Ambah R.I.P.

Song of the day: “Forever” by Chris Brown. Weird, but now as summer is rapidly settling in, the song so reminds me of last year when we were going through the one week edit of horror that at times a shiver just shivers up my spine. Yikes.

But let’s start off with some good news: The younger sibs insist that they want to take part of the responsibilities of financial problems and such, so that big brother and I have more time to focus on my books. On the one hand it feels a little weird, on the other it is kind of a relief: there really is very little fun in carrying all the responsibilities, and now that they want to do this…well, I can relax a little, maybe have some actual time to promote the W.I.’s…who knows?

Let’s wait and see how it all works out. All in all I can only see the positive sides to it…the only thing that bothers me is to shift gears, really, so it might seem I’m a little short at the moment, hah.

On to the next item, I was rather mean with that miserable excuse of a blog the other day. A rhyme really doesn’t count, but there was much to do, and, well, it doesn’t matter.

The dogs have been dipped through the anti parasite bath, so that was done at least. It took an hour or so to do them all, but we got through it.

Bad news: Ambah, the 12 year old cocker spaniel I have mentioned on occasion these past weeks, regretfully didn’t make it through the week, which had me a tad sad for the past couple of days. It shouldn’t, not really, considering he was old, blind and deaf and didn’t enjoy life anymore (weighing quantity and quality comes into play) but still, it is always a bad hit.
Strange that you can form such an attachment to a dog who has basically always been a tad nuts. I mean seriously, he was bad tempered, liked to fight and an ankle biter if we'd let him, and still I cried buckets when it happened.

Phew...well, let’s get back to less sad stuff, ‘cause I can feel myself fill up again. Tubery has been attached to the pool drain so we can use the wastewater for the plants (half went out this very morning) and it worked rather well. We actually have three or four Barr pressure in the lowest part of the garden.

We are doing some early potato harvesting, considering it will take less water, they are big enough and tasty, and because the leaves have developed some sort of fungus which could seep down through to the roots if we take too long. Luckily two new patches of potatoes have been planted already, and soon the chard and corn will be done, allowing for a third. So far I’m really satisfied with what the garden is supplying, however.

We’ve already had our first two white cabbages, more chard, leek, pickles, cucumber and beets. Within the next couple of weeks, the first tomatoes should start to get red, meaning that they should be ready for consumption in that time. Oh my, almost forgot, our first pepper is steadily growing and we’ve had our very first Tayberry (raspberry) just yesterday. Yummy.

Old Bommel (bobtail) isn’t feeling too grand, which reminds me that we have just been informed that due to a case of rabies in northern Spain, causing all sorts of problems in France, has affected the local authorities. Now we are obligated to microchip all the dogs that aren’t already microchipped, and give them an obligatory rabies vaccination, no matter whether or not they ever come outside the yard. The shot costs €17, a booklet per dog €13 and around €30 for a microchip: you do the math…it freaked me out a little, I’ll tell you. But, luckily, it is not something big brother and I need to decide on alone. Phew.

Okay, what else got done? We transplanted potted plants into the “wild”: Melons, pumpkins, onions, peppers and so on. We are also trying out different techniques by working with tubing, gutters, dams and, of course, puddles. It is all rather exciting from where I’m standing, but I won’t bore y’all with the details.

The dogs are finally getting used to the entire us-working-in-the-garden-thing and now that we have put reed mats against the fences in the corner of the garden, so they won’t be able to see the neighbors and bark at them.
Amri and Chaos might not like it, and bark in the middle of the hill instead, but other than that it is working well. Hah.

The balustrade around the basin is just about done, it goes from the stairs all the way round to the greenhouse…and considering most of it has been painted now, it looks rather quaint. Sort of like a mix between a gladiator pit and ranch fencing, I can’t decide which. Hah.

We’re about done with the letter, which is “working” again, I think. There is a business like tone, without being cold, a nice flow, grammar correct, punctuation checked, containing all the necessary elements and just a hint of a risk; I wouldn’t know HOW to improve it even if I wanted to.

What with us focusing on sending “Saving Nina” out again, editing is on a slow burn, of course. We only managed a handful of pages in the past few days, but that will come again, I’m sure.

So that’s about it for today. It’s time for me to fill in letters and such while big brother cuts paper and whatnot. I’d ask you to wish me luck, but…I’ve gotta go.

Something different.

Song of the day: “What will be will be (Que sera sera)” by Doris Day.

Let’s do it a little different today, seeing as I don’t want to spent too much time with the blog today, so here’s a little filk/poem thingy to soothe my conscience about not doing this today. If there are errors in it, don’t worry about it, I won’t. Hah.

I really don’t have much to say
For the weather is much too nice today
So I thought let’s do it in rhyme
And that thought well…it is fine

Not much difference with the days before
Construction, carpentry and more
A bit fiddling here and there
Doggies running everywhere

You know, the normal stuff
Really it’s just some fluff
I could bore you silly with details and such
But fun writing to share…no, not all that much

Well, I had some fun
‘Cause let’s face it, there was the sun
My tan is gradually getting here
And yes my freckles are rather clear

Some plants sowed and taken from the ground
The taste, well, it is really sound
In particular the fresh young sugar peas
I’ll have some more, yes, please

Edits every day of the week
Staring at the screen makes me feel like a geek
Hauling stuff up and down
Really, it doesn’t make me frown

Nothing to worry, not a care
The doggies like it, the doggies are there
Even now they lounge in the shade
And really, they’ve got it made

To lounge out there in the dust
Well…it wouldn’t be such a bust
A nap occasionally
Oh yes, that advantage I think I see

A hammock underneath the clear white blooms
So much better than any of the rooms
They’re hot and muggy now in the day
Well so are the nights, what do I say

It is the effect of summer in southern Spain
And really, when you get used to it it’s not a pain
I gladly take the days of heat and sweat
At least, I haven’t regretted it yet

I just see what the day will bring
In the mean time I’ll rant and sing
It matters not just wait and see
What will be will be.

Nicely warm. :-)

Song of the day: “Time is on my side” by…the Rolling Stones, I think. Hmmm.

Let’s get this puppy going…and I’ve been saying that way too much these days. I think it is driving the family bonkers, but it just pops out every time something needs to get done. Hah.

Okay, first up, the new query letter sends. I’ve been goin the official way, keeping the letters simple, to the point and pretty much bland…and have had not a single positive response. Weird, huh. You do what all the sites and advice forums say and no one is interested, you write a letter that is “your own way” and suddenly there is all sorts of interest. I am so going back to my own way, I’m going to have to go for unique (as in, weird) anyway, seeing as I am exactly that. Hah.

Edits: there have been ups and downs, lefts and rights, and overs and unders (snort) but we’re slowly getting near to the finish line; only twenty five pages to go, yay. Admittedly, last night was one of those edits that had me fear we’d never get anywhere. Seriously, we got stuck on one paragraph for a solid thirty minutes. Aaaargh. We just couldn’t agree on how to have the sequence go, which is a total pain in the butt. But anyways…we did in the end get through the scene and called it a night, down there in the yard where we’d been watering the plants at the same time.

It was the first really warm day, (today too) by the way. We hit the mid thirties (mid nineties) during the day and at night we had the high twenties (high eighties) and for the first time since last summer I made use of my electric fan. It is a rather ingenious design, if may say so myself. You see, the fan fell a couple of months ago, and instead of throwing it out and buying a new one, I found this old TV suspension arm, removed the fan’s standard and slid the arm in place (fit without any hassle too, hah). Now the entire contraption hangs on my ceiling and cools of the bed without effort. No more spent than a couple of screws and still having a perfectly functional ventilator. Wonderful.

The zucchini harvest is…ehm, enthusiastic to say the least. I made this huge pot (a gallon or two) of zucchini soup yesterday and it was gone within an hour at most. Still, considering that today another eight zucchinis were ready to harvest, we’ll be eating soup again soon, hah. It was delicious though, so it really doesn’t matter.

Yesterday was a friggin’ busy day, in case you’re wondering (please don’t wonder, I’d just feel bad for forgetting something, hah), we didn’t finish until after two in the morning…and then had to get up again at nine fifteen today because grandpa had a flat tire in the village. Aaaargh.

But anyway, yesterday: we started early, brought tenant along to the old horse paddock where we proceeded to pour concrete under the outside gate, creating a smooth and sturdy drive sweep down to the supplies. Managed it in two shifts, too. Three hours in the morning, then after lunch and a short edit, another two, which brought the project to a satisfactory conclusion.

Afterwards there was of course the necessary stuff to do in the garden (when is there ever not, hah). We planted peppers, which had grown enough in their pots again so they had to go out, into the scary big world called our garden. Also another big batch of onions, leek, melons and pumpkins in the past couple days, so, like I said before, plenty to do in the yard. Not that I’d want it any other way, but I do miss the help of the siblings who are throwing all their efforts in the market thing. Personally I’d rather work in the yard twenty hour a day than spend one day per week on the market, but to each his own.

There was a dog fight, darn it; Sitabah, Knight II and Amri jumped on Julia (mutt), the bastards. I had to jump right into the fray to get the poor little one out and bring her safely up to grandpas. Poor little girl, she’s got a few nicks and scrapes, but she’ll be all right; nothing that won’t heal in time.

What with the full intention of doing some serious concrete pouring the next few days, grandpa and I picked up twenty bags of cement…which we had to fit around the flat-tired moped in the back of course. Now, the fun part about this is the young dude that works there. Personally a 35 kilo (70 pounds, give or take) cement bag is not what I consider hard work, but apparently the young dude (24 years old, at most) thought otherwise. I kid you not, but he got the forklift to take the pallet outside the building (after we’d parked right beside it, mind you) put it two feet away from the car so he had to lift it as little as possible.

I lifted about 14 of the things in the time it took him to lift six, and I doubt he liked it. Well he should cowboy up, and make use of the wonderful opportunity of working with heavy materials…in other words a fitness club that doesn’t cost a single penny. What, he never saw Rocky? The simplest stuff can be a way to be stronger, fitter and healthier. Hah

But I’ve got an edit to see to, more yard stuff to do, and…well, let’s leave it at stuff. Big brother’s impatient, and in all honesty, we have been taking more than enough time with this first edit. Gotta go.

I made it. Yay.

Song of the day: “Lucky for you” by Espen Lind…that’s a long time ago, I think. I used to love this song. It was so much better than that other one “When Susanna Cries” and yet it wasn’t as big a hit. Strange how that works.

But anyway, I managed to fit it in, you see? Right back here, and I’m going to try to stop whining about what to do and what not to when it comes to the blog, ‘cause pondering about it is not going to help any of us. We’ll see how it goes. If I can fit it in, I will do one every other day, and if not, once every three days.

So what’s been going on, I hear you wonder *snort*. Just normal stuff, really. Work aplenty and time being way too short. The weather is downright splendid, however, seeing as of now I am sitting on the terrace, underneath a reed roof in the cool breeze. All every Mediterranean, especially since I’m wearing a straw hat, a sleeveless and a big ol’ tan…except my legs of course, which are still northern white, darn it. I’m going to look so weird by the time I start wearing shorts again. Hah.

We’ve been turning some patches of earth again, which is quite necessary since the time to put in the second batch of potatoes is nigh. The first meal of them came out the other day and they were delicious, and several were actually pretty big already. (We had to take them out because the plants were obstructing the pepper plants we put in around the patch.)

Sowing is also a highlight these days. We put in several trays of herbs and new rounds of zucchinis and such, taking the chance to get the new grown seedlings from their beds and putting them into pots for easy handling.

We’ve been harvesting dinner every day now. There are a huge load of zucchinis, after three days of saving up, green beans, our fourth or fifth round of chard, for two weeks now, I think, lettuce, and the day before yesterday, our very first beets which were delicious with home grown potatoes, onion and leek. Gawd, I could eat it again without any trouble whatsoever. Soon we’ll be eating white cabbage by the way. I know, it really is a winter veggie, but we couldn’t resist trying it out. Hah.

Of course there has been lots of watering going on. It is one of the disadvantages of farming ‘round here, I guess. Water is pretty darn expensive, but when we finish the basins for next year and use the entire winter to gather rainwater, we should be able to cut some of the expenses.

Before I forget; a new batch of cantaloupes, melons, zucchinis and pumpkins found their place in a mound at the bottom of the property. Very rich patch of soil, and lots of liquid down there, so they should do just fine.

Seeing as time is short again these days, I’m missing an occasional meal again, which I then substitute by yanking mini carrots from the ground and nibbling at them until the end of the day. Hah. They are delicious, so I really don’t care.

Fun bit: Knight II has developed this rather hilarious habit. Whenever we’re working in the yard and he is chained in the shade on the upper terrace, he can start whining about the hard ground. When he starts barking he isn’t (as one would presume, of course) requesting attention; nope, he wants someone to put a chair nearby, so he can flop his butt down on the seat and sit like a proper gentleman. Hah. I’ll post a pic soon.

Now that that construction of the greenhouse is temporarily postponed (for the summer, at least) we used yesterday’s spare minutes to clean up a little in front of the greenhouse, and put all the young plants and such on tables inside the structure. It looks much better this way, I assure you. Also, our potted youngsters have doubled, I believe.

Editing: On 30 pages or so to go now. The finish line (of the first edit anyway) is in sight, and, if we’re very positive about the situation we could, knock on wood, and all that, have it done within a week…since planning such things always end in disappointment, I’m just saying, “hey, there’s the finish line; let’s try reaching it “sometime” soon.” Hah.

But I’ve gotta say, that this vampire flick is starting to work nicely. There really are days when the writing is good, and the errors are minimal, and those are the days I long for every time. The book works, really. The characters are intense, funny and interesting, which is always a good thing, whether that involves fictional or real characters.

Good news, Tenant was able to lift her arm up to breast height, which is definitely a highlight for as far as I’m concerned. Seeing as she was still a little down, I think she could use some pride for it herself. It is strange that she’s feeling this way, in particular since she had so much fun going on a road trip with mom yesterday. Ah well, time changes everything.

Oh yeah, we chopped out a patch of soil, where we can put a couch and table, for when we need to water the plants late at night, and can take my computer along for a simultaneous edit. Can’t just sit there and do nothing after all. Hah.

And that’s it. Gotta go; I’ve got potatoes to plant.