Nothing to see...move it along. :-)

Song of the day:...hmmm, there was none, for a change. Wow, hadn’t realized until now, wonder what that is about. Oh wait, it was grocery day, of course that was no song in my head. Ah well…

Well, it’s a miserable day, weather wise. We’re surrounded by clouds and right this instant I’m sitting at my desk looking down into the valley, and can’t see further than our closest neighbors down. The air is gray, wet, windy, and downright chilly. Brrr.
The eucalyptus in front of my window is swaying back and forth like made, so is the copse of reed, of which the stems are doing their very best to bend all the way down to the ground. Quite impressive. Hah.

I woke up with the rain, which was a somewhat novel experience, what with the beautiful weather we’ve been experiencing these past few days. Really, it was beautiful! The air was warm, the breeze fresh but not cold, and being outside was…well, it felt almost like spring. It couldn’t last, of course, it is winter after all; I was hoping, though.

Hmmm, okay, let’s get this blog going, shall we? I really should try to get some writing done this morning, before starting on the day’s chores.
There was laundry, of course; yes the fun never stops, and though I managed to have the baskets empty the other day (I was absolutely thrilled, I promise you) they have backlogged pretty damn fast once more. Weird how that works. No worries, though. The new machine is spinning enthusiastically even as I write. Hah.

So grocery day: Yes, you are chomping at the bit to hear all about it, I’m sure (dontcha just love sarcasm, hah) so I won’t let you wait any longer.
First chore up, naturally, was emptying the car of the thousand pounds of sand we picked up yesterday. Uh-huh, I hear you thinking, “why on earth leave that ‘till the next morning when you know that you have to go ou?” Excellent thought that deserves a matching answer…which is something I don’t have, so…pooeh. Hah.
You’d think that this was a tedious chore by any means, not to mention uncomfortable since one can hardly manage to get the shovel into the load without twisting and turning (quite agilely, I might ad) and…well, it is, tedious, I mean…but not all bad, considering that it is also an excellent exercise.

While big brother finished up with the sand, and grandpa started cleaning the cab (it was a friggin’ mess) I spent some time with our tenant who informed me that her left hand is still being “lazy” but that, when she woke up that morning, she had managed to straighten her index finger. Well, that is just excellent news from where I’m sitting. I find it amazing what the ol’ bod can do. Just look at how she is recovering from a massive stroke from which the docs said no one is likely to recover. Just her own perseverance and all our positive attitudes have managed to get her back to her feet and though it might seem to go slow from day to day, I am astounded at the progress we’ve made these past few months.

Crap, I’m friggin’ cold and looking up from my computer just now, I see that it is an affliction the dogs share. There is literally a dog pile on the couch across from me. I can count five of them on top of each other without actually going over there to see if there are any underneath. Hah.
But I get distracted, where was I before my mind wandered off? Ah yes, grocery shopping day…darn it, I just managed to suppress that, thank you very much. Well, there’s no helping it, I guess.

First off, I take the wrong direction when we depart about two hours early, since the vet phoned and asked if I could come and pick up Shamira a little later, because they wanted to give her an extra dose of medicine. This meant that we had to leave early in order to get to the vet’s before nine in the afternoon while managing all the groceries still. So, yeah, I drove into the wrong direction…what can I say, I was a mite distracted.

Once I’d turned the car back ‘round, we started on our way to town. After hitting the first store, it is right on the way into town, with three carts filled to full capacity (normal for half a month of groceries, I assure you) and piled in the back of the car in a hopefully organized (it wasn’t of course) fashion, we head for the only store in town where they have affordable peanut butter and ketjap. I did tell we are all suffering from the sweet soy sauce addiction, didn’t I? Well, in case I didn’t, or you haven’t read that particular post (s?): I’m a sweet soy sauce addict and admit it! Hah.

That done, we head for Iceland, to get this trip’s necessary amount of frozen goods. Now, we could of course buy all that at the supermarket, but since the quality is better at this speciality shop from the UK, while still being affordable, it’s worth the extra store detour.

Considering we had twelve stores to visit this time, we did several split ups through the course of the long, long day. While little brother, mom and I headed into the frozen food sections, big brother headed across the massive parking area to roam through the hardware store, in search of an affordable welding machine.
We were done first, of course, as is usual with the hardware store it takes an eternity to drag one’s butt past the beautiful machinery that is just begging for a petting (I know, I’m nuts, but I love power tools: I drool, I mutter baby talk and I pet…sue me!) so little brother and I went in search of big brother because he had the receipt for the TV gadget we have to return.

I waste time standing in line at the next store, waiting for my turn to return the non-functioning tdt gadget (what with the Spanish TV going digital, new antennas and a TDT machine are a necessity for everyone, darn it). It takes a solid half hour, and of course I had to go to the bathroom all the while, but in the end I got our fifty bucks back and got my butt to the “facilities” asap.

Next is the sports store, right beside the other one. Little sister is in dire need of new sneakers, so we literally roam through the massive offerings until finally finding a sturdy pair that turns out be even cheaper than the sign said. Success! Yay. Seeing as this store even has size 50, we’ll probably be visiting again. Finding shoes, for big brother elsewhere is practically impossible, after all.

Right, next store…I know, you’re thrilled with this recount; I know I am. Hah.
Pet store…mini pets, that is. The sand the chinchillas need for personal hygiene, (for some reason normal sand just doesn’t do the trick, darn it) and a calcium block for Tika (parrot). Seeing as I’m already in the massive mall that sports the only pet store in the area who hold products for chinchilla’s I run into the supermarket to get two huge boxes of washing detergent (on sale, mind you) that should see us through another three months or so. Has anyone noticed that the washing detergent is getting more expensive? I swear, it’s gone up at least a buck of two per box.

Another supermarket…gotta hunt for the sales, you understand…leads to the second split up. Little brother, a definite gamer goes to the computer game store (ends up disappointed because he can’t exchange due to a computer glitch there), big brother heads for the Chinese bazaar (we need an axe, hah) and mom and I finish up at the supermarket.

The car is a little fuller, we’re all a little more tired and we still need to head into town to find the sewing machine store to get some supplies at a place we do not know the location of just yet. There is a faulty direction taken, me asking a storeowner for directions (which I get in unintelligible Spanish, mind you) and then finding it at last without too much trouble. Phew.

Last store, a German supermarket chain (sales hunting, remember?) where we get the last of the day’s groceries before we need to head on up the mountain—almost crash into a car that stopped suddenly to make a left turn, by the way—to the village so we can pick up Shamira.

The poor thing is looking pretty darn miserable when we arrive, but perks right up when little brother comes into the cage area and calls her name. Seeing as I hardly ever see Shamira, who’s attached to little sister’s hip most of the time, my voice really does very little for the cocker spaniel.

The operation was massive by the way (set us back another 400 bucks at least, *sigh*). They had to remove all her nipples except two; they then removed her uterus and repaired the gland in her eye. Poor Shamira has been under the morphine oblivion for the past day and a half, and as it turned out, they tried calling me again, because she had started to cry and wouldn’t quit. Strangely enough I didn’t get that second call, so the iffy connection to the outside world rule supreme once more.

I would like to report that I got some serious writing done yesterday, but since that would be an atrocious lie (I was near vegetative status by the time we got home and stored everything seven hours after departure) I will be honest and say I did nothing; absolutely nothing about writing.

And that, basically concludes today’s blog; aren’t you happy you stuck around after all? Not particularly? Well that’s okay too. I’m going elsewhere, battle a bit with vampires and pixie heroines, if you don’t mind.

Quick, quick, quicky. *sigh*

Song of the day: “Men in this town” by Shakira, again. Woke up with it as a matter of fact, and it had been going through my head even while I was still dozing.

Well, there still seem to be too few hours in the day, because for writing there was very little time these past few days. Managed a total of no more than five pages in all, and that always feels rather frustrating, I’ll admit. I would have liked to be able to say that I past the two thirds marker by now, but regretfully that isn’t the case.

But anyway, the most mentionable event of the past couple of days would be our trip to the vet with little sister’s Shamira. The black Cocker Spaniel had a slight swelling under her eyes and while we were checking that out, it turned out she has a massive tumor in one of her milk glands and several smaller ones. This, of course, means a massive surgery this very morning (we had to leave her there during the night) where they deal with spading, tumor removal and putting back the eye gland that had somehow ended up on the wrong side of her third eyelid.

I gotta say that I do not know what alternate universe these people come from, but I remember a day (way back when) where it WASN’T normal for female dogs got cancer in their glands because of a too big an amount of estrogen. I mean seriously. I’ve owned dogs basically my entire life, and until ‘bout ten years ago this was never a problem…and shouldn’t even now.

Apparently it is now so bad that vets are suggesting to have all females spaded between their first and second season, so you’ll have a 99% percent chance that they will NOT get cancer. What is that crap? Since when is just living (uncut, so to speak) dangerous for your health? Doesn’t that mean that something is seriously wrong? I tell you this, I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if it turned out that there is something in their food that is causing it. I mean, seriously, this is definitely not normal.

Hmmm. Well, that is my rant for today. Of course, I could continue on for a bit seeing as the welding machine broke down. We couldn’t repair it (darn it) so I spent the day, after helping our tenant with her exercises, taking the stupid machine apart and taking out anything that could come in handy in the future. Seeing as we can never be sure what will be useful, I just took out everything, just to be done with it.

As to the ongoing projects, the left side of the main gate is put together now, but since the welding machine in kaput, we can’t continue on with it yet. The rock supply is rapidly growing (we’re still heading out on a daily basis, so I’m getting plenty of exercise) and the paneling in the guest room is almost done, minus the finishing touches…those will have to wait a bit.

Crap, I gotta go. I promised little sister to take her to the vet so she can see Shamira…and maybe even take her home with us, if I can talk the vet into it. We’ll see.

(Oh wow, I'm under one page again. I'm learning, apparently. Hah)

Unexpected news. Freaking out a little.

Song of the day: “Men in this town” by Shakira. I’m really starting to like this song. I should, considering it keeps tumbling through my head. Hah.

But anyway, I have only a little time today, ‘cause it is already past eight in the evening and I still have a load of stuff to do…one being preparing a package for a literary agent who requested a look/see at “Saving Nina”. I’m bordering on freaking out, and yet not. It is rather weird this experience, but there it is. So very helpful too, considering worrying about something, or in this case, freaking out about something has sooooo much effect. Hah.

I’ve decided not to do it…freaking out I mean, not the sending, because I WILL do that that, of course, duh. Had you going there for a minute, didn’t I. Hah. But anyway, rather than a one page, or a seven page synopsis, this one wants five pages, so that meant going through the dratted thing and slicing even more out. *sigh*

Seriously, everyone seems to be really fond of rules, right? Can they not all decide on one set, rather than all having their own; this is so exhausting…not to mention that it keeps me from doing important stuff, like, yeah, WRITING.(Can I whine, or what?)
But seriously, I do get it, sorta. Everyone has his or her own preferences, and regretfully as the “unknown” author I’m pulling the short stick, kinda.

It doesn’t matter, really. Apparently, the right time and person have not yet arrived, and until that time comes (who knows, maybe this will be a good match, he appears like an okay guy; I’m keeping my fingers crossed, naturally) I’ll just have to be patient. But anyway, this is going to keep me busy for a day or two, so I’m going keep this unnaturally short…even for my standards these days. I know, maybe I’m sick, it just ain’t normal that I can keep something, anything, under one page.

New project is in the works; paneling in the guest room…yeah I know, unexpected, but what the hey. The dogs didn’t like it at all, considering that it took me out of the main yard and away from them.

I wish I was writing, but I’m not, so I’m a little bummed. It’s all for the better good, of course, but still. I don’t know why the heck I am complaining anyway, seeing as I send the query out deliberately, PMS maybe? Hah.
Gotta go.

Sunny Monday.

Song of the day: “All this time” by Maria Mena, still a wonderful song, even though I’ve had it in my head several times now.

Well, yesterday was an incredibly busy day for all parties involved, considering the day before that was basically finishing everything that could be finished of little brother’s bed before going out for a rock scavenge that brought us home with a full load challenging the car, hah.
That, of course meant that yesterday was all about seeing whether or not my calculations and design worked out at all…it did. Yay.

A solid hour before dusk we finished up with setting the bed up (now it’s waiting to see if little brother slept well, or not, ‘cause he really doesn’t like change all that much, hah) and slid the trundle section of it underneath and it fit and everything, oh my gawd! I was so bloody relieved I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the evening. Now all I need to do is attach a big ol’ piano hinge with the closure of the front and it’s all done. It looks good, that’s a fact…and he seemed happy enough with it.

After finishing up with the bed, clearing up tools and such, it was time to head out for our jog, which went well and was rather fun, since we didn’t do distance today, but versatile endurance…meaning we went straight up an incline that had be pitted and dug out by construction workers. I felt very Rocky Balboa-ish reaching the top, hah. During the cool down I did land on my butt…very embarrassing, I know, since the ascend and descend went so well, but there I went, foot lost its place and poof. The fun part is, by the time we finished gathering rocks, went home and started unloading, I lifted a particularly heavy rock, and once again lost my footing to land on my butt once more. Luckily the rock landed between my feet, rather than on it, and for a moment I just lay there on the ground, staring at the stars (they were gorgeous by the way) and marvelled at my good fortune. Hah.

Like the night before, there was a writing session, but compared to the Saturday when I wrote more than five pages in one stretch of a few hours, now I managed only two. Considering the night wasn’t over yet, I seriously pondered catching a catnap in my chair, but the next thing I new it was time to head on out for our weekly scavenge hunt, hah…I love calling it that, really. We take the week’s garbage out, and usually end up with a whole new wood supply of whatever it is people threw away. Marvelous. There is no such thing as garbage when it concerns wood; there is always something you can use it for, and we definitely do. Hah. It is actually more fun than buying new wood (though new wood has it’s charm too) since you often have to be more creative.

We didn’t get home until after two, and I can honestly say that I was more than ready to call it quits for the day…I have that a lot these days I’ve found. It takes me all of a minute to get to sleep and when I do I’m usually out for the following four hours without conscious thought whatsoever. Then the dreams start, of course, and they can be a tad annoying (I severely dislike it when they seem so real I actually doubt about events when I wake) in those final hours of sleeping.

So what else…I just might be blanking again, oh no, wait…we fixed the rowing machine. Yes, it is working splendidly now, so I might actually get some rowing in, in the near future. A nice little story about Knight II, the eejit:

I’m on my way up to my cabin in the evening, and big brother holds Knight II until I’m at the gate, so he won’t bowl over Bommel right on the threshold (he tends to do that, the big lug). So I open the gate, my other dogs dash through—gawd, I wish they didn’t make such a racket doing that—and I call out for big brother to let Knight II loose. He comes storming across the courtyard full speed, aims for the gate, which I’m holding open with a shake of my head. The Dane reaches the gate, looses his footing a bit, slams his back paw against the post (really hard) and blithely continues on on three paws this time. Now, if that isn’t insane, I don’t know what is. I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog that is this careless about his own well-being. I swear, he’d break his leg and then just try to continue on.

The weather is absolutely splendid today, the sun is shining and the temperatures are almost spring like, so I really should...Hmmm. This will have to do for now, seeing as I’ve taken more time than I should writing today’s blog. Nine veggie oven dish is baking, so I’m really going to enjoy my supper, hah, just finished preparing it before sitting down for blogging, so the place is smelling of roasted garlic, onion and green herbs…my mouth is watering. *sigh*