Almost finished...in more ways than one.

I’m half an hour late getting up this morning. Thick clouds hide the sky, and rain is nearing, if the smell outside is an indication, when I let the dogs out, shaking my head at night dashing madly away to do his business.

Since I don’t have to do my workout this morning, I take my time in my cabin, pleased that the new couch cushions are still in place, and that the dogs haven’t managed to dislodge them during the night. The sitting room looks remarkably neat for a change, and that’s always a pleasure.

I head to the house with only faint beams of sunlight breaking through the thick clouds. I enter the courtyard when I suddenly realize that Trin Trin isn’t among the pack. Apparently I’ve left her locked in my cabin, and rather than heading back up, with the dogs inevitably coming in my pursuit, I ask big brother to get her when he goes to let the pack out of the patio.

Laundry’s the first priority when I arrive, setting my computer bag on the counter and lugging two full baskets out to the courtyard, before I take off the dry batch and deposit it on the table for later folding.

It takes me little time to hang the wet, even though I have to stop halfway through to bring the now released Trin Trin into the house and snap her on her leash. Knight II is being particularly jumpy too, so I leash him to one of the poles supporting the courtyard roof and finish the chore soon thereafter.

All around the rest of the pack comes storming inside, big brother walking in their midst and preceding me into the house where we fold the laundry before starting on our breakfast.

We spent several hours going over the latest book project, getting quite a bit done, with the miraculous number of 1700 words removed in total. We’ll have to do another check tomorrow, of course, but with only a hundred or so to spare, we feel pretty confident that we’ve removed enough.

I still don’t like having to remove literarily pretty words that make the story flow fluidly, but it’s not supposed to be literary. Contemporary with 15.000 words is the limit, so we’re stretching as it is. While I’m editing, big brother and grandpa are avidly discussing world affairs, which occasionally distracts me from my work, until at long last the story is finished and officially edited once.

By the time darkness arrives, and rain is pounding down on the roof, I shut the computer down and head for the kitchen to make dinner. We still have some mushroom pastries from last night, so with that in mind I make a non-lettuce salad to go with it, and disperse it on the plates with the remaining pastries.

The combination works well, allowing for a filling, hot + cold meal for all, and wash up the dishes I’ve used before deciding on starting to put away kitchen utensils and the likes into the new drawers. Oven dishes and tins fit beautifully in one of the big drawers. Another drawer is filled with bowls, sieves and serving dishes, leaving more than enough room for more.

Grandpa went to the home improvement store this morning, and was able to find four more of the drawer handles, making us two short of the plan. We shift around ideas for a bit and then decide to put three of them on the shallow ones, so we can choose between using one, or two to pull them open.
This leaves two each for the remaining two drawers that really should be opened with two hands, because they’re so big and heavy.

It is starting to look pretty darn fancy, I admit, when big brother comes over to resume actual building of “the project”.
Ten minutes later we are once again sawing boards, managing to get most of the required boards from the MDF that got blown off the car the other day–and was torn in three. At least there isn’t too much waste, just bits and pieces from where we have to cut off jagged edges.

Five boards get cut with the powerful circle saw before we’ve got all the required wood, and I get started on sanding the drawer covers for the last time and painting them by the time the sisters come on down to join in. While they’re preparing to start with the primer on the new boards, I quickly roll a thin layer of finishing paint on the remaining five drawers, and set them aside before I get one of the top cupboards and give it its final treatment as well.

What comes next is taking out the elevated center of the island–or technically the peninsula, hah–so we can cut out two rectangular shapes in the centers of both sides to put in grilles that will allow the heat of the oven to escape freely. While I get to work, big brother is attaching three electricity plugs on either side, and guiding the wires through the section.

I’ve just finished sawing the first piece out and am holding the grille against it when we realize that there’s no way to attach it, because the narrow opening won’t allow for a screwdriver to be used. There’s some debate, until we realize that with the removal of six screws a complete section can be lifted away, allowing for easy access for both sides.
Big brother, done with the electricity, takes over the task of sawing out the second piece, allowing me to smoke a quick cigarette before attaching the second metal grating.

By ten in the evening both grilles are fitted, and make the whole actually look even better than before as we put the sections back together and place the bar back in the center of the isle. The good fit still amazes me; it doesn’t even wiggle when it’s settled.

On the other side the sisters are still painting, taking up half of the counters, but by then the drawers have dried enough for the attachment of the handles, to which we get without pause. The primer the sisters have applied is dry now too, so they go straight to rolling on the color paint that is the second to last treatment the wood is going to need.

It is not an easy task to attach eleven, two-plug, handles in such a way that they don’t get uneven, but with only one adjustment throughout the procedure, we manage and start sliding the finished drawers in place.

A pause is warranted by the arrival of little brother, who has made the changes to his trailer clip during the course of the day, showing a wonderful end result that would have had me load the film up immediately, if he hadn’t claimed to have two more tiny little faults to improve upon before he feels confident that he has created perfection. Honestly, to me perfection was there at the start. Still, it is marvelous that he cares so much. We watch the Shape Shifter trailer about four times before we return to work, and finish the last couple of drawers.

Beautiful. It is a single word that describes the end result so very well. The old silver handles make the rather modern design look great, while letting it appear to be very streamlined at the same time. We’re all dreadfully pleased by the overall image.

By the time our part of the job is done, and cleanup has commenced on my side of the counter, the sisters are done as well and help with the remainder of the mess. Rather than all of us moving off to our preferred areas in the house, the sisters and I linger in the kitchen, putting kitchen utensils in the drawers, and creating a nice order in roomy storage.

Except for the cooking pots and pans, everything’s pretty much put away by the time the evening comes to an end.
Cutlery has been washed and cleaned–sawdust is everywhere after two weeks of construction–fitting into their appointed places by the time exhaustion makes us all drag our feet and finish with the last bits well past midnight.

We’re all famished, and while the younger sibs are preparing their usual nightly snack, I take a slice of bread with cheese, and then head on up to my cabin. The rain has gratefully let up while I climb the mountain and cast a glance up at the slowly clearing sky.

My feet are killing me, my lower back hurts like heck, and I’m yawning constantly as I feed the dogs, manage to read about three pages in my book of the week, and then get down to my first session on the Net this day.

Weekends are always slow, so I’m not surprised–and more than a little relieved for a change–that there is not a single personal message to take care of.
For some reason our work hours are increasing, unnoticed to us all. Today we were on our feet constantly for a solid eight hours. I feel every one of them. Hah.

The dogs are fed and sleeping on their individual places around me. Yadzia had his second Leishmania injection and thus all the “must dos” are done.
My day is over. Yay!

Bowled over.

A night passed that felt rather short...which could of course be explained because I was running dreadfully late last night, and didn’t actually get to sleep until six thirty. The dogs are never merciful, however, so the moment the alarm clock goes off, I get out of bed and throw the pack outside before they destroy something out of sheer frustration.

Still harsh winds with bright sunlight outside, which would be more suited for February or March, than it does December. I spent a few minutes watering the jasmine vine outside my window and gather my laundry that’s been piled on top of my closet for two days now. After I get dressed we head on down to the house–dogs eager to start the day–and enter the courtyard where big brother’s pack gives us a noisy welcome.

While big brother snaps the leash on the monster boxer, I toss my laundry in the machine–pretty happy that there’s no batch waiting to be hung, by the way–and get my workout clothes for today’s session.

My limbs are pretty tired today, and though I go through every motion, force isn’t really present. I don’t mind, though. I do these workouts for the sole purpose of exercise and try not to work on building strength since my body has a tendency to develop muscles a little too fast to my liking.

The last time I was doing workouts regularly I gained a solid sixty pounds in just 6 months. Now I wouldn’t have minded all that much if inches had been removed, but no, I just gained muscle tissue, which, apparently, is heavier than fat tissue. That would have been nice to know up front, in all honesty, but of course the chiropractor only told me that I needed exercise, not which kind. Drat!

Ah well, this time it appears to be working well enough. Guess the being busy all the time’s helping some too. Hah.

Anyways, I spend a good fifty minutes bouncing around, grunting, punching and kicking until finally all the movements have been made and I can hit the showers now that my limbs are protested pretty vocally…or they would, if they could speak.

I get down to business as soon as breakfast is dealt with, and with big brother sitting opposite of me; we go through about eight pages of the manuscript in the hours that follow. Having decided to skip the messages, since they always distract me way too long, I’m pleased with the progress and am relieved that we’ve already managed to scratch out a lot of words. Only 800 or so to go! We just might manage it after all.

By the time sunset has passed I shut down the computer and head for the kitchen to start on dinner. I’m of a mood to do baking and decide to prepare mushroom pies in the new oven. Much to my delight the sisters come down almost immediately to join in, and while little sister starts on the mushroom, onion and leek filling, adding some curry spices and herbs before stirring in the sauce hollandaise with cheese, middle sister and I get to work on the crust.

Rather than make a big pie, which would have been quicker, we decide to make separate pies in muffin trays and shove them in the heated oven by the time the filling is halfway done. Five minutes into the baking, the gas runs out, forcing big brother to venture outside in the chilling wind to get a new gasket.

It takes only a few minutes to replace the empty one, and thirty minutes later we’re all enjoying the day’s meal. Another experimental recipe turning out to be a success, it’s always a pleasure to see the eaters enjoy a meal. The small pies are filling, though, so we’ll be able to eat the remainder tomorrow.

We spent half an hour digesting the food, figuring that if we start a little early with the continuation of the kitchen’s remodeling project, we might be able to quit before midnight and get some more editing done. After the dishes are done, the counters swept and anything greasy removed we get cracking.

Today the klutz virus has latched on to little sister, who’s literally swearing by the time she finishes the first cabinet’s painting session and somehow knocks over the paint can that proceeds to spread out all over the new stove. She and middle sister spend a good thirty minutes cleaning up the mess while on the other side of the kitchen isle I continue to attach one drawer cover after the next.

The “no more nails” glue is working pretty well–though I use screws anyway, if for no other reason than to keep the two board pressed tightly together–and with last night’s drawers going through their last paint treatment, once the sisters have finished cleaning up, I manage to get three of them done to satisfaction.

On my side big brother’s working on the faucet re-placement, muttering occasionally when things don’t go his way either, but in the end he gets it done, and I can move on to applying a liberal amount of silicone underneath the board of oak that need to be attached to the counter.

It looks good, I admit when I’m done, telling big brother he can reattach the plumbing and start on fastening the bolts that are to keep oak, and silicone alike, in place.
The freezer is still in the way, however, since a part of the old kitchen is taking up the wall where both freezer and fridge will be placed by the time we’re done building, and he needs to twist into the most awkward positions imaginable to get things done.

Little sister and middle sister finish their painting, more mishaps covering the youngest with paint all over her arms. By this time brother declares that he’s going to need little sister’s help because she is able to crawl under the counter easiest. She grumbles a little but is game, as she gets her instructions, tools and is sent into what we’re starting to term “the underworld”.

By then I’m working on the last drawer, and just about start today’s cleaning-up when there’s a startling outcry from underneath the counter. While drilling holes, little sister has gotten a drip of silicone in her eye, and is shouting for cleaning water as she worriedly asks if the stinging goo will damage her eyes.

Having gone through that particular ordeal myself a time or two during the construction of the house, I manage to calm her down well enough as liberal amounts of eye-water are spritzed into the offended eye until she feels confident that it’s no longer bothering her. Bravely, she disappears underneath again and finishes the job.

In order to keep her company, I sit by the entrance, shining a flashlight to the area she’s working on, while we chat about nothing in particular. We’re all getting pretty tired by this time, five hours into the remodeling session, and actually go into one of those gasp laughs one always gets when something really isn’t funny, but exhaustion makes you laugh anyway.

It starts when little sister is crawling out from under the counter, finding herself halfway out, with her butt and spine just barely over the six-inch base of the counter, with not enough strength to heave herself up.

At last I manage to stop laughing long enough to offer her a hand, and pull her to her feet. Knight II decides he wants attention by then, and rears up like a horse, slamming his paws straight into my ribs when I least expect it, making me curse and then grab hold of his collar before he can try again. Ouch. The giant certainly knows where to have the most effect.
I’m actually surprised that he didn’t crack one of my ribs, and berate him sternly until he calms down some at last.

Little brother joins us by then, carrying with him a small Mac book and the declaration that he’s almost finished his project and wants to show the end result.
Having finished most of the cleaning by then, I’ve got the honor to look first, and am literally bowled over at the sight of what he has created.

During the course of the week, being cloistered in his quarters on the second floor he’s been making a movie-like trailer for W.I. Investigations/Shape Shifter and did a marvelous job of it, I’ll admit.

Right there on the screen is a collection of images with powerful music and intense action, showing me a clip of a story I created over the years in such eerie detail that shivers actually run down my spine. It is truly amazing, and looking at it I can only mutter “Oh, that’s just right!” and “That too,” and “How on earth did you manage it?”

I can see him preening with pride and pleasure as one by one we all gather around to admire his work. I’m patting him on the back every now and then, just because I need to do something to show my full appreciation of a clip he intends to put up on Youtube and everywhere else where he can manage it, just as soon as he’s filtered out the last few glitches…his words, not mine.

If it were up to me, I’d show it to everyone right this instant, but little brother’s a perfectionist that way.
I can’t wait for the clip to be dubbed “finished” so I can put it on my computer and watch it over and over again. The best part is; he intends to make one of these clips for every W.I. story, which means I get to watch my short stories as a kind of movie, if we play them all after each other. I’m totally psyched, that’s a fact.

With that little work of art burned in my brain, I head to my cabin not much later, not caring in the least for the cold wind sweeping right into my face as I set to feeding my pack and putting new cushions on my couch, before cleaning out the mop bucket I needed to use this morning.

I get some reading done, but the clip keeps spinning through my mind, even now as I’ve pretty much finished up my chats online and am working on this blog. Can’t wait to display the clip here and see what readers will think of it. Hah.

Knight II is still petulant about the berating he received, acting like a baby in trying to crawl on my lap at every turn. Big Lug! He seems to have no notion of his size at all.

Good day. Busy, but constructive and rewarding in the end.

Hurried day.

Let’s see if I can keep it short today, I’m running late!

I wake up miserably cold this day, my hands, which I had prudently stabbed in gloves–I know, I’m insane–the previous night have no feeling in them whatsoever. And when I get out of my warm and cozy bed, mostly because the monsters are making a racket and are pulling at my four blankets to get me awake, I’m literally running towards my fur-lined slippers.

The floor is like ice under my feet, and when I put the slippers on, I literally sigh in relief. A cold northern breeze is blowing off the mountain, and the sun shining brightly overhead, really can’t compete. While the dogs rush out into the yard, I stand there in the doorway, lingering for a moment to soak up the remarkably warm rays of sunlight before I start on the morning rituals.

Despite the cold, I’m feeling pretty okay today, heading for the house with an easy enough stride as the dogs dart around me, seemingly pleased with my good mood.
First things first: No workout today, but there’s the Laundry…I know, tedious subject, but I like a steady rhythm for daily routines too much not to mention it. Somehow the day isn’t complete without doing all the chores, even when I don’t feel like doing them.

I get the big batch hung in reasonable time, big brother working at my side since he’s intent on yapping my ear off about some new ideas for the vampire book series, and miraculously deciding to help out while he does it. He’s still at it when we head into the house and start folding yesterday’s batch, and then move on to breakfast.

Bread with either cheese or peanut butter and honey, gets consumed with OJ while the coffee brews and is separated into two cups.

We decide to go to school today, discussing the plan before we set our computers at the table and get down to our separate interests. Just a few messages today, but time consuming nonetheless. I am unable to fit in either an editing or a writing session and in the end turn the computer of to get ready to go to town.

By this time the sibs have come down already, and little sister promises to have dinner ready for when we get back. With some regret I leave my miserably whining dogs behind and head on up to change my clothes for the trip.

With a lift from a friend, we get to school in time and spend an exhausting two hours behind the test computers. For some reason I can hardly keep my eyes open, there nearing the end, but am pretty pleased with the end result. Did up to twenty tests today and 15 of them were without error. I’m getting there. Slowly, but steadily

School done, we head on over to the home improvement store and spend a harrowing hour searching for what more we’ll need for the kitchen. More primer, drawer handles, electricity supplies and a small batch of screws, before we make our way to the back of the store where the wood is stored. A big board of MDF is picked out, sawed by the store before we’re finally done.

On our way to the register, we see that they have a gas heater on sale, and since several of ours are on the fritz, to say the least, we decide to buy one, now that it’s half the price.
We pile our supplies, and the heater on the back of the truck and start on our way home.

Now this has never happened before, but just as we round a particularly nasty curve on the road leading home, a fierce gust of wind sweeps under the boards, breaking the two in several pieces before literally flying from underneath the ropes that keep them in place. It is really just a whisper of a sound that makes me look back, and it takes me a full four seconds before I realize that they are gone and are still bouncing on the macadam behind us.

I call for our friend to stop the car, and big brother runs towards the boards as our driver backs up to the other side of the road where she’s able to put the car beside the road. It’s a miracle that there was no other car behind us, ‘cause if there had been there might have been a serious disaster.

We manage to pile up the debris that will be useable at least, and head on home, wondering how it could have happened in the first place. It was all tied up, the way it always is, and yet somehow it flew right off, breaking the wood in three places. For this to happen, the wind must have been blowing fiercer than we noticed inside the car…which wouldn’t be the first time. The winds here can be somewhat brutal. It isn’t for nothing that our property is rumored to be “the place where the wind is born” in local legends.

Once home, dinner waits on plates that little sister shoves in our hands the moment we enter. Fried rice with peanuts and coconut shavings, and zucchinis sliced and covered with cheese and herbs, all baked to crispy treats in the oven. Excellent! The dogs are bouncing around me, for a greeting as well as a treat, but I manage to keep them off by keeping the plate high in the air.

Rather than waste time, we get to work on the kitchen immediately afterwards. The sisters start painting, while I put up three covers for the drawers, using a big load of glue and screws to make them solid. Only one that’s dried and ready is in place in the end, but three more will be added to it tomorrow…hopefully. Looking good.

So, one painting/building/redoing session later, (big brother has decided to shift one faucet several inches to the right) midnight’s at hand and time for cleanup has arrived. There was a slight mishap with paint, sending a deep red muck all over our new counter but luckily no damage is done and it’s all removed.

While we’re still cleaning, big brother calls from the kitchen table that we’ve got a “not interested” letter from one of publishers we sent one of my manuscripts to, but I’m not really surprised. The style of my story didn’t really fit with their genre, and thus it was a long shot anyway.

Of course there’s the momentary feeling of disappointment. No matter how you prepare for this particular news, there’s always that nagging feeling of doubt that make one wonder “am I good enough”, is the story good enough?…but I put it aside since there is little more I can do than my best with each and every story that I write.
Worrying about it won’t make it any better in the end.

I head on up to my cabin by the time one in the morning has passed, and my dogs eagerly rush into the cabin as I set about firing up the heater and dispersing food for the poor monsters that really should just eat with the rest of the dogs, but are too picky to actually do so. Hah.

There’s quite a bit of Internet action tonight, the forums I frequent buzzing with conversations that are really interesting, and make me late, as usual, for this Blog.
Once again the day has come to an end much too fast. Oddly enough it always does, whether I want it to or not.

Shaving words.

Something’s up with my alarm this morning again. It doesn’t go off, which earns me another phone call from big brother who’s wondering what’s keeping me. On days such as these, I do regret the fact that the pack cannot be released until I’ve moved my butt to the house. It puts down a serious time limit to oversleeping, which is a pity.
There are definitely days on which I wouldn’t mind an extra hour or to buried deeply under my blankets.

I slept reasonably well, all things considered, waking up still sore for some reason, and too fast too distracted to remember my dreams. Once I’ve released the dogs, go through the morning routines with relative haste, I get dressed and head for the house. Exercise day has arrived, Yay, and I’m really NOT looking forward to it.

The wind’s cold and still coming from the west, but at least the sun’s out as I climb down the last bit of the path and open the courtyard gate to let the dogs rush inside.
Since I’m late, I know that my workout’s going to be a hassle. It isn’t really doable to get a proper kick in when there are a multitude of dogs rushing back and forth as if they’ve been locked in cages for days, rather than a short night of seven hours.
Going through the motions is going to be tricky that’s a fact, but I manage to go through the entire routine without any major accidents.

What with my recent discomfort in my shoulder blades, I decide to leave the twenty or so pushups for the time being, and focus on the other motions instead, and find the tension spots relax almost instantly. It appears that skipping the rather strenuous movements were a good decision, when for the first time–since I started doing pushups–I don’t feel my back muscles knot painfully when I finish the workout.

Once I’ve had my shower and hung a big load of laundry, I eat a quick breakfast and set up behind my computer for today’s messages, writing the last few scenes and following editing session. I take only two hours to finish the latest Vampire flick, creating a rather fun-filled dialogue ending that should work really well for this particular tale.

Though it is tricky to do it this way, even big brother who is an avid romance reader like I am, is pleased with the ending I write down. It fits, we agree, starting on the editing as soon as I’ve saved the new data and click to properties.

Crap! 16684 words. This means that we have to shave off at least 1600 to meet the required amount of words, and we both agonize over the fact as we start editing. Several hours pass, each sentence we remove and shift around to get a lower word count a vicious cut into the story that really needs everything that’s written down.

I despise cutting into a story this way, seeing meticulously constructed paragraphs being shredded in favor of removing yet another word, hoping sincerely that it won’t totally ruin the story. Things like, “He ran top speed, trees and vines curling sensuously around ancient trunks” turning into rather bland “He ran top speed.” Such a pity, but what has to be done, has to be done.

This is going to be pure hell that’s a fact, when seven pages from the start it turns out that we’ve only shaved off 450 at most. It is not going to be easy, but if we manage to keep this up, we might just make it without removing an actual scene from the short story. There are still 20 pages to go and if we are able to take this amount out every six or seven pages, success might be achievable in the end.

By the time sunset arrives, I decide to stop fussing with sentences and phrases and start on the day’s dinner, while big brother stays behind to keep an eye on both computers.

We still have a good load of spaghetti from last night’s dinner, so with that in mind I slice up two mid-sized cauliflowers and bake them to crisp crusts in onions, spices and garlic, before adding some salt and sugar to enhance the taste. Next come the chopped bell peppers before I toss in the sliced noodles, a can of sweet corn and some cherry tomatoes, just for quantity and let the entire mix bake for the required amount of time. At last I add cottage cheese and Gouda, creating a rather interesting smell that gets the sibs down the stairs to see what’s for dinner.

Though I wasn’t entirely sure if the combination was going to work when I first started out, it turns out to be quite success when everyone each a liberal portion before declaring that they’re stuffed. I enjoyed it myself, needing only half an hour to let the meal process, before I get up to clean the counters and get ready for the evening’s remodeling project.

We get up one drawer cover, when we decide that the paint hasn’t hardened enough yet, and switch to constructing the upper cabinets from the last stretches of MDF that we have left from the main counter. Except for the back covers, which still need to be acquired, we have just barely enough material to build the three cabinets that will in the end form a reverted J over the counters, allowing for storage space and easy access.

While big brother and I put the sides, tops and bottoms together, the sisters sand and paint the material, until three hours after we started everything that could done today is ready and clean-up time has arrived. Some paint splatters are removed, and sawdust piles up to a solid salad bowl, until the kitchen looks clean again and we can all go our separate ways.

I can’t really find an interest in TV today, still, it’s relatively early, so I lounge in front of the tube for a bit, before I rise to give Yadzia his Leishmania shot.

This is the first of his latest treatment–his skin looks bad enough to warrant a session– and since he’s got the disease it really is a necessity to give him the shots in the next few weeks to prevent him from actually getting ill
.
The golden lab is really well behaved for the duration of the injection, a genuine relief compared to Trin Trin who has formed a serious dislike for a needle ever since the last vet trainee tested her for the disease. He needed to do up to ten bone marrow injections before finally succeeding. She went through it like a champ, never complaining once during the session that was prosecuted without anesthetic, but since then it is impossible to give her a shot without someone keeping her in a tight hold. I don’t blame her.

By then it is time for me to retire, and I head up to my cabin to find big brother digging through my bookshelves in search of some proper entertainment. It is darn cold inside the wooden structure, and the first thing I do is turn on the heater and the CD player before we get to talking about our day and our multitude of projects.

When he leaves for his own quarters, my feet are literally frozen, and I hurry through the evening rituals to settle on the bed with my computer, with blankets tenting around me.

My fingers are so cold I can barely find the keys on the board, but as the computer heats, they finally do get going and today’s Blog gets written.

Though there was a “sinking” moment there at the end of the day, it was a productive one, all things said and done.
On to the next!