Wandering thoughts.

Hmmm. I am experiencing a momentary blank spot while I try to recall what has happened today. It must not be too memorable if my mind can’t come up with a nice start of the day, but then, it was an average one, I guess.

I’m just going to do some pondering and see if I can jump-start my brain to get to the day behind me.

What to write, what to write? It is always a question since I wouldn’t want to bore readers with just anything, but then, it remains to be seen if “my world” is interesting enough for a good read in the first place, so just letting my mind drift is really par for the course when it concerns this Blog thing.

To me the daily tasks seem uneventful at times, ‘cause it is just another day for me, but what does a reader think of it? It is a question that will remain to be unanswered for the time being, I’m thinking…which is not necessarily a bad thing, by any means. Until I find the right “note” to hit, this is just wading into the cold water and seeing where the current will take me.

How little, or how much should be written down? This is my life as it is at the moment nonetheless and how much do I really want to share with any unsuspecting reader coming past.
Will just daily actions, thoughts and events be enough for anyone to find it remotely interesting? Does it even matter? What is my purpose for doing this in the first place.

I’m not sure, actually. I guess I’m just using this as an outlet and in the end it is neither here nor there. Perhaps someone will find enjoyment in it, and that will be a nice bonus for me.
The Blog allows me to write anything I wish at the end of any given day, and I find that it is a wonderful way to get things organized in my head.

I doubted for a long time before I decided to start a Blog for real, mostly because of the before mentioned reasons. Putting a diary about life in general out there for all to see, is that really what I want? Apparently, for now it is, so here we go with today’s events in my world and take it from there.

I rise at the usual time. The alarm shrilling in my ear, even through the earplugs I tend to stuff into my ears at bedtime, and with the monsters making a racket I really don’t have any choice but to get up and let them outside.
There were dreams, I recall, something about a stake out, I think, but where it came from I’m not entirely sure. Haven’t watched much on TV this past week that would warrant such a dream, but it was fun anyways.

Last night, before going to sleep, I decided to skip my workout today, if for no other reason than to allow my body at least a slight reprieve what with the past two dizzy spells that almost had me falling on my face. I might have been overdoing things a little, what with exercising and then working an average of nine hours on the kitchen project and everything else, so with that in mind, I go through the morning rituals at a slow pace today.
I get a chapter or two of Julie Garwood’s “For the Roses” in and then take my time to get another sweater out of storage before I get dressed and head for the house.

The weather is pleasant enough for the time being. The average temperature is at least five above what it’s been for the past week, and with that pleased determination in mind I enter the courtyard with the dogs dashing ahead of me towards the front door, which big brother opens on that exact moment.

There’s a momentary clash of our individual packs, and I grab Trin Trin just barely in time to prevent a collision with her and big brother’s black Cocker Spaniel, Sonya.
The two stare at each other with aggressive anticipation for a moment–for some reason they really don’t get along–and then decide that it isn’t worth their time what with both me and big brother towering over them, snapping dire warnings as we all head into the house.

No laundry waits today, and with my decision to skip my workout, I have a quick breakfast and set up my computer at the table while coffee brews on the last part of the old kitchen counter. For a while my attention drifts back and forth between the project that has been taking up most of our time these days past, while, at the same time, keeping an eye on the whirring computer, until I finally sit down and get down to business.

Only a few messages today, along with some chats and the likes that keep me entertained for a solid hour while around me the chaos increases with the arrival of the sibs, mom and grandpa.
The dogs are noisy today, and my brain is scattered too much to get some serious writing done by the time I force myself to go off-line and focus on work instead.
A page gets done, but my brain runs empty soon, so I decide to let it be for now and focus on something constructive, like dinner.

Asian stir-fry with noodles draws my fancy today and I am quite the cheering part when I head for the new counter, which will get its first “real” test run today. Hah.
I have to admit that even though it takes longer than it should, what with all the necessities being all over the place due to the actual construction process still in progress, it feels marvelous to work at the new counter and stove.

It is our own design, fitted to our height specifications, bringing the counter up at least four inches higher than the average kitchen counter. This is excellent for the older sibs and me–except for little sister, who’s the shortest of us all–since now I no longer need to bend over in order to work on meals.
I can just stand there, chopping veggies and everything without ever feeling a single twinge in my lower back, which is great.

Now that we have a five pan stove, I set the water for noodles on the fire and start on the veggies. The center burner is huge and designed for a big pan such as a wok, and heats the oil in little time. After adding the meal’s spices, consistent of dried and grounded ginseng, paprika and coriander, white cabbage goes in first, baking the narrow strips on a hot fire with pepper, salt and sugar until they have a nice crust, before adding the rest of the hard vegetables such as carrots and cauliflower.

Instant and delicious smells waft into the air as gradually more vegetables are added, creating a colorful mix of at least ten veggies that will make a nutritious meal for the entire family by the time all the ingredients are mixed and baked into a hot, but still crispy mix that is soon served with baked eggs and pickles.

Everyone eats and the feedback is good enough to earn this particular dish a spot in the “work-in-progress” cooking book.

The new stove is a pleasure, I’ll admit, what will usually take up to forty-five minutes to prepare, now only takes thirty, allowing us all to eat around eight in the evening with plates filled by a liberal portion.

Since I’m feeling restless for some reason, I don’t bother to sit down while I eat, watching big brother work on his computer as he’s trying out a new program that will be quite handy for the promotion of the W.I. Investigations at some time.
By the time I finish my meal and washed my plate and utensils I decide to clean the new counter and start up the continuing remodeling project when inside my head something starts screeching.

From the feel of it, there’s one of those moods coming up again. The kind where I don’t know whether I want to scream up or slam my head against the wall for no particular reason whatsoever.

Sometimes I wonder about where these moods come from, but not while they’re actually there. No. When they arrive I’ve found that the best way to deal with them is to get busy, and focus so completely on the task that there is no room for thought at all.

It takes a while but by the time big brother joins me, and we’ve attached the remainder of the finishing aluminum strips the screamy/headbangy feel has slipped back to wherever it came from, allowing me to just joke around with the younger (female) sibs who, one by one, come down to the kitchen to help.

Little brother opts to stay upstairs, now that one of his dogs isn’t feeling too well, so we’re with the four of us on this particular evening, occasionally calling up to inquire how Tammi (a blond Cocker Spaniel) is doing.

With the aluminum strips attached, big brother decides to start on the last bit of plumbing for the sink we installed last night, and disappears underneath the counter while little sister and I set ourselves to the base of the raised section of the large isle.
Since the length that needs to be sawed is over a meter, I decide to use the circle saw this time, and climb on top of the counter to position myself right, asking little sister help to keep the large board in place, and the dogs away.

I don’t know what it is with the dogs, but for some reason, whenever we’re using dangerous tools such as the circle saw, they get this dangerous urge to raise their nose up to the spinning blade and attempt a sniff. Idiots!

Across from us, our other sister is once again painting spice drawers, occasionally joining in on the mindless banter we’re throwing back and forth, while little sister gets out the electric drill machine so we can construct the elements I’ve just cut from the boards.

Remembering full well how annoying it is to be the “holder” of stuff while building something gets done, I take over that particular task, and allow little sister to do most of the drilling and screwing for the raised section as we put together a solid tube which is to separate the two counters with a wide bar on top of it.

It is great to see her develop the skill of keeping the drill straight, turning the screws just far enough, but not too far…and her pleasure when she realizes that she can actually do it without error. It makes working together all the more pleasurable to see delight on the face of a “student” who is still discovering all the tricks necessary to create something such as a kitchen.

I remember those days fondly. Way back when as I was still learning about how to build something. Grandpa would be standing behind me, patiently watching over my shoulder as I drilled my first hole, hammered in the first nails, until in the end my skill surpassed his throughout the construction of the house. It is only fair that I now show similar patience towards the younger sibs, who are rapidly learning.

When we first started on this project, I feared that the younger sibs wouldn’t want to participate, but as the days go by and all the preparation work is well behind us, I am pleased to see that the three of them actually seem to be enjoying themselves as the kitchen becomes more and more the perfect place of experimental for each and every one of us.

No more crowding each other while meals are made, enough storage space, and most of all, no more broken or bent hinges–of which there have been plenty over the past couple of years as the old kitchen started to show it’s wear.
Instead the overall image is starting to show clean and straight lines, and most importantly accessibility, which was what we designed it for in the first place.

The raised section in the center is going to be the masterpiece in the end, I’m thinking, in particular since it will allow us to set food out of the reach of our inventive pack that WILL snatch anything edible that’s within their reach. No more of that when this beauty’s done, that’s a fact. Hah.

By the time little sister and I finish putting together the square pipe of wood and find it fitting in place with no more than a couple of millimeters to spare, we’re thrilled with our success, and immediately turn the thing over to our other sister, who rolls on a thick layer of the primer so that it can be painted for real tomorrow.

On the other side of the counter, big brother is done with the plumbing and prepares everything for tomorrow, too, when he intends to set up the last faucet in the nice square of Oak wood, that matches the small pedestal under the first faucet.
What with midnight rapidly approaching, he won’t be able to get it done today, but we don’t care since considerable progress is made.

While we discuss our options for colors on the elevated part of the counter–blue like the base and the spice drawers, or red like the big drawers–little sister and I start today’s clean-up.

By this time little brother joins us with the good news that Tammi appears to be feeling better by eating something, and gets out the broom to sweep the saw-dust covered tiles beneath our feet while slowly, but steadily we clear the counters of tools and supplies alike until in the end every inch is checked for paint splatters and the likes, leaving a clear, beautiful surface.

It is around eleven thirty in the evening when we’re done for the evening, and big brother and I settle behind our computer for another session with the Cajun Vampire story. Though I try, in the end I only manage a page or so. For some reason my mind just won’t switch towards the story at this particular moment, so after a while, we decide to call it a night and prepare to head for our respective quarters.

What with the sibs preparing their own late night snack, I find myself oddly famished and have a couple of slices of bread and cheese before I gather my pack and head out the house.

Somehow a rat has managed to get into my cabin, and it literally falls off the top bookshelf when I open the door and let the dogs rush inside.
Hampered by chubby Lhabana and eager Dax and Touri, Sitabah attempts a leap, only to miss the little critter by a hair. There’s a wild tumble followed by a mad dash after the darned animal that has escaped and disappeared to regions unknown.

Hopeful, the dogs continue to search the cabin for a good hour, with nothing to show for their efforts except weary disappointment when I laugh at their antics and watch them settle on the bed around me for the night.

Now, I don’t know if such a day is interesting for a reader, but it is life in all its simplicity and continuity. It has its funny moments, sad and just busy aspects, but in the end it is just my world, which I enjoy to share.
I do admit that looking back at it, writing it is a pleasure for me. It quiets my brain and sets a nice calming rhythm for me in those final few hours before bedtime arrives.

Well, this concludes today’s session, I suppose. On to tomorrow.