Song of the day: “Come on” by Will Young. I always see the video when I hear it in my head, which is, admittedly, a little embarrassing for the singer. In fact, Big Brother actually dislikes that clip because it is so very silly. Me, I just have to smile at the silliness.
So writing is going to be a little difficult today, I’ve got eight dogs clustering around me because they have been feeling left out lately, and demand attention now that I’m home, trying to get some serious work done on the computer. *sigh* Poor darlings. They dislike being weekend dogs as much as I dislike having them. Poor darlings deserve full-time attention, but alas, such is life. We all have to make due, don’t we? And like all dogs in the world, they’ll survive a little less human attention.
Gawd, Knight II just came to me, right after he drank…which means sticking his snout into a bucket up to his eyeballs and sucking up half a gallon, of which he loses a quarter on his way to me…meaning that I just got a slimy shower. Grrr.
Right. So what has been happening lately? Well, I’ll have you know that I actually managed a full evening of writing this week, adding a whopping four pages to “Gun!” Yay! The last character has been introduced (we’re going to be following four…maybe five in this story) and he’s…interesting. Second generation Japanese-American and a very good cop who can’t stand PC. We all know that feeling, right? Gawd, don’t get me started on PC. *sigh* You have to be PC, but no one is expected to have manners anymore.
Anyways…I’ve a feeling that grandpa is feeling a little overtaxed lately, which is not surprising with all the extra work hours big brother and I have been doing, so I’ve been trying to sneak in some cleaning in our little kitchen. The fridge was a disaster area, and so were the cupboards. Of course I can’t do it when he is there (pride is important after all) but at least there are some clean horizontal surfaces again.
Cooking has all been about nutritionally potent and fast to fix, so there really isn’t anything awesome to share in that regard. Did make a wonderful pumpkin soup the other day, which was a big hit, not to mention filling. Must make that again one of these days…or maybe a carrot soup. I don’t know what it is with spring, but this time of the year I always have a terrible yen for carrots. Seriously, I’ve been eating between 4 and 8 raw carrots a day, just because I feel like raw carrots. I also sometimes have that with apples. Most of the year the fruit and veg have little to no appeal for me, and then there is this time in the year where I can’t get enough of either. The way I figure, I’ll overdose on the stuff. My body knows better what I need than I do after all, so there’ll probably be a very good reason.
Am going to try to make some patties today, and maybe go for a jog and a workout. Am in desperate need of all three, but the last two are on top of my priority list.
Been getting some free books, which I’m looking forward to reading in the near future. Quite a few already. I think I downloaded more than a handful of them, several of them classics. The Phantom of the Opera, The Three Musketeers, you name it. Will be a nice change from my usual reading choices. Hah.
Knight II was without a sock for a couple of days. He wasn’t as bad as he usually is, but he did some serious licking regardless. Did need to put a sock back on, before he caused serious damage, which is a pity. That skin is never going to get tough again if he keeps at it like this, darn it.
Had a massive storm here yesterday. After work we spent several hours doing damage control around the yard. There have been mud-slides, which were way worse than any of the years before due to all the stuff that is gone now. All our gutters have been wrecked, so it went every which way. We hadn’t expected such a splasher, so there were pillows outside, a couple of books, bags, and an open window in the car. *sigh* Good for the yard for sure, but as to damage control, a total pain in the behind.
Just today I spent re-hanging and washing about seventy percent of about a week’s worth of clean laundry, darn it. Forgot I’d piled them in a spot where it leaks when it rains hard. But then, who was expecting a splasher like this, this time of year?
No matter. I had to sort through it anyway due to the fact that I can slowly start packing for my trip to the UK. What can I say, I like to take my time with such things, and since everything that goes into my backpack will need to be washed anyway. I found a skirt which should work fine for any occasion where I need to look a little bit “nicer” than just jeans and a T. I’ll get it sorted somehow, make more selections, dismiss them, then reconsider. I’m a desperate over packer, you know. I mean, you’re away from home, then it rains and you get soaked. Yikes, you’ll need this. You drop your coffee over the front of your nice top and you need that, the possibilities are endless and I hate to be unprepared…so I won’t!
I am going to look at this trip as an adventure, regardless that it is work and that I’ll miss my doggies like mad. I mean, this is the UK. It should be fun, not to mention an excellent opportunity to revisit some places I saw once more than 18 years ago. Who knows, maybe I’ll even get around to doing some touristy bits…or else have a few walks through the woods where I will soak up every molecule of green that I can get. Hah.
This week was car insurance week, at least for the Land Rover. Before the end of the month the same goes for the Opel, but I am not thinking of that yet. Another major cut into our savings, but what can you do, right? Some things just have to be paid.
Gonna have to have Knight II vaccinated soon. What with me taking him out for runs it just isn’t smart to postpone that. He won’t like it, but that is just another one of those things that need to be done, isn’t it? Luckily he likes the vet, so it won’t be traumatic, or anything. I might drop by the practice tonight and have that done before the jog. No sense in postponing it, I guess.
No big news from tenant and Sally…The latter is still hanging in there, but basically everyone is holding their breaths for the end. A sad thing, that, but can’t be helped.
Tenant is enjoying herself with lots of outings to a place where she spends time with her peers, not to mention that a landline phone allows her to communicate with her friends, and that there is a taxi service that allows her to travel long distances to visit those same friends when she wants to. I’m happy to hear that she is busily building a new life there, and enjoying it.
Well, I’m starting to draw blanks, so I’m going to leave it at this. Plenty to do still today, so…gotta go.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Hellos and goodbyes
Song of the day: “Beneath your beautiful” by Labrynth and Emeli Sandé. Still a gorgeous song…way better than the song that was stuck in my head yesterday. “Don’t talk, just kiss” by Right Said Fred. Aaaargh. I felt so silly having it bursting out every now and then. Hah.
Sooooooo, I noticed a new reader in the list and just have to say “Hi, Muriel!” personally. If you are who I think you are, I gotta ask: “How’re you eyebrows?”
I know, I don’t mean to confuse the rest of you readers, but I know “that” Muriel from waaaaaay back when (think pre-Internet times…right after the dinosaurs perished) when we were just wee ones. Both of us wearing mostly Olily dresses, pigtails and missing front teeth. There was this incident. Just imagine two five, or six year olds hiding under a table and wondering what to do with a razor. Legs were out, nothing there to shave, at least not like our mommies. Then it hit us…*wiggles eyebrows*
I know! Sigh, right? I still remember Muriel’s mommy and my own looking for us and then lifting up the table cloth to gasp at the damage.
Anyway, I ended up with a single brow during my pre-teens, but other than that it left me relatively undamaged…can’t blame my overall weirdness on it, regretfully.
But, be that as it may, lovely to see you here, hope you’re enjoying my mostly chaotic and sometimes boring blogs. Hah.
Moving on. I know y’all are wondering, what’s been happening in Samaya’s world…well, I can honestly say that except for a lot of work (about which I can’t say a lot, darn it!) not all that much…at least nothing fun.
Much to my regret Labhana passed on the other day. For her, I am sure that it is a relief. Walking was a disaster and I could see it pain her every single day while she tried to keep up with the other dogs (and failed over and over) and her overall health was rapidly dropping into the abyss of non-existent. Although with the tests that were done we couldn’t locate any cancer, it most likely was lurking somewhere, considering her massive weight loss and inability to gain weight despite her stuffing her face most any day. It hit me harder than expected (you don’t know how used you are to keeping track of the slowpoke in the back until she’s gone, after all) despite the knowledge that she was on borrowed time for more than a year now, but what can you do. You never know how emotions respond to anything. Saying goodbye is always difficult.
This loss does mean that I can do big brother a favor and see if I can fit Tadaika into my pack again. She is one of the few who goes well with my dogs, and since she already was starting to integrate with my lot before the whole mess started and I lost my cabin, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Today there was our foray into the wonders of bureaucracy once more. I can honestly say I was wishing for my UZI once more. First we had to go to town to gather “los impuestos” (taxes) at town hall, then go to my bank to pay, only to have to go back to town hall because one of the dozen receipts wasn’t accepted by the bank, and therefore needed a different one. So that was three hours of my morning for ya. Grrrr
Added to the fun were two years of taxes from the Deawoo Matiz, which I no longer own, and haven’t owned for more than three years, so I had to go to my garage to see if they could somehow contact the mechanic who took care of it for me way back when. Our mechanic promised to look into the matter, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that matter.
As to the fun news: If all goes as planned big brother and I will be traveling to the UK come June. Nothing as glamorous as a vacation, mind you, but we’ll be helping with the transport of some animals. Big brother will be traveling back the next day…just not smart for him to stay there when our own dogs need care as well…but I’ll be staying on for a few days to help the animals get settled. Kind of exciting, but also a tad daunting. Will be the second time in my life that I go to England, with hopefully a little more time to at least look around. We’ll see. I just hope that the Knight will be okay…but then I remind myself that he did fine those five days I was in the Netherlands last year. Doesn’t change that I’ll worry.
Got myself a couple of leisure pants last week. You know those wide-legged yoga pants? With the drawstrings at the end so they won’t drag over the floor. Sooooo comfortable. Got a slate blue one, and a cream white one for summer.
I don’t know what she did, but Sitabah somehow ended up with a big hole in her side. It was a tiny little thing when I first noticed it and cleaned it, but within two days of, what I can only think was a shaite-load of licking, it is now half an inch in diameter. There was some infection, so for the past few days we’ve been cleaning it several times a day and today, for the first time, now white goo is coming out. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Talking about holes…the other day Knight and Mati (little brother’s Labrador) were snarling at each other in the door opening, and I got in the middle of it. Ended up with a couple of holes and a fist sized bruise on the side of my knee for the effort. Jeez! That hurt! Was limping a full day, I tell ya. By now the body part has been every color of the rainbow, and the bruise is slowly disappearing, thankfully.
Weather-wise the past week has been downright wonky. One day it’s sunny and hot, the next sunny and cold. No wind, windstorm, and then completely cloudy. May doesn’t know what it wants, or so it would seem.
Writing has been on a slow burn lately. Did a couple of pages at most, and though I still like where the story is going, I often find myself too tired, or my head to full with daily messes to do much of anything by the time I come home and settle behind the computer.
I’ve done a minor bit of experimental cooking. Made a mix of chickpea and chestnut flour, added a whole bunch of Italian herbs, onion leak, cheese and an egg, and then fried it as small balls that went down remarkably well as snacks. Yay.
Had a day’s job of gardening. A small patch that needed some designing. Though it is not done yet, the improvement is visible. Worked with ceramics and plants, which makes it all look rather nice. Can see the potential at least.
Well, that about sums it up for now. Nothing major, regretfully, but something to read, I guess.
Gotta go.
Sooooooo, I noticed a new reader in the list and just have to say “Hi, Muriel!” personally. If you are who I think you are, I gotta ask: “How’re you eyebrows?”
I know, I don’t mean to confuse the rest of you readers, but I know “that” Muriel from waaaaaay back when (think pre-Internet times…right after the dinosaurs perished) when we were just wee ones. Both of us wearing mostly Olily dresses, pigtails and missing front teeth. There was this incident. Just imagine two five, or six year olds hiding under a table and wondering what to do with a razor. Legs were out, nothing there to shave, at least not like our mommies. Then it hit us…*wiggles eyebrows*
I know! Sigh, right? I still remember Muriel’s mommy and my own looking for us and then lifting up the table cloth to gasp at the damage.
Anyway, I ended up with a single brow during my pre-teens, but other than that it left me relatively undamaged…can’t blame my overall weirdness on it, regretfully.
But, be that as it may, lovely to see you here, hope you’re enjoying my mostly chaotic and sometimes boring blogs. Hah.
Moving on. I know y’all are wondering, what’s been happening in Samaya’s world…well, I can honestly say that except for a lot of work (about which I can’t say a lot, darn it!) not all that much…at least nothing fun.
Much to my regret Labhana passed on the other day. For her, I am sure that it is a relief. Walking was a disaster and I could see it pain her every single day while she tried to keep up with the other dogs (and failed over and over) and her overall health was rapidly dropping into the abyss of non-existent. Although with the tests that were done we couldn’t locate any cancer, it most likely was lurking somewhere, considering her massive weight loss and inability to gain weight despite her stuffing her face most any day. It hit me harder than expected (you don’t know how used you are to keeping track of the slowpoke in the back until she’s gone, after all) despite the knowledge that she was on borrowed time for more than a year now, but what can you do. You never know how emotions respond to anything. Saying goodbye is always difficult.
This loss does mean that I can do big brother a favor and see if I can fit Tadaika into my pack again. She is one of the few who goes well with my dogs, and since she already was starting to integrate with my lot before the whole mess started and I lost my cabin, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Today there was our foray into the wonders of bureaucracy once more. I can honestly say I was wishing for my UZI once more. First we had to go to town to gather “los impuestos” (taxes) at town hall, then go to my bank to pay, only to have to go back to town hall because one of the dozen receipts wasn’t accepted by the bank, and therefore needed a different one. So that was three hours of my morning for ya. Grrrr
Added to the fun were two years of taxes from the Deawoo Matiz, which I no longer own, and haven’t owned for more than three years, so I had to go to my garage to see if they could somehow contact the mechanic who took care of it for me way back when. Our mechanic promised to look into the matter, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that matter.
As to the fun news: If all goes as planned big brother and I will be traveling to the UK come June. Nothing as glamorous as a vacation, mind you, but we’ll be helping with the transport of some animals. Big brother will be traveling back the next day…just not smart for him to stay there when our own dogs need care as well…but I’ll be staying on for a few days to help the animals get settled. Kind of exciting, but also a tad daunting. Will be the second time in my life that I go to England, with hopefully a little more time to at least look around. We’ll see. I just hope that the Knight will be okay…but then I remind myself that he did fine those five days I was in the Netherlands last year. Doesn’t change that I’ll worry.
Got myself a couple of leisure pants last week. You know those wide-legged yoga pants? With the drawstrings at the end so they won’t drag over the floor. Sooooo comfortable. Got a slate blue one, and a cream white one for summer.
I don’t know what she did, but Sitabah somehow ended up with a big hole in her side. It was a tiny little thing when I first noticed it and cleaned it, but within two days of, what I can only think was a shaite-load of licking, it is now half an inch in diameter. There was some infection, so for the past few days we’ve been cleaning it several times a day and today, for the first time, now white goo is coming out. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Talking about holes…the other day Knight and Mati (little brother’s Labrador) were snarling at each other in the door opening, and I got in the middle of it. Ended up with a couple of holes and a fist sized bruise on the side of my knee for the effort. Jeez! That hurt! Was limping a full day, I tell ya. By now the body part has been every color of the rainbow, and the bruise is slowly disappearing, thankfully.
Weather-wise the past week has been downright wonky. One day it’s sunny and hot, the next sunny and cold. No wind, windstorm, and then completely cloudy. May doesn’t know what it wants, or so it would seem.
Writing has been on a slow burn lately. Did a couple of pages at most, and though I still like where the story is going, I often find myself too tired, or my head to full with daily messes to do much of anything by the time I come home and settle behind the computer.
I’ve done a minor bit of experimental cooking. Made a mix of chickpea and chestnut flour, added a whole bunch of Italian herbs, onion leak, cheese and an egg, and then fried it as small balls that went down remarkably well as snacks. Yay.
Had a day’s job of gardening. A small patch that needed some designing. Though it is not done yet, the improvement is visible. Worked with ceramics and plants, which makes it all look rather nice. Can see the potential at least.
Well, that about sums it up for now. Nothing major, regretfully, but something to read, I guess.
Gotta go.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Lots of excitement
Song of the day: “A-Team” by Ed Sheeran. Cute little song, if terribly sad, when you think about it.
So it’s been an incredibly busy week, which started for big brother and me on Wednesday, where, after normal work, we were hired to pick up seven dogs, three of which were sick to bring them to a new location where they would be cared for. It was going to be a long day (12 hours, yikes!) First there was the place to prepare. It was a rental so the fencing had to be improved, rooms needed to be emptied and instructions given to the young man who was going to be caring for them. Nice kid, but definitely feeling out of his league, which wasn’t surprising. He was terribly young, and he was not familiar with the intricacies of working with so many dogs (semi-wild ones to boot). Unprepared by the one who hired him, for sure, and sure enough, the next day we got to hear that he wasn’t going to manage and that we had one day to find a solution…well, not us, actually, luckily, in this regard we were just the grunt workers, so for us it was waiting to hear what we were expected to do.
Bad thing is, the day before we’d had a lunch appointment, which I rescheduled to a dinner, which I then had to reschedule to the next day. By the time we were done, I was so friggin’ tired I went home, ate (very little) and basically passed out for the night…since we were so late getting home, I still hardly had seven hours of sleep, which meant that we were still running a bit on fumes the next time when we had to start all over with the move to a new location.
This time it took a little less time (11 and a half hours in fact), and the dogs behaved perfectly, for as far as I was concerned. When I arrived, I was afraid that it was going to take hours to catch then, considering that the rental owner was all worried about them being uncatchable (apparently they’d been trying for quite a while) but the worry was unfounded. Within fifteen minutes I’d caught them, and we had them settled in the cars. Another fifteen minutes later everything was loaded up (or so we thought) and we were on our way.
It took some time to arrive at the new place. Way more comfortable this one, also the owner and agent were very helpful, not to mention crazy about the dogs that we let out the moment the gates were closed. I was so proud of the lot of them. They were real troopers…best thing is that I don’t think that they were overly traumatized by the whole thing, in fact within an hour of unloading they were lounging about in the shade as if they’d been there forever.
Did have to bathe two of the sick ones, the one who was sickest had been treated at the vet’s but the other three still needed their baths. Only had time for two, though, since it was getting late, but no matter, the two boys needed it most.
The next day we did work in record time, because afterward we had to drop over at the place with the dogs to bring some more supplies before heading out to Ronda for our dinner appointment.
Gawd did we need some relaxation…and we got it. Were welcomed by Chris and his girlfriend Valetine, and a friend of theirs who’d been staying there before traveling on to Tarifa where he was going to do some kite surfing. Played with the two dogs on site, talked and gossiped under a tarp while it rained, and then went out into the veggie yard to gather our food and anything that the two of them couldn’t use themselves for our doggies. More sitting and relaxing, and then, approaching twilight, dinner was ready to be eaten. Very nice, but regretfully the day was rapidly coming to an end and we still had a two hour drive home ahead of us.
Didn’t get home until after midnight either, with me having nodded off several times. Good thing big brother did have a good night’s rest.
Been under some stress lately, which showed the other morning when right after breakfast my stomach decided that it had enough of all the commotion (loads of work, hardly any sleep) and chucked it all up again. It’s been a while since that happened, so I am not really surprised. I just call it remnants of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Part of yesterday was spent taking care of certain obligations in town, along with some groceries and gassing up. Also stopped at Decathlon to get a couple of training pants. Mine are starting to fall apart, so it was getting to be necessary. Took longer than expected, meaning that a nap was short-lived (my head was too full with…gawd knows what) followed by a cooking session. Made Buckwheat burgers, which were splendid. And a hard vegetable (red beets, carrots, cauliflower, white cabbage, onion, leek, whole sugar peas and red bell pepper) salad with small cubes of feta in it. To finish that off a cottage cheese and yogurt dressing that made it downright yummy. The fact that the dish had olive oil and Sicilian herbs in it, also helped. Hah.
What followed was cleaning out the car. Considering we had transported infected dogs with it (these weren’t actually sick, but they’d been with the ones who have mange) there was quite a bit of it that needed doing. Took everything out, swept dirt from the corners, used the vacuum cleaner where we couldn’t reach and then mopped the who thing out with bleech.
That was when we had to leave for the airport to pick up Walter, who was coming in from the UK to take care of the sick dogs we’d transported. The plane was late, of course, which had me in a full-blown stress-out because I was afraid I might have missed him somehow, but then there he was, me squinting at him trying to match him up with the picture I had, and him seeing the sign in my hand and miming “Sam?”. Phew.
Within a few minutes we were on our way to the rental where we did a quick run through of the meds, handing him some salad and burgers to eat, and then off we were to arrive home after midnight again. He was a nice bloke, though, I think he and the dogs will get along well enough.
Labhana is not doing well, I fear. Her walking is getting worse by the day, and she’s hurting. I can see it in her expression, notice it in how she looks at me wanting to follow me around, while her joints won’t let her. Also, I think that her cancer is raging rampant, meaning that her time is running out.
And today…well, today is work-at-home day…after sleeping in for about an hour or so. Plenty to do, not to mention that I’ve been postponing computer work for way too long. Still that doesn’t mean that we can neglect our health, so after some cereal this morning, I went outside to my old terrace where I did a short workout, which was splendid, albeit not as long as it could have been. But okay, better a bit than nothing, all the joints are loose again, and the head has unwound a little…which brings us to the end of today’s blog.
So it’s been an incredibly busy week, which started for big brother and me on Wednesday, where, after normal work, we were hired to pick up seven dogs, three of which were sick to bring them to a new location where they would be cared for. It was going to be a long day (12 hours, yikes!) First there was the place to prepare. It was a rental so the fencing had to be improved, rooms needed to be emptied and instructions given to the young man who was going to be caring for them. Nice kid, but definitely feeling out of his league, which wasn’t surprising. He was terribly young, and he was not familiar with the intricacies of working with so many dogs (semi-wild ones to boot). Unprepared by the one who hired him, for sure, and sure enough, the next day we got to hear that he wasn’t going to manage and that we had one day to find a solution…well, not us, actually, luckily, in this regard we were just the grunt workers, so for us it was waiting to hear what we were expected to do.
Bad thing is, the day before we’d had a lunch appointment, which I rescheduled to a dinner, which I then had to reschedule to the next day. By the time we were done, I was so friggin’ tired I went home, ate (very little) and basically passed out for the night…since we were so late getting home, I still hardly had seven hours of sleep, which meant that we were still running a bit on fumes the next time when we had to start all over with the move to a new location.
This time it took a little less time (11 and a half hours in fact), and the dogs behaved perfectly, for as far as I was concerned. When I arrived, I was afraid that it was going to take hours to catch then, considering that the rental owner was all worried about them being uncatchable (apparently they’d been trying for quite a while) but the worry was unfounded. Within fifteen minutes I’d caught them, and we had them settled in the cars. Another fifteen minutes later everything was loaded up (or so we thought) and we were on our way.
It took some time to arrive at the new place. Way more comfortable this one, also the owner and agent were very helpful, not to mention crazy about the dogs that we let out the moment the gates were closed. I was so proud of the lot of them. They were real troopers…best thing is that I don’t think that they were overly traumatized by the whole thing, in fact within an hour of unloading they were lounging about in the shade as if they’d been there forever.
Did have to bathe two of the sick ones, the one who was sickest had been treated at the vet’s but the other three still needed their baths. Only had time for two, though, since it was getting late, but no matter, the two boys needed it most.
The next day we did work in record time, because afterward we had to drop over at the place with the dogs to bring some more supplies before heading out to Ronda for our dinner appointment.
Gawd did we need some relaxation…and we got it. Were welcomed by Chris and his girlfriend Valetine, and a friend of theirs who’d been staying there before traveling on to Tarifa where he was going to do some kite surfing. Played with the two dogs on site, talked and gossiped under a tarp while it rained, and then went out into the veggie yard to gather our food and anything that the two of them couldn’t use themselves for our doggies. More sitting and relaxing, and then, approaching twilight, dinner was ready to be eaten. Very nice, but regretfully the day was rapidly coming to an end and we still had a two hour drive home ahead of us.
Didn’t get home until after midnight either, with me having nodded off several times. Good thing big brother did have a good night’s rest.
Been under some stress lately, which showed the other morning when right after breakfast my stomach decided that it had enough of all the commotion (loads of work, hardly any sleep) and chucked it all up again. It’s been a while since that happened, so I am not really surprised. I just call it remnants of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Part of yesterday was spent taking care of certain obligations in town, along with some groceries and gassing up. Also stopped at Decathlon to get a couple of training pants. Mine are starting to fall apart, so it was getting to be necessary. Took longer than expected, meaning that a nap was short-lived (my head was too full with…gawd knows what) followed by a cooking session. Made Buckwheat burgers, which were splendid. And a hard vegetable (red beets, carrots, cauliflower, white cabbage, onion, leek, whole sugar peas and red bell pepper) salad with small cubes of feta in it. To finish that off a cottage cheese and yogurt dressing that made it downright yummy. The fact that the dish had olive oil and Sicilian herbs in it, also helped. Hah.
What followed was cleaning out the car. Considering we had transported infected dogs with it (these weren’t actually sick, but they’d been with the ones who have mange) there was quite a bit of it that needed doing. Took everything out, swept dirt from the corners, used the vacuum cleaner where we couldn’t reach and then mopped the who thing out with bleech.
That was when we had to leave for the airport to pick up Walter, who was coming in from the UK to take care of the sick dogs we’d transported. The plane was late, of course, which had me in a full-blown stress-out because I was afraid I might have missed him somehow, but then there he was, me squinting at him trying to match him up with the picture I had, and him seeing the sign in my hand and miming “Sam?”. Phew.
Within a few minutes we were on our way to the rental where we did a quick run through of the meds, handing him some salad and burgers to eat, and then off we were to arrive home after midnight again. He was a nice bloke, though, I think he and the dogs will get along well enough.
Labhana is not doing well, I fear. Her walking is getting worse by the day, and she’s hurting. I can see it in her expression, notice it in how she looks at me wanting to follow me around, while her joints won’t let her. Also, I think that her cancer is raging rampant, meaning that her time is running out.
And today…well, today is work-at-home day…after sleeping in for about an hour or so. Plenty to do, not to mention that I’ve been postponing computer work for way too long. Still that doesn’t mean that we can neglect our health, so after some cereal this morning, I went outside to my old terrace where I did a short workout, which was splendid, albeit not as long as it could have been. But okay, better a bit than nothing, all the joints are loose again, and the head has unwound a little…which brings us to the end of today’s blog.
Monday, May 12, 2014
The need to please?
Song of the day: “Things” by Robbie Williams and Jane Horrocks. I know it’s not the original, but what can I say, my mind has a mind of its own, and apparently it likes this one better. Hah.
So yeah, events have been at a bare minimum lately, so there really isn’t all that much to tell about any of that, much to my regret. So what can we talk about today? My mind has been tumbling a lot lately, and I am trying to sort through it all. So, rather than keep it all in, let’s see if I can create some order in the chaos.
What is the problem…I am not entirely sure if it is a problem, I just know that this supposed problem doesn’t work well for me. You see, I have this somewhat compulsive “need” to please. Not just one person, or two. No, basically I don’t want to disappoint anyone, and as you might start to comprehend, this can be a slight problem.
Realistically speaking there is no way in heck that anyone can please everyone, and therein much of my turmoil nests…okay, that is a strange turn of phrase, I know, but it seemed to fit at the time. Hah.
I mean, think about it, you want to be fair and do this and that just right, but in the eyes of the other person that can be just the wrong thing (subjective opinions and all that) while you try to do this and that just so for the other person, who then in turn doesn’t agree with it either. Puts you kind of in the middle of something, doesn’t it?
Very frustrating, and it can get you into knots for sure. I would have sworn that my ulcer was returning this past week. Luckily all this sorting in my head is slowly shlogging me back to my previous equilibrium. Almost there. *sigh*
But anyway, knowing in your head that you can’t please everyone, doesn’t help either. I’ve known this to be a truth for ages, and yet I often find myself feeling poorly just because I disappointed someone who, as it turned out, had higher expectations than I was able to live up to.
Does that mean that I did something wrong? Does that mean I didn’t do my best.
No.
Luckily I have come to a point in my life where I can take enough distance of these whacky mind wobbles and look back upon my actions fairly.
I do my best, and no one can realistically expect me to do more than that. If they do, that is their problem.
Which brings us to my previous problem, doesn’t it. My need to please. Grrr.
I don’t just want to say “f**k you and your expectation”, I mean besides finding the-need-to-please vastly annoying, nothing is worse than bad manners. Seriously, if you look at the world today the main problem you see basically anywhere is bad manners…but I’ll get back to that later. Another thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
Where was I…right: What to do?
How does one find balance between doing your best and making yourself sick with trying to bend over backwards to please others.
It’s a pickle isn’t it?
Supposedly I could go to the other person(s) and demand that they not have such high demands of me and that if everyone just does their best life might get a lot more pleasant for everyone involved, but seriously: This is MY problem. Expecting others change would be just as unrealistic as others trying to change me.
I do like the phrase that you cannot change anyone or anything except yourself, and try to live by that . So how can I change. How can I get to a point where I can take a moment to look at my actions and decide whether or not whatever turmoil I experience has the right to be there.
Wouldn’t that be grand?
To me it would be, which is why these thoughts have been tumbling through my mind for days. I think that I have come to that point where I can handle it again and say “I won’t care about things that I cannot change.” Instead I will focus on finding that balance within myself where I can do my best and then let go the consequence of how this is perceived by others. I have no control over the latter so I will look upon it as the adventure of “cause and effect”. I’ll do my part in this dance called life and try to enjoy the steps along the way without expectations.
If nothing else, it will be less wearing on the soul that way, won’t it? Hah.
As to manners. Gawd, call me terribly old fashioned, but I have a sincere dislike toward folks without basic manners. And I don’t mean the old rules of “good morning” and “good evenings” and “thank you, ma’am”s, but the basic manners of not treating others different than the way you want to be treated.
Have you noticed how so very few people maintain common courtesy in the face of what I can only describe as simple laziness. “Can’t be bothered” seems to be the overall attitude, which is a pity. It makes life a lot less pleasant than it can be.
I could talk on about that particular subject endlessly, even give you fine examples, but that’d just be preachy, wouldn’t it.
So what else can we talk about? Dogs? Well, at the moment they’re not doing badly, but I don’t want to jinx it, or anything. Let’s just say at the moment there is nothing massive going on with the dogs either, which I’m going to see as a blessing. Hah.
Finally went on a run again last night. It was really necessary for my own state of mind (have you noticed how taking stuff personally can mess you up completely?) as well as Knight II who's been more than a little bonkers lately just because he doesn't get enough exercise. So I ran (he trotted) a wonderful stretched out run that was going so perfect that was I was smiling most of the way...right until I went down the slope and had to catch myself on my bad heel. Yep. That hurt. Bad! Almost went flat on my face, but didn't. Caught myself, limped a little, did some stretches of the friggin foot and managed to finish the jog at a slower pace, (running on the front of my feet) and with pauses to stretch in-between. Sure, last night I could barely walk, and this morning wasn't any better, but it was worth that stretched out run I started with. I was flying, baby...and not panting like a moron while I was at it. Hah. Nah. I'll do my stretches, keep walking right, and take this slight discomfort like a man...gladly even for that experience. Yay.
The weather has turned from springy, to downright summery. Seriously, last week I’m still wearing flannel blouses, and now I’m at a point where I’m seriously pondering bikini tops just to get some coolness on my skin. Hah. Blast the fact that the pool isn’t functioning…stupid pump and filter died on us, meaning that either we’re without a pool this year, or we have to splurge on a new system. We’re still considering our options.
Cooking lately has been about filling my stomach rather than anything else. Am going for veggies every day, but it is nothing to write home about, so to speak. Time…tis the bane of our existences, isn’t it?
Well, that’s it for today. I’m thinking of making patties tonight, which should see us through the next few days with proper nourishment, eh?
So yeah, events have been at a bare minimum lately, so there really isn’t all that much to tell about any of that, much to my regret. So what can we talk about today? My mind has been tumbling a lot lately, and I am trying to sort through it all. So, rather than keep it all in, let’s see if I can create some order in the chaos.
What is the problem…I am not entirely sure if it is a problem, I just know that this supposed problem doesn’t work well for me. You see, I have this somewhat compulsive “need” to please. Not just one person, or two. No, basically I don’t want to disappoint anyone, and as you might start to comprehend, this can be a slight problem.
Realistically speaking there is no way in heck that anyone can please everyone, and therein much of my turmoil nests…okay, that is a strange turn of phrase, I know, but it seemed to fit at the time. Hah.
I mean, think about it, you want to be fair and do this and that just right, but in the eyes of the other person that can be just the wrong thing (subjective opinions and all that) while you try to do this and that just so for the other person, who then in turn doesn’t agree with it either. Puts you kind of in the middle of something, doesn’t it?
Very frustrating, and it can get you into knots for sure. I would have sworn that my ulcer was returning this past week. Luckily all this sorting in my head is slowly shlogging me back to my previous equilibrium. Almost there. *sigh*
But anyway, knowing in your head that you can’t please everyone, doesn’t help either. I’ve known this to be a truth for ages, and yet I often find myself feeling poorly just because I disappointed someone who, as it turned out, had higher expectations than I was able to live up to.
Does that mean that I did something wrong? Does that mean I didn’t do my best.
No.
Luckily I have come to a point in my life where I can take enough distance of these whacky mind wobbles and look back upon my actions fairly.
I do my best, and no one can realistically expect me to do more than that. If they do, that is their problem.
Which brings us to my previous problem, doesn’t it. My need to please. Grrr.
I don’t just want to say “f**k you and your expectation”, I mean besides finding the-need-to-please vastly annoying, nothing is worse than bad manners. Seriously, if you look at the world today the main problem you see basically anywhere is bad manners…but I’ll get back to that later. Another thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.
Where was I…right: What to do?
How does one find balance between doing your best and making yourself sick with trying to bend over backwards to please others.
It’s a pickle isn’t it?
Supposedly I could go to the other person(s) and demand that they not have such high demands of me and that if everyone just does their best life might get a lot more pleasant for everyone involved, but seriously: This is MY problem. Expecting others change would be just as unrealistic as others trying to change me.
I do like the phrase that you cannot change anyone or anything except yourself, and try to live by that . So how can I change. How can I get to a point where I can take a moment to look at my actions and decide whether or not whatever turmoil I experience has the right to be there.
Wouldn’t that be grand?
To me it would be, which is why these thoughts have been tumbling through my mind for days. I think that I have come to that point where I can handle it again and say “I won’t care about things that I cannot change.” Instead I will focus on finding that balance within myself where I can do my best and then let go the consequence of how this is perceived by others. I have no control over the latter so I will look upon it as the adventure of “cause and effect”. I’ll do my part in this dance called life and try to enjoy the steps along the way without expectations.
If nothing else, it will be less wearing on the soul that way, won’t it? Hah.
As to manners. Gawd, call me terribly old fashioned, but I have a sincere dislike toward folks without basic manners. And I don’t mean the old rules of “good morning” and “good evenings” and “thank you, ma’am”s, but the basic manners of not treating others different than the way you want to be treated.
Have you noticed how so very few people maintain common courtesy in the face of what I can only describe as simple laziness. “Can’t be bothered” seems to be the overall attitude, which is a pity. It makes life a lot less pleasant than it can be.
I could talk on about that particular subject endlessly, even give you fine examples, but that’d just be preachy, wouldn’t it.
So what else can we talk about? Dogs? Well, at the moment they’re not doing badly, but I don’t want to jinx it, or anything. Let’s just say at the moment there is nothing massive going on with the dogs either, which I’m going to see as a blessing. Hah.
Finally went on a run again last night. It was really necessary for my own state of mind (have you noticed how taking stuff personally can mess you up completely?) as well as Knight II who's been more than a little bonkers lately just because he doesn't get enough exercise. So I ran (he trotted) a wonderful stretched out run that was going so perfect that was I was smiling most of the way...right until I went down the slope and had to catch myself on my bad heel. Yep. That hurt. Bad! Almost went flat on my face, but didn't. Caught myself, limped a little, did some stretches of the friggin foot and managed to finish the jog at a slower pace, (running on the front of my feet) and with pauses to stretch in-between. Sure, last night I could barely walk, and this morning wasn't any better, but it was worth that stretched out run I started with. I was flying, baby...and not panting like a moron while I was at it. Hah. Nah. I'll do my stretches, keep walking right, and take this slight discomfort like a man...gladly even for that experience. Yay.
The weather has turned from springy, to downright summery. Seriously, last week I’m still wearing flannel blouses, and now I’m at a point where I’m seriously pondering bikini tops just to get some coolness on my skin. Hah. Blast the fact that the pool isn’t functioning…stupid pump and filter died on us, meaning that either we’re without a pool this year, or we have to splurge on a new system. We’re still considering our options.
Cooking lately has been about filling my stomach rather than anything else. Am going for veggies every day, but it is nothing to write home about, so to speak. Time…tis the bane of our existences, isn’t it?
Well, that’s it for today. I’m thinking of making patties tonight, which should see us through the next few days with proper nourishment, eh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)