I wake comfortably toasty today. The sun’s shining and the temperature in my cabin has risen to a whopping 18 degrees (C) when I lunge out of bed. I immediately grab the Monster Boxer and throw her outside into the backyard, before she causes any serious damage. That little problem out of the way, I head to the front and let the rest of the dogs out as I suck in a wonderfully warm breath of fresh air.
It almost feels too good to be true as I go through the morning rituals, shedding layers as I go, and doing some stretches to get the sleep-kinks out of my back.
Marvelous! The temperatures are actually so nice that I forget to take my vest with me down to the main house, and get to the business of hanging a big load of laundry, waiting for me.
We’re running a little behind, by the time I finish but it doesn’t bother me, when there are no pressing matters pushing for haste, for a change.
Though yesterday’s new knee-ups didn’t appear to have any effect, my abdominal muscles have a nice used feel to them today. Pleased by the sensation I do twelve more during the course of the day…just because.
It’s that pleasant tension-pressure feel, really–like a loose tooth you keep prodding at–and this is the kind of soreness that by far exceeds the sensation of actual muscle pains that most “new” exercises cause. Besides, I think hanging in the air–while pulling my knees up to my chest–is having a good effect on my back. I didn’t feel a twinge today. Yay!
Editing doesn’t get done during the morning session. While I’m sipping coffee, big brother and I get distracted by the plot of the next story, and then move on to other topics when CNN newscasters draw our attention.
One has to understand the dynamics to fully imagine how watching the news goes around here. It is not a matter of a bunch of people just sitting there taking in the reports. No. Everything and anything that comes past gets discussed, argued about and occasionally scoffed at…quite vocally, most of the time. Hah. It brings up remarkably passionate debates that can go on for hours–the way they did today.
By the time sunset arrives, we haven’t gotten through more than a couple of pages, and I shut the computer down to start dinner.
No one’s really hungry, so in the end I settle on a soup made out of fresh cherry and normal tomatoes, onions, some red bell pepper, Chinese spices, and a big tablespoon of apricot jam to give the brew a sweeter taste.
What with the way fresh produce is grown these days, a lot of taste has disappeared from veggies and fruits. I remember when I was a child that apples, tomatoes and practically every other veggie and fruit were taste-bud-teasers, while now everything has become sorta bland–unless one is willing to spend a fortune of bio products. It’s such a pity, and another example of quantity having won the battle over quality, in most cases.
With a spoonful of cottage cheese added to the portions, the family members devour the soup. The bread supply rapidly decreases and proves that hunger has been hiding up until the soup stirred it to life. Hah.
I digest the meal for about half an hour, watching a rerun of Dharma & Greg, and then move to the kitchen to clean up in preparation of the seemingly endless project we started preparing for months ago.
I’m determined to get the spice drawers up today, and while one by one the sibs join me, we slowly get down to business.
Sanding down wood that has been covered by years of grime–hidden in niches that were invisible until we broke down the old section–is a messy chore that has little sister’s muttering her grievances over all the while. Middle sister and I start fitting the long stretches that need to be attached under the top cupboards as soon as they’re cleaned.
There are a few hiccups along the way, but around eleven O’clock, with little sister and little brother–who’s joined us for the first time in weeks now that he’s decided to take a break from his computer–painting the new sections we’ve hung.
The atmosphere’s a little silly. The two youngest sibs are uttering exaggerated complaints about having to bend and twist on top of the counter to get the job done. It is quite a task, and I admit more than once–gleefully–that I’m VERY happy that they’re doing the honors. This, of course, earns me more than one eye roll as I lay it on thick.
With the youngest two painting away, middle sister and I are working on adding real wood decorations, to cover up the exposed boards that were used to create the casings of the twenty-something spice drawers. There is a lot of laughter, when the awkward positions underneath the hanging cupboards cause inevitable spills, and the evening steadily progresses.
Clean up follows, after which big brother and I settle behind our computers once more to try our hand at another hour of editing. It goes well. We go through a full chapter before it’s time to call it a day and I cast a final glance at the progress made in the kitchen today before I chase the dogs out into the night and head on up to my quarters.
I’m pleasantly weary tonight, and there are several messages that add to the general state of well being as the last few hours pass behind the computer.
The review I wrote on Amazon got posted, and while I read through it I’m pretty content that it was a job well done–especially for a first try.
It’s just an honest subjective opinion that was a nice experiment to try out. An experiment I might, or might not repeat, at some point when I come across a story that inspires me.
Well, I’m running late, as usual. So I’ll wrap things up here, and call it a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment