Boring day, so here's a little ramble.

I’m actually not in the mood to write today, but I know that if I start to lapse in the routine I’m so going to sleaze my way out on posting at all, so I should really just rattle something down for routine’s sake.

But what to talk about? Today was really such a boring day that writing it down seems somewhat redundant.

I mean, seriously; I wake up to a semi-sunny morning, the dogs make a racket as usual and I make my way down to the house after some reading and the morning rituals.

There’s laundry, feeding Yadzia, doing some Internet stuff, study for the exams (oh Gawd that’s so darn boring) and cooking dinner.

This was a successful endeavor by the way. Fried rice with chopped peanuts, onion, garlic, curry herbs and coconut shavings, oh my. I love it! Even the canned green beans on the side, baked in curcuma and cilantro and more of the coconut shavings were good, which is a miracle considering that fresh or frozen they’re much better.

Oh, and I trimmed mom’s hair. How’s that for excitement. Perhaps I should describe the cut and make up an individual little story for every hair that was cut. Hah.

But seriously, I didn’t have any inspiration for writing today and that always depresses and frustrates me. What with the distractions of late it isn’t really a surprise, but still, it’s annoying.
It will come back once we get into the swing of our old schedule again, I’m sure, but until then I’ll just have to live with the disappointment.

So what else is there to talk about? Not much that’s a fact.
Maybe something in the news. Oh yeah, I heard a most astounding bit of news about the Nobel prizes.
Apparently Obama has been nominated for one, and in all honesty this baffles me a little…okay, a lot…if it’s true, which I find I hard to believe.

I mean, the man has grand plans (that seem to be rather unrealistic in the long run on the most part, but what the hey) and everything, but why a Nobel prize? What’s it for? What’s he done? And in case this is a pre-doing prize, what can he realistically do in a world that works globally more than anything?

He’s been in office for what now? A month…two? I can’t figure out what he has done except being elected president of the States? Is that the grand achievement that earns such a heralded nomination?
Never saw someone else get one for that reason.
And it’s not like everyone already knew him before that, and that he’s known for actual achievements that were groundbreaking.

I don’t remember him being incarcerated for fighting against unjust acts all over the world, or making grand sacrifices to achieve peace. He was a lawyer for God’s sake.
Did he create a miracle cure? Fight genocide in third world countries? Fight apartheid? Create peace between two brutally battling countries? Or anything that would warrant such a nomination? I think not.

It all comes across as giving an Oscar to a new upcoming actor before the movie is made, doesn’t it?
It just seems a little off to me, all things considered, and it also is a little insulting to those who have fought their entire lives and suffered greatly for what they thought was right.

It diminishes the bravery of many before him, sorta like saying; hey, you don’t have to hit the streets and do good deeds, and get your butt kicked for it. You can also just sit in a plush office and “talk” about all you want to achieve…but maybe that’s just me, I don’t know.

Okay, my little ramble is over now, and I really don’t know what else to write about, so I’ll leave it like this and hope that tomorrow is a better day for a Blog.

Post exam exhaustion?

I wake on my usual time this day, after a particularly troublesome struggle with Knight II earlier in the morning has left my knee pretty sore once more.
The idiot giant dog had his teeth in the bottom of my quilt and was gleefully dragging it off me and into the sitting area of the cabin.

I, of course, was stupid enough to try to keep the dratted thing in place, and ended up bracing myself with…you guessed it, the bad knee. Pop! Such a wonderful sound, and also so very much appreciated. Though it throbbed considerably, it didn’t stop me from falling back to sleep however, so all was not lost. Hah.

I’m up for about ten minutes when the phone rings, displaying the school number, suddenly reminding me that the results of yesterday’s debacle should be in. I pick up the phone and listen. I FAILED the test with four mistakes, rather than the three that are allowed. Drat! If only I had gotten that motorcycle question right, I would have made it, like big brother who had only two mistakes.

I am happy I didn’t mess up with the four-digit code I had to put in, though, cause that would have been so very embarrassing. Gawd! Can you imagine my mortification if that had happened? Here I’d gone through extra trouble to know exactly what to fill in on the form, and then a stupid mistake like that? Aaargh. Luckily this wasn’t the case. Of seven students, only two passed–big brother being one of them. Yay.

Teach is very sorry, and when I tell her that while going over the questions last night, we’d already figured that out, she assures me that I did well anyway, since some of those I related to her were indeed very strange. Compared to the older test big brother got, mine were pretty much disastrous. Ah well…

We agree that I’ll retake the test next week, and we’ll discuss any more preparations when I come in the next time to do some more studying. After hanging up I mutter a few “stupid, stupids” to myself and then sigh with resignation. No sense in worrying about it now.

With only a mild discomfort that makes me favor the knee a little more I make the bed, get dressed and then head down to the house with the still somewhat fuzzy dogs in tow.

No laundry today, so I feed Yadzia and myself after turning on the coffee machine.
I am rather concerned about Yadzia, he’s been having quite a bit of trouble with his back, and while talking with big brother we decide to go to the vet later today and see what can be done.

With that plan set, I get my coffee and OJ and settle at the table.
Though I had almost eight hours of sleep, the stress of the past week is definitely taking its toll for my eyes are at half mast again as I spend a couple of hours going over the messages and chat forums.

Two hours pass before it’s time to head out to take Yadzia to the vet. He’s wagging his tail, his back tense but his movements easy enough as I help him into the car with an enthusiastic Mosha leading the way, and depart.

Upon arrival the young vet asks how Yadzia has been doing and nods when I tell her that the last steroid injection appears to have done little good, and takes a moment to check out his back. He alternates between looking at me and then back at her, and so on, before we finally decide to try out Rymadyl which is a anti-inflammatory painkiller for animals that should at least take care of some of his discomfort. It’s not looking good, however, since there is little else that can be done for him.

Relieved that I haven’t been forced to make the dreaded decision yet, we head on back, drop Yadzia and Mosha off at the house and then continue on our way to town so I can have another lesson at school.

Big brother, having surmised that some extra tests won’t harm him either (though relieved that he had easy questions, he rather knows all of the answers for when the next stage starts) is with me, and heads for the computers while I spend some time with teach to go over the questions I typed out. A total of twenty-seven questions and answers stuck in the end and teach is pretty happy about them, since they’ll allow her to bring the other students up to date as well as to what they can expect.

We spend approximately two hours there, before heading back home where an exuberant pack and dinner awaits.
I’m exhausted, for some reason, and soon find myself dropping off in my chair while “The Mentalist” is on TV. I snooze for a couple of hours, the warmth from the heaters making me toasty warm in the seat, until I’m startled awake by Dax, who jumps on top of me.

I have a quick snack and do some chores and then head on up to my room for the remainder of the evening.

While feeding the dogs, I prepare Yadzia’s snack, and as soon as he’s emptied his bowl, I stuff one of the painkillers down his throat, turning just in time to catch Knight II by the collar, when the idiot comes bounding into the cabin at top speed. If I hadn’t he’d have bowled right over me, I’m sure. Hah.

And with today’s Blog over and done with, I can call it a night. Yay!

Exams...Ewww. Might have messed up.

After a rather aborted night of four hours at most, dreaming about having to do exams, the alarm goes off and I blink into the darkness of what is usually my bedtime.

Around me the dogs look at me with mystified expressions, their eyes huge and owlish as I lay there, staring at the dark ceiling while I’m trying to think why the heck the alarm is going off now. Due to the dreams I would have sworn that I was already working on the exam, but now I slowly begin to realize that the actual chore won’t be until another two and a half hours.

Groaning, I get out of bed, the dogs scrambling to get ahead of me, I hurry towards the door and throw it open before they are able to press close. I’ve got exactly forty-five minutes to get ready, and though this is really ample time, I feel a little tense as I get dressed, gather my things and then head down the mountain in the dark to let the dogs into the courtyard.

Big mistake…at least the dressing part…since the dogs jump up against me the moment I pass through the door and end up with several paw prints on the jeans and sweater that tops it. Drat, I’ll have to change clothes before departure.

The younger sibs are there, having already prepared the coffee, which I pour liberally down my throat as I chew on a peanut butter and honey sandwich and keep myself distracted with the siblings’ talk and jokes.

Forty-four minutes after waking, I’m redressed in clean clothes, have taken my painkillers and am sitting in the truck as we head towards the city. Talk between big brother and our driver of the morning is about a variety of subjects, including the upcoming exam, and seeing as traffic is light we arrive at our destination half an hour early.

We go over our books one last time and then climb from the car to join the gathering crowd in the back of the large building that is still locked against anyone who isn’t an employee. Around us about eighty people are clustered in small groups and as almost an hour passes, the knee is definitely demonstrating some disagreement.

At last someone appears in the doorway of the building and the gate is opened to let us and the crowds enter onto a fenced in courtyard. A woman starts calling out names from a stack of papers she’s holding. Name after name is called, after the fifteenth or so bringing brother forth so he can head inside to follow the steady stream of today’s exam takers.

I’m somewhere around number fifty, and when the woman finally calls my name, I wince at the deformed pronunciation. I take my form, give her a friendly smile and then head to two flights of concrete stairs up to the aula on the second floor. A line has formed there, human traffic slowing down due to the check of identity before we are led inside where we’re to take one of approximately a hundred and twenty table and chair combos.

I see big brother way ahead of me in front, and settle in my seat in the middle while arranging my vest on the chair and placing my bag at my feet.
The rest of the exam takers file in around me, slowly filling each and every seat until we’re piled inside the large space like sardines in a can.

Finally the last one arrives and settles, bringing the two supervisors to the front to mess with the microphones for a bit. Neither appears to work, so with a suffering sigh one of the women clears her throat and starts to address us in rapid Spanish, explaining the rules, or so I manage to decipher by picking up the few words I recognize.

Next they start to disperse our tests, placing them on the table before us with the instruction of covering the three cellophane covered lists under our answer form while they move down the isles, repeating it over and over again.

There are quite a few English folks today, and time after time the women pass me without handing me my question lists. It isn’t until one of the supervisors stands in the front of the tables once more and calls out if everyone has what they need when she finally notices my raised hand and comes hurrying over to hand it to me. I’d swear I was invisible. Hah.

So, another long list of instructions follow, most of it repeats of what our teacher already explained until at last we are instructed to sign our test and check the personal information on it. Then we need to fill in the codes of our individual tests and then wait for the “start” sign that is given on ten thirty, exactly.

I take a deep breath, relax all the tense muscles in my body and start reading. First one’s easy, followed by several doubtful cases, which I skip in favor of answering those I’m certain of so I can take my time with the others.

I’m horrified at finding more than a few questions that A. have nothing to do with the lesson material. B. have never before been mentioned. C. that are put down in such a confusing fashion that I have to read them three times to unravel the meaning behind them. And D. (which is the cincher) six questions about motorcycles. Huh?

As luck will have it, I also get exactly those questions which we’d discussed at school, and which the teacher wasn’t at all sure about. Drat.
I do the best I can going over everything twice more to see if I’ve marked every box and three minutes before my half hour is up I shrug and get up to hand in my test. I can’t think of what to do differently, so lingering is useless.

Heading on out to wait for big brother, I light a cigarette and shake my head as the questions + answers keep whirling through my mind, already starting to doubt pretty much all the answers I gave. What are the chances of getting nervous after a test, huh? Aaargh.

Big brother appears, his usual poker face in place as we head to the car where our driver is patiently reading a book, and we start writing down the questions and answers that we remember so we can discuss them with our teacher later on.

It takes well up to an hour, leaving with a complete blank of five of thirty questions that I can’t think of for the life of me. While going over the questions we have already found out at least one error and three maybes, which is a rather depressing thought. By this time our driver turns the key in the ignition and…nothing. Gawd. While we were busy working out all the material, none of us considered that the CD playing was rapidly draining the battery, leaving us stranded on the outskirts of the city.

We end up calling for road services, which doesn’t arrive until after noon and has us on our way in three minutes. Very frustrating! There is some confusion on our way out of the mazes of the city, but in the end we manage to find our way back to the motorway and the town where our school is located.

We spent about half an hour with our teacher, telling her of the questions, answers and the way they were formulated, which has her roll her eyes every so often before she informs us that the results should be available around noon tomorrow. With that, and the afternoon siesta, which is a usual practice around here that closes all stores and offices between one and five in the afternoon, we start on our way home.

It is during that drive that I get the disturbing thought that I might have done something wrong on my answer sheet after all. I can’t, for the life of me, remember if I wrote down individual four digit codes for every ten questions, which was something that big brother had to do. So I start to worry, did I read every individual number or did I presume them to match the way they do at school? I can’t remember, and this thought continues to swirl through my head for the remainder of the day.

Once at home, after greeting the dogs and quickly taking care of the laundry chore, I settle down with my computer to write out all the notes I made in the car so I can check them for details once more. In the end there are two definite mistakes and two maybes, so if one of the maybes turns out to be correct I will have passed…presuming that I didn’t make that dreaded four digit code mistake, which would make at least fifteen questions faulty. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The way I figure I might as well get the mental berating over and done with, just in case, hah.

Afterwards, with everyone sleeping the day I away, I spend a few hours online, just surfing to relax, and around dusk, when the younger sibs have reappeared, I shut down the computer–before I nod off to sleep right in my chair. Some exercise is called for, I decide, and change clothes to carefully start on the familiar routines in the company of mom.

I manage more than the other day, though kicking is still out of the question–or so I realize after a couple of tryouts. As a matter of fact the three kicks I did were downright excruciating, leaving me feeling sore and tense by the time I’m done (still, I feel much better than before, now that thoughts of the exams have been pushed to the back of my mind) and wash up before hobbling to the kitchen to start on dinner.

What with the sibs only having had four hours of sleep too, no one feels up to cooking, and since I have a serious hankering for actual nourishment, rather than some sort of snack, I decide to do it myself.

Fried rice and veggies with satay will do for the day, especially since the rice and veggie mix is already done in a sack that’s stored in the freezer, needing only the satay to be made in which the dish can be prepared.

By the time I’m done, my knee is throbbing like mad, and with my regular bag of frozen peas in one hand and my meal in the other, I settle at the table to let the cold do its thing on the painful joint.

Middle sister thankfully offers to get my a couple of painkillers from my room, along with the supportive bandage which I wrap around the swollen mess after the cold treatment has done its work, leaving me at least remotely comfortable.

Yadzia is distinctly uncomfortable, however, his back obviously paining him, setting off an entirely different kind of depression since I know that I can’t be selfish in letting him suffer when the quality of his life is so obviously going down. Though he still wags his tail when I sit down beside him for a proper petting, his entire body is tense, and occasional crying makes him squirm. I don’t think I can postpone the inevitable much longer for the poor Labrador, and that thought almost makes me cry.

The rest of the evening is spent watching a couple of movies that seem to pass in slow motion for me, now that energy levels are waning. Bedtime is starting to look more tempting by the hour, and around midnight I’ve passed the eighteen-hour mark of waking time.

With much relief I take the dogs up the mountain and feed them–giving Yadzia his tuna and kibble mix, which he eats enthusiastically-before I drag my way through the evening rituals and set up the computer to write down today’s events.

Tomorrow will show if today’s hassles were worth it, I guess. But in all honesty, I’m not looking forward to it.

Quicky post.

So this post is going to be a hasty one, and at an unusual time at that. Exam day is here, so within the next nine friggin’ hours I need to be on the way to the city so I can go stand in line waiting for the proverbial ax to fall. Yuck. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed.

Last night wasn’t too pleasant, and I don’t even want to contemplate what tonight’s going to be like?

I get called from a solid sleep six time by some asinine twat (or two) from an unfamiliar phone number that–after surfing the Net–turns out to be a known number of a telemarketing or scam company in Madrid. Aaargh. I wish I’d used every foul word I ever knew by the time they phoned me for the 3rd time disturbing a rather particularly interesting dream.

They stop calling, around the time I get up and let the pack out of the cabin and start on the morning rituals. After reading for about fifteen minutes I get dressed and head on down to the house, Yadzia and Bommel, once again bringing up the rear. I shake my head when Trin Trin and Knight II dash into the courtyard ahead of me, practically tripping over their own feet along the way.

The knee is doing well enough, and with that in mind I do a partial workout. I have to skip the left side hits, I can only do about sixty jumps and knee kicks don’t go too well either but at least I got through most of them without too much discomfort…or at least so I thought. Afterwards I am sore like heck, but feeling decidedly cheered.

Of course I am stupid enough to postpone taking a painkiller…I plan to do it later, just before leaving…and spend several hours going over our lesson material before it is time to head towards town. I am in fact running late, so by the time we arrive at school, I’ve forgotten the painkillers and seriously uncomfortable. Slowly I hack my way through the tests, wondering how much time I’m going to have to waste on hobbling towards the Pharmacy around the corner, but I decide to wait it out instead.

I end up doing four tests without error, two with one, and one with three. I would have passed, but at the end of those two hours I am starting to seriously fade out and am very happy that the night has come to an end. Heading home, without any detours for a change, we discuss tomorrow’s plans, realizing, as we’re driving up the mountain that twelve hours from then we’ll be hacking away at the exams…if no disasters strike.

Little sister cooked, gratefully, so both big brother and I stuff ourselves with spaghetti and sauce, stocking up on carbs, and basically trying to shut our brains off for the remainder of the night. Luckily Tuesday is a good day for TV entertainment. First up is a new episode of “NCIS”, which was brilliant a usual, of course. So intense, poor Ziva. Caught me by surprise, but good.

Next is “Flashpoint” which I find to be boring, but this is followed by “Burn Notice”, a show that I’m loving more every time, which bleeds into “Las Vegas”. This is our last entertainment of the night, since right after this I’m going to have to rush to get ready for bed and zonk out.

Not that I mind. I am rather tired, but usually when I try to get to bed early, I will start worrying about practically anything…and I doubt that tomorrow’s schedule will be an exception.
If all goes well, this time tomorrow I’ll know if I’ve passed the exams.

One day and counting.

A rather fantasy like dream played through my head this night. Prairies that swayed and twirled as the wind swept over the grass that stretched out as far as the eye could see. A flock of swallows silhouetted against the bright blue sky and small white clouds, flying intricate patterns as two men ran through the knee-high grass, full speed.
Loosely sewn clothes encased their wiry bodies, animal skin-like designs fluttering around them with every movement when deep browns and tans made them fabrics rather than leather in the bright setting sun that cast a vibrant red over the planes.
They looked peculiar, a bit elfish I would say, with pointy ears, long flowing hair and narrow faces emphasized by patrician noses. Their eyes were intense blue, as they ran, and ran, a narrating voice pounding impressively as the view zoomed out, showing a magnificent panorama of prairie stopping in a straight line to announce a boundary of a thick dark forest.
“They were as ancient as the land itself, their souls a part of the woods they protected as much as their bodies were,” the narrator booms, the impressive panning view spinning and showing a massive army coming in the two men’s pursuit.
“Their hearts pounded like a battle drum, deep and heavy as fear urged them on. The enemy was near and all they loved was threatened. Haste was their drive and yet time was running out faster than their feet could carry them.”
The two men reached the tree line then, bursting through the thick under brushes and disappearing with an impressive burst of speed that leaves only the approaching army in view as the sun begins to set.

Though the dogs didn’t awaken me this time, that is the only scene I recall from the dream that decided to visit me this night. Blast! That could have been pretty darn impressive if I’d been able to remember more of it, I’m sure. Very “Elfquest”, and not to mention more than a little beautiful. It would certainly have made for excellent writing material. Ah well, there’s no sense in feeling miserable about it, I guess, nothing I can change about it anyway.

I’m only running a little behind today, so with that cheerful thought in mind I take the time to read a little, and take my time getting the bed made and dressing. When I do get down to the house I’m still ahead of grandpa and big brother, so I immediately start taking down laundry and hanging the new batch. The knee is doing well enough today, I barely limp and I don’t feel like I have to use the cane inside the house.

After the dry clothes and sheets have been folded and poor Yadzia is fed–he cried again during the night–I have a couple of slices of bread myself and set the coffee to percolate. After some quick chores in the kitchen, mostly involving setting stuff back in place, I head on to the table to get the computer ready.

Big brother is already going through our lesson material–exams are rapidly drawing near–so while I open the files we go over a few details before we do a final scan of yesterday’s work. It goes well enough and as the hours pass, of which the last thirty minutes are spent online with some chats, it is time to get ready for the lessons.

We arrive a little early, as was the plan, and spend about an hour in the classroom with other students as our teacher informs us of how the exams are done and what the proper protocols are.

The rules of conduct:
No looking at the tests before you get the “go ahead” mark, or you’re out.
Shut down your phone, ‘cause if it goes off, you’re out.
Fill in all the blanks and be sure to do it right, or you’re out.
Don’t forget to put your signature down, or you’re out.
Don’t take too much time, or you’re out.
Recheck your answers and the questions belonging to it because more than three mistakes and you won’t pass.
The list goes on endlessly, making me feel somewhat brain dead by the time she’s done with the instructions.

Afterwards we spend another hour doing test questions, which go well, much to my relief. Only three mistakes in five tests, yay. Meaning that if I got any of these questions, I would have passed. Phew.

Done for the evening, we head on out to the car and go to a massive department store to get some necessary items, along with baguette and cream cheese, since neither big brother nor I have had anything to eat in eight hours.

By the time we get home the evening has advanced considerably, and upon finding that no one was in the mood to make dinner, I bake some potatoes with veggies, which I pile on a plate so we can both eat from the same one. It will definitely save dishes, hah.

Clue (the pointer) is showing a slight swelling on his side, making us worried that the tunnel system problem is back, giving a rather daunting fear that we might have to visit the vet again to have it checked out.

Both of us are exhausted so for the remaining two hours we watch “Bones” and “CSI” just to unwind. By then midnight arrives, and is followed by some planning about how we’re going to handle tomorrow’s lesson and the information we still feel we need to cram into our heads before we feel suitably prepared.
What with all the warnings going on, I’m starting to get a little worried that it will depend on luck more than anything.

Ah well, we’ll see.

Workout. Ouch, big mistake.

So it’s an office building, typical of its kind. Desks everywhere, crowds buzzing, and those annoying fluorescent lights burning steadily overhead. In one word, horrid.
Not that it makes a difference what the surroundings look like as I walk through the isles that stretch between the crowded desks that are all ‘round. I have to be there, for some reason that for now I can’t figure out.
I’m dressed in a suit, why I decided to wear such a thing in the first place is another mystery to me while I follow a perky young woman across the busy office floor. Hers is a tight gray skirt topped by a white triped blouse that Vees just a tad too much for her ample bosom, but what the hey, she seems nice enough.
She’s talking to me, but her words don’t register when I get distracted by a couple of men near the wall of glass arguing heatedly. To their left a woman drops her paper cup, sighs and grabs a new one to fill at the water cooler that bubbles in slow motion. Too much noise and movement to my liking, that’s a fact, it makes my head hurt.
I stop, just in the nick of time when the woman leading the way pauses at the door on the other side of the busy space. She turns towards me with a bright smile on her face, her hands gesticulating wildly as she continues to speak. I still can’t hear her, the buzz of the employees like a loud roar in my ears, but I nod to whatever it is she’s telling me, just because that appears to be what she’s waiting for.
Apparently satisfied with my response, she turns away and opens the door, revealing a rather modern executive office with a big desk across the room, stretching out in front of an impressive wall of glass that shows the city outside. Two big indoor plants flank the desk, three expensive designer chairs face it, and a plush couch stretches along the wall right ahead of me.
It’s made of white linen, the fabric roughly weaved and immaculate in the mostly grayish and chrome surroundings. Thick comfortable cushions that will allow the seated to relax a welcoming lure when I enter the office and then stop when a sudden movement draws my attention.
He is standing beside the window, almost completely obscured by one of the large plants, and moves around it to step in full view. I’m astonished to see him here, my mind tumbling while I try to think of a reason why he’s here in the first place, when I don’t even know the reason of my own presence.
He smiles, a bright flash of teeth in tanned features that are so very familiar to me. The sun shines inside through the windows, casting a golden glow through his shortly cropped hair and the stubbles on his jaw. He looks good, healthy, and happy to see me as he rounds the desk and comes heading straight towards me.
“What are you doing here?” I manage to ask, watching somewhat stunned, as he grabs my hands and holds them within his own. He’s about to answer too when noisy grunts and growls awaken me from a deep sleep and force me to open my eyes to see Knight II and Trin Trin tug the quilt off the bed. Drat!

What is it with the dogs disturbing dreams that I really want to have? It feels like genuine cruelty sometimes. Still, that tiny logical part of my brain realizes that they really don’t do it intentionally and I control the urge to scream my frustration. Instead I drag myself out of bed and head for the door to let them outside.

I’m much too tired to get up, and the knee is throbbing like mad, so with a sleep drunk stagger I head back for the bed and doze off for another thirty minutes with the faint hope that I’ll be able to get back to the dream. I can’t of course, but still, I got those extra thirty minutes. Yay.

After the morning hasty rituals and another search through the dirt around the porch for the key that got lost during the release of the dogs, I head for the house.
No laundry today I’m glad to find, and after depositing my bag on the counter and putting chicken to broil on the stove I decide to do a few minor workout exercises.

Big mistake! While working on the upper body I somehow manage to make a wrong movement with my leg to keep proper balance and feel the joint creak and grind as a painful stab slashes through it. Oh wow! If only I could describe that particular sensation in detail for a book, it would be grand for a torture scene, hah.

But anyway, after that particular disaster, I only manage a few more exercises, half of which I perform seated on the floor with the weights in my hands. That done, I hobble to the kitchen to prepare Yadzia’s breakfast with the freshly boiled chicken. The poor Labrador is decidedly uncomfortable since last night. The vet had warned that that injection he got during our last visit only worked for five to six days, but apparently for Yadzia it is shorter than that.

During the night he was shivering with pain, looking up at me miserably until I disobeyed the doctor’s orders and gave him a fraction of a painkiller, just so he’d make it through the night feeling remotely comfortable. It worked, up to a point, since he didn’t cry at least. He does walk stiffly into the pantry, bravely wagging his tail and digging into his meal while I smack the other dogs on the butts to get them out of the room.

After putting on coffee and eating my own breakfast in the company of big brother and grandpa, I set up the computer and quickly get to work on the editing project.
The knee’s acting up somewhat fierce, so while I pop a couple of painkiller, I prop a bag of frozen peas on the joint and settle in for the long haul.
All in all it goes pretty well and nearing the end of our work time we’ve finished a total of fifteen pages, which now read pretty well.

Yadzia has his appointment today, so as the day progresses I take him up the mountain towards the car and head for the vet hospital.
Once there he gets the injection he needs for his back problem, and the vet informs me that if there is no improvement after this last injection, all that can be done for him are pills, which I can give him if he gets too uncomfortable. I do hope that there’s an improvement, because if there isn’t, I will have to make that awful decision of having him put out of his misery, something that I’d really like to postpone for as long as possible.

By the time we return–Yadzia is already feeling better with the effects of the medicine he got– little brother is preparing dinner. I’m pretty glad that I don’t need to worry about that, and the evening progresses peacefully for the remainder of the evening.
Such a pity that I don’t have anything really interesting to report on today, but I guess it is just that time of the year.

In the end, I head for my cabin, Yadzia following slowly behind feeling decidedly better, and eats the meal I put before him as I try to keep the other dogs at bay. At last a rather painful day all ‘round has come to an end. Thankfully.

Boooooring. Hah.

Strange, barely cohesive dreams disturb me during this night. Conversations that came to an end a long time ago, letters that were never written, events that went different or never occurred, it is all very confusing when I wake up and blink at Chaos who is sprawled on the pillow beside me, his nose just an inch or two away from mine. (Aaagh. Talk about dog breath, hah!) He wags his tail in a lazy good morning and then drops his head to promptly drift off to sleep, even though the monster and giant are already making a racket at the foot end of the bed.

The alarm hasn’t gone off yet, more proof of the dreams throwing me off track, and determined to sleep at least the number of hours I’d planned–didn’t get to bed ‘till after six a.m. nonetheless–I roll over and close my eyes. Next thing I know the alarm goes off and I grimace at the full-blown cacophony of the pack, eager to head on out.

Quickly, I go through the morning rituals, reading the last chapter of my recreation novel “Moonstruck in Manhattan” and then getting dressed so I can go outside.
A different pain is present in the knee today–seems like it switches location and intensity every time–this one is located right under the kneecap and feels sharp and narrow…if that makes any sense?

Considering that I promised to take it easy, I use the cane again heading down the mountain and entering the courtyard—just barely throwing my weight on the good leg when the two black labs almost bowl me over in their rush to get to the front door first. Calling my disapproval at their big butts heading inside, I shake my head and tap Chaos on the rump when he’s about to follow the labs’ example.

I make it to the house without mishaps and deposit my baggage before heading out again to hang today’s laundry. I’m in the midst of today’s batch when big brother arrives, his pack colliding with mine…which isn’t disastrous for a change since I remembered to lock Knight II in the pantry prior to heading out, Hah.

Nothing to fold, due to a chilly night, so I’m back inside in record time to put coffee on and prepare Yadzia’s breakfast. He’s standing right beside me his tail wagging slowly (it pains him, I think) and his eyes huge with eager anticipation.

With grandpa’s arrival the usual morning talk commences, which is a ritual all by itself. A day just doesn’t feel the same without one.
For about and hour we chat around the kitchen counter, before I start to set up my computer to get online for a bit. After doing the usual rounds of messages, chats and just surfing, I switch to the files and get ready to dig into the latest editing session.

We work on the family romance for several hours, until at last it is time for the dogs to be fed and for dinner to be cooked. With that in mind I head for the kitchen and look around to see what’s available.

A potato, vegetable mix, Italian style is my final decision as I start peeling the potatoes, careful to keep the peeled veggies away from the dogs that are eagerly looking up for the treat they know is to come.

It’s insane, really. You’d think I’m preparing meat for the rapt attention I’m receiving. The dogs love potatoes and on the days when I’m peeling them, creating vast pile of the remains, the dogs watch my every move until I finally pick the stuff up and toss it in their midst.

They’re on the treat like buzzards, tails wagging, feet scrambling, and mouths pecking at the peels that are scattered over the floor. In less than half a minute all is gone and they’re turning back to me, staring and bounding expectantly in hopes of getting more.

I shake my head at their winsome looks, and toss the raw cubes into the hot olive oil that’s standing on the center burner of the stove.
Next come the carrots and cauliflower, along with spices and herbs that send delicious scents into the house. Onions, garlic, leek and peppers soon join the mix as I add a liberal amount of cream and let it all broil for a bit. Sweat corn and peas are the final addition to the vegetable mix along with a helping of cottage cheese which completes the dish.

Dinner is a quiet affair today. Plates get filled and everyone disappears to their location of choice.
My knee is killing me after the hour spent on my feet, and with my plate in hand I hobble towards the chair and settle with a bag of frozen peas on my knee while I enjoy my meal, watching today’s episode of “The Closer”.

Once the show draws to an end we put on a recorded episode of “Life” after which the evening is rapidly drawing to an end. I go through a few quick chores in the kitchen and then pack up my things to head on up for the night.

After feeding Yadzia his nightly portion of kibble with tuna, and feeding the other pack members as well in the company of big brother who appears sometime in the middle of it all. We talk for a bit, planning, discussing and in the end tackle Knight II so I can treat his tail with disinfectant. This is something the Great Dane doesn’t appreciate, but we manage without any permanent damage to his mighty struggles.

Tomorrow I need to take Yadzia to the vet for his shot, but other than that we should have more than enough time to do the remainder of the editing.