Think the shop needed cleaning?

December 28, 2018 - Friday evening

16 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

Since the maid didn't show up Friday morning, I had no choice but to start cleaning the shop. To get mentally ready, I braved the temperatures in the upper teens, the snow, and strong northerly winds to walk the usual four and a half miles.

With yesterday's rain/snow, I could have laced on a pair of ice skates and completed the distance in a fraction of the time. The roads were coated with a thick layer of ice.

Once home, I lit a fire in the outdoor wood furnace then came inside while the shop warmed up. A hot cup of coffee to warm me from the inside out and a leftover sweet roll were relished while visiting with Mom.

I couldn't put it off longer. It was time to play Mr. Clean and head to the shop.

There wasn't a square inch of clear surface area and EVERYTHING was covered with sawdust. It seemed to take forever to wipe the tools and put them away. 

Then came sweeping and running the vacuum. One of the best gifts Sargie's ever given me is a large, extra heavy duty, industrial vacuum.

I used the brush on the vacuum to dust every surface.

It was time for lunch. Mom and I had her favorite noontime meal, peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.

Oh quit turning up your nose. You've never tried it.

I've eaten them for over sixty years and look how big I grew to be. As a little boy, I was the only student in Windsor Elementary School who carried a peanut butter and pickle sandwich in his lunch.

After some more visiting and quick nap, it was back to the shop where I swept, dusted, vacuumed, hung and nailed.

More than two hours passed before I called it finished.

The pig that I started two months ago is my next project

It's not perfect, but for this evening, the entire shop is clean. Put it this way, if Mississippi Brother Garry visited first thing in the morning, I'd make him take off his shoes.

OK, that's a lie. You know, I look at someone's shop and if it's too clean, I wonder if it's ever used. A shop without sawdust is just another room.

Mom and I enjoyed sister-in-law Holly's French meat pie for supper tonight. To say it was delicious would be a complete understatement. It was to-die-for good.

Sargie just called and will be home in a while. She's had a long day in the Vision Center and as luck would have it, she opens in the morning.

Saturday is Mom's last day with us for this visit. We're planning to leave early Sunday morning for Terre Haute, Indiana, and return Monday so Sargie can go back to work on Tuesday. 

We're to meet Yooper Brother Mark and Sheri Saturday evening for supper. No doubt, there'll be lots of good food and great conversation.

I'll go for my usual walk Saturday morning, visit with Mom, do some laundry, and who knows, I might even get out to the shop and make some sawdust. I don't want anyone to think it's just another room.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...