A Christmas segmented piece I made earlier this week

November 30, 2019 - Saturday morning

27 degrees/cloudy/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It's a special happy birthday wish that goes out to my OLD(er) sister, Barbara Ann, this morning. My only sibling is SEVENTY years old today. 

As young children, B'ann loved to remind me that she was much older, two and a half years to be exact. 

A person should watch what she says, it can come back to haunt her, even sixty five years later.

Sargie and I will see B'ann and all in a couple of days down in Illinois. Meanwhile, happy birthday, Sis. Oh, and don't worry about being old. I'm right there behind you.

Thanks to everyone for your outpouring of support and sympathy. Mom always liked a bit of flair and she'd have been moved by all the texts, emails, comments, and phone calls. 

Onto a more delicious subject:

I just finished a to-die-for sweet roll.

Neighbor Mike drove down from Marquette yesterday with gifts in hand. The boy had stopped at our local bakery in Crystal Falls and gotten Sargie and me sweet rolls and donuts.

Mmm, warmed with a pad of butter melted and dribbling down the sides. Some of life's biggest pleasures are the smallest ones. In this case, it was a wonderful sweet roll given by an even better friend. Thanks, Jambo!

Jambo and I prepared his four wheeler for another season of snow removal. It took only minutes to mount the plow and put a bit of air in the tires. Mike spent much of Friday plowing his drive and camp yard. 

I returned home to work on removing the several feet of snow that had fallen onto the back deck from the roof of the house. It was wet, packed, and heavy, much too heavy to use a snow blower. There was only one solution, good old fashioned shoveling.

 I quit when my back began screaming UNCLE. I'll finish later this morning, just in time for the next major winter storm to come blowing through.

Sargie and I drove to Iron Mountain to get the oil changed and the car made ready for next week's marathon drive to Illinois, onto Indiana, and finally, back to the UP. 

Much of the day was spent on the phone, either with my sons, my cousin Penny in Arizona, or talking/texting with B'ann. 

I regard Penny, or Pen Lynn, as I like to call her, as a surrogate baby sister. She's a fire cracker and probably the hardest working individual I've ever met (a claims adjustor). Most importantly, Pen Lynn's the glue that holds Mom's side of the family together. We've gone months, even years, and not talked, but when anyone in the family is in distress, Penny's there. She's a true angel in a beautiful pint sized package.

Penny is flying in from Arizona and I'm anxious to see her. I've not seen the girl in well over twenty-five years. I also learned that another cousin, Cindy, may be coming from the DesMoines, Iowa, area. Cindy and I last saw each other ... hmmm, maybe thirty years ago? The biggest surprise is that another cousin, Bonita "Bunny" is planning to attend Mom's funeral. It's been around fifty five years since I last saw Bunny.

Funny story, well, it's funny now, about Bunny and me. Bunny was a teeny newborn and being just a young boy myself, I asked if I could hold her. Aunt Pete (Phyllis) gave me Bunny with instructions to support her head and neck.

I did, except she squirmed and I dropped her smack on her head. I hope Bunny doesn't blame me for any of the aches and pains she's had throughout her lifetime.

Penny sent me a picture yesterday of the two of them.

Bunny and Penny

Bunny's not all that tall, but Penny's one of the little people and I'm fairly certain she lives in Munchkinland. (Oh don't be offended. If I don't tease Pen, she'll think I don't love her anymore.)

As someone recently said, it's too bad it takes a death in the family for everyone to get together.

Sargie and I will spend this weekend preparing for next week's travel. Since a major storm is expected to begin dropping even more snow this evening and all day Sunday, we won't leave here until early Monday morning for Galesburg, Illinois. The funeral and visitation will be Tuesday morning then we'll drive to Mom's in Terre Haute and stay in her apartment. Depending on how long it takes to finish with business, we'll be heading back to the UP when we can. Sargie has arranged to take off work next week and I don't think I'll be subbing anymore between now and Christmas. 

I've been asked several times how I'm doing. Sargie has been my rock, my foundation, my wife and best friend, upon whom I have leaned the past couple of days. During one of the last conversations that Mom and I had last week, Mom said she felt she could "go home" because she'd never seen me so happy. She knew I was in good hands with Sargie and loved her every bit as much as I do. 

Penny's been a constant support, Yooper Brother Mark's always nearby, either in person or by phone or text, Garry's there in voice and email, and of course, my sons have called. 

I'm doing just fine. Surrounded by so much love, how else could I be?

Physically, I'm a bit tired. My body and mind are telling me it's time to slow 'er down just a bit. We get next week over and that's exactly what I'm planning to do.

Okay, there's a storm due to arrive later today and I still have the remnants of Wednesday's snowfall to clear from the back patio. It's time to get busy.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...