So here we are again

Song of the day: “Ocean” by Mike Perry feat Shy Martin. Lovely song. Gives me such a good feeling. Definitely not a bad one to have stuck in your head as an earworm.

Oh my, doesn’t time fly? It’s a been a full year since I gave up on my job at the Wellness and Spa, and where am I? Right back there for two months now. How weird life can work out sometimes, right? If it weren’t for the publishing contract I’d be worried about going “back” so to speak, but since I am now a part time employee, things are vastly different, thank gawd. I mean, in the past couple of months I overdid it a little. We were short staffed, colleagues needed a day off, etc, so I ended up doing four days a week, and even a fiver, which is understandable, but not smart. Y’all remember the state I was in after that year doing an average of 6 days a week, more than 7 hours a day. I couldn’t hack it, because my writing suffered from it. *sigh*

Besides, I’ve also noticed that if I work, more days, I care waaaaay too much for what should be nothing more than a job. It’s not my career,  and doing the job I’m paid for, to the best of my ability, is all I a owe to my employer, right? Right. That doesn’t change that there are moments of frustration, mind you, but what the heck. Gotta learn to let that go.

So. I have not a clue what did and didn’t tell y’all about the last time. I’ll just have to guess. Won’t I. Well, in regards to working out, this part time gig is a lot better than full time. What it boils down to these days is me working 3-4 days a week. Which means top sport for as far as I’m concerned. Those 3 mornings amount to four hours or running at a 110 percent. Scrubbing walls, floors and whatnot, basically hitting all the necessary muscle groups. Yay! That covered, the remaining 3-4 days a week I do a 1- 1.5 hour work-out of my Qigong, weightlifting, kickboxing and the occasional bodyweight exercise. Yeah!!!

The work-outs are really doing me good. Looks like they are just what I needed for my plantars fasciitis. I am barely bothered by that now, even on days when I work and have to walk a lot. Remember, back in the day, when I would complain all the time about how painful my feet were, like I was walking on glass, and no matter what I did, it wouldn’t get better. Well, it is. Such a relief that. Looks like I finally found a way to cure that little affliction. Yay!

Also, finally, had my appointment at the hospital for my varicose vein. Got my leg and veins examined, prodded at, but it turns out that the one still there, is not a new problem, but really just something they missed during my last procedure. Yay. In fact, my veins looked rather good (also an effect of the qigong, I’m pretty sure, considering several of the exercises have to do with improving circulation, which is vital) which was a relief to hear. Regretfully, because the leftover vein is not a medical issue, it is also not part of the insurance. *sobs* But, since it has no rush, other than for vanity purposes, I can just wait, save up some money, and then go to a clinic to have the odious thing removed, myself. Just requires patience, is all.

Did some wonderful experimenting with food of late. Made a couple of awesome cakes. One a chocolate nutty cake for my father’s birthday. He came over for dinner, and to see the new place recently. Was a working day for me, and for some reason I forgot to set my alarm, or I slept through it, and ended up doing a too long siesta, meaning I had to rush dinner. Worked out okay, though. The cake was just about done when he and stepmother arrived. Had a nice afternoon together, a short walk to see more of the area, and all in all, caught up on the past couple of months because we had all been so very busy.

Another cake involved lots of nuts, which was yummy. Also had a great bakmi, which thankfully lasted two day. Had a friend over for barbeque, which was fun, because the previous occupants of the house obviously used the corner of the yard as a biowaste dump, meaning we had a whole batch of home-grown potatoes. Yummy. Also experimented with a cauliflower, involving egg, hazelnuts, herbs and cheese, which worked out really well, for me anyway. Big brother is not a big fan of oven dishes, so I ended up living of the leftovers for three days in a row, which was a bit much. Grrr.

The edit: Oh. My. Gawd. ANOTHER round of changes was requested and I got 4 days for it…did four days…around work. So it was a week. Can’t do magic, and money has to come in, seriously. It’s not like I can just sit down at the computer for four days, all random-like. Jeez. I need to plan such writing sprees, make sure that work doesn’t intervene. And that is just me. For big brother it is even harder. He does full friggin’ days, and what little time is left beyond that…well, that’s why it took a week instead.

We had some arguments throughout, of course, which is never good. But with the time pressure, the proposed changes, it wasn’t all that odd that there were explosive moments of debate about what we could and couldn’t do, that there was frustration and whatnot for the duration. But, we didn’t kill each other, and the manuscript is back in the editor’s court, so…keep yer fingers crossed.

So, before the latest edit request came, I’ve steadily been working on “A Taste of Life”. Been rearranging the chapters, checking out how to fit it into a plot beat sheet, and how to put together a proper synopsis, see if I can shuffle around scenes, get some stuff out, put some new stuff in. See if I can make it work for the publisher so that maybe within the next year we can have another book out. That sure would be nice.

Visited Tenant. She appears to be cooping at the senior home. I do find it sad to see her…degrade is the word, I guess. I remember how she used to practise staying mobile, and active, only to now see her wither away in that blasted chair. I spent a couple of hours with her. We talked, went for a little walk around her home, and then I had to leave again. We did agree that she would come to visit us, which she did. And she really liked it. Actually held out until five in the evening, which was nice for her. She doesn’t get out all that much. And she loved seeing the new place, even though she couldn’t go upstairs, of course.

Other than that…well, not a lot of stuff happened. I know, the glamorous life of an author: working the part time day job, working on the books.  Not a single party to boast about. Hah

No matter, though. I’ll party my own way.

PUBLISHED!...at last.

Song of the day:…who gives a bloody heck? I’m getting PUBLISHED!!!!

Yes, people, it has finally happened, a brilliant editor at a genuine publisher has recognized the awesomeness of Saving Nina! Yay!!!! Do you sense a certain elation here, some enthusiasm? As in Sammi bouncing through the old drafty farm, ploinking from one wall to the next like some loony toon…not far off, it was pretty much that from the moment I woke up and saw the light on my phone blink that there was a message on my mail. Bleary-eyed, still pondering whether I was going to turn over and catch another 30 mins of zzzzzzs, or haul my tired butt from bed. I mean, seriously, no work to go to, and what with long evenings behind the computer it is not as if I am on any regular schedule other than get up at the crack of dawn, prep breakfast for big brother (that way he can also get an extra half hour of sleep on work days) and then going back to bed until I’ve reached my daily hour quota.

Anywayssssss…the light was blinking and I saw that it was about Saving Nina, and spent another minute or two if I could handle another disappointment this morning, and finally decided to open it quickly and then slip it into the rejection file asap. Now imagine me, eyes puffy with sleep, squinting at the screen in the gray morning light, going back half a dozen times to look at these two sentences: “I really liked this story, and would love to work with you.” And “I just wanted to make sure it's still available?” That’s about when my heart rate went up and I started bouncing out my room, down the way-to-steep stairs as I read it again and then texted big brother with: “Dude! Dude! DUDE! You there? Come on! Answer! Dude! They want Nina! An editor wants to work on SAVING NINA!” Did some more bouncing around, giving little scary giggles and the occasional, “Yes! Yes! Heck yes!” frustrated as heck that I was home alone with no-one to tell it to. Grrrrrr. That is so friggin’ frustrating! Anyway, it took big brother about and hour to answer and guess what it was: “Cool! A bit busy now.” Aaaaaaaargh. Seriously? Cool? Regardless, I spent the majority in a buzz…after sending a semi-calm message back that the story is still available and that working with said editor would be lovely. *sigh*

So, of course, this message was before Christmas, so we had to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait some more, for the final okay of the publisher which didn’t come until my B-day. I mean, seriously, isn’t that the best friggin’ b-day present ever? To get the news that someone has seriously agreed to publish a book that you started the concept of in 1998 and worked on numerous times through a series of mind numbing edits that go up to a whopping dozen, or more? Well, it is stupendous, I assure you. All that work, old those hours, the wooden butt sensations, the varicose veins surgery, the endless arguments about word choice, grammar, punctuation, shlogging my way through the Chicago manual of style, eats shoots and leaves, and popular (not my style) commercial fiction just to see if a particular sentence I wanted to use but that we couldn’t stop arguing about, became worth it because of this totally awesome b-day present. *double blissful sigh*

So I didn’t write about this stupendous news before, because, basically I didn’t want to jinx it, and waited until the contract arrived, which brings us to now, naturally. Contract here. Yay. Am totally psyched about going through the next step of this thing, to learn, to see what is required, to see how the story will turn out after it gets nipped and tucked, made up and perfumed, so to speak. It will be incredibly fascinating, of that I have no doubt, so I’m going to hold onto that, and hope that I can when the frustration of cutting into my baby seems to become too much to handle. Keep yer fingers crossed, my friends.

What else? Well, life is going on as usual. Nothing quite lives up to the above-mentioned, I know, but what can I do. Need to stay grounded a bit, don’t I?

Finally found a proper kickboxing bag. Yes I did. It’s going to have a spot of honor in the living room where I do most of my daily exercises now. Was psyched when big brother pointed it out at the gift store this very morning. I can get back to my boxing, Yay!!! I’ve been missing it somewhat fierce lately, partly because we haven’t been able to go to the gym much lately due to a persisting flu. Grrrr. No matter, though, I can get back to the fitness I love the most: Kicking the carp out of a heavy bag! Hah.

Did some food experiments lately, too. Some different type of dishes, but also all-time favorites, of which one or two are definitely going to end up on the cooking blog one of these days…I know, I should be posting more there, too, but what can I say, I can get distracted a lot, especially at the moment.

Been working on the Banshee story quite a bit lately. Almost halfway into the story, meaning that the sequel to ATOL is almost there…in my mind anyway. Hah. I wonder how much actual writing I can get done once the actual editing with the publishing company starts, but whenever I get a free minute, I’m definitely going to try. Brendan and the Banshee need telling that much is a fact in this convoluted brain of mine.

Went to visit a friend from our last job last week, which was really nice. She is seriously pregnant now, and ecstatic about it. Hah. Nice round belly, which she calls being fat, when it is clearly only in her belly and nowhere else. She’s still tiny, but looks like she swallowed a soccer ball, poor girl. The presents I’d found for the baby were their theme was animals so a fish shaped mirror with a blue and white frame went really well with everything, and the ceramic nightlight, too.

Been working on “breeding” some more plants out of the ones that I already have, partly because I lost a house plant to lice, and because the fern Cousin Ed and tenant gave us when we moved to the Netherlands is now really giving the spirit. Poor plantsies.

Which reminds me, tenant and Cousin Ed came for a visit one afternoon last week, which was nice for tenant. She had been so curious about our new place, and so we finally set a date where she was brought by special taxi company for disabled people. She really liked visiting, especially looking through pictures and such, but she tired quickly and was seriously pooped when it was time to go home. Poor girl.

And that is about the end of my update today. I told you the last time that I might have good news (was hoping, but had to be sure,  you see) and here we are. Another step further in the life of an author, shall we say, eh?

Have a good one, y’all and I’ll be back soon.

The best laid plans...

Song of the day: “Zombie” by the Cranberries. An oldie, right? I know, but it used to be one of my favs way back when, so when it came by on the radio the other day, it got stuck in my head occasionally. Blasted earworms!

Anyways…I’m a wee bit late with my blog again. I know, Bad Sammie! Bad Sammie! But in my defence I have been very, very busy, regardless of the fact that I had that two weeks of house sitting. I would have thought I’d have more time for the stuff I’d planned to do, but regretfully some necessary things took longer than expected. The best plans have a way of doing that, don't they?

There was all the legal mumbo jumbo regarding the sauna going broke. There was so much paperwork to do, so many calls to make, forms to file, calculations to make, facts to check, that took us five to six days alone while we got settled in the office.

Then we had a couple of friends coming over, which meant another couple of afternoons gone. Hah. No matter though. I did get quite a bit of editing done in the last week, and I got in five and a half workouts (the half was because we got interrupted by repair folks knocking at the door, grrr), yay.

Best yet was that I got some serious sleep during the two weeks. I decided that I was going to catch up on the last year shortage of sleep for once and for all, and just went to bed whenever I was remotely tired: I was tired a lot!

The plus is that I don’t have the big bags under my eyes anymore, and that I’m no longer cross-eyed with tiredness around eight in the evening. Hah. So the housesitting was definitely a good thing. It was basically a forced vacation, that tided us over for part of the days that big brother didn’t have a place to live.

Which reminds me; we did manage to get big brother’s apartment empty on time. This means that my apartment is now basically a storage facility, since I had to move a lot of stuff out of the way to accommodate boxes and furniture, and therefore decided to start packing early as well. This means that except for the living room corner that I use for seating, the whole place is a bloody mess that is driving me insane. Everything that needed to be packed is packed in boxes, bags, suitcases or plastic. Furniture that could be taken apart is taken apart, rugs have been aired out and rolled up, and plants take up every remaining horizontal surface. Poor babies.

Also did some of the cleaning already, since we have to leave the apartment in the same state we got it, with everything nice and clean, as our contract states…not that I would dare to leave it any other way (the horror!). If there is one thing that the cleaning job caused is that I horror at dirt now. Hah. Added to that, holes in the walls, like for light fixtures and paintings and whatnots, have also been neatly closed, giving a clear view of the place’s large stretches of wall. What a difference things on the walls make, right? All the homey-ness is gone now, darn it.

Had a birthday…well, two actually, of former colleagues, which was a good excuse to come together. Made a rather nice (albeit a tad too sweet) apple pie with small pieces of sweet potato through it, cranberries, raisins and pecans. Really enjoyed that over a cup of coffee and talk about books, movies and everything else we could think of.

The weather has been downright summery the past three weeks. Today was the first night that we had rain again in a long time. We had temps mid to high nineties, and on the radio they called it tropical weather…which was factual, considering the humidity was incredibly high. Been sweating more than I did even while working at the sauna.

Since being back from the house sitting thing, we had been going to the gym again, which has been wonderful. Had some serious workouts and that included some serious kickboxing for me…that ended with me being barely able to move the next few days, if for no other reason than the fact that I hadn’t done any actual boxing in more than four months. Yikes! Seriously, you did not want to see me shuffling around afterward, like some old crone. Luckily now that has passed and I am almost back to where I left off before work got too demanding for me to go to the gym.

Been applying for work lately, as I am obligated to do (and want to do. Discovered that I am not the kind of person who would willingly take welfare. I just don’t like not working for a living, so let’s hope I find something fast) and have been trying different types of things to see where I can slip in, so to speak. I applied for a cleaning job, duh, night reception at a hotel, which included making breakfast for the early guests in the morning, independently working cook at an Italian place where they wanted someone creative and willing to teach youngsters at the same time, with some experience in vegetarian dishes. Keep yer fingers crossed.

I’m still thinking about starting something myself, but that will depend on whether I can find a market for my type of cooking in the new area we’re moving to. It’s a college town, so I’m thinking yes, but you just never know. I’ll keep you posted.

Like I said, I’ve been editing. So I couldn’t find the inspiration to do new writing, but the editing needs to be done too, so I don’t beat myself up about it. Am over two thirds of the book now, meaning that I’ve almost finished the first edit. That means that after I’ve added some additional scenes, big brother and I can start going through it together without the risk of him getting completely frustrated with stream-of-consciousness writing.

Managed to finish quite a bit of storage foods during the past three weeks, including what we had in the freezer. What the with the move coming up this was essential. Got two of three meals left there, and considering we’ll be starting moving things four days from now, that should work out just fine.

My father and stepmother finally got their vacation to France this week. For a moment there it didn’t look like they were going to manage, first day they basically missed the plane and had to reschedule for the next day. And then dad bruised something in his foot, making nice long walks a no-no. Bad luck, I tell ya…but I think they’re enjoying sucking up the culture regardless, so that’s okay.

Yesterday we finally met up with Cousin Ed and Tenant, to go to the place where grandpa was born and spread his ashes. It took a long time before we could arrange for a date. First our work, cousin Ed’s work, tenant’s health, there was always something getting in the way. But now we got to it, and the weather was hot, but still splendid for the occasion.

Went to pick up Cousin Ed and Tenant at Tenant’s senior home (she’s really enjoying her time there. It’s in the town where she claims to have been very happy for many years, so that’s definitely a relief. It’s a cosy home for staunch vegetarians, right in the middle of the woods, and her room looks out on a courtyard with a pond, so it is really up her alley). The latter had just returned from an arranged excursion to a local museum, so she’d already had fun. We packed her, her wheelchair and Cousin Ed’s dogs in the car, piled ourselves in as well and started on our way.

Luckily I’d thought of preparing a potato-veggie salad with garlic bread for lunch, because with all the excitement Tenant hadn’t had time to have lunch.

We arrived at grandpa’s childhood homestead around four in the afternoon, parked the car across from the castle, and took tenant out for a stroll over the premises. Luckily the present owners didn’t mind us wandering about the place once we explained that we wanted to look around the place that had once been to the home of grandpa. I think the fella even recognized grandpa’s name, considering grandpa’s parents used to maintain the castle for the man’s father after the war.

It was very cool to see the place grandpa was always talking about. The pictures just didn’t do it any justice.

We finally agreed to spread his ashes under a line of poplar trees that grandpa claimed to have planted some sixty or seventy years ago. Big brother did the honors, with us standing at a slight distance, only to have us all start laughing when a fierce gush of wind swept a big bash of ashes along straight for the old homestead off to the west. For a moment the entire place was surrounded by this ghostly white mist and then another gush of wind made the ashes disappear entirely. We all found it rather poetic that he went back to the place where he literally was born. He would have gotten a kick out of that, I think.

What was left of the afternoon we spent in a nice patch of shade, in the grass, eating our lunch and talking some about grandpa, and all our plans for the next few weeks.

We didn’t get tenant back home until seven in the evening, at which time she was pretty tired and wanted to go straight to bed. It had been a long and exciting day for her for sure.

We, on the other hand, went home with cousin Ed where we had beer and a snack before we headed back home. It was already late by the time we arrived, so there really wasn’t much left to do except unwind from the day, a glass of wine, and getting ready for bed.

Which about sums this update up, I think. More to do, stuff to prep and…well, you get my drift.

Time is fleeting

Song of the day: “Lament” by the Cranberries. I know, an oldie, right, but I recently heard this awesome band again, and was assaulted by all this old earworms, including this one. Hah.

So, I’d ask y’all what you’ve been up to, but am well aware that most of you are mostly here as readers, not to be bugged with pesky questions. I’ll get to it, shall I?

It’s been a while since my last blog, I know, but life has been terribly hectic and what little time I had left I ended up vegetating, rather than doing something useful like writing the blog, a book, sleep, eat, breathe...hmmm. Does that sound a bit extreme? Yeah, I guess it does. I’ve a flair for the dramatic, I’ll admit, but there are times (when you’re tired and emotional, you know) that it feels that way.

Did a lot of hours at work, in part because, let’s face it, due to the loss of many colleagues during the course of “restructuring”, there is a LOT to do, and the other part being (you’re seeing this one coming, right?) that I have a hard time saying no to paying work. Hah. I should. I mean, seriously, there are times when I really should say no, and just don’t because it is something very necessary, and I’d feel like a wuss for saying no. How bad is that, right? The other day, big brother and I were talking about it, actually, where he pointed out that I’m a bit like Jim Carrey in “Liar Liar” that way. Remember that scene in the courthouse where he’s beat himself up completely (hilarious scene, by the way) in an attempt to get out of the trial, only to have the judge ask him outright if he “really” isn’t able to continue on. Which, of course, he can. Everyone CAN, unless they are lying unconscious, or dead on the floor...technically, anyway. *sigh* Doesn’t mean you always should, should you? An FYI, in case you’re wondering. Doing cleaning with a capital C (as in professionally) is not something anyone should be doing full-time. We’re talking high content calorie usage here. A rigorous fitness workout of three hours stretched into 8-9 hours.

Anyway, pacing is still something that I obviously need to work on. Am a wreck at the moment, so it’s a good thing that this is my free day. Have been taking it easy all morning. Did some stretches, some bootcamp exercises and made a tasty high protein breakfast (lentils, veggies and egg) that should suit me just fine on this day that I have planned to spend behind the computer for today’s blog and if I’m lucky some actual writing. I’m even pondering turning off my phone, because the last few times I tried this, I got phoned three times and apped 6 times, claiming a lot of my day. *sigh* Gotta keep up with the homeys, dontcha. Haven’t decided yet what to do. Hah.

Was smart last night (yes, it does happen occassionally that the old braincells give a tiny spark of life after all), by the way. After getting home from work (had a short work day for a change) I took a long nap, ate lunch, picked up big brother and then spent what was left of the day cleaning my apartment. The way I figured, if I did that during the afternoon, I’d truly have a free day today...which I do, except for a wee bit of laundry which is not something I see as a terrible task, as you well know. *wink*

As for a bit of bad news: Tenant is not doing well. We visited her a few times around her B-Day, which she really enjoyed, but things are slowly getting worse for her. Just the past week or so, she’s been in and out of the hospital; this time due to an extreme shortness of breath. Just last night she woke up cousin Ed, screaming (for as far as that was possible) that she couldn’t breathe, so she had to be brought to hospital. The tubes in her throat, ya know, the ones you breathe too, are too narrow for some reason and this is causing loads of problems. Added to that, her immune system is completely shot, meaning more and more meds that aren’t helping the matter at all. It’s sad to see, in particular since it is getting to a point where cousin Ed is no longer able to take care of her. She needs too much of it, so a nursing home is the only solution. Sad.

Also went that direction a couple of times because Cousin Ed finally found a place to live for herself, once tenant has settled in a nursing home. She wanted our opinion for a couple of options, and finally came to an agreement that the second, slightly more expensive one would be the best. The quality was way better, so maintenance would be lower. It’s a tiny place in the woods, and she can see herself live there in the immediate future with her doggies, so all is well.

Went to visit our father this weekend, partly because he and his wife are moving soon, and they had a rather pretty computer closet that they offered to Taffin. Will come in handy for all his gadgets, that’s for sure. And of course because we had some catching up to do again over a nice lunch with talk about work and whatnot. Also got to see loads of pics of the past twenty years or so (and you know me and pics, right?), including wedding pictures where I was looking at folks with like “where do I know these folks from?” until it became clear that it were a couple of known (national) actors who’re friends with our stepmother. Hysterical how that works. You’re looking at a face that seems familiar, and you’re turning and turning it over in your head knowing that you’re missing something, only to realize that the reason you know them is because you saw them on the friggin’ TV. Weird how that works.

Had only one workout at the gym since my last blog (yes, I’ll flog myself tonight, jeez!) but like I said, time is fleeting and in short demand. I just can’t seem to schedule anything in of late, which is driving me effing bonkers sometimes. Grrrr.

Have been cooking regularly (I’m patting myself on the back saying “good Sammie” on that one) so nutritionally we’re doing okay...except for having missed quite a few meals again due to the lack of time. Aaaaargh! But what meals I’ve had were good and balanced.

Have been thinking more and more about starting our own little company, though, in particular with the persistent rumors and trouble at work. A small dining facility, primarily based on take away is slowly solidifying. Even big brother is getting to be excited about it, and yes, we have thought of a name for the place. “Something Different”, which has a nice ring to it, and a name you can play with in advertising. Now, I am going to have to start making time free to do research, of course, discovering if it even possible to open something like this in the surrounding area, what kind of licenses I would need, etc. Who knows, it might not even be possible, so I’m not going to let my head run of with me yet. I’ll keep you posted.

The infection and/or rash on my foot became secondary to the fact that a I slipped at work (colleague used slippery soda soap instead of a degreaser) and slammed my foot into the wall while on all fours in a narrow space. Very unpleasant, walking became even more of a trial due to that, so I wasn’t happy for a while. Both problems have decreased now, thankfully. The redness is almost gone to a treatment of mostly vinegar with an after-treatment of aloe vera and calendula cream. There are days now that you can hardly see the the discoloration anymore.

You’ll be happy to know that the weather is slowly improving. Spring (despite the small setback these past couple of days with a drop of more than 8 degrees) is in full swing. Green is sprouting everywhere (loving that bit) making the world a colorful place to be at least. I’m not even minding the cold (not much, anyway) it is just so pretty.

The load of plants in my apartment are absolutely lovely. They are thriving, growing lushly on the windowsill and my dresser where a selection of kitchen herbs are competing for sunlight. They are delicious, I tell ya. Almost like we have a little yard there, which makes cooking very much a pleasure.

I have, since recently, discovered that my stay in the UK has had a nasty side effect. My accent has become horribly British. That is not to say that I dislike the British accent, I mean former Prime Minister Blair has an accent to die for, but it is not an accent I strive for. Irish accent, sure, American mid-west or even south are lovely, but British is very distinct and will have people look oddly at you, as if you’re trying to show off, or something. I don’t, it happens automatically, so I fear that E’s (former boss) promise to teach me “proper” English, did rub off. I’ll have to work on that.

Did finally manage to do some home improvement during my last free day. Got around to sanding, priming and painting my kitchen table at last, so now it is a wonderfully old, dented homestead style table in a warm ivory white. It looks lovely. Especially with the three chairs I found at the skip months ago. Considering all my colorful furniture elements, I figured that keeping a basis of white-ish for the big pieces was just plain smart.

I like it.

Well, that is all she wrote today. I still want to do some stuff on the books, if I can manage it and then I have to start thinking about dinner at some point, despite it being lunch hour. Time flies, and never more so then when you’re doing stuff at the computer, eh? Hah

I’ll be back.

An update at last!

Song of the day: “Things” by Dean Martin and Nancy Sinatra. Cool song, with several versions that I like as well, but for now this was the one I’ve been hearing in my head a lot. For as far as earworms go, this is not a bad one.

Right. I’m late writing again, I know, I know (bad Sammie! Bad, bad Sammie) but I have a good excuse, my computer is suffering from some sort of hiatus that big brother hasn’t been able to solve yet, meaning that I might have been able to write this post sooner, but I simply won’t have an easy way of posting it. Very annoying, I know. Can’t be helped, though. With time as limited as it is at the moment, having to jump through hoops to post anything, is a pain in the behind. Grrr.

Lots to tell this time round, however, considering my best friend from Spain came for a visit last week, and stayed for a couple of days. That meant we had to pack in as much activities during those days as possible, while still being able to spend quality time together. Yay. It was grand. Missed her a lot these past eight months or so, and actually choked up a minute there when I saw her appear at the airport in Germany. It was almost midnight when I got there, had just barely managed to make a very necessary trip the bathroom after driving for more than an hour, and there she was; that very familiar and dear face looking around and then zoning in on me with a big grin. Did the whole greeting bit with hugs and everything, and headed right out into the night where I had haphazardly parked the car in front of the building. Hah.

We were late getting home, of course, despite of me speeding on the deserted highways from time to time, but that was okay. Once there we had some tea, did some more talking and finally were in bed around two in the morning. This of course meant that I had to be up two and a half hours later to go bring big brother to work, otherwise T and I wouldn’t be able to get around by car the remainder of the day.

Let’s just say that we did a bit of sightseeing. Went to Rotterdam because the weather here was horrid on the second day. We picked up big brother at work, and just started driving until the weather improved. Which was in Rotterdam, for some reason.  There the sun was shining, no wind and lots of stuff to look at…including the endless amount of tourists that were teeming literally everywhere. Just love it that T has a similar sense of humor as I do. For instance, we were walking past a lingerie shop, with these reed thin mannequins in the window displays, in all these sensual little poses. We got in this elaborate discussion how, of course, these were exactly the positions women take on once they wear sexy underwear, and that inevitably, when wearing such, we always end up in a pillow fight in a frilly bedroom with muted light…at which point we were chortling with laughter, and big brother grinning.

Did all the silly things, too, naturally, including taking selfies with the three of us in front of landmarks. Even big brother did a couple with this huge grin on his face, despite him being pretty darn tired (big brother is a good sport that way. He went along regardless) so we actually have some shots to remember the afternoon by. Ended the afternoon by having a really late lunch at this cute little bohemian lunch room, run by an eclectic group of people working hard to make everyone feel welcome. Definitely a place to visit if you’re ever in Rotterdam. They had nice daily specials, fresh teas and coffees. Not a single table or chair was the same, there were colorful throw pillows everywhere, and furniture of recycled wood in strategic places. I could have done without the neon lights here and there, but other than that it was downright cozy and the service extremely friendly.

T and I ended up with thick slices of dark bread with garlicy humus and grilled veggies, while big brother went for a chicken wrap that had loads of raw veggies in it (and he liked it regardless *gasp*) so we all had a rather healthy meal in the end.

Didn’t get home until late, in particular since T and I ended up on the couch talking about her new boyfriend and life in general. Had a nice morning at the sauna, too (I’m probably telling this out of order, but what the heck. The separate events aren’t exactly in sequence in my head, never are, so it will just have to do) which included a full tour of the premises, followed by a wonderfully leisured swim in two of the pools. Afterward we both felt that it was time was a sturdy breakfast followed by a rather wonderful nap of at least two hours each. Hah.

We were all sorry to see the days pass so quickly, and before we knew it, we left early Saturday morning, direction south to the place where big brother and I grew up. Luckily T was willing enough to be showed around, our old house, the woods, and then a nice walk through the heath fields on the mountain. Petted Scottish Highland cattle, only to discover a few minutes later that you’re supposed to stay 25 meters away from the lovely beasts, because they’re wild animals, and you just never know. Haha. They were lovely, and the petting was very cool. Never petted one before, so it was definitely a first. Yay.

Didn’t like having to drop T off at the airport at three in the afternoon, where we had to say our goodbyes and promise to see each other again soon…including an invitation to come vacation in Finland this summer, which we’re definitely going to try to arrange. Would love to see where she grew up for a change, and to spend a few days in the wild. Should be fun…in particular since we’ll meet T’s boyfriend. Am incurably curious in that regard.

On the way back I dropped by Tenant’s and cousin Ed’s for a quick visit. Both their birthdays are coming up, so in case we couldn’t make on the days in questions I wanted to drop of their presents already.

Was a tad sad when I got home, but that couldn’t be helped. Summer will be here soon enough, I’m guessing.

On to the next business…if I can remember. Hah

So, what else? Well, we had a rather nice workout session at the gym last week. Kicked some serious bag behind, rowed a mile or two at top speed, hiked the treadmill up a number six incline at a four mile per hour speed, pumped iron until I was about ready to pass out after the usual morning of work.

Had a couple of good swims as well, so I’ve been pretty darn active on the overall what with walks added into the mix and everything.

Cooking wise I did very little experimenting, but we have been eating nutritionally well balanced on the overall. (Good Sammie) Not a lot of meat though, I find it just too difficult to do that regularly. I mean seriously, how do folks manage to eat meat without it giving you the idea of wrecking the wonderful  taste of the veggies? It is so strange.

I did do some writing in the past few weeks. Managed to bring the latest manuscript over 15K, which is a milestone at least. Added to that I have started editing “Titan Rising: Conner”, which has been fun. Haven’t done a lot of that on this particular book, so it has been a road of discovery for me with all sorts of wonderful surprises. It is rather wonderful to read back what I wrote some odd two years ago, and discover little treasure troves of sentences that I’d completely forgotten…not to mention that I am falling in love with the characters all over again. It has been too long ago that I worked on this particular book. I think I should have been sending it out for all this time already, and yet for some peculiar reason, I haven’t.

Work wise things have been hectic, again, in particular since T went back home. Did a double shift this Tuesday, in fact, meaning that I worked from 6 AM till 10:30 AM, went home to sleep for a couple of hours, picked up big brother after three in the afternoon, went home again to cook dinner, relaxed with “Crimson Peak” for a bit, and then went back to work at 10:30 PM for my second shift at 11. The next morning there was going to be a photo shoot, so cleaning had to be done before that. The whole thing took a little longer than expected (4:30 AM, in fact) and by then I was so friggin’ tired I went to bed and lay awake feeling too tired to sleep until 6. Grrrr. Did finally drop off, until 10:15 when I started to worry about whether or not I had managed to get a particular wall of glass properly cleaned at work. I know, I’m nuts to worry about that, right? Hah. Did fall back to sleep until around one, meaning that I had to rush something fierce to get ready for the remainder of the day. Had agreed to go visit Tenant for her birthday, and if all went as planned, big brother would come and pick me up before three so we could beat rush hour on our way to her place.

Did arrive on time at Tenant’s place and she was very happy to see us both for a late birthday celebration.

A week or so ago I scraped open the tops of my feet while cleaning underneath sauna benches. It didn’t actually break skin until there was blood, but it was a like really bad rug burn.  It is somewhat infected now, almost looking like a rash, so I’ve started cleaning it with rubbing alcohol and cider vinegar, which is showing some improvement, even though the treatment is somewhat painful. Still. Rather than get some chemical/antibiotic thing from the drugstore, I prefer to keep it clean and treat it with the vinegar and leave the body to fix it by itself. I’ll keep you posted.

My apartment was a mess after work, T’s visit, Tenant’s birthday trip, so, as usual a part of my free day was used to clean up. Pity that, but can’t be helped. Added to that, there were two loads of laundry…had to get a new machine, by the way. The ten bucks Siemens we got five months ago gave the spirit after walking through my bathroom ten days ago and this strange screechy sound in the engine for at least five weeks, so we got another one at the thrift store. It’s a different brand, not the best, but relatively new at least. Cost about the same as having a repair man come over to check the broken one, so we figured, what the heck. So far it’s been working fine, so, yay!

Also spent a couple more days at the thrift store. One of those was boring stuff like organizing clothes and shelving units, and another setting up new window displays. Was fun to have the young salesgirl there for the first time noticing that you can actually make stuff look good if you display them right. I don’t think she realized that before, so I’m hoping that there will be a time when she gets interested enough that she wants to learn how to do it. The last day there was fun, partly because my colleague there had been forced to take her 2 year old along to work. Kept stuff interesting for sure. Was fun playing with a kid again. He loved it when I started to make him bounce through the store and then fly right on outside when his grandpa finally came to pick him up.

Spring is really here, by the way. Plants, trees and whatnots have burst into green in a timespan of a single week. Been enjoying that massively. Even now, as I sit at my desk writing this, I am looking outside at the everything quickly coming to life. I missed this bit about the north tremendously.

What else, well, I finally made first contact with littlest brother across the big expanse. I worried for a while if I should, considering that I didn’t want to be pushy, or anything, but, finally I thought, what the heck, it’s his B-Day. Might as well break the ice, so to speak. He did write back that morning, so he’s a little easier in the communication than big brother and our father (can I say for the record that I find it exhausting that some folks are just incapable of communicating, be it by email, chat, app, phone or whatever. Some folks literally need to have a pitchfork behind their bums to get off them and communicate. I wonder if it is a male thing. Stepmother seems to have very little problems with it—such a relief that—she is one of few people who makes it an equal give and take in communication. Don’t folks realize if they leave it all to one person, that person starts to fear that he/she is considered to be a stalker or some such? Of course when I ask this of big brother, he is more like: I don’t know what to say, which makes me go Aaaaaargh.) But anyways…it was nice to hear from littlest brother, who seems to be looking forward to meeting face to face, too. I gotta say I’m curious about him and am impatiently anticipating getting to know his quirks, likes and dislikes, just to see if we have anything in common. Genes can be odd that way. Hah. Now, after first contact, I start wondering if I’ll scare him s**tless by writing back in my usual elaborate style. Might be smart not to, ya know, but then I think, he might as well realize up ahead that I can get a serious case of TMI when it concerns communication. *wink*

Went over to our father’s new place down south a couple of weeks ago, which was a nice relaxing afternoon despite me being slightly cross-eyed with exhaustion. Good thing big brother drove back that night, because I sure wasn’t capable of it. Got to pet a nice big ol’ husky while we were visiting, which was totally cool. They (father and stepmother) had talked about the beasty before, saying how they found it so sad that it was always on its own in the yard, but I was happy to see that we were right in pointing out that Huskies are really good on being on their own, and that it being quiet wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Took the furry one only a short time to warm up to me, and start trying to play with my hands and in the end scarf, hah. He was lovely. Reminded me of big brother’s Cham, some years back…but then, most dogs I meet these days remind me of one dog or other from the pack. Darn it!

So, that about sums up today’s blog. I know, finally some stuff happened, eh? I told you, life isn’t always boring here, it just sometimes seems that way. It is choice, however, more than anything. There are so many busy days, including work, visits, trips, groceries and whatnot, that on the rare occasions that I have a night to myself, I’m enjoying me solitude tremendously.

Gotta go.