First WARM day. Yay.

Song of the day: “Grace Kelly” by Mika. Such a funny song. Wonder if that means I was in a cheerful mood. Hah.

So, yesterday I didn’t have time, as some will undoubtedly have noticed. Let’s see if I can hit some of the highlights and then smooth you on onto today’s events without too much of a hassle.

Well, I really said it all in that ridiculously short sum up. The only thing I really failed to mention was that we saw the movie “Australia” and I’ve got to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I went in, fearing a second “Moulin Rouge”, and came out with a rather content overall feeling. Almost as if I’d seen some old movie, rather than one of the latest newcomers in the DVD section.

You know what I mean, right? One of those classics that are hardy and rich on the story line, lots of drama, lots of information, all nicely combined into a couple of hours of entertainment while still sending you on a pleasant adventure.

It started out a little iffy, I’ll admit. For a while, I wondered whether good ol’ Bazz couldn’t decide if he was making a comedy or something a little more serious. But then, slowly and steadily, the story actually managed to capture my attention the way his “Strictly Ballroom” always does. A little bizarre at time, sure, the “start up” special FX were far from stellar, and the acting…well, not wowing, but still it was basic fun to watch. I’m glad that I overcame my general fear of the Bazz after the M.R. debacle.

But enough about that semi-review, let’s get on to the day.

I oversleep this morning, aaargh, so I’ve been running behind most of the following hours. There’s laundry to tackle, of course, and I get to it first thing, if for no other reason than to have it over and done with. I spend a little time disciplining Knight II; the big lug is really getting to be unmanageable. Gawd, he’s so stubborn. Training him is going to be a royal pain in the butt.

Luckily, we manage to squeeze in a five-hour edit, so we get through a load of pages. We charge bravely through the grammar, astonished at how the scenes change with a slight shift here and there, adding and subtracting a semi-colon, a colon or a comma/punctuation; it makes quite the difference from the oh-so slow progress of the rewrite-edit.

Most annoyed, when I realize that our time is up, I head on outside to start on today’s building. After setting mom up by the carport, for yet another low wall, I aim for the pool where tiles need to be put up on the section of the skimmer receiver that was added recently. I have to wade through the water to get in place to actually be able to get to it, but what the hey; it’s a warm day, and the slight cool-off doesn’t go amiss at all.

Of course there is not enough of the tile glue present, so I only manage to get down the basics…don’t you just hate Sundays when you can’t go to the store to get stuff like that…and finish up about two hours before sunset. There’s another section in the tub-like skimmer that needs to be plastered with cement, so since I’m in there already (my trousers wet up to my knees) I figure I might as well get to it. I can’t stand plastering natural rock walls. They’re so hard to treat. Stuff just keeps falling off, time and again, until I want to scream. Much to my relief, it really is just a very small section.

That done, I make my way up to the carport, where mom and little sister have just finished their small wall. Since there is still a lot of cement left, big brother and I add another step to the stairs beside the new section; it brings the total up to four, and it does improve the overall image of the terrace we’re creating on top of “the Wall”.

Today we’ve planned to go for a run just after we’re done with building. Even though we’re late, we do manage to get out to a new spot that is a wonderful change from our usual path. Since we’ve already had a full day behind us, we decide to keep the run relatively short, a couple of miles at most…regretfully middle sister didn’t hear the agreement, and goes the extra mile, forcing big brother to go after her. She is properly exhausted by the time we return to the car, and looks more than a little startled when it becomes clear that we still have to get a batch of rocks: poor thing.

Added to the slightly longer-than-planned run middle sister and I both forgot our gloves, so we end up hauling rocks into the back of the truck with our bare hands; it is a mistake I don’t intend to make again, I assure you. My hands feel like they’re missing at least one layer of skin: much like they were treated by sandpaper. Hah. Much to our relief we do find a pile of rocks that need only be transferred up to the truck bed, so we’re done in less then fifteen minutes.

We arrive home around dusk and spend, what feels like, an eternity unloading. Middle sister is too exhausted to finish up, but luckily, little sister arrives to take her place. It’s already dark when we enter the house-the dogs going crazy, as usual-and I head for the shower for a much-deserved wash-up. Dust is everywhere.

Dinner consists of panir (or paneer, as I’ve learned it’s really called) and salad, but there is too little of it, what with everyone having eaten already. So, I end up eating a piece of French bread with cheese to fill the remaining gap; it does the trick well enough, I suppose.

For the hour that remains of the evening we watch the tail end of a “Prison Break” episode, followed by a similar cut from “Medium” and then it is time to head to my quarters at last. Big brother and I debate our present project for another hour or two, but then the night comes to an end at last, and I can focus on today’s Blog.

I gotta admit that today’s heat didn’t much help the energy levels: warm days have a way of draining you somewhat.
Even now, well after midnight, it is still warm enough to sit in a sleeveless top, somewhat futilely hoping for a breeze from the completely still night air.
Ah well, I better get used to it, since this is the weather I’m going to be “enjoying” for the next three to four months. Hah.