Grady helped Grandpa put up Christmas lights

December 14, 2015 - Monday

38 degrees/heavy rain/breezy
Pentoga Road

I'm wondering if I missed something or the other... hmmm, like a message from above hinting that I should build an ark, call in a few animals by twos, possibly gather the sons to lend a hand. It rained off and on all day Sunday, but began in earnest during night. I put away the rain gauge for the winter months, but guessing... I'm sure we've received well over an inch and no doubt, will be over two fairly soon. Up to three inches are forecast before this current system blows over. More seasonal temperatures are forecast for later this week.



Sargie and I were talking yesterday that winter will be about half over at the end of this month. Though ice fishing has been lousy (no ice) it's been a pure pleasure to not deal with minus temperatures accompanied by feet and feet of snow. No matter what Mother Nature throws at us in the second half of the winter, the first has been most enjoyable.

Happy birthday to Sargie! Her special day was Sunday and we celebrated by opening presents, taking a long ride (one of her favorite things to do), chowing down on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, and finishing it all off with a two-layer German chocolate cake and ice cream. Sargie received calls from friends and family members, accompanied by lots of cards, all of which helped to make her day even more special.

What have we been doing these past few days? Grady came and spent some time with Grandpa. We had a wonderful time, just the two of us, and Grady was instrumental in helping decorate the four strawberry pyramids with Christmas lights. 



Well, okay, he might have played in the dirt while Grandpa strung the lights, but still, we had a great time singing Christmas carols, kicking a ball, and otherwise exploring around the yard and nearby woods.



Poor little guy. We were outside for three hours straight and just before coming in the house at dark, we walked across the road to get the mail. Coming back, Grady sat down on the yellow line and just couldn't walk any further. Grandpa had worn the mini-man right out. There was nothing left in the boy's tank. 

Once inside, I lay on the couch. Grady brought his blanket over and lay on top of me, face down, and promptly fell sound asleep. The phone rang half an hour later causing me to crawl out from underneath. Grady never moved and later, I awakened him so that he would be able to sleep that night. We're hoping Grady can join us sometime this week. We already miss the little bugger.



I received the parts for my scroll saw and am happy to say that everything is running smoothly. It took an hour to reassemble the machine, but after a good lubrication and test run, it appears I'm back in business. 

Our new refrigerator arrived on Friday! I felt sorry for the two delivery men. They had to take the doors off the unit so it might fit through the back door.



 I was apprehensive when it came to turning on the water for the ice maker/cold water spigot in the door. Once attached, we waited and waited. Nothing happened. Finally, the serviceman asked if I'd turned the water on. I hadn't. In the end, everything works as it should and we are happy as can be with our new refrigerator. 

Sargie's been off the past two days and doesn't have to return to work until Wednesday. She's been busy making out Christmas cards and finishing the decorations. Just as importantly, she's getting some much deserved rest after working many long hours in the Vision Center.

We're excited that Mom will be arriving a week from today. She mentioned in yesterday's email that she has her suitcase open and lying on the couch, adding to it as she remembers one thing or the other. Mom will be with us for a couple of weeks and I know one of her favorite holiday activities is to attend the Mighty Milligan family gatherings on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas day. Sargie and I are looking forward to just relaxing and catching up on everything with Mom and truly enjoying the spirit of the holidays.

I have no idea what's on today's agenda. I purchased a package of spiral blades for one scroll saw that should enable me to make very fine cuts and I'm looking forward to playing in the shop a bit. Other than that, I'll let Sargie make up the agenda. If I had to guess, I'd say it's going to be a fairly lazy day. It's tough, but darn it, someone has to be lazy around here. It might as well be us.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...