Hmmm. Slow day.

Song of the day: “Suddenly Monday” by Mel C...so strange, considering it’s Friday, but what the hey.

It was a rather chilly night, which is surprising, considering we’re in the middle of the friggin’ summer. Last night (and right now) I had to wear a blouse with long sleeves for crying out loud. But then, according to the news, there were some pretty bad rainstorms in Valencia. The chill in the air right now might be a result of that.

So it was relatively cool this morning when I got up and took the dogs to the house. There are some chores, letting out the main pack, etc. etc. before breakfast, and then it’s time for work.
Our insurance is official as of today, so everyone got an extra card to carry ‘round. A total nuisance, insurance, but necessary I suppose.

The edit went rather slow in this morning’s session. Not bad, just slow and rather exhausting for both of us. My head actually felt completely numb by the time six hours had passed, so we put the computers away and looked around for something constructive to do. First I need a reviving dip in the pool, though. Hah. Trin Trin decided to join me.

Here’s a pic of Trin Trin the Monster Boxer:




We’ve been thinking about organizing our working area for quite a bit now, so since we want to be busy, we decide to empty the lower section of the living-room closet and use it for the office supplies that have been lying about all over the place for years. Photo albums get carted off to the section under my old desk and neat organized stockpiles are placed together on the recently cleaned shelves. It actually takes several hours, but afterwards we feel reasonably content with the progress.

In the meantime, little brother and sister are making dinner: an Indian dish of mixed vegetable with rice on the side with the added treat of pakora bajis and samosas; though not bad (the last three were bought yesterday) the spiciness takes something from the taste. In fact, by the time I’ve eaten my share, I can’t taste anything anymore. Hah.

Big brother has headed up to grandpa’s place, where they spend about an hour fashioning a basked on the back of the moped. Grandpa as been getting frustrated about the lack of carrying space on the vehicle and when they’re done they are both pleased with the end result.

Afterwards we fix the fence beside my porch…the dogs have been going over it frequently, and that just won’t do. There are certain rules they have to hold to, and though they’re not much, staying away from grandpa’s and our tenant’s dogs is one that needs to be enforced at all costs.

Though we would have liked to go on a jog today, we also want to do another edit later tonight, and watch “The curious case of Benjamin Button” which was one of the DVDs we rented yesterday. The jog gets cancelled, which, in hindsight was a good thing, considering I rather enjoyed the movie.

Now this is the fourth time Pitt managed to make me cry, and still had me like the movie, darn it. I don’t know how he manages it, but there you have it. I enjoyed the movie, in particular the acting and the rather extraordinary idea behind the story…even though it was obvious from the start that nothing good was going to come to poor Benjamin (Pitt) in the end. Admittedly, I would have liked to see some other actress instead of Kate Blanchett…she isn’t bad, by any means; it’s just that she didn’t really make her character likable, if that makes any sense?

But, be that as it may, the special effects guys did a marvelous job of both old Pitt and the young one. There were some nifty tricks played for sure…even though I have to admit that the younger version was done better.

Once the movie is finished, big brother and I head up to my porch…it’s cold enough for us to both dress up in long sleeved shirts…while we emerge ourselves into another two hour edit. Almost three pages are done when yawning sets in. Time to get ready for bed…just as soon as I write and finish today’s Blog - oh wait, I just did. Hah

Some pics by request.

A view from the top of our mountain ridge.


But let's start off the blog with some nice sunsets, shot while out on a rock hauling trip.


Second one.


Song of the day: “So far so good” by Bryan Adams. Quite apropos in light of what happened today but we’ll get to that.

So, I’m totally not in the mood to write today, and since not all that much happened, I figure I might as well give a general outline and be done with it.

Rather than edit today, I worked on writing a new scene for “Commanding Morgan” in order to make the 100K for this type of novel. It’s a rather complicated scene, overlapping an old one so it is probably going to take a few days at least. Also a scene that is going to have to be moving, in an emotional sense, a scene of sadness and self-sacrifice, which is starting out well, I think.

The Land Rover got through the ITV (MOT), so that was a definite yay in the household. Hah. We had been so worried, especially since it is a second hand car, but we got through so now we officially have a road worthy car again. Phew. It took some time but there you have it.

Considering it was high time to go grocery shopping again we decided to get to it immediately, and spend four hours going from shop to shop until finally we’re back home. I was pretty delighted to drive in the Defender again. Oh my does that baby purr like a big commercial truck. It makes ya feel invincible, hah.

But enough about the day…after the groceries and dinner we only watched a movie “The Resistance” with Daniel Craig. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t wow either.

Let’s do a change in the routine again and do a little messing around with photographs.




So this is the gate that now closes of the small yard down by "the Wall". Looks remarkably straight, doesn't it?



Fortuyn is peeping up from the new stairs that lead down to the patio...this is at the top-back of the wall.



Old Bommel's trying out the new stairs...it all confused him a little since he can't see much anymore. Amri (brown one on the right) is looking at me funny, as if saying, "What the heck are you taking a picture of me for?" He's a grumpy old dog. Hah.



My backdrop when I'm editing on warm summer nights. Love the niche. So very cozy, especially with twenty dogs crowding around my feet.



Carla's favorite spot ever since this part of the wall got finished. Gives him a vantage point of dogs coming and going in the courtyard.



Gaucho (Afghan) checking out the new ride. Yeah!



The section of the wall built mostly by little brother. He did a grand job!



Nearby nature reserve. Isn't it gorgeous?...and upon closer examination, the surrounding area is a bloody mess. Darn it!



Our mountain from afar. We're somewhere in the middle of the left hand corner. Hah.



Knight II striking a rather impressive and handsome pose. He might be nuts sometimes but he is downright pretty...and knows it.

Nothing special, just a day.

Song of the day: “I’m in love” by Maria Mena still. I don’t know what the heck’s going on. I think this is the first time that I’ve got one single song going ‘round and ‘round in my head, even while I’m still half asleep.

Be that as it may, let’s get to the day:
It was strange. Around 7 AM, I woke up and it was ridiculous, ludicrous since it couldn’t have been less than 24 degrees around dawn, when my body decided to wake up completely chilled. I was almost chattering my teeth for crying out loud, and stumbled to my bathroom to grab my robe. I wrapped it around me, crawled back under my sheet and didn’t even mind when Knight II draped himself over me.

I wake right on the dot, of course: the alarm went off after all. Not much chance oversleeping with that annoying bleep going off beside my head. Hah.
The morning rituals done, I head down to the house, the dogs storming back and forth around me while the Monster Boxer pounces on the tube, doing her very best to tear it from my hands.

The day is remarkably fresh today; the sun is shining brightly, but the air doesn’t feel at all hot, just pleasantly warm. The thermometer actually doesn’t go above 35, which is nothing short of a miracle this time of year. I’m thrilled.

There are chores waiting, however, and though I’m really starving, I get to them before actually heading for the kitchen. Breakfast over; the day’s edit gets worked through and works out pretty well. We added a rather enjoyable scene, giving more depth to the villain in the story. Gawd, I actually burst out laughing…loudly.

But anyways, today we’re determined to get some physical work done as well, and head out five hours after commencing the edit to continue with the pillar. More rocks need to be hauled, and cement mixed to a manageable paste. Another sixth gets added before the rocks start floating again (I’ll post some pics as soon as it’s done) and we prudently embed a hook; it is a necessary thing, especially for Knight II, who tends to snap at dogs when they come rushing past.

Next…yes the day isn’t over yet, hah…we decide to take the moped to the carport, so we can see if we can repair the dratted thing. Here we were - last year - spending more than a week repairing the thing, and then it gets hit by the car several months ago, needing another one. Drat. Luckily, it doesn’t take all that long today, just a couple of hours, and since big brother does most of it, I have the opportunity to do some other maintenance chores as well.

I’ve got two lamps that broke down during the course of the last few months, that need to be fixed, and afterwards I put up frameworks for the jasmine vines so they’ll be able to climb up to the roof of both the carport and my cabin. Afterwards, pleased with the progress of the day, I have a quick dip to wash off the dust and then head inside to have a rather late dinner.

Another short edit follows, the dogs lounging around us in the courtyard, enjoying the cool evening that, for the first time in weeks, allows for actual relaxation.
After the edit I take the dogs up and settle on my porch for the night’s session…where I find that another miracle has happened: today’s Blog is under one page. Yay.

The cabin's clean at last!

Song of the day: “I’m in love” by Maria Mena again. No matter, great song and now I’ve read them I actually know the lyrics. Hah.

So let’s see if I can wrap the day up in a nice compact little package. It’ll be hard for me, but it is something I do need to teach myself. Hmmm.
There were the morning rituals, chores, breakfast and coffee, followed by a six hour edit that took us through a rather complicated fight scene. It took ages to do five pages, but still we managed to improve the first half of the chapter rather well, if I do say so myself.

The edit was followed by a slight deviation of the daily routine. Rather than do any building, I took the opportunity to do some cleaning in my cabin, along with the much-needed repairs. During the “week of edit hell” somehow we bounced to hard on my couch (we’ve always been interactive in our reading *snort*) when the scene got to be good. Hah.

I put in a new support beam under the one that broke; put in some new, solid screws and set the couch back to realize that it’s less shaky and noisy than it was when I bought it. Marvelous. Next, the floors and other flat surfaces (I was amazed I even had them. It’s been ages since I last saw them, hah) are scrubbed clean until the cabin is once again clean and comfortable. I really postponed it too long, though. It took over four hours in the end.

After a quick dip in the pool…I took Knight II in with me and he actually enjoyed it…to wash of the grime and then quickly hung a couple of batches of laundry. Then we headed inside to have dinner. Mom made it, and since it was baked potatoes with a salad, I was rather looking forward to it. I was just about to dig into it too when the phone rang. Our tenant’s caretaker was worried about her dog, which appeared to be hurting somewhere and refused to get up.

So I headed over to check the mutt out. She was her usual snappish self when I arrived though, causing relief to her owner while we took the dogs temperature, checked her gums, eyes and limbs. Nothing appeared wrong, just a slight limp that could have been caused by a variety of events that I do not even want to contemplate at this point.

Once in the house, I quickly devour my now cold meal and then head out to do another quick edit in the final hour of the day. Not the most auspicious edit we’ve had but another couple of pages gets added to the whole, so all’s fine.

Around midnight I head to my cabin…my clean and organized cabin for a change…feed the dogs and set up on my porch for the another few hours behind the computer.

Strange day; it had a bit of a surreal feel to it, really.

A burial in the sun.

Song of the day: “I’m in love” by Maria Mena. A wonderful song I just recently discovered from an artist I really enjoy. Heck, even now she’s playing on my stereo. Hah. I do love songs that are sung to the Waltz.

The day doesn’t start at all well in light of what happened last night. Dreams appear to have been troubled and when it is time to rise, I feel a tad out of sorts. The weather is remarkably pleasant, compared to the past few days. During the night, there was a brisk breeze (26 degrees) and it cooled me down considerably.

After the usual morning rituals, I take the dogs down stairs, already dreading the afternoon when I know we’re going to have to dig Roma’s grave somewhere in the yard. Mortality of dogs definitely sucks big time…especially when the dog is so bloody young.

But anyway, rather than linger on the issue when it isn’t there yet, I focus on the morning chores and then submerge myself into today’s edit. We manage to make some progress at least. Five, or six pages of a solid rewrite that doesn’t get to be difficult by the time the five-hour workday comes to an end.

Time to head out and pick out a spot for Roma’s remains arrives. Though little brother already says, he doesn’t want to be there when we actually put her to rest in a rather nice sunny spot on one of the lower terraces, but is there beside me when we start digging.

The sun pounds down on our heads, and a solid hour passes before the hole is finally deep enough. As soon as it is done, little brother returns to the house, and big brother comes down with the basket that holds Roma. We bury her in a gentle breeze, with the sun still shining brightly overhead. A sad thing for so young a dog…heck, any dog.

But anyway, rather than wallow in what could very well turn into a full depression if I let it, I resume with the pillar we started on yesterday. Rocks get hauled down the mountain, cement gets made and another foot is added on what is already looking like a solid base. There is a slight pause in the middle, since the rocks start to float, but in the end, the wheelbarrow gets emptied and cleaned.

That done, I waste some time hosing down the part of the courtyard where we will be sitting during the evening session of the edit and then have a quick dinner. Poor little brother is really sad, and for a while we consider going for a walk, or something, just so he’ll be able to get his mind of the night’s events. But he thinks it’s too late what with dusk only half an hour away, and goes back inside.

Around this time big brother returns with the car…man am I glad it’s back, even though it’s a day late…which has been fixed during the weekend.
The repairs were minor, all things considered and now we’re going to have to make an appointment for the MOT as soon as possible.

I take a few minutes to look the car over and then it’s back to the courtyard to start on the last few hours of editing. It goes very well this time, especially since this is reading through rather than rewriting. Oh boy, did the scene go smoothly. It was like watching a friggin’ action flick.

Around midnight we head back inside, knowing full well that we still have to prepare the packages that go out on the mail tomorrow, both of them to publishers who have requested a look/see at the first three chapters, after reading the letter we sent them.

Well, we’ll see how that works out in due time as well. I’ve decided I’m going to look forward to hearing back from them, if only to see if they’ll bother with more than a basic yes or no.

It is well past one in the morning when I’m finally on my way to my cabin. I feed the dogs, and discuss the possibilities of a new scene with big brother while trying to get the blog done.
The comfortable cool breeze has picked u again, making sitting on the porch a rather splendid experience for both of us.

I do hope it holds at least until morning…even though my skin feels parched from the dryness. A simple cream thankfully takes care of the particular problem, and soon my cheeks no longer feel as if they’re gonna split up when I attempt a smile at the dogs, all snoozing around me.

Bad evening.

Déjà Vu. I don’t know what the heck is going on, but today seems to be a constant replay of events that I have, at some point experienced in my head before today. Not the day in its totality, but fragments of it. As if someone sliced up the minutes of a lifespan, and then put them together at random, to create a brand “new” day. Aaargh.

It started with the song of the day: “Living Doll” by Cliff Richard and the Young Ones. Oooh, been there done that; gotta move onto something else - oh wait, later on, it switched (my head does that sometimes) to Right Said Fred with “Where do you go to my lovely” I’d already had the pleasure of experience maybe three days before I started to record the song of the day over here. Drat.

Second indicator was Knight II, who graced me with a wake-up call by slamming the bones of his humongous butt into my shoulder blades while I was still blissfully snoozing the morning away. Grrr. Now admittedly, this isn’t an unusual occurrence by any means, but it’s the thought that counts. Hah.

The edit contained certain dialogues between big brother and me, which sounded as if we’d had them before. And the building session we did afterwards…we started on the pillar in the courtyard because at least there was some shade under the roof. So we hauled rocks, made cement by hand, and then put up the foundation that is now up to a foot and a half. It’s looking good, but this too felt like serious Déjà vu; still not strange, since we did build six of the pillars in the past.

Roma’s doing a bit better however, so that is one good thing, since I was dreading having to take little brother’s favorite to the vet so darn sick that she would have to stay. Maybe we get lucky and she won’t even need to stay…knock on wood.

But anyway, after building the pillars we’re hauling more rocks, so we won’t have to go through the hassle of the steps tomorrow, sitting in the shade to enjoy the cool breeze about an hour before dusk, it all felt like something we’d done before. Knight II nipping Barahm in the butt…stupid Dane; here I was looking out for Tallis who rushed past, and next thing I know Barahm is right in the way, getting a serious bite in his flank. Then, while I’m pushing the wheelbarrow through the gate, a bunch of dogs see Gaucho up by the bungalow and pounce. I just barely manage to reach them in time to grab the evildoers and keep them from the poor Afghan until help arrives.

Not the most auspicious day, and in regard to déjà vu, I would have liked a few that were better to experience. Gawd, the fight almost gave me a heart attack, especially since we’re without a car and couldn’t take any of them to the vet.

Once the tools have been cleaned and put away, I decide to take a moment to get the table that stood by the old pool, so I’ll be able to sit on my porch tonight, rather than swelter inside the cabin, and set it up with two chairs, creating a rather cozy spot.

Next, I’ve a quick dip in the pool…and yes, from some odd reason déjà vu strikes again…and head into the house to have dinner. The meal doesn’t fall well at all, and actually comes back up, making me hug the porcelain bowl for a solid ten minutes until my stomach calms down again. Ah, what a great event to share, huh? Felt like the good ol’ days. Hah.

I’m determined not to let it get me down, and set up the computer in the courtyard for a good editing session. While I wait for big brother to finish the repair job he’s doing at our tenant’s place, I decide to get a head start on the edit, and guess what - déjà vu! Aaargh……………………….

Okay, slight interruption in the “flow of consciousness” because little sister came running outside saying that little Roma wasn’t responding. Well, that sure put a damper on the intended editing session. I headed inside, just when little brother came down the stairs, a limp Roma in his arms.
She was placed on the kitchen counter, so we could examine her closely.

She was breathing, but with a quick check it becomes clear that her eyes aren’t responding to light and that her heart is beating rather sluggishly under the shallow breathing.
Some desperate phone calls were made, first a taxi that wasn’t be able to come within an hour at least, then the vet. She was so sorry that she didn’t have a car available, but would be waiting for us at the hospital, when we decided on the spot that big brother would take Roma on the moped and drive her over himself.

We were looking for a way to transport her when it happened, her breathing staggered. I placed my hand on her chest and could feel her head slow in unison with the final breaths she took as slowly life slipped away.

There were tears all over, especially from little brother and sister as the final spasms go through the tiny little body of the Cocker Spaniel on the kitchen counter between us.

Crap!!!!! Crap, crap, and triple crap. Of all the days for this to happen, it has to be in the friggin’ weekend when we don’t have a car. What are the chances of that anyway.

One of the worst things is, it all felt like fucking Déjà vu all over again.

A slight scare.

So, I was solid twenty minutes late this morning when I woke up and faced another hot summer day with the persisting light that hurt my eyes. Admittedly, inside my cabin, it cast a rather becoming glow, but once outside it made me squint until I could barely see enough to safely make my way down the mountain.

Though the dogs rushed outside with their usual enthusiasm, they too were daunted by the light and heat, and returned inside in five minutes flat. Hah. Chaos definitely doesn’t like it all, he actually lingered on the bed longer than the others, taking the opportunity to stretch out on the mattress in the full blast of the fan. He looks adorable when he does that, I’ll admit; his round tummy sticks out and his short paws reach for the sky while his loooooong ears lay around his head like a pillow. Yes, it is not for nothing that I call him my gorgeous. Especially since, he fully agrees with the description. Hah.

Old Bommel does have a problem with the rushing youngsters in the morning though. Age has seriously caught up, and while they dash outside, he’ll be standing in the doorway, snarling grumpily and looking winsomely in their direction.

Once in the house, the morning chores dealt with, we spent an hour researching on the net, and lingered for a bit on some quotes from Shaw. Oh my, the man did have a way with words. Fascinating stuff.

Afterwards, followed several hours of editing; interrupted by little brother, who was (and is) concerned about his Cocker Spaniel, Roma. The little dog has been feeling somewhat off, for the past week or so, and today she seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. Poor thing’s face is swollen; her nose is shut and there also appears to be a slight infection around her eye.

We debate for a bit, as to what is the cause, give her an Urbason shot, because it does look like an allergic reaction to an insect bite, and start to follow it up with a couple of shots of a saline solution because she doesn’t want to drink either. In the mean time, grandpa went to town to see if he could rent a car somewhere, or otherwise a cab. As luck would have it our new car is in the shop for some minor repairs still, so we are at present without transportation; which goes to show how such disasters always strike on days when there’s absolutely nothing you can do.
Of course then there is also the little matter of it being the weekend, when taking a dog to the vet (the worst illnesses always strike in the weekend for some reason) is already a tricky thing.

But, be that as it may, it didn’t matter that grandpa was unable to get transportation, since the shots we gave Roma had the desired effects and she was gobbling down nuggets less than three hours after the worries started. What with the improvements, and a continuing Urbason treatment until Monday, we should manage it just fine ourselves.

With that disaster dealt with, big brother and I spend a couple of hours planting some zucchini plants in the small yard, along with a melon and some other growths that we’ve been saving up for the past year for this very purpose.

A salad and yesterday’s quiche make up for today’s meal, and after I ate my share, we settled down in the courtyard for another edit. It goes well today, even though we made a lot of changes in this particular section. And by the time midnight arrives, I’m more than ready to head up to my room to start on the evening routines.

It’s still thirty degrees when I reach my cabin, but a cooling breeze is blowing in from the west and I’m slowly getting used to the heat again. Hah. We should see if that is true ‘round Thursday, when the weather reports claim that the thermometer is going to hit the low forties. Yikes.