Sunburned!

Song of the day: “Our life is gonna change” by Simona Barbeiri, again, I think. I distinctly recall writing about it before. I wonder if there are comparisons between the days…hmmm. I could check but that would defeat the purpose of the experiment, seeing as I decided to see how long this song-going-through-my-head thing is going to last, and then see if there’s a pattern. A pity.

But let’s get to the day fast, ‘cause I’m a wee bit sunburned, and feel it. Hah. I need to hit the sheets before it really gets uncomfortable.

So, what happened today? I’ll tell you (as if I usually don’t, hah):
The day started a solid two hours, maybe more, before my usual waking time. I got to play chauffeur again, you see. It would be nice to say that I was looking forward to it, but since that would be a lie…I won’t. Hah.

Our tenant had to go to Marbella, to a doctor because my insurance insisted on seeing her personally, rather than just call her regular doc at the big hospital, aaargh. So there we went, yours truly, our tenant and her caretaker, driving in the quickly warming morning sun with me swallowing down my must-have coffee (waking up early is a pain) and sucking on my morning cigarette like a pro…I know, very attractive image, what with the fashionable horror stories about cigarettes, but what can I say: I smoke.

But anyway, we head for Marbella on the very road where they had the accident.
Neither of my two passengers can remember the exact location, so it wasn’t a problem, and when we arrive in town, it takes us almost forty minutes until we finally locate the clinic on a street that literally goes on for about two miles without an option to turn off; we drove it four times. Uh-huh. That’s Marbella for ya. I’ve sure seen enough of it in the past few weeks to last me another ten years or so.

I got to wait in the car (yes, I’m like a genuine chauffeur in these instances) for almost an hour, and due to big brother’s rather brilliant suggestion, I had taken my laptop with me and managed to write a page or two for another “Commanding Morgan” scene. Yay. Imagine me, wedged behind the wheel, computer in-between, MP3 blaring in my ears, tapping away until I was startled straight out of a rather intriguing sentence, when the passenger door was yanked open…our tenant was done and had returned. Drat.

The drive back was relatively uneventful, the Land Rover did it without a hitch, and by the time we got home, four hours after departure, I soaked in the pool for a few minutes before heading inside to fold today’s laundry. The temperatures had gone up considerably by then: we hit the 105 mark, I think.

What followed was another editing session…it’s going slow but steady…and then, two hours later I’ve had enough of staring at the screen, take another dip in the pool (it’s even hotter by then and even Knight II flops down on his butt in the water) and make my way up to the carport. I make cement and put the last bit on top of the square pillar (I didn’t have enough cement yesterday, remember?) and then move the mess up to my cabin where I can add some more to the low wall.

We have a slight interruption, to treat Camera’s (Golden retriever) big ol’ lump on her shoulder again. The poor girl really gets too excited whenever she comes storming out the patio in the morning. Each and every time she’ll pounce on one of the other dogs, and ends up being bitten in the exact same spot that is supposed to be healing.

What with my recent dip in the pool, I don’t actually notice that I’m standing in the full blaze of the sun in this particular spot, and by the time I do, it is already too late. My skin felt tight, dry and as if it had been sanded; but seeing as the damage is done, I shoulder on, haul rocks, build them up and finish up around the time the sun has dropped low enough for the mimosa tree to offer me shade.

The low wall is looking rather pretty, I’ll admit. On the section that adjoins my beautiful stairs up to the porch, I’ve made a nice seat…with a ridiculously large slate of rock that was almost too heavy to carry…and added maybe three by two foot to the whole.
Now, our intention was to keep this section of wall low, but then we reconsidered with the realization that we’d need a wall where we can hang the garden hose, which explains why I’ve gradually been adding rocks to increase the height.

The youngest sibs prepared dinner and after soaking in the pool for a solid fifteen minutes…oh my, did that feel grand; I was really overheated…before I head inside to have egg rolls with stir fry noodles and veggies. Delicious. Seeing as my skin was really starting to look a sort of lobster reddish, I slathered on a rich amount of after sun and felt downright blissful when the stuff had its soothing effect.

TV couldn’t capture my attention, so instead, big brother and I settle in the courtyard - in a downright wonderful northwestern wind, I might add - and manage another edit before we both decide that it’s enough for today, and call the session to a stop in hopes that we can make it an early night.

Might as well start fresh in the morning, rather than push when there really is no energy left to push with. Hah.

Pillar is finished. Phew.

Song of the day: (Two of ‘m actually) “Mary Pickford” by Katie Melua, which is a marvelous song and “Dragostea Din Tei” by O-Zone, that I don’t even know the lyrics of but just improvise along the way. Hah. The two just kept popping up at any moment, during the course of the day.

We’re going to do some pictures today…seeing as it has been a looooooong day for me, on way too little sleep. Actually made me a little nauseous, but no matter, I’ll turn in early again today and should be as right as rain come morning.

Like I intimated yesterday, I had to get up at the crack of dawn (for me anyway) to drive over to Marbella to pick up a friend of grandpa, who was going to spend the day at our place. It’s a long trip, an hour back and forth, but since I have been looking forward to trying out the new Land Rover for some time now, I don’t really mind.

The trip goes well, no hiccups, and the car does an excellent job. Our friend had a couch for us…the place she works out did some remodelling, and they were throwing it away…so we drove to the place it was stashed and haul it to the car - only to find out that it doesn’t fit.
We stare at the thing for a bit, shove against it a bit, and end up unscrewing the bolts of the backseat just to fit the six-foot couch into the back. It takes some time, lifting, showing and in pushing, but yeah…Success!

An hour later we’re back home, where after a quick dip in the pool I attempt to do some work on the computer for several hours, but I’m really too tired and end up taking a catnap on the new couch, before I pass out. An hour and a half later I wake up and for some reason it feels as if the day has practically passed.

Big brother leaves to take grandpa’s friend back home, and I head outside to start on the pillar again. With a little luck I’ll finish it today…and I did. Oh my, I don’t know whether to be thrilled or disappointed but the round one, and the square one get done today…minus a few gaps for which I didn’t have enough cement. The last bit was just barely to make one last batch, but I succeeded and they’re both…ehm, interesting. Here, have a look/see.

So here's how the pillar looked. Horrid isn't it?


This is day two, I think.


And on...can you see how how crooked it's becoming?


And finished. Isn't it grand? You can't get it this crooked if you tried.


And the square one outside. I call it art, seriously. Hah!


I know, the pics aren't the best, but they do give a general idea.



But anyway, by the time I’m done, big brother comes back home and starts working on the car, while I tackle the pile of rocks on the new terrace. It is supposed to be a ramp some day and they need to be removed; they end up on the other side of the path in no time, and when I’m done, I still don’t feel like quitting, so instead I continue…rather than crash, the way I usually do on days such as these.

Six wheelbarrows of dirt, gravel and…well, dirt gets chopped loose and tossed in the will-be-ramp-someday (little brother comes to pitch in somewhere in the middle) while big brother and grandpa fix the banister of my porch.
Before I know it, dusk has arrived and after washing off the grime, I head inside to have a quick dinner. Then some computer time before we put on “Next” with Nicholas Cage to relax a little while I write today’s Blog…I really need to get some editing done later on before going to bed, so it needs to be done fast. (Pardon the typos, hah)

Untitled.

Song of the day: “All summer long” by Kid Rock. Oh my, that song sure was a big surprise to me. I would definitely never have expected that I’d like his music. Hah.

Seeing as I need to be up tomorrow at the crack of dawn, today’s blog is a little early, and hopefully short. So, I’m on time waking up this morning, Knight II is making a racket, Trin Trin is bouncing up and down by the back door, and on the overall the entire mob is more than eager to head on out into the sunny morning.

The morning rituals over and done with, I head to the house for the usual chores, breakfast, and then a quick dip in the pool. Chaos insists to go along today; he barges into the water like an amphibious vehicle, really, head and tail above water, taking a turn or two ‘round the pool and then getting out in the same fashion. He’s hilarious.

We start on the edit, but for some peculiar reason I’m ridiculously tired today, so I take a quick ten minute catnap in my chair, feeling much better when I wake up again, and resume the edit. We manage a solid four pages in the hours that pass, going over a scene and a half…the ones I wrote this week…and before we know it edit time is over.

The temperatures are remarkably higher today, but still it is not actually uncomfortable when I head outside and start mixing cement. Another three layers get added to the pillar, but when the rocks start to float again, I take the wheelbarrow up to the gate, where I finish the remainder on the pillar beside the gate of the courtyard wall.

Big brother and grandpa are working on the yard lights still, and I join them for a bit, moving about in the full afternoon sun and actually enjoying the heat. Afterwards I head to the house for the meal little brother, and sister, have prepared and dig in.

Camera’s (Golden Retriever) swelling on the neck has grown again, so we puncture the large hump, needing a towel to mop up the mess that comes streaming out. I admit that the amount of it made me a tad nauseous, but at least Camera felt better afterwards.

There’s another edit in the planning, later on, finishing the new scene and setting it aside for later when the rest of the manuscript is ready to add it. For now I’m focussing on the Blog, however.

I am thinking about adding one of the big pack dogs to my own, seeing as Indigo (black Labrador) is feeling a might neglected these days, so ‘round this time tomorrow I should be able to report how it goes tonight. Sometimes it works, adding one of the big pack, sometimes it doesn’t. Only time will tell. I do hope it does, ‘cause Indigo really needs some extra attention.

Surving the Pack...it sucks big time!

R.I.P. Lapis.

Song of the day: “Dream a little Dream” by the Beautiful South again. I guess that should have told me that yesterday wasn’t over yet.

So, as it turns out, last night wasn’t a false alarm after all. Today we got in the test results for Lapis and as it turned out his blood had basically turned toxic due to kidney failure. Damn. So we went there, basically feeling like we were heading for the gallows and had to make “The Dreaded Decision” again. Little brother was of course heartbroken, and I couldn’t keep my eyes dry either as Lapis quietly drifted away. We were in and out of the hospital in thirty minutes and took his remains home for a proper burial. So sad…I know I keep saying it, every time this happens, but it is; no matter which way you turn it.

Days like these are the main reason why I always call living with our ninety-something dogs “Surviving the Pack”; such a life is wonderful, precious, chaotic, difficult, amazing…and damn HARD! It is living with the knowledge that you’re going to have to say goodbye to beloved friends each and every time age and disease catches up with them. And it is living with endless limitations for each and every family member. But still, it is a joint choice and we live with it because we love them dearly.
However, on days such as this it is hard to remember that we give these amazing creatures a wonderful life and that we get a lot of love in return. Without them, this clogging feeling in my chest would not be present. But then I realize that I would not be able to hug Knight II when he presses his big head into my chest because he wants to be petted: I wouldn’t see Chaos saunter around the yard, sniffing his way from one side of the fence to the other; I wouldn’t have Mosha flopping down on my chest when it is time to go to bed so she can get her habitual hug; nor see Labhana and Gada barge their way off the mountain, or even watch Trin Trin bounce up and down in front of me whichever way I turn. They might be a handful, but I know full well I would miss each and every little character quirk I love of all our pack members.
Yes, life with them is hard, but no matter what, I wouldn’t miss a single day with them for all the money in the world.

But enough about such depressing thoughts, let’s quickly get to the day and be done with it. I for one am ready to call it a day.

After getting down to the house and doing the morning chores, I quickly get down to writing three more pages for “Commanding Morgan”. It is an excellent scene, really, showing off the heroine’s rather impressive skills as a former child-soldier, going into action-flick proportions, hah. Kidding beside, though, I think the scene is working out rather well.

Afterwards we do several more pages of the edit, stumbling on a sentence here and there, but then steadily soldiering on until we’re only a page away from the rather satisfying number: 60. Yay.

What with writing and editing combined, my brain has turned to mush an hour earlier than usual, so we stop and get down to seeing to some chores around the house. While big brother tackles the clogged kitchen drain, I attack the new clusters of spider webs all over the main house. That done, I decide to quickly fix the pantry door…it was still broken since the debacle with Groovy (Boxer)…and since I do need to lock Knight II in there every now and then, I feared that he would break through at some point, the big oaf.

Next, while big brother and grandpa head on out to fix our outside lantern, so they can run on solar energy, rather than normal electricity, our friend Danni and I make another batch of cement and add the next section to the courtyard pillar.

The early afternoon sun is rather hot, but then, as the day progresses, a nice northern wind picks up making the weather rather perfect for outside chores. The dogs sure love it, being able to run free through the lower section of the yard now that grandpa and big brother are working there.

As soon as the third layer of rocks on the pillar start to float again, we head up the mountain, so we can start on another pillar (a square one this time, aaargh) which needs to be built beside the center gate to hold a lantern later on.
Regretfully these rocks start to float as well, so with the last bit I add a few more rocks to the low wall in front of my cabin and then finish the workday up by cleaning up the tools.

The phone call about Lapis’ test results comes then, resulting in another trip to the vet and doing the horrid deed, before the day slowly comes to an end. Rather than edit tonight, big brother and I decide to put on a DVD: “Tears of the Sun”, which is a movie we’ve seen at least a dozen times, but that continues to be so very impressive each and every time we see it.

Afterwards the usual happens: I take the dogs up to my cabin, feed them, and do the normal evening rituals before starting on today’s Blog.
Yep. Some good news would be vastly appreciated at this time, I’ll admit. I’ve had about enough of the trying experiences these past few weeks. Grrrr.