Where's time going?

Song of the day: “Lo Hecho Esta Hecho” by Shakira. Back to She Wolf, apparently, hah.

Let’s get this puppy on the road, the sun is shining, and even though the wind is blowing somewhat fierce, I am looking forward to heading outside right now.

Yesterday was an incredibly busy day, so much to do and so little time, so let’s start at the beginning of it and see where it gets us. I woke up at the alarm, of course, and seriously pondered snoozing for another hour (or three) when I noticed that the sun was shining straight into my face, meaning that the clouds were gone and a beautiful day had arrived. Yay.

I would like to say I got all perky and literally bounced out of bed, but considering that would be a rather outrageous lie I’ll say I got out of bed and started the day, hah.
Laundry and other morning chores were waiting of course, and once they were done, it was time to head up to our tenant for her exercises. She did a lot, actually managed to cross the old paddock to get to her place so there’s lots of kudos for her efforts.
She did end up sore all over from the effort, but it was wonderful that she managed it after all. She was really proud too, and that is a pleasure to see.

The weekly load of dog food arrived right after and we needed to haul that down to the carport, as well as our tenant, who was looking forward to spending a cozy afternoon on my porch. Considering it is located in the full sun, and out of the wind, it is a rather perfect spot for her.

Next, we started preparing the day’s work, which consisted out of removing the old broken concrete threshold under the gate and putting the beginnings of a new one underneath. It took us about half an hour to smash the old concrete and cart if off, and then another hours to set a casing before I could start mixing concrete and pour it. We did manage it, however, and considering we had to finish it before we were able to get our tenant back to her cabin, so she was a tad chilled. Luckily, the stove got her warm in record time.

Before dusk, we had to go to the village with Yama (crossbreed) because she has been getting way to skinny and needed to be checked out by the vet. After an hour of tests and whatnot, it was decided that she should stay the night, because she’s piling up fluids in paws and lungs, so they need to get rid of them while still putting her on a drip to prevent dehydration. We should be able to go over there and pick her up today.

Middle sister was with us, so we took the opportunity to go for a jog and get another load of rocks. The jog went rather well, I did the full distance and was winded, rather than ready to drop dead at the end of it. Hah.

Once we got home, I was a tad exhausted and more than a little chilled, so I took a really hot shower, changed into warm clothes and barely managed to write a page before my eyes started to droop. Since writing really doesn’t go well when one is battling fatigue, big brother and I decided to go on a “scavenge hunt” and that was a successful endeavor to say the least. Got back two hours after midnight with a full car…which we had to unload in a chilling northern wind (the stars were pretty, what with the clear night, but seriously, it was like standing in ice; my teeth were chattering afterwards) because our tenant needed to go to her monthly doctor’s appointment this morning.

When I finally got my dogs up to my cabin, Knight II got nipped at by little brother's Lab, Mati, so now he's got a couple of holes in his side, poor boy. So dangerous, these attempts from Mati, 'cause if Knight gets pissed at him, he's the proverbial toast. Nothing to serious, it'll heal, and maybe leave behind a small scar of two. *sigh*

So, yeah, yesterday was a busy day. Not much time for frivolous things such as food, rest and relaxation (hahaha) but a successful day, all things considered. Now, all I need, is hear that Yama is doing well, and I’ll take a nap or something. Oh wait, I had an extra fifteen minutes of sleep this morning. Never mind.

Outdoor cooking.

Song of the day: “Somebody to love” by Anne Hathaway (original by Queen, of course). Yep, it was there, inside my head when I opened my eyes and greeted the rather abysmal day of wind and clouds…which led to horrid rain, which is still coming down right now.

But, be that as it may, who gives a fig about the weather? It is so very changeable that one can only complain about it for a bit and then it’s gone again…boy, do I hope that this is the case here, ‘cause I am not liking the cold right now.

So anyways…yesterday involved finishing the window for the bathroom, which is looking downright pretty right now. There are still some finishing touches to see to, but other than that, it looks good. More light too, since the new frame is much more delicate (still sturdy, don’t you worry) and actually fits for a change. Yep, I’m most pleased with the end result. Besides that, little sister and I had a lot of fun putting the last bit in. Hah.

Big brother worked on the gate some more (finishing touches too) and both yesterday and today, I worked with our tenant who actually appeared to have fun doing her exercises. Sitting up on the bed is the present goal, and it’s going splendidly, if I may say so. Also moving her left fingers individually, which is going well, too. We were both thrilled with the progress.

Got quite a bit of writing done after the day’s work, too, and that is the best news yet. I even nodded off (just resting my eyes, as I assured the “slave driver” many times, hah) in the middle of a sentence, but was properly revived afterwards to get a solid six pages down. Gotta say that I like where the story is going at the moment. Forming a solid relationship between the two protagonists is always a pleasure and the “love” scenes…oh my, I’d say I celebrated with a cigarette, but since I gave them up three weeks ago (Jeez, time flies) I can’t actually do that.

As to quitting smoking…still not a big deal. Yes, I’ve had a few occasions when I thought “I really want a cigarette right now” but not in such a way that I had to fight some epic battle over it. I still haven’t licked out an ashtray, which means that I might have to pay up on the bet. Hmmm. Did I forget to mention that I betted against myself at the start of this (terrible of me, I know, but I thought I was gonna fold in record time so I might as well get something from it). Well, anyway. I didn’t do anything horrid in an attempt to find a cigarette, so I’m gonna have to hand over the dough sometime soon. *sigh*

But back to the update…the dogs are seriously disliking the rain (I do fully agree with their state of mind) and showed their displeasure when it started back up this afternoon. I’d just finished up lighting up the vat, (you know, those post Armageddon movie images where they burn fires in old dinky oil barrel…that’s the image you’re looking for, hah) which was a pain, due to the moisture in the air. The dogs immediately clustered around it, having chilled considerably while I was busy with our tenant.

So, there I was, knowing that we’d be working on one (or two) projects through the day, when it suddenly hit me. Fire, growling stomach: Cook dinner on the vat! Hah.
We got this really ancient cast-iron wok from the ‘40s or something, which was rusting away in the “igloo” cleaned it up, and hung it over the flames. Next I threw in a mix of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic and leek…smelled delicious, in case you’re wondering…and then threw over sunflower seed oil with green herbs (basil, oregano, pepper, provincial mix and chives) to let it simmer for ‘bout half an hour. Some salt and sugar got added to the wonderfully scented mix, and when stuff got really hot, I added water, milk and two cans of white beans in tomato sauce. Suffice it to say, we had a rather nice filling meal standing around the brightly burning vat, dipping bread in the sauce that had formed and burning our mouths for the effort. Hah.
Excellent!

Funny note for the day is that when I asked little sister to come check out the vat with dinner on it, she looked at me all startled and said: “but it’s raining” in rather cute way. She did come out, however, so it was really funny from where I was standing. Of course, cleaning the wok afterwards took longer than the actual cooking, which I didn’t find funny at all.

Temperatures dropped considerably during the course of the day and the rain didn’t help it any either, so at some point before nightfall, I headed for the house (my poor dogs in tow) and decided to do some cleaning prior to starting on writing.

So, with this day’s blog over and done with (yes, it is over, don’t you worry) I’m going to open up the manuscript and see if I can add a few more pages.

Got the Gate in, yeah!

Song of the day: “Did it again,” by Shakira. I guess I’m stuck with the She Wolf album at the moment. Good thing I like these songs. Hah.

As big brother just said: The gate is in and we did not, not manage it. I think that describes it rather aptly, so I’m going to stick with it. The dratted thing is in after all, it hangs, swing open and the beam that will keep it shut against the wind (it started blowing somewhat fierce ‘round dusk, darn it) along with the back of the car which we put up, just in case.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I, I’m supposed to start at the beginning of the day…or better yet yesterday, since we’re doing this thing only once every two days. I know, I know, impatience is not a virtue. *sigh*

Yesterday: Well, yeah, Shamira is doing well. Gawd, you really don’t want to see her stitches, there’s an arm’s length of it over her chest and tummy, and looking at it freaks me out. The Rymadyl (painkiller and anti inflammatory) is making her a little fuzzy, we’re thinking ‘cause she’s walking around overly happy, all things considered. It was rather comical, really, the little runt toddling around with not a care in the world. We’re so happy she isn’t feeling anything at the moment.

While I did some smaller projects yesterday, like making a new window for the bathroom, of which the old one was starting to get downright scary. The wood was rotting, and the glass broken, so I took some beech wood and made a new one. Only needs glass now, seeing as the sibs already painted it, so that’s over and done with.

I wrote a solid four pages last night, and that in the limited two hours that were available for it, and considering I should do a few more today, I should really hurry up. It would help if I wasn’t still freezing my butt off, even after the scalding hot shower I took when we were finally done for the day.

So yeah, I helped our tenant with her exercises, of course, and she is doing well…getting more stable on her feet and everything. Though it is all a matter of an adventurous roller coaster, on the overall I am pretty pleased with the progress she’s making.

Next I attacked the gate with the drilling machine, killed two tiny drill bits on the metal before I finally finished my part of the day’s job by fitting about one hundred screws to connect wood with metal. Talk about mind numbing.

Luckily, the day started off with rather pleasant weather…heck, our tenant could even sit outside in the sunshine…but regretfully, by the end of the day (lunch consisted out of a bowl of fries, which was free for all, and an apple instead of veggies) the clouds had fully gathered again.

We hauled the second gate up, gawd, almost broke our backs doing that. The new gate is going to be a big and heavy sucker. We broke the old one out, set the new one in place and little brother and I spent the next couple of hours standing there, holding the damn thing in place. Of course, the wind picked up by then, temperatures dropped and I seriously considered chattering my teeth in an attempt to get warm. It didn’t work, I assure you.

Our dogs weren’t happy at all, considering we had to lock them in the center garden, what with the gate missing and all. Poor little darlings looked so very miserable at the fences, Knight II posing like a might steed frozen in place, Chaos, his eyes drooping, underneath him, and Dax sneaking off with Adma (both Pocket Beagles) only to pester the neighbors below us. Poor grandpa went after them, ‘cause Adma didn’t dare to get off a rather high rock, and Dax dashed back up while one of the sibs went down with a ladder so grandpa could get back over the fence, rather than climb his way to the front of the property.

Sitabah, who of course doesn’t take no for an answer, was around constantly, whether we locked her behind the fences, or not…I swear, I don’t know how she does it. No matter what, she will get outside the fence. That dog could scale a nine-foot fence if she set her mind to it.

But anyway, dusk was falling, and so were the temperatures. We started out with sweaters and ended up with double sweater plus coats, scarves, gloves and hats. And then the rain started, while we were in the midst of attaching the hinges, which wasn’t funny at all. It was cold, wet and windy…not my favorite way to be. It always tires me out and when I get tired I start making stupid jokes, which then gets the rest going (they get tired too, of course) and then the end is nigh. I’m telling you, when you start using romance novel terminologies (e.i. the fit is too tight; just a little deeper; that’s the spot, hold it right there; and a gross one…just needs a bit of spit to fit) that have you fall over in fits of laughter, you’ve read WAY too many romance novels. Hah.
Honestly, I was close to tears from laughter at some point…which, of course, kept me warm a little longer, thankfully.
Regretfully, having little brother along when you’re in the mood is never a good idea, since he really gets going at some point, so I ended up almost choking on the hot tea I’d just started to sip. Tea over your hands in a cold wind is NOT nice, they still haven’t warmed up, darn it.

Be that as it may, by nightfall, we had four hinges up (and thus the gate…yeah, yeah, just the hinges wouldn’t be anything) the long beam wedged in front of the gate and the car too. By this time, the wind had picked up some serious speed (chilling us to the bone, mind you) coming in from the north with icy rain, and I was more than happy to take it inside.

A hot shower followed, droopy eyes aplenty all the way, as I took the dogs into the veranda office where we are now spending the majority of the evening with the storm going on outside…
And now it’s already past ten, so I really should get some serious work done on “ATOL”.