Going off road.

Song of the day: “A song for whoever” by The Beautiful South. Gawd, it’s been ages since I last heard it, let alone thought about it.

Well, I don’t know if today was interesting, but I did manage to stay busy, so that’s a plus.
First thing first, this morning…I’m only slightly late…I head down to the house, toss in a new batch of laundry and then head inside for the usual chores and get down to the edit. We manage four pages in the hours that follow and get some solid ideas to add details to the plot. It is going to take some work to include it all, but I think it will really improve the story.

It is a hot day, and while we sit at the table, the mercury rises up to a whopping 35 degrees, which makes me feel rather sluggish and dip in the pool three times in a four-hour time span. Oh my, it takes some getting used to after the last, somewhat cool, week. Heck, I even woke up with a head that felt like a piece of wood.

Since, as is usual with the rewrite edit, at some point my head can no longer formulate a single coherent sentence, we knock off and head out into the scorching heat of the courtyard.
Ticks are causing a lot of problems again…clustering on the dogs, and all…so we moved the old bathtub down and set it in the center of the courtyard.

For the next two hours, we dip dogs into the chemical bath; one after the other, going from big ones to smaller ones, until there’s too little water left. A refill is necessary and before you know it, we’re finally done…with the delicious scent of dinner being cooked by mom, making my mouth water.

We quickly have dinner, and then decide to head out with the Land Rover. The other day we got the brilliant idea to improve the appearance of the courtyard. The plan is to make big mats of reed which will then be stuck up to the metal roof and make it all look a lot more like a natural covering.

This means that we’re going to need to get a lot of reed and that’s going to be quite an adventure in the next few months. We head south west, down into the valley, where the head slowly turns into oven-like temperatures. Seriously, I can feel the moisture seep from my pores as we drive through plantations on dirt roads, following the small river until at last we come up on a section where we can cut away reed to our heart’s content.

I gotta admit that the area feels a little freaky. Sorta like those horror movies, like, “The hills have eyes”, “Wrong turn” or anything of that sort. Hah. Creaking branches make me jump, and there are many of those what with the wind blowing like a hairdryer. There is a lovely little river, however.
Here’s a pic:




The water is wonderfully cool, and I do take a moment to wet my skin before we head into the jungle-like reeds. On my way there, I come across a jeep with a bunch of guys drinking beer. They’re actually looking at me while they pass, slowing down and everything, so I quickly climb up the slope to join grandpa and big brother. Soon we start cutting the long stems into manageable lengths that fit into the back of the car.
When we stop, darkness has already fallen and we carefully pick our way out of the green area to head back home.

The Land Rover is perfect for back roads, or course; a trip such as this sure proves it. Hah. It bounces, it roars, but has not a single problem navigating over bumps and potholes, and within no time, we’re back home.

Seeing as I’m seriously overheated, I take another quick dip in the pool and then head inside to catch the end of a “Lost” episode and write down today’s Blog.
I just plug in on the power, when something pops and the TV shuts off. Since “Lost” needs to be recorded, we put in an extension cord, while big brother gets out his tools and starts checking the wiring. As it turns out it wasn’t a fuse that blew, but due to the heat some plastic of a wire connection melted, causing a short.

The problem gets dealt with in short time, and before you know it all is well again…but since I’d already moved to the kitchen to finish writing today’s blog, sitting at the counter on a bar stool. An interesting experience, especially since it is not at all comfortable. Hah.

Only another edit to go and then the day comes to another end. Phew. I do hope that the temperatures are going to drop a bit…but that might be asking too much. Hah.