Monday, June 29, 2015

Yet Another Week

Today is a day to celebrate: all the moving boxes are emptied and broken down and stacked in the garage. What the hell I do with them now is anybody's guess. The house is still in decorating anarchy, but I now have access to the vacuum cleaner and will be giving the downstairs a good going over.

I've told myself that I'm going to live with the carpet for a year before I decide to tear it up. It is very vexing though, as once you drop anything onto it, you're lucky if you'll ever find it again. I spent two weeks looking for my glasses once they dropped just under the couch—in full view—but camouflaged by the hideous roses.

I was watching a special on Lincoln's assassination on the History Channel yesterday and caught a glimpse of the carpeting in the presidential box. I was a little taken aback. Check it out:


Ford's Theater's presidential box on the left, the carpet on the main floor of my house on the right.
Not exactly the same pattern, but pretty damned close. I just wonder if it's historically accurate, (in either case).

This really is the quintessential grandma’s house, with the laundry chute and the phone stand on the stair landing and all the glass doorknobs and the love-it-hate-it carpeting. When the grandfather clock arrives, that will cinch it. It is currently at Pam and Steve’s, where it resides in a corner of the living room, still in swaddling bubble wrap from its original journey east from Mom’s house in Arroyo Grande. Last time I was in Ettrick, I took a really good look at the clock and noted its ornate case and movement.

Xmas Gingerbread Conversion?
Driving home from Pizza Night in Ettrick, I was thinking what a hoot it would be to decorate my place like a giant gingerbread house for Christmas. All I have to do is find a place that makes gum drops a foot in diameter. That light up. Six-foot gingerbread men (not plywood cutouts, but 3D and textured, down to the icing), a giant peppermint swirl at each roof point and eight-foot candy canes on each corner. How many thousands would that cost? (But think of the publicity!)

Emily and Jim were planning on bringing the clock into La Crosse last Saturday, but Jim got called into work at the last minute (he's the one with the truck), so Emily came in and helped me put up some lighting. I say some, because we spent an inordinate amount of time putting up the two sconces over the fireplace. They look great, but getting them up was a real trial (trial and error was more like it). Now, however, we know what screw goes where, and we're planning on making the clock move and doing more lightings installation this Friday, since everyone has the day off. They are going to take the green recliner back to Ettrick and replace Steve's incredibly old and broken down easy chair.

Natalie reviews pix with her aunt
from her Godfather photo shoot.
So after Emily and I struggled with the sconces, it was time to part, as we both had to get ready for Natalie's fifth birthday party. It was held at Godfather's Pizza in Winona. The place is right on the river with beautiful views, none of which I photographed, of course. I did get a picture of the birthday girl reviewing photos her aunt had taken.

After eating pizza and playing with the claw games (everyone got some type of stuffed toy), we retired to Amanda's place, where an extremely pink cake was waiting. Natalie got the five candles blown out in due course, and Amanda sent me home with leftover cake and ham sandwiches (which her mother had sent home with her).

Striking a pose with her pink pink Rapunzel cake.
On Sunday I had a housewarming party to go to, but I just didn't feel up to a houseful of people I didn't know, so I called up and gave my regrets. They didn't sound too put out by the news, which was a relief. I'm planning on taking them out to dinner later this month, which will be more effective, since I want to get to know them better, and that's difficult in a houseful of people. Beth is a professor in the Theater Department at UW-La Crosse, so I'm hoping she'll have some valuable insight into the stage companies in the area. And, of course, I'm not above having them fix me up on a few blind dates once they get to know me.

The weather is so changeable. I get to deal with hot and muggy (but so far never all day; sometimes for only 15 or 20 minutes). The weather always changes, moment to moment. You can go into the grocery store to do some shopping and you’re dripping with sweat from the horrible, muggy weather. Then, when you emerge with your perishables, the mugginess is gone, and the day is warm and pleasant. Then a stiff breeze blows up and clouds will roll through. Then a thunderstorm will rumble by, spewing electromagnetic prowess on down the river, then things become clear and still, and a cool damp settles over the evening as the clouds part to reveal a starry night sky.

Sunrise over the roofs and trees of my neighborhood.
So far, I’m liking it here. I’m certainly not pining for Pasadena, but I do miss parts of the Central Coast. But even there, the pretense of Southern California is slowly slipping into their world view, as Opra’s Happiest Town on Earth gets more narcissistic and exclusive (no matter how inclusively it behaves). My SLO friends will take exception with that view, but SLO isn't the place I fell in love with 30 years ago. La Crosse has much more the vibe of the SLO I remember from years past.

So one finds new adventures. I was told as a young lad that Old Age was a time when you could stop moving, stop fretting, relax and enjoy vegetation as a sort of sedentary senior sport. But no such luck. I, once again, have to reinvent myself in a new place and time. L.A. was like that for me when I first arrived: I was moving out in new directions as a designer, and I was willing to reinvent myself for that adventure. I feel a pride in the fact that I met my goal of designing for an international publication; that is an achievement I'm proud of, but it's the past. 

One more time around won’t be so bad, and at least I’m well funded and solvent for the time being. Come October, it will be two years since Steve died, and I'm ready to expand back out into the world, hopefully meet someone special and get love and togetherness back into my life. That is the one thing I truly miss about being married.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Gun Shy Consumer

I think I've figured out why I'm not moving ahead on house stuff this week. I plan on going down to several places that specialize in bathroom remodels and window replacement, but I just can't get myself into the car and locate these businesses to ask about estimates, etc. The fact is, after dropping $155,000 in cash for the house, I'm feeling reluctant to go dropping sums in the thousands of dollars for things like bathroom remodeling and window replacement (both things that are really needed and not just vanity upgrades.

Even though there's plenty of money in the bank to carry me through at two years of non-income and still allow for these upgrades, I'm just gun shy to make them happen. One reason for the hesitation is I haven't had the electrician in yet to check out the wiring in the house. I know there are several issues that the home inspector pointed out, but I'd like to have the new lighting fixtures and fans up before I have him come in and check out the rest of the house. I'm worried that he'll find something major that will cost thousands to repair (which I doubt).

Sunrise hits the Lutheran church at around
5 o'clock on a Sunday morning, hours
before the bells toll at 8 for services.
Once again, it's that attraction to cataclysmic expectations that I'm so fond of.  But rather than wringing my hands over the unknown, I've decided to approach all this with a speculative air this week, going into the businesses to simply discuss my ideas and get ballpark estimates, rather than nailing down start dates right now. Then, this Saturday, Jim and Emily and I will be putting up the new lighting and I'll have the electrician in the next week to do the small fixes and let me know if there are any big fixes (i.e., replacing old wiring) that will be required; also, finding out how much it will cost if I need to bring in an extra circuit for the soaking tub in the new bathroom.

Also this Saturday is Natalie's birthday party in Winona, so we will have a cutoff time with putting up the new lighting/fans. I already have my birthday present for her. I only hope she likes it. The party is actually a family pizza feed. Her real party is going to a water park on Sunday, which I do not plan to attend, since I fry like a shrimp on the barbie if exposed to direct sunlight for more than 20 minutes. Sun block doesn't seem to do too much to mitigate the cooking of flesh; perhaps I'm just not using the proper brand.

The car's due for a lube and oil, so checking out local mechanics is another thing I need to add to the to-do list. Once that's done, I also have to register it here in Wisconsin and get myself a local driver's license, to boot (according to their DMV website, I probably won't have to take any sort of test; they just kind of swap out the new license for my California one).

Then the biggie: getting health insurance here. This means going through the Obamacare website, since Wisconsin did not set up its own insurance scheme like California did. The premiums will be higher and the government supplement will be lower, but it makes sense to get it. For now, I still have the Californian policy in force, and I have another month to find coverage here. I've been online and have an idea of which plans I want to seriously check out, but that will require a call to the insurance companies themselves for a fuller explanation of the coverage plans. It's enough to make you move to Canada and renounce your citizenship.

I'm starting to mesh with the timetable of the house: what time in the morning to close things up to keep the house cool all day (gotta love those brick walls!) and when to open up in the evenings and kick on the ceiling fans so that things are cooled of by bedtime. Of course, humidity levels affect the schedule, and there's always the air conditioning, but I've discovered that the AC unit can only handle one floor at a time: it either cools the downstairs or the upstairs, but not both at the same time. Luckily the registers are all easily accessible and fair efficient at closing down the air flow. Even then, I've only used it once or twice since I moved in.

Independence Day is coming up, and I'm not sure what La Crosse does to celebrate, but I'm sure there are activities galore and, I'm hoping, some fireworks. It won't be the Rose Bowl display by any means, but I'll take the smaller crowds and the smaller display anytime.

So, once more, lots of non-news. Which is a good thing, I suppose. No news is good news but non-news is just kind of boring. But, hey; it gives you something vacuous to read, and that's a good thing.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Lost Time

So much for the discipline of writing on a daily—or ever remotely daily—basis. Once or twice a week makes more sense.

This last week has been kind of a blur for me. Not because things have been happening so fast, but because I've lost all motivation to focus on anything. Sure, I've got my lists made and my prioritized organization of what needs to happen first, but I'm spending a lot of time staring at the walls (and the TV). Also, I've gotten primo insomnia. Still, I get stuff done.

It's been kind of frustrating, from an environmental point of view. I had just gotten the walls of boxes pared down, I could see the housewarming happening, and then the boxes with the fans and lighting showed up, and now I've got boxes everywhere again. Not as bad, but still visually overwhelming. Come this Saturday,  I will have been in the house for a month.

There were some milestones: last Friday Steve and Pam came over with a Papa Murphy's take and bake, and I used the oven for the very first time (I think it bakes a little hot in the back). I had my first multi-pan meal last night, making spaghetti with meat sauce. There are leftovers. Yes, that will be one of my next milestones: digging rotten leftovers out from the back of the fridge to dump them.

Another milestone: I'm in sync with the trash/recycling schedule. It took my about two weeks to actually fill up my green rollie dumpsterettes (gray top for trash, green top for recyclables, brown for yard waste), so I've only set them out once. I also have them delivering the paper to the front door, so that is adding to the bulk of the recycling.

I also signed up for online bill pay at my bank and paid my first utility bill online. I'm sure the rest of them will be arriving in short order, and I'll set them up, too. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have any routine because, really, it's just started.

Looking ahead, I have an invitation to a housewarming party from a woman who was in the healthcare focus group with me at the center last month. She also happens to be a professor in the Theater Department at UW-La Crosse, so we have that passion in common.

I've also nailed down Emily and Jim for next weekend. They're going to bring the family grandfather's clock over from the corner in Ettrick, where it has been sitting in plastic wrap for almost five years. Once the clock's here (a mutually agreed-upon relocation, since it technically belongs to Amanda), Jim and Emily and I are going to mount all the lighting fixtures and fans I've got, and then take the green recliner back to Ettrick, a gift for Steve because I don't have anyplace for it here, except the basement.

It's about time for another laundry day. When you just dump into a hole in the wall, it accumulates much faster than you'd think it would. I notice it's usually time when I'm putting the bath towels and/or the sheets down the shoot. Another cycle of the house to remember.

Most of all, I need to remember that I gave myself a year to get settled here. I'm just at a month, so I guess it's time to slow down a little bit more (not in unpacking, but lifestylewise), and enjoy the pace of the place.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Almost Daily

I wrote the last entry here on Tuesday and posted it on Wednesday, so I guess I'm pretty much daily here. The big topic was the heat. But Wednesday the high was 82 and the day was sunny and beautiful. Today, Thursday, it's raining and in the upper 60s. I moved here for weather, and I'm getting it — every day.

Last night was my first foray into La Crosse gay society, attending a fundraiser for the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center. It was at a place called Wine Guyz downtown, and it included a raffle of various stuff gleaned from the community. I bought a block of 35 tickets for $20, had a couple glasses of Chardonnay and left a huge tip (the center's board members were waiting tables, so the tips went to the center, as well). Twenty percent of the proceeds from drink sales also went to the center. I won a very nice photo print at the raffle).

I got to meet a couple older guys, Dan (a professor at Winona State University) and Dick (the owner of a group of radio stations in the area). Our server was Bob, a center board member who is a web developer. He was glad to meet me, since he's often in need of a designer to work with on larger web projects. So, all in all, it was a really good networking opportunity. I did have to e-mail Jackson (exec. director) to get the e-mails for the three gentlemen. (I have to remember to carry a pen and small pad of paper at all times.)

Today, even with the constant rain, I went down to Wettstein's and purchased the last of the lighting fixtures I need for the house. When all is said and done, I know they will improve the look of the place immensely. Once everything's in place, the next move is painting (for the downstairs) and getting bed and furniture for the second bedroom. There's a deadline for this one, as Kittie and David are slated to visit in mid-August and it wouldn't do to have them in sleeping bags on the floor.

I spent a good part of the afternoon going online and updating my contact information for all the concerns that sent me mail at the old address. Those that weren't accessible by website or e-mail were phoned and everything updated. But when I went to purchase checks for my local checking account, I found that I must go into the bank proper to order the first set. After that, I can go online to renew.

I also dropped an e-mail to the president of the board of trustees for the Unitarian Universalist Church next door, introducing myself. They don't have any services there during the summer (no AC?), but she wrote back and invited me to a Sunday nature walk scheduled for this weekend (it starts at 9 a.m.), which I just might attend.

My agoraphobia is rearing up every once in a while, but I seem to simply bully myself through it. It crossed my mind to skip the wine social yesterday, but I attended and had a good time. The same held true for shlepping down to the Wettstein's to finish my light shopping.

My office space is slowly getting it together, enough now so that I can do my bills and still know what's in each pile on the desk. Next move: piles into filing drawers.

Once again today, I had someone say, "Oh, I know the house you're talking about. It's really cute!"

So at some point there will be a housewarming, hopefully before Kittie and David get here, but there will be one.

And that's that: fewer loose ends, feeling more and more like this is my home, both my house and La Crosse in general.

One thing you can say for daily entries, they're a lot shorter!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Day by Day

Tuesday, June 9


I'm trying a new technique here, blogging each evening before I go to bed, putting down whatever happened during the day.

Hot. Hot is what happened today. The mercury topped out at 97º this evening at about 7. During the day, the heat was dry, so it wasn't too bad. But I did turn on the air conditioner for the first time around 5:30 p.m., as the brick walls of the house keep everything nice and cool. Upstairs was a different story, warming up more like around 3:30 in the afternoon.

This is another aspect of getting to know the house, as I mentioned in my previous post. When do you shut up the windows on a hot day? How long can you keep cool on the insulation alone? I do know one thing: no matter how hot or sticky it gets, my summer shelter of last resort will be the basement.

Speaking of the basement, I used the laundry shoot and the washer and dryer for the first time last night, finally doing two loads of laundry that were sitting there for a week or so. I really like the laundry shoot, as it cuts the laundry carrying in half. I do have to devise some kind of receptacle in the basement, though, because it all ends up strewn around the toilet in the downstairs "bathroom" (really just a niche in the laundry room with a toilet, sink and shower stall).

Also, yesterday I had ants in the kitchen. The little, tiny kind (the ants, not the kitchen). I had left a croissant in a plastic container on the counter overnight, and some scout had discovered it. I cleaned up the kitchen, put the sugar canister on the top shelf (even though it has an air-tight gasket in the lid), and the sugar bowl in the refrigerator.

I cleaned everything up, having killed the pests with squirts of 409 cleaner, but they persisted overnight, still wandering the Formica vastness of the countertops looking for the rumored goodies. I can see that I will need to have a different modus on kitchen operandi here in the Midwest.

I was sitting outside in the back yard, reviewing my grocery list at about 8:30 this evening when two very friendly dogs came galloping into the yard with the neighbor in pursuit. I can't remember the dogs' names, but the neighbor was Kate, daughter of Connie, who I had met earlier. Kate is also a friend of Connie Thompson's, who is a friend of my sister-in-law Pam.

Kate had lived in Southern California, then Palm Springs (which people in Palm Springs do not consider Southern California, much as folks in San Diego feel about their city), and had returned to La Crosse in the last year or so.

On my grocery trip, I picked up a can of ant spray and, sure enough, they were still at it when I dragged the bags in from the car upon my return. I gave the window sill a light but thorough dousing and hope that they won't find other points of entry anytime in the near future.

Any food stuff with any potential access was either stowed in the refrigerator or in the oven, as I don't think I'll be doing any baking anytime soon (but I do have to remember to check before turning on the stove). I can see why glass containers with sealed lids are so popular here.

It's 3 a.m. and it's finally down into the upper 70s, so I think I can sleep, with assistance from the ceiling fan. Things have gotten more humid as night fell, but it has let up some in the last few hours.
But heat or humidity or wind or rain or thunderstorms, things happen and then move on out of the area, and another weather pattern moves in, so you don't have to put up with anything for more than a day or two (tomorrow's high is forecast as 84º, and the day after it's back into the mid-70s).

So it's off to bed. We'll see how this blogging technique goes (like will I actually blog tomorrow, or will I forget and you'll have to wait another week before hearing from me again?).

Monday, June 8, 2015

How to Fit In Where

It's tough getting used to a new home, feeling as comfortable in it as you do your own bones. And if it's a good home, it will resist you slightly, like a delicately coy lover that you're courting. The feel of the floors beneath your feet, the way the setting sun slants through the blinds, the small sounds the house makes in the wee hours, accumulating and taking out the trash; all these things feel new, awkward, slightly cumbersome and unpracticed.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church across the street, seen
from the back yard. When the bells toll, it clears my soul.
And like getting to know your future spouse, the discomfort of the newness has an exciting, arousing feel to it that says, yes, this is right; I want more of this. I know this house and I will become close and intimate over time.

I did make calls to the lawn guy whom Jackson had suggested, got voicemail and left him a message about doing the yard. I also stopped at the supermarket and picked up microwave dinners to try out my new machine. The rest of the day I dove into distributing as much stuff as possible from the dining room table, making room to unpack the last few boxes still sitting in that room.

I also received an e-mail from HR at the newspaper, saying they wanted to interview me, but needed a copy of my resume (kind of stupid, since I'd put the entire thing into their online forms when I applied). I would have to sit down and put together one in something other than Word, as it is a graphics position, and the resume should show off my typographic skills.

That evening, after rebuilding my resume in InDesign, I went to take my first shower in my new bathroom, and I was shunned by the plumbing: no hot water at all in the shower. No matter how much I twisted and turned the knob, not even tepid water emerged. There was hot water everywhere else in the house, but none to clean my sweaty body. It became clear, I had to call a plumber. So, (completely forgetting that there is a shower stall in the basement bathroom!) I dove in and took the coldest shower of my life.

So Thursday I called a local plumber (another referral), got a voicemail and left a message. On Friday morning I got a text message from the guy, saying he was out of town for the weekend, but he would contact me first thing Monday and come by soon after. I asked and was informed that, yes, they did both water plumbing and natural gas plumbing, so they could take care of putting a shut-off valve on the stove (which I had not plugged in or used yet because of this deficiency).

I waited until Friday to send my resume out, since I didn't want to appear eager (and I still don't). I got a response in about five minutes, asking if I was available to interview the next week. I made a point of not answering that day, choosing to send a reply over the weekend.

Other than that, the highlight of my day, as it has been every Friday, was driving out to Ettrick for Pizza Night. I saw Amanda there before she headed off for her bartending work, and she said she and Natalie would be in La Crosse on Saturday and asked if I wanted them to drop by, which of course I did. I mentioned that I hadn't heard back from the yardman yet, and she said she knew someone in La Crosse who did yards.

So Saturday they dropped by and, since the first guy still had not returned my call, Amanda texted her friend and arranged for him to call me. Within a few hours, I was set, with Todd coming by Monday morning to cut the grass and spruce up the yard (very important, since the house sits on the edge of the most meticulously manicured neighborhood in town, and I don't want to be the house with the scraggly lawn and dead stuff in the yard).

The weekend was now about clearing out the kitchen and finding everything in there a place to belong (or at least a place out of the way) before the plumber showed up to work on the stove. Sunday evening, he texted me, saying he would be here at 8:45 the next morning. My niece Emily dropped an email, reminding me she would be stopping by around 10 a.m. (not as unusual as Amanda, since Emily's job is at Gunderson Healthcare here in town).

So Monday Todd shows up, yard is lovely now. Plumber shows up. I tell him about the shower and also mention that the toilet in the main bath is wobbling slightly. He goes to turn off the main water valve in the basement, then reports it hasn't been used in so long that it has rusted open and needs to be replaced (something the inspector had mentioned in passing when we were in the basement). I ask how much this will cost, he checks with his office, says about $85 to $125 (I was expecting Big Bucks), so I tell him to go ahead.

Emily shows up around 11 (an eye appointment had gone late), and I tell the plumber we're going out for breakfast, to just leave the back open if he's coming back later.  (Yes, people leave their doors unlocked here). The plumber says he has to get some parts from the shop, but he'll get the main shut-off and the shower done today for sure (and he did). He came back on Wednesday and took care of the rest of the issues, so tonight I can use the stove!

Before and after: the bangs don't stick up like that
unless I put goop in my hair. I like the look.
Also on Wednesday I went to a "lady barber," since she specializes in buzz cuts and beard trims (I was interested in the latter). That's another downside of living alone: no one to tell you where the hairs are sticking out in your beard and need trimming. Upshot: The haircut is a little short (but I asked for that) and the beard looks great.

Today (Thursday) I swore was going to be the day when I updated the blog (which I'm doing). Also, it's the first really quiet day this week, which means Patty emerged from her hidey hole(s) to socialize. She's actually doing quite well, and I can tell that she "gets" that this is our new home, as she is as relaxed and affectionate as she was before we started this whole adventure. Her favorite pastime is to sit in the casement windows watching the world go by. I don't have the heart to tell her those windows will be closed a good six months out of the year.

Patty in the window: her favorite spots are the living room
window downstairs, the office window (shown) and the
bathroom window upstairs.
As the hour gets later, though, my thoughts keep turning to this job with the paper. The big upside is having a workplace with daily socializing, an income that means socking away more retirement money, and a place to be other than this house. The big downside is the hours, noon to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If I'm wanting to do any production work with the local theater groups, those hours preclude it. Hell, they even preclude attending performances on a weekday. So part of me is saying, "This is not why you came here. You came here to enjoy yourself and get involved in the community." So there's a real possibility that I won't take the job, even if they offer it to me.

On the upside, it will certainly acquaint the powers that be at the newspaper of my presence and abilities. Perhaps in a year or so, there will be a part-time position for me as a designer, and not just a Pre-Press Technician (a fancy term for a paginator).

I made the appointment at 3 p.m. so that I would have time enough to get to Pizza Night at Ettrick and relate my experiences of the day.

********

I did not publish this entry on Thursday, as I had intended. To be honest, it was really late, and there were a couple of photos I wanted to include, so I left it as a draft.

The interview on Friday went very well. I met with Robin Noth, who seems to manage the entire production end of things at the paper (there are over a dozen little papers that are printed here in La Crosse and owned by Lee, the company which owns the Tribune). There are upsides and downsides to the position. The biggest downside is that they are only paying $12 an hour, which works out to about $25,000 a year. It would be barely enough to take care of the monthly expenses, much less sock large amounts of cash away for full retirement.

While we were talking, it became apparent that she really liked me and wanted me for the position. I brought up the possibility of taking the position as part time, which would keep my income below $15,000 and maintain my Social Security survivor benefits. That way, I would be taking in more like $30,000 annually and, after paying for my own health insurance, would leave me able to save some money on a consistent basis. Also, if the work hours were flexible enough, I could get involved in theater production, even directing, and still maintain the job at the paper. She seemed open to both ideas.

It felt good because I knew I had nailed the interview. I walked out, hopped into the car and drove to Ettrick for Pizza Night. Natalie was there sporting her new glasses, which are slightly on the large side, but she will grow into them within a year, I'm sure.

The weekend was spent puttering around the house, moving things from one room to another, dragging the bookshelf into the office in order to get the books, samples and periodicals off the dining room table. Now it's mostly framed art that's stacked there and a few things that need to go down into the basement.

The days have gone from mild to warm, from comfortable to muggy, and the weather never seems to stop changing. It will be beautiful out as you enter the grocery store, then when you emerge 30 minutes later it's oppressively muggy and humid; when you get home 15 minutes later, the humidity has dissipated and clouds are moving in. That evening there are thunderstorms, with one or two bolts cracking down only blocks away. Everything's pelted with rain for a few hours, then things let up once more and the stars come out.

In California, I had a fairly good knowledge of how the weather worked: cold fronts coming down from Alaska, how the jet stream affected storm patterns, and I could look at a weather map and understand where things were coming from and where they were going to. Here, weather seems to come in from the west or south, move through and disappear to some other region. But I'm sure that, within a year, I will be prognosticating the weather as well as I did on the coast.