Sheri's 4 H float before Saturday night's Parade of Lights in Iron River. (Sheri's one of the leaders of a local chapter.)

December 6, 2015 - Sunday

33 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm having a rough time writing this morning. Seems I have an 18 month old who insists on helping and to make a long story short, it just ain't working. To make matters even better, I smell something highly suspicious, reminiscent of poo'd pants. 

All that remains of the snowman we made this past week.

Saturday was a busy one on Pentoga Road. I'm not sure I could have fit any more in one day if I tried. After my three mile hike, I headed to the shop to work on my main scroll saw. For whatever reason, the tensioner, the device that tightens the blade, had failed. It took downloading a parts list from the internet and a schematic of the whole thing, but I finally discovered where a long bolt had sheared and broken in two.

That's supposed to be one long bolt, not two.

I ordered $3.00 worth of parts online, put everything back together, and placed the saw in a corner of the shop.

I wasn't happy. The cross and rose were just minutes from being finished. The old Delta scroll saw, the one I'd given up on fixing, was hauled back into the shop.

It took almost two hours, but with the saw sitting on my lap (I was in the recliner!) and downloading more parts lists and schematics, I discovered a spring was missing on the blade clamp. It had never been there as the saw never did work, even when brand new.

What to do? I tried ordering a spring, but found that Delta lists it as "out of production." I needed to improvise. Wire wouldn't work, a twist tie didn't either. How about a zip tie? Nope. I needed something with spring in it that would give, yet hold together two sides of a very small clamp.

Hmm, a rubber band? YES! It worked like a charm and after an hour of cutting, was still working well. Problem solved, at least for now.

I spent over an hour working on the cross and rose.

All was going well until I felt it crumble in my hands. I was holding onto the entire thing while cutting and evidently applied too much pressure. 

So that's the nature of the beast. I seem to make more kindling for the wood stove than any pieces of art. Oh well, next time. I'll try piecing it back together, but I'm not overly optimistic.

I decided to move the refrigerator from the kitchen to outside and bring in the smaller dorm sized unit from the garage. First, I had to empty it. All that was left were things that weren't highly susceptible to spoiling.

Still, it was a counter full.

Then I had to take all the pictures and anything else held on with magnets from the sides and front.

I began to ponder... what was I thinking? Who's ignorant enough to move a large refrigerator by himself? Obviously, the guy who is writing this. No one ever accused me of being an Einstein.

I decided to take it out through the living room. Though further away, there aren't as many twists and turns as the closer kitchen door into the garage.

Where to put the thing until it can go to the scrap yard on Monday. I thought the front porch would be good, add some class to the place, but I knew Sargie probably wouldn't approve. I had a picture of the refrigerator on the porch and me sitting in Grandma's rocking chair, playing my banjo, with Brutus lying at my feet. Instead, I opted to park the thing in back of the wood shed where it can easily be loaded onto the trailer and hauled away.

I brought in the smaller, dorm-sized, refrigerator that we purchased several years ago from Insurance Liquidators. It's remained one of the best buys, biggest bargains, of my adult life.

Used for bait and soda, we hadn't even taken the stickers off the thing.

We did purchase a new unit that will be delivered next Friday. Meanwhile, I have to do some remodeling on the cabinet overhead. Until it arrives, the cold garage floor and the smaller refrigerator will suffice.

Sargie arrived home last night with a very hungry Grady. He was crying, which is not typical, and since we were told he's cutting teeth, assumed that was the problem. Grandma Sargie decided to try a small snack, something to hold him over until suppertime. He started eating with both hands and was immediately much happier. Needless to say, we had an early supper and the boy ate almost as much as I did. 

We had a ball last night just playing in the living room. We found that separating Grady and Brutus can be a good thing. Brutus is jealous and tries to wedge himself between the baby and whoever is playing with him. Needless to say, Brutus stays on his side of the coffee table, turned on its side, and Grady remains on the other. 

It works well.

And just like the Berlin Wall of old, there's often communication over the barrier.

As usual, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Bedtime arrived for us all. Grady was having difficulty staying away and Grandma's eyes were growing heavy.

I'm not sure what's on the agenda for today. Mechanic Dave called yesterday and said the Blazer's signal lights are fixed. Evidently, there was a short in the wiring for the trailer lights. It was an easy repair.

Other than pick up the Blazer and have Dave install a new lens for the Kia, I'm not sure what's on the agenda. I hope to sneak out to the shop and try to piece the cross back together.

There's little doubt that Grandma, Grandpa, and Grady will be playing. After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...