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I can't predict when I have the time to post a new blog, but check occasionally. I'm going to try at least weekly.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Coming down in buckets

Song of the day: “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias, of course. I have his songs in my head often, don’t I? Not strange, since his songs are rather catchy most of the time.

Had a wonderfully calm couple of days, thank you very much. The weather didn’t permit much, forcing me to hide under the cover of a roof most of the time. Seriously, there were rivers streaming down our mountain (got the basin full completely), sweeping everything along. The new partition of the carport is working well, by the way. It’s keeping the wind out perfectly, and the water is only going where it’s supposed to…the gutter. Yay.

It was good to get small stuff done. Did some more leather branding experiments. Got some nice little patterns going, and I’m slowly learning new ones, and tricks how to make it look better, less amateurish. Hah.

Got some good writing done, not necessarily a lot, but good. Have added a new character to the story, a teenager who’s having some serious problems at home, has a big trauma in his past, and who is going to be an important part of the story, I think…at least, that’s what it’s looking like now. He’s not a transient. Turns out my “alien” is a little goofy and quite innocent, so I should be able to have some fun writing about him, too.

Spent some time this morning clearing away piles, and piles of laundry in my cabin. Too much was getting dirty again from just lying there, Dax jumping on top for a nap, that sort of thing. Took some time, seeing as there was so much of the stuff, but at least I’ve got some horizontal surfaces cleared again. High time, too. Hah.

During my second session of hiding in the car port of the insistent rain, was repairing a leather purse that can also be worn as a back pack. I’ve been planning on using it for the market, so I can keep my valuables on me, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Worked out well enough, thankfully, so I should be able to use it Sunday…which reminds me, due to the weather (despite that it has been clearing up for the past few hour) the Saturday market has been cancelled. Yay. Nothing against the market, mind you, but I kinda like the free day (for as far as you can call it free since I fully plan on doing something constructive at home), in particular since working on the balcony will start on Wednesday and we’re going to have to do some prepping for that.

There were of course the usual chores such as laundry and my daily trips to the vet with Knight II. He’s behaving remarkably well, but still, it is requiring a lot of attention. If I don’t pay attention to him, he’s either going to tug at the denim “boot” or he’ll come over to press himself against me. Like he’s in dire need of a petting, or something. Silly dog.

Chaos is upset with me at the moment. He’s having a bit of a bladder problem at the moment (a very mild infection) meaning that I can’t let him on the bed without me being there. That being the case he will try to get me to take him inside and lift him on the bed, despite my multiple explanations that he cant’.

Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: No Chaos. You can’t.
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: Stop barking. I said no.
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: No. Come here!
(he doesn’t of course, but stands, instead in the open doorway, trampling his paws like a horse and staring at me balefully)
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: Chaos!
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: Shut up.
Big brother: He’s not going to listen.
Me: Shut up!
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: Chaos. You shut up, too, please.
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Big brother: He’s going to continue until you put him on the bed.
(He shakes his head while I gesture at Chaos to come to me.)
Me: Chaos! Pretty please with a cherry on top.
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: CHAOS!!!
Chaos: Wharf, wharf. Wharf, wharf.
(more trampling, more looking)
This is usually where I give in and follow him inside to let him on the bed. But not today. I stood firm, thank you very much.
Me: Chaos! Please. Come on. Lie down over here, you don’t need the bed. You’re a big boy.
Chaos: Wharf.
Big brother: Persistent little bugger.
Chaos: Wharf, wharf.
Me: Yes, I know, Chaos. You’re the gorgeous. Come here, gorgeous. Come on.
Chaos: Wharf.
(a shuffle, a step in the right direction.)
Me: Come on, gorgeous. You can lie right here in front of the stove. (I nudge Tadaika aside to make some room for him.)
Chaos: Wharf, wharf. (Sniffle) Wharf, wharf!
Me: CHAOS! Get. Over. Here. And stop whining.
Big brother chortles, while the Chaos turns “the eye” on him. Then he sighs deeply, trots over and flops down onto my feet. Thank you, Chaos. *sigh*
He’s a character for sure.

But enough about the Chaos. What else happened. Well, I Cooked supper twice, of course. A nice mashed tomato carrot mix that I put together last night after big brother and I got back from a donation. Not much, but all the little bits help, right? And today a lentil veggie mix that I really needed to fix in a way that didn’t remind me at all of dhal. I love the smell of dhal, I just don’t like the taste, oddly enough.

A bit of news on the side about two dogs we’ve taken in for a week. Something went wrong during transport to the Netherlands (the owners are from there) where somehow the dogs got left at the airport, which meant that mom and little brother went to pick them up. So we’ve got stay-overs again. I’ve yet to meet them, really, seeing as they arrived late last night, but I’ll get to it somehow.

This morning, while taking Knight II to the vet, we also took along 14 year old Rammi, who’s gradually getting to be thinner and thinner, despite the fact that she’s eating extremely well. Though there are some lumps, the vet thinks it has more to do with her age than anything else.

Grandpa has been busy cleaning up in the carport, in particular since we’ll be spending a lot of days there during the rainy days. Busy there, in particular since Sally is joining us too. Good thing that, seeing as I don’t like it when she locks herself up in her cabin on her own. That can’t be good for her.

I spent some time on working with wood today. Those Chinese boxes, remember. I managed to glue together the new lid I’m designing, despite the fact that the moist air had the glue take forever to dry, darn it. Only managed to do one for that very reason. Ah well, maybe tomorrow.

Liane came today, bringing us the first installment for the balcony so we can buy the supplies we need to get started. With a little luck we’ll manage that tomorrow morning, while I take Knight to the vet, otherwise we’ll have to do it on Monday. I was pleasantly surprised that the dogs hardly responded to her, which is quite some change from the past where at least half of them would have stood there barking their heads off. Jeez. We used to have some serious barkers, but now, with age, they’re slowly quieting down, I think. Such a relief.

As expected the dogs were a little restless most of the day. It is a common occurrence during bad weather, of course, so I hope that the “clearing up” holds out tomorrow. They need to move…like me, for that matter. Seriously, if there’s no sunshine tomorrow I might crawl up the walls exorcist style. Hah.

Well that’s it for today. Let’s see on Monday if the Sunday market got canceled as well, eh? Would be a pity, considering I am allowed to take Knight II along until he’s healed, but whatever. We’ll see how it goes. According to the predictions the weather should be a tad better for the next few days.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Peace at last

Song of the day: “Grenade” by Bruno Mars. Still an awesome song.

Well, not a lot going on over here, thank Gawd. In fact, stuff has been wonderfully quiet for a change. I mean it, yesterday, while in the yard planting some odd 50 seedlings, I almost was brought to tears. I had missed the gardening soooooo much these past few months, while we were busy with so much other stuff. The hospital, the cabin building, the jobs, the markets, for a moment, while I had my hands into the rich soil up to my wrists, I felt solidly sorry for myself. *sigh* thought that it was awful that there was so little time to do the things I wanted instead of the things that needed to be done…then of course reality arrived and I was able to dismiss the silly thoughts and just enjoy the experience. No sense in wallowing in stuff that doesn’t really matter. The yard is there, and I’ll see more of it for sure the next few months, I’m sure.
Once the plants were in the earth, big brother and I set up the usual reed fences to protect the youngsters from the dogs. Looks all nice and proper again. And added to that, we’re finally getting around to putting the strawberries from the pots into the ground. It was about time.

Got another batch of seedlings out this morning, too, seeing as I had to go to the village again, for my daily visit to the vet with Knight II. His foot is looking better (keeping my fingers crossed that he will leave the friggin’ paw alone, for crying out loud) the cream working. Turns out they’re using a nifty little cream with calendula in it. I remember some odd 10 years ago when I’d suggest Calendula cream to help healing wounds faster and the vet or doctor looking at me as if I was one can short of a six pack. *sigh* And now there it is, a real “official” medicine cream which is basically a copy of the cream that they took from the shelves as hocus pocus years ago. Ah well, no matter. At least Knight II will heal better because of it.
But anyway, both trips went well, and Knight is slowly getting to the point where he actually greets the vet and goes for a petting.

Caused the vet some worry yesterday. When I asked at what time I could be at the practice, in case I had to go to work afterward, they understood I would be there at ten. Then when it turned out that I didn’t need to go to work, I figured that I might as well go at eleven, giving me the time to do laundry and to feed the dogs. Anyway, when I didn’t turn up at ten, they started worrying about the dangers on our mountain road, and decided to phone to make sure that everything was alright. *sigh* I better be sure not to have a misunderstanding like that again.

Speaking of Knight II: I wrote to the market lady, asking if maybe they could make an exception for Knight (dogs are not allowed there), just until his paw is healed. They took pity on me and told me they’d make an exception and let Knight come with me. *phew* Such a relief, after the whole mess on Monday. I was really not looking forward to leaving him alone for two days again, who knew what might have happened…on the other hand, it might turn out to be a moot point in the end. According to the weather predictions the weekend is going to be a rainy one, meaning that the market will be canceled. Hah. Be that as it may, since the wound is that massive, he might get his chance next week, but what the heck, we’ll see, eh? Doesn’t a free weekend sounds swell? It does to me. Hah.

There were a couple of cooking sessions, of course, yesterday pumpkin, pepper and onion mush to spread on my lentil patties, and today a hearty ratatouille over spaghetti. Both meals went down well, despite my recurring nausea. *sigh* Very annoying, that.

What else. The new job is official. We’ll be building a balcony in the near future. I sent the estimate to the boss lady this afternoon, and we’ve more or less agreed to the terms. It’s going to be a nice challenge, I think, working with new materials for a change, rather than cast-offs and 2nd hand stuff. This will not simply be something usable, but it also has to be pretty, which is also extremely nice to do.

Oh right, how could I forget. We have a new adoptee. Yep. Little sister missed her dead Djoti too much, so today she and mom liberated an abandoned Irish Setter from the pound. It’s a beautiful dog, and though I would have preferred to get the list of our pets down, it is of course little sister’s choice. I just hope that we can manage it in the future, with this economy, eh?

Harvested loads of peppers yesterday, along with more than fifty pumpkins. What with the temps rapidly dropping, and the rain pouring down, it’s time to get what we can from the summer veggies. They won’t last long, I tell ya.

Hauled dog food, which was delivered again, to the storage. Was properly out of breath, which was a good follow up on the wood I’d hauled up from the lower yard. We’ve got a solid amount of wood going with that tree down, I’ll admit. Several days worth of heat at least.

Big brother has been busy building a closet lately. It’s working out rather nicely, I’ll admit. He wants to put his computer in, and hung it in a spot where it will be most useful to him.

Writing wise I’m SLOWLY shlogging my way through. Got the manuscript up to 30 pages at least, so despite the fact that I sometimes want to scream that it’s going so slow, I am making headway. That’s all that really matter anyway.

Well, that’s it for me. Midnight is here, and I need some shuteye .

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

No Cabin after all

Song of the day: “Call me maybe” by Carly Ray Jepsen. Cool song, if a little simple. I always end up with only the chorus repeating inside my head.

So the weekend is a bit of a blur inside my head, which isn’t unusual considering they both involved the same activity. Market days. Yes, I know, it’s weird, but what the heck. The only way I can keep them separate is because on Saturday we had the Land Rover and the big load, while on Sunday we were with the Opel and wagon, and only half the load. I tell ya, the big load’s a lot, in particular since our new spot is waaaaaay inside the place (a good 150 yards) and we needed about ten trips to get everything in there. I kid you not, it took us a solid two and a half hours to get everything there and then set up. No major sales either (and us keeping a constant eye on the weather because there was a threat of rain) just some baby clothes, a cat house and a down payment on this massive pink dog bed that we’ve got to hold onto ‘till November. They loved it at first sight, and barged right in to hear if they could do a down payment so they could pay the rest when they came pick it up. Sure, no prob. *sigh*
Other than the sales, they were fun days. Lotsa stuff to see, lotsa folks to talk with, including other stand holders, and the organizer. So busy, keeping track of everything, trying to keep everyone happy.
There was a shortage of clothes’ racks, and since she was desperate for it, I figured she could give ours to the stand holders beside us. Instead I asked for three small tables, which I used as a closet of sorts to put my tie dyes in. Managed to have it look nice in the end. The way I figure, there’s no sense in getting set in my ways. It’ll just make me lazy. A bit of change every now and then will keep the creative juices going at least, have me think, rather than do stuff on automatic…which I hate. If I do something on automatic that means I’m not actually doing “IT” and if I’m not DOING it, what is the point to that at all?...I know, that’s way to confusing. Forget I said anything.
Where was I…who cares. There was some really nice music during the day, and while we were packing up I danced to Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the soles of her shoes”. I love it when there’s music like that.
The guy I spoke to on the other market the other day came by and we talked a lot about art being underpaid and how folks really don’t like spending much at markets. *sigh* It’s a well-known problem.
The ordered dog bed was picked up while I was writing at the restaurant (did a total of nine pages in the past two days…a good thing, considering I’m a bit too tired tight now to do anything more constructive than write this blog) and according to cousin Ed she LOVED it. Yay.

Saturday ended with taking half the stuff from the Land Rover and reloading everything into the Opel and wagon while the younger sibs started loading up for their own market. The evening was a bit of a late one, so I didn’t get all the much sleep. Added to that, I wasn’t feeling all that peachy by the time morning arrived and it was time to get ready for departure. I was nauseous, had a tickle in my throat, and suffered from a light fever, I think. Dozed a little on the way to the market and felt better once the unloading bit started.
Last night I was almost on time getting to bed, which brings us to this morning, doesn’t it. Not the best of mornings, I tell ya.
First off, we had an appointment with Liane (you know the lady from the fence, right?) so the plan was that big brother would feed the dogs and gather tools while I took Knight II out to the vet so she could exchange his bandage.
Had to wait a bit when I arrived, and when my turn arrived the crapper had happened, somehow (we still don’t know how since his boot hadn’t been off) Knight II had managed to wreck his stitches during the weekend. Aaaargh! So that meant more than an hour of holding “the Knight” down while he had a mild sedative and local anesthetic and they took out the old stitches, scraped everything clean and started stitching again.

Okay, short interruption. Had to bring The Chaos to bed. The moment I mentioned “bed” he jumped up (for as far as that is possible with his sausage body) and ran after me to the cabin to throw his front paws against the bed and hop there ineffectively as he waited for me to lift him up. *sigh* No pride for that dog when it’s about the bed, is there.

Whatever.
So that would have been all to it, in regards to Knight II, but in the midst of the “operation” there was a phone call of another customer who needed his paperwork emailed ASAP because he needed it to get his dog on the plane to Australia of all places. So that meant waiting half an hour with a passed out Knight before they returned to wrap his paw back up and helping me get his half sleeping body to the car. Gawd, he’s a heavy bugger.

But anyway, since I had to go home to pick up big brother (slurp coffee and grab a sandwich for breakfast) we were terribly late for our appointment. Did manage to send a short SMS just when we were about to embark on the journey there, Knight snoozing on the backseat. *sigh* Arrived about forty minutes late and got to it.
The pool had to be broken down (it had almost blown away at some point, forcing Liane to hang on to the thing for half a day) so while big brother worked on the geyser (it was plugged again) I started on that.
It only took about two hours to get the whole lot cleaned up, and in-between we discussed the plans. No cabin after all, but a large balcony instead, and maybe tiling the terrace in front of the house. It’ll take a while to set up, but I think it’ll look good in the end. Actually already checked prices for wood (love carpentry) which means that I have to put together an estimate of sorts. Not tonight, though. Too tired. We’ll see how that goes.

Well, that’s it for me. It’s not like I’m getting any writing done right now…and it’s past midnight again, darn it. Grrr.
I’m outta here.