Things are looking up this week in some ways, but my own stupidity has limited my feelings of cheer.

It all started last week when I got a call from a friend who just bought a new washer and dryer and needed help unloading them.

"What are you going to do with the old ones?" I asked, to which he responded, "Why, do you want them?"

After asking me what I might pay and learning that I am about as broke as Joe Thiesman's leg after his run in with Lawrence Taylor, he said, "Just take them and get them out of my way." That's what I call a blessing.

Now, the washer was needed in my rental house and the dryer was needed in my house here. After installing a simple venting kit, my days of coin-operated laundry fun were over — at least as long as the dryer lasts. However, the top of the dryer was covered with rust and needed some attention. I decided to refinish it. I bought a couple of cans of appliance epoxy and got out two of my sanders and set to work. In little or no time I had the top cleaned and was ready to paint. So what if my nose was clogged with powdery paint dust and I was having trouble breathing in the tiny laundry room? The show must go on, I decided. After taping off the top, where the handles and such are, I sprayed it carefully and allowed it to dry. I was so pleased with the results, I opted to also paint the freezer. It was tan and didn't match the other appliances and, besides, I still had more than half a can of paint left. Everything was going fine when I finished the top, but once I got to the sides I had to step out of the room frequently to allow it to air out. After making two or three trips inside, I decided to stop for awhile as I was feeling fairly light-headed from the fumes, almost like a throw-back from my recent pipe glue experience.

After the air cleared, I went in to inspect my work. I was careful to not paint within a foot of the floor, but I noticed later that massive amounts of over-spray had coated the floor. In addition, my nice brown boots were now polka dotted.

I still haven't finished painting, but when I do, you better believe I'm carrying that thing outside on a sunny day and letting it do what it may.

I finally hauled off the trash and building refuse from two of my properties last week and at the same time got my picnic table moved to the new house. I am very glad to have my picnic table, since I would prefer to eat on it outside when the weather's nice to eating in the house.

There is something about being outside that makes life seem more vibrant. The fresh air, a cool breeze, a spot of shade on a hot day, all things I love to experience.

As usual, last week was a very busy week for me trying to get my work caught up. I did pretty well at it, carving my ‘to do' list down by about 50 percent.

I managed to plumb the water to my refrigerator so my water and ice maker are both working, which allows me to filter the lousy town water supply into something almost drinkable. I suppose I should clarify that by saying that any municipal water supply tastes nasty to my palate, which has grown accustomed to pure and clear well water.

After that, I crawled back under the house to run a phone line to the bedroom for the computer and, while underneath, I decided to go ahead and turn up my water pressure at the pressure reducing valve. I like to have about 50 pounds of pressure on my water system so that the shower head has plenty of power.

That was another job I ended up doing after attempting a simple repair. I was going to switch out the pipe that holds the shower head because it was rusted and looked terrible. Once I started working on it, I found that my pipe wrench wouldn't remove it from the wall. After taking down the access panel, I figured out that whoever put it in didn't secure the fittings, instead putting nuts on the front and back of the wall to hold it steady. Once I started turning the pipe, I had sheared the copper supply line in half, effectively disconnecting my shower like a real genius.

So it was off the to the hardware store for more Pex line and fittings. After two tries, I finally managed to convert the existing tub faucet to the new fittings. I must admit to having more than a little help at the hardware store in finding the right brass threaded things to put it all together. As I have said before, putting together a run of plumbing is like assembling a puzzle that can leak.

After replumbing my shower, I then installed the new neck and my hand-held shower head from the other house. Once you've had one of those, it is very hard to live without it.

As if I didn't have enough to worry about, I also had to spend a good part of the day sealing up some of the leaky windows around the house with aluminum tape. The wind whistling through the storm windows was enough to get me moving on that project. The wind often whips around the house like a hurricane, especially when things are the way they were last week.

Once I was finished with everything else, I covered the crawl space under the house with an access door.

I was so worn out by the end of the weekend, I turned in at 8 p.m. and didn't wake up until 6 a.m. the next morning. My father used to say that there's nothing like honest work to help you sleep at night. I agree.

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