Progress.

Song of the day: “Four seasons: Spring” by Vivaldi…I know, I know. It technically isn’t a song, but the tune kept spinning through my head and I had to hum it, like, constantly. Grrr.

Yesterday: Though I really wasn’t in the mood for it, we did manage to do a chapter of “Saving Nina”. It is so very hard to get back into the flow of proofreading after a three or four day interruption, like my brain has to shift gears totally just to find the pattern of text once more…rather frustrating I’ll admit.

The loss of Trin Trin keeps popping up during the course of the day, but keeping busy and remembering the good stuff is working well enough. The evenings are hardest, however, since I still have the tendency to prepare her food bowl, only to remember…just too late.
It will fade, I know, but for the time being it makes me feel sad still.

The crying jags have a nasty side effect: I lost my voice, sorta. I’m like totally husky now, which has a rather peculiar effect whenever I’m singing a tune, or talking. I don’t even recognize it myself, hah. The raw songs go rather splendidly at the moment, of course. I mean, really, Rock songs never sounded this “real” before.

What with the sibs’ floors done I was feeling a little at loose ends yesterday, so I mostly did busywork. First, I decide tot plant two wheelbarrows worth of plants into the courtyard garden and the big plant containers along the path leading through the center of the property.
Unfortunately, this is done in relatively little time, so rather than head inside again, little sister and I clean up the terrace down by the pool quarters, where chairs, and some leftover construction materials still scatter the ground.

After organizing garden tools and wheelbarrows over by the courtyard entrance, outside work is basically over and done with we head inside (no other options left) to hang a big lamp in the hallway and then move to the veranda office to empty the fabric closet, which is terribly in the way. The unattractive fabrics go to the pantry closet while the pretty ones get put in the big closet in the living room.

Regretfully this effort only empties one of the big shelving sections, but at least the couch fits in now, creating a nice little corner for sitting. Next, I gather tools and remodeling leftovers, creating some more space, which we certainly can use now that we’re going to need the space for work hours inside.

The day draws to an end, with my eyes drooping and my stomach growling (I didn’t take enough time to eat dinner) I eat a couple of sandwiches and then head on up to my cabin. I really should take the time to do some cleaning there, but couldn’t muster the energy.

Which brings us to today. There’s the reading of course…after getting up an hour too late because I forgot to set my alarm, darn it!…and the proofreading corrections that still have to be done. Luckily they go well enough. We manage another chapter in the hours that follow, and soon the time to start on outside work arrives.

There is still that sense of being at loose ends, but I find something to do fast enough. First thing up is repairing a nice old closet that should do the trick in the pantry. With little sister’s help, I (we) empty out anything that shouldn’t be in the pantry in the first place, relocate the old metal cabinet for the small pets’ food and then scrub everything down.

Once everything that we can cram into the new-old closet is in, and the shelving on the veranda is empty at last, we take the dratted thing apart and start hauling it all to the old horse stable for storage. No reason to throw perfectly recyclable wood away, after all. It takes a few trips, but soon we have the last part of the veranda empty at last.

While little sister sets out to paint the wall, I fix the birdcage (stupid me removed a board to which the fencing was attach, aaargh) and then balance precariously on a stepladder to put up electrical wiring, which has been bugging the heck out of me for months now.

The loveseat gets set in place, the round little table put under the turtle tank, and then we’re done with the day’s task. Time to get ready for the run we agreed upon last night, yay.
I had completely forgotten, so I only had about half an hour to not-feel-like-it before we were on our way (the car loaded with garbage, of course) to a nice deserted stretch of road where we could run undisturbed for a couple of miles.

I’m actually very glad we went, since the run went splendidly. The temperatures were wonderful, even though there was a rather hard wind coming from the west…it actually blew straight into us on the way back, which made the run a little tougher, hah. Was nice to go out again, though, and the moonlight made it very doable. Let’s hope we can squeeze in another next week, or so.

And so, we got home afterwards, properly revved from doing the run, and pouncing on dinner little sister made like starved wolves. Neither of us had eaten anything in seven hours, so it basically felt as if our stomachs thought that our throats had been cut, hah. A good workday, a nice run and then the conclusion with the run. Yep, all things considered, that makes for an excellent day in my book.

Out of the blue: R.I.P. Trin Trin.

Well, yesterday was a crappy sort of the day: Trin Trin, my sweet Monster Boxer passed on to the eternal hunting fields (for doggies), so to speak. Stuff like that really messes up my head, and I cried buckets for the annoying, frustrating, insane dog that will now no longer bug me. I find it so strange that a dog with which I basically had to watch my every single step 24/7 (lest you end up with a bite-mark somewhere) could hurt so much to lose. I mean, seriously, she drove me nuts at times, and she spent the majority of her life on a leash because she couldn’t mingle with the pack all that well, but still I loved that monster to pieces…and now she’s gone.

I’m still a little numb, I think, ‘cause through the course of the day (both yesterday and today) I kept having this feeling of, forgetting something, and then realizing that it was Trin Trin who wasn’t bouncing around me.
I mean, now I no longer need to carry the tube (she tended to hang in it every morning for years now) didn’t need to latch her on the leash in the living room, didn’t have to watch out that one of the other dogs didn’t come near her, didn’t need to put a water bowl there, let her out in the lower garden during the afternoon, and all those little things that the monster needed.

As a matter of fact, last night when I came up in my cabin it took me all of ten minutes to remember that I didn’t need to put out an extra bowl for her anymore…which is when I lost it for a moment. It just got a bit too much and I spent about fifteen minutes crying my eyes out. I hate it when that happens, considering it doesn’t help any, my eyes become puffy and I end up with a massive headache that degrades me down to Neanderthal status. I had to take a painkiller for it, which is the first time in almost six months that I need help with a headache, darn it.

Now, if crying was even remotely helpful, I wouldn’t mind all that much, but since it doesn’t, well, blast it! Seriously, it’s not like crying will make Trin Trin feel loved, or anything…for crying out loud, it is just emotions getting tangled up and making me feel miserable longer than is necessary.
It should be enough that I loved the stupid Monster to pieces while she was here…but apparently it doesn’t work that way. Pesky emotions.

Of course, I couldn’t keep it dry either when I sat down and the dogs were sniffing me, and looking a mite confused that Trin Trin wasn’t anywhere to be found. Then it feels even nastier because I know that they sense my sadness and want to comfort me…the sweethearts.

Sorry for ranting a bit here. I find it a rather pleasant way to throw it all out, right here on the Blog and then move on; so, let’s do that. Moving on:

Considering I couldn’t get my brain to function properly (yesterday) I called the writing session of the day (for the, as of yet, untitled story) quits, two hours prior to usual, and headed up to the terrace in front of my cabin to do some work that didn’t require a lot of thought.

In the hours that followed, I built two cabinets (still for the sibs’ rec-room), doors, shelves and everything, that were put in place immediately after completion. Afterwards, once the sibs were civil, after their usual early morning grumpiness, little sister and I headed up to her room to continue with her new floor.

It took a while, a lot of measuring, (hand) sawing and fitting, but in the end we managed to put in the entire floor, minus the borders because by then it was getting too late to continue, right down to the last board. I think that, all tiny leftovers combined make up one last laminated board, which means that we calculated it all to perfection, and didn’t mess up once while putting it in.

What I like about such work is, that for at least seven hours of intense work, I didn’t think of Trin Trin’s passing once…which means that, if I can help it, I will get a lot of work done in the next few days. Getting something good out of such a situation is always a plus.

The night was exceptionally chilly. Only eleven degrees and I was already freezing my butt off. Luckily, later in the day, the sun breaks out again, and gradually the temperatures rise again to a more comfortable level.

So today was another one of preparing a couple more query letters and packages. These are mostly packages by the way. The first batch we sent out were mainly queries and synopsis, now it’s time for the pubs that want to have the first few chapters added to it. Since this takes more time (because for some reason we can’t get the paper size US letter ‘round here, and we need to cut them by hand from A5 sheets) we left these for after we did the letters. I honestly don’t get why the popular size A4 can hit off the wrong note with a potential editor, but apparently appearances matter just as much as the material you’re sending. *sigh* So exhausting.

But the day’s session was successful, we got another handful of envelopes to send out, and then we can finally return to reading and correcting the last few pages of the manuscript.
After several days of going over letters, details, addresses and whatnot, I am actually looking forward to it. It’s a good sign, I think, if you can reread a story over and over again and still find enjoyment in it.

But of course, stuff gets in the way of proofreading. While big brother is cutting paper and printing out stuff, I work on writing more for the untitled story. I’ve got a solid start going now, and I kinda like the fact that I’ve actually got a name for the female lead. Hah. The guy I already had, but the gall…well, sometimes it takes a while for a character to take shape, and considering she wasn’t in the story until today, and was just an abstract idea, it is no big surprise.

What else…well, considering we ran out of ink, we had to postpone the printing and decided that after inside work we would head for town to get new cartridges. First, there was little sister’s floor to finish. Together we managed to put in all the borders, and I gotta say that it looks grand. Almost like she has an entirely new room, rather than just a new floor. I also like it that she’s enjoying it so much; it makes the effort worthwhile.

It took us several hours—measuring and sawing those tiny slats always does—but afterwards it was a job well done for the both of us. Middle sister and little brother were both otherwise occupied (different projects aplenty) and so was big brother who was putting in two sections in the carport for the dog food storage. Those heavy bags keep toppling over, so having enough of that, it was decided that we made separate compartments for them that we can actually shut off against the dogs. There are those who have figured out a way to open the thick plastic bags and just end up standing by one they’ve torn open to feed themselves. Hah.

Soon the afternoon turns into evening, and in the hour before closing time we quickly head to town to get ink cartridges. At a big department store, we first head into the supermarket…where the stupid things are out of stock. So, we get instructed to head for the third floor, where there still might be some left in the big computer section. Success, and with four cartridges, weighing heavy on the ol’ wallet (for some reason the stupid printer won’t work unless it has all colors, whether you’re using them or not, aaargh. Makes me wish back to the day where there were still printers with only one black cartridge) and then get the heck outta there.

Within another hour we’re back home where big brother resumes printing while I go through the Blog, as usual. Yep, and that was about it. Not the most cheery kind, I know, but it can’t all be sunshine and starlight, I guess. Much to my regret reality (still) doesn’t work that way. Hah.

Ditzy...moi?

Song of the day: “Grace Kelly” by Mika. Still a fun song.

So let’s see how things have gone yesterday and today…boy, I never figured that it would be almost more difficult to write an update every two days, rather than every night. I manage to shave off maybe half an hour in total, but that’s it, because it takes so friggin’ long to remember what I wrote already, and what not. Drat.

But anyways, yesterday morning started almost two hours late because my alarm was behind by two hours, which was frustrating as heck. Felt slightly off-stride all day, the way oversleeping tends to do.

Then when I came downstairs to start on the humongous batch of laundry, it became clear that the washing machine was on the frits again (still is, aaargh). This, of course means that I won’t manage to get through the stuff before the rains starts, which puts me out of sorts a little. Now we’re going to have to take the machine apart and hope that we can fix the problem. It’s one of the nasty side effects of modern machinery, I think. They make everything high-tech and impossible to fix without a master’s degree, or something. I mean, seriously, you can’t just take out a lever and replace it…nooo, you need to replace the motherboard, or some sort. It’s like looking into the bowels of a spaceship, for crying out loud.

But we’ll figure it out, somehow. On to the next item: Rather than do more proofreading, big brother and I opted to start on a new round of send outs, so the majority of the morning’s hours were spent going of the manuscript’s query letter. We looked up addresses for publishers and agents working in the genre of “Saving Nina” and going over the alterations and adjustments that have been made in the requirement lists of said companies. Tiring work, that, which makes my mind murm that’s a fact.

As is the norm for time, it passes way too fast, and soon we wrapped it up to start on the activities of the day.
While big brother and grandpa finished up the fence of the upper part of the yard, I helped the sisters mix paint for their room (the one with the new floor) and middle sister’s bedroom. Next, while they got to painting, I took out the laminated slats intended for the second landing at the top of the stairs and put in a new floor there too. This part only took about half an hour; the rest of the four hours of work were spent selecting plinths and doorsteps to add to it. Grrr, the detail work is so friggin’ time consuming!

Big brother fixed the bathroom faucet, which blew last night, for no apparent reason, and luckily he managed to (at least temporarily) correct the error. It would be a real pain to have to find a new faucet that is twelve centimeters, rather than today’s standard size 16; you actually can’t get the 12 anymore.
Be that as it may, my small section of floor gets done, and after a quick dinner made by mom, big brother and I head into our office for some much needed cleaning/organizing (because the weather is ominous of late, we’ve slowly been piling things into it, until we find the proper places for them.

It took an hour or so to create some room to work in, but once done we got down to printing the letters, synopsis and chapters. We don’t actually finish with the stuff until 1:30 AM, but what the hey, we overslept so, we could do with a few hours less of sleep.

Of course, by the time we were done and had moved up to my cabin for our habitual report of the day and the plans for the next, we started doubting if we had done something wrong with the letters so we had to reopen all the envelopes again to check. Aaaargh. We didn’t do it wrong, as it turned out in the end, but better safe than sorry.

Spent an extra half hour scrubbing out my bathroom, ‘cause seriously it was a mess. It is just so hard to find some decent time to do a proper cleaning, but I ended up getting it all done to my satisfaction.

So, yeah, got too little sleep today (darn me for checking my alarm last night, hah) and my eyes were bleary when I woke up, no matter, though, much to do and too little time. When all the tasks, projects and whatnot ahead started to pile up (they tend to do that from time to time) into this massive mountain ridge that I had to climb, I decided to just blank out. I picked a song from the top of my head (Unwritten by Natasha Beddingsfield, just for the heck of it) and not think of more than the next action.

Afterwards, I could just start on the day and have a positive outlook of all the happy accidents that might occur. Lots of accidents occurred, I assure you. Apparently I’m ditzy again, ‘cause at this very moment I’ve got five bandages on a variety of appendages from asinine little mishaps from the course of the day.

But I’ll get to that later. The morning started out with some writing for this rather new “thing” I’m working on (thing referring to a story I don’t have a title for yet, hah) and then delving back into the frustrating job of finding the right publisher/agent. Yesterday’s packages are in the mail, by the way, and this morning we spent the majority of the session preparing and sending out to three agents (one already said no. Why do I do this to myself, aaaargh), which isn’t at all easy because they all have different formats to which I need to adhere.

We were a little on the late side when we finally got down to the projects, but in the hours that followed, little sister and I put in the first section of the new floor for her bedroom. Which is one of the reasons I ended up with three band-aid, by the by. A tip: Do not turn your head around to call for a certain type of screws while your hammering in a plinth. OUCH! Didn’t feel anything for a full ten seconds and then it started: Oh my Gawd! Slammed a piece of skin right between the hammer and wood--not one of my smartest moments for sure. Hah.

The other band-aids are for other nicks that were just starting to heal. But no matter, we got the intended section in so the majority of her room looks rather neat right now. Once we were done, middle sister was doing the second layer of paint in their rec-room in the mean time and little brother is fixing one of his favorite cabinets, there was a short road trip.

As it turns out, we did anticipate correctly during the past few days, ‘cause on the way back, the car loaded to full capacity with wood and a new mattress for our tenant, the clouds burst open and the deluge started. I for one am not looking forward to having to slosh my way up to my cabin half an hour from now, yikes! I haven’t even dried out yet…better yet, nor have the dogs. Gawd, I’m going to have my entire cabin soaking wet if it doesn’t let up for a few minutes at some point. Darn it all to…okay, not thinking about that.

And so another day has come to an end. Yep, I’m definitely ready to hit the sack and get me some shuteye…hoping that tomorrow the weather will be sunny once more.

Busy work.

Song of the day: “Don’t leave me this way” by the Commodores. Gawd, I grew up with that stuff and it’s still good. A good thing since it was inside my head all day, yesterday.

A busy day, all things considered. There was the five hours of computer work that actually went well. I managed to go through four chapters even though we had decided to take it easy. It was just such a pleasure to read through the work when there were pages without any actual hiccups.

But, as is usual those five hours passed way too fast and soon it was time to head on out into the yard so we could plant those twenty or so baby oak trees in the lowest part of the yard. We used to have poplars down there, but due to the droughts of the past year several of them didn’t make it. We’re now hoping that the oaks…which are basically indigenous to the area…will hold out better in the future. Only one way to find out, I guess.

While little sister and I were digging holes and putting in the plants, grandpa and big brother were putting in a watering system that should help the little plants along for next year at least. Middle sister was working putting in two small coconut palms in the courtyard, which should make for a nice addition to the small flower bushes blooming there. Little brother was doing some minor repairs on damaged furniture in the carports, until little sister and I finished up with the planting and headed back to the house.

The day’s plan was to put in the desk in their room at the very least and if there’s time, the doors of the new closet. The first we managed in four hours, the latter had to be postponed, if for no other reason than the evening rapidly drawing to an end. The desk works now, however. Double layered they can store their computers under the top if they’re not using them, and as soon as I’ve added and extra support underneath it, the temporary pole I set up against it can be removed.
It looks good, but it was a rather laborious task since this room is under the eaves of the roof and there are large sections where I can hardly stand, let alone maneuver. My back was killing me at the end of the evening.

The fencing on the upper part of the garden is coming along nicely too, by the way. Just putting up the fences on two more poles and it will be done.
After dinner—little sister made fresh red beets fried with rice and cheese with carrots on the side…delicious—there was some more busywork, but all in all we managed to wrap the day up at around two in the morning, more than ready to conk out for a bit.

Which brings us to today:

Song of the day: “If you go” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. I don’t know the lyrics all that well yet, but it’s fun nonetheless.

We had a two chapter proofreading that was a success, even though I could barely keep my eyes open for some reason. It was downright weird. I’d gotten a decent night’s sleep, I wasn’t tired, or anything; I just couldn’t keep my eyes open until I punched the boxing ball about fifty times and did some knee-ups.

The chapters turned out well, though and when our usual five hours were over, we started working on the variety of projects that have been going on of late. Big brother and grandpa worked on the old horse stable roof, preparing for the rain that’s been predicted.

Little sister and I finished up supporting the sibs’ desk and then, with the help of middle sister hung the new closet doors…which look bloody amazing on this big ol’ closet we made. Excellent end result. Now the floor in little sister’s room, the small part on the second floor landing, and the top floor will be done for the time being. Good thing too, ‘cause I want to enjoy the outside for a bit yet.

The nights are already getting decidedly colder. Once the sun goes down I’ve got a turtleneck and body-warmer on already, soon I’m gonna have to take my sweaters and jeans out, which isn’t something I’m looking forward to, I tell you.

After some more busy work, dinner and watching a rental “Appaloosa” with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson. I do love a good Western, and though it’s a little slow, the dynamics between the two are fun and entertaining. Yesterday’s flick was really good, though: “The International” with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. I find those kinds of stories fascinating to be sure. Scary, and true, does a movie get any better?…well, yeah, but still, I enjoyed it. Hah.