Merry Christmas!!!!

Song of the day: “All comes down” by Alan Walker and Noah Cyrus. Cute song for sure.

Well, another blog has arrived.Not as long since the last one, but still, I should have been by sooner. Had planned to, but then on several occasions when I had planned to post one, something happened. The editor got back to me with the book. I was sick. Had to work. Always something isn’t there. Anyway, am here now, so let’s see what’s been going on.

First off…if all goes according to plan, we finished the final EDIT of the book yesterday. This was copy edits, so cross your fingers, toes, legs, and anything else that you can think of that this is it, finally. The Copy edits weren’t nearly as traumatic as before. Really basics, like missing words, grammar rules and formatting stuff, so it was done in just a few days. Yay. Got everything ready to send it before the last deadline and happy about it. Time to actually get to the end product, right? Actually had fun during this last one, considering we got to linger (if only a moment) on particular scenes we enjoyed writing.

Here a teaser of the cover...

Had my dinner party the other day. Had planned on a buffet party, but since so many folks turned out to be unavailable on the date, I decided to shift that to a later date (maybe a book party, some time next year, right?) and make it a dinner party for those that had already agreed to come. 

We were with a total of eight + a 1 year old, so it was a nice full evening involving plenty of food (spent about 5 hours on cooking spread over 2 days, so it wasn’t too much work) talk and laughter. Had a nice time, and everyone enjoyed themselves, I think. Had invited littlest brother as well, but he had an unplanned overtime session at work, so the only way he could have made it was to go straight to the station and travel our direction, and still be after eight…an hour after I had planned for dinner to start. The snacks would have tided us over for sure, but still, what with the baby there, stretching it out that long seemed unproductive, so we agreed he’d come the next day for a dinner of left overs. Hah.

Had prepared an elaborate dinner (was afraid I had cooked too much, of course) with hors d’euvres of toasted vegetable bread with herbal butter, small zucchini pastries and a rather sturdy butternut  pumpkin soup. We followed that up with a colorful salad, involving grilled mushroom and  pumpkin seeds and a dressing of choice. Next was the main course of a leek quiche with sweet potato mash garnished with grilled peppers and onions on a bed of raw arugula. Only to end it all with a freshly baked apple pie with whipped cream. Needless to say, everyone was thoroughly stuffed, and I wasn’t left with an excessive amount of left overs. In fact, I had exactly enough left to feed three people the next day for when littlest brother came to visit. Yay!

So all in all, it was a lovely evening, that lasted way longer than planned with everyone not leaving until eleven in the evening, and one guest even spending the night. Considering I had managed to spread the actual cooking out over a couple of days, I didn’t even have a massive clean-up afterward. In fact, two dishwasher loads, carrying chairs and tables back to their original sports and voila, things were all back to normal. I would call that a success!

My new job is official. Finally got and signed my contract the day before yesterday. Will be working for a big catering company, on several locations in company cafeterias, so that will be a nice change from the Wellness branch. I get to mess with food, maybe even express myself creatively in the future, since the manager promised that they try to stimulate creativity in their employees. We shall see how that goes. The company policy does look promising, since they aim for vegetarian since that is on the overall better for the environment, they do not make excessive amounts so there won’t be a lot of waste, and they try to focus on the veggies of the season, which all sounds good to me. They will be serving mostly lunches, which will include sandwiches, soups, salads and other finger food, so that should be fun at the very least. I will be starting in the first week of January, so who knows, the next time I write, we’ll know more. Haha

Spent a couple of days at my dad’s to help out painting his new place. There was a bit of a rush going on there, considering the new floor was going to go in the following Monday and they would have preferred to have the paint on by then. They didn’t make that, but at least the primer had been put on in 90 percent of the house. I had counted on being cold for a couple of days, but it wasn’t. The house needed to dry asap, so the heating was on high, meaning that within an hour everyone was sweating like a racehorse. Hah. Such a long drive, to and from, but it was basically the last time I could actually help, so I didn’t want to cancel.

Luckily by that time I was no longer sick. A week earlier would have been a lot less handy. Was sick as a dog, I tell ya. It all started as the sniffles, with a terrible runny nose, that didn’t seem to get worse than that, only to suddenly sink a day or two after I thought, “Hey, it is getting less bad,”. So there it went, a nasty little cough that stayed high up in my lungs rather than deep down below where I feared it would go, due to experience. Kept up my qigong during the whole thing, which includes several exercises for the lymphatic system and the immune system, which think helped keeping the cold’s damage to a minimum. I do know that normally, in the past, even as short ago as last winter, a could that sunk in my lungs would have been a disaster for a full two weeks, instead it took me 3 days to get over the worst of it. Yay.

There were quite a few cleaning sessions due to the dinner party, of course. Can’t have the house a mess if you get visitors, duh. So walls got emptied of spiderwebs again, floors vacuumed (had done the windows just a couple of weeks ago, thankfully) kitchen and bathrooms scrubbed, and everything tidied. And it looked good. Made relaxing on the night in question a lot easier.

Had to have the car fitted with new brakes…which costs a friggin’ fortune! Added to that, we had to have the yearly check, so the day before the appointment I spent cleaning the inside of the car. Got a cute mechanic so having a pigsty for a car really isn’t an option. Didn’t get to the outside, but considering it is winter and all cars are dirty anyway, I didn’t mind all that much. Instead I washed the thing today and it looks splendid for Christmas dinner with the family down south. Yay. 

Regardless, the car got through the yearly inspection without much trouble, so we’re all set for a year, thankfully.

Helped out at the store again a couple of weeks back, which was fun. Sorted out the majority of the top floor, which had been such a mess lately that they weren’t able to let customers up there to roam about. Not good for business that. Anyway, got most of that done, so I hope that this is now less of a problem…I should probably ask. Totally forgot. Hah

Did find a rather good 2^nd hand office chair. My old one was starting to give in to the demands of time and use, so it was a lovely find at the gift shore. Really a rather fancy one, and considering a lot of my work involves sitting at my desk, a good chair is rather vital.

Am all set for this year’s Christmas presents. Found one for everyone that I needed one for, except littlest brother, who I find difficult to find something for, so in the end I decided to make a quilt. Much like I used to back in the day. Used mostly recycled materials, Jeans in this case, so the quilt is in only blue hues. Worked out rather well, despite it being a pain in the behind to make because most fabrics were stretchy, but to different degrees, it made making it all straight rather difficult. Did finally manage so I hope he likes it.

If he doesn’t I’m going to take it back and give it to someone else, or maybe even try to sell it. I’ll let you know how that works out.

Also made myself a quilt. Nothing near as fancy as the quilt, but at least one big stretch of fabric (makes the bedroom look way more dressed I always think) that I’d had lying around for more than two years already, exactly for this purpose. Love my sewing machine for sure. Was nice doing some other activity than working behind the computer. It had been so long.

Lastly I went visiting friends the day before yesterday (a couple that weren’t able to come to the dinner party) and spend the evening there playing with the dog and two babies. Was different, and fun in its own way, even though by then the edit wasn’t done yet, so I didn’t make it too late, and went home in time to finish another 40 percent of the manuscript. Hah

And that makes for today’s blog. There are sure to be things I forgot to mention, but that’s no surprise anymore, is it? Anyways… Wishing y’all HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! And that the past year gave you everything you’d hoped for the last time ‘round!

Stress?

Song of the day: “Please don’t say you love me” by Gabrielle Aplin. Such a gorgeous little song. One of my favs at the moment.

Another weekend past. Time does fly, doesn’t it? So strange how that goes. Here I was, happy that the Friday blog was over and done with, looking forward to an entire weekend without blogs, only to be back at it again.

Let me just start by saying that it is friggin’ cold right now. I don’t know what is up, but I had to put on a sweater by the time the sun began to set. It’s June for heaven’s sake! The wind is, autumn-like, I swear. It is downright freaky, I tell ya.

Saturday. I woke at the usual time, but something inside me was screaming for an extra 30 minutes, so I caved in and closed my eyes again…regretfully cousin Ed needed something, so that nipped that in the butt, since I was really awake after that. Hah. Couldn’t be helped, I fear. She wanted to take tenant to town so they get her some new reading glasses, and needed the car.

Poor Knight II had several of his stitches removed, the poor darling. He didn’t like it at all. In particular not since he is still wary of men, and doesn’t know the new male assistant yet. Also, I think it hurt a little, so he was sitting on the floor, me holding his hand, making kissy noises, holding him tight while the vet poked and prodded at his ear and removed about five stitches. He was not amused, my big lug.

Big brother and I spent some time in the yard again. Plantsies need to be watered after all, and though this year the yard is minimal (just too little time this time round, darn it) it still takes some time. Only enough for eating, nothing for storing, much to my regret. I did love the canning two years ago. But what with all the hospital trips this year, the vet trips, the markets, it is just not doable. It saddens me sometimes, but such is life. You roll with it.

Did some groceries for mom and the sibs, they too have little time, so, since we had to go for a donation anyway, we picked some stuff up. Got to do some more photography, not as much as I would have liked, but some at least. I’m going to have to see how they worked out soon. I still haven’t taken them off the camera.

Sunday. No Funny Beach Marbella market this time round. There was apparently some big San Juan feast going on on Saturday night, meaning that the place would be a mess, and that they would not be able to get everything set up for the market the very next morning. A pity in regards of earnings, but not a bad thing for as far as I was concerned. I’ve more than plenty to do at home, thank you very much.

Of course, when mom asked if I could check out a market for her in Villafranco, a town off to the north, I couldn’t say no, and agreed to go there with cousin Ed, just to see if it was anything for us.
First there were the chores, however, and since that took longer then expected, no breakfast to talk about. Instead I wolfed down half a portion of cereal before I had to leave to bring Jane to the village. Since we were home, we didn’t need her to stay until two. Just as I was about to leave with her, tenant called after me that she would so much like to go with us to the market, so Cousin Ed got her ready while I drove Jane home, and then returned asap.

We loaded tenant up, packed up her wheelchair and all other necessities and left for the little village where the market was supposedly located. First off, the town looked like a ghost town from one of those spaghetti Westerns, and what’s worst, that image didn’t change. So we stopped at one of those ice cream stands where the market was, and were told to go down the road and at the end we’d come right upon it. So we went, came upon a restaurant, but no market for as far as we could see. Cousin Ed went in to ask again, and then came back out gesturing that we were there. I drove back, parking in front of the restaurant, with Ed whispering that I wasn’t going to believe this.
It was cute, I’ll say that much about it. Definitely a nice thought, but for our purposes it couldn’t be called a market. Seriously there were about eight tables inside a big room, and if we were to put our wares with it we’d probably fill half the room. Added to that, the majority of the customers this market had, were the those who came from the market my mom’s on, so that would totally defeat the purpose. A pity. It would have been fun. The folks were nice at least. Lots of Brits.

Did practice my Spanish, both yesterday and today, thank you very much. Not enough yet, but some at least, so I’m not a complete slacker. Gawd, who’d have thought that fitting in half an hour, or something, would be that hard. *sigh*

Then, considering my camera really needs the protection, I worked with leather yesterday afternoon, after we got back. I took a dip in the pool, got out a knife, and started cutting. Within three hours I had something resembling a bag with stuffing to protect my new toy. I did a rough design, that I will, at some point brand all over to make it look nicer. Felt somewhat odd afterward. I am not used to sitting that long, focusing so intently, I guess, so I took another quick dip and then got to work on supper.

Helped tenant in-between, who revisited an old milestone, which had both of us relieved. Regretfully Sally is getting worse at the moment. Her mind is not right, I fear. So much anger, which is just not healthy in the state she’s in. Did get a wonderful tip from one of my online friends, who suggested a walker for Sally. Gawd, I hadn’t even thought of that. We still had the one mom once bought for tenant standing around, and it will sure do the trick for Sally…when she remembers to use it.
She’s an incredibly stubborn old lady, but then, that’s nothing new. She always was, it is just more noticeable now, I guess.

But anyway, while I was working on my bag, big brother and grandpa worked on the roof of the carport where it connects to the new kitchen. It looks nice, actually. Yes, I’ll take pictures of that as well. Hah. At the same time cousin Ed did some masonry where the third window will be, and though I would have loved to do some in the kitchen as well, I need to make that bag. *sigh*

Cooking in the past few days involved red beets with rice and cheese yesterday, mushroom pastries with red cabbage and mashed potatoes on the side the day before that, and pasta with ratatouille today. All leftovers together, should make for an excellent meal tomorrow.

Got some serious writing done these past few days. Yay. Along with some edits, double yay. Going slower than expected, and hoped for, but such are the ways of writing. Some take time, some come out like a brain fart (pardon my French).

Am, as of yesterday, experimenting with creating a herbal wine. It’ll be strong, it’ll be different, but most of all, it’ll be fun to try out. Got this massive pot filled with a pinot, tossed in a selection of herbs from the yard, some spices, a clove of garlic (hey, this is my wine, don’t wrinkle your nose at it until you’ve tried it) and some dried cranberries with one disk of beets…I’m cheating and making it a red wine. Hah. Took out the garlic this morning, otherwise it would become too pungent, but the other ingredients are still in. I’ll let you know how it works out once it’s done.

Also, today I spent some time on my potions. I was out of a lot of them since the last flu, and especially my Sage potion was starting to become incredibly necessary. But anyway, gathered it all during this afternoon’s yard session and set it to seep in brandy so it should be done in about an hour, or so.

What else? Well, that fella from Texas is persisting. Am not really sure what to think of it all. On the overall we’ve been sparring online…in a rather public place, thankfully…but he keeps insisting I write to him personally. With the emphasis of me contacting him first. Now, call me paranoid but I keep thinking that if I do I’m going to hear “You’ve been Punk’d” or something. Hah. What can I say, I’ve a paranoid mind, and see conspiracies everywhere. Ah well, so far it’s been fun games, we’re just going to have to see where it leads and hope that he doesn’t turn out to be some sort of whackjob. A little whacky is fine, but a whackjob would be cause for concern. Hah.

Had to go out for a donation again today. Didn’t get much, but enough for expenses at the very least…if we manage to sell any of it, that is. What with the way the markets are going these days, that is a big if, by the way. Everyone is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, me and the family included. Added to that, there’s another big vet bill waiting, along with the impending inoculations which are obligatory these days, which are going to hurt our finances severely. *sigh*

The stress is a little high at the moment, I think. Too many changes, maybe. The threat of losing our way of life at some point in the future. Or just too much overall stress. There are some recurring headaches playing, (I’m managing those, thank you) and the day before yesterday I revisited the good old days by upchucking my supper. I hate it when that happens. I am working hard at getting my deficiencies under control, only to have my stomach decide that supper just wasn’t necessary. As was par for the course back in the day, my stomach’s had that scraped out feel for hours afterward. Very annoying. I am not going back there, I tell ya. I will enjoy a stress-less life even if it kills me. Hah. Gawd, I need a jog, or a boxing session!

Well, on that cheery note I’m going to call this a finished blog and say my goodbyes.
Goodbye.

Hah.

Here and there

Song of the day: “Dirty Dancer” by Enrique, Usher and Li’ll Wayne.

So it was a most peculiar birthday, I’ll admit. I started the day by sleeping in for about half an hour, which was absolutely awesome. I love sleeping, I would do it all day long if I could…but seriously, who’s got the time for frivolous things such as sleep. So much to see, place to go and…well, you know the saying, right? *sigh*
But anyway, I debated doing a workout and then finally opted not to since I had that appointment at the doctor’s.

I was there right on the dot (poor assistants were sitting there packed in several layers because it was friggin’ ass cold in there) and was let into the exam room where this nice young girl doctor, (who actually spoke a wee bit of English, yay) let me sit down on a weird chair with my bare feet up so she could look at them.

After some chatting, some prodding, and then an examination of my “archaic” insoles (I got them a year and a half ago for crying out loud) at which point she informed me that I should come back on the 23rd because she didn’t have the equipment to measure my feet right then (last time the podiatrist let me stand on a piece of paper and made a drawing, hah). But she was nice about it, so I didn’t mind. Made it back home before noon, at which time I took to finishing the cake. Still had to put fruit on top, and the Jell-O kind of substance to pour over it. Opted to make that final ingredient on a mango basis, and boy did that work out well. Ended up with two cheese/yogurt forest fruit, strawberry, raspberry, peach, mango and cream pie. Gawd. It made me salivate, and the cookie bottom…divine! It was a huge success.

Went into the yard after finishing the pie (it had to settle in the fridge) and later cousin Ed joined me to plant more than forty little seedlings. This nippy weather (an average of 45 degrees in the morning) is really appreciated by these winter veggies. They’re growing like cabbages…oh wait, they are cabbages, or at least of that family. Hah.

It was nice, despite the air being nippy. The sun broke out occasionally, and due to the strong winds these days, we had to water most of the new plants with the basin. Poor plants should be enjoying the rain and yet we’ve been having a remarkably dry December and January. Weird, to say the least. Let’s hope that we’re not going to get a five-year drought, like fifteen years ago.

Big brother was busy with his computer most of the day, it was constantly crashing so he decided to take everything off, and reinstall the main operating system. This, as you might understand took some time.

Since there wasn’t a lot to do outside, (not to mention nippy) I fully intended to work in my cabin…only to have to go out again to bring Sally to work. Cousin Ed had planned to, but she was helping tenant preparing for dinner, so I offered to go in her stead. Dropped Sally off and then returned to dig through my closet and getting rid of clothes that had too many rips in them, spots, dirt, and were too small. I was about to
Start on the last shelve when big brother came in, looking a little wide-eyed and flushed.

Big brother: Well, now the computer is wrecked.
Me: What do you mean? (folding a top and putting it in my closet)
Big brother: I got everything off and was in the middle of installation when the effing thing shut down again.
Me: So?
Big brother: So now the computer says it doesn’t know itself anymore.
Me: Shit. Maybe we should get it to a shrink.
Big brother: Funny. Seriously, though. I tried everything.
Me: So call the local computer doctor, he’s in the paper.
Big brother: Hmmm.
Me: Dude. You just bought a new wire, and a new battery, that’s more than two hundred bucks.
Big brother: Effing stupid thing.
Me: Dude. Seriously, get the paper.
Big brother: Have you seen the computer; the screen doesn’t close, the keys sometimes don’t work, the…
Me: Call anyway. Maybe it’s a simple problem.
Big brother: So what? Why not go there now?
Me: Because I want to call to make sure that they’re even open.
Big brother: Oh. It’s only six. I rather just go by.
Me (eying him): Get the friggin’ paper and I’ll cal, for crying out loud!
Big brother: Yeah. Right. Which one…

So I told him, and called the computer doctor who was friendly enough to let me know that they’d be open ‘till seven thirty.
Getting underway took a bit. There were the piles of clothes that I had to toss someplace else than the bed, warm clothes to don, only to hear that mom was really concerned about little sister who’d been feeling poorly most of the day.
We talked for a bit about possible assistance, and then opted to wait it out while big brother and I left for town to drop off the computer.

Got that with fifteen minutes to spare, and yet all was dark when we arrived. I decided to call anyway and got the “doctor” on the line who said that they’d given up on me, and returned within five minutes. Hah. There was talk for about fifteen minutes, while we explained the problem (he wasn’t hopeful due to the computer’s age and the amount of trouble it was experiencing…has anyone noticed how computer repairmen never like repairing computers. It is very strange). He was going to try, though, and promised to let us know the verdict around Friday. Definitely hoping for the repairs to be under 200, because otherwise we’re going to have to dig into the savings again.

By the time we got home I was seriously sick and tired from being on the road most of the day, and was more than happy to dig into the meal cousin Ed had prepared, prior to heading for my computer and start on the day’s edit.

Got a nice bit done, but was more than happy to call it a day, I tell ya.

Which brings us to today, yay!

Was a little late getting up this morning (did you ever notice how much harder it is to get out of bed when the air is almost frosty) but did manage a full workout. Hah. Victory! Took a little longer than usual because we got into a heated discussion about politics and such. What can I say; we get passionate about that sort of thing. Cousin Ed joined us of course, so it was a lively debate to say the least.

After workout there was a massive pile of laundry, followed by a trip down to the yard to water the small seedbed, and check the greenhouse, and get a batch of chickweed and Alfa Alfa for mom’s salad. Decided to throw in some fresh herbs as well, since I was down there anyway.

Went up for breakfast, chatting with tenant a little, and next it was back to my cabin to finish what I’d started the day before. Chaos was still on the bed by that time, and I said: “Oh my gawd, Chaos. Are you still lazing in the bed?” He raised his head sluggishly, blinked at me twice and then nestled his cheek into the pillows with a visible snuggle of delight. Seriously, the Basset has no shame when it concerns sleeping (his favorite pastime). I dragged him to the edge of the bed and set him down where he grumpily moved past Knight II and Labhana who were watching him questioningly.

We carried up a new storage chest of plastic up to the old horse stable. This will be the spot to store wicker baskets and pillows until summer at least. It cleared up the storage a little, which made grandpa happy at least. Hah.

Big brother, still chagrined about his computer, worked in the moped stall for the most part, putting in two small shelving units. At this time I sewed the broken pillows of my armchairs, which I’d been planning to do for more than a week and yet somehow didn’t get around to.

That done, a second piece of pie eaten (yummy), I went to search for a piece of roof to finish the small closet section that we plan to attach to the side of the moped stall. Used the small angle grinder to cut it to the right size…and then it was time to call it a day (work-wise), and start on supper before getting on with the blog and the edit that I still need to do.

I’m thinking that I won’t mind an early bedtime tonight. Hah.

Rain, rain and more rain

Song of the day: “The Flood” by Katie Melua. Strangely appropriate these past couple of days. Even infected big brother with it. Hah.

Rain.
It had been an annoying constant for the past couple of days, and for me it has been more than enough. I want the summer back. I mean it. Let’s skip winter and just go straight through to summer…please?…pretty please with a cherry on top?
My clothes are wet, and despite the fact that I changed into dry ones earlier, everything still feels wet. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with yesterday.

Thunder was roaring like mad when I woke about half an hour prior to my alarm going off yesterday morning. The ground was shaking, rain pounding down, and trees swaying like mad in the hard wind. It was not a workout day, so I headed down into the house to do some cleaning. Tackled spider webs, cleaned some glass, and on the overall tried to make the house remotely presentable. It did result in neck pain, regretfully. Darned high ceilings.

Afterwards, the rain still coming down, we went down to the yard to check everything, and found that the basin had filled up to two feet during the first rain. Excellent.
By then the rain got worse again, so I had breakfast and then went to the carport where I spent the majority of the day repairing clothes that had been lying about for just such a rainy day.

Fixed four pants, two tops, a bra and both body warmers, which were ripped in the back. It didn’t help my neck pain any, but what the heck. It was quite satisfactory to have my repair clothes box empty for a change. Hah.

While I was sewing, big brother worked on the moped. Remember how I told that grandpa went to the village and got caught by a flood? Well, it looks like the moped got the worst of it. In all likelihood we’re going to have to bring it to the repair guy again. *sigh*

Turned out that despite the bad weather, mom and the sibs had a good day at the market. Mom’s bags and dog beds are really taking off with the local foreigners, and they are getting to be much in demand. I do have to admit that the fabrics used in stores and such are deplorable, so I totally agree on that part. Mom’s fabrics are the rich and beautiful colored kind.

Rather than head inside, which I deplore these days, I cooked dinner on a one pit stove in the carport, and it was delicious. Tenant even came down to the terrace to share supper with us, and we ended up talking about the past, and India and some of our other travels. She does love those kind of chats, I must say. Her eyes start to sparkle. Wasted at least an hour chatting about such things, but it was worth it…especially since with this weather she is cooped up inside a lot.

Through the course of the day we had a sum total of three thunderstorms with rain and lighting, but luckily the sky cleared around dusk, allowing us to sit outside on the terrace during the daily edit. I do love that at the moment this seems to be par for the course. Rain all day, only for the sky to clear at the end of it, allowing for outside work in the evening. Soon it will be too cold for that, of course, but until then, I intend to fully enjoy the fresh air.

As cold wet days tend to do, I was pretty much exhausted by the end of the day and was more than happy to call it a day…which led to this morning’s workout, naturally.

Despite the wind and rain workout went rather well. Managed to go through all the motions, even though I shortened a few of the routines in favor of having to go out into the rain for them to be accurate. But I punched and kicked the ball, pumped steel and jumped around on the beat. All in all, not bad. Hah.

That done, and with grandpa and big brother on their way to the village to get fresh bread and dairy, I went up to tenant’s where we made white bean patty dough for tonight’s snack, and pumpkin soup of supper. The way I figured, tenant could use the diversion. You can hardly sit on a chair and read all day, all winter long without going absolutely bonkers. Luckily she likes helping with cooking.

By the time breakfast of fresh bread was over, grandpa came rushing up the mountain (fully geared in rain clothes and boots) telling us that the basin was already overrunning. We rushed down ourselves, getting completely soaked in the process of digging a new gutter to lead the river of water away from the main ducts. Having stopped the main flow, we headed for the garden pit and put in two hoses to drain the massive amount of water that was making its way towards the greenhouse.

By then there wasn’t a single dry spot left on my body, and I could feel water run into my waterproof boots by dripping down my legs and past my ankles. *sigh* Going through wet bushes to lead hoses down the incline is not a good way to protect yourself against the rain. Hah.

That done, and having changed into dry clothes and boots, I went to the carport to get away from the wetness and sort through a couple of pounds of mixed screws. Grandpa has this tendency to throw any screw he finds into one big box, meaning that we get to sort through about four of them during winter. Hah.

My dogs are not really all that upset by the weather, seeing as they much prefer staying in my cabin when it rains. Seriously, they’ll saunter inside, take up a lounging position, and look at me as if saying, “that’s fine, just close the door now, boss. That’s it. Nice and closed, leaving us toasty and dry.” *sigh* Sometimes I worry about my dogs not being normal at all.

Another trip to the yard to save cauliflower, broccoli, white cabbage, kale and red cabbage from drowning, didn’t result in another clothes changing session, thankfully. For the duration of that particular chore the rain stopped for a short time, allowing us to put the baby plants inside the greenhouse, and drain the outside table.

There was pumpkin soup aplenty, and since I put in a pot of lentils it filled our stomachs properly.

Well, that about sums it up. I would like to get some edits done tonight, and maybe a spot of writing, or otherwise reading in the review book, so let’s leave it at this.

Washing dogs!!!

I wake up in time this morning. Big surprise there, somehow I’d figured I wouldn’t manage it, but I do and stumble out of bed to throw the dogs out of the cabin. Since I finished my read “Death Angel” by Linda Howard yesterday morning, I’m back to rereads. (Darn it, I knew I should have stretched it out a little more, but as is so often the case when I’ve got a good read, I have this uncontrollable urge to finish it ASAP.)

So, now I’m rereading an older book by Carla Neggers, “The Harbor”. A good book, by any means, even though it misses that climactic feel to it, but it will do for the next couple of days, I guess.

Once I’ve got my daily dose of reading in, I head to the house and go through the normal routines before settling down for the daily edit. Since we’ve decided that today is going to be a semi-rest day, we don’t really push it. Only two pages get done because YES dog-washing day has arrived! Yay.

The wind is still blowing, but the sun is much warmer today, allowing for rapid drying time when the dogs are washed.

An hour earlier than usual, we put our computers away, and I change into old sweats to head on over to the pool. The wind has been blowing somewhat fierce for the past 30 hours or so, so for the first ten minutes I’m using the pool sieve to remove nature’s debris from the water.

That done, I grab the pesticides-designed to treat dogs for ticks and fleas-and throw two bottles in the knee high water. The pink liquid turns white the moment it hits the water in the pool and fizzes somewhat alarmingly.
I mix it all together and then start calling for my dogs-very sweetly, or course-to come and join me.

About three of them (they’re not the smartest lot, by any means, unlike most of the others they haven’t guessed what’s going to happen yet) come dashing up the stairs to see what’s up. I quickly slam the door shut, before they know what’s going on.
Mosha goes in first, enduring the dunking with little complaints since she is familiar with swimming. Dax, on the other hand acts as if I’ve thrown him through the alligators, and Knight II…well, the water barely comes to his knees, hah, and I need to step into the water myself to douse him with the grayish liquid.

Slowly, but steadily, with my clothes rapidly gathering more water, one by one the pack is paraded into the pool.
Some dash into the water head first-in particular the Labradors, cockers and retrievers, who love the water so much that they don’t even notice the pungent odor.

Some go in semi-voluntarily, like my Basset Chaos who looks at me haughtily when I call him and then lazily slides into the water because he knows that I’ll throw him in if he doesn’t. I can almost hear his commentary to the hassle. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t drop your panties, boss. I’m going. See? No sweat?” Arrogant mutt! Hah.

After Chaos, there are some dogs that need to be led firmly and then some actually need to be tossed, because otherwise there would be no way in hell to get them wet. Seriously, some of them are so agile that they’ll spread eagle, just to stay out of the water.

All in all, it is a messy business, but since it is a joined effort from all the humans, we get more than ninety dogs washed, dunked and then out of the courtyard running again, in less than an hour!

I know, it surprised me too, but it wasn’t as disastrous as I figured it would be while we were working our way to towards this particular day. Back when we were still contemplating the chore, I thought it was going to take us at least three hours.
Imagine my surprise when suddenly big brother shouts at me to stop shouting “next” because we’re done.

We take about fifteen minutes to check if we’ve really gone through the entire list, but we have, all dogs on the paper have a check mark and they’re all soaking wet while storming up and down the mountain with exhausting exuberance.

By the time I exit the pool, more than ready to hit the shower to get rid of the foul smelling stuff that literally covers me from top to bottom, I can’t help but laugh at the majority of my personal pack: Almost all of them (minus the Labradors) are snoozing on the porch of my cabin, obviously putting as much distance between them and the pool. Cowards! Hah.

We don’t really mind finding out that the tile floor of the house is soaked as well from the multitude of wet bodies traversing back and forth…the ticks were constantly crawling everywhere nonetheless, but it does make navigating through the jubilant pack somewhat tricky.

I make a beeline for the shower and return only to head straight for the courtyard to tackle today’s laundry. I’m barely done when it’s time to head for my cabin. Since today is a day away from work, big brother, little brother and I have decided to take the car out to the woods so we can do a short experimental jog.

We’ve been thinking about that particular exercise for a while now, and since today the weather is absolutely perfect for it, we don’t want to postpone it any longer.
Dressed in sneakers and sweats we depart, driving towards the familiar path high up the mountain and park so we can do some warm ups.

It is really a rather humorous event, especially since little brother plays the joker, (does he ever! Gawd the guy gave me the giggles at some point, forcing me to stop just to catch my breath) but also because basically we have never actually run for any reason other than necessity. Still, it is an excellent form of exercise that can be handy too, so we figure we might as well try it.

Hmmm. Well, for a first jog I am not surprised that we go about half a mile before we are out of breath. Hah. I’m actually kind of proud that I even manage that much. While the brothers both always have been athletic, I struggled with obesity since the age of seven, so basically I haven’t run since I was a kid.
In that regard, I do bloody awesome, I’m thinking…especially when I find out that a full run, rather than a jog, goes so much better. Apparently, I’ve a need for speed. Hah.

The best part is that my knees don’t hurt during the run, which always was a problem for me. I’ve found that there is a huge difference when you’re not carrying around an extra sixty pounds.
Sure, I might not have kept up the pace, but I did manage to keep both brothers in sight throughout the exercise, and for a first time that leaves me pretty pleased with myself.

After we return to the car we do some cool off exercises such as stretches and basically all the things I usually do when I do a kickboxing work out. The way I figure, if you’re training the lower body, you’ve got to do the upper body too. It’s all about balance.

I do wonder how sore I’m going to be tomorrow. Running is completely alien to this body, so it might be very bad. Hah.

Once we get home, little sister has dinner waiting. Spaghetti and a fresh tomato/vegetable sauce with a rich helping of cheese: Carbs, vitamins and protein, just what a tired body needs after spending a lot of energy. We literally stuff ourselves with the meal and feel remarkably revived afterwards.

For the remainder of the evening we take it easy. I spend several hours mending bed sheets while “Medium” is on; followed by a recorded episode of “The Closer” and finish up by the time the evening draws to an end. No extra editing session today, which is nice for a change.

The ol’ body is complaining a little when I finally depart for my cabin to feed the dogs and do another relaxing read of the latest book. But it’s not a bad feeling on the overall. It is doing what it’s designed for after all. And besides, being tired from actually doing stuff is so much better than being tired for no reason at all. Hah.

Warm to cold...yikes!

Considering that I have only a few minutes to write today…tomorrow’s another lesson day…I’m going to try to keep this really short for a change.

I’m not so sure what to write about, since it was all very average. Basically the morning is like any morning, followed up by breakfast and a long edit session that goes remarkably well, considering that I am dreadfully fuzzy again. I need two coffees before I finally start to think properly.

Today the fourth character of the female protagonist first surfaces, so it’s a lot of fun to write, if for no other reason than paying attention that she is truly different than the others and that this comes across in a satisfying fashion. Different intonation, sentence structure and behavior patterns: All of it is so very important.

We manage almost six pages in the three hours available and by the time the sibs come down we’re ready to head on out into the bright sunshine. It’s Sunday, so a new batch of rocks were fetched this morning, and after the sibs and I empty the truck bed, big brother and grandpa head out, to get another.

The younger sibs and I head down to the old pool again. It’s a beautiful day, even though there are a lot of clouds and a few drops of rain fall. There’s also a cold wind coming from the northwest, but it doesn’t take away the wonderfully warm sunlight that falls on us as we get back to emptying the remainder of the massive gutter, running along the length of the old pool.

The mimosas are in full bloom, filling the air with a sweet scent that mixes pleasantly with our jasmine vine, blooming in the courtyard a solid twenty yards away from where we work.

It takes quite some effort to empty the gutter. Trees and bushes (mainly the Eucalypts we suspect) have rooted in the place where lots of water ends up. The roots are thick and hardy, needing actual hacking from three of us while the brothers build up a small rock wall on a place where sand continues to tumble down.

The air rapidly cools, by the time the sun begins to descend behind the mountain across the valley. Small clouds of mist form in front of our mouths, and feeling considerably chilled we decide to call it a day and start to head up the mountain.

Like us, the dogs are chilled too, and more than ready to head into the house and get to dinner.
Little brother has prepared ours, vegetables with lintels and rice on pita bread, which certainly goes down well after the rather strenuous work.

After dinner I spent some time doing more mending of clothes that are really starting to be riddled with holes. Afterwards I spent quite some time hanging a big batch of laundry–yesterday’s still isn’t dry–and literally fill up the lines before I get on my computer and get down to some work.
We manage approximately one more page when it’s time for me to head up to my cabin and start on the day’s blog.

It’s dreadfully cold when I arrive, the temperatures only six degrees more than the freezing point and a miserly rain is coming down again, chilling me considerably as I hurry into my bedroom and switch on the heater. I hate the cold.
After feeding the dogs, who are all hurrying inside…they don’t like the cold either, and pounce on the food I disperse for them. After going through the morning rituals, I’m pleased to see that I’m right on time. But, I get distracted again, of course.

Both grandpa and big brother come to visit and we end up talking for two solid hours before I finally get down to business.
Thoughts of tomorrow’s lesson are already trying to gain the upper hand in my head, but I’m determined to keep them at bay until I can no longer postpone it. We’ll see how it goes.

Digging mud, yeah!

Bommel didn’t feel well last night. He was moaning around bedtime, and even vomited before settling (still moaning) on the floor, rather than his favorite cushion. I was quite worried when I finally went to bed, keeping a wary eye on the bobtail until I drifted off to sleep.

I get up an hour earlier than usual, knowing that in order to get anything done in the next week, I need that extra hour in the morning. I’m sore as…well, very sore when I wake up. At least fifteen minutes pass before I’m able to move without every inch of my body complaining like mad.

But anyway, Bommel looks a little wan (or pale) but otherwise he seems all right and once I’ve gone through the stretches and the morning rituals I chase the other dogs from the porch. The old bobtail needs some peace and quiet to climb down, and he does so slowly while I head down, alternating between watching him and the rest of my pack.

Once inside, I find big brother already at his computer, attempting to get the satellite receiver working, and frustrated like heck about not managing it.
We have breakfast, hovering over the website that should enable the procedure, but when the wanted result is unable to attain, we set up at the table and return to our edits.

We work for several hours, getting through several pages until the younger sibs arrive and it’s time to get outside and tackle the garden project again. The first hour is spent gathering debris from the center garden, piling everything on the truck bed, and tying it all up.

We also dig out a pile of tiles that we have been saving for several years now, neatly putting them away where the dogs will not break them, or spread them out of the rocks the way they did on the old location. Hah. During this time, Big brother leaves to go to the satellite store in the village and I head down the mountain with the younger sibs.

The huge strips of the old liner need to be removed today, and we drag them out, roll them up and tie them together in manageable packages so little brother and I can carry them up to the first gate for later disposal.

Knight II is being a pain, and in the midst of the heavy task I need to put everything aside to discipline him firmly. After five minutes of sit and follow exercises he finally calms down enough for me to move around without the constant risk of the Great Dane bowling me over.

Four trips later, and breathing hard, we take a short breather before little sister and I join middle sister in the corner where muddy dirt is still piled up high. Little brother departs to start on dinner and we tackle the mess, slowly digging our way through it and wheeling it away to a different terrace.

Eight full wheelbarrows removed, a semblance of the rocky corner is finally in view, along with the concrete gutter located on top of it. Over the years it filled up completely, serving as a planter for weeds and vines that now need to be hacked through until we can remove at least three yards of hard-packed dirt.

Pretty exhausted from the shoveling and carting the heavy mud away, we trudge up the mountain to return to the house.
Little brother is preparing homemade pizza (regretfully he’s not gotten further than preparing the crust yet) and is trying to work on the toppings and crust at the same time. Considering we all really want to eat fast, little sister and I join in, while middle sister heads to the carport to get the dog food.

I can only muster the energy to roll out the crust for one pie, so little brother is on his own with the second as I take to grating the cheese, giving the requested instructions for the oven.

Sixty minutes later dinner is devoured, sending everyone to the location of his or her choice, pleasantly stuffed. I settle at the table, taking two tops that need repairing from a bag and notice my hands shake when I try to get the thread through the needle.
In the end I manage, and sew while watching another recorded episode of “Life”.

Bommel still isn’t feeling well. He’s lying at my feet and raises his head every once in a while for a pat. Big brother and I resume our edit, but neither one of us really has the energy to get a lot done. In the end we call it a day half an hour before midnight and I head up to my cabin for the evening rituals.

I’m so not looking forward to tomorrow. Lesson day, darn it! It is totally ruining something that I love. Ah well, what has to be done, has to be done in the end, I guess. No sense worrying about it unnecessarily, it won’t help anyway.
For now, I’m just not going to think about it.

Spring Bonfire...sorta.

I wake to a dreary morning. A thick carpet of clouds blocks out the sky, and the temperatures are downright chilly when I wince at the sound of the alarm. Rather than get up, the way I should, I lie in bed, staring out the window at the miserable gray light, wondering if I can get away with another hour of sleep.

First thing’s first, however, the dogs need to be let outside before they play havoc with the insides of the cabin. Their eagerness to face the day is so painfully obvious that I fight the instinct for a snooze. Shutting off the alarm, I roll from the bed and stumble my way to the door, trying to keep Knight II at bay.

Once they’re out I’m completely awake, much to my regret. I make the bed and start on the morning rituals so I can get to the house and face the day as well.
After the usual hour of getting up-to-date with grandpa and breakfast big brother and I settle by our computers.

Deciding that a short break in the edit is warranted, we start on the monumental task of going through my extensive files and make a first stab at trying to create some sort of order in the chaos. It is going to take quite some time, we soon find. There is an eclectic mix of almost eighteen years of daily writing saved in more files than I even want to contemplate at this point.

I never think about the amount of data I wrote down over the years, but going through it, the mess is daunting at the very least. We spent several hours organizing, barely scratching the surface, for crying out loud.

A lot of the finished manuscripts were written in old WordPerfect files, and rather than using one file for one book, they are separated in chapters, due to WP’s problem with big files. This means that, in order to get some order, I’m going to have to spend more time than I have on copying and pasting everything together. Aaargh.

But anyways, gardening time arrives and the computers are put aside in favor of the great outdoors. As was discussed last night, we have elected today as clean-up day. Which means that we head for the old pool–a huge amount of debris have been tossed into it during our trimming, cutting and weeding–to see about creating enough room for a proper spring bonfire.

As is habit in this area, bio debris are still burned, creating a wonderful supplement for the earth once nothing but charcoal remains of the mess. This is the first time that we have such a large amount to get rid of, though, so the most important thing is to do it safely.

Considering that the pool is made of concrete we feel pretty confident by the time little sister has made a nice little pile to light up in the deep end’s center. While the sibs keep the dogs at bay, I head for the pile, spray a little fire exhilarant on top and squat down to hold a flame to several sections until it springs to life.

Slowly, but steadily a solid fire builds up and as big brother is using the chainsaw on the large dead conifers that we dumped inside the pool, middle sister and I begin to feed wood and leaves to the fire. Rapidly a huge fire blazes within the safe confines of the concrete, sending out a tremendous (rather uncomfortable) heat.

Little sister and brother are working around the pool, clearing the tiles and adding more to the flames, while the dogs settle comfortable within reach of the pulsing waves coming from the hearth.

It is quite funny, there we are going out of our way to keep our faces and other parts away from the scorching heat, and the dogs settle at a nine feet distance, cozily watching the flames eat their way through debris.
You’d think they’re wary of fire, but they treat the bonfire as a stove lit for the sole purpose of warming them on the cold spring day. Hah. Idiots! Smart, but still…

Considering we’re all lugging debris to the flames, going back and forth, none of us particularly like the idea of needing to make dinner later on, so little brother heads for the house to get a batch of potatoes and carrots. Might as well use the heat we’re generating for a proper meal later on.

After wrapping the vegetables in aluminum foil I toss them into the glowing embers under the fire while more wood is added in the hour that follows. By the time the meal is “cooked” we have a short break–almost two thirds of the mess is burning on the pile by then–to devour the delicious veggies that never tasted this good.

Strange how hard work combined with the woodsy taste of the roasted potatoes can make ones mouth water. Yum. With just a bit of salt, some ketchup and mayonnaise we all ate the snack and were thoroughly revitalized to finish the job. The carrots were an experiment, really, but man, were they good! We really need to start thinking about building a proper barbeque one of these days.

The evening has already started by the time we’re finally done and start heading for the house. The smell of smoke is heavy in the air, but it’s not an unpleasant smell at all. My skin does feel grimy, however, so as soon as we’ve relaxed for a bit I intend to take a long hot shower.

We watch and episode of “The Closer”, during which I do a quick repair job on my Jeans. It sports a large cut on the thigh, where the hand scythe cut through it the other day, and though fashion-wise it is still wearable, I really prefer my clothes to be intact.

At the end of the show, the TV is shut down, announcing that it’s time to do some serious editing. Rather than start immediately, I head for the shower and wash the grime off. That done, and with a quick snack in hand, I settle beside big brother to tackle the story once more.

Though we’re both weary from the work in the yard, we do manage another solid five pages. Almost sixty pages done and only a hundred and forty to go, yay.
I am grateful when the evening is over, though. My limbs are sore from the heavy lifting and dragging, and even my ribs ache when I head up the mountain to finally start on the evening rituals.

A busy day, but a job well done, in the end. Heck, this is the first time since…well, the first time ever we actually had a bonfire on the first day of spring. Hah.

Let’s hope that it’s a positive start of something good.

Editing or tackling the jungle. Can't decide.

I passed out during this night again, which was necessary considering I was feeling unwell yesterday evening. It as a busy day nonetheless, and undisturbed sleep is the best cure for it. It was a short night for sure, not the required amount of hours that a body really needs, but who cares, I’ll just rest when I’m dead. Hah.

After the usual morning rituals and arriving in the house, big brother and I get to edits, just as soon as we’ve finished breakfast and released the main pack and let them run free.
Editing goes well today: four solid pages bringing the project up to a fifth done. Excellent. The best part of it is that the story is getting to be so much better.

In order to get this assumption of things going well, across, I’ll need to give a short sum up of the story, I suppose.
So, this story is titled: Saving Nina, and it is part of a series called: No Escape from Rising Sun.

It involves five remaining children of the Rising Sun sect’s child army that was disbanded twelve years prior to the beginning of these stories. These kid-soldiers were “rescued” from the sect and then later used for the government’s own nefarious purposes.

Which brings us to “Saving Nina”. Nina Hernandez is one of these former child soldiers and after the secret government branch, which had forced her to work for them since she was a teenager, was dissolved, she disappeared without a trace.

Our main hero, Special agent Rory O’Donnell, finds her being held captive in a mental hospital of ill repute and he…well; he saves her, of course. Thus the title. Hah.
Now, this all sounds very simple and dry, but here’s the cincher; due to the treatment at the hospital, Nina has chemically induced multiple personality disorder, which creates a wonderful premises for misunderstandings, whacky characters and of course lots of frustration for the male protagonist intent on “healing” her.

Suffice it to say that through our present edits the characters are becoming more pronounced, witty and sharp, and that is what is making the project so enjoyable.
It is quite funny, but while we’re working on dialogue we will sometimes burst out laughing for no other reason that we can imagine each character (Nina’s suffering MPD, remember?) acting so very differently and yet predictable in a weird kind of way.

Oh my, I’m going to need to find some test readers just to see if reading it as an “outsider” will provoke the same responses. If I…well, we did our job well a reader should be able to guess which personality surfaces from the way Nina acts and talks alone. Ah well, we’ll see how it goes. I might have to start contacting some friends to see if they’ve got time to spare. Hah.

But where was I, before I got so horribly distracted? Ah yes, the day:
So, once we finish with our daily session of edits, we put our computers away and head for lower part of the property to continue with the garden project.

For several hours we plunge into the jungle. Admittedly things are starting to become decidedly easier. The paths are passable now at least.
But today’s main task is clearing away the cut-down pear tree that is still perched over two terraces, held up by a huge tangle of thorny branches of the dead bougainvillea.

While little brother and sister start tackling weeds and debris two terraces down from me, I hack my way through the thorns, slowly cutting a path through the mix and getting scraped around, through and under my clothes in the process. Hah.
Piece by piece the entire mess is cleared and dragged away, while big brother and I continue to hack and saw until at long last the terrace is empty, showing off the wonderfully straight patch of our mountainous property.

I’m quite relieved to have this particular chore seen through, especially since by the end of it, every inch of me was beginning to whine at the prospect of yet another scratch. After smoking a quick cigarette I move down the terrace to clear away vines from the massive Eucalyptus growing there.

Though grandpa usually comes down to check on our progress, he isn’t today. His pet Sisco, an old shepherd that has been his companion for more than twelve years, has been ailing for months now and grandpa finally decided that he didn’t want to put the dog through the ordeal of fighting for life that had lost so much of its quality already.

So he left to take the old timer to the vet and had him put down. Though a farmer most of his life, familiar with the loss of life stock and the like, he admitted that he found this one of the hardest things he had to do.
It is so sad, especially in light of my own recent loss of Yadzia, but we have come to expect that deaths of pets come in threes over the years.

It is no surprise either, considering the fact that most of our dogs were rescued from local animal shelters in groups. Many of our dogs are advancing to old age and undoubtedly we’ll be facing this ordeal many times to come in the next year or two. It is inevitable, no matter how unfair it is. I just wish that some of the older ones just went in their sleep, rather than us needing to take them from their having to the hospital.

All right, I better get back to the day before I really start maudlin and depress myself fully.

Gardening:
Reeds have died and fallen in a messy jumble, providing the vines with leverage for growth. They need to be removed and dragged away while steadily more plants are unearthed from the tangle of vines and dead plants.
During the process we discover a young pear tree…we had no idea it was there…that cheers us considerably especially after the loss of the big one.

Hidden behind high papyrus plants, a messy hibiscus and even more vines, we hadn’t even noticed it until now. It’s at least eight feet high and in full bloom. Within the cleared patches more tiny pear trees slowly are revealed and even one sprig of what appears to be a young carob. Wonderful.

At long last, after having freed and trimmed the hibiscus bush in full, the day has come to an end and we head back to the house where mom has prepared dinner for us. Rice and cauliflower baked in curcuma and mustard seeds. The latter is definitely one of our favorites but bland rice really needs something extra so I offer to make a quick curry sauce on a basis of coconut milk.

Dinner is ready to be served in less than thirty minutes and gets rapidly devoured while the pack is eating their own meal all around us.
After dinner I decide to do some more mending and get my Jeans, to repair the waistband of which the threads have broken after several years of wear.

It is an easy task, and a relaxing one as we watch a very exciting episode of “Criminal Minds”. Since none of us really enjoy “Numbers”, the show that comes up next, I get up to tackle today’s laundry before big brother and I set up our computers for another bout of editing.

Regretfully the laundry takes too long, so we get distracted by the show “The Evidence” before we finally resume work. Since we’re both pretty exhausted by that time, we only manage about half a page before midnight, at which time I declare the day over and take my dogs up to the cabin for the night.

I chat with grandpa for a bit while my dogs have their evening snack inside (big brother joins us) and then, chilled by the night, head on inside to finish the last tasks of the day.

I might not know exactly what tomorrow holds in store, but I’m sure it’ll be busy again. Hah.

Breathe, Sam. Just breathe!

When I wake this morning the sky is overcast with clouds and the temperatures are decidedly wintry again, much to my disappointment. Though I would love to stay in bed for another hour…or five, the dogs are making a racket and I really need to get started on the day.

First thing’s first, however. I need to make two phone calls and I start with the vet to ask how Clue is doing. As suspected, he is suffering from the same affliction as before and needed surgery. But, we can come and pick him up later in the day since they removed the abscess, placed a drain and pumped him full with antibiotics.

That settled I call school to make an appointment for next week–three hours this time–and am just barely in time to talk with the teach who was at the verge of departing for her lunch hour. While responding to the dogs barking, I meet up with grandpa, (he’s come to check out the noise) standing under the roof of the carport right beside me cabin. He informs me that his and little sister’s visit to the embassy went reasonably well, and that’s a relief.

Once I’ve gone through the morning rituals, I head on down to the house, once again taking note of he fact that Yadzia isn’t there anymore, and call the dogs into the courtyard so I can lead them inside–otherwise they’ll be all over grandpa. Hah. During our daily status report of what has been done and needs to be done, it is decided that, while I go pick up Clue and grandpa’s moped, I’ll drop the car off at the garage.

Yesterday, while returning from our lesson we noticed that the lights in the dash have dimmed again, and that the backlight doesn’t work anymore. The last time when we had these problems, rodents had made their way into the wiring, literally shutting down the entire car and forcing us to have it towed for repairs. For that reason we’re going to bring it in immediately, before something disastrous happens. When it rains it pours, as they say, but hopefully we can divert it this time.

Breakfast done with and coffee in hand, big brother and I immediately settle down to work on the book, managing four pages in the hours that follow while I keep a close eye on the time. I’m just about to get ready for departure to pick up Clue, when the phone rings, displaying the vethospital’s number.

I’m informed that they would rather have me pick him up later tonight, after eight, so they can do a few more checks on him before I take him home. I’m actually relieved, the time change will allow me to continue on with the editing a bit longer, and then the sibs and I can head on out into the garden to do some more trimming and weeding.

So, by the time the sibs arrive and have gone through their own morning rituals we head on out into the garden and resume our most recent project.
Middle sister and I start tackling the trees again, while little brother and sister lug the debris away, keeping the dogs nicely distracted with dragging branches and vines.

The sight astounds me every time: The dogs running back and forth, rutting in the ground and dashing through the high weeds with apparent glee. It is beautiful to witness. They love it so much, and even though things might get done a little faster without them getting constantly in the way, I wouldn’t miss them for the world.

Having finished with the trees on top of the sheer wall that flanks the old pool, we head down to where the old bus is parked. During the last storm lots of thick branches were shredded, leaving them to dangle helplessly in the air. This obliges us to reach up high to saw through the mess, and in the end it even forces little brother to climb the tree in question so he can saw the branch off at the damaged juncture.

Since this is bound to take some time with only the small handsaw to do the task, my sisters and I move on to the next trees, tackling weeds while we’re at it. Rapidly room is created within this second part of “jungle”, returning to us the sight of the grand view our property is blessed with.

Slowly we make our way to the western fence, revealing oleanders, pines and several young olive trees that have managed to survive the massive growth of weeds and vines.

By the time seven o’clock arrives, (about half an hour after little sister headed up to start on dinner) I need to hurry to get to the village in time.
Since dinner is not yet ready when we return to the house, I eat a cold egg roll big brother forgot he made this morning. Then I hurry on up to the car to drop grandpa off, so he can pick up his moped, and proceed on over to the garage myself.

I waste almost an hour there and am getting a little frantic about the time passing, since I still need to pick up Clue. Since the backlight isn’t working, I don’t dare to take the car back in case I pass a police control and get pulled over for a malfunctioning light. After considerable efforts from the garage manager, it turns out that a rental car won’t be available until tomorrow morning, so what am I to do?

The man is already suggesting a taxi, when I suggest that he checks the light to see if maybe it’s just the bulb this time. Bingo! Ten minutes later I’m heading to the vet (an appointment is set for repairs in the morning) and arrive only fifteen minutes late. Phew.

I speak with the vet for several minutes as he explains how the surgery went and how much of poor clue’s flesh he had to remove…without being able to get to the cause. Yes, the problem is solved for now, but there is no guarantee that the problem won’t return in the near future. Poor Clue.

Still, the chocolate colored dog is ecstatic when he’s released from the back and comes dashing into the reception area, bouncing happily with the knowledge that he’s going home. With a batch of antibiotics in my pocket and a huge bill paid once again, I head home.

After greeting my pack and getting my share of tonight’s dinner, I manage to catch the last fifteen minutes of NCIS and relax. Once the meal has settled, I remember the laundry and deal with it before I flop down in the comfortable armchair I favor with one of big brother’s trousers on my lap.

During the last stint of fence repairs, he managed to tear a large hole in the butt of his pants, and while I watch the second to last episode of “Burn Notice”. Very exciting stuff today, with a cliffhanger that had me swear a blue streak. Well, it’s something to look forward to, I guess.

With a final hour of editing done after the TV is shut off, it is time for me to retire. I’m glad for it, too. Today it seemed as if I hardly had time to breathe, let alone relax…but those are the better days, for sure.

On to tomorrow.

Running behind. *sigh*

Late, late, late. It appears to be a constant state I’m in these days and if it keeps up I’ll be forced to change my routine with posts for the Blog since this is getting to be annoying. Every night when I come up to my cabin for the evening rituals, I have no other choice but to hurry through the procedures just to get everything done. Very annoying.

But, be that as it may, today was a busy one.

Two of the younger sibs and mom have to go to the embassy to get their paperwork in order, so they can get their new passports, and a month from now, two at most, big brother and I will have our turn. Hopefully, by then things will have quieted down a bit, and if not…well, we’ll see how it goes.

My day: I wake early, as planned. The dogs were quite restless, starting up a long-distance back and forth orchestra with the main pack in the house several times, when the sibs and mom depart. It took a little while for things to quiet down again, but when they did, I managed to fall asleep until it is time to rise two hours later, and hour and a half earlier than usual.

I’m still in the midst of the morning rituals when the departed family members return, looking haggard and relieved at the same time. They give their report of their exploits and how the silly bureaucrats kicked up a fuss again, forcing them both to get new pictures ‘cause they had to be just so. Aaargh.
Now, the sibs are both attractive young people, but somehow this photographer always manages to make the likenesses look like mug shots. It’s an art, I guess, and not everyone bothers to treat it as such…photography, that is.

While poor middle sister and little brother head for bed to get some much-needed sleep, big brother and I start on our day.
First we start checking out our own pictures, which we took this week, feeling pretty confident that they’ll fit the “high” standard the embassy requires, but it ‘ll remain to be seen. I’ve a feeling that the bastards just made some sort of deal with the photographer and will simply send us (and anyone else needing a photograph) over, no matter what.

After going through our paperwork again, making sure that we’ve prepared all we can, we set up our computers to get more editing work done.
It goes well, the quiet of morning allowing us to immerse into the book I wrote years ago and improving on it continuously until three hours later it is time for a short break, Yadzia’s feed and my own. Hah.

The break doesn’t last long, and we continue with the chore of dots, commas and whatnot until the younger sibs arrive from their very short rest, of just a few hours and start on their day.

It is around this time that big brother and I decide to head outside to start on one of the many chores that need to be done on the property. First thing is the upper fence that the dogs have been attacking for weeks now. What with the new roll of fence we bought recently, we apply a long strip against the old, effectively blocking all the holes in the rusty metal until we’re pretty sure the dogs will no longer be able to break through it.

They’re a smart bunch, though, so we’ll have to wait and see if it suffices. Knowing Prama and Tadayka, the youngest members of the pack, they’ll find a way, somehow, even if they have to chew their way through.

While big brother starts to work on the satellite dish that provides grandpa and our invalid tenant with TV, I head down to the lower part of the property for a quick inspection of all that needs to be done down there.

It is a daunting sight I admit, as my pack rushes down through the under growth with enthusiastic exuberance. Weeds come up to my chest, ivies have grown through, in and over trees and bushes alike, and the old pool looks like some ruin in a horror movie scene. It’s fun, actually. Reminds me of when I was a kid and I was watching “The Secret Garden”.
But anyway…there are many, many hours of hard labor ahead, that much I am certain off by the time I’ve made a list of everything that has priority.

Since daylight is still available, I decide to tackle one of the big jobs immediately. Due to a parasite problem that is raging all along the southern coast of Spain, our three gorgeous palm trees have given spirit and are now limp, composting heaps. One of them, the biggest–the one we were most proud of since we planted it ourselves almost thirteen years ago–has basically fallen over the main path and I spend over an hour removing the nine feet long leaves until we can freely move back and forth.

By the time I’m done–and the desperate escape of three rats housing inside the dead plants–I’m pretty much exhausted and head up to the house in the gloom of dusk. Big brother has finally solved the satellite dish problem by then too–bugs got into the receiver and nested there–and we convene in the kitchen where little brother has just finished making fries and nuggets for dinner.

Famished, I sit on the corner of the counter while I eat, bringing both brothers up to date. We’re all pretty tired, and decide to relax a bit since this is the hour when the best shows are on TV anyway. Chilled now that I’m no longer active, I bundle up in my vest and settle on a chair with needlework on my lap. Might as well repair some stuff while I sit, and after I’m done, Trin Trin crawls on my lap for a much needed petting.

When “NCIS” and “Burn Notice”, both excellent episodes, are over, the TV goes off, and I get the laundry I forgot to take down this morning. Afterwards big brother and I settle behind our computers for another short hour of editing before the night is over and it’s time for me to head up to my cabin for the night.

After I’ve fed Yadzia his special mix of kibble and tuna, and supplied the other dogs with their meals as well, I manage to read a chapter of my relaxation book, before I settle on the bed for my last foray onto the Net.

A busy day for sure, but at least we got some stuff done and have a good idea of what lies had.

Demolition in all shapes and forms.

So, I start the day already feeling exhausted for no apparent reason, which means that I’m going to try to keep today’s recount a little short to hit the sack at a decent time for a change.

I’m reasonably in time during the course of the day, hurrying through the morning rituals to keep it that way and then heading down to the house with a bag of laundry in tow.

Quite a bit of conversation keep big brother, grandpa and me occupied, so I’m rather pleased that I had my exercise yesterday. Otherwise my being in time would have definitely run into being out of it once more.

Laundry’s the first thing on today’s schedule, a big load needs to be taken down now that the weather has turned for the better a bit (sunshine, at least) and it has finally dried the overfull lines. The removal creates room for the new batch that I hang immediately afterwards. Folding, of course cannot be left out, creating a multitude of piles that need to be dispersed between the family members and the baskets inside laundry closet so everyone can take their own along as they pass it.

Yadzia’s breakfast comes next–the new anti-inflammatory painkiller appears to be working, he’s actually cheerful today–after which it is my own turn. The talk continues all the way through the morning chores and meal until big brother and I finally settle down behind our computers to start on today’s work.

It doesn’t take long until we both realize that it isn’t working today, and resigning in the matter we put the machines away several hours before dusk and head on up the mountain to resume the disassembling of the car wreck that is still taking up space in the garden.

For the next few hours we’re unscrewing bolts, removing hinges and in end actually resort to using the sledgehammer in order to retrieve manageable parts that will allow us to cart it all off to the junkyard sometime during the next week. We continue until only the bare frame of the car is left, stepping back with some relief–nursing scraped knuckles and sore muscles–to admire today’s work.

Finally we’ve removed enough to be able to roll the car from it’s place on the barely functioning wheels, needing to put our backs into the chore just to get it backed up far enough to attach a firm rope to the back that will allow for the truck to do the heavy pulling in the end.

The wreck is definitely heavier than we expected, and a strong, one and a half inch thick rope connects the two vehicles together while I slowly begin to back up, putting strain on the rope. It pops and groans but the wreck stays in place.
I can see the brothers walk around, trying to see if it’s stuck somewhere, when suddenly little brother starts laughing and points into the car. The handbrake is still on it. Aaargh.

I roll my eyes at them, patiently waiting until they’ve released it and then slowly start backing out of the gate, pulling the wreck steadily along while rope continues to groan and then…suddenly snaps right in the middle. I gasp at the sight of little brother trying to hold the wreck in place by bracing his feet, skidding over the rocky path while big brother lunges inside and jerks the brake back in place.

Laughter echoes over the rumble of the truck’s engine as little brother calls “Well, if it went all the way down we’d be rid of it too.” What can I say, he’s got a twisted sense of humor, hah.

Finally, after knotting the broken part of the rope together again, I reverse the truck until the wreck clears the gate, and step out so we can remove the rope and start pushing the wreck into an unused section of our property until at some point we can have it towed away entirely.

My knee protests severely during the little stunt, but in the end, by the time dusk arrives, we have accomplished what we set out to do. Pleased, we gather our tools and head back inside for dinner, prepared by little sister.

The mac ‘n cheese with veggies go down well after the progress we made with our efforts, and while eating we watch the last rental DVD, which is once again a major disappointment. (It is scheduled for complete removal from my brain, asap that’s a fact. Hah.)
I ice the knee for a while, that itchy burning sensation once again causing some discomfort. Luckily the ice helps, allowing me to get through the evening without painkillers.

There are some sewing repairs that need to be done to some of little brother’s clothes, and I work on them while big brother decides to give the main PC a thorough cleaning. Before I know it the evening has come to an end and it’s time for me to head on back to my cabin.

I know something is wrong the moment I open the front door and see a flash of white. The dogs respond faster than me, of course, and pounce immediately on the poor wild cat that was stupid enough to intrude into their territory. I jump at the sight of the poor feline dashing into the dead end of my bathroom, and wince when I see Sitabah reach her within seconds.

Melee ensues while the other dogs try to join in on the battle of life and death for the wild critter that has been a frequent visitor on our property, but until now always managed to stay out of reach.
Dog after dog I shove forcefully aside, trying to make my way towards the gray Weimaraner, and just barely manage to jerk her back by her tail, giving the cat a momentary reprieve to head out the cabin in a mad dash.

She’s not fast enough however, what with the bloodthirsty pack going in her pursuit and my momentary lapse on keeping a firm hold Sitabah’s tail, the gray is on her before she manages to clear the porch. She has the feline by the hip, it seems, shaking her like mad, the way she would a rat, and it isn’t until I plant a booted, but flat and controlled, foot against her side to send her sprawling that she releases her prey.

The cat is obviously wounded, dashing–for as far as that is possible with her dragging hind paw–down the incline and onto the roof. While I am shouting at the dogs to cease, and keeping Sitabah in place with a firm grip on the scruff of her neck, I can see Dax and Touri go in the feline’s pursuit. I am pleased to see that the two miniature dogs are too cowardly to attempt more than bark at the cat that has taken refuge on top of the courtyard roof, hissing furiously.

Locking Sitabah in the cabin, I call grandpa over house phone, informing him of what occurred and warning him that he should be looking out for the cat in the morning to see what the damage is. I’m guessing it’s pretty bad, so if she makes it through the night we agree that he’ll take her to the vet to have her put out of her misery.

Nature can be a cruel thing that is a fact, but such is the circle of life, I suppose. The cat has been around here long enough to know not to be on the ground when the dogs are free, and thus it paid the consequences with her foolish action. It is regretful but also unavoidable, all things considered.

For the next half hour or so I spend cleaning up the mess the fight caused. The dogs’ water bowl went all over the floor, and before I can start feeding the dogs this needs to be mopped up properly.

And with that the night has come to an end. An eventful day, but it could have ended with a little less excitement in my opinion, hah.