\u201cHow was your weekend?\u201d It\u2019s a common pleasantry, designed to take the edge off the back-to-work grind of a Monday morning.<\/p>\n
The question, of course, is not meant to probe. It\u2019s more of a greeting. Grouchy on Mondays by nature, I usually respond that my weekend was lousy. That\u2019s not usually the case, but it makes me feel better about being relegated to an office for the next eight hours. I\u2019m not a confinement kind of guy. Must be my tendency towards claustrophobia.<\/p>\n
Anyhow, I recently started giving more thought to the \u201cHow was your weekend?\u201d inquiry. Not all weekends are great, naturally, but mostly they are pretty good.<\/p>\n
Our weekends took on a different tone a few years back when we moved to greener pastures. Or, more accurately, rockier pastures. The Catskills are well-known as having a high rock content. When you relocate to the side of a mountain the \u201ctwo stones for every dirt\u201d theory is multiplied by about 100 on the stones end. And they are likely big ones.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m providing this information as background for how I spend my weekends. \u201cStarting over\u201d is work. A lot of work. I\u2019m not complaining, just explaining.<\/p>\n
Turning forest into lawn is not an easy task. Fortunately, most of this labor was performed with the assistance of huge pieces of equipment. Still, there was plenty of digging left for the \u201cfinish work.\u201d And my heavy machinery ownership is limited to an \u201cexperienced\u201d garden tractor that demands the word, \u201cWhew!\u201d every time I complete a mowing without a call to the repairman.<\/p>\n
No shortage of work<\/strong><\/p>\n As with any house not covered in vinyl or constructed of brick, there\u2019s always a fair amount of painting on the \u201cto do\u201d list. Porches with bright southern exposure are great for sitting, but harsh on the paint. In fact, I dedicated a good chunk of time last weekend to scraping and reapplying a few fresh coats of paint to the front porch.<\/p>\n I\u2019m pretty sure my inspiration for completing this project (which I successfully ignored last season) was jumpstarted by a visit from friends over the summer who commented, \u201cOh, the porch is looking well-used.\u201d Ouch.<\/p>\n The never-ending pursuit of firewood also occupies much of my weekend \u201cspare\u201d time. No matter how much wood I have on hand, the arrival of autumn sparks a mini-panic in me and I feel an urgent need to add to the collection.<\/p>\n Or, maybe it\u2019s the fact that this is the time of year that I try to get the oil tanks filled that creates this firewood urgency. It\u2019s probably a combination, but firewood chores cut deeply into my weekends during each autumn.<\/p>\n I guess a \u2018good\u201d weekend is a productive one. It makes one appreciate \u201cporch time\u201d more. Of course, there\u2019s not much room on the porch now with the bulging racks of firewood. Plus, I have to worry about marring the new paint job. When it comes to relaxing, I guess it\u2019s the thought that counts.<\/p>\n