More of the same, I guess.

I wake up several times during the night, splitting sleep-time into three pieces, which seems to be the norm of late. There were dreams, but I can’t remember then when I get up to start on the day, interruptions tend to have that effect.

When I get to the house, the dogs are insane, naturally, and they bounce around me while I tackle the laundry and then head inside to have breakfast. Grandpa and big brother are already there and we talk for a bit before they leave to get the sand we should have gotten yesterday.

The weather is still not ideal, clouds are spotting the sky and allowing the sun to shine through only on rare occasions. While they are gone I settle behind my computer and try to write some more for the extra scene that needs to be added. I manage about three pages before they return, at which time big brother and I start on today’s edit.

For several hours we work on it, and then the sibs arrive and we need to head on out into the cloudy afternoon. Since we have to wait for middle sister to prepare the cement, we kill time hauling another load of rocks down into the area where we’re building.

In the midst of it, Chaos, who is constantly sticking his nose in my face (I’m standing perching on a pawl and a pile of rocks to be able to lift the new ones into the courtyard and the dog just love the fact that my face is at their level, aaargh) suddenly loses his balance and tumbles down three feet before coming to a sliding halt on top of the large pile of stones.

More than a little afraid that he has damaged something in the fall–he is rather heavy and cumbrous–I take a few minutes to check everything out. He appears to be fine, so after giving him a good rubbing over the area that scraped across the rocks we get to back work on getting even more rocks.

Finally middle sister starts up the mixer, and we can begin. For several hours we add to the wall, ending the evening with another two feet to the entire length. It is already starting to get too high for little sister, and we still need to add another layer or two before the first section is done. We’re making excellent progress, though…especially with all the interruptions that have occurred over the past few days.

Once done, we have used up at least one load of the truck (makes up about a 2000 pounds, I think) and head into the house for dinner. Yesterday’s oven dishes still have enough for a good meal, (I deliberately made extra) so I put it on the fire while I head to the shower to wash off the grime that has accumulated from dirt-covered rocks and dried cement.

We’re all pretty weary, and it is having its effect on my stomach when I feel the meal playing up less than fifteen minutes after dinner. It’ll be a miracle if I’m able to keep it in; I know that much when I try to distract myself by settling in a chair to watch a recorded episode of “The Mentalist”.

I can’t focus on it, for some reason, and end up picking ticks of the dog before I move to sit at the table with the computer and start on another edit; this time on one of the scenes I wrote the other day because it needs to be inserted into the manuscript.

Though there are some technicalities that need to be altered, it is pretty good, and big brother agrees, even though he can be picky about such things at times. We’re in the midst of page two when I need to hurry to the bathroom to dispose of the contents in my stomach. Such a pity, too, considering that it really was a rather good meal. Grrr.

And on that cheerful note the evening basically comes to an end, leaving me relieved beyond measure that I really don’t have much to report today. Hah.

It is raining again when I head on up to the cabin to feed the dogs and finish up the day.

Too much distractions.

Gawd, I wish I had something new to report but on the most part today was a lot like any other day, except that I (we) got less done. Grrr.

There is no interesting dream to yap about when I wake this morning by the shrilling alarm and the morons jumping up and down at the foot end. I roll my eyes at the sight of them, wondering if they’re ever going to quiet down a bit. They will, of course, but while still in their youth it seems like it is taking forever.

The downside is definitely the fact that when the dogs do get older, I start to get depressed about the fact that time is passing way too fast and that age is slowly killing their enthusiasm for life, so I really shouldn’t complain.
Right, moving on…

Weather wise it wasn’t the most glorious of days. Plenty of clouds sluggishly move across the sky, and occasional rain comes pounding down about every hour, without fail. I actually just barely make it to the house before it starts up again.

I deal with the day’s laundry first, figuring I might as well get it over with. That done, I head inside to have some breakfast and chat with big brother and grandpa who are planning to head out within the hour to get sand for cement.

When they depart, I’m just about to get ready to start up the computer when suddenly the power goes off. Frowning at the inconvenience, I head for the pantry to check the fuses and find out that the wiring of one of the main fuses has blackened considerably, warning me not to put the power back on.

Instead, I grab my cell phone and call grandpa. He and big brother have just passed the gate and are driving up the mountain when he picks up and I inform him of the problem.
Since there is little else I can do at this point, without power I really don’t like using my computer since I have no idea how long my battery will hold out, I decide to start on today’s dinner early.

For days now I have been thinking about preparing a vegetable oven dish, so with this slight hiccup in our usual schedule, I figure I might as well get to it. While grandpa takes out the potatoes for peeling, and big brother heading into the pantry to fix the problem with the fuse, I start chopping veggies.

By the time the ingredients have been prepared and the fuse is repaired, it’s too late to head for the construction company for our daily batch of sand. Drat! (After one thirty pretty much everything around here is closed for siesta up until five in the afternoon. It is rather frustrating on days when more pressing matters demand time and effort.) No matter, though, at this time it is raining again, leaving us free to start on the day’s edit.

We manage only three and a half pages today, what with everything going on, and have worked on the story an hour longer than usual when we really can’t postpone the inevitable. We head on out then, splitting up in two groups.
Big brother, grandpa and little sister leave to get more rocks while middle sister and little brother join me to fix the drive sweep.

Our tenant is going to be picked up in the near future for treatment for her partial paralysis and in order for the wheelchair to reach the ambulance that will drive her to the center where she will get her treatment, we need to even out the road.

With shovels and pick axes, middle sister and I attack a spot in the garden where we should be able to get enough dirt to fill the gaps. In the hour that passes while the others are away to get our rocks, we actually chop loose ten full wheelbarrows–carting it to the deep gutter in the road–and are just about to finish up when the truck returns.

We hurry to the center gates, chasing the dogs out of the way so the car will be able to drive down into the carport. Big brother carefully slides the truck in place, showing that they got a little enthusiastic with filling the truck bed up. It is literally filled to full capacity. We unload by working as a chain and then climb down to get the majority in place for tomorrow’s intended building.

It’s already past eight in the evening–with the sun disappearing behind the mountain in the west–when we decide that it was enough today and head into the house to have dinner.

Though it was our intention to do more editing tonight, we really don’t get to it, considering that there was a lot to discuss. And discussions, inevitably, take several hours when at least five people are involved.
I suppose that our discussions can appear a bit strange at times, considering we’ll be talking all at the same time, while everyone is randomly bending down to pick yet another tick off some passing dog without ever breaking the conversation up. Hah.

The ticks are definitely starting to become a huge problem of late…just like last year, I might add…and I do hope that the temperatures will rise a bit in the near future. Otherwise we won’t be able to give the pack the chemical bath that will help battle the ticks at the very least.

At long last midnight arrives and I head up for the night. I gotta admit that I’m quite exhausted tonight. Strange how discussions can be more tiring than a full day’s work. Guess they’re right when they say that exercising the “brain muscle” uses up more than its fair share of energy. Hah.

Dream or writing? Take your pick.

Another dream today, which was far less interesting than the last one, really. I mean, seriously, there were no special effects, hot pursuits, shootouts or anything that bears resembles an action flick even remotely. Such a shame, really and not to mention a complete waste of my time. What am I supposed to do with this rather Shakespearean, historically correct excuse of dream? I certainly don’t need it for future projects.

Hmmm. Stupid question, considering I haven’t told about the dream yet…my bad.
So, let me give you a quick sum-up of what the dream entailed.
It bored the life out of me that’s a fact.

A woman, I think her name was Brianna, or something like that. She was young, no more than seventeen, I’m guessing, but since it was the middle ages, she was of course engaged to be married to a man she had never met before.
He was a warrior, I think: A big giant of dude about as emotionally inept as a friggin’ mule and speaking in monosyllables most of the time. He considered marriage an inconvenience that was necessary to gain an heir, and was about twice her age, if not more. (Thus the historically correctness I complained about, aargh.) He was called McHugh…in the dream, in case that wasn’t clear.
The wedding was held, a party thrown and drunk-to-the-bone hubby passed out after consummating the “holy” matrimony.
Grand! I feel soooo honored to have been there to witness it in my dream. Really! I do!
But anyways, Brianna, hopeful that they might have a comfortable life together at least, does her very best to make their relationship work, but finally admits defeat as hubby spends most of his time playing war games and visiting the local…ehm, harlots? I believe they were called that.
So they were married for a bit, he had done his husbandly duty and then spent several years of their lives basically ignoring her.
Then, quite suddenly, (I think I was so friggin’ bored by that time, I was trying to make something romantic out of the story, but who knows? It was still a dream) out of the blue, he realized that he truly did love the young damsel who had, at that time, not entirely voluntary, born him two children…boys, if memory serves me right.
The dude was getting older, realizing that life was finite, yadayadayada, so he starts to wonder, why does the little woman barely even spare me a glance?
Duh! (It cracks me up sometimes the way dreams work)
He tries, rather ineptly…understatement! Considering he still wants his husbandly rights…to woo his wife of several years. But, having been ignored for so long she has hardened her heart and consistently continues to deflect his overtures.
McHugh, gives one last try on the day when a large feast is celebrated at their massive castle. They’ve been married for ten years by than and have four kiddies. I know, birth control, why wasn’t it available. Grrr.
Much older now, and weary due to his pained heart (she’s basically ignoring him at that time) over her continuing coldness, McHugh drops on his knees in front of her, asking her if she cannot find even a glimmer of warmth in her heart for him; her “dear” husband?
She looks at him blandly, barely seeing him and then focuses her gaze, meets his eyes for the first time in years, and says something like: “How can I care for the man who has crushed my heart with indifference for so many years. You killed whatever feeling I might have had for you, McHugh.” (I know, the prose struck me too)
She turned away, leaving her hubby behind, defeated and emotionally crushed as she heads into the great hall to join the festivities.
Later that night the castle burns down and I wake up, figuring that both protagonists died.

Now, I ask you: What is the morale of such a story? I mean, isn’t it utterly depressing? Gawd! Talk about useless stories to experience in a dream. I can’t even use it because I hate endings like that. Aaargh.

Phew. Glad I got that over and done with. On to the day:

I’m gonna skip the morning rituals and laundry, ‘cause let’s face it, the dream was more than enough realism for one day. Hah.

The edit: It is awesome! We have finally reached the previously mentioned love-scene and it was perfectly tasteful when we started on it, but then we went and spiced it up and added humor. I had so much fun!

I’ll give a paragraph for an example, but first I’ll write a short intro into the scene.
They (protagonists) just spend the night doing THE deed and Nina (heroine) wakes up in her most annoying and aggressive personality, Lena, ‘cause of the morning after awkwardness.
Rory (hero) watches her wake up, mentally berating himself for mixing business with pleasure. They talk; her behavior is not friendly, and he is trying to smooth things over. He succeeds, she heads for the shower and when she reappears another personality has taken over: Joey (short for Josephine) who’s straightforward and doesn’t have a grain of modesty in her body.

(Now keep in mind, this is modern, very up-to-date to present standards and maybe a tad…ehm, crude. I want this to come across as humorous, rowdy and from a somewhat male perspective. Hah)

***
"Rory?" Nina turned around and looked at him questioningly.
The look was enough to let him know that he had been so mesmerized by her reversed striptease that he had failed to hear her speak. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"
"I asked, at what time do we meet with your friends?" she repeated, looking at him thoughtfully as she cocked her head sideways to study his unblinking gaze.
He knew that she saw the desire burning fiercely, but found himself incapable of hiding the effect she had on him. She just had to stand there, looking adorably cute in the tiny shirt and black panties underneath. Aw hell! There was no way he’d be able to hide his boner now.
"Around four in the afternoon," he managed to ground out past the tightness in his throat. Her eyes snapped up to meet his and an I’m-going-to-get-me-some grin formed on her face. "Well, that sure sounds like we've got enough time…just barely" she purred.
***

I don’t know if the excerpt does the scene justice since there was a lot leading up to it, but I can hardly start posting an entire chapter just to satisfy this irrepressible need to share. Hah.
Let’s just say that I hope that it comes across in the way I mean for it to come across.

We’re at it for several hours, at which time we have to cut it off again to head on out with the car. We need more rocks, considering the present pile is rapidly dwindling.
Today’s weather was not at all suitable for building, much to everyone’s regret, so big brother didn’t get sand and cement this morning. The rain wouldn’t have allowed it.

It is still coming down erratically when I drive away from the property, big brother, little sister and grandpa in the car with me. We head down the main road, making our way around the mountain to this remote path we know. It is in this place that we know we can find a lot of rocks, just lying about.

Much to our annoyance the hour we have picked to do this particular chore is jogging hour of the locals, making the progress on the winding, unpaved road slow until we come upon a section in the woods where rocks lay spread over the ground in satisfying numbers.

For the next half hour we lift, carry and throw big (and small) rocks into the truck bed, until finally it is filled to capacity and we can start on our way back. Thankfully the rain stopped while we were busy, but clouds are once again gathering, giving rather spectacular views of the sun slashing across the impressive countryside.

We just about reach our property when the rain has started again giving a massive rainbow that arches from our mountain to the sea, giving a rather grand image…especially when a second one appears as well.
I’ve made pictures, but it remains to be seen whether or not I’ll be able to figure out how to post it on such short notice, hah.

The rain lasts only for a few minutes and we can start unloading the truck almost immediately, adding to the pile, still there, considerably.
We chat a little with one of our tenants and then head inside for the meal mom has prepared for us by the time nightfall arrives.

There’s very little on TV today, so we watch a recorded episode of “CSI” before we resume the edit. It goes well, even though we only have one hour to devote to it (we reach two thirds of the story today, which is a friggin’ milestone, all things considered) and then it’s time for me to head on up to the cabin for the nightly rituals, such as the Blog. Hah.

Now, if only the weather will cooperate a little, we’ll resume building again tomorrow. I do hope so.

I wrote, I wrote, I wrote!!!! It's been months.

I wake up feeling pretty darn fuzzy and I’ve got a crick in my neck that really doesn’t feel comfortable at all. Well, of course it doesn’t feel comfortable. Okay, redundant statement, forget what I just wrote. Hah.

So I’m early this morning. I don’t remember my dreams because the monster boxer wakes me five minutes before the alarm goes off and I’ve got this itchy feeling in the back of my brain that makes me hurry through the morning rituals so I can get downstairs fast.

I only have a few hours before we need to leave for mom’s doctor’s appointment, so in order to get the itch out I need to get to my computer fast. I grab a slice of bread, grandpa (always helpful) makes coffee and I set up the computer to get down to work.

Ever since I woke, this idea has been going through my head for a scene that I still need to add to “Saving Nina”. I started on it several weeks ago, but up until today I couldn’t muster the actual inspiration I needed to write it. With the first page I had already written, I start, submerging myself in the story one more while big brother and grandpa are away to get a load of sand from the construction company.

It isn’t until three hours later that I surface again, wondering where the heck time went as I stare at the delightful number 8, right there in the bottom of my screen. I’ve written down almost seven pages and I barely even remember what I wrote down. Still, with a quick glance through the pages it all actually makes sense. Hah.

I really want to continue writing, but time has run out and I need to get ready to head for the village for our appointment. Today I can play chauffeur and since little brother has been suffering from severe respiratory problems of late, he comes along too, so the doc can have a look at him.

It takes me a while to find a parking place, and when I finally arrive at the practice the visit is practically over and done with. Good news today, little brother gets a breathalyser and mom is doing better.

We hurry our way back, arriving just in time to join the other sibs who’ve already started working on the wall with the sand that was fetched this morning. I barely take time to change clothes and then climb down to start on my section of the wall.
It goes considerably well, we bring the complete wall up to rib height in the two hours available today, adding a total of three layers to the entire length.

It is starting to look gorgeous, too. Very natural, uneven, lots of places where little plants and moss will be able to grow once time passes. It looks old, ancient even, which is exactly the look we’re going for. Sort of like an old ruin of a castle and it’ll look really great with the rest of the courtyard wall.

Once we’re thinking about wrapping things up, the weather isn’t the best that we can get around here, (we’ve had some rain throughout the day) and when we stop, clouds have gathered like a massive blanket over the mountain. Time for work is over, but since we were planning to stop anyway it no longer matters.

Little brother has made dinner, but I really need to get to the laundry first. Luckily it is only one batch, so ten minutes later I can dig in. Though we really ought to edit, we decide to watch “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, which was downright hilarious…not in a good way…to watch.

I marvel at the way moviemakers manage to screw up a perfectly fine story with weak waffling. And that from Keanu Reeves. Darn, I would have expected better of him, to say the least. The sentence that really caught me was “There is a different side to you. I feel it now.” Oh My God! You have got to be kidding me. Heck the words didn’t even make any sense in the context of the scene. What friggin’ other side? Because the mommy and the kiddy were hugging, he now suddenly “felt” it? Give me a break. Aargh!

I could rant about the movie for another page or two, but let’s face it; I really don’t have the time to fully express the impression the movie left behind. For now, I’m just going to try to erase it from my memory and hope that by this time tomorrow, these last two hours or so will be a blank spot in my brain. Hah.

And it is time to get ready for bed. Yay! Let’s hope the muses are still with me in the morning, ‘cause I really need to finish that scene.

On the fly.

Another quickie sum-up because I really don’t have time. I feel horrid, I really do. But it can’t be helped. Today was so darn busy, and tomorrow is going to be the same thing so I just can’t manage to write down a proper Blog when I’m running behind two solid hours.

Beautiful spring weather again. Love that! Makes everything feel that much better when I’m not battling a chill. Not to mention that the views are quite spectacular on days such as today.

Laundry needed to be done, of course. Quite uninteresting, I know, but it’s part of almost every day. Perhaps I should stop mentioning it. Hah.

Managed a short edit this morning, but did deal with four pages in the time available…with quite a bit of laughter, I might add. Seriously, if you start picking apart a “love” scene you’ll get to so many inconsistencies that it’s hilarious. A hand can’t go to a particular area while a body is turned in a particular way, hair cannot tumble when you’re lying with your head on a pillow, and “pouty” lips do not…well, let’s say they don’t do certain things while occupied with more important matters.

But anyways, it’s grocery day, which is always hectic, and today was doubly so, since we needed to visit seven stores done in a reasonable amount of time. We had to get shoes and even some clothes for several family members, so that added to the list considerably. Did it all at top speed too, and were done in three hours, so that meant, race from one parking lot to the next, (not an easy thing to do with heavy post Easter holiday traffic) jog through the stores, pack up and pile up, and then tearing off again to the next part of town.

In one word: exhausting. But we got everything done, lugged dozens of bags inside and stored everything away…we just might be able to make it through the next three weeks without another shopping spree, which would definitely be a plus. I really wouldn’t mind not having to go out again in the next few weeks. Just the thought gives me a somewhat giddy feeling. Hah.

Lots of tick removals, of course. This particular chore will last pretty much through the summer. Watched the movie “Outlander” (not bad) and then had to hurry through a couple of chores before the evening was through.

Which makes for the day’s sum-up. Boring, I know. Luckily last night’s Blog was ridiculously long, so I don’t feel like I’m slighting anyone.

I need to get to bed. Fast! Better luck tomorrow…I hope.

The dream, as promised, and some book stuff.

The tunnels went on endlessly, dark damp, with only an eerie strobe light vibrating across the floors at regular intervals. Tubes ran along the walls steam hissing from dark niches and electricity sparking a bright blue from exposed wire connections. I stealthily moved through the dank passages, rounding corners in a near crouch and hiding in shadowy niches when the least scuffle of sound alarmed me.
In the distance there were voices and footsteps, but they appeared to be staying far away from where I stealthily moved through the corridor, following some sort of invisible trail that led me to a crossing where horizontal and vertical tunnels came together. Behind me footsteps approached and without hesitation I vaulted up into the vertical tunnel, climbing my way up much like a spider would scale a wall. It was all quite impressive, really. Hah.
So there I went, easily crawling over tubes and wires, jumping from one side to the other, finding purchase where I wished. Posthaste I headed up the tube, aiming for the grill that covered the opening, looming way up ahead.
I could hear the sounds of people drifting down: laughter bouncing against the walls and rolling over me like a tangible wave when I finally reached the top. Wedged within the four walls, my legs braced on the wall opposite of me I peered through the slats overhead.
There were people milling on a sunlit street, futuristic clothes of straight lines and boring grays everywhere. I squint at the light, my eyes zooming in on an open portico located across from where I’m hiding.
Staying in place as a hovering transport truck buzzes into view, I hesitate for only a moment and then push the heavy grate up to slink my way out of the tunnel. The exit is located in a niche on the street, hidden within the shadows and just when the transporter continues on it’s way, fully revealing me to the street beyond, the grate is back in place and I’m standing their brushing dirt of the loose fitting black suit I’m wearing.
The design is much like that of the other people on the street, but I know that it is different. It hides the tools I carry and need for what I’m about to do.
Sunlight slashes down between elegant high-rise building, warming my face as I push away from the niche and head out onto the pavement. The concrete surface under my feet is warm from the late summer day, but I pay it little heed as I head towards the portico that held my attention earlier.
Massive glass walls reflect the street in its entirety, and show my confident gait until I reach the sliding doors and enter. Cool air surrounds me immediately, indoor plants spreading a rainforest scent that invigorates me. I know exactly which way to go, the large leafed plant of to my right, hiding a large portion of the wall that goes up a solid twenty feet. The height of the foyer is quite impressive; the glass façade behind me showing the busy street outside when I reach my destination and turn to make sure that no one is watching me.
Lithely as a cat I jump up, grabbing hold of a ledge and pulling myself up with practiced ease. Large windows loom overhead on the wall I’m scaling with my gloved hands and rubber-soled feet, and I go carefully around them until reaching third from the top. Perched precariously on a one-inch ledge I am just barely able to peer through the lower corner of the window.
Inside a couple resides, from the look of them they are arguing and I watch them for a full minute before I reach into my pocket and take out a sliver of glimmer steel. A tiny blue light blinks on the tiny device and I’m just about to aim it on the window when a loud alarm screeches, startling the couple inside into turning towards where the top of my head is visible.
The alarm doesn’t bother me, and I’m about to point the device into the direction of the couple, when…Trin Trin starts tugging on my blanket and wakes me up.

Which was what happened in the dream I mentioned I would write about last night. So frustrating! I’ve been wondering about what would have happened if I hadn’t woken up on that particular moment. Was I a thief in the dream? An assassin? A sleazy paparazzi looking for the perfect shot? A spy? The choices are limitless, but of course I will never know.

So, on to today: No wonderful dream to write about today, I fear. I wake up far too abruptly to remember anything, really, and since my arm was painfully asleep when I roll out of bed to grab the Monster Boxer.

Once I’ve hastily gone through the morning rituals…I’m about half an hour late waking up…I head to the house and start taking down yesterday’s laundry.
Grandpa and big brother helpfully assist in the folding, and since there is no new batch waiting, big brother and I get to the edit just as soon as we finish breakfast.

We manage four pages in the edit today: A steady progress that brings us to the prelude of “The Love Scene” of the book. There are two others, of course…it is a romance novel nonetheless…but this is the first one and needs to be impressive. I mean, let’s face it. The hero needs to be discerning enough to want to make love to the real heroine, of course, and not one of her multiple personalities.

But on the other hand, throughout the story we have all become rather attached to the sub-heroines (aka the different personalities) so they should not feel slighted either. It’s a dilemma, really. Who’s going to come first? Will they be jealous of each other? Or are they just going to wait their turn.

The debate big brother and I have about it is really quite ludicrous; considering it’s all about fictional characters it shouldn’t matter, but there you have it. In the end, an author’s protagonists become as dear as children, I guess. You want them all to be happy about the situation when all is said and done.

Once our daily session draws to an end, big brother departs in the company of grandpa. They’re going to get another batch of rocks while the younger sibs and I tackle some more cleaning in the house.

First thing I do is take down an old closet that has slowly been falling apart, and since it’s contents need to be stored somewhere, I spend a solid hour constructing a new one and put it up in a different spot. Now that the old closet is gone, we’re all like the space it’s created, so we decide to leave the place free.

Once the new shelves are up and sturdy, I take a bucket full of soap and start cleaning again. (It's an endless task. Once started I'll see something else that needs to be cleaned even before I finish with the one I'm doing) I rub at dirt and dust, cleaning windows and frames alike, while removing even more spider webs. Little brother is doing the same thing in a different part of the house and by this time little sister is preparing a quick dinner of spaghetti and sauce.

I’m still scrubbing the front door when big brother and grandpa return, so the sisters head up to help unload when a phone call from Danni reminds me that today is our tenant’s birthday. I want to make a pie for her, but since our supplies are running low, there really isn’t anything in the house with which to do it (tomorrow is grocery day) we decide that we’ll buy what we need tomorrow instead.

I finish today’s cleaning session with a good scrubbing of our fabric closet, and then clean up to have dinner.
Properly stuffed, I watch an episode of “Medium” after which little sister comes down for the lesson she insisted on about punctuation. I’m quite amazed that she wants to learn it, but also pleased that she comes to me for it. I’ll make a writer out of her yet, hah.

After about an hour of going over commas and periods and the complexities of the English language, it is time to start on our intended session of “sending out” our latest book project.

Middle sister, who has volunteered to do a lot of the searching on the Net that is required, joins us at the table and for the next couple of hours we sit in a line, three computers in front of us as we make a master list of names and requirements.

It is a tedious and slow process, but it needs to be done, and doing it together, while finding out that middle sister is really making an effort to learn all the tricks. Heck, she’s learning a lot faster than I did. It took me years to figure out what she’s managed to pick up in the few weeks that she’s been at it. Makes me proud, that’s a fact.

Running way behind…again…I head on up to my cabin for the evening rituals. Another day passed, the way they always do. Sometimes I do wish that there was a pause button.

Just a quick sum-up, I fear.

Gawd, I’m running so late I’m just going to have to do a quick sum-up and be done with it. Darn it, and I had such a wonderful dream to write about, too. Now I’ll have to do that tomorrow, so consider it a rain check.

Ehm, the sum-up then:
Woke right on time for a change, which was a relief. These days something seems to be going amiss every other day. I had a wonderfully exciting dream, which you’ll get to read tomorrow, if everything works out.

The edit was postponed a little, because we had to go to the village, hoping against hope that the construction company would be open. It wasn’t, so we headed up the other side of our mountain to get another load of rocks instead. Got a pretty nice batch, even though the power lines under which we loaded the rocks into the car, gave me a massive headache.

Once we got home and had our breakfast, big brother and I worked on the edit, as usual, and managed six pages, yay, before it was time to head out into the yard for the daily activities.

No building, due to the lack of supplies (dratted holidays) such as sand and cement, so we hauled rocks and piled them up in place so to start fresh on Monday…if all goes well. Moved at least a couple of hundred rocks so the ol’ body was complaining considerably afterwards. Hah.

Dug out part of the natural rock wall we’re covering, at which time it started to rain. Just when we were all out of it, put away the tools and were ready to head inside for dinner, it stopped again, so I spent another fifteen minutes hosing down the wall, behind which sand and clay needs to settle before we can resume building.

Had pizza for dinner…yesterday’s leftovers were more than sufficient, much to the pleasure of the younger sibs. It was delicious, of course.

Afterwards I did more cleaning…it is an ungrateful chore but it needs to be done, and after watching about half an hour of TV just to unwind, big brother and I got back to the edit. We added another two pages to the whole, making today’s number a solid eight again, which is a good day in my book. Hah. We’re rapidly approaching two thirds, and that’s a huge relief.

Treated Bommel’s ear…he’s got another infection in it, poor thing, and of course there were more ticks to be picked off the pack.

And that’s today’s sum-up. I’ll do better in tomorrow, I promise. I’ve got to write that dream down ASAP!