Building some, yay.

Last night I was determined not to think of the lessons at all, until the day I actually have to do it. Two hours after bedtime, without really noticing it, I’m still thinking about the friggin’ lesson that was and the three that are still to come…and then I’m not even mentioning the exams that will follow. This friggin’ brain just won’t stop. It drives me bonkers sometimes.

For two whole hours stuff like: smoother, smoother, faster, faster, stop now…not here, go there, go here, did you see that, did you notice this? Aargh. Finally, upon realizing that I was still thinking about the crap, I started chanting, “Stop! Stop! Stopstopstopstop!” in my head until I finally fell asleep.

It’s a miracle I’m still sane this morning when I wake up at the sound of the alarm. (I know, whether I’m sane or not is open for debate, but what the heck.) Though somewhat sore like yesterday, I’m feeling a tad better when I get up from the bed and let the dogs out so I can do my stretches.

Today isn’t looking promising, even though the weather appears to be pleasant enough. The sun shines brightly and only a minimal amount of clouds dot the sky overhead when I head down to the house to tackle the massive amount laundry that I forgot to do yesterday.

Luckily big brother offers to help while grandpa stands close talking pleasantly about whatever it was he’s heard on TV. It makes for a nice change to my usual humming. Hah. It takes almost forty minutes to hang and fold it all, and by that time my stomach is snarling for food. After a quick breakfast and a big mug of coffee in hand we set up our computers to start on today’s editing session.

We come upon a particularly complicated scene that requires a lot of time and attention. It turns out that even though the scene is good, it needs quite a few adjustments to really make sense. It wasn’t wrong before, just not complete…if that makes any sense?

For several hours we ruthlessly hack our way through grammar and general structure, basically rewriting the scene, until, when it’s time for us to get ready to go to the village, we’ve added four more pages to the “done” section of the book.
While we get ready to depart a strong northern wind picks up, making things look bleak for our intended bonfire. It’s stirring up to be a nice storm that’ll make fire just too dangerous. Blast it!

But first, mom has an appointment with the doctor, and I need to be there because the spot he operated on a couple of months ago feels tender again. We’ve decided that, rather than letting things get out of hand, like the last time, he better check it out.
The plan is (while we’re at the doc’s) for big brother to visit local paper stores in search for U.S. letter size paper…though it is doubtful that we’ll be able to get it ‘round here.

The way towards the village is under construction–for some reason the county thinks people need a bloody four-lane road to get from one village to the next–so it’s a bumpy ride that goes annoyingly slow.

Once the doctor’s appointment is over and done with, and the search for paper has turned out to be completely useless, we head back home, knowing that, by the time we get closer to home that the wind hasn’t stopped, but increased. No outside work today, much to my regret. I was kind of looking forward to working up a sweat. It is the best way to deal with the stress that has been accumulating during the past week.

But anyways, when we arrive home, little brother has prepared pasta with sauce for dinner and we eat it quickly, since–now that gardening is out of the question–we’ve decided that I will go up to little sister’s room and work on the cabinets under her bed. According to her the backs have been pushed out due to a lack of space, so while I take away the mattress and bottom alike, I start examining the cabinets to figure out how I can make them a bit deeper.

Since I have the supplies and tools I need to do the job, it doesn’t take long to come up with a plan. By making a sturdy back I can add a good five inches to the cabinets without much trouble. Instead of fastening the back to the old section, I set it at a slight distance, add two side panels and a top, and voila, new storage capacity in just a few hours.

Because the sibs are more than old enough to do this kind of stuff themselves, I take the time to let little sister do a lot of the work herself, explaining to her the entire process as the cabinets get built. I tell her of the little tricks that will make carpentry easier, how to use the drill properly and all those things she needs to know to be able to do this on her own at some point in the future.

I hear an occasional howl from my pack, which I couldn’t take up with me due to the younger sibs’ dogs seeing the upper part of the house as their territory, I already know that my canine companions are going to throw up quite a fuss when I return.

Once we’re done it is close to midnight, and I head down to the living area to relax a bit. Throughout the hours that I was busy with little sister, big brother has been working on the book some more, doing another round of what we’ve recently added and taking out those remaining typos that keep sneaking back into the manuscript.

After a quick snack, lots of drinking (the work made me parched) and a much-deserved cigarette the hour has passed and it’s time for me to head up to the cabin. My dogs are waiting to be fed, the evening rituals and even some cleanup chores need to be done and then it’s on to the blog.

A slow and long day, but luckily we got something done.

Ehm...No title?

Let’s see if we can keep this short today, ‘cause not all that much happened…and I’m really not in the mood for this. Hah.

I wake up my usual time this morning, my body pretty darn sore all over, and needing a solid ten minutes of stretches to start to function properly. My back complains, my muscles ache and on the overall, until I finish the stretches, it is mighty uncomfortable.

Though the weather is still cool, the sun is shining again, allowing me to head down in full sunlight and a fresh spring breeze coming from the west, I believe. The dogs, as always eager to start on the day, rush into the courtyard ahead of me, and then into the house where the usual ruckus ensues, due to big brother’s canine companions waiting for us.

There isn’t much time for anything, and after a quick shower, breakfast and a large mug of coffee I settle behind my computer to do some more filing. I do a few more copies and pasts, shift stuff around and then it is time to get going.

We have an appointment for a three-hour lesson in town, and in order to get there in time we have to arrive there less than three hours after awakening. We get there right on time, heading on out with the instructor for the exhausting task of fine-tuning our technique.

It doesn’t go bad, or anything. As a matter of fact the instructor is confident enough to say that next Wednesday we should be ready for our exams. He does state that he wishes us to have six more hours of instructions before that, however, so Friday, Monday and Tuesday will be quite busy for us.

I hate it how these “instructions” intrude on our daily routines, especially since it takes us away from far more important tasks for almost five hours. It’s such a waste, but also necessary, I know. But anyway, once we return, set our appointments and talk with our teacher and instructor alike, we’re heading over to the supermarket for a few quick groceries and then home.

I find myself a tad subdued once we’ve greeted the exuberant dogs, had dinner and finally settle down to relax a bit. I really shouldn’t just sit down, but the lesson was like those that came before: Draining.
Heck, I can barely think, let alone act.

Clue, our pointer that got operated on last week, got the drain removed from his side today, and is desperately trying to get past the cone collar that is protecting the stitches from removal. When he fails to get to it, he moves over to me for a proper petting, sticking the cone in my chest so I can scratch his poor itchy ears. There’s a lot of moaning coming from him during the petting, proving that the restrictive collar is keeping him from the much needed scratching.

Later in the evening after watching an episode of “CSI” and “Bones” big brother and I both make a foray into editing again. We manage little more than a page, however, and finally decide on searching a variety of databases for agents and publishers once more, for when we start sending out the latest manuscripts.
The entire procedure mixes with the constant search of ticks on plenty of dog bodies. The dogs really enjoy it too, since they all come heading towards us one at a time for their turn. Already the tick problem is growing, the average dog counting at least twenty every day, demanding a lot of time so we can remove them. We really have to start thinking about that bath for them, soon.

Around midnight we sign off and resign for the night.
Once up in my room, after feeding the dogs and going through the evening rituals, I do a few exercises. I would have liked to do a full workout today, if for no other reason than to get rid of the lethargy swirling inside me, but since that this isn’t smart just a couple of hours before sleep, I make due.

Once the dogs are done eating, and I’ve changed into my pjs, it’s time for today’s blog (it’s rather boring, I know) and a quick circulation of the Net. Let’s hope tomorrow will be more interesting.

Files, files, and more files...and gardening, of course.

Another dreary day arrives with chilly temperatures that send me hurrying through the morning rituals, rather than loosing the warmth the night under my blankets offered. Instead of lingering on my usual reading, I immediately take the dogs down to the house and start on breakfast of fresh French bread and a mug of coffee on the side.

Tomorrow’s lesson is looming, and what with the rather nightmarish dream that haunted me this night, I’m valiantly struggle against thinking about tomorrow. I hate it when worries, such as lessons, keep intruding on the more important aspects of the day.

I mean, seriously, what use does anyone have of worrying about something that hasn’t even occurred yet? Nothing! It will just keep you from being constructive and that is what I dislike most. Besides, it’s not as if the lessons are that horrid. Its just correcting technicalities, for God’s sake, nothing more.

Once big brother and I have settled behind our computers we get to the edit project without delay.
Thoughts of tomorrow thankfully recede quickly, allowing the focus we need.
During the night big brother has done another quick read-through and only found a few remaining typos which we go through before resuming the actual job with renewed enthusiasm.

We manage four pages in the few hours that pass, and don’t stop until we’re running half an hour behind on the day’s plan of tackling the garden once more.
In the early hours of morning grandpa and our friend Danni went out to get a batch of rocks from a nearby dumpsite and it fills the back of the truck to the top when we come outside.

This is the first task of the day and for the next hour or so we transfer up to a thousand pounds of rock to where it will be stored for the next few months. Working as a chain, the work goes expeditiously, giving a nice pile to start with…some day.
It’s backbreaking, really, lifting the forty-pound rocks over shoulder height fencing, but since we don’t want to risk letting the dogs out into the top garden, it has to be done.

It is a future project we’re planning, really, and for the duration of spring lots more rocks will be necessary until we have enough to build the wall that needs to be erected on the north side of the courtyard. Until now this side is still a mix of natural rock and sand, slowly degrading during the rainy season, but one day a twelve feet wall will have to be put up to keep the soil from eroding. It’ll be a monumental task for sure, but once it’s done, it should look beautiful.

That done, we disperse all over the property. The two youngest sibs start on the weeds that cover the steep path down to the bus, while I attack the last section of vines and other growths, hemming in the large cacti right beside the basement door. Middle sister continues with the remaining mess on the terrace around the old pool, while big brother ascend into it to relight the fire for the burning of more debris.

Rapidly the smoke begins to rise again, and by the time I finish with the section I intended to clear today, we are discussing whether or not we ought to go down to the lowest level of the garden to start a fire there as well. Though we intended to leave the debris to turn into compost in time, we now doubt if we should.

However easy it is to just leave it all lying on the steep incline, there is the issue of when summer arrives. First of all, it’s a fire hazard. And second: Snakes! During the hotter months of the year they’ll be out and about, while searching for cool spots during the hottest hours of the day…which makes them a danger to the dogs, should they venture into the piles of branches and vines that are perfect hideouts for the slithering serpents.

By the time we make a decision it really is too late to start a new fire, and settle for the one we already have by lugging up several of the larger items. Since the fire is burning anyway, and no one is really feeling up to a cooking session, we repeat yesterday’s treat of potatoes and carrots.

While they’re roasting away, I tackle the dead palm tree, hacking my way through sharp spikes and pulling a variety of muscles when the stupid hard leaves refuse to give. I also get quite a start when, while chopping at the joints, I come upon a scaring amount of gigantic larvae. The big ugly round things are the size of my thumb, for crying out loud, and they move like a gullet swallowing, or something. Gross! I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the cause of the tree’s untimely demise.

Sporting several puncture wounds from the spiky leaves I finally give up three quarter through this particular task and start taking out the splinters that have lodged themselves in my arms.
By the time we finish–darkness is rapidly descending–the veggies are done and ready for eating.

With the nice stash in a couple of small buckets, we head on up to the house to wash up–I decide to use disinfectant due to the holes in my skin–and start on dinner. During the meal we watch a new episode of “Medium” (it wasn’t as good as usual, but still entertaining) before we shut the TV off and turn the computers back on.

For the next few hours I work on organizing my files, copying and pasting chapters together and then sitting back to stare at the end-result in triumph.

As it turns out I have 21 completed manuscripts for the “finished” file. They still need to be edited, of course, but still…I certainly like the number, no matter that it isn’t even. Hah.

Two more are complete as well, but they need a serious rewrite since they’re more than 300.000 words each. Aaargh. I’m dreading the day when I decide to tackle them. I imagine there will be a lot of eye rolling from yours truly, because I wrote them as a teenager. My writing has changed a lot since then…thankfully.

Then there is a file of “edited and done” counting up to a fun total of six, yay! Soon the one we’re working on right now will be added to that one, but until that time, I’ll just enjoy the (even) number.

And last but not least the “Work in progress” file of stories that are around halfway done. The wonderful list (I love well organized lists) goes up into the twenties as well, and leaves the last file for beginnings of stories I started with at some point, but haven’t gotten around to yet.
This file “future projects” will contain the remainder of my work…once I’ve managed to retrieve them from the maze that I used to call my dossiers. Hah.

Gawd, I never realized how much I’ve written over the past eighteen years. It makes me wonder how I ever managed it in the first place…well, maybe back in the day I had less on my plate than I do now, but still, it’s an overwhelming amount of data.

It’s amazing to go through old files the way I’ve been doing today. Reminiscing, rereading bits and pieces and thinking; “Heck, I forgot all about that one,” and “Did I write that? It’s actually pretty darn good!” Hah.

But anyways, once I’ve finished organizing the most important files and big brother has copied them for his computer as well, we resume editing for the last hour of the evening. Adding another page or two, we call it a day after midnight, and we each retire to our quarters for the night.

Once I’ve fed the pack, did some reading and messed around my cabin for a bit, I turn on the computer for today’s blog and get started.

Lots got done again, but considering that tomorrow will be taxing and busier than I’d like it to be (and not in a good way, since editing will not fit into it) that is a good thing.

Carpe Diem! Perhaps I should take that cliché phrase to heart tomorrow.

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.