Disastrous? Close at least.

Song of the day: “Puppet on a string” by Sandie Shaw. I know, it’s an oldie, but it’s still cute. Hah.

So let’s get to the good part…oh wait, there was a string of near disasters these past couple of days. Hah. Not really disastrous, it is just that once again the whole week has gone past where we had to go out every single one of them…including tomorrow when the dreaded grocery shopping day is back. Aaargh.

Nope. I’m not thinking of it, not yet.

Okay, one of the disasters: something in the Daewoo said pop and lost its power steering. Turns out one of the belts went, and we just barely had enough energy left in the battery to make it to the salesman’s garage. Of course yesterday (while we were in a hurry to get to Malaga to pick up our friend for her weekly sleepover) was a national strike holiday, meaning that the shop was closed, aaargh. We left it standing there, after managing, just barely to close the windows and lock the doors, and sped on.

Afterwards there was another visit to the bank. Yes, we’re still not getting any drafts, and as it turns out that he had put in the wrong postal code and town when he reset our accounts. Gawd, then, five past five thirty we get an sms, informing us that something is wrong with the Daewoo’s insurance and if we can call them back.

Turns out the insurance broker is closed at five thirty, so that meant that we had to go there this morning, after dealing with the garage, mind you, and see what the heck was going on. Apparently the bank withdrew the payment of our insurance for some reason, so I had to write a check instead. My first time, by the way. Never wrote a check before, if you must know. Jeez, never knew it was so friggin’ complicated. Luckily the broker did it for me (yes I checked the amount afterwards, don’t worry) she’s known us for nigh on fifteen years, I’m guessing. Hah.

What else: Mom’s sewing machine finally got fixed, so we had to pick that up as well. Almost forgot too. Didn’t actually remember until we were three miles from home and had to head on back to town once more to pick it up. Grrr.

Another bit of bad news. Djoti (little sister’s cocker spaniel) was peeing blood last night, so she and mom hurried to the vet. Turns out the cocker has a big tumor behind his spleen and at his age (12 something) it just isn’t feasible. Emotionally and physically. He’s already blind, had one eye removed, along with several tumors, so we’re hoping to battle the problem for a bit longer with an antibiotic.

Scare number three would be Ama (mom’s Viscla pointer) got her mouth around a toad last night and started acting rather peculiarly. So they headed out to the vet for the second time. There are poisonous toads in this area and according to the internet you’re supposed to get treatment within 40 minutes or else risk losing the dog. From Ama’s reaction I would say she was experiencing a slight high. Apparently the vet was unfamiliar with this particular threat (city folk, gawd), but she is going to read up on it. Ama got a couple of shots, and her heart was checked just to be on the safe side. She appears to have made it through though.

Personally I spent my afternoon using the paint sprayer to varnish my second 2nd hand rattan chair up in the old paddock and it is looking pretty darn grant, if you must know. Now all it needs is another layer and a new pillow and then it can go into my sitting room. I can just imagine how it will look once the new floor is in. If only the days were longer…or I needed less sleep. Take my distributor for instance; he gets by on one hour of sleep. *sigh* Gawd, the stuff I could do with that much time on my hands. Hah.

Tenant’s test results came in this morning as well (another part of today’s trip) her bloodworks are fine, but she still has a slight urine infection. Which is apparently caused by not drinking enough. Poor woman can’t help it that she’s never really thirsty and us reminding her of it constantly is just bound to drive her bonkers. She’s an adult after all and in the end she will have to take care of herself in at least that way. She tries, though, and more than having something to drink at her side at any time is everything we can do in the end anyway.

Bommel: I still haven’t gotten around to shaving him. I’ve been planning to for at least a week now, but I just can’t find that spare hour anywhere. Maybe this weekend, we’ll see.

Yesterday afternoon was mostly spent in the yard by the way. Watering everything, harvesting what was ready and in general just spending a few wonderful hours in the sun and fresh breeze. Beautiful, I tell ya.

Writing. Rather than trying to throw out another scene, big brother and I did some edits in the manuscript yesterday. It’s good…I think. Very different from my usual style. Short, to the point and…I don’t know, simple. I’m pretty convinced that this story will need two edits at most, which is a big change from the other projects that need at least three or even five.

Well, my chair is waiting for me. Gotta paint it still, so I’m getting outta here.

A day overdue.

Song of the day: “The men in this town” by Shakira. Awesome song, it will always remind me of writing A Taste of Life.

I know, I know, I missed a day. It wasn’t on purpose I swear, it is just hard to fit it in when I have to hurry through everything to get to work on time. Considering we had to go to the hardware store first, and also the bazaar, we left two hours early in fact. Before that I had to help tenant so she would be able to get through the day until her caregiver came home. This mad me a little late, but what the heck.

We were just about done at the hardware store too, when the main distributor called to tell me that he’d arrive after four. He did. We loaded up, chatted a bit about sales and such. He’s (supposedly) going to send me some information about prices and such, but we’ll have to see if he gets to it. I think he’s rather easy-going in that way, letting things slide a little to see where they end up. Not a bad attitude on the overall, since pushing things never helps anyone, but in this regard (with me just wanting to try it out and getting it over with before I lose my nerve) it’s a little nerve wrecking, I admit. Ah well, patience is a virtue and I’m trying to culture it, so, whatever.

The route went well. Got some funny questions. One at the Punjabi Palace, which is an Indian restaurant. The owner asked me if he got commission if I put the papers at his place. My answer was laughing at/with him and telling him that I doubted it, seeing as I would just have to find a new spot and he wouldn’t do that to me, eh?

Another woman, in a bar, asked if she could get free advertising for holding the papers inside. Wanting to stay original I informed her that even though that would certainly be a nice thing, that wasn’t up to me.

Then there was this really nice feller, who owned a fabric store, who came after me after I’d put the papers in his store. He told me I was welcome to place a stack in his other store in the big city as well. Considering that is where my route will be in the near future, I thanked him profusely. Then, seeing as I had him talking anyway I figured, what the heck, let’s give it a shot.
(real subtle like, hah) I asked if he’d be interested in advertising in the paper, and we got to talking as to how he had tried advertising, but couldn’t get any customers that way because it really was more a word of mouth kind of business. Seeing as I’ve been a patron of the place myself, I could get his reasoning.

Seriously, I’m getting better at the idle chatter. Hah. But in regard to sales, that definitely sets me back 1-0. Darn it. (I REALLY use darn it a lot, don’t I?)

Oh, in one department store I got stopped by the guard and steered towards information that informed me that I needed authorization of the manager, or something, before I could place the papers there. Considering I’d been placing them for seven or eight weeks now I was a little stunned. The woman behind information sent me off with a phone number that I could call in the morning. I did. When I explained the problem, the secretary referred me to another person, and gave me a number, which ended up with me talking to a guy who had no clue what it was all about. I’m going to have hand it over to the main distributor.

There were more chats with the bar, restaurant, store and whatnot owners along the way…there are more than a hundred spots after all, and gradually people are starting to recognize me. There’s this security office I’ve set my eye on. I am definitely going to try my first pitch over there at some point in the near future, and seeing as they’re a nice bunch of ladies, who like to chat as much as anyone, I got stuck there for a bit. I call it an investment, of course.

We got done in time, for a change. No major disasters no holdbacks, everything went smooth as you please and without a hitch. Thankfully. We were actually home before midnight, and the dogs were naturally ecstatic. They, of course, were not aware of the fact that we had to be out again eight hours later. *sigh*

I can honestly say that my foot was effing killing me when we got home. Jeez. Stupid thing just keeps complaining all the time. The plantars Faciitis wasn’t all that bad, but the calcification around my heel is the culprit in this particular case. I was more than happy to call it a day and pass out in a horizontal position for a few hours. When the alarm went off, it was still way too early to my liking.

But enough about all that. This morning the remainder of the route was dealt with. Lots of friendly folkSunday was spent gardening a bit, of course. There’re still zucchini coming, yay. I made them in a ratatouille again, of course. Tomatoes, lots of bell peppers, which are almost as sweet as candy…or at least the red ones are. Love those.

Knight II must have gotten into a fight while I was gone, because he had a hole in his skin this morning. I’ve no idea where he got it, but I think he was being his enthusiastic self when he rushed past some of the other dogs and got hurt that. Poor darling. Way too big and clumsy for his own good. He just POs the others by just being there.

Grandpa lost another tooth, meaning that he’s going to need complete dentures, darn it. Poor guy is on the way to the dentist right this moment to get worked at.

No writing since Sunday night, where I added another two pages to the story. Hit 130 or went past it already, I’m not entirely sure. Gotta check tonight.

What else. Oh yes. We’re still cutting glass for the greenhouse. We’re definitely going to need to find more, but we’ll come a long way with our supplies yet. Personally, I am impatient about getting my floor in sometime in the near future. I can’t wait to see how it looks.

Well, that’s about it for today. I’ve got Bommel’s ears to clean. That infection is still screwing around with him, and I really have to get to it. I’ll undoubtedly be back.

I get a new floor!

Song of the day: “Mirrors in the sun” weird to have this one, seeing as it’s from when I was like, tiny. Seven, or something. Sally Oldfield. I know, I know, can anyone say: New Age kid? Yikes.

Gotta keep it short, ‘cause I’m running behind and I really should get a few pages of the latest project written down. Sure I did a few on paper today *gasp* but seeing as it doesn’t count until it’s on the computer, I’ve got to get jumping. Hah.

Okay, what to write, what to write? Gawd, I’m starting to blank out again. Seriously, if I don’t remember right this instant this blog is…Glass! Yes, big brother and I spent several hours sorting through our glass supplies, organizing the stacks and cutting a lot of them for the greenhouse. Phew. Memory one surfaced, quelle surprise. Got about ten of them done, meaning that we have another…oh, seventy or so more to go. Yay.

Ohhh where is memory number two? Where, where, where…nope. Nothing yet. Darn it. Oh yeah: Made a small table on wheels so mom can put it up against her work table whenever she’s working on her quilts. It’s hard to keep it away from the dogs without some place to prop it up on.

Three. Oh this one isn’t hard to remember at all. I don’t know where it snuck off to, but here you have it. Big brother and I spent about an hour laying out what will soon be…can I have a drum roll?…my very own hard wood floor in the sitting room of my cabin. Can you believe it. It is reddish, in case you’re wondering. Looks a little like mahogany, but whether it is or not is up for grabs. It’s going to be gorgeous and seriously, I am going to take pictures. Hah.
Oh, déjà vu…I wrote that before, didn’t I? *sigh* I know. I will though.

We harvested of course, but didn’t need to water the plants until today, due to the rain we had.
The dogs were both miserable and ecstatic, seeing as they enjoy us going down to the yard, while they abhor us working in the old paddock working with the glass. Poor darlings.

Mom and two of the sibs went to an art market and sold some of mom’s work. Apparently they didn’t enjoy the crowd as much as they do the second hand scene, but they managed to get some networking done at least.

Tenant was rather cheerful today, which is always a good thing. She was thrilled that we started on her wall today, meaning that we were busy with installing these long white panels over the natural rock wall that has been a thorn in our eye for the past few years. What with the new tile floor underneath it, the place is really starting to shape up. Soon we’ll be able to pour concrete on the remainder of the floor, then lay the rest of the tiles, et voila, the bungalow will look spic and span (sp?). Hah.

Writing. Did a count yesterday and apparently I've got the story done and connected except for two scenes for more than a hundred pages, meaning that with the fifty or so that I still need to write, I'll be done. Yay. Then there will the edit, the...okay, not thinking of all that now.

Gawd, I’m blanking out again, so I’m going to leave it at this. I’ve only got two hours left to do some serious writing so I’m outta here. Better luck next time, I guess.

Cowboying up yet?

Song of the day: “Faraway voice” by Katie Melua. Such a sad song.

Well, another busy couple of days, I guess. Yesterday was my doctor’s appointment, yay, and as it turned I’m going to have to continue with the treatment a little longer. There were some minor increases everywhere, which the doc doesn’t like, for some reason. Since there was some increase, I don’t see what the problem is. Anemia supposedly always takes a long time to recover from, that’s why everyone is supposed to donate blood no more than twice a year, for crying out loud.

But what the heck, who cares, it just means I have to make another “donation” next month to see if it got better. Okay, whatever. I can only do my best in trying to eat well and regularly, so the way I figure, worrying about it all just isn’t smart and a colossal waste of time. So I won’t.

So what did we do yesterday? I made ratatouille for lunch, which we ate with tenant and her caregiver. Using as some sort of broth to dip bread in it was a nice and filling meal on the overall.

Afterwards big brother used the paint sprayer on my second hand whicker chair, which looks like new, now that I’ve putt in new wooden slats in the seat and a new pillow. Seriously, it looks gorgeous and it sits very comfortably. I wanted the color to be a deep caoba (chocolate) color, and what with the gleaming polish the end result is grand.

Considering I want to resume my kick boxing we took the boxing bag out of hiding and hung it in the carport. It really didn’t take all that long, but we had been trying to get it done for quite a bit without success.

Little sister went to the eye doctor yesterday too. Considering her eyesight has been giving her trouble and it is nauseating and dizzying her, she wanted it checked out. Turns out she’ll need glasses, which is a pain, of course, but not the worst thing imaginable, I suppose.

We also had to harvest a bit, because, let’s face it, food is never too much. Hah. Got some beets, lots of peppers, some onions, tomatoes and even a handful of zucchini and eggplant. It was a nice occupation too, considering we actually got some sunshine yesterday, while today there’s been quite a bit of rain. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last night, after writing two pages for the ongoing project, (went over 125 pages, thank you very much) and then went up to the carport to attack the bag for a bit. Seriously, it has been way too long since I last kick boxed. Worries have been mounting up, thoughts have been turning into mush and my body is drifting back into the habit of whining about everything. The way I figure, making some testosterone and muscle is just what I need.

You don’t know how very grand kick boxing is until you’ve got a good swing going. Feet, fists, it doesn’t matter; as soon as you know how to do it without doing any damage you’ll vanquish childhood boogey men, bullies (old and new) and enjoy every single second of it. You’ll sweat, you’ll groan and you’ll imitate a breather, but in the end, when every muscles aches and screams (“Learn to love the pain” A. Swarzenegger, I think) you’ll feel like you’ve just won an epic battle.
Heck, I didn’t even feel my heel during the exercise, which is, like, totally unheard of. Hah.

Boy, do I sound like a poster person, eh. No worries, I’ll stop now. Hah.
Of course all this didn’t stop me from feeling nauseated and sick from the Iron treatment I need to take due to doctor’s orders, dammit. Gawd, it felt just like the old days, making me fear daily vomiting contests, runs, sickness, chills, glowy, sweaty, feeling hyper while being unable to keep your eyes open kind of things. Sooooo not going back to that. Grrr. Nope. Instead, I’m going to attack that bag until I need to buy a new one because I beat the snot out of it. Hah.

But anyways. Today was mostly about laying the tiles in tenant’s corridor. I had a rather brilliant stroke of insight this morning concerning the tiles, and since I would make it with beige and turquoise, this particular selection was picked. It took me about one hour of preparation, two hours of cutting, gluing and laying but then that particular section of the floor was done. It looks bloody good, if I do say so myself, and in a couple of days she will be able to go to her bathroom walking across the new floor as if it was always there.

New milestone for her: She can bend over and pick something up from the ground. Gawd, we were both equally thrilled…and that is added to the fact that she can get out of her chair on her own now, as well as walk with just her cane and without help from anyone. Sometimes it amazes me how much she has improved.

The dogs weren't at all happy about today, considering the rain forced me to lock them in my cabin rather than have them whiny and wet in front of tenant's fences. Poor darlings, except for Chaos (he just lounges on the couch and rolls over when I open the door) were ecstatic when I opened the door at last.

Well, I better stop now, I’ve got a scene to finish and maybe a scavenge in my near future. Hah