Windy

Song of the day: “Break my Stride” by Blue Lagoon. Well that’s something different at least. I might have had it in my head once or twice before, but not often. Cool. Also, yesterday there was “Amazing Grace” by the Maverick Choir, which is a really awesome version.

Have been catching up on a little bit of sleep by managing 6 to 7 hours a night at least. Been noticing it too, since my eyes are less droopy later in the day. Hah.
In fact, yesterday I slept at least seven and a half hours, which had me, like, totally ecstatic.

There was the usual stuff like laundry, breakfast and half a gallon of coffee, hah. Gawd, I definitely got me a dependency for the brew going. There are times (when I forget) that am just incapable of waking up without it.

Thorgal is looking pretty impressive with his massive stitches, drains and shaved neck. Poor fella. He doesn’t appear to be bothered by it much, but it looks horrible for sure. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was mauled by a bear, or something.

My shoulder was a little better, and I actually managed to haul a couple of wheelbarrows of rocks down to the terrace under the house. Then, after opening the greenhouse and seedbed, I went up to work on the wall. Added another foot at least to the entire length, and I gotta admit that it is looking pretty darn fine.

We’ve been in an almost constant wind storm for the past couple of days. If we had a total of four hours without wind it’s a lot. A little scary, really. It messes with your equilibrium, and there have been some debris that we had to run after lest it was dragged along.

Chaos and Sitabah have been sticking close together, imitating ying and yang whenever they find a warm spot. Seriously, you’d think they consider each other their personal pillow. If one isn’t lying on the other, it’s the other way around.
Knight II gets a little freaked out from all the wind too, looking like a horse that’s about to bolt most of the time. Poor fella, he doesn’t like the wind at all.
As for the other dogs, most of them don’t give a fig. They follow us around, nap, and follow us some more. Hah.

The afternoon was spent in the yard checking the veggie plants for bugs. Found quite a few clusters of caterpillars. Always a little freaky to come across a one inch spot with more than fifty of the bugs piled together, but at least at that stage they’re easily removed. Also snatched some miners from the chard leaves. Since weeds had to be removed anyway, there was a fresh batch of chickweed and another small broccoli, which made a nice added bonus for the night’s supper of spaghetti with a veggie mix.

Supper downed, we headed for town. Didn’t feel like it, but sometimes you just can’t get out of something like that. We needed new oil for the car, a few groceries, like milk and such, and a trip to the DIY store for chainsaw oil…which they didn’t have. This means we’re going to have to search for the stuff at a later time.
Did discover that grandpa’s moped had arrived, and it still looks cute, despite the fact that he opted (quite insistently) for a black one, rather than a white one. If all goes well, it should be done just in the beginning of the new year. Paperwork and etc. I forget what else. Hah.

Anyway, we were too tired for an edit once we got home, so I handled my messages, checked everything online that had to be checked and then headed to bed for some reading and then to bed early…well, semi-early anyway.

The storm had us lose two treetops so far. This morning I stood staring at the 45 angle of most of the trees for a solid five minutes before I finally sighed and got dressed to face the day.

First thing up after breakfast was sawing the sides for my future basin cabinet in my bathroom. The long board was driving grandpa bonkers so we did that first.

Then we took down tenant’s chair. She declared yesterday that she wants to be able to get out of her comfy chair herself, so she can move around a little even when caregiver isn’t there, so we decided to take out the useless one inch nubs from underneath it, and replaced them with beautiful wooden paws that make it exactly three inches higher, after a test sit+rise (a success) she approved of the change and we brought it back up again.

That done, big brother and I finished the side wall of the little storage of the spare fuel and such, which looks great. I’ll post a pic soon.
This was followed by unloading the dog food storage. I’ve been hearing sounds there for several days, fearing termites, only to discover (after removing thirty bags, or so) that there was a tiny little mouse living in there.

I had called Sitabah and Dax to deal with the rodent, but they were too excited and the mouse too sneaky for them to be of any use. The mouse got away and the two dogs were uselessly sniffing and snorting their way through the dog food bags. Such disappointment was just sad to witness, I tell ya. You should have seen Sitabah look at me sorrowfully when she realized that she’d lost the creature and that I started reloading the bags.

The imperial got painted again. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow, which is when the sibs will start loading up for the market again. It should be, but it is always a worry. It had to be done, though. The rust was getting to be ridiculous.

Other than that, the day was spent digging and hauling dirty down the mountain. In this case we’re trying to put together a parking spot (easy to close against rodents and such) for the new moped when it arrives. Some serious digging involved there, the humus layer for the storage for the yard, and the rocky dirt for the terrace under the house. We’ll need a lot of that yet, so every wheelbarrow counts. Got about five of them down, and as a joint effort we put about twelve, or fourteen in place. I do hope we have enough.

While supper of leftovers and pumpkins was simmering, I experimented with a new patty. A lupine mix this time, and if I’m to go for scent, I don’t think that this one will be a favorite of mine. Seriously, I’m not the biggest fan of Garlic, but I put four cloves in the mix just to mask that particular smell. Also, it better be extremely special, because otherwise it won’t be worth the extra effort and expense…in particular if we do decide to go to the market with them.

Supper done and eaten I headed down for the yard to see if big brother was done watering the plants, and to close the greenhouse and seedbed for the night. The sky was completely clear, but over Africa there was a massive depression that was so black that it looked like a land mass. Quite impressive.

That done it was out with the car to get a load of sand and to let Knight II out for a walk. I had to lock the poor fella up most of the day (not that he minds when the wind is blowing like mad) because I had to head into the courtyard time and again. Knight II and little brother’s pack don’t go together well, and I rather not have the hassle.

But anyway, sand got picked up, Knight II had his run, and I got home running on fumes. Was more than ready to sit down by the stove and start on today’s computer work. Hah.

Blowin' up a storm

Song of the day: “Never no more” by Patsy Cline again. Though admittedly this one wasn’t stuck in my head, I just put it there to counteract another one that was really bugging me yesterday. Hah.

First order of the day (yesterday) was taking Thorgal to the vet. Poor fellas neck was swollen even more, and they were going to have to put him under to treat him. Since we were out anyway, and had dropped grandpa off to pick up his moped, we did some quick groceries (bread and milk) and went over to the construction company to get another batch of cement. Loaded up and headed for home where big brother and grandpa unloaded.

Turns out that beside the busted knee (which is almost over and done with btw) I did something with my shoulders (I’m guessing the jackhammer. The new one is heavier than I’m used to) that has been more than a little uncomfortable. There are points where I can barely raise my arms, and there’s the resonating sensation from my shoulder blades that resonates straight into my skull. Very unpleasant, obviously. Hah.

But anyway, it was business as usual, and since the sun was shining rather beautifully, I decided to wash the Land Rover.
First I gotta tell ya about the wind, though. The day started out completely still. Not even a whisper of wind and I was up by the gate when I suddenly heard a distant roar. It was rather weird, really, this rumbling sort of sound, like when you’re close to the ocean and the waves are particularly high.
I looked out over the sloping hills to the west, pinpointing the sound to be coming from that side, and stared for the longest time into the distance. Nothing. Not a tree was moving, and yet the sound was getting worse, coming closer even.
And that’s when I saw it, the row of trees at the top of the first, most distant ridge began to sway like mad, and then the row in front, and in front of that, rumbling steadily closer, making a stretching meadow of knee-high grass undulate impressively. It skipped across the opening, set the eucalypti in the narrow valley below us to a mad sway and then it tumbled over us, setting my hair to dance, while the trees and plants around me took up a cheering dance. Rather awesome, actually.

Reminded me of one of my books, that’s a fact. Had never experienced the wind quite like that before, but it was beautiful to witness that way.
But anyway, I washed the car, waxed it too, kept company by Dani who was washing her car at the same time. In the beginning it wasn’t at all unpleasant, but as the afternoon advanced (heard over the phone that we could pick Thorgal up after five) and the sun lowered from its zenith the chill increased and so did the wind.

I for one, was more than happy to finish rubbing the wax out (very Karate Kid, really: “Wax in, wax out” Hah) and heading inside to cook some dinner. Opted for red beets with rice and fresh cream cheese.

By then it was time to pick up Thorgal, and since we were out anyway, we got another batch of rocks into the back of the car. Had I known then that we’d have another donation run later that night (heard when we got back) I would have opted not to get rocks. As it was, Knight II and Thorgal really enjoyed the free run they had while we loaded up.
Had and extremely short nap once we got home. I had planned to just lay on the bed for a bit and relax my shoulder and back a bit, but ended up sleeping for about thirty minutes. Felt much better after that.

Rather than only editing, I did some writing immediately after. That scene I still need to insert needs two segues, and one of them I managed to finish last night. The edit of the night done, we headed out to town again. *sigh*

Boring, I know. Didn’t get to bed until three in the morning, so you can imagine my mood when I got up this morning. Hah. Was a little haggard for sure, but today I had “I like it” by Enrique Iglesias in my head, which was a definite improvement. Great song again.

There was the usual laundry, followed by busywork up by the carport (after breakfast naturally). I had to fix a rubber curtain. The glue wasn’t holding so I bolted the rings instead, which should work better at least. Grandpa and I hung it as soon as I was done, and yep, it’s holding. Yay.

Next there was the dismantling of a small electric wagon. Since it was broken, I basically took it apart for parts while big brother worked on grandpa’s moped, which battery wasn’t working. He fixed that problem, but while he was doing that, he drilled a hole through another important part, meaning that we were standing there beside the dismantled moped, swearing at his inattention.

Me: “Why’d you do that?”
Big brother: “I didn’t do it on purpose. I just wasn’t thinking for a moment?”
Me: “Does it still work?”
We checked, numerous times. It didn’t.
Grandpa: “What happened?”
Big brother is mumbling.
Me: “He drilled a hole through the Ducatti part?”
Grandpa: “Ducatti? What’s that?”
Me: “This thingy.”
Grandpa: “Oh darn. I think that’s the power diverter.”
Me: “The what?”
Grandpa: “Power diverter. It’s connected to the fireplug.”
Big brother (mumbling still): “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that.”
Me (exasperated and amused): “Yeah. How could you not notice? That plastic is an eighth of an inch and you drilled through about four inches of material.”
Big brother: “Dunno.”
Me: “Can we take it out?”
Big brother: “Dunno. Let’s check.”
We do manage, examine the little gizmo, stumped as to what it does.
Big brother: “Darn. We’ll have to go to the village and order a new one. This won’t be stocked.”
Me: “Not much choice.”
Big brother: “Stupid. Why didn’t I…”
Me: “Hey, you know, you could just flog yourself and get it over with. Jeez. Accidents happen.”
He mumbles some more, shakes his head, and then lets it go while he tosses the broken part on the table.
Me (the proverbial light bulb pings): “What about the Honda?”
Big brother: “What about it?”
Me: “We can’t fix it and won’t it have the same, or similar part?”
Big brother (perking up): “Probably. We can check.”
Grandpa: “I doubt it. Most engines have a different firing point.·”
Me: “Let’s check anyway. You never know.”

We check, and yes, the part was exactly the same. After we broke through the old plastic of the Honda we managed to get it out easy as you please. About half an hour later we had it in the Katana and it started on command. *phew* Major relief. The stupid moped has to hold out ‘till the new year at least until the new one arrives.

But anyway, for the next hour we put the carcass of the moped back together and then head on up to the horse paddock where the imperial waits. Since big brother treated it’s rust spots yesterday while I was washing the car, it was now dry enough for us to paint it again.

By then the sun was starting to lower on the horizon. Big brother headed down into the yard while I went to the kitchen to make dinner, partly with yesterday’s leftovers. Tenant helped out. She had a nice afternoon with caregiver who took her to the library and then out for coffee and pie.

Which wraps up the activities of the past couple of days, really. Right now I’m (dogs and big brother alike) sitting by the stove enjoying the sit down and preparing to get started on the day’s edit. Yay.

Lotsa vet stuff

Song of the day: “Tonight I’m loving you” by Enrique Iglesias. I don’t know how he manages it, but on the overall most of his songs grow on me at some point. Hah. Besides, his rhythms are perfect for workouts.

No workouts for me, though, at least not the fitness kind. I have been physically busy, so that makes up for it at least. Lemme see if I can remember some of the stuff that went on in the past couple of days.

Yesterday mostly involved shovelling and using the jackhammer on the rock wall behind my cabin. Mighty interesting, the jackhammer, in particular. After about three hours of working with the thing, my hands were shaking so bad that I kept dropping stuff. Hah.

But anyway, got quite a bit of rock out, shovelled it into a wheelbarrow and let Ox haul it down. (What with me busting my knee again…I know, why aren’t I more carefull, eh? I try, it just doesn’t work.) But anyway Ox hauled it down while I filled the wheelbarrows, got two rocks on the top of my foot, which pounded like mad for half an hour. POd me, it did. Took out an extra piece of rock and dirt out, just to get rid of my mad. Hah.

Wheelbarrowed (I know, still not a real word) four loads down and then got some tools and supplies to hang the water tube under the house, rather than risk sand slides taking it down. Looks better at least, and it will keep the tube out of our way once we restart masonry on the wall.

Looks nicely filled right now, but since time still needs to make all the new dirt settle, and since we still need to build another two to three foot on top of the wall, that will change soon.

Was seriously running on fumes by then, so I ate some cookies for a sugar boost and then headed down the mountain with my trusty chainsaw and spent the remainder of the afternoon cutting firewood for next year. So I am getting a hang of the chainsaw, I mean, really, I only almost cut off my foot twice yesterday. Yep, soon I’ll be an old pro at it, I’m sure…I hope. Hah.

Went to the greenhouse for a bit, relaxed clearing away bugs and such from the tomato plants. Got a nice batch of tomatoes for our efforts by the way.

Mom and the sibs came home tired from the market, but didn’t do too bad, considering the bad economy. Since big brother and I had to go out again later that evening for another donation, they did manage to clear out the car in time for that.

Had a nice supper of fresh pumpkin, corn, onion, chickweed, and tomatoes through a big batch of paneer. Different, but definitely worth a repeat in the near future, in particular since we added chickpea/white bean patties for filling.

Tried to have a nap, but I was too cold, so I ended up huddling in front of the stove and working on the book. Turns out I had missed a scene during the pasting of all the individual sales, meaning that I had to put it in, and then work on connecting it to the one before it, and after. It was nice to do some actual writing again, that’s a fact.
Left for our trip a little late again, but managed to get home only half an hour after bed time…meaning I got too little sleep again, darn it.

Anyway, this morning there was no time to linger in bed, instead I had to go down to the house, shower, get dressed and then head on out with Tridatu. Our appointment for his teeth at the vet was today, after all, and he didn’t like the trip at all. But anyway, he was in good hands, so we picked up grandpa who needed his moped fixed again (just another week before the new one should arrive) and left it at the shop.

Once home, it was time for breakfast, unloading the Land Rover and then heading down to the greenhouse and then the yard. It was wonderfully peaceful down there, and since I was in no mood to mess with my cupboard for the bathroom up by the carport, we opted to work by the woodshed again.

Sawed through most of the mess (or at least big brother did) and I used the ax on the bigger blocks so grandpa and Dani could load them into the woodshed. I gotta say I like working with the ax. It’s like boxing, a perfect way to get rid of frustrations. Hah. Nothing is quite as plenty as work that allows you to shut off your brain, isn’t it?

By the time it started to cool down due to twilight, it was time to head on out to the village and pick up Tridatu. Since Sophie (Dalmatian) and Mesha (cocker spaniel) needed a checkup for their ears, and Thorgal needed to be checked out because of this huge swelling that is disfiguring the left side of his face, and grandpa needed to pick up his moped the car was quite packed.

Then Sophie thought it smart to go number two in the back of the car, making the cab smell like a chemical waste plant. Jeez, that was rank. And of course he is a klutz, so he ended up lying in the stuff, making it all worse. Jeez! My eyes were watering, and once we arrived at the vet we took him straight to the back and hosed him down while big brother tackled the back of the car with nappies and all that stuff. Gawd, I’ll smell that for days to come, I’m sure. Hah.

But anyway, Sophie got cleaned, he and Mesha got checked, Tridatu could go home with us (they had to take out eleven teeth), and because the swelling was so big they wanted to keep Thorgal overnight. Since they were incredibly busy, we decided to take him home and bring him back in the morning. No one was happier about that than Thorgal, who was already screaming his head off in the back of the clinic. Poor darling.

So, we got home, unloaded the dogs, let mine out of my cabin because they weren’t appreciative of being locked up at all, hah, and had some of the supper I’d started on prior to leaving.

Which brings us to now. The stove’s on, the dogs have quieted down after their meal, and they’re all clustered around our feet and the stove, fully enjoying the heat. Smart dogs.

Well, I better see about that edit, because I don’t suppose I’ll hold out long tonight.