I became creative with tangerine and cheese slices accompanying Sargie's breakfast Monday morning.

January 19, 2016 - Tuesday

1 degrees/snow flurries/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Carl the Weatherman says our cold snap is about to end. Yesterday's high of -1, accompanied by a strong wind, was a bit harsh. I definitely wasn't in any hurry to play outside so I opted to spend my day building the ice fishing sled.

I turned the heater on in the shop shortly after Sargie left then came back inside to let the room warm. 

A mitten, one of a pair that I've had for many years, has grown thread-bare along the upper palm and ripped open. It makes me sad. I bought those mittens when I lived in the arctic for an atrocious sum of $40, an almost unheard of amount of money for hand wear at the time.

My oldest son, Josh, and I were planning an overnight winter climb up Mt. Washington, ice axes, crampons, and all, and I needed something very warm, yet very light. 

The mittens not only served me well on the climb, but have continued to since. When the rip occurred, my first thought was to purchase another pair. Naturally, styles have changed and prices have gone up dramatically. The equivalent mittens now retail for $140. For that, I can stitch and sew in hopes of extending their usefulness.  

And so it was with a litany of swear words that I attempted to thread the needle.

It finally happened and after almost an hour of stitching, sewing, muttering, and knotting, half of the rip is sewn. I hope to finish later today, but this time, I'll ask Sargie to thread the needle.

The rest of the day was spent in the shop constructing the ice fishing sled.

It went well and having the first one to use as a pattern cut down on the cutting and assembling time.

Yooper Brother Mark seems to think I should ask $70 for the sled. With materials included, that puts my labor at around $7 an hour with $27 of material cost; not bad for just piddling around on a cold winter day. I'll upload the ad and pictures onto Craigslist later today and we'll see where it goes from there. I wouldn't be surprised if I sell several, nor would I be shocked if no one calls. 

Sargie and I enjoyed seafood Alfredo last night while watching The Biggest Loser. I guess we should have felt guilty about inhaling so many calories, but neither of us did. It was delicious and who knows, maybe we can be contestants on next season's weight-loss show and work them off.

Sargie got the recipe from her sister, Jeanne, and honestly, it's so good that I may have to find a 12-step program to quit eating it. The thought even crossed my mind a bit ago that it might be good for breakfast. Yup, I'm pretty much powerless over seafood Alfredo.

With that being said, it's time to get the day started. Sargie's off and other than sewing the mitten and uploading the ad on Craigslist, I'm just going to go with the flow.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Crappies and bluegills not included