pulling in the big fish, Andy managed to catch a bass and a couple of small perch. Me? I'm fearful I've lost my ice fishing mojo. I had one hit, one solitary bite.



A tragedy occurred on the ice yesterday. I was talking with Sargie over her lunch break and had the phone wedged between my cheek and shoulder. It was cold. It was windy. I was being stupid. The iPhone slipped out from under my cheek, hit the ice, and slid into the hole. Only the bluegills and crappies will be able to talk and text on that expensive iPhone in the future. 

I talked to Verizon last night. Naturally, I have no insurance and a new replacement holds a purchase price equalling the national debt. Andy helped me look and it appears my best bet is to find one on Ebay, a 4S, and finish out my Verizon contract of one year. Oh well, as I've been saying a lot lately, it's only money. 

Personally, I could care less if I have a smart phone, or really, any cell phone at all. The older I become, the more I miss the days before texts and instant messages. I love the internet and obviously, I wouldn't be teaching if it weren't invented so its a Godsend for me, but somewhere down deep, I wouldn't mind going back to the days of only receiving three channels on the television, when the only news other than radio or tv, was read in the nightly newspaper and letters were written with pen on paper. All this coming from a guy who depends on large print displayed on his computer (that often reads to him) and loves to Skype with his sons and grandchildren. Never mind, I'm a man of confused contradictions. 

I finally received the test results from those that were performed on my body last week and I'm pronounced healthy and fit. The doctor had spotted a growth on my liver, a residual look, after the diverticulitis attack of three weeks ago. The new MRI and tests disclosed that it is merely a harmless cyst and that my kidneys, spleen, pancreas, and all those other organs and body parts are in good shape. 

Going to take a lot of those little perch to make a meaningful meal.

Let's see, teeth are getting fixed and I no longer have headaches or sinus attacks, the diverticulitis hasn't been heard from since the initial attack (and I have eaten popcorn and peanuts several times since), all the infection has gone away with a strong regimen of antibiotics, and my liver is healthy. I may have to start training for the Olympics. Actually, what I need to do is train and get my ice fishing mojo back.

Final papers are now pouring in. All are due on Friday and naturally, a certain percentage of the class has waited until the last minute. I'm trying to keep up and so far, other than what came in last night, I'm current.

I think I'll get this uploaded, then read those papers that arrived via email, not by pen and paper. Sargie closes tonight. No doubt, there's ice fishing in the future for Andy and me. Sargie bought a turkey breast and we're going to eat Thanksgiving leftovers for supper. It's time to get the refrigerator cleaned out.

But first, I think I'll sip another cup of coffee, listen to the news, and think deep thoughts.



After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...