November 25, 2018 - Sunday morning

27 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

It's going to be short and sweet this morning. Sargie and I will be taking off to Milwaukee in a bit. There's been a slight change of plans. With a winter storm warning forecast to begin late this afternoon for Milwaukee, we're considering driving the Blazer with four wheel drive and take each mile as it comes. Worst case scenario is that we'll get a room in Green Bay for the night and finish driving on to Milwaukee in the morning.

Yesterday was turkey day. Jambo had given us one the day before yesterday and since it was raining, I decided to cook it in the oven rather than smoke it outside.

Wrapped in bacon, injected with a quarter pound of butter, and stuffed with apples, I patted the bird on its back and slid it in the oven.

The bird is delicious. Are we surprised? Everyone knows that two of the more important food groups in life, butter and bacon, make everything taste better.



We'll freeze much of the meat and enjoy the occasional turkey sandwich throughout the winter.

I spent much of the day in the shop gluing patterns onto wood or making puzzles. It's crunch time in Grandpa's Wood Shop for making Christmas presents.

I'm going to take my usual quarterly break away from Tales from Pentoga. Writing the daily blog has become more of a chore than a pleasure, so that tells me it's time to take a break. It happens several times a year.

OK, We need to pack and form some sort of a strategy for driving into a winter storm. What car to take? How far? 

To go or not to go, that is the question!

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road... 

Christmas magic. New lights for the old tree.

Some of the grandbabies were up to their Grandma's in northern Maine for Thanksgiving.
Wyatt, Ellie, Cody

November 24, 2018 - Saturday morning

37 degrees/rain/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It appears as if we're having a couple of days of reprieve from the cold temperatures. Yesterday's high was in the low 40's and it's raining today. We'd better enjoy our quick sojourn into global warming as the mercury is to dip back into winter temperatures by tomorrow morning. 

Seems we weren't the only ones having a wonderful Thanksgiving. Miss Jody and Mississippi Brother Garry hosted a large family gathering in Laurel, Mississippi, on Thursday.

Garry's the little skinny guy, second from the left. Miss Jody is the good lookin' gal right beside him.

Josh sent some pictures and videos of the kids enjoying the same activities that my four sons did at their age. In fact, they are jumping in the exact same place their father and uncles did many many years ago.

There's a huge dip by the old house that is a drift magnet and by winter's end, holds feet and feet of snow. It's a natural winter playground for kids and dads alike.

They went from jumping to making a snow cave, another activity that goes back over a generation.

Josh's pictures and videos sure brought back some fond memories from the pre-Alaska years. The boys were young and having little money, we made do with what was available. In the winter months, that meant playing in the snow.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

After arriving home from Friday morning's stroll, I tore into the Kia in search of a leak in the windshield washer fluid tank. At first, I thought I might be able to reach it from above.

That was wishful thinking. In the end, the front passenger-side wheel had to be removed as well as the wheel well cover.

The leak is at the top of the tank, but requires that it be removed which entails tubes, wires, and electrical connections. As it is now, the tank retains about 80% of the fluid without leaking. I decided to leave well enough alone. We'll just have to fill it a bit more often and not completely full.

I moved from the car into the house where I decided to put up the artificial Christmas tree. Sargie always does the decorating, but I thought I'd at least get the thing in the stand. 

The lights are fastened to the branches and remain with the tree when folded. The first strand worked, the middle didn't, but the top one did.

I fiddled with the darn thing, replaced bulbs and checked the fuses. Nothing would make the strand work. In the end, I called Sargie and asked if she would pick up more lights before coming home.

The rest of the day was spent in the shop where I cleaned before beginning another project on the lathe.

First, just the right piece of birch firewood needed to be selected.

Then it was time to turn the bark from the wood.

Mississippi Brother Garry sent a picture last week of a long stemmed bowl or vase that was made in two pieces with a tenon on each end with which to fasten to the chuck.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm having a good time doing it. 

Turned from one piece of wood, but separated and hollowed in two pieces before gluing them back together, it's definitely a work in progress.

I may be doing all of this backwards, but hopefully, the long stem part of the vase will fit over this bottom and appear to be one piece. Looking at this picture, I'm not nearly as optimistic as earlier.

Sargie was home early last night and opened this morning. This will be her last day working for a while as we'll be traveling to Milwaukee Sunday morning for a couple of days. 

Jambo gave us a large turkey yesterday so I'm going to prepare and throw it in the oven. Most of it will be cut and frozen for future turkey sandwiches.

I'm not certain what else today will bring. With the rain pelting down, I feel lazy and may just putter around with the lights on the Christmas tree. Meanwhile, I need to throw a log on the fire, grab another cup of coffee, and who knows, maybe close my eyes for a bit. For whatever reason, they seem to be growing heavy on this chilly, rainy, dark, November morning.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

It was a full day at the Milligan Thanksgiving gathering for cousins Lincoln and Patrick

November 22, 2018 - Thanksgiving evening

24 degrees/cloudy skies/breezy

Pentoga Road

Life will be back to normal Friday morning and due to lack of time, I decided to post today's pictures this evening.

As usual, they can tell today's story. No words are needed.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, but thankfully, it only comes once a year. My bourgeoning belly couldn't take any more. The food was plentiful and great. The company was even better.

Sargie opens Friday morning. I'll go for my walk then come home and start cleaning the shop. After, it'll be time to begin making Christmas goodies.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road... 

November 22, 2018 - Thanksgiving Day

14 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

At the risk of sounding like an annual Christmas letter, it's here once again; one of my favorite holidays of the year, Thanksgiving.

Wednesday was a busy one. Too busy. My morning stroll was chilly, but good. Seems an inch or less of snow drops about every night reminding me I'm not the only one using the road.

A flock of wild turkeys were somewhere in the distance and I remained on their trail for over a mile.

Crunch time had arrived for the Thanksgiving piece. I was finishing the sanding process when two other pieces cracked and broke. At this late date, there was nothing to do but plow ahead and hope the repairs didn't look too ugly.

No small amount of time was spent gluing, puttying, sanding, staining, muttering... and that was before the backer board was prepared. Soft pine. WHY did I choose soft pine? 

Mama didn't have a very bright boy.

I proceeded with delicate caution and decided to use green paint for the background with swirls of yellow and orange added. 

In the end, it passed Sargie's inspection and I can call this project done.

The rest of the day and most of the evening was spent in the kitchen preparing rutabagas. There were a hundred billion of them to wash, peel, slice, and put into a huge pan to boil.

Sargie arrived home from work early and joined me. After boiling the baggies, she made good, old-fashioned, cranberry sauce, the type where the berries pop in your mouth.

I was so tired last night that my legs wouldn't quit jumping and sleep was hard to come by. It usually only happens when I'm about all done in. 

We'll be leaving later this morning for Jeanne and Boyd's with a crock pot of rutabagas and a giant bowl of cranberry sauce in hand. I'm looking forward to the feast, but most of all, I'm looking forward to being with family and friends.

Mississippi Brother Garry sent the following a bit ago. I can't think of a better way to end on this special day.

Psalms 100:1-5 | KJV

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.Psalms 100:1-5 | KJV

Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri at Tuesday night's dinner

November 21, 2018 - Wednesday

14 degrees/high overcast/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm still full from last night's supper. Sargie might as well paint me red, white, and blue, and roll me down Pentoga Road like an over inflated beach ball.

Mark texted yesterday morning asking if we wanted to meet for supper at our local golf course located a couple of miles away. Since new management took over, we've been wanting to try their cuisine. I'm glad we did.

My hour of gluttony started with a bowl of creamy potato soup that included half a side of bacon and topped off with a pound or two of melted cheese. For the main course, I relished a prime rib sandwich that had a real hunk of steer between two slices of Texas toast. I won't even talk about the sides of American fries and cole slaw. Sargie enjoyed her fried whitefish with all the fixins'.  

I'm pretty sure the calories didn't count as we were having such a good time talking and laughing.

Tuesday was a good day. With Sargie off and taking the opportunity to grab an extra hour of sleep, I strapped on my hikers and made my way to Pentoga Village and back while the shop was warming up.

The tracks of a young coyote crossed my path

Once home, I began sanding the Thanksgiving piece. To say it's been a challenge would be kind. One piece after another either fell out or cracked as I gently sanded by hand. This will be the last time I saw something this intricate from soft pine. It's been a pain from the beginning.

The pig was finally ready to carve. I looked at him from the top and half using a pattern/half my imagination, began drawing what I thought a big, fat, pig ought to look like from the top.

Sargie and I needed to go to Iron Mountain to run a few errands. While walking across the parking lot of Home Depot, we noticed this truck that had a head sticking through the canvas cover over the bed.

Actually, there were two huskies, both equally friendly and just as kind as they could be. I petted one for a bit and once we walked away, he began whining then let out out a howl. 

I'm pretty sure Sargie would have let both come home with us. They were sweethearts.

So the day went. We did a bit of shopping then returned home in time to meet Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri. It was the perfect ending to a great day.

Sargie works a short shift today, from 10 to 3. I'm going for my walk then attempt to finish the Thanksgiving piece. Time's running short.

This late afternoon and evening will find both Sargie and me in the kitchen working up the rutabagas in preparation for tomorrow's Mighty Milligan Thanksgiving Day Feast to be held at Jeanne and Boyd's. They were dug a month ago and have been sitting in the garage since. Last year, I waited too long and had to pry each from the frozen ground with a long bar. 

Oops, the clock is chiming which means it's time to awaken Sargie for the day. She particularly loves being awakened from a sound sleep as I march into our bedroom, arms outstretched in a flying manner, singing the theme from the old Mighty Mouse cartoon in my best operatic voice...

"Here I come to save the day...
 Which means that Tommy Pentoga is on the way..."
 
You know, I've come to understand that some people have no appreciation for fine music.



S'cuse me. Time waits for no one.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

November 20, 2018 - Tuesday morning

0 degrees/partly cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's another chilly one on the other side of the windows this morning. The fire is blazing in the stove, there's a cup of hot, steaming, coffee sitting within arm's reach, and I'm enjoying a cookie (or "tookie" as Hambone used to say.) 

I'm in high cotton.

Monday was equally as good. I spent some time early in the morning clearing the drive and deck of the three to four inches of snow that had fallen the night before.

I have to say, the old Toro snowblower still does the job. That model is somewhere between twenty and thirty years old, has taken a few lickings, but keeps on ticking, and no, it doesn't tell the time.

With the drive cleaned, I lit a fire in the wood furnace then rode with Sargie a few miles on her way to work before turning around and walking back home.

The morning was absolutely gorgeous. The temperature was in the single numbers and there wasn't a hint of a breeze.

The snow plow came rumbling behind me, plowing and throwing sand every which way so traction was no problem.

The driver stopped and we talked for awhile. He was excited that he'd seen a huge buck earlier in the morning. 

I saw several on my stroll. As much as I walk this area, I can almost tell you the first and last names of each and every four legged critter that inhabits these woods.

The shop was warm when I returned home. It was time to get to work.

The letters were finally sawed in the Thanksgiving piece before the repair work began. When cutting letters and small pieces, especially in soft wood, it's not unusual to have a piece break away caused by the friction of the blade. Repair can be tedious and means there'll be more sanding. I have one more piece to fix in the turkey's tail before applying the finishing touches and finally, mounting the entire work on a backboard.

 To celebrate the end of the sawing, I grabbed a piece of junk pine fence post and mounted it on the lathe.

Hmm, what to turn. I decided to celebrate the 
season a bit early by fashioning a snowman. I'll paint a face and clothes later before giving him away.

I came in the house later in the afternoon and made a big ol' pot of vegetable beef stew. If it was grown in the garden this past summer, it was included, along with a couple of pounds of browned hamburger. Cold temperatures demand comfort food and darn it, my belly needed comforting!

Sargie was home late last evening after closing the Vision Center and it was well after midnight before we had eaten our stew and climbed the steps to bed.

It's time to get this uploaded then light a fire in the wood furnace. While the shop warms, I'm going to trek down to Pentoga Village and back, see if I can get the heart rate going.

Sargie's off today. We're planning to drive over to Iron Mountain later to have the oil changed in the Kia. We have to be in Milwaukee for a couple of days early next week and have decided to drive the Kia as it gets such good gas mileage.

Well, the coffee cup is empty, the cookie's eaten, and today's writing is finished. I better get this old body in gear. That fire's not going to light itself in the wood furnace.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...