November 28, 2020 - Saturday
26 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

The name of the game on Friday was Christmas decorations. Thankfully, with Sargie now retired, we didn't feel as though we were under a deadline to finish in one day. There are still several frost covered totes sitting on the back deck filled with Christmas cheer waiting to be unloaded.

My morning walk was a good one. I'm wondering if most in our area weren't suffering from a Thanksgiving food hangover as I saw only one truck on the road during my trek. Normally, I see two or three.

When you live on Pentoga Road, a person notices such things. It's not uncommon for fewer than a half dozen vehicles to pass daily during the winter months.

Sargie and I decided to go to town early and get that out of the way. With a million, billion, and thirteen, totes to carry to the house, we wanted no interruptions once the Christmas season had officially started.

My bride immediately got to work putting together the first of our two inside trees.

I was carting totes from the storage shed when Sargie beckoned me inside.

"What do you think if we go with a smaller tree this year?" she asked.

I looked in the corner and noticed she'd inserted only the first section of our living room tree.

"Funny," I replied, "but you know, it would make the job go much faster."

With Christmas music playing in the background, the top sections were added as we continued our holiday chores. Sargie decorated inside, I continued carrying totes.

The phone rang. It was Nancy. I left the two sisters to gab and took that as a sign from God that I should make my way to the shop. I've been wanting to turn a wider, deeper, vessel and had several pieces of wood picked out and ready.

The first was debarked and smoothed and though it may be too small in diameter for what it was originally intended, it'll make into something or the other. Stay tuned on that one.

Sargie and I eventually continued decorating. Both trees were eventually assembled and decorated, our six foot Santa placed in his customary corner, and Mom's Christmas village arranged on the dining room table.

How Mama loved that village. In her later years, after giving it to us, she'd stop by the table and look at each piece. Aunt Ila, Grandma's baby sister and Mom's best friend growing up, had painted most of the ceramic pieces many years ago. 

The look in Mom's eyes told me she was reliving almost nine decades of memories while visiting the village on our dining room table.

We finally called it a day late in the afternoon. Sargie and I both were tired and after all, why did we have to finish in one day? As Sargie said, "It feels SO GOOD to not rush everything before having to return to work tomorrow."

Amen to that, Sargie Pants.

Yooper Brother Mark sent a photo that would make any deer hunter with a heart beat salivate. This was taken over by Three Lakes, Wisconsin, about an hour southwest of Pentoga Road.

I haven't received my early morning text from Mark yet, which tells me he's sitting out in his deer blind waiting for a giant buck to come walking through.

I'll be playing electrician today and running power to all the outside Christmas figures and decorations. There's Rudolph, his sleigh, a life sized angel, five wreaths, four snowflakes, and oh heck, I can't resist the temptation... three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree, all requiring electricity to make our yard light up for the Christmas season.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

I found this little good lookin', hottie, wood nymph hiding in one of our trees