Lighter!

Song of the day: “Let me Live” by Queen, of course. I don’t why I’ve got that song in my head but…well, I do, actually: we just finished with a several hours visit with the vet who vaccinated the majority of our pack in record time, and the majority of said dogs thought they were being brought to the slaughter house. Ergo: Let me live. Hah.

But seriously, it went well enough. The vet was properly prepared, the dogs behaved properly for a change, and the “operation” went smoothly. A name was called, a dog was fetched from the courtyard, papers were filled in, pills popped, syringes applied and stickers pasted. All in all smooth and without a hassle. *phew*

I do feel a lot lighter…in our wallets, ‘cause…YIKES! Talk about an expensive endeavor. Oh my Gawd, half our savings just went down the drain, only to need a repetition next year, and the next, and the next, until some idiot bureaucrat decides that it is no longer necessary to make such a fuss. *sigh*

What have we been doing these past couple of days? Excellent question, because even as I ask myself this, the past couple of days flow from my mind in an instant. Hah. There was watering the plants of course and lots of planting, oh yes, now I remember, we planted more than a hundred plants down in the yard and then harvested the remainder of the potatoes. Yay. I’m thinking that of the 25 kg of potatoes we planted we got back a 100 or more.

We’ve had some snakes visiting, there was no chance to exterminate them, regretfully, in particular the three foot long one that has taken up residence in the lower yard, most regretfully. There was also a small one inside the friggin’ pantry, but (much to our horror) one of the dogs got a hang of it and dumped it at little brother’s feet as some sort of oozing mush while he was having his late night snack. Eeeewww. I hate snakes, I’m sorry, but I do. We lost a dog to one once, darn it.

Edits, of course, what else would I be during the after noon hours when summer afternoons are (supposedly) hot. Seriously, in the shade it is actually chilly during the day, which is uncalled for this time of year, I tell ya. Even now there are still cloud lingering in the sky. I’m feeling very cheated of summer, I really do.

Yesterday afternoon was spent working on the path again, pouring concrete, putting in really lazy steps prior to hurrying down into the yard for the day’s hosing of the plants. It was a close call, what with darkness already falling by the time we were done, but we managed. Now, by that time I was just about ready to drop dead, but hung in they’re until midnight before taking my dogs up to my cabin and crawling into bed after a sixteen-hour workday. I think I was out in three seconds flat.

Well, the edit is waiting once more and I’ve gotta go see to it.

Missed one! *gasps*

I know, I know: I’m a day late; it couldn’t be helped, really, honest to God, it was not my fault. There was just no way in hell that I managed to fit in a blog writing session, because if there had been a minute to spare (and there wasn’t) I would have made a shot at doing a quick read through of W.I.’s “Hero” so we can put it on Kindle before the end of the month. But, since there wasn’t a minute to spare, my poor neglected computer didn’t get any quality time whatsoever yesterday.

Song of the day: “It’s only pain” by Katie Melua. It makes me smile, I assure you, but the reason for it would elude you without a fifteen page explanation, and since I don’t have time for that either today, well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Hah.

Okay, let’s start with the day before yesterday…and I’ve changed my mind because for the life of my I can’t remember what we did the day before yesterday, aaaargh! Allow me to wreck my brain for a minute…and maybe ask big brother…whose memory is even more iffy then mine, so never mind that. Lemme think……..

Well, I know we got gravel at some point in the past three days, but I am not entirely sure which day that was…they do tend to mesh wonderfully together. You’d think that it would make the days boring, but for some reason it doesn’t.

There was more time spent inside the basin, scraping and burning the walls in hopes of removing the downy stuff that used to protect the liner of the old pool. It was a dirty job, and there still is some more to be done, but we’re getting there. At least I didn’t almost set myself on fire this time, even though we were working with diesel.

Digging, yes, I distinctly remember that we did digging. Considering we’re thinking of a rather intricate tubing system to get water to the basin by the greenhouse, there really should be proper waterworks…this means digging and chopping through clay and rock, which is fun enough exercise, if you like that kind of thing. Since I do, hah, there really is not a problem. Gawd, I’m starving…..

Okay, I’m back. I made zucchini soup this morning (that harvest is really working out, yay) and it is working splendidly as a symbiosis of lunch and breakfast. Yeah, I know, I should really eat breakfast, but who the heck has time for something that inconsequential. Hah.

Yesterday on the other hand is still friggin’ clear in my head, because it was…(I’m sure that you’re seeing this one coming)…grocery effing day! Yay! Yuck! Choke. Seriously, we managed to postpone this particular chore to three weeks and one day (a stellar achievement on our part, I say) but I would have been more than happy to postpone it for another three, four…well, let’s go for indefinite. Jeez.

We left early but still weren’t home until after seven in the afternoon and I am like; I want to forget the friggin’ day and focus on the good stuff: Gardening! Gawd, do I sound boring or what? But I’m serious, I looked forward to heading out into the yard all day. We actually had just enough time to water everything that needed to be watered before the sun went down. We harvested some more zucchinis, onion, and herbs, and then headed out for a quick trip to walk Knight II. Since the poor fella needs to be on the leash so much when I’m working in the yard, and then in the office, he really needs to let off some steam every now and then. He didn’t much like it, my lovely big lug, but ran a bit…well, I ran and he trotted…jumped around a bit…well, I jumped around and he jumped against me, and then loaded him back into the car. He was ecstatic and regretful at the same time.

Tallis’ cheek is doing well. Hardly any swelling, and the stitches are nice and clean. He seems most happy just following big brother around, so he’ll be fine soon enough. Chamea (big brother’s Irish setter) is getting to be more impatient every day and has the inclination to stand at the fence and scream, unless he goes over and orders her to stop. Silly dog.

Well, that is all, I suppose. Not much to tell about is there, except that we’ve got a friend over for the day. Her job is a heavy one, and some relaxation is most important. Now, I’ve got a read-through edit to see to and then…well, we’ll see.

Done edit, vet visit. *sigh*

Song of the day: “Shoot from the hip” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Strange to have this one in my head, especially since I don’t even really like the song. Hah.

A strange couple of days, we’ve been literally in the clouds most of the time and that is like totally unheard of around here in June. The dogs were restless…partially because mom and the youngest sibs went to the market again and had to leave at six in the morning.

I had strange dreams; I would tell you about them if I actually remembered some details, but alas they faded after the alarm went off, leaving nothing but the impression that they were strange. That frustrates me beyond imagining.

But anyways…what’s been up? Oh yeah, planted trees during the past couple of days. Considering the weather was perfect for it, it was a wonderful occupation, in the end we put in eight trees, a pear, an oak, something else that I don’t know the name of, and several prunes. Let’s hope they make it.

There was other gardening too, of course, a harvest for dinner here and there, lots of healthy stuff and no, I won’t bore you with specifics again. Let’s just say that it was yummy and leave it at that.

Big brother and I treated three dogs’ their ears, Bommel and Njanna, and Sonia, who had apparently gotten into a fight recently and was missing part of her ear. Eeeewww, seriously, I got a little nauseous, in particular since we thought that it was just a puncture hole. Turns out there was actually a piece missing. Luckily the lot was already healing, so after pouring on some antiseptic, and iodine, it looked clean enough to let it heal further on its own.

Tallis (crossbreed): There was another forced trip to the vet with poor Tallis, who somehow managed to get his cheek ripped apart through the fence. I’m thinking that it was either Knight II or Sitabah who did the vile deed. He needed about twenty stitches, but was otherwise alright. Phew.

Other than that we spent the majority of yesterday pouring concrete on the main path making sure that the way will be traversable for tenant, either by foot or wheelchair. Only did 1/6 of the path, but it is looking good so far…or at least it will as soon as we can remove the pallets that now protect the newly poured concrete. Along with plastic tarps because we’re having occasional drops of rain that could do some serious damage.

This very morning was spent in the basin where we used diesel fuel to remove the downy stuff that was sticking to the walls from back in the days when it was still a pool. It took some scraping, spraying and then standing back to let the fire do it's thing, but we'll manage to get the walls clean enough for new plastering. Had a bit of a scare working there, seeing as the small gasket blew up in my hand. Yikes; it scared the bejeezus out of me.

The edit is done…or at least it will be once I’ve added one last scene that will serve as some sort epilogue. Sure the story is done, but even though the somewhat open ending works, both big brother and I agreed that something a bit more conclusive is required. Maybe a nice “after” conversation about where they’re going now that the danger has passed. I’m thinking that maybe they’ll move to the States, or talk about the possibility. Maybe a hint of a HEA…yeah, there are a vast amount of possibilities. I better hurry up with this, an idea is shaping in my head.

I’ve gotta go.