Song of the day: “I hope you dance” by LeAnn Womack. Had it in my head before, will have it again.
There really isn’t all that much to tell, yesterday was all about rushing from here to there, first by dropping the Land Rover off at the garage (new brake pads and front lock) then heading on over to Malaga where mom had to apply for her driver’s license because her expiration date ran out. *sigh*
Y’all know how much I LOVE bureaucracy, right? I’ll spare you my rant today. Hah. Let me just put you out of your misery and inform you that we’ll be back there on the dot, three weeks from now. *double sigh*
After that, we got lost in the industrial area of Malaga a little, and that while I really had to go to the bathroom. How come my bladder always gets the size of a peanut when I’m somewhere I can’t get to a bathroom? It’s a filthy twist of fate, I tell ya.
Oh, and let me warn you before we go any further. The day didn’t have the most auspicious beginning, and that was mostly due to the fact that one of the dogs had to be put down.
Creo was her name, and she was a 9 or 10 year old Basset Hound whose health had been going for a while now. Though necessary, (she was half blind, bled from her skin at the drop of a hat, had a stuffed nose every day, and according to the vet had severe arthritis that must have been pretty painful. Poor, brave Creo) it is never nice to have to make this decision.
Let’s just wrap this up by saying that she is better off this way. For the past five, or six years she had a wonderful life here with many other dogs to play with, and we’ll remember her forever.
Well, that is depressing. What else…well, yesterday there was gardening, and building fences around yet another potato patch. It was wonderfully relaxing after spending the day on the road (did I mention that two hours after we got home we had to go out again to pick up the Land Rover? Well, we did. Blast it!) and I wished that we could have done it all day instead of the driving around bit. Hah. The plus thing about yesterday was that while we were out the sky was cloudy all the time. Yay.
Today, on the other hand the weather was splendid, and we spent most of it doing stuff in the yard again. Watering, transplanting seedlings, putting a broken citrus tree in a pot and putting thyme and rosemary in the planters of the greenhouse.
There was cooking and…well, who cares anyway?
I did a review for an Indie Published author the other day, so I’ll finish up with it and leave it at that for today. Maybe the next time I’ll be in a better mood.
For Marise Ghorayeb’s “Sorcery in the Alleys” I’m going to have to go with Five stars of the seven I’m allowed to give (according to me) for reviews.
* * * * *
This has more to do with technicalities and structure than the delightful story and its diverse characters.
First off, SORCERY IN THE ALLEYS is a relatively short story of 85 pages, describing the rather peculiar life of a young girl, who is, as you’ll discover, a powerful sorceress trying to save the universe as we know it.
I liked the way Ghorayeb managed to apply a casual tone (1st person narrative) that was entertaining, personable and engaging. Her main character Liz is a spirited and…multifaceted character, which kept my attention, despite the few hiccups I stumbled over:
I would have liked to see a bit more description about the background of Ghorayeb’s world of sorcery. She refers to an organization, a big group of humans and aliens alike, taking care of humanity’s safety, but then leaves her reader guessing a bit. Also, there are many references to friends, relations, and so on, which seemed to have little more purpose than atmosphere.
Though I maintain that Ghorayeb’s story was a pleasure to read, there were a few points that tripped me throughout her narrative about fighting the evil wizards, and fate: Technicalities.
This talented and creative author could definitely benefit from a good editor who’d help her format her story so that people like myself (the slightly lazy reader) have an easier time of following along.
There are parts in the story where one barely has chance to draw breath, due to a barrage of--albeit entertaining--descriptions that could have been better with some strategic enters, commas, and some general “cleaning up”. The same cleaning up would improve her occasional multiple character conversations, which required me to reread sections just to be sure who had said what.
Also, there were quite a few typos, which on themselves did little to diminish the reading pleasure, but confused the matter somewhat.
Lastly, though Ghorayeb has a flair for creating characters, there were so many of them intimately described (only 85 pages after all) that there were times where I was left wondering “what? Who?” I would have liked to see her focus more on the vital members of the story.
But despite these, mostly technical, problems, I had a lot of fun reading Ghorayeb’s Sorcery in the Alleys. And even though I am not the biggest fan of 1st person narrative, I will be looking towards more of this author’s work…if for no other reason than to see how she will improve on her talent in the future, and reach her potential.
For those who enjoy first person narrative, YA, Sorcery in the Alleys is definitely worth a look.
Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Sorcery-Alleys-Marise-Ghorayeb/dp/1607032236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316889797&sr=8-1
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Lost Romance
Song of the day: “Dream a little dream” by the Beautiful South. Love this one, and luckily I am able to sing it most of the day without getting bored. This is a good thing since it often keeps tumbling in my head. Hah.
First off I need to rant a little. So sorry, but sometimes you just have to get something off your chest, if you get my meaning.
So, I watched a movie last night. It was a long day, I was tired and let’s face it, I can hardly stop getting input from modern day trends when I’m trying to break through in the writing bizz, eh.
But anyway, I am starting to notice a rather disturbing yet blatant problem in movies (books too, for that matter) these days. They are rapidly un-romantisizing everything. Either that, or they have no idea what true romance is. I mean really, I got into a discussion about the subject the other day about this particular issue, and I can tell you it got fierce.
I mean really, it is not that plots are bad, or even the acting, (though both are a bit iffy at times) that bothers me, it is the fact that people seem to have forgotten what romance is.
Where are the long drawn-out glances, the nervousness, the fleeting touches, the look that says, “oh my god, he’s/she’s perfect, whatever will I do without him/her?” the emotional impact, the flutter in the stomach (even for the watcher/reader), the long endless talks, the closeness, the trust, the respect the…well, all the wonderful things of those long ago stories that made you sit there, root for the hero and heroine to find happiness together, rather than wonder are they going to “get it on”.
So sad, movie after movie these days I’m left feeling a bit…I don’t know, empty in the end. Some not as bad as others, but that satisfaction feeling of “aaawww” is becoming a distant memory of “the good old days”, which kinda sucks, if you ask me.
Seriously, you stop making example movies of true love, absolute loyalty, life-long friendships and all those wonderful things people used to strive for because that’s what fiction was based on and that which we all wanted so badly, and you’ll find the world where we live in today.
Realism!
I mean it, fuck realism (pardon my French *snort*). If anyone wants realism, a world where people cower from crime, where kids loot stores, where junkies lie dying in the street, and where families mean nothing anymore and where the “next new love” is right around the corner, they can have it!
I want the prettiness back, thank you very much. If I want gritty realism, I’ll watch the effing News. When I read, when I watch a movie, and when I think of the future I want the dream. I want the supposedly unattainable in being a free thinking person, a person not afraid to take risks, someone who will do everything, wait for however long is necessary for that one person (your other half) that you can’t imagine living without. That’s romance. The romance of life! The adventure of seeing who you can become if you just work at it hard enough, and won’t take no for an answer; not form yourself, nor anyone else
*Sigh* I miss the so called unattainable in fiction, if for no other reason than that it makes people stop wishing for it, and most importantly, to strive for it. How do you think you’ll ever find magic, if you’re not even looking for it, eh? I mean it, how will you find beauty if you don’t use your eyes to search for it? You can’t. To see, you need your eyes, and to find magic, you have to believe in it.
Ah well, that’s my rant anyway. I had to throw it out there, or else choke on it. Hah.
So what’s been up of late? Not a whole lot, just plenty of yard work, for which we have definitely reached the time of year again.
What with summer plants past their prime the soil needs to be prepared for winter, and the new plants that will need spots soon.
While I was taking out the last batch of diseased tomatoes (I managed to save three plants) big brother planted another small field of potatoes, which almost makes for this years planting. Only one…maybe two more fields and then it will be all about the cabbage species season.
We had another snake episode, (what’s with the snakes this year? That eagle we’ve been seeing this summer, really isn’t doing its job). Big brother was squatting in the yard, checking the melons, when suddenly he saw a thin, but long snake right beside him. It fled before we could catch it, but still, it freaked me out a little, like usual.
But anyway, there were weeks to yank, and since there was purslane all over the place I decided that yesterday was a good day to try an experiment with the weed that was supposedly a well known vegetable back in the day. I gotta say, I didn’t dislike it. I have to get used to the taste, sure, and I think I like it in a mix better than on its own, but on the overall, it’s very nice.
Later in the day we basically finished tenant’s ceiling, (interesting experience to wield hammer and nail basically upside down, hah) and it looks absolutely splendid. I’m going to have make pictures and post them to properly show it of.
That done, despite my yearning for a short nap, we edited, of course. Almost halfway through the book, so we’re making progress at least.
Since we did enough, and since I was a tad tired, we finished the day by watching Thor. Not bad, all things considered. I liked the actors, who did a credible job of it, but the plot left something to be desired. *sigh* I miss the old fashioned movies.
Well, anyway, today started of with laundry, followed by putting together patty dough of lentils and chickpeas, which would be the basis of today’s supper. That was followed by a phone call to the garage, to make an appointment for tomorrow. Gonna need those new brakes in the Land Rover now. It was no problem, so before driving mom to her appointment tomorrow, we’ll drop the car off.
That settled we headed out into the yard where grandpa turned earth, big brother watered and I built small fences around the new patches to keep the dogs out. Talking about the dogs, my present concern is Gada who had blood coming from her mouth this morning. It stopped after a few minutes, but if the problem persists I’m going to have to take her to the vet for a check up. Poor Gada, age is really starting to get to her.
Well that’s it for today. Gotta get back to work.
First off I need to rant a little. So sorry, but sometimes you just have to get something off your chest, if you get my meaning.
So, I watched a movie last night. It was a long day, I was tired and let’s face it, I can hardly stop getting input from modern day trends when I’m trying to break through in the writing bizz, eh.
But anyway, I am starting to notice a rather disturbing yet blatant problem in movies (books too, for that matter) these days. They are rapidly un-romantisizing everything. Either that, or they have no idea what true romance is. I mean really, I got into a discussion about the subject the other day about this particular issue, and I can tell you it got fierce.
I mean really, it is not that plots are bad, or even the acting, (though both are a bit iffy at times) that bothers me, it is the fact that people seem to have forgotten what romance is.
Where are the long drawn-out glances, the nervousness, the fleeting touches, the look that says, “oh my god, he’s/she’s perfect, whatever will I do without him/her?” the emotional impact, the flutter in the stomach (even for the watcher/reader), the long endless talks, the closeness, the trust, the respect the…well, all the wonderful things of those long ago stories that made you sit there, root for the hero and heroine to find happiness together, rather than wonder are they going to “get it on”.
So sad, movie after movie these days I’m left feeling a bit…I don’t know, empty in the end. Some not as bad as others, but that satisfaction feeling of “aaawww” is becoming a distant memory of “the good old days”, which kinda sucks, if you ask me.
Seriously, you stop making example movies of true love, absolute loyalty, life-long friendships and all those wonderful things people used to strive for because that’s what fiction was based on and that which we all wanted so badly, and you’ll find the world where we live in today.
Realism!
I mean it, fuck realism (pardon my French *snort*). If anyone wants realism, a world where people cower from crime, where kids loot stores, where junkies lie dying in the street, and where families mean nothing anymore and where the “next new love” is right around the corner, they can have it!
I want the prettiness back, thank you very much. If I want gritty realism, I’ll watch the effing News. When I read, when I watch a movie, and when I think of the future I want the dream. I want the supposedly unattainable in being a free thinking person, a person not afraid to take risks, someone who will do everything, wait for however long is necessary for that one person (your other half) that you can’t imagine living without. That’s romance. The romance of life! The adventure of seeing who you can become if you just work at it hard enough, and won’t take no for an answer; not form yourself, nor anyone else
*Sigh* I miss the so called unattainable in fiction, if for no other reason than that it makes people stop wishing for it, and most importantly, to strive for it. How do you think you’ll ever find magic, if you’re not even looking for it, eh? I mean it, how will you find beauty if you don’t use your eyes to search for it? You can’t. To see, you need your eyes, and to find magic, you have to believe in it.
Ah well, that’s my rant anyway. I had to throw it out there, or else choke on it. Hah.
So what’s been up of late? Not a whole lot, just plenty of yard work, for which we have definitely reached the time of year again.
What with summer plants past their prime the soil needs to be prepared for winter, and the new plants that will need spots soon.
While I was taking out the last batch of diseased tomatoes (I managed to save three plants) big brother planted another small field of potatoes, which almost makes for this years planting. Only one…maybe two more fields and then it will be all about the cabbage species season.
We had another snake episode, (what’s with the snakes this year? That eagle we’ve been seeing this summer, really isn’t doing its job). Big brother was squatting in the yard, checking the melons, when suddenly he saw a thin, but long snake right beside him. It fled before we could catch it, but still, it freaked me out a little, like usual.
But anyway, there were weeks to yank, and since there was purslane all over the place I decided that yesterday was a good day to try an experiment with the weed that was supposedly a well known vegetable back in the day. I gotta say, I didn’t dislike it. I have to get used to the taste, sure, and I think I like it in a mix better than on its own, but on the overall, it’s very nice.
Later in the day we basically finished tenant’s ceiling, (interesting experience to wield hammer and nail basically upside down, hah) and it looks absolutely splendid. I’m going to have make pictures and post them to properly show it of.
That done, despite my yearning for a short nap, we edited, of course. Almost halfway through the book, so we’re making progress at least.
Since we did enough, and since I was a tad tired, we finished the day by watching Thor. Not bad, all things considered. I liked the actors, who did a credible job of it, but the plot left something to be desired. *sigh* I miss the old fashioned movies.
Well, anyway, today started of with laundry, followed by putting together patty dough of lentils and chickpeas, which would be the basis of today’s supper. That was followed by a phone call to the garage, to make an appointment for tomorrow. Gonna need those new brakes in the Land Rover now. It was no problem, so before driving mom to her appointment tomorrow, we’ll drop the car off.
That settled we headed out into the yard where grandpa turned earth, big brother watered and I built small fences around the new patches to keep the dogs out. Talking about the dogs, my present concern is Gada who had blood coming from her mouth this morning. It stopped after a few minutes, but if the problem persists I’m going to have to take her to the vet for a check up. Poor Gada, age is really starting to get to her.
Well that’s it for today. Gotta get back to work.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Hospital...no thinking...and dialogue
Song of the day: “I can read you” by Daniel Beddingfield. I know, it’s and oldie, but seriously, it is a good one. I in particularly enjoy the diversity of the song which starts out softly, then becomes incredibly loud, and goes right back to soft again. Anyway, for as far as songs stuck in your head go, this is not a bad one.
At the moment I’m sitting at the dentist, in the waiting area no less. Last night big brother’s back tooth fell to pieces. It was a reconstructed one, so luckily he wasn’t in pain, but it is a bugger. But anyway, since we had to pick up the Opel anyway (the muffler/tailpipe didn’t arrive until late yesterday afternoon) we drove together. The Opel, thankfully, is done, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last trip with that one. We are going to need to do the brakes of the Land Rover yet, but that will be an afternoon at most.
What else? Well, today was a rather wonderful day spent in the full afternoon sun, working in the yard while a fresh breeze from the sea kept things pleasantly cool. I mean it, I think that today was by far the nicest weather we have had so far. I was out in shorts and a T, barefoot, standing in the dirt while taking away loads of dying tomato plants and a big batch of reed sticks that had been keeping them up-straight for the duration of summer.
What with diseases coming for them, there really wasn’t much of a choice. I managed to save three that still have some nice growth going. They will stay where they are for a few weeks yet, hopefully giving us a few more tomatoes this fall.
Before heading out into the yard, I spent a bit of time in the greenhouse…it was wonderful in there too, in particular since the morning started off a little chilly. While doing the laundry in the shade of the courtyard roof, I’d become decidedly cold…transplanting broccoli, kale and cauliflower. They’re doing well, and the tomatoes I transplanted the other day, well, one’s already a foot high. Boy, I hope they’re going to work out this year. It would be so grand if we didn’t need to buy tomatoes this winter.
A bit of fun news: grandpa has his birthday today. I had planned to make him a cake, but then I pondered his teeth and wondered if maybe a bought one was a better idea. In the end I decided to go for a small cheesecake and a cream and chocolate ice cake. He’ll just have to decide for himself which he likes best.
We did order a gift for him at Amazon, but since it hasn’t arrived yet, I suppose it is going to be a late present after all. *sigh*
Okay, distraction over, what happened before the greenhouse…well, I already mentioned it, didn’t. Laundry, duh.
Right. Yesterday. I’m totally going to mess this up in sequence, because the first thing I remember of yesterday was of course our worth-mentioning trip to the hospital.
Dani offered to go along with grandpa and me, which was good since my Spanish is iffy, and we headed out at eight thirty in the morning so we could go past town and drop the Opel off at the garage. Though I had planned the take the quieter country road to Marbella there really wasn’t time anymore, so we decided to risk rush hour and headed down the coastal highway hoping we would be in time regardless.
Turns out we were lucky. We made it in record time and arrived at the hospital forty minutes ahead of schedule, a good thing too, considering they had rearranged their parking areas, meaning that you either needed a card, or had to park underneath the building, which was 202 cm high, about fifteen centimeters lower than the Land Rover, thank you very much.
Added to that, the other public parking area was also covered with these corrugated metal roofs, meaning that the car wouldn’t fit there either (later big brother told me that there was a section where we would have fitted after all, but since all appeared full anyway) I finally dropped grandpa and Dani off at the ER and set out to hunt for a different parking spot.
First, I thought fate was on my side when a station wagon pulled away from a spot at a roundabout, but though I almost got it in, it was about a foot too small for maneuvering, so I continued on my way. I finally managed to park in a side street and locked up. It took me about ten minutes to reach the ER (was up the mountain the entire way) where grandpa and Dani were waiting for me. Of course by then my coffee had settled, meaning that a trip to the bathroom was vital. Jeez, seriously, I don’t know what I would have done if the waiting area hadn’t sported one.
But anyway, we showed the doctor’s reference paper at the front desk, only to hear that we had to go all the way round the hospital to a big entrance with lots of people with a sign saying consulta sisterna. Huh? Seriously, we had no idea what he was talking about, seeing as the doctor had said to show the paper so the guy could show us to the oftalomologia (sp?) section, or some such. But anyway we followed the instructions and ended up at…the mortuary. Uh-huh. Yeah, that got me laughing, and we were joking that it was really a bit early for THAT.
*Snort*
So yeah, finally we came at the MAIN entrance where the woman behind the register was laughing about consulta sisterna (that’s what we had too) since there was no such place. She pointed us in the right direction, and we waited there for about half an hour (I took the opportunity to start reading a review book I promised to do) before we were called inside the doctor’s office. I can honestly say that I have never seen a woman with a worse hair day. I would say that she rolled right out of bed and then used gel to make it worse. Now I don’t have the best hair at the best of times, but I do draw the line at that single pluck in the middle of a head in the back. Hah. Not that it mattered, considering she was actually a rather nice woman.
She looked at grandpa’s eye for a bit, grabbed a little thingy and promptly took out the foreign object. It was tiny. Half the size of a grain of sand, and shaped like a kidney. You should have seen grandpa’s face. He was so relieved that it wasn’t any more serious thank that, and that he was send home with a bit of cream to put in for the next three days. Phew. Big relief.
But anyway, we were back home around noon and happy for it, thank you very much.
The rest of the day was spent working in the carport putting together tenants new lamps. We have been meaning to for several weeks, but we finally got around to it. After that there was a quick cooking session, which was totally experimental on my part. Turns out that we have purslane growing in the yard (it’s considered a weed, but in the past it was also a veggie), and together with nopales (cacti, remember?) I mixed it through our veggie mix meal. It was yummy, also the purslane, which reminded me of Chard stems. Will definitely be eating it again.
That done, big brother went for a nap (we had gotten way too little sleep) and I headed down the yard with Dani to water the plants needing it. Treated ourselves to a melon, of course, hah.
Next it was my turn for a nap, but since I dreamed of driving the Land Rover onto a roundabout, where I somehow ended up driving straight into a white Citroen DS. Startled wide awake, leaving me to wonder what the heck that was all about.
Ah well, who needs sleep anyway? Hah.
We did an edit afterwards (the Opel wasn’t done yet, so that was one trip less, thank you very much) and then had to hurry to get to our appointment in town. Picking up the second hand supplies took longer than expected and when we finally got home I could barely keep my eyes open.
Luckily I did get a solid seven hours of sleep last night, meaning that I was semi-human this morning, and ready to start the day. First thing up was a big batch of laundry, because, let’s face it, I didn’t have time for that yesterday. *sigh* I hate interrupting my schedule like that.
Next thing, after coffee and breakfast, and saying good morning to grandpa (it was his B-day today) and tenant, we headed out into the yard again…hey, wait a minute, I already described this, didn’t I?
Oh well, the dentist turned out to be only a short distraction. Big brother got his tooth fixed and we headed out…with me wondering why big brother was heading up the mountain while we still had to head back into town (preferably with only one car) to get some sewing supplies for mom. Sure, we’d gotten the pie already before heading for the dentist, but the supplies still had to be done.
But anyway, we were halfway up the mountain before he remembered and promptly turned around (making a U turn that I followed immediately, mind you) leaving me to wonder why he was heading up the highway when we should only take one car.
So, following him up the highway, muttering all the while, “Why are you going there for crying out loud, you could have parked where we did the U turn, or the shopping center, or the gas station. And why do you insist on not having cell phone? Why didn’t you take grandpa’s and then…I lost him on the highway. So yeah, I decided to head into town anyway, hoping that he would go to the shop as well, only to remember that I only had five bucks in my wallet and I didn’t know how to get to the shop either until I got to a herboristeria we often frequent, from which I know how to get to the McDonalds, where, just about the time I rounded the roundabout, I passed big brother on the left. *double sigh*
So I gestured I would wait down the road for him, and five minutes later we joined up by the side of the road and discussed where we would park. Finally we ended up at the aquapark where we took just the Opel to see to the supply trip.
Me: “So what were you doing?”
Big brother: “Not thinking, apparently. I kept wondering where I could park so we could join up in one car.”
Me: “You mean the shopping mall didn’t do?”
Big brother: “Like I said. Not a thought past the wondering.”
Me: “Right. Glad we got that out of the way. Do you know where we’re going now?”
He gave me a “duh” look and went to the store.
Everything done, we finally headed home where we had ice-cake with grandpa and then headed to the terrace in front of my cabin to start on the day’s computer work.
The dogs were psyched that we got home, of course, and they have been going bonkers ever since, sticking to us as if they’re attachments, or something. Ah well, everyone needs a little attention now and then.
At the moment I’m sitting at the dentist, in the waiting area no less. Last night big brother’s back tooth fell to pieces. It was a reconstructed one, so luckily he wasn’t in pain, but it is a bugger. But anyway, since we had to pick up the Opel anyway (the muffler/tailpipe didn’t arrive until late yesterday afternoon) we drove together. The Opel, thankfully, is done, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last trip with that one. We are going to need to do the brakes of the Land Rover yet, but that will be an afternoon at most.
What else? Well, today was a rather wonderful day spent in the full afternoon sun, working in the yard while a fresh breeze from the sea kept things pleasantly cool. I mean it, I think that today was by far the nicest weather we have had so far. I was out in shorts and a T, barefoot, standing in the dirt while taking away loads of dying tomato plants and a big batch of reed sticks that had been keeping them up-straight for the duration of summer.
What with diseases coming for them, there really wasn’t much of a choice. I managed to save three that still have some nice growth going. They will stay where they are for a few weeks yet, hopefully giving us a few more tomatoes this fall.
Before heading out into the yard, I spent a bit of time in the greenhouse…it was wonderful in there too, in particular since the morning started off a little chilly. While doing the laundry in the shade of the courtyard roof, I’d become decidedly cold…transplanting broccoli, kale and cauliflower. They’re doing well, and the tomatoes I transplanted the other day, well, one’s already a foot high. Boy, I hope they’re going to work out this year. It would be so grand if we didn’t need to buy tomatoes this winter.
A bit of fun news: grandpa has his birthday today. I had planned to make him a cake, but then I pondered his teeth and wondered if maybe a bought one was a better idea. In the end I decided to go for a small cheesecake and a cream and chocolate ice cake. He’ll just have to decide for himself which he likes best.
We did order a gift for him at Amazon, but since it hasn’t arrived yet, I suppose it is going to be a late present after all. *sigh*
Okay, distraction over, what happened before the greenhouse…well, I already mentioned it, didn’t. Laundry, duh.
Right. Yesterday. I’m totally going to mess this up in sequence, because the first thing I remember of yesterday was of course our worth-mentioning trip to the hospital.
Dani offered to go along with grandpa and me, which was good since my Spanish is iffy, and we headed out at eight thirty in the morning so we could go past town and drop the Opel off at the garage. Though I had planned the take the quieter country road to Marbella there really wasn’t time anymore, so we decided to risk rush hour and headed down the coastal highway hoping we would be in time regardless.
Turns out we were lucky. We made it in record time and arrived at the hospital forty minutes ahead of schedule, a good thing too, considering they had rearranged their parking areas, meaning that you either needed a card, or had to park underneath the building, which was 202 cm high, about fifteen centimeters lower than the Land Rover, thank you very much.
Added to that, the other public parking area was also covered with these corrugated metal roofs, meaning that the car wouldn’t fit there either (later big brother told me that there was a section where we would have fitted after all, but since all appeared full anyway) I finally dropped grandpa and Dani off at the ER and set out to hunt for a different parking spot.
First, I thought fate was on my side when a station wagon pulled away from a spot at a roundabout, but though I almost got it in, it was about a foot too small for maneuvering, so I continued on my way. I finally managed to park in a side street and locked up. It took me about ten minutes to reach the ER (was up the mountain the entire way) where grandpa and Dani were waiting for me. Of course by then my coffee had settled, meaning that a trip to the bathroom was vital. Jeez, seriously, I don’t know what I would have done if the waiting area hadn’t sported one.
But anyway, we showed the doctor’s reference paper at the front desk, only to hear that we had to go all the way round the hospital to a big entrance with lots of people with a sign saying consulta sisterna. Huh? Seriously, we had no idea what he was talking about, seeing as the doctor had said to show the paper so the guy could show us to the oftalomologia (sp?) section, or some such. But anyway we followed the instructions and ended up at…the mortuary. Uh-huh. Yeah, that got me laughing, and we were joking that it was really a bit early for THAT.
*Snort*
So yeah, finally we came at the MAIN entrance where the woman behind the register was laughing about consulta sisterna (that’s what we had too) since there was no such place. She pointed us in the right direction, and we waited there for about half an hour (I took the opportunity to start reading a review book I promised to do) before we were called inside the doctor’s office. I can honestly say that I have never seen a woman with a worse hair day. I would say that she rolled right out of bed and then used gel to make it worse. Now I don’t have the best hair at the best of times, but I do draw the line at that single pluck in the middle of a head in the back. Hah. Not that it mattered, considering she was actually a rather nice woman.
She looked at grandpa’s eye for a bit, grabbed a little thingy and promptly took out the foreign object. It was tiny. Half the size of a grain of sand, and shaped like a kidney. You should have seen grandpa’s face. He was so relieved that it wasn’t any more serious thank that, and that he was send home with a bit of cream to put in for the next three days. Phew. Big relief.
But anyway, we were back home around noon and happy for it, thank you very much.
The rest of the day was spent working in the carport putting together tenants new lamps. We have been meaning to for several weeks, but we finally got around to it. After that there was a quick cooking session, which was totally experimental on my part. Turns out that we have purslane growing in the yard (it’s considered a weed, but in the past it was also a veggie), and together with nopales (cacti, remember?) I mixed it through our veggie mix meal. It was yummy, also the purslane, which reminded me of Chard stems. Will definitely be eating it again.
That done, big brother went for a nap (we had gotten way too little sleep) and I headed down the yard with Dani to water the plants needing it. Treated ourselves to a melon, of course, hah.
Next it was my turn for a nap, but since I dreamed of driving the Land Rover onto a roundabout, where I somehow ended up driving straight into a white Citroen DS. Startled wide awake, leaving me to wonder what the heck that was all about.
Ah well, who needs sleep anyway? Hah.
We did an edit afterwards (the Opel wasn’t done yet, so that was one trip less, thank you very much) and then had to hurry to get to our appointment in town. Picking up the second hand supplies took longer than expected and when we finally got home I could barely keep my eyes open.
Luckily I did get a solid seven hours of sleep last night, meaning that I was semi-human this morning, and ready to start the day. First thing up was a big batch of laundry, because, let’s face it, I didn’t have time for that yesterday. *sigh* I hate interrupting my schedule like that.
Next thing, after coffee and breakfast, and saying good morning to grandpa (it was his B-day today) and tenant, we headed out into the yard again…hey, wait a minute, I already described this, didn’t I?
Oh well, the dentist turned out to be only a short distraction. Big brother got his tooth fixed and we headed out…with me wondering why big brother was heading up the mountain while we still had to head back into town (preferably with only one car) to get some sewing supplies for mom. Sure, we’d gotten the pie already before heading for the dentist, but the supplies still had to be done.
But anyway, we were halfway up the mountain before he remembered and promptly turned around (making a U turn that I followed immediately, mind you) leaving me to wonder why he was heading up the highway when we should only take one car.
So, following him up the highway, muttering all the while, “Why are you going there for crying out loud, you could have parked where we did the U turn, or the shopping center, or the gas station. And why do you insist on not having cell phone? Why didn’t you take grandpa’s and then…I lost him on the highway. So yeah, I decided to head into town anyway, hoping that he would go to the shop as well, only to remember that I only had five bucks in my wallet and I didn’t know how to get to the shop either until I got to a herboristeria we often frequent, from which I know how to get to the McDonalds, where, just about the time I rounded the roundabout, I passed big brother on the left. *double sigh*
So I gestured I would wait down the road for him, and five minutes later we joined up by the side of the road and discussed where we would park. Finally we ended up at the aquapark where we took just the Opel to see to the supply trip.
Me: “So what were you doing?”
Big brother: “Not thinking, apparently. I kept wondering where I could park so we could join up in one car.”
Me: “You mean the shopping mall didn’t do?”
Big brother: “Like I said. Not a thought past the wondering.”
Me: “Right. Glad we got that out of the way. Do you know where we’re going now?”
He gave me a “duh” look and went to the store.
Everything done, we finally headed home where we had ice-cake with grandpa and then headed to the terrace in front of my cabin to start on the day’s computer work.
The dogs were psyched that we got home, of course, and they have been going bonkers ever since, sticking to us as if they’re attachments, or something. Ah well, everyone needs a little attention now and then.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
To link, or not to link?
Song of the day: “The flood” by Katie Melua. It’s been in my head off and on most of the day.
Small stuff on the most part, involving time more than effort and keeping me busy as heck. Yesterday morning started off (after the usual stuff) with a nice session in the greenhouse transplanting a few tomato seedlings, broccolis, cauliflower, red cabbage, white cabbage and kale. I love working in the greenhouse like that, it is very calming. You just fill pots with dirt, dig little holes, take out tiny plants and tuck them gently in. Very soothing, I’ll admit.
That done, and considering grandpa finished turning earth for another potato patch last night, I headed down to the lower terrace to plant potatoes with big brother. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it. Hah. Seriously, though. Since I should be walking barefoot a lot these days, I had an excellent opportunity to get up to my ankles in freshly turned earth, which was rather nice. Strangely enough I don’t feel my espolon when I’m barefoot, which is for me an excellent reason to get my feet dirty. Rather have dirt than pain, thank you very much.
There was a load of weeding going on. The Morning Glory vine is going everywhere, and it has been smothering the oleander and the solanum bush. Poor plantsies. They practically lost all their leaves to the vines from hell. The potatoes planted, and the sun pounding down nice and hot, I set up a fence around the new patch, determined to protect it against the nutty dogs who think it is smart to use newly turned earth as a race track. Hah
Plants had to be watered, naturally. Since big brother did the most of that, I could focus mostly on the potatoes and their protection.
Tenant spent most of the afternoon down there too, sitting on the big terrace in the shade of the small cluster of poplar trees that we decided to leave there. She cut a batch of yellow, barely ripe tomatoes, which I made into a soup for the dogs. They love that kind of stuff. Reminds them of the good old days, I think, when we still made dogfood ourselves.
By the time I headed up to start making lunch, I made a short detour to chop down a mid-sized, diseased poplar that needed to be taken out. Chopping down trees makes me sad on the most part. There’s this tree, doing its darnest to grow, going up and wide, and then there’s this stupid human (me) and bham. Off with its trunk. Sad, I tell ya. But then, this is a dog eat dog world, and only the fittest survive and considering I had an axe and knew how to use it, I was fitter. *sigh*
Another snake scare, this time in the courtyard. We had to coral the darn thing, and even wedge it between two shovels before we could get it in a bucket for a quick trip far-far away. Jeez, that was a fast bugger. Slightly greenish, an inch and a half at the thickest part and about 2 and a half feet long. Seriously, those things still scare the crap outta me. I’m surprised I didn’t dream about them last night.
But anyway, the snake back to nature, I went back to the outside kitchen for cooking. For supper we had vegetable burgers with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and pepper, along with a small portion of the day before yesterday’s macaroni.
It went down well after working hard, and since I really didn’t mind sitting a bit longer, we finally got around to sorting through the many bags of dried herbs that I’d been postponing for weeks now. Got quite a bit, and only two of the bags were spoiled due to improper saving.
At the moment we are going through another tick plague. Not as bad as earlier this year yet, but still, bugging amounts to say the least. They make me wanna scream, while being addicting at the same time. Whichever dog passes me get’s a thorough search, and thankfully they consider it a petting. Hah.
Edited the evening away, of course, and though I had planned on a quick workout session, I was so close to falling asleep at the end of the day, that I decided to go to be early instead…early being half an hour, which was a blissful half hour, if you must know.
Today, after the usual morning rituals, laundry and blissful coffee, there was nothing on the schedule for yard work. Instead we headed up to tenant’s place…well at least grandpa and big brother did, and I took tenant down to my terrace where she kept me company while tagging the canned prickly pear syrup and compote. That done, I checked the canning storage, making sure none of the pots had gone open or were turning bad (they hadn’t) and then headed for my cabin to do some much needed cleaning. Seriously every available horizontal surface has gradually become so full, that I didn’t even see the piece of furniture anymore. Ergo, the cleaning.
Put all my clean clothes away, sorted through the dirty, changed my bed sheets, wiped the floors and if I remember to do my bathroom one of these days, my cabin will be as good as new. Yay. Knight II sure liked the clean bed. He jumped on it immediately and started rubbing his big bony body all over it. Crazy loon! Wanna bet that Chaos will do the same tonight? Hah.
That done (took me about three hours for crying out loud) I headed for the carport to help big brother glue together wooden slats for tenant’s apartment ceiling. Sure the ceiling was closed months ago but there are plinths, and decorative beams to add still. Grandpa has been doing a lot of it, but there are still some things that we just want to do ourselves. After doing the biggest gluing job, and since big brother could take it on his own from there, I headed up to grandpa’s place to cook some supper. Nothing fancy, just something simple and earthy. I love a got stew.
While we were working on the woodwork for tenant, mom and the sibs got home from market day. They had pretty good earnings today. Mom’s purses/bags, dog beds and musical instrument bags are going extremely well, so yay. Glad to see that she’s having a grand time of it.
Well, this ought to do it for today’s blog, I guess. I am at the moment pondering the acceptance of a link placement right here on the page. It was requested politely, and the site appeared legit, but I’m still not sure. I never did much like advertising (heck, I almost think that putting my own books down here is a bit too much, but what the hey) and though I agreed to do a link exchange with the dude who wanted a link to his carport manufacturing site, I would hate to end up filling the entire page up with ads. I know it is all “the thing” these days, making money with clicks, links, and whatnots, but I’m old fashioned that way. *sigh*
We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings, eh.
Small stuff on the most part, involving time more than effort and keeping me busy as heck. Yesterday morning started off (after the usual stuff) with a nice session in the greenhouse transplanting a few tomato seedlings, broccolis, cauliflower, red cabbage, white cabbage and kale. I love working in the greenhouse like that, it is very calming. You just fill pots with dirt, dig little holes, take out tiny plants and tuck them gently in. Very soothing, I’ll admit.
That done, and considering grandpa finished turning earth for another potato patch last night, I headed down to the lower terrace to plant potatoes with big brother. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it. Hah. Seriously, though. Since I should be walking barefoot a lot these days, I had an excellent opportunity to get up to my ankles in freshly turned earth, which was rather nice. Strangely enough I don’t feel my espolon when I’m barefoot, which is for me an excellent reason to get my feet dirty. Rather have dirt than pain, thank you very much.
There was a load of weeding going on. The Morning Glory vine is going everywhere, and it has been smothering the oleander and the solanum bush. Poor plantsies. They practically lost all their leaves to the vines from hell. The potatoes planted, and the sun pounding down nice and hot, I set up a fence around the new patch, determined to protect it against the nutty dogs who think it is smart to use newly turned earth as a race track. Hah
Plants had to be watered, naturally. Since big brother did the most of that, I could focus mostly on the potatoes and their protection.
Tenant spent most of the afternoon down there too, sitting on the big terrace in the shade of the small cluster of poplar trees that we decided to leave there. She cut a batch of yellow, barely ripe tomatoes, which I made into a soup for the dogs. They love that kind of stuff. Reminds them of the good old days, I think, when we still made dogfood ourselves.
By the time I headed up to start making lunch, I made a short detour to chop down a mid-sized, diseased poplar that needed to be taken out. Chopping down trees makes me sad on the most part. There’s this tree, doing its darnest to grow, going up and wide, and then there’s this stupid human (me) and bham. Off with its trunk. Sad, I tell ya. But then, this is a dog eat dog world, and only the fittest survive and considering I had an axe and knew how to use it, I was fitter. *sigh*
Another snake scare, this time in the courtyard. We had to coral the darn thing, and even wedge it between two shovels before we could get it in a bucket for a quick trip far-far away. Jeez, that was a fast bugger. Slightly greenish, an inch and a half at the thickest part and about 2 and a half feet long. Seriously, those things still scare the crap outta me. I’m surprised I didn’t dream about them last night.
But anyway, the snake back to nature, I went back to the outside kitchen for cooking. For supper we had vegetable burgers with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and pepper, along with a small portion of the day before yesterday’s macaroni.
It went down well after working hard, and since I really didn’t mind sitting a bit longer, we finally got around to sorting through the many bags of dried herbs that I’d been postponing for weeks now. Got quite a bit, and only two of the bags were spoiled due to improper saving.
At the moment we are going through another tick plague. Not as bad as earlier this year yet, but still, bugging amounts to say the least. They make me wanna scream, while being addicting at the same time. Whichever dog passes me get’s a thorough search, and thankfully they consider it a petting. Hah.
Edited the evening away, of course, and though I had planned on a quick workout session, I was so close to falling asleep at the end of the day, that I decided to go to be early instead…early being half an hour, which was a blissful half hour, if you must know.
Today, after the usual morning rituals, laundry and blissful coffee, there was nothing on the schedule for yard work. Instead we headed up to tenant’s place…well at least grandpa and big brother did, and I took tenant down to my terrace where she kept me company while tagging the canned prickly pear syrup and compote. That done, I checked the canning storage, making sure none of the pots had gone open or were turning bad (they hadn’t) and then headed for my cabin to do some much needed cleaning. Seriously every available horizontal surface has gradually become so full, that I didn’t even see the piece of furniture anymore. Ergo, the cleaning.
Put all my clean clothes away, sorted through the dirty, changed my bed sheets, wiped the floors and if I remember to do my bathroom one of these days, my cabin will be as good as new. Yay. Knight II sure liked the clean bed. He jumped on it immediately and started rubbing his big bony body all over it. Crazy loon! Wanna bet that Chaos will do the same tonight? Hah.
That done (took me about three hours for crying out loud) I headed for the carport to help big brother glue together wooden slats for tenant’s apartment ceiling. Sure the ceiling was closed months ago but there are plinths, and decorative beams to add still. Grandpa has been doing a lot of it, but there are still some things that we just want to do ourselves. After doing the biggest gluing job, and since big brother could take it on his own from there, I headed up to grandpa’s place to cook some supper. Nothing fancy, just something simple and earthy. I love a got stew.
While we were working on the woodwork for tenant, mom and the sibs got home from market day. They had pretty good earnings today. Mom’s purses/bags, dog beds and musical instrument bags are going extremely well, so yay. Glad to see that she’s having a grand time of it.
Well, this ought to do it for today’s blog, I guess. I am at the moment pondering the acceptance of a link placement right here on the page. It was requested politely, and the site appeared legit, but I’m still not sure. I never did much like advertising (heck, I almost think that putting my own books down here is a bit too much, but what the hey) and though I agreed to do a link exchange with the dude who wanted a link to his carport manufacturing site, I would hate to end up filling the entire page up with ads. I know it is all “the thing” these days, making money with clicks, links, and whatnots, but I’m old fashioned that way. *sigh*
We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings, eh.
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