Notice:

I can't predict when I have the time to post a new blog, but check occasionally. I'm going to try at least weekly.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Something new

Song of the day: “Somebody I used to know” by Gotye featuring Kimba. Awesome song, and it has been in my head off and on for a solid two days now. Not a bad song to have. Hah.

Well, you never going to believe this, but the past two days were incredibly busy, and I, for one, am more than happy that they’re over and I can TRY to get back into the normal routine, because, let’s face it, the writing has suffered somewhat under it all. If I did more than three pages in the past four days or five days, it’s a lot. *sigh* So frustrating.

So yeah, there was the pool building bit. For a moment I will have to linger on the negatives (hate that, but they are part of the roller coaster called life, and to leave that out would be unrealistic, this is after all the life of an “eccentric author”, right?) and say that, beside the not-being-able-to-write bit, the past few days have brought the foot problem and the shoulder problem back to the forefront. Yes, I know, whiny, right? But seriously, there were times I was standing on “glass” again, darn it. Added to that, on day two I did something wrong with my hip on the way home, (damn those loose joints of mine) meaning that I could barely stand by the time I got home. I actually woke up from the discomfort (my doctor would say, pain, but I’m sticking with discomfort, thank you very much), popped an ibuprofen and tried to get back to sleep, hoping it would be over when I woke. It wasn’t, so I was afraid I was going to have to cancel on the day’s work, but then I stretched, something popped in my hip and all was well (except for a bit of soreness) in my world again. Hah. Okay, over and done with the negative…the lack of writing being the main anyway, let’s move on to yesterday.

First some pictures of the progress.

The diggin':



The first bit of putting it all up:



Putting in the liner just before the rain started:



Was just about done with the morning chores and was at the verge of feeding the dogs when my phone warned me that I’d had several missed calls from Lian. So I called back, and she informed me that she was so sorry, but she’d forgotten to turn off the tap during the night, bringing the water level in the pool up to the second hole, and if there was any chance for us to cut the skinner holes into it while the water was in. We couldn’t so she had to start emptying it with the hoses and buckets while big brother and I quickly fed the dogs.
Happens all the time. There’s nothing quite as easy as leaving a tap on. Hah. It’s a pity about the water, but the trees will be ecstatic with it, and the pool…well, so it’ll take a couple of days more to fill it. No biggie.

When we got there, the pool’s excess was drained of about one quarter, so I started hauling some odd twelve buckets of water to the rose garden while big brother figured out how we could use a big hose to drain it faster. Once we had two in, it took about forty minutes to get it down to the required level, at which point big brother made the necessary precision cuts and placed the skimmer with me serving as the “hold that” girl. Hah.

The end result for ya!




Oh, and Puppies! Rugrat and Furball. Can you imagine Knight II being afraid of those? Fatsy was too shy for the pic. Hah.



But I was smarter. Got Fatsy anyway.



Less than two hours after arrival, we were back on our way home, (Knight II snoozing in the back) where I wasted no time to greet the ecstatic dogs, take my computer and head on down to the basin terrace for some writing.

Only managed a page and half before my time was up, and I had to head on back upstairs. You see, I promised cousin Ed to go with her to this new market over in Marbella, and yesterday was the day. So she had already loaded up, meaning that all I had to do was get dressed and head on up to the car to drive to the place.

It was an experience, I tell ya. Jeez. Strange place, but kinda fun in its own way. It took us about an hour to set up…really a nice girl who arranged it all, and we got a better spot than we could have imagined. Here are some shots of Tika Art, fully displayed. Looking good, right?

Our spot, right at the entrance.



I love the lush textures of it all, and how there seemed to be too much to be contained by the tables.



The quilts and bags.



And more.



We actually made good sales, and though for me it is not a matter of earning money so much as the meeting of strange, fun folk.

Like the professional photographer, who was going through the crowds taking pictures of the entire event for the facebook page. He asked if he could take pictures of us and our stand (very polite and all) because it looked so nice to see all our colorful stuff and us, chatting behind it. *snort* The pictures were fine, I told him, as long as he took them in secret without me knowing it. Hah. We talked a little about his work, and when he explained that normally he was a fashion photographer, he added that he would love to take my picture, because of the hat, my tan and the pink top I was wearing of my white pants. Perfect coloring, he said, at which point I told him, “Oh please no” because, let’s face it, I would be self-conscious beyond imagining, and end up pulling some sort of freaky face. Hah. But anyway, he was a strange artsy fella, who, when I asked where he came from, (he had a French or Italian accent, I think) said that that didn’t matter, all mysterious like. Good for him.

What else, well, there were the nice Hungarian ladies across from us, who were there selling their crafts (paintings and decorated boxes) and were, from what I could understand of our chats (one only spoke a little Spanish and the other not even that) they were trying to get by going past markets on the overall, but were having a tough time of it in this bad economy. I felt a bit bad for them, but what can you do. I can hardly use my own low funds to boost theirs a little, right?
I was talking (hand and foot work, naturally, since this was the one who didn’t speak Spanish) with one of them about quilting, that she did it too, with family, and that it was very hard work, and all that, and then, by some sort of miracle recognized a word or two and asked her “do you speak German?” (in German) at which her face lit up and she eagerly nodded her head while I said, “so do I”. Which facilitated our communication considerably. She explained that she learned some of the language in school, I explained that I learned most of it from TV, and we chatted some more until it was time to go our separate ways again.

Then there was the Spanish lady across from us, who was very nice, and was trying to supplement her meager social security by working markets because it was just impossible to get a job. Stories aplenty, and the time went by fast.

There were kids, one adorable little girl who just had to have the Dalmatian puppy doll we used to demonstrate the dog carriers, who literally started bouncing up and down while she stroked and petted the fake puppy with apparent glee.

Night shot. Very cozy. Live music, patrons eating and drinking and having fun. Definitely a place to be as a tourist.




Not a lot of sales, but more than enough to make the day well worth the effort. We got started at five thirty and started loading back up at a quarter to twelve (midnight). At one thirty we were back home, ready to pass out for the day. Hah.

The late night didn’t improve my disposition much this morning, but all things considered I wasn’t in too bad a state after only six and a half hours of sleep. Had to bring the Land Rover to the shop (made an appointment on Wednesday for Friday) and left the car in the good hands of our usual mechanic.
He would take the car for a spin, and then give me a ring…which he did about two hours after I got home and simply couldn’t focus on writing much at all. Nothing too disastrous, but we do have to bring the car in on Monday, after we return from the MOT. *phew*

Last one, just because Fortuyn looked so cute:


Well, that’s it for me, and you’re pretty much back up to date. Now, I’m hoping for an early night, but since it is already close to one in the morning, it doesn’t look like there’ll be much chance of that…darn it!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Work on the most part

Song of the day: “Wherever you will go” by Charlene Soraia. There were some other song too, but they didn’t stick.

So yeah, busy couple of days, and from the look of things it is not going to get any more quiet anytime soon. Tomorrow we have to head out for the last time, and afterward need to head for a market in Marbella. Added to that, the day after, the Land Rover needs to go to the shop, and then after a semi-quiet weekend, the Land Rover has to go to the ITV. *sigh* Yep. It’s going to be a splendid week. Hah.

Writing wise, I managed a whopping total of two paragraphs, and that's it.
But back to the present. Yesterday was a long day (so was today, for that matter) we managed to even out the ground, set up most of the pool, get in the tarp, and prepare practically everything for hanging the liner. We had hoped to finish it all, but regretfully didn’t manage it. It was decided we would come another day (today) meaning that we were up early once more, going through the motions of feeding the dogs, doing laundry and then heading out. Were later today than yesterday…which wasn’t bad considering we worked late yesterday.

Knight is coming along every day now, and not is, without a doubt, scared to death for the three puppies there. Hah. Seriously, you’d think he is five weeks old himself. Today it got so bad that every time I forgot to close the door to the car, he disappeared into it.
We were about ready to start the hanging of the pool liner when suddenly the manual (without any warning earlier on in the book) declared that beside the covering tarp we’d already put down, there also was the need for some sort of filt, or carpet…Stupid manual. They have a list of stuff you need in the beginning, except for the that carpet, a file, sanding paper and duck tape…all of which we discovered well into the building of the pool. Grrr. That’s bad instructing, if ya ask me.

Played with puppies again, who are smart little buggers, and who keep escaping the large dog pen we built there. Meaning we had more work to do today: adding more fence while we waited for Liane to get the filt from Malaga. Built with some natural rocks, used up a total of two cement bags and a 1400 pound load of sand. The latter which we had to sieve and load late last night, and the night before, but thankfully not now. Hah. But anyway, puppies are already learning to sit for a treat.

Had to haul a massive rock that wrecked part of the wheelbarrow. Big brother did manage to lift it, though, so we took it off Lian’s water main and hauled it to a different spot. There was also a stint with the freaky geyser that’s always playing up…and of course meeting her boyfriend, who tripped over something on the terrace and send Knight scrambling with his tail between his legs (squealing a little) and scared half out of his mind.

Today’s hanging of the liner was interrupted by a massive thunderstorm and rain soaking my top straight through (luckily I was wearing a bikini top underneath) not to mention the bottoms of my trousers. We were happy that the rain started when it it did and not an hour or two earlier when it could have been near to disastrous. As it was, the line was in place, so, whatever. The water couldn’t harm anything.

The last thing we have to do now, is install the pump an skimmer, which is what we’ll do tomorrow. A little later, this time, seeing as my day will be a long one tomorrow. Gawd, I need some sleep…you know what, I will get some because I’m going to cut this blog short without further ado.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Diggin'

Song of the day: “It’s only pain” by Katie Melua. Gorgeous song.

I am incredibly late today, not to mention pretty bushed, so let’s see if I can keep this one remotely short. *sigh*

First off, yesterday was a great writing day. Yay! Managed eight solid pages that just rattled out onto the screen. They (meaning the characters of course) just kept talking and talking, making me wonder if they were ever going to stop. They did, once the end of the writing session arrived, basically in the middle of the conversation, which the characters hate, I assure you.

I was a tad late yesterday morning, but that was okay, I needed the extra winks what with the shorted nights before that. Not that fifteen extra minutes is a lot, but what the hey, I’m not picky.
My dogs were absolutely psyched by the lower temps, making them behave like quiet angels when the market folk (mom, the sibs and cousin Ed) headed out at the crack of dawn, letting me sleep through it for a change. Hah.

After the normal chores, the writing and some chats online, I decided to make fondue for supper, using an old bottle of champagne, a few leftover blocks of cheese from the fridge, while also working on the salad for the next day (work day, remember). That done, while big brother was up loading up the car, cousin Ed and I headed into the yard to water the plants. And then up for a quick dip in the pool, some research for the book, and then to bed…

Of course friggin’ Sitabah and Gada decided to argue, twice, before four in the morning, keeping me from my REM sleep, which made this night a carpy one. Seriously, if I slept a solid four hours, it was a lot. But no matter, I was up on time, got coffee, did some laundry, fed the dogs and then gathered our own meal for the day.

We were ten minutes late leaving, (took Knight II along) but no matter, we arrived only five minutes late in the end, hehehe. So today was all about digging. I kid you not, the chosen spot for the pool needed to be dug free of no less than fifteen wheelbarrows of dirt. We dug, we chopped, we wheelbarrowed and dug some more until finally we leveled fifteen by five feet and were done for the day. Exactly eight hours of work, plus an hour and a half for traveling, and then when we got home, make more potato salad for food, sieving 1400 pounds of sand and loading it up. Along with six blocks of concrete that I had to haul up from the LOWER garden, for crying out loud! Had four loaded up, only to realize that I couldn’t get the lot up the incline. Had to carry two of them up separately, rather than risk falling flat on my face. Finally, by the time it turned dark, we were done loading u, and went down to eat some French fries and write today’s blog.

Which is where I’m going to leave it. Tomorrow will be another long day, I think. Despite it having been heavy (it was a good day for it, since there were clouds all over the place) eight hours of digging, ya know, we are right on schedule. Who’d have thunk that putting a pool together would take that much work, eh? I am taking pics, don’t worry…oh, and there were puppies. Hehehe.

Last bit, little brother will be doing his exams tomorrow, so he’s all nerves, of course.
Well, I gotta go. I’m going to try for an early night.