Song of the day: “Put it there” by Paul McCartney, I think. I can’t be sure because except for the lyrics and tune I can’t remember the voice, the face and concordantly, the name. Such a shame. I just might have to go online to look it up.
Right here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_5H42OahI8&feature=related
Gawd, it’s been at least fifteen years since I heard this. Maybe sixteen...I don’t have a clue.
Right. Fall is here for sure. The air is cooler, the sun lower and less bright, and the nights are definitely getting longer now. Darn it. Most of today, for the first time since winter, I was dressed in a genuine sweater. So strange to still have sunshine, and yet being unable to stay warm without some sort of covering. *sigh* This is going to be a cold winter, I fear.
But anyway. I got sick and tired of being (no pun intended) sick, so this morning we decided on a workout regardless of the persisting cough. No sense in slacking if it is not improving. So the workout was more for form then strength and speed, but I did it regardless. There were warm ups, punches, kicks and everything else, so…not bad.
Did get too little sleep because of it, but who’s counting anyway. I can sleep when I’m dead. Hah.
But okay, let’s get down to the sum-up of what I remember of the past couple of days.
There was lots of weeding for sure. We have about three paddies of onions and the poor little sprigs were disappearing in the grass, solanum and gawd knows what else. So basically I spent about an hour on my hands and knees (not counting getting up every time to water a couple of the other fields) yanking out little bits of grass and other weeds. It was rather calming, if you must know.
Did hunt for pumpkins. Boy are they good in hiding, the sneaky little bastards. Seriously, you gotta crawl through the undergrowth on all fours to find some of them, and even then, you’re lucky if you pick one out of the tangling vines of the Morning Glory. I was practically on top of one before I saw it. I do get that freaky tone when I’m hunting pumpkins. You remember Avatar’s “I see you, brother” mine becomes a mix of that and Jack Nicholson’s “Here’s Johnny” in the Shining. Hah.
Seriously, try saying it some day, with a rather psychotic sing-songy tone, or course, “I seeee, youuuuu!”
It’s hilarious.
There was carpentry, naturally. The lean-to on the left of the greenhouse is as good as done now, painted and everything, and this morning I started on the second one to the right. Got the front sections up of the new one, and big brother put glass in the first today. Looking good. I made pics, and soon I will start posting a lot, I promise.
Cooking aplenty. Both today and yesterday. Gotta keep your strength up, regardless of hunger…or lack thereof. Admittedly, I was actually hungry again today, so maybe that workout had some effect after all. Hah.
Yesterday I sorted through a pile of adaptors that we’ve stocked in a bag for the past year, and while big brother checked them out for functionality, I tried to untangle the bloody mess until every wire was separate. Do you know how frustrating a job that is?…it’s not that bad, actually. It can be rather therapeutic to unwind wires, I think. I mean, seriously. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were able to get our minds unwound that way?
Nata is doing rather well again. He’s cheery as heck, and is even trying to sneak in with the other when we go into the vegetable garden. Unless he really manages to sneak in without notice, we don’t let him, but such effort needs to be rewarded when perseverance wins from old age.
Fortuyn is rapidly becoming nuttier. I mean it, every day he is a bit more insane than the day before. You, about last year he discovered stones (whenever grandpa turns earth and tosses out rocks, Fortuyn is right there like a Jack in a box. So, rather than have him give himself cardiac arrest from suspense, big brother occasionally throws one for him. Three to four times a day has to be the limit, otherwise he just might lose his tentative touch on reality, or something. You should see and hear him. Time and again he jumps around his own axel, whimpering like a junkie wanting his fix. It’s pathetic. Hah.
Ah well, like yesterday (yes we managed another edit without killing each other) I’m going to get started on an edit now, and leave the blog as it is for the day.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The aftermath
Song of the day: “Haven’t met you yet” by Michael Bublé. Don’t know where that one came from today, but there you have it.
Yesterday started early after a bad night for me. I hadn’t gotten much sleep due to feverish dreams that constantly made me wake up and then the alarm went off and it was time to start damage control.
After a much needed toddy to start me off, I headed out into the black expanse of ashes to see how far it had gone, most of the mountain beside us, according to the local paper about 4000 square meters, all the way ‘round the corner of. Looking bad from the edge, it felt a bit like I was standing at the end of a wasteland. Hah.
But anyway, that seen (I always want to see such things for myself) I headed up to our stretch of burned land and counted fifteen eucalypti trees that are most likely dead There might be a few more, but since eucalypti are known for getting back with a vengeance even after the worst happens, we might get lucky after all. But whatever, I checked our nursery and found sixteen eucalypti still alive in pots, so as soon as the rainy season starts, we can head up there and replace those that suffered too much damage.
That done we attempted to continue laying tiles in grandpa’s little courtyard, which didn’t go all that well, considering we were terribly distracted by the six or so fire marshals that started to gather at the top of our property to do a proper investigation.
First there was the intense little guy. He was cumbrously shaped, had on black army trousers with a khaki shirt. A black backpack and black horn rimmed glasses under a black or dark green baseball cap. I thought him a little scary, actually. For some peculiar reason he reminded me of an aggressive Adrian Monk in the TV show “Monk”. Luckily he didn’t come over, but started to walk the perimeter, stopping every so often to examine the ground all-suspicious like.
Four other guys joined him, one with some sort of Geiger meter (at least that’s what it looked like) and another with a camera. They all went over the blackened area, and then ended up at where the first fire marshal from the day before figured it had started.
He stood there, examining the site, eying the ground, the scorched trees, and then started to quietly talk with his colleagues, gesturing the way the wind had blown, and how he saw the fire had gone from low to high really fast, etc. etc.
They were there for about to hours, on all fours, scouring the ground for clues with little bags and red flags which they set out to photograph…I think it was the path of the fire, or something. Then they talked some more, getting out of the way when mom an little brother left for the dentist, and then tenant and caregiver who went to a small library in town prior to going out for coffee.
Finally, without a word to us, the fire marshals departed, leaving big brother, grandpa and me home alone to finish up what we could of the tiling and cutting, before we went down into the yard.
There were tomato plants to check for larvae, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and red cabbage to plant, and other plants to water. It was all rather relaxing after the depressing excitement of the morning.
The sun was shining, the wind cool, and despite the persistent smell of smoke still in the air, I really enjoyed it…regardless of the fact that I was about ready to drop dead at around the three in the afternoon, and had no choice but to head up to my cabin for a nap of an hour or so.
Did sleep rather well, and when I woke I was more than ready to cook supper. Supper eaten, big brother and I worked on the lean-to greenhouse some more, getting it done enough that we only need to ad glass and the finishing slats.
Afterwards there was an editing session, which didn’t go well at all, because well, let’s face it, big brother and I were both wired from the long day, the stress of the day before, and the lack of sleep. We got into several fierce discussions about sentence structure, so we decided to call it a day.
As for today: It started off with repairing the trailer for mom and the sibs, which’s mudguards were almost falling off. Of course, to do so, I had to unload the darn thing, which was no easy task in my present state (am in that stage of feeling remarkably weak). But I succeeded, and big brother was almost done fixing the front bar of the trailer, so all in all it was a successful morning.
Next, grandpa and I spent about an hour sawing slats for the lean-to greenhouse, at which time I needed another nap. That didn’t work. First I woke up coughing, and then just when I was about to fall back to sleep, mom phoned to ask something about the pie she and little sister are making together (little sister’s birthday is tomorrow), at which point I gave up and headed down to see how far tenant was cutting the day’s veggies for supper.
As usual, my dogs love a nap, and today, they even went as far as not even getting up when I rolled out of bed and headed out. Lazy eejits. If they sleep sixteen hours a day, I wouldn't be surprised.
Cooked supper, devoured it with more appetite than the last coupe of days, but also less than usual, and then headed up for a quick shower and the blog. Gotta go out to town tonight yet, and I was rank after working in the full sun this morning…not to mention smudged with black soot and whatnot.
Now, with a little luck, we’ll manage a spot of editing before the end of the day, and then I can drop back into bed and pass out. That’ll be a relief for sure. Hah.
Yesterday started early after a bad night for me. I hadn’t gotten much sleep due to feverish dreams that constantly made me wake up and then the alarm went off and it was time to start damage control.
After a much needed toddy to start me off, I headed out into the black expanse of ashes to see how far it had gone, most of the mountain beside us, according to the local paper about 4000 square meters, all the way ‘round the corner of. Looking bad from the edge, it felt a bit like I was standing at the end of a wasteland. Hah.
But anyway, that seen (I always want to see such things for myself) I headed up to our stretch of burned land and counted fifteen eucalypti trees that are most likely dead There might be a few more, but since eucalypti are known for getting back with a vengeance even after the worst happens, we might get lucky after all. But whatever, I checked our nursery and found sixteen eucalypti still alive in pots, so as soon as the rainy season starts, we can head up there and replace those that suffered too much damage.
That done we attempted to continue laying tiles in grandpa’s little courtyard, which didn’t go all that well, considering we were terribly distracted by the six or so fire marshals that started to gather at the top of our property to do a proper investigation.
First there was the intense little guy. He was cumbrously shaped, had on black army trousers with a khaki shirt. A black backpack and black horn rimmed glasses under a black or dark green baseball cap. I thought him a little scary, actually. For some peculiar reason he reminded me of an aggressive Adrian Monk in the TV show “Monk”. Luckily he didn’t come over, but started to walk the perimeter, stopping every so often to examine the ground all-suspicious like.
Four other guys joined him, one with some sort of Geiger meter (at least that’s what it looked like) and another with a camera. They all went over the blackened area, and then ended up at where the first fire marshal from the day before figured it had started.
He stood there, examining the site, eying the ground, the scorched trees, and then started to quietly talk with his colleagues, gesturing the way the wind had blown, and how he saw the fire had gone from low to high really fast, etc. etc.
They were there for about to hours, on all fours, scouring the ground for clues with little bags and red flags which they set out to photograph…I think it was the path of the fire, or something. Then they talked some more, getting out of the way when mom an little brother left for the dentist, and then tenant and caregiver who went to a small library in town prior to going out for coffee.
Finally, without a word to us, the fire marshals departed, leaving big brother, grandpa and me home alone to finish up what we could of the tiling and cutting, before we went down into the yard.
There were tomato plants to check for larvae, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and red cabbage to plant, and other plants to water. It was all rather relaxing after the depressing excitement of the morning.
The sun was shining, the wind cool, and despite the persistent smell of smoke still in the air, I really enjoyed it…regardless of the fact that I was about ready to drop dead at around the three in the afternoon, and had no choice but to head up to my cabin for a nap of an hour or so.
Did sleep rather well, and when I woke I was more than ready to cook supper. Supper eaten, big brother and I worked on the lean-to greenhouse some more, getting it done enough that we only need to ad glass and the finishing slats.
Afterwards there was an editing session, which didn’t go well at all, because well, let’s face it, big brother and I were both wired from the long day, the stress of the day before, and the lack of sleep. We got into several fierce discussions about sentence structure, so we decided to call it a day.
As for today: It started off with repairing the trailer for mom and the sibs, which’s mudguards were almost falling off. Of course, to do so, I had to unload the darn thing, which was no easy task in my present state (am in that stage of feeling remarkably weak). But I succeeded, and big brother was almost done fixing the front bar of the trailer, so all in all it was a successful morning.
Next, grandpa and I spent about an hour sawing slats for the lean-to greenhouse, at which time I needed another nap. That didn’t work. First I woke up coughing, and then just when I was about to fall back to sleep, mom phoned to ask something about the pie she and little sister are making together (little sister’s birthday is tomorrow), at which point I gave up and headed down to see how far tenant was cutting the day’s veggies for supper.
As usual, my dogs love a nap, and today, they even went as far as not even getting up when I rolled out of bed and headed out. Lazy eejits. If they sleep sixteen hours a day, I wouldn't be surprised.
Cooked supper, devoured it with more appetite than the last coupe of days, but also less than usual, and then headed up for a quick shower and the blog. Gotta go out to town tonight yet, and I was rank after working in the full sun this morning…not to mention smudged with black soot and whatnot.
Now, with a little luck, we’ll manage a spot of editing before the end of the day, and then I can drop back into bed and pass out. That’ll be a relief for sure. Hah.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Fire at the door....
Song of the...who gives a bloody heck, I’ve got something to share so we’re going to completely circumvent the normal stuff and drop right in. Considering I’ve been sick for two days, there’s nothing else to tell anyway.
Seriously, you won’t believe it, but we, as a family, had an extremely close call. I’m not exaggerating either, our mountain peak, right on top of our property caught fire (fire department is investigating) and…well, I better start at the beginning.
After spending the majority of the day in the yard, I had gone up to my cabin for a much needed nap (am sick, remember?). I had been sleeping for about thirty minutes when the dogs started barking, so I went to the bathroom, glancing outside to see grandpa rush up the mountain carrying something black and red under his arm.
I didn’t think much of it either, and stumbled back to bed in hopes of catching a couple more zzzzs. I’d just crawled back under the blankets when my phone rang. I grappled for the darn thing, first grabbed the wrong one (the house phone) and then picked up to hear grandpa snap. “Get up here, we’ve got a fire.”
Rolling out of bed, I was just in time to see big brother stick his head into my cabin, snapping, “Come on. Fire! Let’s go.”
“Yeah, yeah,” was my response as I stumbled out of the bedroom, slipped my feet into sneakers--debated putting on my boots, but decided it would take too much time--and rushed up to grandpa’s cabin where I wetted a towel and rushed out the small gate. I immediately saw that that towel wasn’t going to do much and dropped it where I stood.
As far as the eye could see, following the path of our drive sweep, fire literally blazed. The wind came from the east (lucky for us) and was sweeping it from one dry bush to the next as if it was kindle. There was a big fig tree off to the left of the sweep and it did woosh.
Armed with fire extinguishers grandpa and I tackled the bushes over the storage, big brother started attacking the hearth under our upper terrace, while little brother and sister ran down to the pool to get buckets of water.
Grandpa put out one of the eucalyptus trees, and I went into the bushes to use this nifty little extinguisher that we bought about half a year ago. Boy does that stuff work nicely. So only three bursts, but it was beautiful, the white powder worked like a charm and put it all out, stopping the fire from going down to the storage.
Cops had arrived by then, and they were talking into walkie talkies, while we were running back and forth.
Grandpa continued on with the buckets little brother was hauling, and I went down with the second small extinguisher to help big brother at the lower section.
Standing at the edge of our property, I could feel the heat of the fire, pulsing upwards and those waist high thorny bushes were so dry, I feared that they were going go poof in the heat. Luckily big brother managed to wet those closest to us well enough to keep it all away, but still, using buckets, I kept throwing water on the smoldering sections that were close to our storage. We heard a siren then, coming from below, making clear that the fire department once again didn’t know where to go.
Five buckets later, two more squad cars at the top of the road, and the first fire truck arrived. What with big brother still hosing the bushes, the rest of us stopped to watch the firemen roll out the hoses and come down the incline.
Our neighbor (he’d seen the fire start early and called the fire department) arrived then as well, joining us on the edge to peer at the ongoing battle.
Figuring that just in case big brother couldn’t stop the flames, it would be smart to take of the lower growth of the eucalypti on the edge, I took the axe and started chopping them away, so little brother and sister could haul them off.
Then came the helicopters (pictures will be posted underneath). First one circled several times and then came down, sanding us all properly as it landed right beside our property. Massive chopper and about ten men came out wearing full gear. While the lot went down, the chopper left again, throwing out the back, which would have to be filled at a nearby basin. Within minutes one of the new arrivals was brought back up, he’d twisted his ankle rather badly while climbing down, so he had to be brought to the hospital.
By then we were only window dressing and just stood there as another chopper arrived with another load of firemen, along with a Guardia Civil (which are a scary lot, I tell ya) on a motorcycle. This fella immediately started asking how it had happened and if we had been working there with heavy equipment, or if we’d been barbequing, or anything like that…no, no and no, all counts. First of all, grandpa and big brother were using the angle grinder within the confines of the wall, right in front of grandpa’s cabin, and when big brother was out there getting tiles, the fire wasn’t there. And that was fifteen minutes earlier, twenty at most. Boy did that fire go fast. *shivers*
It took the firemen about an hour to get the fire under control, and another to fully extinguish it, but, jeez, that was an eventful evening for sure.
But anyway, the cop guy looked like he was going to bring out the knuckle buster and the black hose, if the fire experts hadn’t arrived that is. So they were looking around all suspicious like (felt like I was part of CSI, or something. Strange how someone can make you feel guilty about something you had nothing to do with) and one came down to ask us for information. Luckily Dani was there for the day, because her Spanish is at least sufficient for this kind of thing.
We were walking up the incline where the fire was basically over and done with, looking at the firemen hosing the mountain off, and watching the fire experts examine the ground beside the road.
This one fellow, he was a nice one, pointed out two pieces of rope that could very well have been used to light things up. Which would mean that there was an arsonist at play, which is an incredibly scary thought. Jeez! How they’re going to do it, I don’t know, but I do hope that they’ll catch this one. We could have lost the friggin’ house!
But anyway, we had to give our statements, which were a mess, and I was constantly coughing my lungs out (sick, remember? Hah) and going back and forth, asking middle sister to go and check on tenant who was still down by the basin where we had left her.
Turned out that the all the noise going on had worried her so much that she’d gathered up her cane and came walking up all by herself. *applause for tenant* This is the first time she did it all on her own, and proud she was.
She sat up there with mom and the younger sibs for the remainder of the afternoon while chopper after chopper swooped overhead to extinguish the final flames, before landing once more (sending up a sandstorm that went everywhere. I’m completely sandy, yikes) and picking up their respective group of firemen.
Once again the fire experts came down and they wished to talk to mom separately for a moment. Turns out there is a rumor going around locally where folks think that grandpa is not entirely well in the head. OMG. Bunch of idiots. Just because he gets pissed off about speeding cars while he’s walking his dogs, and because he can’t speak a word of Spanish, someone spread a horrible rumor about him being nuts. And making it worse by adding that he goes around setting fires.
So these fire experts asked their questions, referring that there might be insurance involved, but since we don’t have fire insurance (I know, dangerous, have you any idea how expensive that is ‘round these parts?) that idea was taken from their heads pretty fast.
I still have sand in my ears and teeth, by the way.
Grandpa?! *flips them the mental bird* Seriously, the old sod would give his life before risking family like that.
Luckily they were more than happy to dismiss that theory, and even went as for as to apologize for having to check, and saying that we should not say anything about it to grandpa because it was just a rumor. *sigh*
But anyway, we spent another half hour keeping track of things, and then went inside for a meal, more talk and everything else, before I started on this blog.
The dogs were completely bonkers when we got back inside, by the way, which is not surprising, since those choppers were roaring right overhead, and people were all over the place. Poor darlings were scared right out of their minds, I’m sure. Sitabah, for one, was curling herself around me, and Knight II was basically hanging out the window of my cabin, which he normally NEVER does, and, well…let’s just say they were upset.
By that time my adrenaline levels dropped drastically, making me feel sick as a dog, once more, and more than ready to head back to bed.
Which brings us to the end of the blog. Here are the pictures:
(Sorry if they're mixed up a little. Am feeling a little under the weather.)
A shot of the fire, of course. Nice and smoky, not very impressive since you can't see all that much.
This is a damage shot from afterwards.
The first chopper coming in.
Firemen checking the parts that are off.
More firemen at work.
Fire expert pointing out what seems to be the spot where the fire started.
The chopper coming to pick up the firemen afterwards.
More loading up afterwards.
Holding back the flames crawling up to our terrace. Hardly had any pressure on the hose, though.
The area taped off by officials.
More firemen.
Another fire shot.
The fire.
The chopper coming in with the bag. YAY!
Another chopper shot. Very impressive to see it come down on such a relatively small spot.
The fire again...I know, I messed up the loading.
This is how we left them to checking the aftermath. *sigh*
I wanna go to bed now.
Seriously, you won’t believe it, but we, as a family, had an extremely close call. I’m not exaggerating either, our mountain peak, right on top of our property caught fire (fire department is investigating) and…well, I better start at the beginning.
After spending the majority of the day in the yard, I had gone up to my cabin for a much needed nap (am sick, remember?). I had been sleeping for about thirty minutes when the dogs started barking, so I went to the bathroom, glancing outside to see grandpa rush up the mountain carrying something black and red under his arm.
I didn’t think much of it either, and stumbled back to bed in hopes of catching a couple more zzzzs. I’d just crawled back under the blankets when my phone rang. I grappled for the darn thing, first grabbed the wrong one (the house phone) and then picked up to hear grandpa snap. “Get up here, we’ve got a fire.”
Rolling out of bed, I was just in time to see big brother stick his head into my cabin, snapping, “Come on. Fire! Let’s go.”
“Yeah, yeah,” was my response as I stumbled out of the bedroom, slipped my feet into sneakers--debated putting on my boots, but decided it would take too much time--and rushed up to grandpa’s cabin where I wetted a towel and rushed out the small gate. I immediately saw that that towel wasn’t going to do much and dropped it where I stood.
As far as the eye could see, following the path of our drive sweep, fire literally blazed. The wind came from the east (lucky for us) and was sweeping it from one dry bush to the next as if it was kindle. There was a big fig tree off to the left of the sweep and it did woosh.
Armed with fire extinguishers grandpa and I tackled the bushes over the storage, big brother started attacking the hearth under our upper terrace, while little brother and sister ran down to the pool to get buckets of water.
Grandpa put out one of the eucalyptus trees, and I went into the bushes to use this nifty little extinguisher that we bought about half a year ago. Boy does that stuff work nicely. So only three bursts, but it was beautiful, the white powder worked like a charm and put it all out, stopping the fire from going down to the storage.
Cops had arrived by then, and they were talking into walkie talkies, while we were running back and forth.
Grandpa continued on with the buckets little brother was hauling, and I went down with the second small extinguisher to help big brother at the lower section.
Standing at the edge of our property, I could feel the heat of the fire, pulsing upwards and those waist high thorny bushes were so dry, I feared that they were going go poof in the heat. Luckily big brother managed to wet those closest to us well enough to keep it all away, but still, using buckets, I kept throwing water on the smoldering sections that were close to our storage. We heard a siren then, coming from below, making clear that the fire department once again didn’t know where to go.
Five buckets later, two more squad cars at the top of the road, and the first fire truck arrived. What with big brother still hosing the bushes, the rest of us stopped to watch the firemen roll out the hoses and come down the incline.
Our neighbor (he’d seen the fire start early and called the fire department) arrived then as well, joining us on the edge to peer at the ongoing battle.
Figuring that just in case big brother couldn’t stop the flames, it would be smart to take of the lower growth of the eucalypti on the edge, I took the axe and started chopping them away, so little brother and sister could haul them off.
Then came the helicopters (pictures will be posted underneath). First one circled several times and then came down, sanding us all properly as it landed right beside our property. Massive chopper and about ten men came out wearing full gear. While the lot went down, the chopper left again, throwing out the back, which would have to be filled at a nearby basin. Within minutes one of the new arrivals was brought back up, he’d twisted his ankle rather badly while climbing down, so he had to be brought to the hospital.
By then we were only window dressing and just stood there as another chopper arrived with another load of firemen, along with a Guardia Civil (which are a scary lot, I tell ya) on a motorcycle. This fella immediately started asking how it had happened and if we had been working there with heavy equipment, or if we’d been barbequing, or anything like that…no, no and no, all counts. First of all, grandpa and big brother were using the angle grinder within the confines of the wall, right in front of grandpa’s cabin, and when big brother was out there getting tiles, the fire wasn’t there. And that was fifteen minutes earlier, twenty at most. Boy did that fire go fast. *shivers*
It took the firemen about an hour to get the fire under control, and another to fully extinguish it, but, jeez, that was an eventful evening for sure.
But anyway, the cop guy looked like he was going to bring out the knuckle buster and the black hose, if the fire experts hadn’t arrived that is. So they were looking around all suspicious like (felt like I was part of CSI, or something. Strange how someone can make you feel guilty about something you had nothing to do with) and one came down to ask us for information. Luckily Dani was there for the day, because her Spanish is at least sufficient for this kind of thing.
We were walking up the incline where the fire was basically over and done with, looking at the firemen hosing the mountain off, and watching the fire experts examine the ground beside the road.
This one fellow, he was a nice one, pointed out two pieces of rope that could very well have been used to light things up. Which would mean that there was an arsonist at play, which is an incredibly scary thought. Jeez! How they’re going to do it, I don’t know, but I do hope that they’ll catch this one. We could have lost the friggin’ house!
But anyway, we had to give our statements, which were a mess, and I was constantly coughing my lungs out (sick, remember? Hah) and going back and forth, asking middle sister to go and check on tenant who was still down by the basin where we had left her.
Turned out that the all the noise going on had worried her so much that she’d gathered up her cane and came walking up all by herself. *applause for tenant* This is the first time she did it all on her own, and proud she was.
She sat up there with mom and the younger sibs for the remainder of the afternoon while chopper after chopper swooped overhead to extinguish the final flames, before landing once more (sending up a sandstorm that went everywhere. I’m completely sandy, yikes) and picking up their respective group of firemen.
Once again the fire experts came down and they wished to talk to mom separately for a moment. Turns out there is a rumor going around locally where folks think that grandpa is not entirely well in the head. OMG. Bunch of idiots. Just because he gets pissed off about speeding cars while he’s walking his dogs, and because he can’t speak a word of Spanish, someone spread a horrible rumor about him being nuts. And making it worse by adding that he goes around setting fires.
So these fire experts asked their questions, referring that there might be insurance involved, but since we don’t have fire insurance (I know, dangerous, have you any idea how expensive that is ‘round these parts?) that idea was taken from their heads pretty fast.
I still have sand in my ears and teeth, by the way.
Grandpa?! *flips them the mental bird* Seriously, the old sod would give his life before risking family like that.
Luckily they were more than happy to dismiss that theory, and even went as for as to apologize for having to check, and saying that we should not say anything about it to grandpa because it was just a rumor. *sigh*
But anyway, we spent another half hour keeping track of things, and then went inside for a meal, more talk and everything else, before I started on this blog.
The dogs were completely bonkers when we got back inside, by the way, which is not surprising, since those choppers were roaring right overhead, and people were all over the place. Poor darlings were scared right out of their minds, I’m sure. Sitabah, for one, was curling herself around me, and Knight II was basically hanging out the window of my cabin, which he normally NEVER does, and, well…let’s just say they were upset.
By that time my adrenaline levels dropped drastically, making me feel sick as a dog, once more, and more than ready to head back to bed.
Which brings us to the end of the blog. Here are the pictures:
(Sorry if they're mixed up a little. Am feeling a little under the weather.)
A shot of the fire, of course. Nice and smoky, not very impressive since you can't see all that much.
This is a damage shot from afterwards.
The first chopper coming in.
Firemen checking the parts that are off.
More firemen at work.
Fire expert pointing out what seems to be the spot where the fire started.
The chopper coming to pick up the firemen afterwards.
More loading up afterwards.
Holding back the flames crawling up to our terrace. Hardly had any pressure on the hose, though.
The area taped off by officials.
More firemen.
Another fire shot.
The fire.
The chopper coming in with the bag. YAY!
Another chopper shot. Very impressive to see it come down on such a relatively small spot.
The fire again...I know, I messed up the loading.
This is how we left them to checking the aftermath. *sigh*
I wanna go to bed now.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Yard stuff
Song of the day:…none, actually. Weird how that works, eh? Normally any which song will be blaring in my head all day, and then…nothing. It was decidedly quiet in my head all day, and I’ve gotta say it was a weird experience.
Workouts have been steadily going on, and soreness is slowly subsiding, mostly due to the fact that I am careful to eat lots of protein and mineral rich foods with my usual veggies and such. I am however happy that tomorrow is a rest day, partly because tonight will be a long one what with big brother and me needing to do a donation pick up later. Though there are definitely advantages to this rising before eight in the morning to have time for a workout, I also seriously notice it at the end of the day. Around midnight I can barely keep my eyes open. Hah.
So yesterday, after the workout and a dip in the now freezing cold (at least it feels that way) pool, there was of course laundry to do. Duh. Isn’t there always? Yes there is. For some reason there never is no laundry. Lucky for me I actually like the activity (or inactivity depending on your view) of hanging laundry on the lines. It gives you a perfect opportunity to get your head on straight in the morning. Hah.
While tenant and Dani went down to the basin terrace, (Dani was going to do some gardening) I headed up to the storage to get wood. Latest project is adding two small sections of glass to cover the pepper plants in the garden pit beside the greenhouse. The planters are there already, but the poor plants are going to need protection against the wind and chill for sure.
Thankfully, by the time I finished sawing and hauling wood, tools and everything else I needed down to the greenhouse, big brother was done taking apart tenant’s geyser and discovering that we’re going to have to replace it. Well, anyway, we’ll have to do it soon, what with temperatures dropping the way they have.
Together we put the first section of the lean-to, followed by big brother finishing up while I went and started on supper with the help of tenant, who once again cut all our veggies. She’s getting quite skilled at it about now. Hah. But anyway, I like that she feels useful helping out like that, and we do get to chat doing that particular chore together.
What with the early mornings these days, I really needed a short nap yesterday afternoon. Though it turned out I only had about fifteen winks it did allow me to get through the remainder of the day without further trouble.
While big brother did his part of the edit, I spent a couple of hours working on reading a book I’m reviewing. Indie published again, and I’ve got to admit that I am enjoying the experience. Always a pleasure to see how other indie authors do it.
Next came the usual edit, and though I would love nothing more than to get back to the writing bit (got a splendid idea for a new book playing in my head, just waiting to burst out) but alas, work before pleasure, always.
I was extremely happy to go to bed early. Hah.
Good thing too, since this morning was another early one. Workout lasted another hour and a half, and both big brother and I were nursing a sore throat. It’s been two years since I last had that, but what the heck. Nothing like a bug to get the immune system kicking. Brewed a wonderful herbal tea afterwards and enjoyed it during breakfast.
Nata is doing well, by the way. He's toddling around, wagging his tail and looking for stuff to chew on. Yesterday he came walking towards us with a carton box. Was all proud about it and everything. Good to see him like that. Hah.
While big brother continued with the lean-to for the greenhouse, I spent a large part of the day in the greenhouse transplanting seedlings and sowing white cabbages and tomatoes.
Brewed more tea and then started cooking with tenant’s help again. Supper worked out pretty well, actually. I never would have thought it, but apparently macaroni with pumpkin and other veggies is also extremely nice. Hah.
Supper done and downed, big brother and I headed out into the yard to harvest. Six more pumpkins, of course. Some tomatoes, a zucchini and some melons…one of which served as an excellent dessert. While big brother watered plants, I re-hung fallen, or grown tomato plants in an attempt to preserve them for fall, just a bit longer.
Did more tea brewing once we got up the mountain and prepared to start on the night’s blog and another edit session, of course. Something to which I should get to right now, because it is getting late and I would like to get a few pages done at least.
Workouts have been steadily going on, and soreness is slowly subsiding, mostly due to the fact that I am careful to eat lots of protein and mineral rich foods with my usual veggies and such. I am however happy that tomorrow is a rest day, partly because tonight will be a long one what with big brother and me needing to do a donation pick up later. Though there are definitely advantages to this rising before eight in the morning to have time for a workout, I also seriously notice it at the end of the day. Around midnight I can barely keep my eyes open. Hah.
So yesterday, after the workout and a dip in the now freezing cold (at least it feels that way) pool, there was of course laundry to do. Duh. Isn’t there always? Yes there is. For some reason there never is no laundry. Lucky for me I actually like the activity (or inactivity depending on your view) of hanging laundry on the lines. It gives you a perfect opportunity to get your head on straight in the morning. Hah.
While tenant and Dani went down to the basin terrace, (Dani was going to do some gardening) I headed up to the storage to get wood. Latest project is adding two small sections of glass to cover the pepper plants in the garden pit beside the greenhouse. The planters are there already, but the poor plants are going to need protection against the wind and chill for sure.
Thankfully, by the time I finished sawing and hauling wood, tools and everything else I needed down to the greenhouse, big brother was done taking apart tenant’s geyser and discovering that we’re going to have to replace it. Well, anyway, we’ll have to do it soon, what with temperatures dropping the way they have.
Together we put the first section of the lean-to, followed by big brother finishing up while I went and started on supper with the help of tenant, who once again cut all our veggies. She’s getting quite skilled at it about now. Hah. But anyway, I like that she feels useful helping out like that, and we do get to chat doing that particular chore together.
What with the early mornings these days, I really needed a short nap yesterday afternoon. Though it turned out I only had about fifteen winks it did allow me to get through the remainder of the day without further trouble.
While big brother did his part of the edit, I spent a couple of hours working on reading a book I’m reviewing. Indie published again, and I’ve got to admit that I am enjoying the experience. Always a pleasure to see how other indie authors do it.
Next came the usual edit, and though I would love nothing more than to get back to the writing bit (got a splendid idea for a new book playing in my head, just waiting to burst out) but alas, work before pleasure, always.
I was extremely happy to go to bed early. Hah.
Good thing too, since this morning was another early one. Workout lasted another hour and a half, and both big brother and I were nursing a sore throat. It’s been two years since I last had that, but what the heck. Nothing like a bug to get the immune system kicking. Brewed a wonderful herbal tea afterwards and enjoyed it during breakfast.
Nata is doing well, by the way. He's toddling around, wagging his tail and looking for stuff to chew on. Yesterday he came walking towards us with a carton box. Was all proud about it and everything. Good to see him like that. Hah.
While big brother continued with the lean-to for the greenhouse, I spent a large part of the day in the greenhouse transplanting seedlings and sowing white cabbages and tomatoes.
Brewed more tea and then started cooking with tenant’s help again. Supper worked out pretty well, actually. I never would have thought it, but apparently macaroni with pumpkin and other veggies is also extremely nice. Hah.
Supper done and downed, big brother and I headed out into the yard to harvest. Six more pumpkins, of course. Some tomatoes, a zucchini and some melons…one of which served as an excellent dessert. While big brother watered plants, I re-hung fallen, or grown tomato plants in an attempt to preserve them for fall, just a bit longer.
Did more tea brewing once we got up the mountain and prepared to start on the night’s blog and another edit session, of course. Something to which I should get to right now, because it is getting late and I would like to get a few pages done at least.
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