I learned recently that the fact that I purchased a new piece of property would be listed in the newspaper. So, since it's going to be public knowledge soon, I might as well talk about it now. Just as I was complaining about having too much to do, I decided a while back to get a few more things to do, just in case I didn't have enough to complain about. Now that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Most people buy a place with something in mind, but that's not always the case with me. I often buy things just to give me something to work on.

This place is a case in point. As I've gone about the task of exploring possibilities, from whether to clean or replace carpets and what to replace them with to whether to paint or replace some of the wall surfaces, I've been fairly indecisive.

That's not like me, really.

Since this isn't a place I intend to live myself, it opens up the questions of what someone else might like, instead of what I might want or like myself. I don't think I've ever been good at figuring out how to please others. I always try to follow the Biblical advice, "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." However, I'm among the minority that likes to be told things in a straight-forward and honest way and who appreciate being reminded when they forget to do something. I also like painting all the walls the same color and having all the appliances and bathroom fixtures white. Five gallons of paint and a big roller will do a whole house and I never have trouble matching the appliances. Since I don't like curtains, noise or clutter much, I'm feeling right at home at this place.

Ask any handyman and they will tell you that they'd much rather work on a place that has no furniture, no pictures on the walls and no people. All those things just get in the way when there's work to be done. To be honest, I often dread moving the stuff out of the way much more than the actual task. There's also the pressure to get the stuff moved back, which sometimes means that it gets moved back too soon and I have to work around it to finish.

This place is refreshingly empty. There is nothing but a few kitchen appliances to deal with—and no telephone, telecommunications signals, television or anyone to ‘tele' me what to do (or not to do).

I hired an electrician to come in last week to make sure the place was up to code, which I thought was a very good idea indeed. That allowed me to get the electricity turned on safely, giving me the lights and electricity needed to get started. That way, I should be able to spend a little time there working inside as the days get shorter and the nights grow longer. I've not yet turned on the heat there, so I hope it all works. As I move forward with my plans, my main concern is making sure that everything does what it's supposed to do before I decide what to do with it.

Since I've taken on this new task, getting all my other work done now becomes more important. I do still have a few tasks that are behind, but the forecast this week is for rain with more rain, followed by continued rain. This may lead me to start working on the new house before I ever finish the tasks I still have awaiting me at home. Some of them may indeed still be awaiting my attention come springtime, but I really hope not. It wouldn't be the first time that winter interrupted my plans.

As I said before, the long-term forecast is calling for a snowy and colder season this year. But the wooly worm my daughter caught last week had a large dark patch in the front and a smaller on in the back, with a good-sized stretch of brown down the middle. I've always been told that such critters could help predict the weather. The dark patches are supposed to represent cold spells and the lighter patches, warm spells. I've come to the conclusion that they are likely as accurate over the long term as the professional weather prestidigitators. They and I are usually pretty accurate on what it's doing outside right now, but they can sometimes able to see a day or two into the future without undue bungling. Look at the hurricane season that never happened this year or last as an example, even though the forecast was for a larger number of storms to make landfall both times. And, as I recently bemoaned, it was supposed to be 50 percent sunny the Friday that I took off, but it was 100 percent rainy. When I asked the wooly worm what he thought about that, he declined to comment. My guess is that doesn't really care if his forecast is right or not, since he'll be living out the rest of his life in a pickle jar with holes in the lid with only an unfortunate inch worm, a stick, some rocks, a handful of grass and a pine cone for company.
 

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