St. Yooper Brother Mark repairing the overhead door opener in the barn

November 7, 2015 - Saturday
30 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

Though it was cloudy, cold, and windy, Friday morning, I felt like I'd been shot out of a cannon and was ready to rock and roll. Where's all that energy on a daily basis... like this morning? I felt like I was twenty-five again and could conquer the world and was well satisfied with my accomplishments by day's end.

My morning trip to town was productive. The $8 master cylinder gasket purchased from the auto parts store turned out to be exactly what was needed to return the brakes like new on the Blazer. I had to go to the grocery store after getting the gasket, so I changed it in the parking lot, a thirty-second, under-the-hood fix.

The brakes were pumped a few times and suddenly, there they were. 

The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent cleaning the shop and barn, also hanging laundry out on the line.



I'd like to catch the bugger who sneaks into the shop and makes a mess when I'm not around. It must be Mississippi Brother Garry who is sneaking up here late at night using my shop, then not cleaning up after. After all, my mama and daddy taught me to never leave a mess. I wish I would have listened. 

Mark came out later in the afternoon and took apart the opener for the barn door. It was as he thought, a plastic gear that had shredded.



I didn't realize those things could be fixed and replaced. I ordered a kit online for $28. As Mark said, it sure beats spending $200 for a new opener.

The last big project of the day was to change the wheels on the backhoe, winterize it, and tow it into the barn. 

No, I didn't break it. To be towed, the wheels and stabilizers must be moved to opposite places. It only looks bad. The bucket is used to lift first one side, then the other.

I was hoping there'd be room for both four wheelers, the mower, the Blazer, the backhoe, and the tractor under one roof, but I'm going to have to make a decision... either the backhoe or the tractor will have to sit outside for the winter, wrapped in a tarp to protect it from the weather. I think the tractor will be put in the barn and the backhoe moved out. According to the serial numbers on the little Ford 8N, the tractor and I were manufactured in June of 1952. We're the same age and as such, it deserves a place under cover.



Sargie didn't get home until later last night. There's always someone who wanders into the Vision Center just as she's about to leave and demands her attention. We went into town and grabbed a burger for supper then came back home for a short evening together before bedtime.

It's another long one for Sargie today. She works then will attend the Bras for a Cause cancer fund raiser this evening. Sister-in-law, Debbie (Milligan of course) is interviewed in this television news clipping:
http://uppermichiganssource.com/news/local/bras-for-a-cause-fundraiser-event-coming-up

I've got to go into town this morning and pick up a couple of loaves of bread that were ordered yesterday. Other than that, I'll be in the shop busily working away, no doubt, reinventing the wheel. Hey, it's just the way I roll.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...