Song of the day: “Don’t worry, be happy” by…gawd, I always forget his name. What was it again…well, you know the one I mean, right? If you don’t…well, you’re obviously too young to remember. Look it up, it’s great!
So yeah, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather for the past couple of days, if you must know. Everything just appears to be…whatever. I haven’t done all that much, all things considered, seeing as the weather was, most of the time abysmal.
Yep, we’ve had flooding all over the place, in particular last night while we were all asleep and some massive rainstorm swept over the mountain. When I came to the house the corridor had two inches of water in it, the living room a couple of inches too. Then, when I got to the carport grandpa complained that water went every which way, and he told in detail how much friggin’ water came down during the night, we had a river streaming down the main path at one point. Added to that the garden pit beside our greenhouse was filled with water right up to the door of the greenhouse, and water had also streamed inside the basement apartment down by the basin.
But let’s try to do this in a bit of the original sequence, okay?
First off, I wasn’t late getting up for a chance, yesterday morning, so after chores and such (the laundry lines are filled to full capacity. Couldn’t do any laundry today) I settled behind my computer and wrote some odd 4 pages of the new book. Got that up to 60 pages now, thank you very much, and at the moment my heroine is trying to understand why she if covering for a complete stranger. All very confusing, seeing as this isn’t a romance novel and he doesn’t make her “hot”. Hah.
Oh, and before that, we were up at the Opel, putting the new side mirror in place so mom and little sister could head on out to the vet to have both Djoti III and Manni II neutered. Luckily this was in a momentary dry spell, seeing as we were up there at the top of our mountain ridge with the full wind pulling at us from all sides.
The writing done for the day, and the dogs fed (Knight ate a full bowl, my big lug.) cousin Ed and I hauled the recently painted beams back up to the storage area right before the rain started coming down again. Since we had the plastic open to store it away safely from the storm, grandpa immediately took out dry firewood.
The bad weather, me feeling a tad unsettled, I wasn’t going to be worth much, so instead of allowing myself to slide into a bad mood, I went to bed and napped for a bit. It was wonderfully warm, what with most of my dogs clustered around me, and I was sorry to get up again. Do you know that feeling on a cold wet day, when you suddenly fully understand why some animals hibernate? Hah.
There was tree planting in the past couple of days. A total of six, if my calculations are correct. Eucalypti, mostly, which are now standing proudly amongst the small woods we’re creating at the top of the property.
Seeing as Sally and tenant did the cutting of yesterday’s vegetables, I cooked supper late in the day, after big brother and I returned from picking up a donation. Supper was a noisy affair, in particular since the storm had picked back up when we were gone, and thunder tumbled right on top of us. Was seriously startling, I’ll tell you. The power stayed on, though, which was a good thing since we spent the majority of the past couple of days without it. Turns out that there was some major damage to the main line, meaning that the power people were up in the mast most of those days. Luckily they fixed it before nightfall.
Which brings us today, doesn’t it?
Woke in the dot, of course, and went through the usual rituals, despite still not feeling all that well. I wonder if it’s the weather. It does seriously cramp my style, so to speak. But anyway, grandpa and I went to the village this morning. I dropped him off at the supermarket and continued on to the vet where Knight II had to be for his bandage change.
There was a screaming puppy in the back, and I just couldn’t resist. I took Knight with me to the back and spent a solid ten minutes petting and cuddling the little screamer. Knight didn’t like it at all, and promptly turned his back on us. Hah. The little one reminded me of Moekti, a halfbreed husky we once had. Sweet though, and not at all happy. Turns out he was found inside a garbage can, but luckily the person who found it, was keeping it.
While I was there, mom and little sister also arrived because Panni, little sister’s Cocker Spaniel, was feeling poorly. His stomach hurt, and he had a fever, so they had been sorry to have missed me by ten minutes, since that would have saved on a trip. Ah well, stuff like that happens. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong, but she’s doing a blood test to see. Regretfully she thinks it has something to do with the pancreas.
Once back big brother and I went into the yard to look in on the visiting dogs. Played with them a little, petting them and just keeping them company for a bit. Next it was down to check how everything was going with the new veggie seedlings (alive and kicking despite the gutters being so saturated that they’re filled with water) and hunting the remainder of this year’s pumpkins.
We also put the hose into the garden pit, to drain the over abundance of water and let it run down the mountain where it won’t drown our potted plants. Jeez.
That done we went up to paint the last of Liane’s beams (the big one of more than fifteen feet) and to work on the wind fence behind Sally’s cabin. We’ve been working toward it for weeks, but until today, when the rain finally stopped and the sky broke open, we didn’t get to it. It’s there now, in place and sturdy, and looking rather nice, if I do say so myself. A relief that it’s done now, in particular since we worried every time the wind picked up, that it would damage the cabin. No more. The barrier of wood is there, breaking the worst of the wind when it needs to. Didn’t finish until twilight, and by then it was time to start on supper.
Rather than something new, I used yesterday’s leftovers to make veggie burgers, which went down rather well with mustard on bread. Which brings us to the end of the day, where I am desperately trying to finish this blog, so I can still do some writing on the book.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A Samaya sculpture :-)
Song of the day: “Don’t marry her, have me” by the Beautiful South.
A bit of bad news first, I suppose. During the night our Dalmatian Sophie passed away. It was no big surprise, really, seeing as his health had never been good to begin with, and for him it was definitely a relief, but still, it dampens the mood somewhat to lose one of the pack. He looked peaceful and relaxed on his blanket, however, so I would suspect he went fast and without pain. We should all be so lucky.
The weather is still abysmal. Some serious winds picked up again, making the trees stand at a decided tilt, and rain has been coming down infrequently, but plenty. Everything is soaking wet, stuff is not smelling all that pleasant and I, for one am more than ready for a break in the clouds. Jeez…heck, even the dogs have had it.
Writing. Nothing huge, but steadily schlogging through still. Passed 18,000 words now, with the character solidly in place by now. I am doubted if I should ad another one somewhere round these parts, but haven’t made up my mind yet.
Yesterday we could pick up our chainsaw, of which the repairs cost 20 bucks…which I think is about the standard for something like that. Also left Liane’s to see if it is fixable, too. I’m thinking yes, because big brother looked it over and for as far as we could see the only problem would be the chain not getting any oil.
Since in the bad weather there wasn’t much of anything we could do at home anyway (except for messing around in the carport) we decided to go into the woods to see if there is any firewood that we could get there in the near future. As it turns out, so I’ve heard from the vet assistant, in these parts it is allowed to go into the woods and take fallen trees apart for personal use (or selling). In fact, they love it when people do that, seeing as it decreases the fire hazard on the mountain. Did some serious exploring going along ragged trails leading up the mountain. Got as far as the tree line before a chain closed the road off. Did do some walking there, which was weird in the dense clouds that didn’t allow us to look much farther than a few yards the entire time.
It was beautiful, even, or especially because of the clouds, I’m not sure. Everything with soaking wet, the soil red, gray and black (rocky surfaces breaking through everywhere), covered by newly grown grass and Arum plants. The tree trunks were black with moisture, the branches heavy, and wherever you looked there was water and mist. It was in fact a little eerie, like some horror movie. Hah. It was beautiful, too, though. Mysterious and wonderful, in particular when we walked a bit through the mist, seeing nothing but the path at our feet and the trees that stood by the edge of the abyss of white, the green vibrant against the white.
Knight II as along for the ride (still have to keep an eye on him) and he even went along for a bit of the walk during which we explored a row of fallen trees. He bounded along, going ahead constantly, because let’s face it, compared to him I’m a slowpoke. Then, at some point when were on our way back up to the car, he went ahead, all cheerful and everything, only to stand by the car, all confused that he couldn’t get it. It was just embarrassing. What kind of a dog prefers the car over a walk, for crying out loud?
But anyway, we found plenty of trees that toppled over during the rains, their roots no longer able to stand the pressure, so it looks like we’ll be heading out into the woods one of these days to get us some extra firewood.
Once at home, the rain started up seriously once more, so I spent the remainder of the day working on my woods sculpture…which is something I did today as well. Gawd, it turned out beautifully. The varnish dried perfectly, and the sanded and shaped piece of whitish eucalyptus wood I put inside it, contrasts beautifully. I have a picture of the end result right here:
I love how it looks exactly the way I imagined it beforehand.
Exchanged some messages with “my” pen pal pilot who’s still at war…well, he’s flying out wounded and such, which is rather vital I’m sure. Gawd, the stories he tells. I definitely wouldn’t be suited for a war zone. I can enjoy it in movies, I don’t mind reading about it, but the real thing…well, it’s just too realistic. Luckily, he personally is doing well, and for now that is all that matters.
Let’s see, there were the normal chores and such, along with a cooking session (today Cousin Ed made pumpkin soup) of pasta, a satay sauce, and fresh veggies. Had to go into the yard today to get the last of the pumpkins from the plants. Lost a few to the rats and such, but at least there are some. And also took out all the peppers, which are not going to turn any redder in this weather Managed to get a full crate of both veggies, so that’s not bad.
Knight II had his checkup this morning (I’m getting consistent information now that by Friday his bandage might go off, so he’ll only need to wear the sock for a bit, yay!) and he behaved perfectly.
We lost the side mirror of the Opel, meaning we had to order a new one at the garage. Got to pick that up today, and took Knight along. If for no other reason than the fact that they love him there. They’re all dog lovers, thankfully.
Then last but not least is painting Liane’s beams for the second time. Despite the wet weather, it had to be done, so we hauled the lot of them down the mountain to the car port and painted them the second time around. If a bug gets to climb in there after all, it deserves it for evolving beyond all that poison. Jeez.
Well, that’s it for me. Time for bed.
A bit of bad news first, I suppose. During the night our Dalmatian Sophie passed away. It was no big surprise, really, seeing as his health had never been good to begin with, and for him it was definitely a relief, but still, it dampens the mood somewhat to lose one of the pack. He looked peaceful and relaxed on his blanket, however, so I would suspect he went fast and without pain. We should all be so lucky.
The weather is still abysmal. Some serious winds picked up again, making the trees stand at a decided tilt, and rain has been coming down infrequently, but plenty. Everything is soaking wet, stuff is not smelling all that pleasant and I, for one am more than ready for a break in the clouds. Jeez…heck, even the dogs have had it.
Writing. Nothing huge, but steadily schlogging through still. Passed 18,000 words now, with the character solidly in place by now. I am doubted if I should ad another one somewhere round these parts, but haven’t made up my mind yet.
Yesterday we could pick up our chainsaw, of which the repairs cost 20 bucks…which I think is about the standard for something like that. Also left Liane’s to see if it is fixable, too. I’m thinking yes, because big brother looked it over and for as far as we could see the only problem would be the chain not getting any oil.
Since in the bad weather there wasn’t much of anything we could do at home anyway (except for messing around in the carport) we decided to go into the woods to see if there is any firewood that we could get there in the near future. As it turns out, so I’ve heard from the vet assistant, in these parts it is allowed to go into the woods and take fallen trees apart for personal use (or selling). In fact, they love it when people do that, seeing as it decreases the fire hazard on the mountain. Did some serious exploring going along ragged trails leading up the mountain. Got as far as the tree line before a chain closed the road off. Did do some walking there, which was weird in the dense clouds that didn’t allow us to look much farther than a few yards the entire time.
It was beautiful, even, or especially because of the clouds, I’m not sure. Everything with soaking wet, the soil red, gray and black (rocky surfaces breaking through everywhere), covered by newly grown grass and Arum plants. The tree trunks were black with moisture, the branches heavy, and wherever you looked there was water and mist. It was in fact a little eerie, like some horror movie. Hah. It was beautiful, too, though. Mysterious and wonderful, in particular when we walked a bit through the mist, seeing nothing but the path at our feet and the trees that stood by the edge of the abyss of white, the green vibrant against the white.
Knight II as along for the ride (still have to keep an eye on him) and he even went along for a bit of the walk during which we explored a row of fallen trees. He bounded along, going ahead constantly, because let’s face it, compared to him I’m a slowpoke. Then, at some point when were on our way back up to the car, he went ahead, all cheerful and everything, only to stand by the car, all confused that he couldn’t get it. It was just embarrassing. What kind of a dog prefers the car over a walk, for crying out loud?
But anyway, we found plenty of trees that toppled over during the rains, their roots no longer able to stand the pressure, so it looks like we’ll be heading out into the woods one of these days to get us some extra firewood.
Once at home, the rain started up seriously once more, so I spent the remainder of the day working on my woods sculpture…which is something I did today as well. Gawd, it turned out beautifully. The varnish dried perfectly, and the sanded and shaped piece of whitish eucalyptus wood I put inside it, contrasts beautifully. I have a picture of the end result right here:
I love how it looks exactly the way I imagined it beforehand.
Exchanged some messages with “my” pen pal pilot who’s still at war…well, he’s flying out wounded and such, which is rather vital I’m sure. Gawd, the stories he tells. I definitely wouldn’t be suited for a war zone. I can enjoy it in movies, I don’t mind reading about it, but the real thing…well, it’s just too realistic. Luckily, he personally is doing well, and for now that is all that matters.
Let’s see, there were the normal chores and such, along with a cooking session (today Cousin Ed made pumpkin soup) of pasta, a satay sauce, and fresh veggies. Had to go into the yard today to get the last of the pumpkins from the plants. Lost a few to the rats and such, but at least there are some. And also took out all the peppers, which are not going to turn any redder in this weather Managed to get a full crate of both veggies, so that’s not bad.
Knight II had his checkup this morning (I’m getting consistent information now that by Friday his bandage might go off, so he’ll only need to wear the sock for a bit, yay!) and he behaved perfectly.
We lost the side mirror of the Opel, meaning we had to order a new one at the garage. Got to pick that up today, and took Knight along. If for no other reason than the fact that they love him there. They’re all dog lovers, thankfully.
Then last but not least is painting Liane’s beams for the second time. Despite the wet weather, it had to be done, so we hauled the lot of them down the mountain to the car port and painted them the second time around. If a bug gets to climb in there after all, it deserves it for evolving beyond all that poison. Jeez.
Well, that’s it for me. Time for bed.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Wood experiments
Song of the day: “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. This was really a conscious choice on my part because I had nursery rhymes such as Old McDonald had a farm in my head, for crying out loud. Talk about torture…was I talking about torture? I think not. Alright then, never mind. That’s weird thing to say, isn’t it? Forget I said anything.
First off, due to the rain, Sunday Market was cancelled. Yay and darn it, right? On the one hand it was nice to have a day off, on the other it is a pain in the behind because of the guy who paid the deposit could have shown up. Ah well, let’s just hope he’ll turn up the next time, eh. Third important point is that mom and the younger sibs sold more than nine dog beds, meaning there will be lots of work to do to replace them. Had them all understandably stressed out.
There was the trip to the vet. Not our usual one, since she was sick, but her replacement. Though he is nice enough, he’s not as experienced in applying bandages and such. I was there with two dogs, Knight II and Chaos, who has somehow managed to get his ear damaged the other day, leaving a small peace to dangle. Knight II behaved like a charm, and nicely waited his turn while Chaos braved the treatment (cutting the piece off without sedation,yikes) without a snarl of whimper. Good Chaos. He was a true gentleman, and more than happy to get the heck outta there as soon as we were done. Hah.
Might have an option of a little job through the assistant of the vet. She and her hubby are leaving for Madrid, so they are going to try to rent out their home. If they need someone to fix anything, they are going to give us a ring. We’ll see.
While I was there, waiting for my turn, I was chatting with a nice English lady who spends her time looking for homes for dogs she rescues, and ended up telling her about our pack. While she was repeating the number, the lady behind her (who’d just adopted one of her rescues) gasped. I assured them that the number was quite correct, and when she asked how we afforded to do such things, I pointed out the dog beds and that my mom and sisters make them to make some extra money. The lady with the new adoptee promptly walked to the basket, eyeballed the four samples, grabbed the most expensive one and said, “I’ll take this one.” Hah. Good way of doing business. That was about a twentieth of our present vet bill. *phew* Luckily the vet doesn’t make much of a problem of us sometimes paying it in parts.
*sigh*
Apparently this morning, a woman, who was going to leave for Morocco tomorrow, came out of the exam room with her dog, only to have the dog walk directly to the pile of beds and settle in one of them. She took one look at him in there and said she would just have to buy it. (Nice doggie) It had made the vet assistant laugh. If Knight’s progress stays the way it is, we’re going to try to go without bandage by the end of the week, and only have him wear the sock. Yay.
The beams for Liane. Cut the decorative shapes out. We sanded the lot of them yesterday. By hand, thank you very much. Started out with the machine, but I didn’t like the effect so opted to do it the old-fashioned way, which worked a lot better. Smooth as a baby’s bum (eeewwww) as they say, and ready for treatment with the varnish and anti-parasite stuff. Went with the color of mahogany, which is good, because they look friggin’ beautiful. Got the first layer done today, and should be able to to start with the second tomorrow, if weather permits it. Liane herself came to visit for a bit this afternoon and approved of the color (a relief, that) so I continued right on and managed to get the whole lot of them done right before the rain started. Yay.
Did some leather branding again, yellow leather this time, and am starting on my latest experiment of working on wood sculpturing. The way I figure I’ll be spending a lot of time working in the carport during this weather, so I might as well have some fun. I’m going for art, mind you, and I will show you the before and after shots the moment I feel like it.
Also worked on my hardwood Chinese boxes and glued together the small slats that will make up the lid in the near future. They’re starting to look gorgeous and I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the end result. Yes, I’ll take before and after shots of that too.
Got lost a little in Wikipedia again. *sigh* A dangerous place, that. Went to check out chestnuts, only to end up reading about the history of the tree, which cost me some valuable time. Fascinating, eh, history, nature. I had no idea that they could be that old, by the way.
Now, I hear you wonder: Why the heck is she looking at chestnuts?
We had a donation again on Saturday and it held a batch of chestnuts. Personally I only know them roasted and fresh, but apparently you can also fry them (they were a staple food in Europe before the arrival of the potato) which tells you what today’s meal was, eh? Hah.
Writing. Well, considering I am so very sleepy in the evenings, I have decided to give up the battle and have been going to bed early for the last two or three days, so I can get up a little earlier and try to do my writing then. Am not sure how it is going to work in the future, but what have been single pages for the past week, or so, were three per morning instead. Not bad. Now, if only I could catch up a little. Am past fifty pages now, and it feels not at all like a romance novel so at least that is going well.
Had to go to town for a few groceries, which I didn’t like at all. Why do groceries disappear, huh? Why can’t the shelves just stay full? It is vastly annoying, I tell ya.
There was laundry, there was feeding the dogs, cutting the veggies, picking up veggies, cooking supper, carrot in mashed potato the day before yesterday, and spaghetti through veggies yesterday. Today we settled for fried pumpkin, fried chestnuts, some nuggets and some fries. Went down well enough.
As to the rest…I don’t have a clue what I’ve forgotten, of course. I bet there is plenty, but it’s the end of the day and I’m more than ready to call the end of it.
First off, due to the rain, Sunday Market was cancelled. Yay and darn it, right? On the one hand it was nice to have a day off, on the other it is a pain in the behind because of the guy who paid the deposit could have shown up. Ah well, let’s just hope he’ll turn up the next time, eh. Third important point is that mom and the younger sibs sold more than nine dog beds, meaning there will be lots of work to do to replace them. Had them all understandably stressed out.
There was the trip to the vet. Not our usual one, since she was sick, but her replacement. Though he is nice enough, he’s not as experienced in applying bandages and such. I was there with two dogs, Knight II and Chaos, who has somehow managed to get his ear damaged the other day, leaving a small peace to dangle. Knight II behaved like a charm, and nicely waited his turn while Chaos braved the treatment (cutting the piece off without sedation,yikes) without a snarl of whimper. Good Chaos. He was a true gentleman, and more than happy to get the heck outta there as soon as we were done. Hah.
Might have an option of a little job through the assistant of the vet. She and her hubby are leaving for Madrid, so they are going to try to rent out their home. If they need someone to fix anything, they are going to give us a ring. We’ll see.
While I was there, waiting for my turn, I was chatting with a nice English lady who spends her time looking for homes for dogs she rescues, and ended up telling her about our pack. While she was repeating the number, the lady behind her (who’d just adopted one of her rescues) gasped. I assured them that the number was quite correct, and when she asked how we afforded to do such things, I pointed out the dog beds and that my mom and sisters make them to make some extra money. The lady with the new adoptee promptly walked to the basket, eyeballed the four samples, grabbed the most expensive one and said, “I’ll take this one.” Hah. Good way of doing business. That was about a twentieth of our present vet bill. *phew* Luckily the vet doesn’t make much of a problem of us sometimes paying it in parts.
*sigh*
Apparently this morning, a woman, who was going to leave for Morocco tomorrow, came out of the exam room with her dog, only to have the dog walk directly to the pile of beds and settle in one of them. She took one look at him in there and said she would just have to buy it. (Nice doggie) It had made the vet assistant laugh. If Knight’s progress stays the way it is, we’re going to try to go without bandage by the end of the week, and only have him wear the sock. Yay.
The beams for Liane. Cut the decorative shapes out. We sanded the lot of them yesterday. By hand, thank you very much. Started out with the machine, but I didn’t like the effect so opted to do it the old-fashioned way, which worked a lot better. Smooth as a baby’s bum (eeewwww) as they say, and ready for treatment with the varnish and anti-parasite stuff. Went with the color of mahogany, which is good, because they look friggin’ beautiful. Got the first layer done today, and should be able to to start with the second tomorrow, if weather permits it. Liane herself came to visit for a bit this afternoon and approved of the color (a relief, that) so I continued right on and managed to get the whole lot of them done right before the rain started. Yay.
Did some leather branding again, yellow leather this time, and am starting on my latest experiment of working on wood sculpturing. The way I figure I’ll be spending a lot of time working in the carport during this weather, so I might as well have some fun. I’m going for art, mind you, and I will show you the before and after shots the moment I feel like it.
Also worked on my hardwood Chinese boxes and glued together the small slats that will make up the lid in the near future. They’re starting to look gorgeous and I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the end result. Yes, I’ll take before and after shots of that too.
Got lost a little in Wikipedia again. *sigh* A dangerous place, that. Went to check out chestnuts, only to end up reading about the history of the tree, which cost me some valuable time. Fascinating, eh, history, nature. I had no idea that they could be that old, by the way.
Now, I hear you wonder: Why the heck is she looking at chestnuts?
We had a donation again on Saturday and it held a batch of chestnuts. Personally I only know them roasted and fresh, but apparently you can also fry them (they were a staple food in Europe before the arrival of the potato) which tells you what today’s meal was, eh? Hah.
Writing. Well, considering I am so very sleepy in the evenings, I have decided to give up the battle and have been going to bed early for the last two or three days, so I can get up a little earlier and try to do my writing then. Am not sure how it is going to work in the future, but what have been single pages for the past week, or so, were three per morning instead. Not bad. Now, if only I could catch up a little. Am past fifty pages now, and it feels not at all like a romance novel so at least that is going well.
Had to go to town for a few groceries, which I didn’t like at all. Why do groceries disappear, huh? Why can’t the shelves just stay full? It is vastly annoying, I tell ya.
There was laundry, there was feeding the dogs, cutting the veggies, picking up veggies, cooking supper, carrot in mashed potato the day before yesterday, and spaghetti through veggies yesterday. Today we settled for fried pumpkin, fried chestnuts, some nuggets and some fries. Went down well enough.
As to the rest…I don’t have a clue what I’ve forgotten, of course. I bet there is plenty, but it’s the end of the day and I’m more than ready to call the end of it.
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