42 degrees/fog/calm winds
Pentoga Road
It's dawning on what looks to be the best weekend, weather wise, we've had in some time. Since we'll be staying at a lake an hour away with Sargie's boys and their families, it appears God is smiling down on us. Not being one who enjoys crowds or crowded spaces, we should have all of the great outdoors in which to play.
It was a bit foggy Thursday morning. I walked onto Pentoga Road, turned around, and couldn't see where I'd been just a mere step ago.
OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was soupy.
Fall is beginning to exhibit its colors. Far from peak leaf season, reds, oranges, and yellows, are becoming noticeable.
Miss Jody and Mississippi Brother Garry are heading this way in a couple of weeks and I think their timing to see the fall colors could be almost perfect. We've had such a weird summer that it's anyone's guess, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Our Hawaiin cannas are finally blooming. Over five feet tall, six feet if you count the bloom, we've learned they will sprout underwater and grow to leaf out and flower above the surface. We'll be planting those in the shallower areas of the pond in the years to come.
The best attribute about cannas? They are deer proof. In our yard, cannas, along with the lowly marigold, make both the flowers of choice.
Thursday presented a smorgasbord of activities, all of them fun. Sargie and I purchased the ingredients for goodies to enjoy this weekend. Our thoughts have been to make them here so they can warmed later.
Has anyone purchased meat lately? I never thought I'd live to see the day when hamburger cost over $5.00 a pound. We went to both stores, admonishing ourselves for not purchasing hamburger the day before in Iron Mountain.
Along with meat, the cost of everything else is skyrocketing.
Regardless what we're being told, it's turning out that the cheap money the Feds keep printing isn't so cheap after all.
You can't beat competition to keep prices down and in our area, there's very little. Kind of blows a hole in the "shop locally" slogan. At any rate, we purchased what was needed and came back home.
On a lighter, much less serious note, I love the following hand written sign in the meat department in one of our groceries.
It's Meat Man! Best bacon he ever ate!!
Reminds me of an evening I once spent in the big piney woods outside of Pervis, Mississippi. That was over forty years ago and a story for another time.
I enjoyed making a huge French Toast Casserole. It consists of two huge loaves of French bread, a hen house worth of eggs, multiple cups of brown sugar, gallons of milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Throw in a large dash of love and tomorrow's breakfast was concocted.
The mixture was put in the pan, covered over, and set in the refrigerator to cool overnight. I'll bake it this morning and when we're ready, it can be heated for this weekend's breakfast(s).
Sargie was just as busy making spaghetti sauce. Her's is made from garden tomatoes, ground pork, beef, and various secret herbs and spices that my bride keeps secretly close to her chest. I found it difficult to resist administering "taste tests" as it boiled down on the stove.
As it might be said in Pervis, "Ain't no one gonna starve this weekend. It'll be the best sketti and French Toast I ever ate!"
For the first time in weeks, I actually took the time to play in the shop yesterday afternoon. Sargie gives her grandbabies rocking chairs for their first birthday. We'll be celebrating Squirt's this weekend.
My contribution was to glue, screw, and assemble the pieces together.
Originally milled in the exotic country of China and purchased from the famous furniture vendor, Walmart, the mini rocker was of surprisingly good quality. I enjoyed assembling it and was happy with the end product.
On a whim, I'd put a piece of scrap cherry firewood in the lathe several weeks ago and have spent little more than a few minutes here and there turning it since. Tired of looking at the small unfinished bowl, I finished sanding it yesterday and applied the first layer of finish.
There's also a much larger bowl that has been an ongoing project for the past year. Made from soft popple, it has been difficult to keep it from pulling away and flying off the lathe.
I'm onto Plan D now, my fourth attempt, that involves using commercial wood hardener. I thoroughly soaked the base and hope it hardens enough to stay mounted on the lathe. The bowl is almost finished. I just need a few thousand more revolutions.
To end my afternoon of play, I hopped on the backhoe and leveled the ground where both Grady and Cale had worked. Though both did a great job, I dug a few more boulders and evened the surface just a bit more.
According to Sargie, that area behind the barn will eventually become part of our backyard. Hey, she's the Supervisor of the Lawn and Everything Pretty. Who am I to argue?
Assuming there is an internet connection at the lake house where we'll be staying, I'll be back in the morning plying you with pictures and words. If there's none, well, I'll meet you here first thing Monday morning.
Until then, be sure to remember that...
... a man's work is never done.
So are the tales from Pentoga Road...
Approaching 400 Pounds
Still Growing
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