This and that

Song of the day: “Perhaps perhaps perhaps” by Doris Day. Had no idea that Doris sang it, but it’s such a fun song.

I’m feeling a blank coming up again, so I’ll be doing this with my diary/journal beside me once more. It’s cheating, I know, not to mention lazy, but what the heck. Gotta be accurate, don’t I?

As before there was an excellent workout yesterday morning, went through all the usual reps and even added a few new ones…which is something you have to do sometimes, if for no other reason than to keep the workout fun. It was friggin’ chilly that early in the morning, no more than fifty degrees, in fact. Had to move fast and a lot to keep warm a little. My foot didn’t agree with it all, but then, it hardly ever does anyway, so who cares, right?

Afterwards there were the usual chores in the house, followed by hanging that shelving unit I mentioned the last time, which fitted well enough over mom’s work table. It took only a short time to hang, really, which allowed us to head on out into the yard immediately afterward.

There was some watering to be done, bugs to be annihilated, and plants to talk to. I doubt the plants actually need it, but I like doing it. I always get the best songs in my head when I’m working in the greenhouse, hah. For some reason Harry Belafonte’s “Shake Shake Sehnora” always comes up.

Don’t know what kind of bug we got this time, but two tomato plants got snapped off. I’m thinking it was some big arse snail that hides during the day, but you can just never know. Guess I’ll have to do a nightly trip down there one of these days.
Some plants in the yard itself got killed as well, and I replaced them while big brother harvested peppers for supper.

That done we finished the chimney by installing the metal roof we designed for it. It looks a little strange, really. I think we’re going to have to make something new in the future. Maybe bigger paws that will make it look more solid. Don’t like the spindly little legs at all. Ah well, it’ll work and for now that’s all that matters.

For the remainder of the day we worked on the storage thingy by the wall, putting in shelves of sturdy wooden boards, and roofing that we masoned in, rather than screwed. The latter was a possibility, but the masonry was easier and better to keep out rodents and such. Now all we need to add is plating over the wooden ceilings and some doors, and then we’ll be all done.

What’s up next, is expanding the roof in front of grandpa’s bungalow a bit. What with all the rain, he would prefer to stay dry on his way to the kitchen, so we’ll fit that in sometime tomorrow, or the day after.

There was a tap replacement up by the bungalow, too. We had to place it over grandpa’s new outside counter. Since we will have to work on his kitchen floor in the near future anyway, that has to happen too.

Cooked supper of the veggies tenant chopped. Good thing she likes being helpful. Cutting stuff up keeps her busy, and saves me fifteen minutes to half an hour of work when it’s time to cook. Made a nice veggie spaghetti mix and devoured it prior to heading out to get wood for the stove.

When we did finally settle down for the edit my focus (well, both of us, really) was so shot, we didn’t manage more than four pages in the end. By then I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone write in my journal/diary. Hah.

Chaos is insisting more and more to sleep on the bed during the day now (lazy idiot) and when I come in to check if he's ready to go out yet, he would raise his head to look at me, all perturbed and stretch out, rubbing his snout into the blankets with total abandon. Not ready to get out, apparently. Hah.

Still, it was a late night, because we forgot the time while editing, and I passed out in five seconds flat.

No workout this morning, which is good since there was a lot to do again. First of course the morning chores, and trimming the olive tree in the center of the courtyard. I don’t like the chore all that much, since it feels as if I’m mutilating the poor thing, but then, it’s got to be done, and at least I’ll be able to guide it a little.

Then there was breakfast and making a batch of dough for my patties. Did a new recipe experiment, chickpea with white beans and garlic through the broth. Made enough so mom could have some for dinner as well, and then started working in the carport, putting together the wooden cover for the pipe of the stove. First there was the lid, which was part metal work, part carpentry on my part.

That done, big brother and I started putting it in place. It took some time, and we didn’t manage to finish it completely, but it’s getting there. I took some pics, so when it’s done I’ll post them…I hope. Hah.

Some more metal work to be done, to protect the ceiling, wiring, and the beams. Am starting to get good at it too. Know how to cut it now, clean it up, bend it into the shape I need. I love stainless steel for this sort of thing.

We had paddies on sandwiches for supper today. A lot like a hamburger, only then vegetarian. It tasted rather well, and this one is definitely going in the cookbook. By then big brother no longer needed my help and continued with the cover on his own.

So I got to work on the embroidery frame I’ve been mulling over for more than a week now. Since tenant so clearly wants to be helpful, I figured I would make her a frame so she can do some sewing. Don’t know if it ‘ll work yet, but we’ll see. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll have an embroidery frame myself. Hah.

There was another trip for wood after I sanded the disk, and then we settled down for the day’s edit. So much to do, and so little time, darn it. I still think the day should be 28 hours, rather than 24. Grrr.