Like it or not, it's that time of year

October 22, 2020 - Thursday morning
31 degrees/cloudy/calm winds
Pentoga Road

Today's our first day of vacation and I just left Sargie in bed, telling her to sleep as late as she wanted. I guess when a couple's retired, "vacation" isn't exactly the right word as we try to make every day a holiday and every meal a feast. 

We'll leave when we're ready.

Wednesday was a jack-of-all-trades type of day. Hearing the snowplow go by earlier, I decided that the drive could probably use cleaning. Mostly, I wanted to play with the snowblower. I'm happy to report that the machine is ready for a winter season of nonstop thrills and chills, emphasis on the chills.

Sargie was leaving for Foster City, so I hitched a ride and was left off several miles away. For only being October, it was like walking through a winter wonderland.

Trekking was great until I had to navigate through a mile of unplowed road. The several inches of wet, sticky, snow, stuck to the bottoms of my boots making for a slow and burning slog, most of it uphill.

As usual, when the going gets tough, I turned into Walter Mitty and pretended I was in the Smoky Mountains on the Appalachian Trail, walking through fresh snow in early March.

We'd purchased a piece of unfinished trim to replace the one that connected the hallway floor to the kitchen. I guess you'd call it a threshold of sorts for lack of a better word.

The previous one was made of imitation wood and had worn out over the past ten years since I'd installed the laminate flooring .

The two floors are different heights and fairly far apart, so floorboard trim, thicker on side than the other, was used rather than a standard threshold. It required sanding and a bit of modification, but in the end, the hard maple did the job.

The wood will be stained to more closely match both floors before I add a coat of finish. I'll let Sargie decide the exact color.

The rest of the day was spent in the shop. The first order of business was to blow the sawdust from all the surfaces before sweeping the floors.

I'd laminated several round pieces a week ago and was anxious to put the block on the lathe and begin turning. 

I learned so much from turning the first laminated bowl that I was eager to begin shaping and hollowing this one.

 All that was accomplished Wednesday afternoon was to round the piece and begin hollowing the inside. It will be on the lathe, waiting for me, when we return from our trip next week.

Sargie arrived home later in the afternoon and looked like a million dollars. She'd been to the beautician's to try a formal hair style to sport for Mel and Macrea's wedding next July. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she'll be the prettiest girl at the ball.

Last night was spent watching an old black and white John Wayne western, Red River. In this day of whiners, cryers, and hand wringers, we could sure use his no nonsense demeanor.  

On the other hand, with the current emasculation of the male gender, at least fifty percent of the country would have their feelings hurt and need to go to counseling.

OK, I'll put my pitchfork away. It's time to move along and get this day started. I'm going for a quick walk while Sargie's getting ready. After, we'll throw a few things at a suitcase, load the car, and away we'll go.

Today's destination is a yet to be decided point between here and Galesburg, Illinois. There's an outlet mall in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and another outside of Johnson Creek, WI, so hard telling how far we'll go. I'll leave that up to the prettiest girl at the ball.

Talk to you tomorrow from where ever we are.

After all, a man's work is never done. If you don't believe me, go watch a John Wayne movie.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...