Another update

So yeah, it has been a while, but life has been quite busy ever since that first week of the coronacrisis. You're not going to believe this, but I moved house. Yes, sir, I did. An opportunity arose (yes, partially due to the crisis. Just few less vultures like ourselves, out there, looking for a place to live.) We swooped and scooped at the just the right moment, apparently.
It is a lovely place, a stonethrow away from the woods (yay) and technically due to a split level design, with seven floor. Awesome! More than enough space for big brother and me, which was a thing we worried about. Anti-squattig spoiled us in regards to space, but this one hit us both as just right.
In fact, despite there being quite a few things that would need work, I had "yes, this one!" from the moment I walked in. It, the house, and the area just felt like home for the first time in a long, looooong time.

It wasn't a sure thing. A lot of stuff got harder now with the crisis. We had to meet certain requirements (that we wouldn't have been able to meet just a week later) but in the end it all worked out. The house is ours, permanently. Woohoo. Such a relief, especially since the anti-squatting house was starting to look like it was drawing closer to the end. Not that we had to leave yet. We probably could have stayed another year, or so, but time was running out with the roads coming closer and the state of the house becoming less "solid" so to speak. Apparently we were right on time, too, considering the new people that moved in, had a B&E just a week after we moved out. How's that for weird?

Anyway, school has been a pain. I would like to say that I have been enjoying myself, and that I was in a positive state of mind about the whole thing, especially because I passed all my tests so far with decent grades, but I'm not. I don't know what's causing it, really, but right now I just want to get it over with. I need to do my last exam, a test of adequacy, or some such, and right now it just feels like this massive thing, while all it is, is cooking, really. It's not all that complicated, and yet somehow it has turned into some sort of mountain. Grrr

Anyway, this Tuesday is my last exam, so keep yer fingers crossed that I manage to make it, and get it all over with. I sure can't wait for that to happen. I can't say that I liked the experience a lot, but I did well on my dutch and english, so I got something out of it, at least.

Work has been very slow. After having been shut down for more than 2 months, we were allowed to partially open, meaning there is a little bit more than just maintenance going on, but still it is sad to see so little happen there. It has given me ample time to move house, of course, and that is good, but I miss the work, the purpose of it, so I hope that that picks up some, at least, next month where we will be allowed to open with all the facilities, for at least half our usual guests. Big brother was a lot luckier than me in the work department. He's been working more than ever. Son of a gun. So jealous. I only got to help out in the garden from time to time.*sigh *

Books...well, it has been incredibly slow in that regard, too. First househunting, then actually getting it and moving there. Gawd, the move was so much work. Makes me happy that we won't have to do that anytime soon. It put writing on a back burner even though we did manage to send a manuscript proposal out to our publisher in-between everything.

Sad news...yeah. Mom, after struggling with cancer for many years now, passed away in March, just days after her birthday. Even though we saw it coming for a long time, it hit us all rather hard. She was having trouble breathing for some time, and she was starting to have small seizures, meaning that, despite the corona crisis, the sibs were forced to call an ambulance and have her committed to hospital. A bad time for that, but necessary. She was there almost a week, and got worse, considering one lung had filled with more than a liter of liquid, which they drained and cause a bad pain in her chest. Apparently she had a small heartattack the night after that, and passed away the following morning.
Tests showed that she didn't have corona, not that that would have changed anything, of course, but it made her death more sour, since Spain was in in complete lockdown and little sister wasn't even allowed to visit her in her final days. Nor were the sibs allowed to be at her funeral, which made them decide for a cremation.

Despite having prepped myself for the event a long time, it hit me hard, I'll admit. I cried more than I expected, and not being able to work throughout that time, didn't help in the least. It would have been nice not to have had so much time to think about it all, and though I have worked my way through it, I still get hit by it sometimes, when I realize that she won't be able to read this blog anymore, for instance, or that she is not checking out my facebook page, or that we won't ever see each other again. That makes me sad.

Stress wise things haven'g been much better. It impeded on my sleep, so I have been getting too little of that lately, explaining a consistent tiredness. Will need to work on that, but okay, whatever. The only solution to that is just getting more sleep, so I will.

Positive news. A new family member. Since I now have a permanent home again, I adopted a dog. A gorgeous 3 year old Golden retriever from an animal shelter in dire need of a home. Mr. Whitney. He's so lovely, reminding me of how much I missed having a dog afoot. Sure, he has some baggage that he needs to overcome, and he needs to gain some weight and a healthy fur shine to compensate the bad nutrition he used to get, but...well, the pictures speak for themselves. He's awesome! And so quickly gaining the much needed confidence.

*Sigh *
Right now, I am working on letting things go again. On focusing on recovering my equilibrium and basically getting my life in order while I plan on all the wonderful things I'm going to do on my new house. There are walls to take out, a new bathroom and halfbath to install, a garden to set up, and of course a kitchen to plan. So many of those. I can hardly wait...

Never enough time

Song of the day: “Flashlight” by Jessie J…I know, a tad embarrassing to have this little ditty in my head, but it is incredibly sweet. Hah.

Well, life has changed dramatically, but oddly enough it is still incredibly busy, regardless of the sudden lack of a job. Guess I’m just not any good at not having anything to do except what I chose to do. When I chose to do something, it is simply just as time consuming as a job. Hah. Am still looking, so keep yer fingers crossed.

Anyways, the study is going steadily. Gotta admit that the book of law that is covered in the beginning is both frustrating and fascinating. The latter because knowledge in any shape or form always is, and the first because there are typos in the lesson material, and several of the test questions that I had to answer in my first test, were not covered adequately in the material. I checked. In fact, I had to go online to find explanations of the material, because it wasn’t there. Grrrrr. Contacted my course source, conferring with them about this particular problem, and they suggested that I keep checking online until they have looked into the matter. Hah. This made me laugh, not only because it was funny. But no matter, I’ll muddle my way through, I assure you.

Sent out manuscripts to 11 different publishers, so I’ve been pretty busy with that, and yes, we’re still editing A.I.L. which is a serious source of frustration to both of us. I remember this part of the editing process well, I tell ya. We had it with NERFS:SN, CH and ATOL, and now we have it with this one too. Some of the texts just don’t flow to both our satisfaction, meaning that we get into heated debates that have either of us walking away to cool off at the drop of a hat. It has no use to get so frustrated with it, really, since experience has taught us that after we struggle through this stage the improvement will be noticeable, but still it is difficult time for both of us. Nothing gets your spirits down as a few pages that you get stuck on for an average of 1-2 hour per page. Grrrrr.

Been to the gym a few times since the last blog. Yay. Didn’t have much time for it in-between study and editing time, cooking meals, normal daily chores, the inspection of our house yesterday (all is fine. We made the place look good, so we won’t be seeing much of our handler. Yay! No matter how friendly he is, it is a stressful idea that someone is checking up on you) and working the yard, as we’re semi-obligated to do every now and then. Considering we’re often short on time, we went for a walk into town the other day after we discovered that we were too late for the gym, and yesterday evening for a nice long bike-ride so we’d have at least some movement. The problem is, we have a cheap membership with the gym, which limits our arrival time to five in the afternoon, this doesn’t always work out when we are elbow-deep into an edit.

Had a cozy get-together at and with the neighbors. Six adults, two kids and a handful of cats. Was a nice afternoon-evening with beer, wine, finger food and soup where we all got to know each other a little better, because, let’s face it, there is not much time for that with everyone being incredibly busy. We got the busy parents, both working on our left, and the young couple, a professional drummer and a waitress-looking-for-work-in-the-neuropsychology-branch behind us. Add the brother and sister writers, looking for work too, and you’ve got an interesting bunch. Hah. Was a nice evening, though, which resulted in coffee later in the week with the mum and dad while we discussed the chores that had to be organized around the yard on the rather splendid autumn day.

Weather-wise things are looking bleak. We had a few sunny days, but on the overall things are starting to look gray, gray and…well, you guessed it, gray. Not that much rain yet, but I’m guessing that will come soon enough. Also, trees are starting to lose their leaves, and by now we need central heating because the temps are rapidly dropping, especially up north here, where the ground is flat and the wind comes rushing in off the sea. It’ll be interesting to see how winter will be, eh?

Lately I’ve had a serious case of the nibbles later in the day, so I’ve made a nice healthy batch of oatmeal cookies with raisins nuts and the likes, rather than risk buying cookies of undetermined origin. Works well, and it’s healthy at least. Also made lasagna the other day, loads of veggies, for visiting a friend. Otherwise I’ve been making lots of soups, which work rather well in this weather and a rather nice red cabbage risotto last week. Was surprised how well it worked, actually.

Went to visit tenant, who seems to be doing well at the senior home. She is starting to notice that her stubbornness is not doing her any good, because her memory is not as good as it used to be. Had several instances where she threw up a lot of fuss about certain subjects, only to realize later that she remembered wrong, which startled her. I found it a little sad to see, especially her confusion about it but it can’t be helped. Can’t protect anyone from reality, can you. Anyway, the place is good for her. She gets stimulated to be creative, as in drawing and painting and the likes, meaning that her motor skills in her good hand have improved, and because she always has to wait her turn if she wants to get around the building, and can’t stand that, she has started using her own feet as propulsion when she’s in her wheelchair, hah. In fact, she is basically going from one room to the next in the home, and that is really good for her.

She was very excited about her granddaughter’s 18^th birthday coming up this week, wanting to give the girl a present, but not knowing where to get it, so I found a rather nice bracelet for her, with a card that she can give as a present the next time she sees her.

Yard work has been rather wonderful, despite the scary amount of nettles all over the place. Yikes. Had one slither its way under my sweater and doing its worst on my belly. Hah.  But we did quite a bit. Cut away lots of dead stuff, revealing loads of little treasures underneath the piling masses. Found bushes, flowers and whatnot, which made it very satisfying. Will have to get our hands on some better garden tools soon…especially since we’re going to have to cut back the pollard Willows somewhat desperately. Poor things haven’t had a proper trim in years, so that’ll take some time.

Also filled the potholes in our drive sweep, for which our car is tremendously grateful, and had a repair done on the car, which, thankfully wasn’t so expensive that I had to sell my kidney, or something. Hah

Well, that about sums it up for today. Gotta bet busy.

Calming down at last

Song of the day:…well, a whole variety of Bryan Adams songs. Was a nice change not to have just one song in my head.

Lots has been going on, lately, of course. Nothing of it very interesting, but I’ll tell some of it regardless.

On the plus side, I do feel I’m slowly calming down from all the turmoil. Not without difficulty, mind you, the other day old problems threatened to crowd close, and as a result my stomach acid jumped up, blood pressure went up and panic clutched at my chest. Still, a walk out in the woods, and all of it slowly subsided as I reminded myself that there is only so much I can do, and the rest I need to let go.

The whole number thing with town hall still hasn’t been solved yet, naturally. This is bureaucracy we’re talking about. Of course they haven’t solved it yet. That would be just too much to ask for, wouldn’t it? Instead I get to wait with…basically everything. Insurance being one of them, the bank account that is still on the wrong number, ah, I get tired thinking of it, so…let’s not.

Had a few wonderful  bike rides…oh, did I mention yet that both big brother and I were both successful in procuring a bike. Together 200 bucks, which isn’t a bad deal considering big brother’s turns out to be a custom made one. Hah. Anyways, I had to bring my bike back to the store because it was making a strange noise at the pedals. Luckily it was still in the warranty, so they put in a new chain, meaning she runs like a dream now…except the gears because I still have to adjust those a little. Sixth and seventh just aren’t working. I’ll get to it, though.

Work: We have several options going. I’ve left my resume at a caterer, who didn’t seem displeased at all with my question about a position in his company. Have applied as a cleaner and handyperson at a sauna as well, which is, according to another worker there, a very viable options. They are in rather desperate need, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. Thirdly, big brother might be able to get a part time job at a Mercedes garage, while I have volunteered at a 2^nd hand store, which seems to be happy enough with me to consider paying me for my work in the near future. We’ll see how that goes. In the mean time I am having a lot of fun in the store totally redoing the displays, the shelving, and all else that is there. Even had a professional display guy coming in the other day, saying how wonderfully surprised he was at how good the displays looked. He said that you didn’t see that much anymore these days, and he really enjoyed it. Was a really nice chat. How lucky am I that I always enjoyed doing window shop displays, eh?  Applied for work for events, but that was pure whim applying for that. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if I get invited to come in for a chat at some point.

Had a couple of friends over the other day, which was very nice. Made veggie chili, with chickpea, red beans on the side, along with a rainbow salad with a yogurt dressing. It all worked out rather well, I’m happy to admit. The food was tasteful, the table nicely made up, got a nice bouquet from the wild, and the experimental dessert of cinnamon/nutmeg pudding with crumpled cookies on top a success. Added to that the evening was filled with nice conversation and company, so I would say that it all went well, especially for a first dinner party of sorts. The fact that both guests were extremely nice helped a lot too. Hah.

We (big brother and I) also went to their housewarming party last week, which was nice, too, despite that all the “youngsters” there made me feel somewhat old. Hah. We arrived sometime around seven (we already knew that we wouldn’t be able to stay long, because we were going to stay the night at tenant’s, Cousin Ed’s and Grandpa’s) and then left just barely on time to make it to the train station, on our bikes, for the 21:15 train to Arnhem. From there, we still had to bike to grandpa, meaning that it was dark before we got there with sore bums. Boy aren’t we used to biking distances anymore. We…me in this case, ah, survived the ordeal, as I did survive the many bike trips that we did before and after. Regretfully my knees are so not used to that particular activity anymore that I had to take a “break” this Saturday and Sunday, and not bike. Seriously, my knees were so swollen from it that I could barely get up and down the stairs, so I have been taking it easy a little for the for the past couple of days.

I am finally starting to get to know the town a little…by bike anyway. The other day I had to go pick up grandpa in Landlady’s car and got completely lost in all the little streets here. Yep. Things look very different from a bike than they do from a car, but I’ll get there…which reminds me, considering Cousin Ed and tenant left on a long planned vacation last Wednesday, grandpa has been staying here with us in the room that will be big brother’s at some point in the future (it still needs some work). He did manage to get up to the attic the first day, but with his condition that is just too hard, so a ground floor room was essential. It’s comfortable, and he says he’s fine there. He’s even been out helping me in the yard for a bit, and though he tires quickly, we both enjoyed that. Looks really good, too, which is definitely an added bonus. It really helped a lot that the weather was still good then. Now it has actually been pretty stormy for two days with quite a bit of rain.

Finally found a closet for our attic the other day at one of the thrift stores locally. It cost about 20 bucks, but it looks nice and now we no longer have suitcases lying about on the floor anymore, which is a very nice change. Turns out that big brother now has more clothes than I did, and here he was complaining while still back in Spain, that he could hardly take anything because he was taking his PC in his suitcase. Turns out he forgot how much clothes he’d already taken along two weeks before our departure when he went to stay with grandpa for a few days. Hah.

Regretfully our attic is too dark for my herb plantsies. Basil already gave the spirit, chives is going too, and sage is really close behind. *sob* Such a pity, but alas. Nothing to do about it. Herb plants are going to have to wait until we get our own place.

Writing hasn’t happened yet, except for the blog and correspondence, but I have noticed a change in my dreams. They are slowly becoming more vivid again, and some ideas about “Gun” have been starting to play through my mind, which I’m seeing as a good sign. At least my mind is no longer being overrun by worries so there is no room for anything else left…at least not as much as it used to. I actually have days now (occasionally) where I don’t constantly worry, so that is progress, right?

Well, I’m going to leave it at this for now. It is late and tomorrow I will be working at the thrift store as a volunteer again. Let’s hope the weather has improved by then. *sigh*

Plenty to do

Song of the day: “Love Runs Out” by One Republic. I’ve heard that they’re all it, but this is the first song of theirs that jumped out at me. Yeah, I know. New song, right? Well, I have been listening to radio a lot again, meaning that I actually hear some new stuff occasionally, rather than just my favorites on iTunes.

Well, it’s been understandably busy. But for the good news is that Big brother was here for the last couple of days, which thankfully took the pressure off me for a bit. Good thing is, he managed to figure out how to operate the mowing machines, so we both spent a solid afternoon on a couple of mowing machines, mowing the two acres of lawn that had grown out of control. Was fun, for about an hour. Then it just got tedious. Added to that, it isn’t looking all that grand because the grass was so long, and really needed some serious hacking. But no matter. Will do it again in a day or two, which should improve the looks considerably.

Big brother also spent some time chopping firewood, which is one of our favorite occupations, naturally. Hah. Seriously, it is a wonderful bit of exercise.
In the meanwhile, as he sorted out the machines, the wood and a dying conifer…am going to have to order some serious support poles for a hedge of conifers. I think they were placed fully grown, meaning that they can’t keep themselves up yet. Will have to place about eighty poles when the time comes.

Been training the dogs here for quite a bit. They’re a disaster going through gates, so I’m either letting them through one at a time, or making them sit before they are let through. The youngsters are just so boisterous. Have had an occasional one sharing the night with me, which is nice. Reminds me of my four-legged-ones, which is a mixed blessing, really. Still miss them badly…but on the other hand, I’m going back for a two day visit, nine days from now, I should be able to survive that. Added to that, grandpa assures me that they’re doing fine, and that Sitabah is even rather fond of him, which is a pleasant surprise. He told me that this morning, Sitabah and Knight were playing on their way up the mountain.

So, what have I been doing so far? I’ve trained dogs, fed them, cleaned up after them, mowed lawns, hosed terraces with a pressure washer, cooked many a meal (a perk, that one), picked blackberries, fixed fences, fixed gates, trimmed trees, trimmed bushes, worked the yard, built a shoe rack, filled holes in walls, repaired a gate handle, set up a workshop, scavenged wood, did shopping, for food, clothes, and tools. Hung curtains, went to a salvage yard, several construction companies, DIY stores, vacuumed floors plenty of times, arranged flowers, cleaned out cat litter, played with cats and dogs and many more things that just aren’t worth mentioning. Let’s just say I’m keeping busy doing the stuff I know how to do. Not a bad way to spend the day…and so far the weather has been benevolent toward me. Might be it is lulling me into a false sense of security. Hah

Was a good girl and did exercises several times. Not as much as I should have, but some at least. Hah. Added to that, I had some treatments from a genuine physical therapist, who gladly tortured me for an hour both times he visited. Aaargh. Gawd, my back hasn’t been this sore in years.

Even managed an edit or two, despite the fact that after 10 in the evening my eyes start to droop somewhat badly.

My foot was absolutely fine, and then, on a dewy evening I went out for a walk on my new Wellies, and since then the stupid thing has been causing me all sorts of trouble. Seriously, I’ve been wanting to chop it off again.

But anyway, to get back to the fun parts. I did some serious experimenting food wise. Most in this place is organic and high quality and so far I’ve got a 90 percent success rate, I think. The trick is to keep cooking for yourself. The moment you start trying to guess what others will like, you mess up.
I got a squash again, so I’m definitely going for soup again. Nothing is quite a nutritional as a squash soup.

As to anything else…well, emotionally things are still iffy. I have my good moments when I’m just working pleasantly, content with whatever activity I’m busy, while there are other moments when a panic attack will hit me in the face, or I’ll miss something from home somewhat fierce. The latter doesn’t change anything, really. It is just a waste of time. I agreed to this “adventure” and I will darn well see it through, even when there is a part of me that still acts like that scared little six year old going out for a sleep over with a friend, only to end up insisting (in tears) that “mommy” comes pick her up. Annoying kid. It should just grow up. I’m nearing forty, for crying out loud! I should be friggin able to handle six months on my own, for EFFING sake.

But anyway. Three weeks in, only…well, that is depressing to think of, so let’s skip finishing that sentence, shall we. Hah.

Be that as it may, in the mean time I get to play with power tools. Got a basic set of hand saws, circle saws, jigsaws and hacksaws now. (used most already) Screw drivers. Hammers. Drills. Sanding machines. Crowbars. Axe. Got a chainsaw under way. Along with a hedge cutter and a strimmer. Got a nice assortment of screws, nails and the likes going, but that is going to take more time. I mean, I fondly remember our own workshop from way back when, before the disaster: A supply like that takes years to gather…darn it.
As it is, I got some wood from my scavenge trips all over the property, and from my trip to the salvage yard…the latter is ridiculously expensive, though, meaning that we’ll be better off getting new wood that we’ll then have to treat and batter until it looks like old. Hah.

Things I’m planning on making: A couple of night stands.
A small shelving set to hang in the kitchen. And a coffee table, which is starting to get very necessary. When I’ll have the time, that is the question. LOL
Added to that, there is loads of painting to be done. Barns, sheds, not to mention the woodwork in the house.
Then there is the garden to think of. Small trees that need to be transplanted. Bushes and trees that need to be cut back. Electrical wiring that needs to be put in for lighting around the house, as well as the fountain for the pond that I need to find and have installed. So I’ll have plenty to do this winter…and that brings us to the end of today’s blog, because it is after eleven, and already my eyes are starting to go half-mast…bloody things.

I’ll be back…at some point.

Getting there

Song of the day: “Pencil full of lead” by Paolo Nutini. Sometimes if have these types of songs in my head and find myself doing odd little dances throughout the day in the appropriate rhythms. It’s so incredibly cheerful, which is a good influence on my mood. Hah.

Nothing like a bit of sweating to improve on one’s physical wellbeing. Yep. I did a workout this morning, which had my joints creak rather badly, my muscles protest but my brain wonderfully blank. I love that blankness, thank you very much, not aware of anything but the count of reps, over and over again. Wonder if I did enough to be sore tomorrow. Hah. We’ll see. I do need to find a way to hang up my boxing ball, because I need to let off some steam, rather than this air kicking and punching. Way too non-violent for me. *snort*

Since today is my day off, I took the opportunity to experiment a little in the kitchen. I had an abundance of apples and all the ingredients I needed to make some. The kitchen smells wonderful right now, I tell ya. Apple with dried cranberries, coconut shavings and peanutbutter in the vanilla dough. My friggin’ mouth is watering just thinking about it.

You’ll be happy to know that my foot is not too bad lately. The other day I ran around for more than eight hours without it becoming excruciating. That’s what we call progress, don’t we? I like.

The doggies…well, the cramped space is not doing my little pack good, that’s for sure. Knight’s affection at the moment is more than a little painful. When I come home, he’ll be bouncing toward me, grabbing my shoulder, or wrist to gain my full attention, and then bouncing on the bed some more until I put him in a headlock on the mattress. Of course he likes this form of roughness even more, and will lie there writhing, gnawing at any part of me that he can get to like some overgrown puppy. Waaaaay too much energy. Am going to have to take him out for a proper run soon…and then keep him from retiring to the car the moment he’s had enough, and keep him going until he’s exhausted.
The same goes for Sitabah, who has taken it upon herself to wreck my corner of the porch when she considers her lockup has taken long enough. Every other day I will come inside to find something wrecked, and everything shoved off the shelves. It’s as if she’s making some sort of statement with it for sure. Also, she and Dax are even less controllable than before. The moment they are let loose they will do a circuit of the house, searching for something to hunt or eat as if they haven’t had a decent meal in weeks. It’s insane.

The weather is persistently pleasant at the moment. Not too cold, crisply sunny and very dry. We really will need more rain before the end of winter otherwise we’ll be in trouble. Grandpa is using his time wisely and it putting in a vegetable patch, which makes me incredibly jealous. I wish I had the time. Nothing calms you down better than some time in the yard. Ah well, such is the status quo at the moment, I suppose. The gardening will return some day, I’m sure. Did do a rather nice flower arrangement yesterday, which was wonderfully calming, too.

A few days ago big brother got a stomach flu, disabling him from work, and the day before yesterday it hit me too. Most unpleasant, last night I even had a slight fever. Thankfully it’s not to severe, because today I am almost myself again. At least it didn’t bother me during my workout.

The edit is going a little slower, but not bad still. Well past half now, and content with the changes. Some stuff really worked out well, giving a good sense of the ‘20s and its bootlegging gangsters. The humor elements had us laugh, in particular the unexpectedness of it, so…yeah, I think it will work out.

The other day grandpa and I worked on the fences together. We still have to fix some of those due to all the changes, and it felt like old times. Nice, regardless of the cuts in my fingers the work inevitably causes. Strange, huh, how you can enjoy cuts on your fingers and an icy wind biting your skin, just because you enjoy the work. Hah. Big brother is having his fun welding the old gate for recycled use in the yard. A few more days and we’ll have the fence functional again, which will be satisfying.

I am going to enjoy a change of scenery, though. Working outdoors is definitely better for me. Being inside so much is grating on my nerves for sure. I mean really, who wants to be stuck inside when you could be outside digging in the dirt, of piling rocks, or hauling stuff? Not me.

Well, I am sure that there is stuff I’m forgetting, but that is the down side of doing a blog once a week. Details fade from the mind so fast…much like this awesome dream I had the other day. I fully planned to write about it on the blog, but then by the time I was ready to jot it down, the details had faded. Remember that awesome dragon dream I had some years back, and that alien from outer space. This one was of such epic proportions as well. *sigh* Such a pity.

Gotta go. The end of the day is rapidly approaching, and I would like to get some more done in the yard before then.

Freak-out

Song of the day: “Walk on by” by Bryan Adams.

Strange days, but then what else is new. These days a perfectly uneventful day would be strange, I guess. Hah.
Knight, who has discovered how to take of his cone once more, decided to tear of his bandage and is bleeding again. Decided to clean the whole lot with iodine, and then put his denim sock on the way the vet advised I do sometime today. For the record I have to just state a moment that Knight is a friggin’ idiot. If it were up to him, he would start digging into that newly healed flesh and just wreck it all again. Grrr.

Had to wake up on time, despite the fact that I was a tad tired. Still had to rush through the morning rituals to be able to leave on time to drop the Opel off at the garage. Had to wait there for a bit until big brother (he was still a little under the weather) came to pick me up.

Had to drop some stuff off at home on our way to Málaga where the appointment with the ITV awaited. Actually managed to get there in time, just barely. We were pretty early, and yet the street hookers were out and about already. Drove past this rather young streetwalker with a neon dress that didn’t even cover her butt. Sad to see how these harsh times make folks do desperate things.

But anyway. We arrived more or less on the dot, meaning I had to rush inside, type in my license plate and then wait for my turn at the register for the paperwork. Took exactly the predicted time, for a change, same as when we had to wait for our turn on the lines with the other cars. No more than half an hour wasted, only to not pass the friggin’ MOT. Almost had a breakdown then and there when I saw the four “notes” on the paper that gave us exactly two months to make the repairs. Drat. Immediately went to our garage to let them see the paper. Was greatly relieved almost immediately, since three of the supposed problems were minor, and the last one doesn’t HAVE to be a problem, at least not until they put the car on the bridge. We have an appointment on Thursday.

Reassured we drove on to the hospital, only to find Tenant seriously upset with everything and everyone. She was all red from it, and it took us some time to talk her out of her upset. Ended up sitting with her for quite a while, working on our computers, after which she at a certain points sighed and said that she was so happy we were there. Was sorry to have to go, but there was more stuff to do yet.

Dropped big brother off at home, then drove straight through to the village to pay a bill at the vet’s. Needed a new prescription filled for the Knight, and we had to get veggies for the dogs.
Managed only a little more writing later in the evening, but all in all got enough done during the day.

Today…started off normal, actually. Did the usual chores, had breakfast, and worked on the book, and then was startled by the arrival of two women at the gate. Gawd. Turns out they were from social services. It wasn’t funny. Apparently they came to check up on tenant and Sally, and demanding to know all sorts of private information about mom and the present living situation, as if that is any of their business. Seriously, you should have seen their derogatory attitude toward our somewhat simple way of life. It was downright insulting. We are going to have to meet with social services in the near future to sort this out, because they couldn’t have picked a worse day either. Everyone had been way too busy today to do any cleaning. Grandpa was out just after eight, Cousin Ed was with tenant at the hospital since early, it wasn’t Jane and Olive’s day, big brother is still under the weather, and I was trying to finally get some writing done. It was a mess. *sigh*

But anyway, that certainly put a lid on the day. Had burning stomach acid most of the day, and then we got the news that not only does tenant have a normal UTI, she also has some sort of bacteria there (usually caught at hospitals, of all places) that has her in semi-quarantine. No one is allowed to go in without surgical robes and gloves, for crying out loud. Talk about clean. Apparently antiseptic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Grrr.

Next we headed into the yard to do some serious watering. It’s been a while, but it was wonderful to be down there, despite the fact that the yard is less than a quarter of what we did the past few years, darn it. Actually calmed down enough not to feel my stomach burn anymore.

While big brother and grandpa went out to get some stuff from the village, Cousin Ed and I cooked dinner. Lentil veggie mix, which worked out rather well, along with white endive halves baked in cream. Both worked out well, if I do say so myself. Hah.

Some more writing tonight, and then it was of course blogging time, again.

A little bit of Advertising.

Song of the day: “Don’t worry, be happy” By Bobby McFerrin. It has been my mantra since yesterday and it has been helping. Hah.

First of, Tenant. Nothing too serious, relatively speaking that is, but yesterday she was admitted into hospital once more, because she suddenly developed a fever and started vomiting. She spent the night and it turns out a new kidney stone is blocking her kidney again. She’s going to have to stay a few days so they can put a tube directly in her kidney, like before. For a change she wasn’t thrilled to go to hospital, and I think it was because lately she’d been doing much better, and even improving a little. I do hope that this is not going to set her back a lot again. *sigh*

Another bit of bad news is the Land Rover. Apparently the “steering box” sprung some sort of leak, meaning we’re going to have to get that fixed before the MOT next month. Grrr. Worst case scenario we’ll be without the car for four to five days, or pay 800 bucks for a new box. Guess we’ll be without the car then. *sigh* Got an appointment in two weeks. Must not forget to jot that down.

Next week the vet will be here for the morning to vaccinate the dogs, which is obligatory, of course. I always get frustrated when I think about all the things that are obligatory, for which you are also obliged to pay. I don’t get who thought of that sneaky way to earn money, but whoever did, is one mean son of a gun. In fact, that person should be shot. In fact, if something is obligatory by law, it should be completely free. That’s what taxes are for, right?

But anyway…I might get my first official photo session some day soon. A friend of our Spanish teacher apparently loves being photographed, and considering she’s pretty (according to our teacher) she might be willing to pose for me in exchange for some nice photos. Should be a fascinating experience.

Which reminds me, I promised our teacher María that I would mention her here for all you expats here in Spain who want to learn Spanish but are just not getting anywhere the regular way. She will work with groups, or one on one, your choice, and you can go to her, agree on a meeting place, or she will come to your place. Maria has a new special method of “learning in conversation” while having fun in a relaxed atmosphere…something to which I will attest, of course. I like it. It’s not just learning words, grammar and such, but it’s also a way of getting to know another person, see what their interests are. Basically interacting while learning Spanish at the same time.

Phone MARÍA RAMOS at 679 94 20 54

Give her a ring some time if you want to learn Spanish, I did. Hah.

Okay, enough advertising. Where was I?

Oh yeah, I managed to get some stuff done in the kitchen. Raised the last bit of the front wall to the final height, which wasn’t as easy as it should have been, but worked out, thankfully. Worked with red bricks and concrete, so the next time round we can start putting in the window there too.

There was the yard to look after, naturally. Got a bit of harvest in, some herbs for supper and all that. Oh, and I managed to write to my pen pall abroad. Took me forever to get around to it, seeing how insane everything has been lately. *sigh* But got him updated on the events. I do hope he's doing alright.

Knight II had the last of his stitches removed, despite the fact that there was still a bit of inflammation going. Problem with the Knight is that he has allergic reactions to his stitches, so in order to find out what’s causing the inflammation, the vet had to remove them. Now I have to squeeze out his ear twice a day, the poor darling.

The weather is still absolutely wonky. Temps are staying mid-seventies up here in the mountains, while normally the temps would be up to high nineties this time of year. Very strange, I’ve been wearing sweaters, for crying out loud. I mean seriously, there are clouds, and last night it even looked like it was going to rain for a bit…it didn’t (darn it) but it looked like it was going to.

Practiced Spanish of course, so I had plenty of sentences today…which turned out to be unnecessary because we got to talking about life in general, like usual. Hah. Ah well, it’ll just mean that next week we’ll just have more phrases to go over.

Dog food yesterday involved feeding them dry bread. Seriously, there’s a bunch of them that act as though we’re feeding them raw meat. Three to four pieces will get caught into mid-air and then carried off to be eaten at a leisured pace. It’s hysterical. Chaos ate so much, in fact, that he puked half of it out afterward. Hah. Silly Chaos. This morning it was back to normal food, which the picky eaters enjoyed more than usual.

Got some more photography done, including the rather becoming picture of María up there. I like it. I’m getting a diverse selection, and am curious where I will be able to take this thing in the future. It is nice to notice that I can still snap that shot I see in my head, and make it look the way I intended. Just keep an eye out for Samaya’s View and see if you can enjoy those shots as much as I do.

Writing has been an off and on thing. Did some, but mostly edited the stuff that big brother already went through. It allows me to really look into what I already wrote, so there won’t be too many repetitions we’ll have to remove in the future. I still like the characters, despite the fact that they have their faults.

Well, that’s it for me. Did the blog early for a change, since I really would like to get some writing done tonight. Okay. Better get started.

Stress?

Song of the day: “Please don’t say you love me” by Gabrielle Aplin. Such a gorgeous little song. One of my favs at the moment.

Another weekend past. Time does fly, doesn’t it? So strange how that goes. Here I was, happy that the Friday blog was over and done with, looking forward to an entire weekend without blogs, only to be back at it again.

Let me just start by saying that it is friggin’ cold right now. I don’t know what is up, but I had to put on a sweater by the time the sun began to set. It’s June for heaven’s sake! The wind is, autumn-like, I swear. It is downright freaky, I tell ya.

Saturday. I woke at the usual time, but something inside me was screaming for an extra 30 minutes, so I caved in and closed my eyes again…regretfully cousin Ed needed something, so that nipped that in the butt, since I was really awake after that. Hah. Couldn’t be helped, I fear. She wanted to take tenant to town so they get her some new reading glasses, and needed the car.

Poor Knight II had several of his stitches removed, the poor darling. He didn’t like it at all. In particular not since he is still wary of men, and doesn’t know the new male assistant yet. Also, I think it hurt a little, so he was sitting on the floor, me holding his hand, making kissy noises, holding him tight while the vet poked and prodded at his ear and removed about five stitches. He was not amused, my big lug.

Big brother and I spent some time in the yard again. Plantsies need to be watered after all, and though this year the yard is minimal (just too little time this time round, darn it) it still takes some time. Only enough for eating, nothing for storing, much to my regret. I did love the canning two years ago. But what with all the hospital trips this year, the vet trips, the markets, it is just not doable. It saddens me sometimes, but such is life. You roll with it.

Did some groceries for mom and the sibs, they too have little time, so, since we had to go for a donation anyway, we picked some stuff up. Got to do some more photography, not as much as I would have liked, but some at least. I’m going to have to see how they worked out soon. I still haven’t taken them off the camera.

Sunday. No Funny Beach Marbella market this time round. There was apparently some big San Juan feast going on on Saturday night, meaning that the place would be a mess, and that they would not be able to get everything set up for the market the very next morning. A pity in regards of earnings, but not a bad thing for as far as I was concerned. I’ve more than plenty to do at home, thank you very much.

Of course, when mom asked if I could check out a market for her in Villafranco, a town off to the north, I couldn’t say no, and agreed to go there with cousin Ed, just to see if it was anything for us.
First there were the chores, however, and since that took longer then expected, no breakfast to talk about. Instead I wolfed down half a portion of cereal before I had to leave to bring Jane to the village. Since we were home, we didn’t need her to stay until two. Just as I was about to leave with her, tenant called after me that she would so much like to go with us to the market, so Cousin Ed got her ready while I drove Jane home, and then returned asap.

We loaded tenant up, packed up her wheelchair and all other necessities and left for the little village where the market was supposedly located. First off, the town looked like a ghost town from one of those spaghetti Westerns, and what’s worst, that image didn’t change. So we stopped at one of those ice cream stands where the market was, and were told to go down the road and at the end we’d come right upon it. So we went, came upon a restaurant, but no market for as far as we could see. Cousin Ed went in to ask again, and then came back out gesturing that we were there. I drove back, parking in front of the restaurant, with Ed whispering that I wasn’t going to believe this.
It was cute, I’ll say that much about it. Definitely a nice thought, but for our purposes it couldn’t be called a market. Seriously there were about eight tables inside a big room, and if we were to put our wares with it we’d probably fill half the room. Added to that, the majority of the customers this market had, were the those who came from the market my mom’s on, so that would totally defeat the purpose. A pity. It would have been fun. The folks were nice at least. Lots of Brits.

Did practice my Spanish, both yesterday and today, thank you very much. Not enough yet, but some at least, so I’m not a complete slacker. Gawd, who’d have thought that fitting in half an hour, or something, would be that hard. *sigh*

Then, considering my camera really needs the protection, I worked with leather yesterday afternoon, after we got back. I took a dip in the pool, got out a knife, and started cutting. Within three hours I had something resembling a bag with stuffing to protect my new toy. I did a rough design, that I will, at some point brand all over to make it look nicer. Felt somewhat odd afterward. I am not used to sitting that long, focusing so intently, I guess, so I took another quick dip and then got to work on supper.

Helped tenant in-between, who revisited an old milestone, which had both of us relieved. Regretfully Sally is getting worse at the moment. Her mind is not right, I fear. So much anger, which is just not healthy in the state she’s in. Did get a wonderful tip from one of my online friends, who suggested a walker for Sally. Gawd, I hadn’t even thought of that. We still had the one mom once bought for tenant standing around, and it will sure do the trick for Sally…when she remembers to use it.
She’s an incredibly stubborn old lady, but then, that’s nothing new. She always was, it is just more noticeable now, I guess.

But anyway, while I was working on my bag, big brother and grandpa worked on the roof of the carport where it connects to the new kitchen. It looks nice, actually. Yes, I’ll take pictures of that as well. Hah. At the same time cousin Ed did some masonry where the third window will be, and though I would have loved to do some in the kitchen as well, I need to make that bag. *sigh*

Cooking in the past few days involved red beets with rice and cheese yesterday, mushroom pastries with red cabbage and mashed potatoes on the side the day before that, and pasta with ratatouille today. All leftovers together, should make for an excellent meal tomorrow.

Got some serious writing done these past few days. Yay. Along with some edits, double yay. Going slower than expected, and hoped for, but such are the ways of writing. Some take time, some come out like a brain fart (pardon my French).

Am, as of yesterday, experimenting with creating a herbal wine. It’ll be strong, it’ll be different, but most of all, it’ll be fun to try out. Got this massive pot filled with a pinot, tossed in a selection of herbs from the yard, some spices, a clove of garlic (hey, this is my wine, don’t wrinkle your nose at it until you’ve tried it) and some dried cranberries with one disk of beets…I’m cheating and making it a red wine. Hah. Took out the garlic this morning, otherwise it would become too pungent, but the other ingredients are still in. I’ll let you know how it works out once it’s done.

Also, today I spent some time on my potions. I was out of a lot of them since the last flu, and especially my Sage potion was starting to become incredibly necessary. But anyway, gathered it all during this afternoon’s yard session and set it to seep in brandy so it should be done in about an hour, or so.

What else? Well, that fella from Texas is persisting. Am not really sure what to think of it all. On the overall we’ve been sparring online…in a rather public place, thankfully…but he keeps insisting I write to him personally. With the emphasis of me contacting him first. Now, call me paranoid but I keep thinking that if I do I’m going to hear “You’ve been Punk’d” or something. Hah. What can I say, I’ve a paranoid mind, and see conspiracies everywhere. Ah well, so far it’s been fun games, we’re just going to have to see where it leads and hope that he doesn’t turn out to be some sort of whackjob. A little whacky is fine, but a whackjob would be cause for concern. Hah.

Had to go out for a donation again today. Didn’t get much, but enough for expenses at the very least…if we manage to sell any of it, that is. What with the way the markets are going these days, that is a big if, by the way. Everyone is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, me and the family included. Added to that, there’s another big vet bill waiting, along with the impending inoculations which are obligatory these days, which are going to hurt our finances severely. *sigh*

The stress is a little high at the moment, I think. Too many changes, maybe. The threat of losing our way of life at some point in the future. Or just too much overall stress. There are some recurring headaches playing, (I’m managing those, thank you) and the day before yesterday I revisited the good old days by upchucking my supper. I hate it when that happens. I am working hard at getting my deficiencies under control, only to have my stomach decide that supper just wasn’t necessary. As was par for the course back in the day, my stomach’s had that scraped out feel for hours afterward. Very annoying. I am not going back there, I tell ya. I will enjoy a stress-less life even if it kills me. Hah. Gawd, I need a jog, or a boxing session!

Well, on that cheery note I’m going to call this a finished blog and say my goodbyes.
Goodbye.

Hah.

Running late

Song of the day…I’m not sure. There were too many this weekend to just settle on one.

It was a busy weekend, and now it is late, so I’m going to have to do this fast.

First off, I'm a little worried about Knight II. The lump on his chest is still there, darn it.

Saturday market didn’t go bad. Had the booth set up in about an hour and a half, which meant that the waiting game started almost immediately. Hah. Stuff almost went wrong when we arrived a little late, and there was this guy standing there, acting if he had the right to be there. I immediately dug out my phone to check things out, but before I finished dialing he was off to his car, mumbling like a lunatic. Hah. Sold more than just the expenses for a change, and did have a nice chat with a Finnish woman and a woman from Canada. They were nice and one of them actually bought something, so that was a double treat. I also sold a tie dye shirt, which was very nice. She actually said she’d come by again to see if I have new stuff.

Started loading at two, and drove straight to our donation address afterward, hoping it would fit on top of the market stuff. It did, just barely, but it took time. When we finally did get home it was late, and I still had to get started on making the pumpkin chutney, yogurt sauce and of course the two mango cheesecakes. Yep, decided to make one for the market, and since making two mangos doesn’t take any longer than just one, I figured, what the hell.

Did manage some edits on Saturday. A good thing, considering Sunday was a bust in regards to edits. Didn’t get any done, but did manage to write two pages of my “Gun” story. That was of course after getting up at the crack of dawn, baking 12 burgers and driving to Funny Beach where we got to set up the stand once more. Good thing I like to set up a lot, because now I get to do it twice a week…did get a rather nice compliment the other day that I “dressed up” the stand so nicely. Almost like a cute little store. Hah. Good to see that it at least gets appreciated.

Made my first real profit with my patties, cheesecake and sauces. Came away with some odd ten bucks after the expenses were taken off. Yay. I loved those expression on some folks’ faces when they tried for the first time, and ended up totally surprised. There were plenty of responses that went like “Wow. That is REALLY nice” or “Very good, and there’s no tofu in this?”
Sold about a dozen of ‘m. Along with seven pieces of pie, and a bottle of sauce. Yay! One dude even bought some of everything. Hah. Nice.

Were done setting up within a couple of hours, at which time I took over the stand for about half an hour so Cousin Ed could take a quick dip in the sea. We’ve been trying to for the past few weeks, but what with everything going on we just didn’t get to it. But anyway, once she had her swim, it was time for me to get into the car and go to the hospital to visit Sally. She’s not doing well, I think. More so mentally than physically. She’s doing stuff that had me a tad shocked when she told me, and I don’t shock easily. It made me a little ditzy afterward. Heck, I even forgot my water bottle once I left.

Once I got back I stuffed my face with some crackers and cheese, and then headed into the restaurant where they were nice enough to let me have a table (despite it being busy) so I could write for an hour and a half. That went rather well. Character development is coming along nicely, as is the plot. I actually had to laugh several times while writing.

But anyway, once done with my writing, it was another hour before it was time to start packing up for the day. Didn’t finish with that until well after six (my friggin’ just about ready to be chopped off) and arriving at home around seven. Then there was the whole unloading bit, shoveling food down our throats and then sitting down for some relaxation finally. Did have some nice chats (regardless that the other participant is nicely nutters) before finally dropping into bed and passing out for the night.

Which reminds me. I was totally miffed this morning when I woke up from the alarm right when my dream was starting to get interesting. It was a continuation on my “Gun” story, and I was just about to kiss this Brad Pitt-ish dude when the friggin’ alarm went off. Could have had a bit more of that, thank you very much.

Did manage a ten page edit. Both big brother and I are pretty pleased with how things are turning out so far. The new scenes seem to match nicely, while still keeping the tone of the story intact, which is all one can really ask for, right?

Then, of course, we had to head into the yard, where I yanked weeds, planted some herbs and big brother watered. It took us about an hour, at which point it was time to have some lunch. I took my dose of meat, thank you very much. (Good Sammie) And we did a bit of Spanish when Cousin Ed, Grandpa and Tenant came home from the hospital. Tenant had an appointment for her kidneys, and grandpa visited with Sally, so that went all really fast.

Lunch eaten, big brother and I headed out for a pickup. Since we were out anyway, we went past several stores to look at prices for cameras. I’m playing with the idea of getting a digital one. I’ve been leaning toward it for a while, and who knows, I might actually try to get a job with it, here and there. We’ll see.

Well, once we got home it was almost nine, so I quickly cooked dinner and then tried to get to work. Regretfully I got a mail which took way too much of my time, so once again we didn’t get to edits. Darn it, we’ll never make that deadline now. I hope that that publisher won’t mind C.H. being late.

Well, it is almost two in the morning. I need to get some sleep, in particular since I am a little tipsy (had a nice white semidulce). If I don’t I might say something stupid.