Meeting my lovely Goddaughter

Song of the day: “Waves” by Dean Lewis. Gorgeous song, and often stuck in my head. There are way worse songs to have  as an earworm.

Life has been busy since I last wrote. One day flows into the next with such speed, that at times I have difficulty keeping track. Time is flying, the wrinkles on my forehead are the proof of that. Hah. Yep. I have wrinkles now. Whether they are from frowning in concentration too much, or simply because I am forty now, doesn’t matter, does it? Shall we say they give my face character?

Let’s see if I can bring you up to date on what has been going on, lately. The job is still to my liking, despite it not being easy, or even pleasant at times. I do long days, and feel them in my bones. More than ten hours at work is the norm, with a few exceptions. Luckily I only do three to four days of them per week, meaning that I get to recover a bit every time I’ve had a couple of shifts. Although I doubt, I would like to quit completely, I do look forward to the day that I will no longer be required to do this work, and can instead focus on writing full time. I do like the interactiveness with the guests, and the fact that the work is so diverse.

Which reminds me, I have been steadily working on the new project ever since we got back from the US. The manuscript had solid passed the 60K words mark. The characters are fully developed and quite real inside my head.  When an event is about to happen they will quite clearly tell me how they would respond to that given situation…however weird that sounds. I like them, though. They’ve got grit, a will to survive, and they have become fully 3D, just the way they’re supposed to. Added to that, the story has come to big OMG moment, which I had been working towards, so that is totally awesome. Now all that needs doing is work out how they are going to get out of a rather terrible situation, and rebuild their lives. I’m looking forward to that.

Celebrated my 40th birthday a little later in the month. Invited more people than showed up, mostly due to work,  but those that showed up made it a lovely evening of long talks and quiet lights. Really enjoyed it. And the food was good. And littlest brother was there too, which was nice.

My goddaughter was born in February, brought into the world via a c-section, due to the fact that the doctors were unable to get the labor started. She is a perfect little girl, whom I had the pleasure of meeting this eastern, when I visited her and her mom in Finland for a few days, so I could be there for her naming party, and accept my role a godmother. Was a bit startled there, in the middle of the party, sitting with the wee one in my arms when suddenly it turned out I had to join the other godparents in the center of the room during a speech. OMG, that is so not my thing. Hah. But no matter, I was there to meet her, and to see her mom, and that’s what it was about in the end.

As to the actual trip to Finland…that was pretty exciting for me. It was the first time I went on a vacation of sorts all by my ittybitty self. Had to get to the plane after big brother dropped me off at the airport (forgot my purse with money, ticket, credit cards in the car, aaaargh. Big brother had to return with it.) find my way to the train station in Helsinki, get on the train (was supposed to scan my ticket but didn’t realize it until after I got off to get on the long distance train in Pasilla) and transfer from the commuter to the speed train that would take me south to Turku. Half the time I stressed about whether I had the right one or not. I did. Thankfully, and arrived in Turku at the appointed time. Tiina came to pick me up, and we got chat while she drove me to the place I’d be staying at for the duration of my vacation.

Got to meet some really nice people, and we spent the evening prepping some stuff for the party, before calling it a night. Were going to do some prepping the next day, also the tour thing, see the future house (which was splendid, by the way. I was totally jealous, haha), the present house, see some of the area and then some groceries before we headed over to the log cabin that had been rented for the party and the night before. Gorgeous location in the middle of the woods. Big structure Had a lovely BBQ with friends and family before the night was through, and then we were headed in for the night.

The day of the party arrived. Tiina was already there when my hostess and I arrived to help out with the remainder of the party. Met more friends and family, spent some time with the folks I already knew (Tiina’s lovely mom and dad, and inlaws that I met last year or so when we all went to the zoo together. The kids were lovely, especially the little girl who was sooooo busy making a show now that she had such a rapt audience.) and generally had a lovely time.

The remainder of my stay there was spending time with my friend, getting to know the wee one, and then getting back home after our time was up. The trip back was a bit more eventful. Tiina and I thought to kill some time at a lovely thrift store, and the next thing we knew we had to rush into town to make my train. Regretfully we hadn’t calculated the fact that it would rush hour, so I missed my train by a minute. I ran, and jabbed the button but it would not open for me anymore. That meant I had to wait an hour…but at least it gave us a chance to say a proper goodbye. Repurchased a ticket and made it to the commuter train in Helsinki just barely. Seriously, had to run to make it from platform 6 to 2, and that was a matter minutes. Only made it because there was another lady who reached it before me, and opened the doors so I and two other ladies could board as well. Had forty minutes to spare upon reaching the airport. Security took only a few minutes, so I had time to rest and recover before we had to board. My feet were not amused about the entire thing, I tell ya. And when I finally arrived back in the Netherlands, there was more walking to do, because big brother (still sick) hadn’t been able to find a close parking spot. First thing I did when I reached the car, was change shoes. OMG.

Anyway, I arrived home after midnight, with the happy realization that I didn’t need to be at work until a day later, giving me one to recover. Turned out to be two. Apparently they had enough people at work for my chef to let me know to enjoy an extra day off.

My plants were looking awesome when I got back, by the way. When you see them every day, they seem not to change, but afterward they seemed so lush. Added to that, when I left nature was still sleeping, and when I returned everything had sprouted leaves, making nature sooooo beautiful. Spring is finally here, even though we are still being bugged by the occasional cold spell, loads of rain, hail and winds. It does not amuse me, especially not on days that I have to be at work. Nothing is quite as disastrous for my health as working in sauna heat all day, only to step out into the cold rain outside after a long work day. Been battling a cold that wants to sneak up on me. What with big brother having been seriously ill, Tiina and hers as well, it is bound to hit me any day now, but I am still hoping to avert it. I don’t think I’ll be that lucky, though. Been having some dizzy spells, a feverish feeling every now and then, but we’ll see.

Cooking has been infrequent, but as ever, necessary, of course. Had a rather lovely Asian wok BBQ last week for a friend’s birthday. She and another friend came over, and eating together in the lovely sunshine was our celebration. Marinated chicken in a sauce of sweet chili, apricot jam, shallots, soy sauce and some mustard. It worked out splendidly in the wok that I’d set on the open Asian ceramic bbq pot outside. Was a lovely evening.

Added to that I have experimented with bread. A lovely Mediterranean loaf, with sun dried tomatoes, loads of herbs and garlic, and some onion. Delicious. The same went for pizza cupcakes, which were awesome, buckwheat burgers, and tonight even vegetable pancakes that went down splendidly.

Been steadily working out over the past few months, although I’ve managed to go only once since my return…and the week before that also only a couple of times, because big brother was sick and I just couldn’t muster the energy. Been somewhat tired lately. Not eating enough meat, I fear…better that than anything else, anyway. If that doesn’t improve soon, I’m going to have to visit the doctor’s for a blood test, or something, to make sure that everything is alright.

Been working on the cars, and the house. Big brother’s car needed a new radiator, which he reinstalled himself. Yay! And I’ve been sorting the mess in the garage. We are way too good at hoarding stuff, and not taking the time to put it all away. Working on it, though.

Through it all, big brother has really been working a lot…as is his inclination. It means that when he’s off he’s tired, and frustrated about not having the energy to work on the book, but we’ll have to sort that out at some point. For the moment it didn’t help that our company is expanding, and he was expected to help out on the new location, which is massive. I’m curious about the new location, I tell ya. I’ve been hearing stories aplenty about the kitchens there. It should be a pleasure to work in them…even though the new staff is facing some problems of a startup.

Have visited with dad infrequently. What with him working so much, and us, too, it is very hard to match our schedules on any given day. Heck, just big brother and me, trying to match a day off together, every now and then, is a disaster already. But it doesn’t matter. We had a few good visits since the last blog, and that is what matters, I guess.

Also visited Tenant. She had some trouble recently at the home she lives at now. Her rooms, which overlooked the patio with a pond, and all its fauna visitors, were no longer available to her, meaning she had to move to a different spot in the building. She didn’t like it at all. Refused it, in fact, until she saw her new quarters and they turned out to be bigger, and overlooking the main entrance no less. It meant that now she could see who came and went at any given time, and that she liked a lot. Hah

Been making friends at work, and actually went to a bingo night with a couple of my colleagues. It was totally ridiculous, but fun, even though I didn’t win anything. There was loads of laughter, and relaxation, and an entire evening passed without me actually noticing it. I’m thinking we’re going to do it again at some point.

Watched some movies, including Hereditary with Toni Coletti. It was the first movie in ages that actually freaked me out. Seriously. The last time I was affected that way was when Event Horizon came out. Hadn’t expected it of this movie. In fact, I was already dismissing the whole thing as Coletti being mentally disturbed when it turned out it was something else entirely. OMG. Definitely a movie to see for folks who love a good horror.

Well, that’s about all I can think of right now. It’s late, and soon it’ll be time for me to get my behind to bed…hopefully feeling a little less sickly tomorrow.

Going Commando...

No, no, no. Get your head out of the gutter. I mean that literally. As in Arnold Swarzenegger in Commando. Remember that scene with him walking down a mountain with a tree trunk on his shoulder. That was me today…well, minus the bulging muscles, the chainsaw, the checkered shirt, the massive chest, the buzzcut, and…well, I was going uphill, rather than down, and by the time I got up I was wheezing like a chainsaw myself. Hah. So yeah, it wasn’t like Arnie, but you get the idea, right?

Okay, back to the usual stuff.

Song of the day: “Somebody that I used to know” by Gotye and Kimbra. Just recently discovered this jewel of a song, and it has been going through my head ever since. Heck, even when I woke up during the night, it would go through my head. I know. I’m incredibly weird that way, but hey, it could have been worse. I could have been NORMAL. Hah

But anyway, like I said up there, there was tree hauling. Part of it had already been done the past few days, and on the day we cut the big bugger down, but today the big trunks were sawed to pieces so we could haul them to storage. Yep, I walked around with a bunch of tree trunks on my shoulder (one at a time, I assure you…well, I did two at one time, but I almost didn’t make it up the stairs that way. Hah) and it was just like a workout. Good thing too, since I didn’t have time for one this morning, made up for it with a solid 120 heart rate.

I have several spots of bad news from these past two days. Manni, little sister’s 14 year old cocker spaniel is ill. Cancer, probably so yesterday he went through a biopsy, and then today, due to a slight infection, he had to be rushed back because his entire scrotum area was swollen twice the size. Poor darling. The doc stated that the swelling wasn’t disastrous, and that we won’t know the problem until Monday. *sigh*

Second bit of bad news is that the fella who was going to rent us his apartment in the village prevaricated for several days, then today declared he wanted to increase the price we had agreed on with a solid 40 percent. What with this horrible economy lots of folks think they can get some money out of the “wealthy” foreigners. Which just wasn’t doable, of course, so we had to decline that particular place. Luckily we promptly found a new one. A nice little finca literally in the country. Nothing too fancy, but location-wise it’s absolutely gorgeous. The owner seemed like a nice fellow too. Ah well, we’ll see how that goes, eh? Hopefully this doesn’t go completely wrong again. Keeping y fingers crossed.

The tick problem is rapidly increasing again. I know. I complain about this particular problem every single year, but let’s face it. It’s a friggin’ big problem. Soon we’re going to have to give them a tick bath again, and though I hate the chemical part of that, it is better than letting the pack be sucked dry of blood. Friggin’ bugs. Am removing an average of 20 ticks per dog these days, for crying out loud.

Yesterday afternoon was mostly spent working in tenant’s kitchen, where the grouting still had to be done. First it was crawling over the new tiles to clean the grouts, then filling them up and smoothening them. I had some serious annoyances with grandpa yesterday, who has this fixating with having stuff “smooth”. Drives me bonkers sometimes. He doesn’t realize that with these amounts of dogs stuff will be dirty no matter what you do. But no matter. He insists…and I wouldn’t mind all that much if only he would do part of that extra effort himself. But he doesn’t. He has a bit of an attitude of “let Sam do that, she’s good at it”, which is a ridiculous reason, because how will anyone ever be good at anything if they don’t start at some point. Grrr. Gonna have to find a subtle way to help him out of that particular illusion some day. *Sigh*

There was harvesting, watering the plants…quite a bit of that in fact, since big brother was helping grandpa with the kitchen cupboards. Not a bad way to be busy, mind you. There’s nothing quite like standing in the bright sun, looking out over the valley and sea, while a fresh breeze makes the poplar trees whisper. Sorta like a fairytale, that. But anyway, the water will be running, there’s harvests to be gathered, and on the overall, what with the dogs lying around ya, it’s a rather peaceful experience.

Workout was rather good yesterday. Did the double speed thing again, so I was properly lubricated throughout the day, while this morning I really did feel every single muscle. Hah. Funny how that works, eh.

There were dog-feeding sessions, of course, along with some concern for Chaos, who appears to suffering from some sort of malady at the moment. He’s limping a little, looks at me with those big brown eyes as if the world is about to come to an end, for crying out loud.

This afternoon, after the whole “checking out the rental” thing, we had to head for town to do a pickup. Not much that we can sell, but lots of wood, which is never a bad thing. You know how I love wood.
Since we were in town anyway, we did a few groceries, and then it was back up the mountain and arriving home at around nine in the evening…which reminds me, I’m way late at the moment. Gawd, I’m constantly running behind today. I’m sure I’m forgetting something…like working on the table and that sort of thing, but alas. I’ve got a manuscript to prepare for sending. Oh right. That synopsis shortening I had to do? I succeeded. Yay!!! Say “Good Sammy”. Now I only need to find a line of dialogue that can wow the editors, and my favorite scene (check), the query letter (check), the actual manuscript (check, of course) and a little bio, of course.

So… I’m going to call this a blog.

Dream a little dream...

Song of the day: “I like how it feels” by Enrique. Been having a lot of him in my head of late, haven’t I? Ah well, no matter.

Let’s get started immediately, shall we?

It all starts in the Land Rover. Big brother is driving, Grandpa is in the backseat, and I’m looking around, wondering where the heck we are going. We are traveling in a straight line over bumpy knolls of grass, sparkly gray rocks and patches of yellow sand, with on either side of us a wall that is rapidly becoming higher.
“I don’t think this is going anywhere,” I point out, watching pampa grass knolls brush past the car at regular intervals, the white brick walls, interrupted by patches of piled up slabs of slate stone, on either side of the car. There are high reaching stems of bamboo, a little waterfall that pounds into a small basin situated in a niche we pass, and a grassy path on which we drive.
Overhead the sun is shining brightly. A clear blue sky with rapidly tumbling cumulus clouds, is almost too bright for my eyes. I can’t find my shades anywhere, and considering the car is bumping along on the road that appears to be getting bumpier and narrower within every passing minute.
A noisy scraping sound, along with a jostle that makes me wince, I ask, “Did you just hit something?”
“Uh-huh,” answers big brother, his features tight and dark. Something’s bothering, and it isn’t the narrowing passage.
“Two somethings,” deadpans grandpa from the backseat, looking a tad tense himself. I can’t blame him, since there is a sense of urgency and worry inside me as well.
On the side of the car two long, jagged scratches mar the white paint.
Up ahead, behind the left wall I can see occasional glimpses of a black roof building that for some reason reminds me of that big old hotel in that seventies horror movie “The shining”. Except that the roof is black, and that the beam structures, much like with those old cathedrals, stick out in clear contrast.
Big brother continues to drive on.
The pampas grass is blooming here, and the planters that are about as high as the wheels of the car become lusher with greens. By now I’m no longer wondering if the passage is getting narrower; it is. In fact by this time big brother has to pull to a halt lest we get stuck. We’re already close to that predicament, considering we are no longer able to open the doors.
“Now what?” I ask.
“I guess we should climb out and see if we can get over the wall to see where we are,” answers big brother, while grandpa in the back concurs and begins lowering his window. The three of us climb out, the planters supplying us with sufficient purchase to reach the top of the wall. Using pieces of black slates as foot holds, I climb onto the ledge and peer at the long drop down. There’s moss and grass at the bottom of the sheer white wall here, and before me, obscuring the view of the big house in the distance, is a rather vast pine forest.
I carefully slide my way down the wall, for as far as that is possible. I actually rip my pants, but no matter, with little trouble I land on the soft soil. A glance up shows that grandpa and big brother are nowhere in sight. I wonder about that for a moment, but see no other recourse than to head on out to the building and find a phone. As it turns out, I’m not carrying my phone. Strange.
For quite a while I walk through the woods, sunlight only occasionally touching the pine covered ground, and small tufts of green the only real color in this world of shadows.
Suddenly I come upon a row of buildings. They appear old and built on the exact edge of the woods. They are placed close together to a point of them forming a barrier through which I can barely see, let alone pass. There are glimpses of sun light and blue sky visible between the structures, so old that there are cracks in the clapboard walls, and even broken boards there where I thought I might be able to pass through because the last house on the row is build against a hedge of a wildly growing cypress hedge.
Worming myself through it, I basically stumble into a corridor of sorts. It is unexpected and I feel momentarily disoriented as I look around the almost sterile looking gray walls (two kinds of gray. Darker below, lighter up with a black border between them). The floor under my feet are olive green tiles, and every fifteen feet or so a dark puce colored door slashes through the gray. There are murmurs all around and a distant beeping that I can’t place nor locate.
I feel chilled in my short-sleeved white T, and the tiles make the soles of my shoes squeak rather ominously. I wince every single time I put my feet down, and yet the urgency that I sense doesn’t allow me to stop and wait to fully orient myself.
“Sam!” I spin around at the scream, see a young woman come rushing towards me. I don’t know her, and yet I do. Dark haired and almost fey in appearance, she’s only a few inches shorted than me. She has her arms raised in a somewhat imploring fashion.
“Sam! Help me,” she pleads, transforming before my eyes. Skin peels away from the protrusion of her cheekbones, showing fetid flesh, reddish and bleeding as her eyes sink deeper into their sockets and become vacant and pale. She makes an inarticulate sound, more a gurgle than anything. Her hair, lush and curly when she first came running towards me, is becoming greasy and dead-ish at the same time, hanging in dirty strands on either side of her now gaunt features where her once red lips have turned to a sallow blue.
“Help meeee!” she sputters, stumbling with a much familiar stagger as I scramble backwards. “’elp meeee” again while she reaches for me with clawed hands of which the nails have turned black and jaggedly sharp.
I have nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, what with my back against one of those bland gray walls, when suddenly a ponderous sounds explodes from nearby. The girl, I don’t even know her name, shocks comically, spins on her heel as dark blood fountains around her chest. She slams into the wall in front of me, as another explosions batters my eardrums. I close my eyes for a moment, determined not to watch the girl’s head explore in a gory mass of blood and flesh, and then glance in the direction from where the gun shots originate.
There’s a blond dude standing in the open glass doors. Strangely enough he reminds me of a very young Gary Busey (or his son) while he stands there in what appears to be a white nurse’s uniform. He is holding a smoking black shotgun.
“This way,” he calls, gesturing to the corridor behind him. He is looking at tad harried, I’ll admit, and for the first time I’m starting to wonder where the heck grandpa and big brother disappeared to.
“Come on. No dawdling. We’ve got to get out of here fast.”
Rather than look at the dead zombie girl, I start running towards the guy, but as I pass through the door I suddenly find myself on a Swiss balcony, overlooking snowy slopes as far as the eye can see. Behind me there are noisy screeches and growls, like a herd of monsters from a nightmare are rapidly approach, but a glance back into the corridor from which I come, shows only the dead zombie girl.
Again I have this sense of disorientation, but I have no time to ponder it as the guy with the shotgun urges me on at a run to the end of the seemingly endless balcony.
“This way,” he shouts over his shoulder, already climbing over the banister and letting himself fall down the three stories that we’re removed from the snow covered ground. Though usually heights disturb me, I don’t hesitate as I climb over and jump just as I feel a sharp scrape in the nape of my neck. With a noisy oomph I land in a thick pile of snow and scramble after shotgun dude.
“Where are we going?” I pant, daring a look up where a suspiciously zombie-like creature leans heavily over the banister I just climbed. Backing up the monstrous grunts and squeals is that distinctive beep that is seriously starting to bug me.
When I don’t receive a response from my companion, I glance back and realize I am once more alone.
Swearing (I won’t bother you with my creativity in this regard) I scramble away from my landing spot from fear of the zombie coming in pursuit and hurl myself head-first into the dark pine bushes that are located about fifty feet away from the building. Where’s big brother when you need him, I wonder distractedly, elbowing my way through the snow, and then squealing (somewhat inelegantly, I’ll admit) when the ground drops from under me, all of a sudden and I am send hurtling down a muddy slide. I come to a slippery stop at the bottom of the incline, covered in mud and feeling chilled to the bone as I slap at the muddy soil on either side of me. “Blast it!” I mutter the words, on a subconscious level aware that I should keep quiet, despite me getting the distinct impression that I am in fact dreaming. (Sometimes it takes me a while, as you might have noticed. Hah)
Ignoring the coldness of the mud and the smell that seems to come at me from all sides, I slip-slide my way to a rocky outcropping and use its steadiness to look up at what appears to be a long, long distance that I slid down. There, at the top of an uneven crater-like hole (in which I am shivering) I can see the Shining house loom high into the bright blue sky. There are sounds of music, laughter and talking voices drifting down, and I start my struggle to ascend up the rocking wall that leads up to the building.
The snow is gone, and by this time I’m pretty darn sure that I am dreaming, and wonder where the heck I’m going as I climb higher, and higher until I finally drag my butt up on solid ground and lay there behind a wildly blooming rose bush. I never get how I can be out of breath in dreams, and yet I am. The sound of an engine nearby makes me scramble into a squat (by this time my clothes are semi clean again) to peer through the rosebush. With the rumble of the car, that beep is once again becoming more prominent and I shake my head as I try to focus on what I can see through the branches of the deep red rose bush.
There, on the white gravel car sweep in front of the massive structure a black jag pulls to a halt and two women in black robes and red high heels (don’t ask me why, this is as weird to me, as it is to you) climb from the back seat to scamper up the brick dais whispering and laughing together like a bunch of teenagers.
I am about to slink my way down to the next bush, away from the building that seems threatening to me, even with all it’s apparent splendor, when a voice behinds me says: “What are you doing here?”
I start…and wake up with Knight II ramming his friggin’ paw into the small of my spine, and blink at the gray morning light falling into my bedroom.
As it turns out, the beeping I was hearing was my alarm, which, apparently, had been going off for a solid twenty minutes. Yup.
Knight II felt bugged by it and woke me up in the most effective way. Hah.

So, that was fascinating. I knew I was in the mood for a good horror movie last night when big brother mentioned that the younger sib got “The Eye” with Jessica Alba (he was so mean mentioning it. I’ve been wanting a good horror movie for weeks now, darn it.) on DVD. Clearly I wanted a horror so badly, my mind did it for me, eh? Hah.

But anyway, there were some clear old movie indicators in there. I mean seriously. Did you get the references? Gary Busy’s son in a nurse’s uniform? “The Frightners” anyone? The hotel in “The Shining”? “Labyrinth” from the eighties, maybe? Clapboard military housing from “The Bodysnatchers” in the early nineties? Zombies as in every zombie movie ever? The long stretching hospital corridors as in most Japanese horror movies?
Of course then there was the Swiss chalet-like balcony. I can’t really place that with a movie. Hmmm. Weird.

What can I say, I’m bonkers and my dreams proof as much. Gotta get the ideas for my dreams somewhere, don’t I? What better place then wonky dreams?

No matter though. Let’s do a quick sum-up of the past couple of days. There were chores, gardening, of course, and I spent most of the days working in the upper yard. I was in fact in the storage area sorting through the messes gathered there. Seriously. There’s two years of stuff lying about there, and just yesterday I needed 4 hours to sort through the last of my tile collection.
Then today going through plastic, tubing and all that stuff, which is fascinating for me, and not so fascinating for you, so I am more than happy that I could supply the dream for a change. Hah.

It was also quite nippy, meaning that Chaos spent most of his time on my bed, huddling under the blankets. No matter that I made my bed three times he kept pulling everything loose to make a nest for himself, the son of a gun.

Knight II insisted on joining me up by the paddock, and was cold for most of the time. It did get him an appetite, so I didn’t mind. Heck, for the first time in ages he ate a full bowl in the evening.

Well, this will have to do the trick today. Not much else happening except for a failed cooking experiment with Oxalis. It wasn’t gross, but it also wasn’t anything to write home about. Luckily I had also baked potatoes, meaning that I could open a couple of cans to supplement for the veggies that failed during tonight’s supper. Turns out Oxalis is really, really sour, and though I can see possibilities with it if it is mixed with other stuff, as a sole vegetables it won’t be a big success. Think sauerkraut, but then with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. A pity. I will try again in the near future.

Gotta go.

Old-fashioned. *sigh*

Song of the day: “I’m Staying” by Krezip, followed by: “It’s only pain” by Katie Melua and: “Did it again” by Shakira. I don’t know what the heck is going on, but my head’s rambling today and won’t settle for a single song, and that while we’re only halfway through the day in the first place.

The dogs are restless too, by the way; they started in early with a choir of howls and yapping, driving me out of bed…half an hour late, ‘cause I’d forgotten to set my alarm, darn it. And that while it was such a splendidly sunny morning. Seriously it was shining down so bright I had to go out my cabin with my sunglasses on for crying out loud. (That’s the spirit. Hah)

Regretfully it didn’t last ‘cause the rain just chased me inside and that while I…hmmm. I’m getting ahead of myself aren’t I? Drat. I hate it when that happens.
Okay…let’s skip grocery shopping day entirely, ‘cause let’s face it, seven hours and fourteen stores (it seemed like an eternity) is just no fun to write about, aaaargh!!!
The day was wonderful, though. A whole day of full sunshine…which could have been spent doing something really useful like turning earth in the lower garden, but what the heck…and the temperature so pleasant that I could actually wear only a long sleeved T over my skirt.

Did see Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds” that evening, and it wasn’t as nice as I’d hoped and not as bad as I’d feared. All the fun parts had already been put in the trailers, so there really weren’t a lot of pleasant surprises in the end. A pity.

But anyway, Friday is hereby skipped; let’s get to Saturday: For some reason aaargh day was even more tiring than usual, ‘cause getting my engines revved yesterday was a downright pain in the butt. There were actually times when I would find myself staring off into space, which got to be a tad annoying when Knight II almost bowled right over me. Gawd, he’s such a lug…and a clumsy one at that. Though the weather wasn’t rainy, it was rather chilly. Considering we spent most of the day turning earth and putting in the potatoes we bought.

Did quite a patch too, making me wonder how it’s going to work in the near future when the potatoes start to grow properly. For insects (and personal taste) we decided to put in onions too, randomly putting them through the patch to provide for an interesting mix.
The six zucchini I bought went into the ground as well, figuring that if we do a few plants, rather than seeds, we’ll get some treats earlier on at least. Hah.

So yeah, now we’ve got four patches going in the lower garden, with plenty of space yet for what we still intend to do in the near future. I was rather cold and tired at the end of the day, which was spent turning earth with big brother and our friend Dani in the morning, and then, by the time the afternoon arrived with the younger sibs, who are slowly learning to like outside work…I think.

The sun peeked in every now and then, but on the overall the last few hours of the day were getting gloomy, making me more than a little grumpy when it was finally time to head inside to start with the read-through edit of “W.I. Investigations: The White Doves” and passed the halfway through mark without any hassle…albeit a tad late due to aaargh day and yesterday’s tiredness, darn it.

Only managed eight pages, seeing as we stopped at eleven in the evening so we could look at the second DVD “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds…which was a downright wonderful film in my opinion. Seriously, it was a good old-fashioned downright adorable story with likeable characters, nothing too complicated (not empty, the way so many movies are these days) in the plot while still being entertaining and…well, wholesome. I don’t get today’s “dislike” against supposed clichés which “have to be avoided at all costs” in movies for some asinine reason. I mean, come one, clichés became clichés because they are just cute and WORK.

I can hardly remember when I last saw a movie that made me go wonderfully mushy inside like “the Proposal”…hmmm. Music and Lyrics, probably. Return to Me, definitely. Two Weeks Notice, a little. While you were sleeping, *sigh*. If the Shoe Fits…ah, I miss the good old days when it was still allowed to do clichés, really I do. Whether it is best friends getting together, or the evil witch/bastard being turned likeable by the soothing secretary…Like I said, nothing feels better than the “aaaaawwww” smile followed by going mushy inside.

There really are days when I just NEED something like last night’s movie that makes me think, yeah, that’s it. Simple just works best…it does, of course, help that I tend to enjoy Sandra Bullock’s work and that I am seriously pondering a rather adolescent celebrity crush on totally edible Ryan Reynolds. *Sighs some more*. Yep, I just might go for it: It’s been years since I’ve had a proper celebrity crush. Last real one was definitely Brad Pitt in his “Interview with a Vampire” days…gawd, I miss those days. I’m getting old; that’s like…OMG, way too long ago.

But back to Ryan…I mean, really, the kid does the soulful puppy look rather well and that gangly (now seriously buffed up, btw) let-me-be-your-best-friend vibe just begs for…ehm, something totally inappropriate. Hah.

Enough about movies…I guess I got a little sidetracked, what with still turning mushy inside every time I think of the flick.
For the past few days my dreams have been rather in-tune with daily life, I’ve found. Apparently sowing, planting and turning earth during the day is not enough for me, since I’m doing all of it during the night as well, hah. Heck, just last night I woke up from planting huge tomato plants, only to find my butt hanging out of bed, the blankets on the floor, and Knight II stretched out on three fourths of the bed. Aaaargh. Had to smack him on the butt four times before he move enough for me to get back on the bed and realign my spine properly. Hah.

And, considering I need to start on supper (our tenant’s eating with us today) and making cheesecake for mom’s birthday tomorrow, I’ve got to leave it at this and get my butt to the kitchen.

Blah, blah, blah.

Song of the day: “Ain’t love a kick in the head” by Westlife (originally Frank Sinatra) I know, I’ve had it before, but I can’t change the facts. It was in my head and thus it needs to be recorded as such. Hah.

Once again I’m way too late, so I’m going to have to keep this short.

What happened today…well, nothing really interesting.
We finished the synopsis…the second draft that is, and it’s looking quite interesting. It’ll need some tweaking several more read-throughs, but on the overall, it’s got everything it needs to depict the “Saving Nina” in a very distilled form.

We worked some more on the rewrite-edit, adding two more pages to the section that ‘ll only need a read-edit in the future. This means that now we only have to do ten more pages, and maybe write another one to add some tweaks to the ending. Other than that…well, the story should be done soon. I gotta say that it’s about time, I’ve been whining about this edit stuff for months now and it’s high time that I’ve got something new to write about. Hah.

After the never-ending-edit we head on out to start work on “the project”. Considering that most of the walls are now actually done, large jay shaped enclosures need to be built around the four baby eucalypts that we planted last year. So I started digging a gutter for the foundation while the younger sibs hauled rocks to make place for it.

There’s lot of talk and discussion going on all the while, our voices probably audible all through the valley. (making me more than a little grateful that we don’t speak Spanish) Admittedly, the progress was slow, but in the end, we do finish the first enclosure with some rather impressively large rocks serving as walls. Hah.

Afterwards, close to dusk, big brother, grandpa and I head out to get a new load of rocks that get unloaded after sunset when we return with the full truck bed.
It’s dreadfully late when we finally return to the house where the dogs are going bonkers because we left them alone too long, and while watching a rather delightful movie “A Hazard of Hearts” with Helena Bonham Carter and Diana Rigg, I realize that I totally forgot to have dinner. I remember this movie from back when I was a teen and I thought it was grand. It was still sweet, if somewhat shallow…but then what else is one to expect from a Barbara Cartland story?

With a couple of slices of bread to fill up the gap, the evening came to an end, bringing me up to my cabin where big brother and I end up continuing this afternoon’s discussion for another two hours. I swear, we can yap on about the smallest detail for a solid month if we didn’t stop ourselves from time to time, hah.

So, I’m paying for the lapse in self-discipline, considering that I don’t have time for a proper blog, once again. Ah well, tomorrow’s another day…or so one would hope. Hah.

A poor excuse...I know.

Song of the day: “Ugly” by Maria Mena. It wasn’t a constant, but a funny song anyway. For the rest of the day there was some sort of classical tune in my head that I just can’t identify the composer off. I do know it is used in a lot of movies at balls… 1700s and all that. Vivaldi? Albinoni? I can’t remember.

Today was grocery shopping day, so I’m pretty much running on empty.
I don’t know what it is about this particular task that takes it out of me, since it isn’t necessarily a heavier occupation than…building a wall, for instance…it just does.

I was right on the dot this morning, went to the edit and dealt with fifty pages worth of colons an semi-colons, which is definitely a good editing day for me. Then it was interrupted abruptly, of course, since we had to get ready to head for town where the massive bimonthly grocery-shopping chore had to be done.

We did nine stores…a record, based solely on the fact that we don’t much like the idea of having to go out again for basic stuff for at least another two weeks…and got everything we needed, piled high in the back of the truck in four hours.

Admittedly most of the space was taken up by laundry detergent, which was on sale. We decided to stock up, so now we won’t have to buy the stuff for the duration of summer at least, and saved up to fifteen bucks because of it. Hah.

We also bought a large batch of milk and yogurt, which I made into panir tonight. It’s a rather delightful dish that will be divine tomorrow when we bake it. Making the stuff is rather time-consuming-cook and curdle the milk, pour the mix in hang cloths and then let the moisture drip out until you’ve got beautiful round, cheese-like balls.

The dogs thoroughly enjoyed the leftover liquid and have been drinking it most of the evening. Hah. Luckily, the stuff is incredibly good for their intestines.

Since we rented a few DVDs, we watched the latest James Bond “Quantum of Solace” which wasn’t a bad action flick by any means, but still didn’t feel like a Bond film. I just wish it had held my attention better than it did.

Well, I’m going to turn in early…or at least try to, because I really can’t do today’s Blog justice. Besides, Blog-wise, it’s boring material. A tired writer can do only so much. Hah.

Nerves...or something.

All right, this is going to be a quickie post, considering I’m at least and hour behind and really should already be getting ready to go to bed by now. Ah well, I can hardly not do my post today. That would just be…well, inconsistent.

For some inexplicable reason I forgot to set my alarm last night, which means I wake up an hour late and “run after time” for the rest of the day. I remember vague dreams this night, something about driving in a car and then being unable to take a curve due to this massive bump in the road that scrapes the underside of the truck. Very frustrating.

It is often an indication that reminds me I’m dreaming. The depth of sight isn’t the way it’s supposed to, just like when I dream of reading something and realize that I can’t make out the words that seem alien to me. When I realize as much in the dream and recognize it as such, the anxiety that this causes often disappears and I am able to alter the events to my liking. That is a good thing most of the time, since when I don’t I end up feeling frustrated when I wake up.

But let’s get to the day before I get completely distracted and start “yapping” about dreams for pages on end. I really don’t have the time…even though I might be a more fun read that just another recount of the day.

So, after letting the dogs out and quickly going through the morning rituals, I head on down to the house, keeping Trin Trin the Monster Boxer on the tight leash.
She has that CRAZY look in her eyes today, and I am just in time too, when the door opens and a couple of big brother’s cocker spaniels are right on the threshold. If I hadn’t kept her close to my heel things might have turned out as a disaster.

There is very little time today, what with the looming appointment at school, less than three hours after waking time. I can honestly say that I am both dreading and looking forward to it. Dreading it because I’ve heard horror tales about these particular lessons, and looking forward to it because I really do enjoy this part of our “education”.

But anyways…rather than plunge back into an editing session–which we really should have done, but simply couldn’t get ourselves to do in the little time we had available–I spend a frivolous hour or so online to go over the messages and chat sites before we shut down our computers and take the opportunity to do some studying instead.

The hours pass really fast, and soon I’m heading up to my cabin to change clothes and then head for the car.
First thing we do, once underway, is head for the deserted windy road leading through Valtocado. It has been more than seven months since we’ve last been behind the wheel of a car, and rather than face our lessons blindly, we decide to do a quick practice drive.

It goes well, but it almost makes us late to arrive at the school where teach is talking to one of her colleagues. As we wait for our instructor, I hand her the questions I remember from the exams and she takes them gratefully while making some joke about having send me back home if I’d forgotten them again. Hah.

Our instructor arrives then and I get in behind the wheel of the car. For the next hour I try to divert my attention between the lesson and the actual rules of the road, and find it all to be a bit confusing, even though I do relatively well.

Basically the man is showing me the things I need to do in order to make the exams. Other than that he says I did well enough.
Once big brother has had his lesson and we have returned to the school, we are both exhausted for no good reason whatsoever and are more than happy to head back home to unwind.

At the school one of the boys who did the exams with me is waiting for his very first lesson and he is mighty nervous, looking terribly pale and about ready to bolt. Big brother and I share a few reassuring words with him and wave him off when he and the instructor get in the car and are on their way.

Time to leave for home ourselves and we sigh in relief when we get into the car.
It was stressful. Not so much the driving on itself, but the not knowing what to expect, I’m thinking. And that’s fine. This means that next week will be a tad easier because we know what he wants now and can set our minds to that prior to starting.

Once at home I get online for a bit, trying to let go of the stress and then decide to just take it easy for the rest of the evening since my head feels numb. There is a long session of hanging laundry somewhere during the evening–five batches have been tossed in the machine during the day–but other than that the evening was really quite uneventful…activity wise.

We did see a couple of movies today. “Get Smart” which was surprisingly funny…or my head was so numb that I thought it was…and “The life and death of Bobby Z” which wasn’t bad either, though not stellar by any means.

Big brother and I do talk quite a bit during the evening, but to write it all down would really take too much time, so I guess I’ll just leave at this and finish today’s blog by saying that the evening ended much like most of my evenings do with a trip up the mountain, feeding the dogs and then doing some reading.

If all goes well, we’ll be heading into the “jungle” tomorrow and get some actual work done. Yay!

I passed and survived! WOW

I get called awake this morning by the house phone, after waking at least three times during the night with the rather disconcerting thought “Drat, I could have had that exam question wrong too” and then the next and the next. Very frustrating, not to mention annoying.
So, with the phone ringing, I roll out of bed, snap a quick, “give me a sec” into the mouthpiece and hurry for the door to let the dogs out.

Sucking in a deep breath I address the caller again. As it turns out big brother is on the phone and he informs me that he went online, checked my scores and that I’ve passed the exams. YAY! My breath comes out with a noisy puff then, especially after the dream scares. Gawd…I always said that my mind is my worst enemy in such cases.

By the time I return to my bedroom, it becomes clear that I have missed another phone call, this on my mobile and return it with the knowledge that it’ll be the teach. She informs me that she has gotten the results too and congratulates me with only two errors when I could have had three. We talk for a bit; making plans to meet up soon so we can start on the next stage of our “education” and settle on a schedule where big brother and I will come to the school after the weekend so we can make plans.

With all that settled, and calling grandpa that I finally made it through a quick call to his cottage, I hurry through the morning rituals and do some reading in a book that I’ve read often but felt like revisiting again.
It is most peculiar, but ever since I became a member of the Julie Garwood discussion group at proboards, I’ve come across a strange “problem” with her book “Ransom”.

Now, I have read the book a dozen times in the past and enjoy it on every occasion, but at the discussion group site one of the other members has picked no other than Kevin Sorbo as the appearances of the male hero.
Now, I have nothing against Kevin Sorbo, honest, he’s cute, in a rather modern sort of way, but I’ve found that while reading “Ransom” for the thirteenth time, or so, I am now seeing the hero as friggin’ Hercules, and I don’t know if I’m happy about that, or not. Hah.

Be that as it may, I finish a chapter or two and head on down to the house.
No laundry today–I completely forgot–throughout the preparation of Yadzia’s breakfast, my own and then the computer when I quickly get online and then start editing.

Since I have been so focused on the exams these past weeks, the well of inspiration has been plugged solidly shut, so instead big brother and I decide to work on his project for a bit to see if there are any changes necessary, and perhaps some additions to the scenes he’s created.

It reads well and on the overall it needs only a few changes, since he doesn’t know how to create the necessary shortcuts in the way a sentence can be put down yet, and has sometimes put something down backwards. These are all minor mistakes, and I assure him of that on the multiple times he asks if it reads well and if it is a proper start of a story.
It is rather sweet to know that my opinion matters that much to him.

But anyway, after a few pages I manage to read a few pages of my own fantasy adventure “The Learning of Crysp” before it is time for me to head out to the car once more.

Mom’s doctor’s appointment is coming up and afterwards I need to take Yadzia to the vet again. The poor lab was crying again last night, his back hurting somewhat fierce, so I need to discuss our options once again.

The doctor’s appointment is dealt with rapidly, ending with a prescription as usual, before we drive over to the vet hospital where I take a remarkably happy, but slightly unbalanced Yadzia inside.

Our regular vet was there for a change, and I was happy that he joined in on the discussion as we discussed a change in medication for Yadzia to see if it might work better than the last one. It is a little more expensive, but I don’t mind that if he feels better for it.

That done, and a quick trip to the pharmacy, our little outing is over and we head back home where we’re welcomed by the noisy pack the way we always are. Luckily they settle down soon and I can start on making a quick dinner. Spaghetti with tomato sauce and veggies, it goes down well, but afterwards I start sagging in my sheet, catching my eyes upon dropping shut even as I watch “House”.

This definitely won’t do, so I decide to change in my workout clothes and get my routines done while watching the show, and “The Mentalist” that comes on after it. It goes well, doing an excellent job of waking me up. The evening afterwards goes by pleasantly, especially with the rental DVD of “Eagle Eye”.

The movie was a very pleasant surprise, offering great entertainment, a good story, interesting characters and good action scenes. Not at all what I’d expected, and definitely a form of relaxation I was up for.
It was long, however, so I’m dreadfully late by the time I finally get to my cabin and need to get ready for bed, and write today’s Blog.

Who cares, though? I made the exams!!!! Hahahaha.

Exams: Part II. Aaargh!

So, it was that time of the week. I go to bed early, so I can get a decent night’s sleep, and end up lying awake in bed, my mind spinning at top speed, for hours until I finally drop of to sleep a measly two or three hours before it’s time for me to get up and get ready to go to the dreaded exams.

The alarm shrills me from a peaceful sleep that was long in coming, and I stare at the offensive device owlishly as I try to remember why it is screeching already. The memory slams into me like a sledgehammer and with a groan I huddle deep under the finally warm blankets that did a lousy job of keeping my temperature up this night.

I really don’t want to get up yet, but the alarm keeps screeching, (I can’t reach it from the bed) and I know I’m going to have to face the pre-dawn cold soon anyway. Reluctantly I roll out of bed, letting the dogs out, washing up with cold water, and getting dressed in the clothes I’ve put aside the night before.

Pulling on an old skirt over the Jeans I picked–so the dogs won’t dirty the denim–I head on down to the house to pour some coffee down my gullet while eating a couple of slices of bread.
Big brother, who has gotten up as well since someone needs to be awake with the dogs, and I talk for a bit until it’s time for me to head on up to the car and depart to get to the city in time.

It’s a good thing my driver and I departed a little early since, when we approach the city on the motorway, traffic is rapidly congesting around us, giving us only twenty minutes to spare when I join the rest of the exam-takers in front of the closed fence of the traffic office.

I notice three of my fellow student huddling together against the chilly wind coming from the southwest, and tighten the wrap around me as I leaf through the lesson book for the duration of the wait.

Finally, the gate is opened by a security guard, and with the rest of my companions we stream onto the courtyard to wait for the woman standing in the doorway to call out every individual name on the pile of papers she’s holding.

Basically the same procedure as last week occurs, except that the identity check is more thorough, there are less people taking the exams, and the monitoring women are different than before. Also, I am basically seated in the back near to my fellow students, of which one is a little panicky ‘cause he forgot a pen.

Though the women are going to offer pens to those who forgot them later on, I take pity on him and give him one of mine, which is sticking out from my bag. He takes it gratefully, right until he sees that the pen is blue (our teacher pressed that they needed to be black). I point out that lots of others have blue pens as well but he continues to fret until one of the women assures him “vale, vale” which basically means that it’s fine.

So the test start and the thirty minutes are running. I’m starting to get a little excited when I go through question after question finding out that I actually know the answers without too much trouble. I have to keep reminding myself to keep calm and focus throughout, when a smile threatens to form on my face. (It is going to be soooo annoying if I don’t make it with these.) In the end I only doubt about four, which I consider excellent. It means that I only need to have semi-guessed 1 right to make this round.

I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed…and I still say that the creators of the tests are bastards for setting the questions up in such a way that you need to have a major in literature just to understand them.

Ah well, I’m feeling pretty positive when I head back for the car and immediately start writing them down so I can go over them with the teach back at school. Of course doubts start to surface by the time I’ve remembered 21 of them, continuing to fret about them all the way to town, through heavy traffic until I’m dropped off at school.

The teach really wants to go over the test, but since it’s a busy day we don’t manage to get all of them covered in the half hour that passes. Other students are constantly dropping in, needing her attention and soon she needs to start on a group lesson, so it’s time for me to head on home and just wait for the results tomorrow.

I drop off the rented DVDs at the video store and manage to get three movies for the next few days that should be interesting. “Max Payne”, ”Burn after reading” and “Eagle Eye”. I don’t know if they’re any good, but at least it’s some relaxation.

My energy levels are seriously dropping by the time I arrive home, and go over the questions with big brother to see if he can say for sure which one I have gotten wrong. We agree that at least 1 isn’t correct, as the teach was contemplating just before she got distracted. Bummer, but still not a disaster…I hope.

Deciding to put it aside for the time being, I feed Yadzia, get on the computer while big brother heads back to bed, and mess around online for a bit before starting to write down the full exam for later reference. I manage to remember all 30 questions in the end, though the wording is flawed at the very least, and that does give a slight sense of satisfaction. Maybe I suck at exams, but my memory works just fine. Hah.

I attempt to do a bit of writing but after a couple of paragraphs it become blatantly clear that I’m really too tired to get anything done so I shut the computer down and decide to hang and fold the day’s laundry before curling up on an armchair for some much-needed shut eye.

For two hours, with Touri on my propped up feet, Mosha and Dax on my lap I snooze with a multitude of exam questions that keep flashing through my mind, but I feel somewhat revitalized at least when I wake up and find that the evening has arrived.

Remaining in the chair for a bit–the doggies are sleeping so peacefully–I take my time slowly stretching the kinks from my back and then get up to see what to make for dinner. Though there are some leftovers from yesterday’s curry and sweet ‘n sour dishes, I know that the younger sibs will pretty much annihilate what is still there, requiring a meal for me, mom and big brother.

In the end I settle on noodles with a satay sauce made from crunchy peanut butter. It takes only a short time to prepare and it should do an adequate job of filling our stomachs now that a long day and cold temperatures are taking their toll.

Once dinner’s over and done with and the dishes seen to we decide to put on Mark Whalberg’s “Max Payne” movie.
After watching it I don’t consider it bad, necessarily, but it seriously lacked some depth. A pity really since the idea was nice and images very pretty. Now, if some time and effort had been put in dialog, plot explanations and characterization it would have been a wonderful movie. Alas this wasn’t the case.

What follows is a very exciting episode of “Criminal Minds” and then the night has come to an end.
Just twelve more hours at most and I’ll know how I did on the exams! Whatever the results, I’m going to have enough to keep me distracted tomorrow. Yadzia needs to go to the vet and mom has her monthly visit with the doctor.

We’ll see.

So tired, without good reason

I’m going to keep today’s Blog a little short. I find myself to be exhausted for some reason, and the very thought of writing out something long and cohesive is making me want to whimper pitifully.

So, I wake late this morning, the alarm accidentally set thirty minutes too late…I’ve no idea how that happened, but okay, no real harm done in the end.
The dogs are restless, tugging at my blankets to get me out of bed, and making a regular nuisance of themselves until I finally throw the door open and watch them storm out into the mud.

The rain had gratefully let up, but the ground is covered with a thick, moist layer of mud that literally makes the soles of my shoes sink into them by the time I’m through with the morning rituals and head on down to the house.

Chores seem to take longer than usual, and big brother gets dragged into his own, not allowing us to settle down in front of the computer until just an hour and a half before it’s time to leave for our lessons, and grocery shopping.

We spent most of the time online, working on the publications at the printer’s, figuring out how to make some last minute revisions to the new format. It’s all rather frustrating considering that the time literally seems to tick in my head. Before we’re actually done, time’s up and we need to hurry.

Once at the school, we spent about ninety minutes doing tests, in the front lobby, rather than the over-crowded classroom, before time runs out again and we need to hurry on out to the car to start on the bimonthly groceries.

I’m in need of some warm sweaters; I’ve only got two of them left, and luckily I manage to find a sale in one of the chain stores at the mall where I’m able to buy four items for the price of one. Two sweaters, a vest and a T-shirt later we’re back in the car heading for the supermarket.

Once the groceries are done, we start back on our way home, carrying the movie “Wanted” and “Babylon A.D.” with us as a small reward for a job well done. Hah.
At home, after suffering through the usual jubilance of the dogs, we store all the purchases in record time and have dinner of the meal little sister prepared during our absence.

It’s good, and for the first time in weeks, after returning from school I’m actually not nauseous afterwards. We’re all pretty much done for after that, putting on “Wanted” a movie we’ve wanted to see for months now. (No pun intended.)
It’s not necessarily bad, the story had great premises, but I found it lacking in the execution of how they brought the story to the screen. A pity really: It could have been grand.

It’s already close to midnight by the time the movie is over, and after some channel surfing I gather the dogs and take them up to my cabin for the night.
Once I’ve fed them and read a few pages, I settle behind the computer to do a little more reading of the review book I’m working my way through at the moment and then log on for the final round of the usual places.

Another rant. Movies are good for it.

Right. I don’t know what it is, these days, with movies, but I fear I will have to start with another exasperated OMG today.

No, I won’t make you wait the entire course of the day to find out what made me agog with hysterical horror. I’ll jump right in and spout it out.
“The Mist”!!!!!
I would like to say that I am so bloody stumped that I am at a loss of words, but alas this is not the case. Words are simply overflowing at this particular moment and they have to come out lest I explode.

So, here’s what’s up: I made the dreadful mistake of watching another S. King movie today. I promised I wouldn’t after the last disaster, but I keep hoping for something brilliant like “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Dreamcatcher” or even “The Green Mile” but after numerous disappointments this one certainly tops the cake.

I hear from reliable sources that King’s ending was entirely different than the one they used in the film, but in light of previous written works and movies, I’ve got to admit that I really don’t have the right to be surprised.

Oh. In case you haven’t seen the movie yet, there might be some ***SPOILERS*** in this little rant of mine. Do move on if you’re intending to see it, and don’t want to hear anything about the story. Hah.

But, as I was saying! I wasn’t really surprised. It started out incredibly slow, with special effects that would be more suited for the ‘90s than they are for today’s FX possibilities. Several characters that I’ve begun to identify as typical King characters came past, making me groan on more than one occasion, and for some unfathomable reason I actually continued to watch the movie all the way to the end.

Big mistake! Huge mistake

I am going to kill the sibs for not saying what they thought of it. Seriously, the pests were gleefully enjoying my vocal aggravation throughout the movie, and then had the audacity to stand on the stairs by the end, asking, “So, what did you think?” innocent as you please.
My response: “Oh thank you so much for letting me watch it. It was fab!!!” while raising both thumbs and smiling a toothpaste add smile as I was thinking up ways to get back at them by tossing out some spoilers for some other movie, just because they hate it so. Grrrr.

I saw it coming. I really did!
I saw the protagonists step in that car, head on out with no better plan than to see how far the fuel in the tank would get them, way before they actually did.
Duh! It wasn’t going to take them far enough, obviously.
And then–this was the “brilliant” part…NOT–five people in the car, with only four bullets and them thinking there was no way out.

Heck. I started rolling my eyes somewhere in the middle of the movie when the zealots started spouting in biblical proportions, and was pretty much cross-eyed by the time only the main protagonist remained with no way to finish himself off.

He gave a valiant attempt at showing some serious emotion, failing miserably I’ll admit, when I heard it (saw it in my mind’s eye, mind you) the cavalry…too late, which it always is.
Aaargh. Give me a friggin’ break!

There are times when I wonder at these moviemakers. Really, I do. What is the moral of such and ending, following what was already a mind-numbing experience from the start? I don’t get it. I really don’t. Is it an attempt to give some realism to a whacked out theme? Some sort of drama that would do so much better with something uplifting rather than a suicide add instead.

In the end all I could do was shake my head and wonder why the heck we wasted four bucks on renting this excellent piece of ranting material, and pondering the possibility of a lawsuit to whoever thought this was good viewing material for the loss of 90 minutes of my life. It should be illegal!

But enough about “The Mist”. I’m going to use my incredible mental powers in an attempt to wipe it from my memory as soon as possible. OMG!

The day:
I was actually in time today, waking about five minutes before the alarm went of (thanks to the Monster Boxer) and I lie there blinking at the ceiling for a bit as I try to make my head wake up enough to roll out of bed and let the dogs out.

First thing’s fist, however: Trin Trin needs to be grabbed–without physical damage to my person, preferably–and tossed out into the backyard before I even think about venturing towards the front exit for the rest of the noisy pack.

Grabbing hold of her collar–just barely evading blissfully rounded teeth, and slamming the door before she manages to turn and attack the door with her usual zest for destruction–I shake my head at her sturdy little body, bouncing on the small porch as if it were a trampoline.

That done, I stab my feet into house slippers and push my way through eagerly jumping canine bodies to unlock the front door and let them out into the main yard. Like mad they dash past, stumbling over each other and their own feet on their way off the front porch and then disappearing to regions unseen, leaving me with a moment of blissful silence and freedom of movement.

It was a little colder again this night, so due to this most of the dogs had clustered on the top end of the bed, giving me several kinks to stretch out of my limbs before I start the morning rituals with a quick read, making the bed and getting dressed for the day.

The flu is lurking just around the corner. I can feel it in my tonsils and my nose, which is working overtime in trying to get clogged with bodily juices that I really don’t want there. Hah.

It’s about an hour later when I chase the dogs–they return about three minutes after their release–down the mountain and head into the courtyard. What with yesterday’s pleasant weather, followed by a reasonably mild night, the laundry that has been hanging for several days now, has dried, so I deposit my baggage inside and start taking it down.

Four batches of wet laundry are waiting to be hung in the laundry room, and after lugging the loads out into the courtyard I spend a fair amount of time putting it all up on the lines.

Next, I sneak in a quick breakfast and then move to the pile of dry fabrics for folding before I am able to set up the computer and get online.
I do a speedy check of the usual sites, including my messages and then sigh regretfully when it’s time to start writing.

Five pages get added to the story again, elaborating the scene big brother had outlined for me in three pages, bringing the story up to almost half of what it needs to be finished.

Excellent scene today: Action! I do love writing such events. The danger in it, the excitement: It’s scenes like these that make my fingers fly over the keys, weaving a tapestry of imagery in words…or at least that’s what you’d call them if you’re literary. If not, which is the case for me, it’s just a kick-ass scene that gets the blood pumping. Hah.

But anyways, after about three hours of intense writing, occasionally interrupted by ongoing discussions over my head, and a question or two from big brother, I call a halt to the days’ progress and get my butt out of the seat for the preparation of dinner.

I’m in the mood to make something simple today and decide on green beans in coconut shavings with basmati rice and curry seasonings, with carrots julienne on the side, baked to a crisp in green herbs.

As an added bonus I decide to make two pies for dessert for a change. We don’t usually eat dessert (and admittedly we don’t today, either) but I was in the mood to make something…different.
We end up with a peach and a cherry pie for the effort. With middle sister’s help, it gets done in record time, but since we’re all pretty much stuffed with dinner, they’ll be a treat for tomorrow instead.

By this time the evening has fallen, and we watch a new episode of “The Closer”, which thankfully was fun. If it hadn’t been, I might have been forced to do something drastic after the movie we put on right afterwards.

Seriously bummed, and more than verbal about it around the gleeful sibs, I gather my things, round up the dogs and head on up into the night to get up to my quarters.

Certainly not a busy day, but at least I got some progress to write down today in light of writing. If it hadn’t been for that, I might have had to skip today’s Blog entirely from sheer boredom.

I do manage to get a little more reading in once I settle down in the cabin, adding more to the review I’m writing for it. Just a few more pages, a novella, to go and this particular book will be over and done with.

I’m thinking Harlequin next. I’m going to need something uplifting that’s a fact.

Fragmented dreams: Messy.

I am breathless when I wake about four hours after I went to sleep. I can’t explain why, especially not articulate it, but the dream, of which the details started slipping from my mind the moment of awakening was so intense that I had to breathe in harshly upon opening my eyes. Disjointed images flash through my mind, confusing me as I drag the Monster Boxer on the bed and take her in a headlock that has her snoring in my ear, less than five minutes later.

I wish I could remember it, ‘cause it is one of those dreams that I just know will give me that Deja vu feeling some day, which will drive me bonkers at some point in the future.
Lots of jumbled fragments of other dreams followed, too, but due to the nature of the mess they in fact were, none of them managed to stick.

It was a tad frustrating, I’ll admit, but luckily it didn’t affect my mood when I got up to let the noisy dogs out of the cabin and start on the morning rituals.

No laundry today, but a workout session awaits by the time I get to the house and grumpily debate with myself until I change into workout clothes and get to it. As usual, once started–even though every muscle burns–I manage to get “into” the exercise and end up doing it ten minutes longer than I’d intended.

Two hours after waking I’m finally done, hit the showers and then have a quick, light breakfast before heading for the table to set up my computer. I’ll only have a little time today, what with lessons looming later on, but I do manage to edit a few pages and get a new one written down.

Time’s up and I hurry through changing clothes and heading for the car so we can depart on our biweekly trip to town.
Since the Scandinavian shopping center just down the mountain, closes early, we stop there first for some herbal medicine, and then head for school.

The street is finally remodeled fully, so we get dropped off at the door and head straight for the computer area. For the next hour and a half we go through the tests, and manage only nine times thirty this time. But still, we passed them all with just a few errors. I’m thinking maybe two more weeks before we can give our exams a try.

Afterwards, we stop to bring the DVDs back to the rental store and leave with Liam Neeson’s “Taken” and “Wall-E” to last us through the weekend. I also hurry into the large supermarket behind it…this is a European one, and very expensive…in hopes of finding some peach tea for little sister. Regretfully, just like all the other stores they no longer carry it, which is rather disappointing. She does love it.

Next we hurry through our regular supermarket to buy a few things that will see us through the weekend and then head home.

After the usual exuberant greeting of my pack and Knight II’s bruising “love”, things finally calm down enough to make myself a quick dinner of fries and a salad before we settle down to watch “Taken”.

I’m rather pleased with this particular movie. I hadn’t expected to, but it was very well done. Good action, excellent acting and a rather disturbing–and awfully realistic–view on, what we like to describe as, the civilized world. It’s scary, I’ll admit, but it does point out that traveling without the safety of numbers is really not a smart thing to do.

I always knew that. It doesn’t matter how many wonderful people walk around, there’s always a rotten apple lurking on the sidelines, ready to pounce. It doesn’t mean that one can’t enjoy the freedom of discovery. It just means that caution is really a smart thing to employ, and that letting your guard down because you “think” you’re in a safe place is not a good choice to make.

After the movie, I spend some time messing around with the camera on big brother Mac, and end up with a few nice shots of myself and some dogs alike, hah. I’ll need to post them on Myspace at some point. The one of Knight II and I together does display his size rather well.

By the time I finish experimenting, it’s time to take the dogs up, get a forty-pound bag of dog food from the carport so I can feed the dog and do some reading on one of the books I’m reviewing.

Not much to write today, I regret to say. No matter though, not every day can be a fun ride in a theme park, even though I wish it were.