Lost a year for sure!

I overslept this morning. It was a silly thing, really. I woke about an hour before I was supposed to and suddenly “remembered” that I forgot to set my alarm last night. So, or course I reach over to turn the switch and fall back to sleep, confident that the small device will wake me right on the dot.

Two hours later, I startle awake by the noise of the dogs and see that I’m a full hour late and fuzzier than I like to be. I could use the sleep however, so on the overall it is not a bad thing. The weather is rather disappointing when I wake. There’s a cold western wind and clouds rush across the sky at full speed, giving only glimpses of the sun.

I get down to the house to do the usual chores, including another big batch of laundry. We’re almost through the dirty pile, which fills the drying lines to full capacity, but at least the harsh winds dried yesterday’s batches to satisfaction. With grandpa’s help I manage to get the folding and hanging done in less than an hour.

Editing doesn’t go too well today, big brother and I get distracted a lot while we try to go over the pages that should be done, and in the end we give up and decide to go outside to the top of our mountain to take stock of present projects and those that still need to be done, while walking the dogs at the same time.

With grandpa, we stand on a spot overlooking the whole valley that stretches out towards the sea, and even thought it really is too windy for comfort…the sun is out by this time, but it can’t compete with the wind…we go over everything that’s going on. After half an hour or so I head inside to see how the younger sibs are doing with the pizza they intend to make for today’s and tomorrow’s dinner.

They’ve set quite a chore for themselves, and I leave them to it while I take out the supplies to do some of the much needed cleaning throughout the house.
Over the past few weeks dust and dirt has gathered everywhere, and while little brother works on the pizza dough, little sister and I tackle the kitchen shelves and cabinets.

Mom has a hankering to go out for a bit, so after some discussion it is decided that big brother will break today’s plans and accompany her to town, while we stay at home to work on our tasks of choice.

We are interrupted in the midst of cleaning out the fridge, when we hear that the dogs (they’re going bonkers over the departure of the car) have broken through the middle fence and are now making a racket up by the main gate.

I head on up to chase them all down, while middle sister starts rolling rocks on the section of the fencing they broke through, again. Once I reach the gate snapping orders at the pack to get their butts inside, I am just barely in time to see the rear end of a black Cocker Spaniel disappear behind a bush, way up the mountain, right where the main road is. Gawd, I nearly have a heart attack!

I shout at middle sister to get the other sibs up to deal with the main pack, and start searching for the key to open the gate when little brother comes running up to ask what’s up. I tell him about the Cocker…it could be any of the nine that we have of that particular breed…and find the key by the time he has climbed the wall and is running up the drive sweep in pursuit of the small dog that has disappeared fully from sight.

I’ve just opened the gate, just barely managing to slip through it without a quartet of dogs following me, when I see him up there on the road with a black bundle of fur in his arms.
Shoving back Mosha…she’s most persistent in following me…I slam the gate shut behind me and call out to ask which one it is. Out of breath he only shrugs, some of them are hard to recognize, but by then he is close enough for me to recognize Sonya, big brother’s Spaniel. Obviously the little idiot thought to follow her master.

While little brother enters the property, I do a quick search of the surrounding area to make sure that no other dogs have managed to slip through the fences, and once I’m convinced that all are once again safely inside, I too return to the house where we spend a solid half hour counting pack-member heads until we’re sure that all are accounted for. Phew! That took at least a year off my life.

We get back to cleaning. Everything in the kitchen gets wiped clean and by the time the youngest sibs start on the covering of the pizzas, I take my bucket with soap and cleaning cloths to the sitting area to tackle the dirt there. In the mean time, middle sister decides to give all her efforts to the pantry, which was starting to look like a pigsty, hah.

I am forced to halt my efforts in cleaning for a bit when I come upon one of the cabinets that is slowly falling apart, and get tools to fortify the structure before disaster strikes and it crashes. It takes little effort, really. A few holes in strategic places, some screws, and voila, it’s whole again. It should hold for at least another year…I hope. It is really hard to tell with dogs that feel no compunction to ram into furniture while they’re playing.

Big brother, grandpa and mom return from their trip. Underway they got another batch of rocks, so I cease the chore of cleaning for about half an hour to head on up to the car to help haul them out.

The cleaning spree takes several hours, spider webs, dead insects (the little buggers always give the spirit around lights) are everywhere but in the end everything is looking decidedly better, which is when dinner is ready and we all pounce to devour the offering with considerable gusto. It is delicious and I’m so darn stuffed afterwards that it takes me a solid hour to process the meal.

There are a few more chores throughout the evening. One of them being: picking ticks off the dogs …the friggin little parasites are everywhere again…before the evening comes to an end and I head on up to my cabin.

Though we didn’t do all that much compared to the last few weeks, we’re still pretty bushed by now, and I for one am up for some shuteye.

Working on a chain. Hahaha

Well, at least I got my early night, leaving me with the hours I need, even though I’m more than a little sore and stiff by the time morning arrives and it’s time to get up.
The dogs, though used to staying in an hour later, are more than eager to get out of the cabin, and I stumble to the door to open the door for them.

I do about ten minutes of necessary stretches, just to get the blood pumping, and then slowly go through the morning rituals before I head on down to the house. Rather than save it for later, I do the laundry first…I’ve a feeling that after work I’ll be too tired anyway, so I might as well get the most of it over with. Considering that the dirty laundry pile seems ‘bout a mile high, there’ll be more to hang later on. Drat!

After breakfast, and doing some of the average morning chores, big brother and I settle behind the computer to do our daily session on the edit of “Saving Nina” and are more than a little surprised when at the end of it, we find that we’ve rewritten more than eight pages. Either it was a scene that needed little correcting, or it went so well that neither of us noticed the pages we flew through.

With that excellent bit of work behind us, it’s time to go outside and get cracking on the wall of the courtyard. The first thing we do is carry a big load of rocks down the mountain to pile them up in the small yard where the beginnings of the wall is already reaching as high as our knees in the center. On the right and left, the foundation isn’t even laid yet, but still…seeing that first actual wall part is a cheering sight.

While the two youngest sibs help me haul in rocks, (we work in a chain to get it done faster) big brother starts to dig into the soil in the niche, where a natural rock stairs is going be build to reach on up to the higher level of the yard, providing accessibility and prettiness, of course.

Once middle sister starts making cement…her turn today…we are working on a chain to get a nice row of rocks to work with, ready and within reach. Finally the first batch of cement is ready, and while little brother hauls the cement to us in buckets, I start on the heavy task of placing the huge rocks in the gutter that is to be the foundation.

Now, it isn't easy to build a wall with massive stones on any day, but when you have to navigate your way through a huge pack of dogs that would prefer to snooze on your feet, if you let them, it gets just a tad more complicated. While moving from one side to the next, we literally have to go over, past and through dogs to get where we need to , so this might impede on the process a little. Hah.

An hour later, I’ve laid out the rest of the foundation, bringing the complete length of the eighteen feet, while little sister continues to build up yesterday’s section. Huge rocks, some of them weighing up to eighty pounds improves the progress considerably, and by the time the day draws to an end, we have the wall at knee height from one side to the other, with the in the center double that. Excellent.

A job well done, to say the least, and a good progress for what is basically only day two. We gather the tools, clean them up and head inside to eat the pancakes grandpa has made for our dinner. We’re all starving, but like yesterday I know that if I rest now, I won’t be able to get going again.

There’s another batch of laundry to hang, and after a quick shower that I so very much need…everything is sore, hah…it is time to eat at last. Though grandpa tends to make his pancakes on the greasy side, I don’t care. I just need filling and do so by adding a salad of beets, carrots, cheese and lettuce, which fills in the gaps just fine.

While watching some TV, I pick ticks of passing dogs, fighting exhaustion and trying to muster up the energy I need to hook up my computer and do some more work…or in case I can’t focus (which is definitely the case) at least start on today’s Blog.

Since everyone is pretty much exhausted, we call it another early day and head to perspective quarters to start on the evening rituals, such as doing a quick relaxing read–which is something I really need after a day like this.

Once my pack is fed, clean laundry is put away and pjs are on, I settle on the bed to do my nightly session online.

Considering we went through our supply of the one cubic meter of sand today for the cement, tomorrow we won’t be doing any more building. Semana Santa (Easter) has arrived in Spain and everything is closed while the festivals are celebrated. This means that we’ll have to get a new batch on Saturday, or otherwise resume building on Monday. We’ll see how it works out. It’s not like we don’t have anything else to do.

19 hours and counting. Need some Zzzzs

Gawd it was a long day! I’m so friggin’ tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open. I’ll apologize in advance for any spelling, grammar errors and typos, ‘cause I know I can’t muster the energy to check it all afterwards.

I’ll start at the beginning so you know why. Hah.

I went to bed early, as planned…though not as early as I should have. For some reason I could not get to sleep, and when I finally did, I kept waking up and there was no excuse for it…well, Trin Trin (the monster boxer) was the evil doer at one point, but that’s not unusual. When I finally did fall asleep, the alarm seemed to go off with dawn’s arrival.

I blink at the ceiling, momentarily at a loss as to why the alarm goes off, but then remember and quickly start on the morning rituals. We have a busy schedule ahead of us today, and I need to get to it, if we want to make it all in time.

After dressing, bringing the dogs to the house, having a quick coffee and then hurrying back up to the car, big brother and I are right on time for today’s plans and head to the city in the company of our friend Danni who has offered to chauffeur us for the occasion…again.

We are on our way to Traffico (DMV, basically) where big brother and I can get out temporary drivers license that will see us through the next couple of months until we receive our permanent one. Upon reaching the city there is a moment of confusion, along with annoying (not so pleasant) nostalgia when we get lost in the exact area where we did our exams. Finally we reach our destination and are lucky enough to find a tiny parking spot outside the huge building where large crowds are wiling away the hours to handle their business.

Figuring that there will be a long wait, I head for the bathroom first thing, leaving it to big brother and Danni stand in line for the information desk. Three minutes later when I re-emerge, they are nowhere in sight, so I head into the crowd, and see them stand at the service booth.

The entire procedure is over in less than a minute. Our IDs get a fleeting glance and then this tiny bit of paper gets printed and we’re on our way out. It’s all a little anticlimactic, and I say as much to big brother and Danni when we head outside to return to the car.

I get in behind the wheel, finally carrying a genuine Spanish Permiso de Conducir and start the engine to set us on our way. It feels strange to be in the truck again after more than a year, especially after having had the lessons in the tiny Seat Ibiza. It’s a good strangeness, however. The seating is so much higher, almost like a chair, and the view of the traffic around me far less daunting as we head west in the direction of home.

Rather than wasting another trip, I drive Danni to the senior home, where the woman she takes care of these days, spent over a month to make sure that she didn’t forget anything, and then we’re heading towards the consulate to pick up the younger sibs’, grandpa’s and mom’s passports, which should have arrived.

Since our passports will be run out in the next month as well, we need to renew ours as well, and arrive at the office two hours before closing time. There’s only one couple before us when we arrive, and since we have already printed and filled in the necessary forms it takes only a short amount of time to get everything done. The pictures are correct, and only the date and location need to be added before the task is done and we’re on our way again, carrying the rest of the family their IDs with us.

Big brother gets in behind the wheel this time, setting us on the way to town where we need to make a quick stop at a supermarket. The driving goes well, all the technicalities that got pounded into our brains during the lessons blissfully subsiding when old routines return and we head on home, infinitely relieved to have most of “official” business dealt with.

It is a beautiful day (though I could have done with a bit more moisture in the air), the sun shines brightly, not a cloud is in sight, and a cool southern breeze swirls upward from the sea. You can’t have a better day for construction, really.

When we arrive home and have shared the morning’s events with grandpa, big brother and I are certainly up for some relaxation and resort to going online to read up on the latest news, answer our messages and then surf the forums of choice. We want to edit some, but what with the day rapidly advancing we really can’t seem to get ourselves to it.

Besides, I am barely done with my messages when it is time to head on out into the yard, where another truck full of rocks is waiting to be unloaded.
That done, grandpa and I get back into the car to head for the local construction company. We have planned to start on the wall today, so with that in mind we need to get sand and cement.

Upon arrival and ordering the huge bag of sand, grandpa and I agree that we might have made a slight miscalculation in the size of our order. As the weight slowly lowers in the truck bed the separation between metal and hind wheels, literally decreases a foot, making an extremely return trip inevitable.

Never going over 15 miles per hour, we slowly head back home. The truck feels like it’s struggling through mud all the way, but in the end we manage to get it home where the younger sibs and big brother are already hard at work hauling stones to where we’ll need them.

For a while we debate whether or not the truck cane make its way done (the incline is rather steep) but even this goes without much trouble. In the end, with back of the truck sticking out of the carport a few inches, the large cement mill is put in place and is connected to power…nothing.

The machine has not been used for almost two years now, and after half an hour of checking wires and connections we find that it’s the on and off button that is causing the problem. In the end big brother circumvents the switch entirely and we’re ready for business.

Since the sand bag is so high and full, it is decided that I will make the first batches of cement while the sibs start on the wall. I do have to say that with this kind of work it doesn’t matter at all that there is no time for a workout. Using a shovel to get sand from shoulder height does the trick really well. Hah.

Six batches later with two wheelbarrows full of fresh cement paste, big brother’s back is bothering him somewhat fierce (while I got supplies, he was lugging seventy pound rocks around) so we change places. He’ll get the last batch into a wheelbarrow and clean everything up, while I head down to spend the last half hour of daylight, finishing off the cement already made.

With middle sister shoveling cement where we need it, little brother supplying the right rocks, little sister and I add another foot of rock to the beginnings of a wall that stretches to a length of fifteen feet at least. Though backbreaking and lengthy, this kind of masonry is the most fun. It’s like puzzling. You see a particular spot of some indistinct shape, and look at a pile of rocks to guess which one is going to fit.

It takes time and experience, but when doing this kind of masonry you get a certain feel for it. It is quite satisfying when you pick out a rock and find that it fits exactly where you want it. And as time passes, you get to find the perfect fit faster and continuously, just because your eyes manage to guess the right dimensions.

When doing this kind of building, I’m often constantly talking (to the rocks it seems, hah), which goes something like this: “I need that one! No, not that one. The one with the bend on the right and the point on the top. Yes, that one. Lemme see, oh, yes you’re going to fit right there, lemme just turn it so…no, this way, yes, beautiful. Perfect.” It makes the younger sibs chuckle, really, but I can’t help it.

By the time we finish up for the day (everyone’s more than a little tired) we have the wall up to a foot and a half, which is a solid start to say the least.
Though mom has a stir-fry noodle dish waited, I cannot have dinner yet. There’s a big batch of laundry to be taken down and a new one that needs to be hung, so I get to that before my system crashes…which I know it will, just as soon as I relax.

With muscles sore from the work and energy levels already low from twelve hours wakefulness, it takes me a little longer than usual to get the day’s laundry done, but finally I’m done and happy for it.
I quickly wash up, change into sweats and then get my dinner. It’s spicy and what with the extreme dryness in the air today my lips are chapped to a point that food actually hurts. I’m too darn hungry to care, though.

My system…everyone’s actually…crashes the moment I relax, just like I knew it would, and I lounge in a chair for a couple of hours. Though I make an effort for keeping my fingers busy by picking off an endless amount of ticks off the multitude of dogs that keep coming in reach for that very purpose, it seems, the last thing I do before heading to my cabin an hour early is hang another batch of laundry.

The usual evening ritual ensues, though at a far more sedate pace than usual, after which I finish today’s blog and hope for a restful night. I sure need it after being up for a full nineteen hours. Hah.

Just a quickie

My eyes have that annoying droopy thing again when I wake up this morning. They remain half stock well into the day’s edit we start on just as soon as I arrive at the house. I would write down the complete routine the way I usually do, but I really don’t have the time today.

The edit goes well, and we manage four pages through the hours that pass after breakfast. We’ve reached a solid scene today, explaining a lot about the female protagonist (and her multiple personalities) while also giving an insight into the male protagonist. It’s tricky, what with making all characters (of the heroine that is) come across as realistic and recognizable at the same time, but it is quite effective in the end, I think.

I’m actually sorry when today’s session comes to an end, but outside work is waiting and we need to get to it if we want to get anything substantial done today.
The younger sibs are already up on the roof when I come outside and climb back into the small yard to continue the preparation of our future wall.

Dead cacti need to be removed, soil dug out and rocks moved aside, and it takes several backbreaking hours before we’re starting to see a little headway in the project.
We’re still at it too, when the two youngest sibs finish with the roof at last, and head on inside to start on dinner.

Big brother, middle sister and I continue so we can start with actual building within the next week, at least. Finally, around the time sunset begins, we call it a day and head into the house to eat the meal the younger sibs prepared.

While and episode of “NCIS” runs on TV, I trim both Carla and Darshan (two cocker spaniels) whose ears and chests are a mess after a wet and muddy winter. Nothing like messy dreadlocks on dogs to make petting a smelly affair. Darshan goes through the entire process without complaint, while Carla makes a fuss and shakes in fear.

In the end I finish, though, and they’re both beautifully clean once more, leaving me free to work on today’s Blog. I have to post it early today, considering that I need to get to bed early so we can go to the consulate in the morning for the renewal of passports. It is a complete bore, of course, but it has to be done.

So today’s Blog is a little short, and I write and finish it before the day is through. Hopefully I manage another quick edit before the end of the evening, but even if I don’t…who cares at this point. Tomorrow’s another day.

Sigh...I can't think of a title.

I’m having a particularly pleasant dream when the alarm shrills and it’s time to seize the day, so to speak.
Trin Trin is being her monstrous self this morning, trying to yank the blankets off the bed before I lock her out in the small backyard. With her safely tucked away, I head for the front door to let the rest of the pack out.

Once I’ve gone through the morning rituals, I take the dogs to the house so we can start on the computers, just as soon as big brother has glued the tube of the washing machine. Rather than buying a new one, grandpa visited the local ferreteria and got glue that should close the hole in the rubber.

Today I have to work on the interview thingy, because I have been postponing it way too long already and end up going over the questions and answers for a solid hour before I can finally push the send button and see the end result just minutes later.

I think it turned out okay, but there’s no way to know for sure of course. In the end it is just a matter of wait and see what readers think of it.
Here’s the link in case you’re curious: http://whohub.com/samayayoung
Do check it out and let me know what you think.

That done, and sidetracking for a quick perusal of the Amazon forums, big brother and I get to the edit and slowly settle into the required mode of adjusting sentence structure.
Though it goes slowly today, we do manage a couple of pages before it is time to head on out to resume work in the yard.

Considering that the summer is rapidly approaching the younger sibs would rather start on construction of the courtyard wall as soon as possible. So, with that in mind, big brother and grandpa head out for another batch of rocks while the youngest sibs climb on top of the house to resume cleaning the roof tiles.

Middle sister and I descend to the small garden…or it used to be one, before the dogs got to it and ruined the flowers I’d planted…to start the laborious process of preparing the sleet rock mountain face for construction.
Once again weeds need to be removed, decorative stones put aside, and anything that could be ruined in the near future, gets placed in a far corner, just so it’ll be out of the way.

Branches of trees get cut off, fences removed…no easy task, that. Even with the heavy bolt cutter I manage only three tines of the thick metal. The task literally makes my muscles scream their disapproval and I decide to leave it for big brother when he returns with the stones.

Then comes the fun part: Hacking into dry clay ground and digging a gutter in which the future wall will be settled. We dig, we chop and we groan as slowly, but steadily the first foundation of the work is created.

By then big brother and grandpa return, giving me a short breather as the younger sibs gather by the car to unload the truck bed and add another 500 kg of stones to the rapidly growing pile by the side of the main path.

They’re still at it when I head into the tool room. My ground ax is slipping off the stick during the having chopping and I need to apply a small wedge at the top so I can keep using it without sending the heavy metal disk flying at some point.

That done, and the rocks finished, we all resume our tasks. Big brother comes down to cut through the tines of the fencing. He grunts and swears, but in the end he manages to cut through them all and lifts the barrier away.

The sun is setting by the time we decide to call it a day. My shoulders and arms are numb from picking at rock and clay alike…and trying to dig out a large brick that fused with the soil. In the end the stupid thing got me so frustrated I just smashed it to pieces, which was a rather satisfying thing to do. Hah.

Grubby, sore and wary we head into the house where little sister has prepared a quick meal. We all dig in without even bothering to sit down, filling our grumbling stomachs in record time before we separate and settle in for the last few hours of the evening.

It takes me a “CSI” episode to rebuild some of my usual energy level, and when I’ve got that back, big brother and I decide to give Vara (Golden retriever) a trim. The poor thing has been roaming the yard for days now, figuring it’s fun to roll through the mud, so now he’s caked with dry mud and dirt all over the bottom side of his furry body.

The trimmer gets through the mess in record time, and since “Bones” follows anyway, we figure we might as well do Nata (Vara’s brother) too.
Luckily both retrievers enjoy the attention in equal measure, allowing us to set up our computers again right after the end titles of the show begin.

The edit goes slow again, what with mind and body being somewhat exhausted, but still we bring today’s total up to a nice round figure of four pages. I have to admit that working on an edit like this (it almost feels like a complete rewrite, actually) is daunting but I think that the end result will be well worth the effort.

It is well past midnight when we finally finish off and, without hesitation, I take my dogs up to the cabin for the night.
Just a feeding, today’s blog and a quick fun visit to the forums to go and then I can drop off into the sweet oblivion of sleep. Hah.

Splendid edit and maintenance.

Apparently I was a little absentminded yesterday. I forgot to mention several things during the day’s description, one of which being that we moved Tika (our parrot) to a better vantage point in the room. The poor dear was feeling neglected now that we’re working outside so much, so we decided to hang her cage beside the other birds, giving her a bit of company during the days.

Of course I’ve now forgotten what else I failed to mention, but no one is likely to mind. Hah. So let’s move on to today and leave it at that.

I’m a tad lazy again this morning. After the alarm goes off for a good three minutes, I reset it for another twenty and quickly snooze off into sweet oblivion. When it screeches for the second time I can’t deny it any longer. The day has begun.

Getting out of bed, I first let the dogs out and then start on the morning rituals on this rather bleak, yet not cloudy morning. During the night we’ve been cloaked in a thick mist that didn’t allow me to see past the courtyard, and though it has cleared a little, fragments of that same mist are still present in the higher layers of the atmosphere.

The dogs don’t mind, of course, not with the temperatures as pleasant as they are, and storm down to the courtyard with their usual jubilance while I follow at a more sedate pace. Trin Trin is trying to grab the stick I’m holding up to keep her distracted. If I don’t she’s bound to try to use my ankles as toys, so with her dangling from the stick once more, I make it to the house.

There’s laundry to do…something is wrong with the washing machine. There seems to be a leak somewhere so we’re going to need to fix it later today…and with grandpa’s help I take down the old and hang the new before I head into the house to fold what’s been taken from the lines.

Once breakfast is dealt with, big brother and I settle behind our computers, resuming the seemingly endless task of “the Edit”. After several hours of rearranging sentences, shuffling commas and periods we finally reach the 50 % marker we’ve worked so hard for, and are pleased to realize that we’ve managed to add a total of four pages throughout the edit.

Though bolstered with the realization that we’re now officially halfway through, and willing to continue with the task a bit longer, outside work is waiting, calling for us to start, so to speak.

Today we work in the central yard, the messy path that connects the three parts of the property, the trail that goes from the carport to the patio entrance…and in effect my cabin…and the roof.

Another load of rocks were hauled in this morning, so the first thing we need to do is get them from the truck bed, and carry them over to the steadily growing pile against the rock wall overlooking the courtyard entrance.

The top step of my porch broke in two several months ago, so when we finish with the rocks, I get out the wonderful power tools to make a new one. While I start with this, little brother climbs on the roof to start with the weeds that grow on, and between, the roof tiles. Middle sister takes up the task of cleaning the main path while little sister sets out to help me with the stairs.

In the mean time, big brother and grandpa head on out with the truck to get another load of rocks. We are going to need quite a lot in the future, so an extra trip will certainly speed things up, if just a little.

In order to make the step to my porch strong enough for the wide expanse that it has to cross, I cut a strip of heavy metal and attach it to the underside of the step before putting the board in place. I’m just about to screw it too, when grandpa and big brother return. The two sisters help him unload while I put the step up and then get to work on the rocky ground leading to the patio.

Over the years, erosion has been scraping away at the ground, creating a jagged surface that no longer hold the steps of the brick stairs that lead to the patio. Since mom’s hernia makes it hard for her to mount even normal steps, I chop out rock and clay alike, creating a wide path that will make her passage a lot easier. I also make steps from stones and bricks that will considerably lower the risk of crossing this way.

It’s close to dusk when we decide that we’ve done enough for the day. Half the roof is done. Middle sister has vigorously attacked the center path, which now looks beautifully even, and the new rock path from the patio is sound enough to see us through the next few months, until we start on the project of building a new wall on the north side of the courtyard…and in effect the proper stairs leading all around.

Though properly weary from the work, we return to the house in good spirits, and eat the meal little sister has prepared. Once dinner has settled and we’ve watched the latest episode of “Medium” I get Bommel on top of the table for a much-needed trim.

It takes a few minutes to prepare the electric trimmer, but once it works properly the job progresses satisfyingly. The Bobtail, well familiar with the procedure, stretches out on the tabletop, moaning his appreciation as his thick fur is removed. Inch after inch of the gray and white hair comes off, allowing his skin to breathe, and showing me his eyes for the first time in months.

Though the cataract disease hazes both pupils, he does notice movement, and appears genuinely pleased when I finally finish the task and carefully set him back on the floor. He spends several minutes scratching himself (obviously delighted) and then actually manages to follow my progress around the room as I clean up the mess I made and then move to the pantry to help big brother.

While I worked on Bommel, he decided to check out the washing machine. Apparently there’s a hole in one of the rubber tubes underneath and we remove it so grandpa can go to the village in the morning to see if he can find glue to fix it, or otherwise a new tube.

I start on the blog a little early, figuring that I’ll get distracted again later on and then switch over to “Saving Nina” when big brother joins me for our last edit of the day.
It’s midnight when we wrap things up, delighted with the fact that we managed at least eight pages during the course of the day. It is getting to be pretty darn good, and I don’t even mind that I’m saying as much myself, hah.

Of course we get distracted while discussing future plans. Once we’ve edited this one and it’s prequel, we have to decide on a different story, so we’re leaning towards a horror story I started back in ‘01. The way we figure we’ll be up to a challenge after all the mind-numbing edits, so something exciting and chilling is definitely in order.

Just the thought of actual writing thrills me, and my fingers literally itch with the prospect. After two romances, two thrillers, and the W.I.’s a genuine horror is just what I need.

Well after midnight I force myself to stop thinking about all the possibilities of the upcoming project…if I allowed it, I’d be writing the night away…and take my dogs up for the night’s feeding and sleep.

Boxer madness...aaargh.

I got a bit more sleep this night. It’s a good start, but it still feels like it’s not enough. Ah well, there’s always tonight. I’m going to have to keep it short however, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering that there isn’t a whole lot to tell. Hah.

The day starts half an hour late, I can’t get myself to pry my eyes open long enough to even let the dogs out, so I sneak in an extra half hour (I was having a rather pleasant dream, darn it) before starting on the morning rituals.

This of course makes me feel a tad harried when I finally arrive at the house and do a few quick chores, have breakfast and then settle behind the computer.
It doesn’t go so well today, for some peculiar reason. First problem is that my eyes keep sagging shut and when my coffee starts to have an effect at last, I still find myself incapable of really focusing. Second problem…I don’t know what the heck my problem is.

A three page edit later it’s time to head on out into the yard where we tackle some more weeding–nettles are literally crowding the bus–after which we separate into two groups. While the younger sibs head to the west side of the property in order to cut a path through the massive undergrowth, middle sister, big brother and I return to the terrace under the septic tank.

The mud that was removed from the corner of the pool terrace has dried considerably, and lies like a black messy pile on the ground. I take out a pitchfork and shovel and start spreading it out in order to create a flat surface again while big brother starts clearing a patch of reeds that have been suffocating an oleander bush. Middle sister resorts to dragging the debris away.

The pile, created by at least fifteen wheelbarrows of mud, requires quite heavy shoveling. To spread it all out, while literally sinking into the wet patches, takes more muscle action than any exercise I could think of. Hah. Well, at least it takes care of that particular issue. I won’t need a workout! Damn.
It takes us several hours to finish our respective tasks, but by the time dusk arrives we’re all pretty damn sore and more than ready to call it a day.

Little sister, who managed her task faster than the rest of us, has already started on dinner. Mac ‘n Cheese, mixed with veggies goes down well after the hard labor, and by the time we finish dinner I’ve a hard time of staying awake through the remainder of the evening. Luckily, what with summer time, it’s only three hours anyway, and it doesn’t cause too much distress for the loss of work hours on the computer.

Finally we decide to head for our rooms a little earlier, hoping that we can get an hour of sleep extra. There’s a bit of a ruckus before I depart to my cabin, however. Trin Trin and Amos (two Boxers) pounce on little Micky (a Portuguese waterdog) and seem fully intent on tearing the mutt apart between the two of them.

Stupid Boxers! They’re absolute sweethearts half the time, but the rest. Gawd. They make we want to strangle them from sheer frustration sometimes. It almost seems as if they get a short in their brain when they get “The Madness” that’s a fact.

Both little sister and I jump in the middle of the fray, of course, and manage to get Trin Trin off and send Micky scurrying off…only to have Amos jump on her again…which is when big brother arrives–much to our relief. He drags the second Boxer away and restrains her in a chair so little sister can set Micky safely on the table.

The poor mutt is shaking like mad, but is otherwise unharmed and starts eating the treat she’s immediately offered, without delay. Trin Trin–I’m holding her by the collar while berating her–has a bleeding gash in her nose and is looking properly contrite as I lock her in the pantry.
The sibs will release her once I get the other dogs up to the cabin.

Once I’ve made sure that Micky is all right, I take my pack out and head on up for the night. Gawd, I need to get some sleep fast.