Song of the day: “I thought I’d lost you” by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. I know, why that song, right? Can’t help it, the ear worm of the day is the ear worm of the day. There was another one, earlier, but I can’t remember what it was. *sigh*
Right, yesterday. Well, busy as usual, I guess. Hah. There was laundry to do, feeding the dogs and all that fun stuff that takes a solid two hours out of any day. Let’s just say that it’s the small stuff that make it fun. Like this time we had about forty sausages to cut through the mix, meaning that they really, really loved it…except for night, of course, who is absolutely anorexic. I kid you not, but I (or big brother) have to stand beside him and tell him “Eat!” several times before he empties at least half the bowl. I’ve resorted to feeding him a couple of loaf of bread in the evening, just to get something into his gut. Bloody idiot.
The normal morning chores done, it was time to head down to the basin terrace where I first experimented making pattie dough. This time of lentils and rice flower, which made for an interesting texture (breakfasted on a couple of them because I need to increase my intake of iron heavy foods. The tiredness I’m experiencing of late is not good) and then got to writing.
These past couple of days I didn’t get all that much writing done, partly because of all the activities going on, and partly because my concentration is shot. Okay, now I have to explain why, don’t I? Well, recently (I didn’t want to jinx it by mentioning it beforehand, and then I had to get over it before I could mention it here, or at home. Guess I got my hopes up. Stupid.) a publisher I’d sent a query letter and synopsis wanted to have a look at my manuscript, and said publisher let me know that they have to be extremely picky in this tight economy or such. It is always hard to share this particular event with anyone, because you get the “I’m so sorry’s” and the “they’re idiots” from friends and fans, but they really don’t change the fact, do they, no matter how sweet and well meant the compassion is. I just had to get over it first, before mentioning it, I guess, otherwise I might actually end up disheartened, or something.
So you get the “Nope” and then come the doubts and the blues, and all those icky feelings that jump up when you feel like you got smacked in the face. *sigh* Admittedly, I didn’t actually get smacked in the face, but if my emotions were any indication, you’d think I was. I mean, seriously, after thinking about it for a while (several days in fact *snort*) and have come to realize that there could be a million reasons that have nothing, or very little to do with my writing. Gotta remember, always, that some of the biggest writers got plenty of nos before they broke through. (Wishful thinking is splendid, isn’t it?)
But let’s look at it logically (for as far as that is possible):The publisher could be in a tight spot and only want a “sure thing” at the moment, or the story was just off for the niche I intended it for, they could have disliked the characters (heck, even their names could have fallen wrong), the story could have been too violent, the sex to minimal, the plot too light, my sentence structure too complicated…or not complicated enough, or too old-fashioned (I still don’t like the “strong writing” even though I have tried to apply more of it), or it can simply come down to the fact that they didn’t like my “writing voice”. I mean really, it is possible, right? It is not a personal insult to me, or anything. It is a matter of taste and everyone has a different one. (Diversity is what keeps the world interesting, after all.) Why should some editor be any different? It’s allowed, just like I’m allowed to think my stories are brilliant, right?
It’s just such a pity, isn’t it? Heck, I could have been a traditionally published writer this year. I was so darn close! *stamps foot*
Ah well, can’t change it, and in the end the only thing I can do is see if I can get “better” at the writing and see if I can get through somewhere, somehow. Heck, if I can’t get it to trad-pubs, I’m going to see how they go on Kindle and sit back to see how they do with those other very important judges: Readers. Hah.
But okay, so now you know why my focus was shot for the past couple of days, allowing me only a page or two per day despite me putting in my usual four to five hours of writing. Which only increases the frustration if I’ve got to be honest.
Well, the garage called, and we could come and pick up the Opel. The part was installed and we had to pay 60 bucks. Phew. At least I don’t need to sell my liver this time…that’ll undoubtedly come when we bring in the Land Rover sometime next week, aaaargh!
Mom and little sister drove along to town, so they could do some groceries and drive the Opel home.
Strangely enough I’ve got muscle aches for several days now. I’m thinking it was the dog food hauling up the mountain, and later the jogging that caused it, so I’m definitely not getting enough exercise lately. Need to see if I can change that…well, not tomorrow, or the day after. Monday is a working day, and we’ll be lucky if we’ll be home in time to eat supper, let alone go for a jog. *sigh*
Since concentration wasn’t likely to come rolling in in the last couple of hours of the day, we decided to watch the movie Ondine, with Colin Farrel. Not as nice as I had hoped, but entertaining enough. I do love the light romance movies, despite the heavy subject in it. And Neil Jordan does manage to show a pretty picture. The little girl was adorable, by the way.
So that brings us to this morning, doesn’t it? I got an extra fifteen minutes of sleep (felt like vacation, I tell ya, hah) because I forgot to set the alarm. Yikes! It was friggin’ hot during the night, by the way. Last night the temps went up to the nineties, only dropping a fraction come morning, and making my head pound the moment I stepped away from the fan. Had to take a dip and then slurp coffee before I was remotely human again. Hah.
There were the usual chores, followed by heading down for the day’s writing session, (after a huge load of dishes, that is) some messages to deal with and of course the occasional chat online.
Caregiver and tenant were out most of the morning. A library trip for tenant, who has not been doing well at all, lately. I don’t what’s wrong with her, but it almost seems as if she is just accepting the end, or something, and is just slowly floating toward it. Nothing I can do, really, it is just sad. I am convinced that she could do way more, get better, but if there’s no will to do it…
But anyway, after the writing, it was time to head up to pick up a donation, and a food load for the dogs. Luckily this only took an hour, because afterward I had to go into the yard to water the plants, yank a LOT of weeds out, while big brother filled the Land Rover with diesel (market day tomorrow for mom, the sibs and Ed) and cousin Ed loaded up the Opel.
While big brother and cousin Ed worked on cutting the dog food, I started on the blog, in the hopes I’d be done in time to attempt another page, or two for the book. We’ll see. I still have about forty minutes before midnight. Yay.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Dogs and cars
Song of the day: …I actually can’t remember. There was something pounding in my head this morning when I woke up, but I had a really short night so I wasn’t all that clear when waking up. It’s been a friggin’ long day…and yesterday had similar long-ness issues.
First the bad news. Tridatu was in a real bad state yesterday morning. He’d been in pain most of the night, so after some debate (mom joining in) talking our options through, which included prednisone to see if it would perk him up a little, we decided not to postpone the decision. We took him to the vet, explained the problem, had him looked over once more, where the vet could only conclude that he was just old, and that in his mind most everything hurt, we had him put down. Carpy as usual, with me sniffling all over the place (darn it. I hate it when I do that) and then once it was over, getting myself back under control. Jeez, you’d think I’d toughen up a little after all this time, huh?
Well, what’s done is done, and now the official count is down to 63 dogs, I think. Gawd, sometimes I think it is going way too fast. I get a little panicky thinking of it, even. You just get used to all that “company” you know, and the losing bit is, well, painful. *sigh*
I needed some physical activity afterward, so I hauled dog food up the mountain from storage, doing a double pace, and almost passing out on the third run. Boy, eighty pounds is heavy when you need to go up.
That done, and my breath caught, I went down to the terrace and work on the book. Got a phone call in the middle of the session telling me that the problem with the car was the alternator, meaning that we either could order 160 bucks new one, or go to the Malaga junkyard to get a 2nd hand one for 40 bucks…no brainer there. It did mean we had to go out this morning, of course.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I agreed with the garage I’d be by to pick up the broken alternator as an example, and to ask for instructions. It meant going out at five (so we’d be at the shop before closing time) and get the junkyard address. First there was the yard to water and food to prepare.
The garage done, (had a nice chat with the receptionist) we headed for the DIY store to meet with the Liane (the lady we did the fence for, and the trees) so she could pick out a pool which we’re probably going to install for her on Monday. That’s going to be interesting, what with the temps in the high 90s. Took a bit of hassle to get the pool parts into the car (the box wasn’t at all sturdy) but we managed, and killed time in town to pick up little brother at the driver license school. He had a carpy lesson, by the way. He said that either the teacher was in a bad mood, or he was not doing so well himself. Soooo worried. Can understand it, but it is worth the trouble in the end, right?
Okay, got home late, and writing was a lost cause by then. Watched John Carter instead…and ended up disappointed. Lots of movies turn out to be disappointing of late. I don’t understand why. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just can’t enjoy it as much as I used to.
Didn’t get to bed until late, so I really didn’t have enough sleep since I needed to get up at eight to go to the city. There were several things to do, and we were going to need every hour.
First there were the normal morning stuff such as laundry and the feeding the dogs, then it was up to the car (needed to gas up) stealing some breakfast from grandpa, saying hello to tenant and then heading out to the city. Had to go back before reaching the main road, by the way, seeing as we forgot the old alternator that we needed as an example. I had several dumb blond moments along the way, ending up driving the long way round, rather than the direct route. Seriously, I don’t know where my head was at.
But anyway, we arrived at the junkyard around eleven. Strange place, not to mention vastly disappointing. Here I’d had some Hollywood movie image, only to come to a place that seemed more like a supermarket than a junkyard. We arrived (I was in pink and white with two pigtails, for crying out loud) and there were several nice ol’ fellows letting us pass ahead of them…whoever said chivalry is dead?
But anyway, we explained the problem, the guy nodded, sent us to the back (the place was huge. Some sort of hangar filled with two stories of shelvings filled to the limit with greasy parts) where we handed over the old alternator, got a new one after paying at the cash register, and we were done. We were in and out within less than ten minutes. Weird, I tell ya.
Next we had to go into the city so mom (she went along) could go to the sewing machine store and get a new part for her sewing machine. That went relatively easy, leaving enough time for us to got to the traffic building to we could request mom’s new drivers license for the third time (it still hasn’t arrived). Here we had to wait in line for a solid hour, but this time, maybe, just maybe we’ll be able to pick it up right there, rather than leave it up to the fates whether or not it will arrive in the mail.
That done, we went on our way to town, where we dropped the alternator off at the garage (maybe the car will be done tomorrow, we’ll see) and then headed on home. First thing I did was fall in the pool for a bit, which was necessary by then. Then we unloaded the few groceries we picked up along the way, followed by two more pages of the book, before cooking supper and heading down into the yard for watering and harvesting. Needed dog food again, which cousin Ed cut.
And that brings us to now, where I’m almost too tired to keep my eyes open. Hah.
Heading out.
First the bad news. Tridatu was in a real bad state yesterday morning. He’d been in pain most of the night, so after some debate (mom joining in) talking our options through, which included prednisone to see if it would perk him up a little, we decided not to postpone the decision. We took him to the vet, explained the problem, had him looked over once more, where the vet could only conclude that he was just old, and that in his mind most everything hurt, we had him put down. Carpy as usual, with me sniffling all over the place (darn it. I hate it when I do that) and then once it was over, getting myself back under control. Jeez, you’d think I’d toughen up a little after all this time, huh?
Well, what’s done is done, and now the official count is down to 63 dogs, I think. Gawd, sometimes I think it is going way too fast. I get a little panicky thinking of it, even. You just get used to all that “company” you know, and the losing bit is, well, painful. *sigh*
I needed some physical activity afterward, so I hauled dog food up the mountain from storage, doing a double pace, and almost passing out on the third run. Boy, eighty pounds is heavy when you need to go up.
That done, and my breath caught, I went down to the terrace and work on the book. Got a phone call in the middle of the session telling me that the problem with the car was the alternator, meaning that we either could order 160 bucks new one, or go to the Malaga junkyard to get a 2nd hand one for 40 bucks…no brainer there. It did mean we had to go out this morning, of course.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I agreed with the garage I’d be by to pick up the broken alternator as an example, and to ask for instructions. It meant going out at five (so we’d be at the shop before closing time) and get the junkyard address. First there was the yard to water and food to prepare.
The garage done, (had a nice chat with the receptionist) we headed for the DIY store to meet with the Liane (the lady we did the fence for, and the trees) so she could pick out a pool which we’re probably going to install for her on Monday. That’s going to be interesting, what with the temps in the high 90s. Took a bit of hassle to get the pool parts into the car (the box wasn’t at all sturdy) but we managed, and killed time in town to pick up little brother at the driver license school. He had a carpy lesson, by the way. He said that either the teacher was in a bad mood, or he was not doing so well himself. Soooo worried. Can understand it, but it is worth the trouble in the end, right?
Okay, got home late, and writing was a lost cause by then. Watched John Carter instead…and ended up disappointed. Lots of movies turn out to be disappointing of late. I don’t understand why. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just can’t enjoy it as much as I used to.
Didn’t get to bed until late, so I really didn’t have enough sleep since I needed to get up at eight to go to the city. There were several things to do, and we were going to need every hour.
First there were the normal morning stuff such as laundry and the feeding the dogs, then it was up to the car (needed to gas up) stealing some breakfast from grandpa, saying hello to tenant and then heading out to the city. Had to go back before reaching the main road, by the way, seeing as we forgot the old alternator that we needed as an example. I had several dumb blond moments along the way, ending up driving the long way round, rather than the direct route. Seriously, I don’t know where my head was at.
But anyway, we arrived at the junkyard around eleven. Strange place, not to mention vastly disappointing. Here I’d had some Hollywood movie image, only to come to a place that seemed more like a supermarket than a junkyard. We arrived (I was in pink and white with two pigtails, for crying out loud) and there were several nice ol’ fellows letting us pass ahead of them…whoever said chivalry is dead?
But anyway, we explained the problem, the guy nodded, sent us to the back (the place was huge. Some sort of hangar filled with two stories of shelvings filled to the limit with greasy parts) where we handed over the old alternator, got a new one after paying at the cash register, and we were done. We were in and out within less than ten minutes. Weird, I tell ya.
Next we had to go into the city so mom (she went along) could go to the sewing machine store and get a new part for her sewing machine. That went relatively easy, leaving enough time for us to got to the traffic building to we could request mom’s new drivers license for the third time (it still hasn’t arrived). Here we had to wait in line for a solid hour, but this time, maybe, just maybe we’ll be able to pick it up right there, rather than leave it up to the fates whether or not it will arrive in the mail.
That done, we went on our way to town, where we dropped the alternator off at the garage (maybe the car will be done tomorrow, we’ll see) and then headed on home. First thing I did was fall in the pool for a bit, which was necessary by then. Then we unloaded the few groceries we picked up along the way, followed by two more pages of the book, before cooking supper and heading down into the yard for watering and harvesting. Needed dog food again, which cousin Ed cut.
And that brings us to now, where I’m almost too tired to keep my eyes open. Hah.
Heading out.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Somewhat disastrous
Song of the day: “The man who wouldn’t move” by Script. Catchy song, yet somewhat whiny. I don’t know why. It is not even that I dislike it…I do. It’s just…yeah, whiny.
So the last couple of days were absolutely disastrous from several points of view, but rather than scream, or cry, I decided to laugh and felt decidedly better.
Let’s start at the beginning, yesterday morning and take it from there, okay?
First off, I had gone to bed late, so I snuck in an extra fifteen minutes. It made all the difference too, and it was a good thing, in hindsight. Hah.
The morning was an hectic one, since the satellite guy (installer) was coming over. So we rushed through the morning rituals, did the laundry, fed the dogs, and then waited. He came an hour late, which is always a pain in the behind, and then kept big brother busy for the following four and a half hours, where everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
Luckily I could use the time properly and spent most of those hours in the carport, typing away at the computer and adding a solid eight pages to the book. Yes! That was definitely the highlight of my day. A good scene, despite it being rather dramatic and an emo-suck from here to eternity. I am definitely getting that this story is going to be totally about drama. It has been a while since I did drama, but so far I’ve been driven to tears about four times, so it appears to be going well. Hah. Had to stop at four thirty to head down into the yard to water the plants, of course.
The poor dogs spent most of the afternoon in the lower garden, which didn’t make them happy at all. Added to that, when I went down there, Sitabah (the little biatch) grabbed old Rammi’s paw and started dragging her along. Jeez. Stupid Weimaraner is a predator. Her attitude in life really is “survival of the fittest…and I’m fit!!!” just before she proves her point by attacking a weaker dog. *sigh* I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on her. Like today, during our short foray by the basin terrace, Rammi arrived and Sitabah pounced like some wrestlemania idiot, and jumped on Rammi with al four paws ramming into the poor rotweiler’s side.
Finally, while grandpa and I were still down there, the guy left, with the satellite working…sorta. I’m thinking he’s going to have to come back because I have been hearing nothing but complaints from the younger sibs so far. Ah well, so what else is new.
So yeah, I had to rush through the yard stuff, then jump in the pool, because despite it being a bit cloudy, I was sticky all over. First off we had to jump start the Opel, because mom and little sister had to go to the vet with Djoti (one of little sister’s older cocker spaniels). Then we wanted to visit the garage and ask about a few things that seem to be wrong with the Land Rover, and to ask about the Opel’s problems at the same time. That was a bust, because apparently it was a bank holiday, or something, so all we could do was head on over to the mall where we had to exchange the wrong new battery for the right one. Luckily that went without a hitch. The guy didn’t make a single problem and we were out of there within fifteen minutes.
We had to pick up a load, which took longer than expected, and when we did get home, while we were unloading, it was to hearing that Tridatu (thirteen year old mastiff/Labrador mix) was in a bad way and had a 105.3 fever. So we basically threw everything out of the car (the other didn’t have a new battery yet, ya know) loaded Tridatu up and rushed to the vet hospital.
Basically the vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but in the end we agreed on heatstroke, seeing as we could find nothing physical that was “off” by that he had a 106.34 fever by then. So we drenched him in cold water, and he was put on a drip with ions and such while he stayed for the night.
We were just on our way home when my phone went (we were actually just discussing that it was around time for Sally to be off at work) and yes, it was Sally, asking me if I could pick her up. So I dropped big brother off at the top of the property, and drove on to the village to do just that. *sigh*
By the time I got home, big brother was about to start putting in the new battery for the Opel, and I helped with that. Then it happened, we wanted to start up, and the alternator started to smoke. Seriously, by then I was so tired from the day I just laughed. We took the wires off the new battery, closed the hood and went down to watch the movie Lockout. Nothing was going to happen after 10 in the evening anyway.
Though the actor was nice, I didn’t like the movie all that much. A bit empty. Could have been way better, darn it…despite the humor being splendid. W
Tomorrow (today, of course) was soon enough to call the tow truck.
Went to bed late again…I don’t know why that is, I am really trying to hurry at going to bed on time, darn it, and yet I end up going to bed no sooner than two in the morning. I don’t suppose that’s helping my disposition any. Hah.
This morning was a bit of a rush job. There were the normal chores of course, followed by big brother and cousin Ed going up to deal with the Opel while I made dog food and fed the lot. They loved it again, what with some more cheeses and sausages mixed through it. Heck, even Knight II ate most of his portion.
There was so much to do that we left at least an hour later than planned, and didn’t arrive at the vet’s until twelve in the morning. Tridatu, she said, was fine. He ate, drank, the fever was down and we could take him home. He basically ran out the door to the car, so we brought him home and then headed to town to the garage. It was open today, thankfully, so, at the shop I greeted the Spanish mechanic, who asked how it was going and when he heard that there were problems with the Opel and the Land Rover, he was like “Oh boy” and called the English mechanic up to talk with me. I explained the problem, and since the Opel seemed to be most urgent, we agreed that they would fix that first (if they could) and that after that we would focus on the Land Rover.
I got their phone number (for some reason the one I had didn’t work) and address, and called Cousin Ed to give both to her for the tow truck. Turns out, when she gave it to the guy, he said, “Oh you mean them. They’re one of the best garages in town.” Awesome. I knew I wasn’t imagining that. Hah.
So, we went back home, where I greeted my dogs, took a dip in the pool and then headed down to the basin terrace to start writing. Had just started everything up when big brother called down that Tridatu was not well again, and that we might had to go out again. He could barely walk, and there appeared to be a big swelling just und his ribs on the left side.
Of course that was before four in the afternoon, meaning that it would be another hour before the hospital opened. We did consider going as an emergency, but after checking if he had a fever (he didn’t) we decided to wait. Regretfully this was also a work day for Sally on the day where there’s no bus, so there was some scrambling involved there, since we wanted him to get to the vet asap. I dropped Sally off at the village about half an hour earlier, then drove home to pick up big brother (had several grilled cheese and onion rolls to eat underway) and Tridatu and drove straight through to the vet, who was waiting for us…and then…nothing. He appeared in no worse condition than earlier that day when we picked him up. Not lump under his ribs and just his usual arthritis making his movements stiff. Aaaargh. A trip for nothing, darn it…happy of course that it didn’t seem to be any worse, than before, but still. I was already fearing that we’d have to put him down. He was moaning in pain, for crying out loud!
After another assurance from the vet we went back home, took the poor dog down to the basin terrace with us, and spent the next hour or two working on the computer. Only managed to write a page or two (my focus was shot) and then went into the yard for some watering and harvesting. Which, all in all, calmed me down a little.
By the time we went up for the day (and another dip) Tridatu was stiffly following us up and went down for the count. Even now he is still sleeping, poor old fellow.
Well, that’s it for me. I am going to see if maybe I can add another page to the book, but most likely I’ll go online a bit and see about doing some chats on the for a. *sigh* I’m ready to call it a day.
So the last couple of days were absolutely disastrous from several points of view, but rather than scream, or cry, I decided to laugh and felt decidedly better.
Let’s start at the beginning, yesterday morning and take it from there, okay?
First off, I had gone to bed late, so I snuck in an extra fifteen minutes. It made all the difference too, and it was a good thing, in hindsight. Hah.
The morning was an hectic one, since the satellite guy (installer) was coming over. So we rushed through the morning rituals, did the laundry, fed the dogs, and then waited. He came an hour late, which is always a pain in the behind, and then kept big brother busy for the following four and a half hours, where everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
Luckily I could use the time properly and spent most of those hours in the carport, typing away at the computer and adding a solid eight pages to the book. Yes! That was definitely the highlight of my day. A good scene, despite it being rather dramatic and an emo-suck from here to eternity. I am definitely getting that this story is going to be totally about drama. It has been a while since I did drama, but so far I’ve been driven to tears about four times, so it appears to be going well. Hah. Had to stop at four thirty to head down into the yard to water the plants, of course.
The poor dogs spent most of the afternoon in the lower garden, which didn’t make them happy at all. Added to that, when I went down there, Sitabah (the little biatch) grabbed old Rammi’s paw and started dragging her along. Jeez. Stupid Weimaraner is a predator. Her attitude in life really is “survival of the fittest…and I’m fit!!!” just before she proves her point by attacking a weaker dog. *sigh* I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on her. Like today, during our short foray by the basin terrace, Rammi arrived and Sitabah pounced like some wrestlemania idiot, and jumped on Rammi with al four paws ramming into the poor rotweiler’s side.
Finally, while grandpa and I were still down there, the guy left, with the satellite working…sorta. I’m thinking he’s going to have to come back because I have been hearing nothing but complaints from the younger sibs so far. Ah well, so what else is new.
So yeah, I had to rush through the yard stuff, then jump in the pool, because despite it being a bit cloudy, I was sticky all over. First off we had to jump start the Opel, because mom and little sister had to go to the vet with Djoti (one of little sister’s older cocker spaniels). Then we wanted to visit the garage and ask about a few things that seem to be wrong with the Land Rover, and to ask about the Opel’s problems at the same time. That was a bust, because apparently it was a bank holiday, or something, so all we could do was head on over to the mall where we had to exchange the wrong new battery for the right one. Luckily that went without a hitch. The guy didn’t make a single problem and we were out of there within fifteen minutes.
We had to pick up a load, which took longer than expected, and when we did get home, while we were unloading, it was to hearing that Tridatu (thirteen year old mastiff/Labrador mix) was in a bad way and had a 105.3 fever. So we basically threw everything out of the car (the other didn’t have a new battery yet, ya know) loaded Tridatu up and rushed to the vet hospital.
Basically the vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but in the end we agreed on heatstroke, seeing as we could find nothing physical that was “off” by that he had a 106.34 fever by then. So we drenched him in cold water, and he was put on a drip with ions and such while he stayed for the night.
We were just on our way home when my phone went (we were actually just discussing that it was around time for Sally to be off at work) and yes, it was Sally, asking me if I could pick her up. So I dropped big brother off at the top of the property, and drove on to the village to do just that. *sigh*
By the time I got home, big brother was about to start putting in the new battery for the Opel, and I helped with that. Then it happened, we wanted to start up, and the alternator started to smoke. Seriously, by then I was so tired from the day I just laughed. We took the wires off the new battery, closed the hood and went down to watch the movie Lockout. Nothing was going to happen after 10 in the evening anyway.
Though the actor was nice, I didn’t like the movie all that much. A bit empty. Could have been way better, darn it…despite the humor being splendid. W
Tomorrow (today, of course) was soon enough to call the tow truck.
Went to bed late again…I don’t know why that is, I am really trying to hurry at going to bed on time, darn it, and yet I end up going to bed no sooner than two in the morning. I don’t suppose that’s helping my disposition any. Hah.
This morning was a bit of a rush job. There were the normal chores of course, followed by big brother and cousin Ed going up to deal with the Opel while I made dog food and fed the lot. They loved it again, what with some more cheeses and sausages mixed through it. Heck, even Knight II ate most of his portion.
There was so much to do that we left at least an hour later than planned, and didn’t arrive at the vet’s until twelve in the morning. Tridatu, she said, was fine. He ate, drank, the fever was down and we could take him home. He basically ran out the door to the car, so we brought him home and then headed to town to the garage. It was open today, thankfully, so, at the shop I greeted the Spanish mechanic, who asked how it was going and when he heard that there were problems with the Opel and the Land Rover, he was like “Oh boy” and called the English mechanic up to talk with me. I explained the problem, and since the Opel seemed to be most urgent, we agreed that they would fix that first (if they could) and that after that we would focus on the Land Rover.
I got their phone number (for some reason the one I had didn’t work) and address, and called Cousin Ed to give both to her for the tow truck. Turns out, when she gave it to the guy, he said, “Oh you mean them. They’re one of the best garages in town.” Awesome. I knew I wasn’t imagining that. Hah.
So, we went back home, where I greeted my dogs, took a dip in the pool and then headed down to the basin terrace to start writing. Had just started everything up when big brother called down that Tridatu was not well again, and that we might had to go out again. He could barely walk, and there appeared to be a big swelling just und his ribs on the left side.
Of course that was before four in the afternoon, meaning that it would be another hour before the hospital opened. We did consider going as an emergency, but after checking if he had a fever (he didn’t) we decided to wait. Regretfully this was also a work day for Sally on the day where there’s no bus, so there was some scrambling involved there, since we wanted him to get to the vet asap. I dropped Sally off at the village about half an hour earlier, then drove home to pick up big brother (had several grilled cheese and onion rolls to eat underway) and Tridatu and drove straight through to the vet, who was waiting for us…and then…nothing. He appeared in no worse condition than earlier that day when we picked him up. Not lump under his ribs and just his usual arthritis making his movements stiff. Aaaargh. A trip for nothing, darn it…happy of course that it didn’t seem to be any worse, than before, but still. I was already fearing that we’d have to put him down. He was moaning in pain, for crying out loud!
After another assurance from the vet we went back home, took the poor dog down to the basin terrace with us, and spent the next hour or two working on the computer. Only managed to write a page or two (my focus was shot) and then went into the yard for some watering and harvesting. Which, all in all, calmed me down a little.
By the time we went up for the day (and another dip) Tridatu was stiffly following us up and went down for the count. Even now he is still sleeping, poor old fellow.
Well, that’s it for me. I am going to see if maybe I can add another page to the book, but most likely I’ll go online a bit and see about doing some chats on the for a. *sigh* I’m ready to call it a day.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Something new
Song of the day: (this is a little embarrassing) “Twilight” by Cover Drive. I know, right? What am I, fifteen years old? *sigh* I don’t even like the song all that much, darn it, but there you have it.
Writing still…I know, very boring for you, my poor readers. Just me, standing at my computer, tapping away at the keys, adding pages, scenes (had a hot one today, hah) while music blasts in my ears, filling my head with all sorts of images that really get things working to my way of thinking. Luckily I didn’t get that voyeurism feeling today. That could be because the scene was mostly about kissing, and not…well, other stuff. Hah. Regardless, the story is developing nicely.
But enough about that, there was gardening. Watering the veggies, of course, yanking out weeds, and basically gathering veggies for the dog food. Meaning that there was dog food to hand out…and before I forgot, that friend with the store…we got a whole batch of one day too old meat, and old bread. The dogs loved it! Seriously, absolutely loved it. There was ham, sausages, bacon, and chicken fingers. You should have seen some of their faces, they were drenched in the stuff up to their eyeballs. Gada was literally grinning with a slab of ham hanging down her lips…before Sitabah ran off with it. Hah. Even Knight ate a quarter more of his food than usual, which is rare.
Did some cooking. Made pasta with fresh fried veggies on the side, topped by a satay sauce that made it all go down really well. The fact that I was incredibly hungry helped with making it vastly edible, of course. Hah.
Yesterday afternoon while I was writing, big brother had to head out with the car to jumpstart the Opel, which mom was using for the afternoon. We’ve been having some battery trouble, and they apparently got worse, because half an hour later mom phoned again to say that they were stuck for the second time. Big brother wasn’t even back yet, so I waited until he was back, jumped in the car and we drove back to town. Took no time at all to jumpstart the Opel again, and did some groceries and a new battery before we went home. Turns out we got the wrong battery, meaning we had to go out again today, hoping that like the rest of the stores at the big shopping center that shop would be open too. It wasn’t, so that means we have to go out again tomorrow, darn it.
Did speak with an American (he owned a golf course, apparently) who was comparing his own Land Rover to mine. His was a pickup, ya know, and, well, I do love those kind of chats, and he was a nice older fella, who for some unfathomable reason preferred to drive his Volvo, rather than his Land Rover (which he normally only used for work). I told him he was bonkers. The Land Rover is more than comfortable enough, hah.
What else, well, there was laundry, cleaning a little in my cabin. The bathroom was a friggin’ mess, so that really had to be done. Hah.
Yesterday was definitely a scorcher. The temps went up into 100, and seriously, while we were out and left town (where a fresh sea breeze cooled stuff down) the heat coming into the car was like a physical slap in the face. Luckily I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I kinda liked it. Hah. Today, on the other hand, it was downright nippy. I mean it, we were in the high eighties instead, which made the difference somewhat daunting, right? No matter. I enjoyed the low temps too. Hah.
Today, while we were out, we got hailed by a couple of dudes (they clearly had a beer or two too many) who seemed to like to chat with a bunch of stranger. One was a trucker, and boy did he like to talk, and the other lived in this RV (we got invited inside) and liked to talk even more. It was fun, the way they kept exchanging barbs, and yapping on, curious as heck because we often pass where the RV is parked. Decided against taking a beer, or coffee for that matter. We didn’t have all that much time to begin with, and it was fun to hear about their adventures. One had just recently been to Finland, where the weather was downright nippy, and his girlfriend invited him for a ride on a horse. He said, no way. Not unless you tie me to the horse, before he doubled over at his own joke. Seriously, the trucker insisted on shaking my hand at least five times (kept forgetting he’d already done that, I think) and then started telling all over how he had been to Finland recently and how he loved dogs (thumping his chest all the while). It was a fun chat…though I fear they now expect us to come visit more often. Hah. Crazy drunken lot…but friendly at least.
Well, that’s about it for me. I’ve a need to get horizontal fast, and the day is definitely at an end.
Writing still…I know, very boring for you, my poor readers. Just me, standing at my computer, tapping away at the keys, adding pages, scenes (had a hot one today, hah) while music blasts in my ears, filling my head with all sorts of images that really get things working to my way of thinking. Luckily I didn’t get that voyeurism feeling today. That could be because the scene was mostly about kissing, and not…well, other stuff. Hah. Regardless, the story is developing nicely.
But enough about that, there was gardening. Watering the veggies, of course, yanking out weeds, and basically gathering veggies for the dog food. Meaning that there was dog food to hand out…and before I forgot, that friend with the store…we got a whole batch of one day too old meat, and old bread. The dogs loved it! Seriously, absolutely loved it. There was ham, sausages, bacon, and chicken fingers. You should have seen some of their faces, they were drenched in the stuff up to their eyeballs. Gada was literally grinning with a slab of ham hanging down her lips…before Sitabah ran off with it. Hah. Even Knight ate a quarter more of his food than usual, which is rare.
Did some cooking. Made pasta with fresh fried veggies on the side, topped by a satay sauce that made it all go down really well. The fact that I was incredibly hungry helped with making it vastly edible, of course. Hah.
Yesterday afternoon while I was writing, big brother had to head out with the car to jumpstart the Opel, which mom was using for the afternoon. We’ve been having some battery trouble, and they apparently got worse, because half an hour later mom phoned again to say that they were stuck for the second time. Big brother wasn’t even back yet, so I waited until he was back, jumped in the car and we drove back to town. Took no time at all to jumpstart the Opel again, and did some groceries and a new battery before we went home. Turns out we got the wrong battery, meaning we had to go out again today, hoping that like the rest of the stores at the big shopping center that shop would be open too. It wasn’t, so that means we have to go out again tomorrow, darn it.
Did speak with an American (he owned a golf course, apparently) who was comparing his own Land Rover to mine. His was a pickup, ya know, and, well, I do love those kind of chats, and he was a nice older fella, who for some unfathomable reason preferred to drive his Volvo, rather than his Land Rover (which he normally only used for work). I told him he was bonkers. The Land Rover is more than comfortable enough, hah.
What else, well, there was laundry, cleaning a little in my cabin. The bathroom was a friggin’ mess, so that really had to be done. Hah.
Yesterday was definitely a scorcher. The temps went up into 100, and seriously, while we were out and left town (where a fresh sea breeze cooled stuff down) the heat coming into the car was like a physical slap in the face. Luckily I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I kinda liked it. Hah. Today, on the other hand, it was downright nippy. I mean it, we were in the high eighties instead, which made the difference somewhat daunting, right? No matter. I enjoyed the low temps too. Hah.
Today, while we were out, we got hailed by a couple of dudes (they clearly had a beer or two too many) who seemed to like to chat with a bunch of stranger. One was a trucker, and boy did he like to talk, and the other lived in this RV (we got invited inside) and liked to talk even more. It was fun, the way they kept exchanging barbs, and yapping on, curious as heck because we often pass where the RV is parked. Decided against taking a beer, or coffee for that matter. We didn’t have all that much time to begin with, and it was fun to hear about their adventures. One had just recently been to Finland, where the weather was downright nippy, and his girlfriend invited him for a ride on a horse. He said, no way. Not unless you tie me to the horse, before he doubled over at his own joke. Seriously, the trucker insisted on shaking my hand at least five times (kept forgetting he’d already done that, I think) and then started telling all over how he had been to Finland recently and how he loved dogs (thumping his chest all the while). It was a fun chat…though I fear they now expect us to come visit more often. Hah. Crazy drunken lot…but friendly at least.
Well, that’s about it for me. I’ve a need to get horizontal fast, and the day is definitely at an end.
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