Firewood, property, potatoes, fall planting and family (not necessarily in that order) had been weighing heavily on my mind this week. Well, that and the destroyed antenna, but that’s connected to firewood anyway.

I was working to cut a few trees at a fellow’s house the other day for a dual purpose. First of all, the trees were mostly locust and would make great firewood and secondly, he is the neighbor of a friend who asked me to help earlier. I had to make four trips to Glade Valley to haul and cut up all the wood, but I’m not complaining.

Due to the work I did there and at another friend’s house, I now have five loads of firewood stacked outside my house. That leaves only eight more on my firewood countdown until I have enough to make it through the winter. Since I added new ceiling insulation and Sheetrock in the living room, I hope that I won’t have to worry about losing so much heat this year. I also hope to install some new windows soon, which also may help the situation. Since they cost more than $100 each, I will be added a few at a time until I can pay for them all. I am done with diving into debt every time I round a turn.

I was telling about the antenna, though. We had cut at least 10 trees, all near the house, when we came to the last one. It was a spindly thing with branches here and there and didn’t measure more than eight inches through the middle. Even so, it was heavy enough that we couldn’t get it to cooperate. Part of its branches were entwined in a television antenna on top of the house. As it fell, it bent the pole over and made the antenna look a little worse for wear. On the bright side, it still works.

I felt bad about the antenna getting damaged, so I agreed to head back and fix it. I have the plan in place to get it done, I just need to find time to ‘get me there.’

I finally managed to get the corn patch and out-of-control weeds cut down in the garden. I got the freshly-mowed grass and weeds soaked with weed killer and hope to have the soil tilled under soon. If that all goes well, I’ll have my fall crops in by the weekend. I hope it isn’t too late. What with the dry spell we’ve had, I don’t think anything would have come up anyway. My frozen beet, mustard, rutabaga, turnip and pea seeds are ready to go in the ground. It should all work out fine, provided we don’t get washed away by a hurricane.

The potatoes are also ready to be dug out and most of the tomatoes have played out. I need to get them all picked and the plants cut out before the cold weather takes all my time. The garden is calling for my attention, but I am glad it is not as desperate as it was earlier in the year.

On other fronts, I recently inked a deal to sell the final piece of property I had in Virginia, leaving me owning a home in Alleghany and little more. Not that I’m complaining. I didn’t want the added responsibility of owning two (or three) homes, nor did I want the added maintenance and worry of being a landlord. As another benefit, the money was sufficient to help pay off all of my small debts and leave me with only the monthly house payment to worry about. Temptation is out there, though. My truck is getting older, the lawnmower isn’t as shiny as it once was and maybe I could cut wood faster with a bigger chainsaw and a wood splitter. Did I mention I’d like to have a hot rod, new windows in the house, and a partridge in a pear tree? But that’s how debt gets started. It’s called “living outside your means” in the way my father explained it to me.

It’s like quicksand. Once you get started making payments, you don’t have enough money left over to buy things with cash.

I got in debt by over-spending, poor planning and bad decisions. I got out by saving, selling things instead of gathering more and working extra jobs. Of the two, the former was much more pleasant, but the latter is more satisfying in the end.

“There are three kinds of people,” I remember my father telling me. “Those who borrow, those who lend and those who make do with what they have.”

I can’t see any reason why I can’t try and get by on what I make from here on out. Once the house is paid for, I hope that my health holds out long enough for me to have a little enjoyment out of life. Since I’m still relatively young, at least at heart, I feel like that can happen.

I read somewhere the other day that covetousness isn’t wanting what someone else has, but really is just wanting something you don’t have. We’re all stricken with that one every time we walk through the really big store. I’m trying to find balance in my life, owning what I need and no more, ridding myself of the burden of extra possessions. Of course, the ‘junk’ of this world, from building materials to saw horses, will always have a place with me so long as I am able to use it. I just don’t want to be a ‘collector’ of anything. It doesn’t make sense to me to collect things for no reason other than to look at them. Someone told me the other day that I am too practical for my own good. How can that be? I mused.

There is pleasure in owning useful things that goes far beyond any pleasure derived from simply owning things. There is also joy to be found in sharing things with those who need them.

After I sold the property in Virginia, I opted to part with a few of the treasures I had stored there. Among them was a trophy stove, an old claw-foot bathtub and some other odd (and generally heavy) pieces. I’m always happy to give something heavy away if it means I don’t have to carry it any more. In fact, all burdens should be like that. When unnecessary things start getting heavy, start looking for a handy place to drop it. The world would be a happier place if everyone did that more often. I’ve heard we don’t have to bear burdens alone, but some burdens you don’t need to be carrying to start with. If you can’t put it down, there is always the ever-present offer of help.

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