Song of the day: “More than Words” by Extreme. Hmmm. It’s been a while since I heard that one, and I think it’s the first time I’ve had it in my head. How weird is that?
So, yeah, yesterday. It was that time of the month, time for grocery shopping, time for…well, basically wasting a whole effing day. And no, I’m not going to describe it all to you. I’ll spare you the tediousness of it. Hah.
Instead I’ll regale you with the before and after events, and maybe, later on whine a bit, because, let’s face it, I’m in a whiny mood. *sigh*
First off, yesterday morning I woke right on the dot to start on the day with the chores, and heading down into the yard to water what needed watering, to pluck what needed plucking and to put outside, what needed fresh air. It was actually kinda nice, starting grocery shopping day that way. It calmed me, centered me, and allowed me to actually be nicely relaxed prior to getting into the car and setting out.
Was a long day, thank you very much. Left around noon and didn’t get back until after seven. Meaning that it took us ‘till after eight to put everything away, to make dinner and then finally sit down to devour sustenance.
Checked my messages, did some chats, and then, because focus was difficult to find at best, we decided to call it a day and put on a DVD that little brother rented. Colombiana with Zoë Saldaña. I was pleasantly surprised about the movie, I’ll admit, since the trailer didn’t do it justice at all. In fact the trailer looked a little cheap, while the actual movie rated right up there with the good ones. Knowing, and loving, Luc Besson, the creator, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I mean, (La Femme) Nikita, The Assassin, Leon, The Fifth Element, The Kiss of the Dragon, Unleashed/Danny the Dog, The Big Blue, Wasabi, Taken, From Paris With Love, just to name a few; it wasn’t all that surprising after all. Hah.
He does goooooood stories.
But okay, it was still early, and I was more than ready to hit the sheets and pass out while still settling…I swear, I’m slowly turning into grandpa who sometimes doesn’t even remember going to bed. *snort*
What with the temperatures oddly low again (I can’t explain it, but a few days ago the weather was almost summery, and since last night, we’re back to winter. Weird, I tell ya) Knight II was making a nuisance of himself during the night. No matter what I did, he kept pressing himself against me. Which in effect wrecked my back, (duh) and made me sore all over come morning. *sigh* Stupid horse doesn’t know his own strength for crying out loud.
No workout this morning, since I opted to sleep ‘till nine and then start on the chores immediately. Laundry and such dealt with, it was time for breakfast, and a short chat with tenant. What with the weather change, she’s feeling a tad miserable, which is understandable, if not sad. Despite the fact that she could be doing more with her days, she opts to sit in her room, watching TV and reading a book. Sure, it is hard to do new stuff, but if you don’t try, you never know your limits (if you have them) until you try.
Ah well, choice. Everyone has to make their own.
I had thought to give you an elaborate rant about the economy, and maybe fashion…oh right, how could I forget. I also tried to get myself a new pair of pants yesterday, and failed miserably…but okay, I decided to tone that down a bit. Could hardly fill a whole blog with a rant…well, I could, easily, but I won’t. It just wouldn’t be nice.
But fashion, I’ve got something to say about it. WTF???
Let me explain something to you. I’m a big girl. I’m 6 feet tall, I wear size 16 (used to be 24, but what the hey) and weary size 11 shoes. It is not easy to find clothes that fit me, but these days, with today’s fashion, it is nigh on impossible!
What is it with the huge hip model pants that have tiny ankle ends? I mean it. I tried six pairs yesterday and not a single one fit. And I didn’t just try size 16 either. I went all the way up to size 22 ‘till I just gave up and tossed them all back on the shelves. Sure, one 16 practically fit (stretchy jeans) but it just looked weird plastered to my legs like a second skin (despite it supposedly being bootcut. No effing way!). The other didn’t go over my thighs. Another two didn’t go over my calves while bagging around my waist. One was so tight around my knees I thought I was going to have to amputate, and the last one, the one that made me give up, didn’t even go past my hips. I just gave up in the end, and opted to wait for fashion to change again. (I’m dreaming long, long legs, going wide, like the seventies soul pants. *blissful sigh*)
What is wrong with clothes these days? Why the HUGE hips and no calves? What? No one has muscle tissue anymore down there, and just hoards it on top. Grrrr.
Bought a hat for three bucks instead, hah.
But anyway, today the majority of the day was spent in the yard again. Harvested a nice batch for today’s supper. Chard, and wild onions with chickweed and broccoli. The latter for a nice burger at lunch. Chickpea/lentil burger with fresh chickweed, lettuce, our own tomatoes (harvested another three pounds at least) some green peppers and a wonderful yogurt/mayonnaise/herbal sauce. Boy, did that work out well. Hah.
After that there was computer work. Yep. I actually sat most of the afternoon, and already my butt is complaining. I’ve gotta do something active soon, I tell ya.
Well, this will do for now, won’t it? I wanna work on the new book a bit. And I really do need to work on the V.L. edit.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Short on time
Song of the day: “Singing on a star” by Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello. Such a cute little song, and perfectly performed by these two actors…but a total nag to have in your head all day. Seriously, it goes on, and on, and one. Aaaargh.
It is still on the early side of the day, and yet I’m already running on fumes, hah. But no matter, tons of stuff to do still, and only a few more hours to go before the end of the day.
Let’s do this in the proper sequence and start with yesterday, shall we?
I’d made a deal with myself, if I woke up in time, before the alarm (I hate the alarm) went off, I was going to do a workout. As “luck” would have it, I woke up before the alarm and rolled out of bed to get out there and do my workout. I was still, I was sore (from the planting the day before) but went through the whole session without too much trouble. Yay. Felt considerably better afterward…despite the fact that Carla somehow managed to get into my cheeses and devoured half a block, the little bastard. Grrr.
This meant I had to find a better spot for them to dry out the next few weeks. Decided to go for the shelves in the moped storage. Hah.
First things first after workout was of course laundry and opening the greenhouse and raised seedbed. What with the increase in temperature, it really is too big a risk to let them open, so I’m trying to get into the habit of going down there to open it before anything else.
Since we were still “suffering” from the cheese making stint, the last few gallons of whey were still standing around for usage. The last amount would be used for the dogs, but right then, since there wa no fresh bread, I decided to make another flour mix for patties that would just have to do for breakfast.
They worked extremely well again and I’m sorry to say that this morning there was only a little bit of whey left.
Once the morning chores were dealt with, and tenant got walked down to my terrace because caregiver was off to her other job again. Which reminds me, tenant had her first time on a bicycle yesterday. Seriously, mom’s got this home trainer thing, and since tenant always loved bicycling, she wanted to try it. She managed a solid three minutes, with me standing behind her, my hand around her belt, because she felt wobbly, and her peddling until she got a hang of it again. She was sore as hack afterward, and though I would say it was a darn good job, she was a little miffed with herself for not managing more. *sigh* Ya gotta start somewhere. Why bash the first step?
But anyway, headed down to the basin terrace where I oiled the hinges of the greenhouse, and then started to work on the raised seedbed. A summer and winter wrecked the hinges, so with big brother’s help I put a new one on, while taking the others off for oiling and then resetting. They’re working just fine now, which is a relief. I was so afraid one of them was going to drop on my head some day. Hah.
That done, it was down into the yard to water the new plants and the fields of alfa alfa. Since the rest looked a tad dry as well, I figured I might do those too while I was at it. What followed was a nice harvest of broccoli, chickweed, wild onion and some chard leaves for the lunch.
Helped grandpa set up a new standard for the glass supply while big brother cut patterned glass for the windows I intend to replace down by Sally’s room. She’s been using this ugly bit of fabric to cover the front door windows for privacy so I decided to put in matte glass instead.
After closing the greenhouse for the day, it was time to prepare the car and go out for a walk with Knight II and picking up a new load of sand, as planned. We were a little on the late side, though, and the loading bit was a tad nippy because of it. *sigh*
I got distracted a bit during the edit, somehow ending up on the dangerous Wikipedia again and reading up about Ma Barker and Bonnie and Clyde. Don’t ask me why. I just ended up there somehow. *sigh*
Really weird.
Did get some edits done. In particular because I didn’t need to cook due to leftovers from the previous day. Was late getting to bed, did the same thing as before, though, and woke up ten minutes before my alarm went off…and ticked off because I was dreaming something about Clint Eastwood. I can’t even recall what it was about darn it, only that it involved the actor somehow. Grrr.
Which brings us to today, doesn’t it?
Chaos finally digested the huge amount of food he devoured the other day, and was darting around spry and cheery as usual. Boy, does that dog have a slow metabolism. Seriously, it took him almost three days.
But this morning. There was the workout, of course, with the sun rising over the mountain ridge, and playing with the leaves around my cabin. Made the exercise pretty special.
During breakfast, and after the usual chores such as laundry, I made a nice batch of burger dough. Went for lentil/chickpea today, and opted to use the last bit of whey for the broth, rather than just water.
That done, and with tenant already settled on my terrace, I gathered tools and glass for Sally’s door and went down into the yard. The sun was out and wonderful, but there was a chilly eastern wind that I really didn’t appreciate as the day advanced. I harvested some more broccoli flowers along the way, and our very first red cabbage which will be our dinner, since during lunch hour I went up to check on tenant. She helped me prepare the ingredients for our supper, which will consist of potatoes, a herbal sauce, baked cabbage with onion and leek, and broccoli on the side. My mouth is already watering, because I’m absofrigginlutely starving.
What with big brother still being under the weather, he drive the car out to the paddock for me, so I could unload it. He’s feeling a tad short of breath apparently, and therefore quietly planted some onions while I finished cleaning up the Land Rover. Since we’re going to have a donation run tonight, we filled up the car with garbage, meaning that we’ll have it all clean tomorrow when grocery shopping day has once again arrived.
We postponed it as long as possible…been five weeks now, just about, and it’s time. *sigh* Wish me luck, okay?
Well, I’ve got a nap to take. Not counting this blog, I’ve been on my feet all day, and if I wanna survive the trip tonight, I’m going to need some fortification, darn it. I’m getting old. Just a few years ago I could function just fine, working a full day on five hours of sleep, blast it all.
Then, after the nap, I should manage to get supper done, and a short edit, too, prior to leaving. If not…well, one of them will have to give way to tomorrow then, I guess. Hah.
It is still on the early side of the day, and yet I’m already running on fumes, hah. But no matter, tons of stuff to do still, and only a few more hours to go before the end of the day.
Let’s do this in the proper sequence and start with yesterday, shall we?
I’d made a deal with myself, if I woke up in time, before the alarm (I hate the alarm) went off, I was going to do a workout. As “luck” would have it, I woke up before the alarm and rolled out of bed to get out there and do my workout. I was still, I was sore (from the planting the day before) but went through the whole session without too much trouble. Yay. Felt considerably better afterward…despite the fact that Carla somehow managed to get into my cheeses and devoured half a block, the little bastard. Grrr.
This meant I had to find a better spot for them to dry out the next few weeks. Decided to go for the shelves in the moped storage. Hah.
First things first after workout was of course laundry and opening the greenhouse and raised seedbed. What with the increase in temperature, it really is too big a risk to let them open, so I’m trying to get into the habit of going down there to open it before anything else.
Since we were still “suffering” from the cheese making stint, the last few gallons of whey were still standing around for usage. The last amount would be used for the dogs, but right then, since there wa no fresh bread, I decided to make another flour mix for patties that would just have to do for breakfast.
They worked extremely well again and I’m sorry to say that this morning there was only a little bit of whey left.
Once the morning chores were dealt with, and tenant got walked down to my terrace because caregiver was off to her other job again. Which reminds me, tenant had her first time on a bicycle yesterday. Seriously, mom’s got this home trainer thing, and since tenant always loved bicycling, she wanted to try it. She managed a solid three minutes, with me standing behind her, my hand around her belt, because she felt wobbly, and her peddling until she got a hang of it again. She was sore as hack afterward, and though I would say it was a darn good job, she was a little miffed with herself for not managing more. *sigh* Ya gotta start somewhere. Why bash the first step?
But anyway, headed down to the basin terrace where I oiled the hinges of the greenhouse, and then started to work on the raised seedbed. A summer and winter wrecked the hinges, so with big brother’s help I put a new one on, while taking the others off for oiling and then resetting. They’re working just fine now, which is a relief. I was so afraid one of them was going to drop on my head some day. Hah.
That done, it was down into the yard to water the new plants and the fields of alfa alfa. Since the rest looked a tad dry as well, I figured I might do those too while I was at it. What followed was a nice harvest of broccoli, chickweed, wild onion and some chard leaves for the lunch.
Helped grandpa set up a new standard for the glass supply while big brother cut patterned glass for the windows I intend to replace down by Sally’s room. She’s been using this ugly bit of fabric to cover the front door windows for privacy so I decided to put in matte glass instead.
After closing the greenhouse for the day, it was time to prepare the car and go out for a walk with Knight II and picking up a new load of sand, as planned. We were a little on the late side, though, and the loading bit was a tad nippy because of it. *sigh*
I got distracted a bit during the edit, somehow ending up on the dangerous Wikipedia again and reading up about Ma Barker and Bonnie and Clyde. Don’t ask me why. I just ended up there somehow. *sigh*
Really weird.
Did get some edits done. In particular because I didn’t need to cook due to leftovers from the previous day. Was late getting to bed, did the same thing as before, though, and woke up ten minutes before my alarm went off…and ticked off because I was dreaming something about Clint Eastwood. I can’t even recall what it was about darn it, only that it involved the actor somehow. Grrr.
Which brings us to today, doesn’t it?
Chaos finally digested the huge amount of food he devoured the other day, and was darting around spry and cheery as usual. Boy, does that dog have a slow metabolism. Seriously, it took him almost three days.
But this morning. There was the workout, of course, with the sun rising over the mountain ridge, and playing with the leaves around my cabin. Made the exercise pretty special.
During breakfast, and after the usual chores such as laundry, I made a nice batch of burger dough. Went for lentil/chickpea today, and opted to use the last bit of whey for the broth, rather than just water.
That done, and with tenant already settled on my terrace, I gathered tools and glass for Sally’s door and went down into the yard. The sun was out and wonderful, but there was a chilly eastern wind that I really didn’t appreciate as the day advanced. I harvested some more broccoli flowers along the way, and our very first red cabbage which will be our dinner, since during lunch hour I went up to check on tenant. She helped me prepare the ingredients for our supper, which will consist of potatoes, a herbal sauce, baked cabbage with onion and leek, and broccoli on the side. My mouth is already watering, because I’m absofrigginlutely starving.
What with big brother still being under the weather, he drive the car out to the paddock for me, so I could unload it. He’s feeling a tad short of breath apparently, and therefore quietly planted some onions while I finished cleaning up the Land Rover. Since we’re going to have a donation run tonight, we filled up the car with garbage, meaning that we’ll have it all clean tomorrow when grocery shopping day has once again arrived.
We postponed it as long as possible…been five weeks now, just about, and it’s time. *sigh* Wish me luck, okay?
Well, I’ve got a nap to take. Not counting this blog, I’ve been on my feet all day, and if I wanna survive the trip tonight, I’m going to need some fortification, darn it. I’m getting old. Just a few years ago I could function just fine, working a full day on five hours of sleep, blast it all.
Then, after the nap, I should manage to get supper done, and a short edit, too, prior to leaving. If not…well, one of them will have to give way to tomorrow then, I guess. Hah.
Monday, March 5, 2012
In the yard
Song of the day: “Man down” by Rihanna. It comes and goes, and changes places with others, but on the overall this is the most consistent song of the past couple of days.
Started yesterday taking the cheeses from the salty water and set them out to dry on a big sieve. Now we’re going to see how that works, that’s for sure. I wonder. A couple had swollen from the twelve hours in the salty stuff, and one (the herbal mix cheese) was close to crumbling, but other than that they held okay. There appears to be a semblance of a crust forming, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hah.
After that, well, the cheese making stint is over, and life as we know it, is gradually returning back to normal…for as far as it’s normal. Hah. The majority of yesterday was spent down in the pool apartment, putting in that boiler for Sally.
I was just there for the grunt work, seeing as whenever it’s about plumbing, big brother knows more about it than I. This meant that he did the big parts like using the big angle grinder on the wall and taking out about three inches of wall to make the boiler fit.
For the most part I was going back and forth up the mountain, getting whatever tools or supplies he needed to get the job done (I find this ten times more exhausting than just working on some project. Waiting and then hauling butt, you can never really get started, if you get my meaning?) This meant that I got a lot of mileage out of yesterday, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in regards to exercises. Hah. I didn’t have any in the morning, so that was a good substitute.
But anyway, there were masks involved, heavy machinery like the angle grinder and the jackhammer, but come afternoon we got to hanging the boiler in place. Fit like a glove too, which is a relief, I tell ya. So the boiler is now running on a timer. Considering there are four of those monsters in the house, and the low wattage that we’re allowed ‘round these parts doesn’t allow for all that many machines at the same time. But anyway, they’re all set to different times, so it should be okay.
The boiler in place and the mess we made dealt with…for the most part anyway, I once again went up to get supplies for big brother as he set to fixing the tubes of the basin water system. Dratted corner flew out the other day, so watering had to be done with the water main while he fixed the tubing with PVC glue and put in a new connection.
Did some sorting through the glass supply with grandpa. Almost lost a pile to that, since we were searching for a matte glass in the back. The whole construction almost collapsed, forcing me to serve as support beam of sorts while grandpa started taking away the other side. Hah.
Today, no time for a workout again, since tenant’s caregiver had to go to her other job, and I needed to help her change and walk her down to my terrace where she could spent the afternoon in a pleasant mix of sun and shade. Once she was settled, her drink and all her things with her, big brother and I headed down into the yard.
Since I’d already run down during laundry to open up the seedbed and greenhouse (the sun was fierce today, and I didn’t want to risk having the plants losing liquid to the burning sunshine) I could head straight for the seedlings and start gathering the best ones for transplantation into the yard.
Today was iceberg slaw and onion day, in case you’re wondering. Put in 32 slaw, which are looking absolutely adorable in-between the cabbages. So beautifully light green.
A bag of Stuttgarter reisen and a bag of Red Kame onions were planted as well, which made for interesting experience, bending over and breaking my back over the chore. Seriously, I took about half an hour to relocate my spinal disks. Hah. I did opt to do it barefoot (first time this year), knowing that it would do my feet a world of good. It was interesting to do that again, now that winter has gotten rid of all my calluses, I felt like a friggin’ rookie hippie walking down there. Hah. It’s going to take some getting used to again, that’s for sure.
Chaos has been feeling particularly uncomfortable since the day before yesterday. You see, he overate, and since his metabolism is so ridiculously low, he’s been hauling around this huge round belly for two days, moaning and groaning, and wanting nothing more than to snooze the day away. Since he appears to be so uncomfortable, I let him for the most part. Gawd, I really have to keep him out of the whey food. The trouble is, he is sooooo outraged with me, whenever I drag his butt into the cabin after he’s eaten his fair share. Seriously, if he could talk he’d be, “Aww, come on, boss. I’m hungry. I’m a growing boy, and I need food.” Hah.
Gada, is as of yesterday on an anti inflammatory, rather than prednisone. Since the prednisone increased her appetite to a point where she couldn’t stop eating, and gained at least fifteen pounds, I asked the vet for something else and am now trying it out.
As for editing…big brother is feeling a bit under the weather, so we’re not making a lot of progress. We’re about halfway through the paper edit, and so far we have not come across more than just a handful of inconsistencies and a load of typos. Hah. We’ll get there yet.
So, that concludes today’s blog, I guess. Lots more to do, including another edit, cooking (kale with mashed potatoes and a load of butter, thank you very much) and if I can swing it, as short, little, itty bitty nap. *sigh*
Started yesterday taking the cheeses from the salty water and set them out to dry on a big sieve. Now we’re going to see how that works, that’s for sure. I wonder. A couple had swollen from the twelve hours in the salty stuff, and one (the herbal mix cheese) was close to crumbling, but other than that they held okay. There appears to be a semblance of a crust forming, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hah.
After that, well, the cheese making stint is over, and life as we know it, is gradually returning back to normal…for as far as it’s normal. Hah. The majority of yesterday was spent down in the pool apartment, putting in that boiler for Sally.
I was just there for the grunt work, seeing as whenever it’s about plumbing, big brother knows more about it than I. This meant that he did the big parts like using the big angle grinder on the wall and taking out about three inches of wall to make the boiler fit.
For the most part I was going back and forth up the mountain, getting whatever tools or supplies he needed to get the job done (I find this ten times more exhausting than just working on some project. Waiting and then hauling butt, you can never really get started, if you get my meaning?) This meant that I got a lot of mileage out of yesterday, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in regards to exercises. Hah. I didn’t have any in the morning, so that was a good substitute.
But anyway, there were masks involved, heavy machinery like the angle grinder and the jackhammer, but come afternoon we got to hanging the boiler in place. Fit like a glove too, which is a relief, I tell ya. So the boiler is now running on a timer. Considering there are four of those monsters in the house, and the low wattage that we’re allowed ‘round these parts doesn’t allow for all that many machines at the same time. But anyway, they’re all set to different times, so it should be okay.
The boiler in place and the mess we made dealt with…for the most part anyway, I once again went up to get supplies for big brother as he set to fixing the tubes of the basin water system. Dratted corner flew out the other day, so watering had to be done with the water main while he fixed the tubing with PVC glue and put in a new connection.
Did some sorting through the glass supply with grandpa. Almost lost a pile to that, since we were searching for a matte glass in the back. The whole construction almost collapsed, forcing me to serve as support beam of sorts while grandpa started taking away the other side. Hah.
Today, no time for a workout again, since tenant’s caregiver had to go to her other job, and I needed to help her change and walk her down to my terrace where she could spent the afternoon in a pleasant mix of sun and shade. Once she was settled, her drink and all her things with her, big brother and I headed down into the yard.
Since I’d already run down during laundry to open up the seedbed and greenhouse (the sun was fierce today, and I didn’t want to risk having the plants losing liquid to the burning sunshine) I could head straight for the seedlings and start gathering the best ones for transplantation into the yard.
Today was iceberg slaw and onion day, in case you’re wondering. Put in 32 slaw, which are looking absolutely adorable in-between the cabbages. So beautifully light green.
A bag of Stuttgarter reisen and a bag of Red Kame onions were planted as well, which made for interesting experience, bending over and breaking my back over the chore. Seriously, I took about half an hour to relocate my spinal disks. Hah. I did opt to do it barefoot (first time this year), knowing that it would do my feet a world of good. It was interesting to do that again, now that winter has gotten rid of all my calluses, I felt like a friggin’ rookie hippie walking down there. Hah. It’s going to take some getting used to again, that’s for sure.
Chaos has been feeling particularly uncomfortable since the day before yesterday. You see, he overate, and since his metabolism is so ridiculously low, he’s been hauling around this huge round belly for two days, moaning and groaning, and wanting nothing more than to snooze the day away. Since he appears to be so uncomfortable, I let him for the most part. Gawd, I really have to keep him out of the whey food. The trouble is, he is sooooo outraged with me, whenever I drag his butt into the cabin after he’s eaten his fair share. Seriously, if he could talk he’d be, “Aww, come on, boss. I’m hungry. I’m a growing boy, and I need food.” Hah.
Gada, is as of yesterday on an anti inflammatory, rather than prednisone. Since the prednisone increased her appetite to a point where she couldn’t stop eating, and gained at least fifteen pounds, I asked the vet for something else and am now trying it out.
As for editing…big brother is feeling a bit under the weather, so we’re not making a lot of progress. We’re about halfway through the paper edit, and so far we have not come across more than just a handful of inconsistencies and a load of typos. Hah. We’ll get there yet.
So, that concludes today’s blog, I guess. Lots more to do, including another edit, cooking (kale with mashed potatoes and a load of butter, thank you very much) and if I can swing it, as short, little, itty bitty nap. *sigh*
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