Song of the day: “Rapper’s delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang. Such an entertaining song.
So yeah, it is that time of the week again…well, two days late anyway, but it’s been busy and we got hit in the face by town hall once more. I don’t know what bug crept up those people’s behinds but seriously, they have issues. Now they aren’t satisfied that we broke everything down, nope. Added to that we have to remove the remnants of everything that we rushed to break down. Like some things, such as furniture we are trying to preserve under tarps and such are not allowed. Have you ever heard such nonsense? That you can’t have stuff stored under a tarp on your friggin’ own property. Those cabins we were forced to break down we have them stored as well so we can try to sell them. Need to be gone. Worse yet, they are also claiming that you can’t split up your fenced yard into different sections, which just boggles the mind. Whoever started this shaite on my family will have a lot of misery on his/her conscience if this goes a lot further. We have troubled dogs. Dogs that were mistreated when we first got them, and which do not go well with others without the protection of fences between them. If it is true (I’m meeting with someone who might know of a way to help us) and we are forced to take the fences away, we will have no other choice but to put several of our lovelies down for no other reason than that we would be unable to find other homes for them. I mean, we took them because they couldn’t be placed elsewhere, for crying out loud. If this comes to pass, it will be on that person, and his/her karma to carry, I tell you.
It is astonishing the lengths to which some town hall folk go.
I do admit that all this hassle, all this sadness and stress, make hard to maintain your cool and a positive attitude toward life, but I tell you this. I will do what I can, give it 110 percent for as long as I can to give these animals a good life and if I then fail I will look at it as something that was inevitable, like a disease. Out of my hands. That is the only way that I can live with it, I tell you.
And ones these wonderful animals are gone, and they have led the best life possible, with love and health and happiness, I will leave and start over some place far away from here. Nothing except those dogs keep me here now, not the wonderful people I met over the years, not this piece of land that holds nothing of me anymore. And I can have peace with that, I think. What remains is time, as much as I can give them.
Though Tenant is slowly getting used to her new place, and actually loves the new house where she can sit in front of the window, close to the radiator and with the TV at her feet, Sally isn’t doing well at all. Cousin Ed says that every week she is a little less Sally. Her entire body appears to be shrinking, while her head is still terribly swollen. She lies in bed all day now, staring at the ceiling with eyes that don’t see much of anything anymore. The only thing she still does is sing with her visitors when they come by. A sad thing that.
Which is all terribly depressing isn’t it? Well, that is not me, I refuse to accept depression, so let’s move on, and think of the positive things happening.
Writing. We have about 100 pages to go in the edit, and less than a week before we have to enter in the competition. We might not make it on the dot, but after we entered we are allowed to alter our submission for a few more days at least, so it should be manageable. Funny, isn’t it, that stuff always goes haywire while you are working with a deadline. Let’s just hope that we make this one.
Haven’t heard anything yet from “Chicago Hope” which is still at the publisher’s. I am not yet worried, seeing as they warn that it could take up to 8 weeks until you hear something. We’re about four weeks into it now. Keep those fingers crossed.
Cooking. Well, experimenting-wise there is very little to mention, seeing as there is even less time now than before, but I’ve been consistently eating healthy at least, if a tad rushed. Lots of cauliflower, broccoli, which is so wonderfully easy to prepare with a handful of dried herbs.
Dog food has been difficult this past week. The deal we have with some of the local rehab centers for their leftovers means that the amounts depend on what is left for them. At the moment it is very little, so we’ve been forced to substitute a few meals with dry food. Nothing wrong with that, but I rather have them eat fresh made food. Way more healthy. But one does what one can, right?
Had another dog at the vet. Little Sammie, Tenant's dog (both Sammie and Julia will be traveling toward their owner on the 22nd, which will be a relief)had an infection in the flap of his ear, making the darn swollen terribly and him absolutely miserable. Luckily it was not a "broken" ear, which would have been a costly venture, and just a matter of bursting the swelling which was all puss. Poor thing is on antibiotics now, but otherwise not doing badly. Phew. How he got it, is a mystery, but I suspect it has to do with his tendency to roam. There are these grasses and weeds that tend to get stunk in his fur. Both he and Julia definitely need a shaving before they leave.
The weather has been iffy at best. Beautifully warm and sunny one day. Sunny windy and icy the next. And then miserable, cold and rainy the other. There seems to be no thought nor rhyme to it. Right now it is rather splendid. I am outside on the terrace in front of what used to be my cabin, the sun is shining, there is very little wind and my dogs are lying around me. Better than that, it doesn’t get, does it?
Writing. Well, personally I’m looking forward to being done with this edit. It means that we won’t have a deadline anymore, and if we miss a session due to being unable to keep our eyes open, we won’t need to beat ourselves up about it. Instead, every spare minute that is found can be used to work on “Earth Drawn” (sci-fi) or “Gun!” which is totally an action flick, and for the first time in a long, long while 1st person narrative. There will be lots of humor in it (think Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), which is definitely something I could use right now. Whichever I decide on, it will be fun to write again. To just like my mind wander, go with the flow, and practice a little escape-ism. As to which one…we’ll see.
Well, there still is a lot to do today. I’ve got a meeting in a few hours, let’s hope it will be helpful in some way. I would like to make a nice potroast for supper, which will take a minute to prepare, and which I will have to fit in at some point during the day. I’ve got to pick up little sister from work, then later tonight after my appointment I’ve got to pick up big brother, so all in all I will be lucky to have some energy left by the end of the day to do some edits. Hah.
Gotta go. I’ve got to admit that writing this blog did a good job of calming me down a little. Funny how writing does that, doesn’t it?
