Last night I was determined not to think of the lessons at all, until the day I actually have to do it. Two hours after bedtime, without really noticing it, I’m still thinking about the friggin’ lesson that was and the three that are still to come…and then I’m not even mentioning the exams that will follow. This friggin’ brain just won’t stop. It drives me bonkers sometimes.
For two whole hours stuff like: smoother, smoother, faster, faster, stop now…not here, go there, go here, did you see that, did you notice this? Aargh. Finally, upon realizing that I was still thinking about the crap, I started chanting, “Stop! Stop! Stopstopstopstop!” in my head until I finally fell asleep.
It’s a miracle I’m still sane this morning when I wake up at the sound of the alarm. (I know, whether I’m sane or not is open for debate, but what the heck.) Though somewhat sore like yesterday, I’m feeling a tad better when I get up from the bed and let the dogs out so I can do my stretches.
Today isn’t looking promising, even though the weather appears to be pleasant enough. The sun shines brightly and only a minimal amount of clouds dot the sky overhead when I head down to the house to tackle the massive amount laundry that I forgot to do yesterday.
Luckily big brother offers to help while grandpa stands close talking pleasantly about whatever it was he’s heard on TV. It makes for a nice change to my usual humming. Hah. It takes almost forty minutes to hang and fold it all, and by that time my stomach is snarling for food. After a quick breakfast and a big mug of coffee in hand we set up our computers to start on today’s editing session.
We come upon a particularly complicated scene that requires a lot of time and attention. It turns out that even though the scene is good, it needs quite a few adjustments to really make sense. It wasn’t wrong before, just not complete…if that makes any sense?
For several hours we ruthlessly hack our way through grammar and general structure, basically rewriting the scene, until, when it’s time for us to get ready to go to the village, we’ve added four more pages to the “done” section of the book.
While we get ready to depart a strong northern wind picks up, making things look bleak for our intended bonfire. It’s stirring up to be a nice storm that’ll make fire just too dangerous. Blast it!
But first, mom has an appointment with the doctor, and I need to be there because the spot he operated on a couple of months ago feels tender again. We’ve decided that, rather than letting things get out of hand, like the last time, he better check it out.
The plan is (while we’re at the doc’s) for big brother to visit local paper stores in search for U.S. letter size paper…though it is doubtful that we’ll be able to get it ‘round here.
The way towards the village is under construction–for some reason the county thinks people need a bloody four-lane road to get from one village to the next–so it’s a bumpy ride that goes annoyingly slow.
Once the doctor’s appointment is over and done with, and the search for paper has turned out to be completely useless, we head back home, knowing that, by the time we get closer to home that the wind hasn’t stopped, but increased. No outside work today, much to my regret. I was kind of looking forward to working up a sweat. It is the best way to deal with the stress that has been accumulating during the past week.
But anyways, when we arrive home, little brother has prepared pasta with sauce for dinner and we eat it quickly, since–now that gardening is out of the question–we’ve decided that I will go up to little sister’s room and work on the cabinets under her bed. According to her the backs have been pushed out due to a lack of space, so while I take away the mattress and bottom alike, I start examining the cabinets to figure out how I can make them a bit deeper.
Since I have the supplies and tools I need to do the job, it doesn’t take long to come up with a plan. By making a sturdy back I can add a good five inches to the cabinets without much trouble. Instead of fastening the back to the old section, I set it at a slight distance, add two side panels and a top, and voila, new storage capacity in just a few hours.
Because the sibs are more than old enough to do this kind of stuff themselves, I take the time to let little sister do a lot of the work herself, explaining to her the entire process as the cabinets get built. I tell her of the little tricks that will make carpentry easier, how to use the drill properly and all those things she needs to know to be able to do this on her own at some point in the future.
I hear an occasional howl from my pack, which I couldn’t take up with me due to the younger sibs’ dogs seeing the upper part of the house as their territory, I already know that my canine companions are going to throw up quite a fuss when I return.
Once we’re done it is close to midnight, and I head down to the living area to relax a bit. Throughout the hours that I was busy with little sister, big brother has been working on the book some more, doing another round of what we’ve recently added and taking out those remaining typos that keep sneaking back into the manuscript.
After a quick snack, lots of drinking (the work made me parched) and a much-deserved cigarette the hour has passed and it’s time for me to head up to the cabin. My dogs are waiting to be fed, the evening rituals and even some cleanup chores need to be done and then it’s on to the blog.
A slow and long day, but luckily we got something done.
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