So here I am, sitting in the office, looking out the window to a snowy world outside and wishing I was somewhere else.

I remember as a youth I would work on my aspirations as I stared through the metal windows of the school. Generally speaking, I think I spent more time on my imagination than I did on my lessons. I still do that from time to time if I am not careful, accidentally getting lost in thought and off-task.

I can remember a time when I would pull up to my house and just sit in the car with the windows rolled down and the key turned off, watching the world sit still and wait for me to move through it.

It may not make much sense, but there is a tranquility in watching things that I can't explain. Even if I have to walk somewhere to watch things, I don't mind. For instance, one of my favorite spots is the little spring below my place in the woods. I sometimes like to go there and sit on the bank in the laurels, especially in the summer when it is too hot to work (or after walking down to get a drink from the spring). The cool humid air of the forest fills the lungs as the smells of decaying leaves, rich earth and fresh air fill the nostrils. The sound of the spring, trickling over the rocks down the mountainside, adds to the aura of the place.

But lately, my quiet time has been spent sleeping and my other time has been spent busy at work, doing this or that on my place in the woods. Once I started to work on it, I have been at it every weekend. It isn't easy to do that for an extended period of time, but I have so far. Usually the guys that have been helping me are a fairly constant group, with one or two changes now and again.

This past weekend, before the snow snarled the world, we worked on the wiring in an attempt to get that finished up. It isn't going all that poorly, I might add.

I managed to re-string, with the help of my associates, most of the place with new wire. I did all the wiring, but they did most of the difficult stuff, like pulling wire from one end of the house to the other and stringing the wire between receptacles underneath the floor. The underside of the house is little more than a crawlspace, so much of the work was muddy and nasty.

I can tell you that it isn't easy to crawl around on your back in the mud and drag long pieces of wire around, but that's what associates are for.

On the top side, I was busy labeling wires, attaching receptacles, drawing diagrams and trying to make sure we didn't run out of supplies — like potato chips and beer.

I don't drink beer on a regular basis these days, but these guys won't get out of bed without me promising to purchase at least a couple of 12-packs. Their favorite kind is ice cold, followed by just cold and then room temperature. Hot is an option, but only if the others aren't available.

I also usually bring sandwiches, sometimes buy cigarettes and coffee and also pay them a little money if necessary. Usually they end up owing me money by the time the work day is over. Well, maybe it isn't that bad, but it can be close.

I like to try to keep them happy, because they are the only thing between me and crawling around in the mud.

I can't complain about the way things are going myself, the kitchen is completely done except for the light and putting up a few pieces of trim, the living room is finished except for a receptacle and a light and the back bedroom needs one light switch and a blank box cover. Everything else is completed, to the best of my knowledge.

After those steps are done, I will need to drop in a 200 amp meter base and shutoff switch and call the building inspector over to have a look-see.

I am not sure if I already said so, but I managed to fix the porch roof last week where I dropped the tree over it that time. It now looks almost like it was never smashed.

I also called the stone company to have about seven tons of gravel spread around on the driveway and parking places. After that, I raked it out and hauled in another ton on my pickup to shovel around the house on the bare spots and to make walkways to the front and back door. I am hoping that will help keep the mud from being tracked in all the time.

My next step, after electricity, will be priming the new sheetrock in the first bedroom, putting down new tile in the kitchen and painting here and there as needed. I think it will be ready for habitation by early March or maybe even sooner.

I may need to clean the carpets, too. I haven't decided whether or not to replace them, but given my current budget status, I don't think that I will. Cleaning is a much cheaper option to be sure.

Even though I have been spending every weekend there, working one or even two days, the progress thus far has been slow and hard. I am hoping that the addition of electricity to the house will make a big difference. Just being able to forego the inverter or generator to plug things in will have to be a plus, not to mention having lights overhead to illuminate the tasks at hand.

It isn't easy to work on a daytime schedule in the wintertime and the other lighting options just aren't convenient. But that's fine by me, I am usually tired by nightfall anyway.

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