Welcome to the world Elise Marie!

December 21, 2018 - Friday

20 degrees/cloudy/breezy

Pentoga Road

I spoke earlier on the phone today with a proud first-time grandpa, ol' Jambo, also known as Neighbor Mike. 

The new grandparents, Germaine and Jambo, flew out to Washington State earlier this week for the birth of their first grandchild.

Amelia is Mike and Germaine's only daughter. Along with husband, Pierre, I'm told both parents, along with Elise, are doing well. 

Uncle Tom's feeling old. Little Amelia Bedelia is all grown up and is now a new mommy.

Though the weather was cold and windy Friday morning, it felt good to strap on the hikers and walk. I enjoyed feeling the cold wind on my cheeks and the four and a half miles flew under my feet in just over an hour.

Much of the day was spent in the shop where I worked at the scroll saw. 

Talk about a bonehead move. There's a reason Mom and Dad didn't name me Grace. I'm also lacking in poise and beauty. 

Seems I'd forgotten that the air hose had been laid across the bench and part of it had flopped over onto the bed of the miter saw. 

I was cutting a board when I heard and felt a HUGE pop. I don't mind saying, it scared the poopies right out of me.



Thankfully, Mom was in the house watching television and didn't hear the words that flew from my mouth. I'd still be spitting soap.

Mom and I took a trip into town this afternoon to run a few errands, one of them to purchase a connector to splice the air hose back together. For $2.80, the hose was later made good as new.

Sargie arrived home early this evening and opens again Saturday morning. I'll go for my usual walk, visit with Mom, and work out in the shop. As of now, I'm on schedule to finish everything by Christmas Eve.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Look who had a birthday!

December 20, 2018 - Thursday

31 degrees/clouds/wind

Pentoga Road

Evidently my fingers must be rested as they've been getting itchy lately. Three weeks is the longest I've ever been away from writing and honestly, I've missed writing and posting pictures. Old habits die hard. Guess this one still has some life left.

There were several big events that occurred during my absence. 

One of the biggest was Cale's graduation, receiving his Masters degree from the University of Northern Michigan. 

We cheered as Cale walked by. I watched Sargie as she looked on filled with a mother's love and pride.

Big people weren't the only relatives watching Cale receive his diploma. His biggest fan, Hambone, cheered and waved at his uncle.

From one super hero to the other, Grady was most proud to wear Uncle Cale's graduation cap. 

As mentioned above, Sargie celebrated her birthday. She was most surprised when Macrea, Mel, Grady, and Cale, met us for supper in Marquette last Friday.

We stayed overnight and Grandma Sargie and Grady had a fun evening before bedtime.

One evening last week, I found myself transformed into the jolly old elf, Santa.

Yooper Brother Mark had asked earlier if I might be Santa at the yearly scout (and their families) Christmas gathering. It was a no brainer. Of course!

I could never have gotten dressed without the help of my Mrs. Santa who helped piece together all the parts of his outfit.

All the boys and girls were heard, but Santa's favorite were the little ones. 

They were so sincere, so honest, so innocent, and so believing.

I substitute taught several days during my hiatus from blogging. The munchkins were good and I enjoyed my time with them.

When not at the elementary or high school in Florence, I was in the shop making Christmas goodies.

The cross was enjoyable, but had some challenges along the way.

I also experimented turning my first long necked vase/bowl/bottle. Since I'd never done it before, plenty of mistakes were made, but it was a lot of fun.

The most time consuming project of the past three weeks was making a wooden soldier riding high atop his galloping steed.

The first several days were spent cutting, gluing, laminating, and clamping boards that would later make up the horse and part of the soldier.

 The wood needed to be cut, shaped, then sanded.

Since I was flying by the seat of my pants, I spent no small amount of time drawing patterns on freezer paper. The most challenging was the horse's head.

The head, hat, and arms were turned on the lathe with the hat and head made from an old fence post. The bill was added later.

Painting was an entirely different story. I experimented with various faces on the horse as well as the soldier. 

Seems I spent as much or more time sanding before and after painting. 

About the time I thought it was "good 'nuff," I'd find a place that needed more work.

It was late this afternoon before I finally brought the finished project in the house.

It passed Sargie and Mom's inspection, so I'm going to call this project finished.

Sargie hasn't exactly been idle these past few weeks. 

When not working, she's been busy writing Christmas cards and/or wrapping gifts.

I took advantage of our above average temperatures and nice weather to refill the wood sheds from the large pile in back stored under a tarp.

The two sheds' full should be more than enough to supply us with all the wood we need to heat the house for the rest of the winter.

I left last Monday morning at midnight for Terre Haute, Indiana, to pick up Mom and bring her back home for Christmas. We left early Tuesday morning for Pentoga Road and arrived in plenty of time to attend Grady's Christmas program in Iron Mountain.

What can I say? Mom seems ageless and Grady's a born performer.

He and his class enacted the poem, The Night Before Christmas.

I'm told that at that age, his daddy, Macrea, played the part of a sugar plum. Grady was one of the children "asleep in their beds."

Grady's on the far left

The program was short and a complete success. We enjoyed socializing after and were home fairly early.

I've spent most of today in the shop and with two more Christmas projects to complete, it appears I'll be out there right up to Christmas Eve. 

Sargie, Mom, and I, took a quick drive to town late this afternoon for groceries and Sargie's Coke.

It appears Ivy has talked to Santa. No doubt, she told him that she's been a good girl.

We visited earlier today via Facetime and to say that Ivy is excited for Christmas would be an understatement.

My young friend, Dr. Katie, sent a picture of her two sons, Cody and Graham. 

Katie has taken a leave from the medical field to stay home and be a full time mommy. I really respect her decision for putting her family first.

Sargie opens the Vision Center Friday and Saturday, then will be off three days for Christmas.

Mom and I will hang out here and I'll be in and out of the shop. First, however, I'll ride with Sargie down the road and walk back home. It seems my belly has the tendency to lead the rest of my body this time of the year. It couldn't have anything to do with all the Christmas goodies sitting around, could it?

Shhh, don't wake him. Hambone has visions of sugar plums dancing in his head.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

December 7, 2018 - Friday
0 degrees/clear skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

Morning,

After a couple of weeks away from the blog, I've decided to step away for an extended period. It's actually refreshing not writing or snapping pictures every day. When actively writing, I feel an obligation to post a daily blog. At least for the present, that's not what retirement is about. It should be something I want to do and I'm not feeling it. 


As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it's become a chore.

I've thought about writing a book about a man who has advanced into his senior years and reflects back on his many varied experiences. He'd have lived all over the country, helped to raise four sons, lived in the wilds of northern Maine, been to New Zealand, worked with the Aboriginals in Australia, the Inupiaq, Yupik, Athabascan, and Tglingit Peoples in Alaska, driven tens of thousands of miles around the Arctic Circle on snowmobile and navigated many more in small bush planes all around Alaska. He's survived blizzards, grizzly bears, falling through the ice, a severe tornado, and every type of close call nature could throw at him.

He was lucky.

The man's a survivor who, after decades of searching, finally finds true happiness living with a beautiful and loving woman in the woods of northern Michigan. Together, they make a home where his heart truly resides. His days of endless searching have finally ceased.

Lord, I like happy endings.

I'm thinking about stepping back into the weekly newspaper column genre, something I did for over twenty years.  Writing a weekly printed blurb would still provide an outlet, yet not require daily maintenance. 

If you're a regular reader, and some have been for over twenty years, check back every now and then. Knowing me, with my imagined case of Adult ADHD, I very well could change my mind and decide to keep pecking away at the keyboard, but for now, my fingers are tired. They need rest.

For those with whom I correspond yet have never met in person, please keep the emails coming. You know you'll always receive a reply. Until next time, have the most safe, happy, and loving, holidays, and maybe we'll see you on the other side. Meanwhile, there're goodies to make in the shop, days of substitute teaching ahead, (those windows aren't going to buy themselves!) and of course, the best part, living and loving the good life with Sargie.

Hmm, I wonder what the poor people are doing?

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

December 4, 2018 - Tuesday
18 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds
Pentoga Road

No pictures this morning. I don't know, each time I saw something yesterday that might have been picture worthy, the camera was out of reach.

Sargie and I drove to Iron Mountain Monday morning in tandem, gabbing back and forth on our cell phones. It wasn't as good as sitting next to each other, but did make the short trip go much faster.

I had an appointment, Sargie went to work.

The first real pictorial event of the day was after the appointment, when I stopped by the Jiffy Lube for an oil change and saw someone had driven through one of their huge overhead doors. Had there not been traffic around me, I'd have definitely snapped that picture. Needless to say, I didn't get the oil changed. That will wait until later this week or next.

I arrived back on Pentoga Road shortly after noon and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Well, I did cart the empty Christmas totes back to the storage shed, but otherwise, I sat on my backside doing zilch, nada, nuthin', zero. For whatever reason, I was just all done in.

With Sargie working late, I threw a nice New York strip steak on the grill later in the afternoon, baked a potato, and enjoyed a supper fit for royalty. I even pulled out all the stops and sauteed fresh mushrooms in butter to top the steak. It was simply dumb luck, but the steak was grilled to perfection, medium rare, and mushrooms have never tasted so good.

It's a crap shoot when grilling outside during the winter months after dark. What appears well done is often not cooked at all or vice versa. Even with the aid of the flood and flash lights, it's difficult to tell. I lucked out last night. Perfect.

Sargie didn't arrive home until bedtime. Poor thing. She'd had a long day. Our social life was shortened to just a few minutes of catching up before we climbed the stairs to bed.

She opens this morning and I'm headed to Florence in a few minutes. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not dreading it either. Hey, we'll not look a paycheck in the mouth this time of the year. As Mom is fond of saying, "It all helps." Between a couple of recent extended trips to Milwaukee, one to Green Bay, a couple of other unexpected costs, a fuel oil tank that needs filling, and the Christmas season, this past fall's substitute teaching has been perfectly timed.

It's said God gives us what we need when we need it. Amen.

OK, I'm off to educate the masses yearning to be free, or at least blow a whistle and referee a gym class basketball game or two. 

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Sargie's Christmas Village is up and ready for the holidays

December 2, 2018 - Sunday evening

28 degrees/cloudy/light snow

Pentoga Road

I'm a tired boy. Between this morning's hike through several inches of snow, then clearing the drive, shoveling, and doing whatever else, I should sleep like a rock tonight.

I'm not sure how much snow has fallen, several inches. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I shuffled to Pentoga Village and back this morning.

The snow made everything look just like a Christmas card.

Downtown Pentoga Village

I walked through the village onto the Brule River.

The State of Wisconsin lies just on the other side of the bridge

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning the drive and patio. In fact, I've done it twice today in an effort to keep the pavement bare.

Sargie spent most of the afternoon finishing decorating the inside of the house. As always, she has it looking like a million Christmas dollars.

I have an appointment in Iron Mountain Monday morning. Sargie works a long day and closes the Vision Center Monday night. I'll return to subbing at Florence High School on Tuesday and at the elementary school Friday morning. Meanwhile, I'll be in the shop continuing work on the Christmas goodies.

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

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...