I'm going to rant a little. Never mind.

OMG! I know, this is not my usual way to start the day’s Blog, but it has to come out. OMG!…I’ll explain later. Promise.

So, I’m late waking up this morning. By some unfathomable reason I forgot to set my alarm last night, so I wake almost an hour after I was supposed to. There I went through a lot of trouble in order to get to bed in time, just so I’d have an extra hour for writing, only to win thirty minutes instead ninety. Bugger!

The air is moist today but the temperature wonderfully mild, making getting out of bed an not altogether unpleasant sensation since I can peel out of several layers without getting the usual shivers. Wonderful. I can actually move around without several fabrics obstructing my movements. Now, if only the sun would shine too, all would be perfect.

I hurry on through the morning rituals, skipping my few minutes of reading and head for the house with my computer bag and the dogs in tow. The Monster is alternating her position from behind, side, to front and back again, jumping on all fours like a lunatic as she tries to feint some attacks on my person. Thankfully, however, she seems to comprehend my dire warnings and stays a good yard away.

The dogs funnel at the gate of the courtyard, the way they always do, each of them eager to go through first as I hang on to the wall for dear life, and try to use my one free hand to open the latch so they can pass. It takes some fumbling, but in the end they burst through like a tide, swirling out into the courtyard in random patterns.

I’m first to arrive at the house, well the first human anyway, and set my baggage away before getting into my workout clothes. Since I’ve been feeling so on-edge these past few weeks, I figured, what the heck, I’ll fit in a few more workout sessions in order to blunt the impact of that emotional state a bit.

It goes well enough, some of the muscles protest during the warm up, but it’s not as bad as it was when I first started with the routines months ago and was still doing a five-days-a-week course. Some progress at least.

There are jumps, bends, pushes, punches, kicks and lifts, the usual sequence going right on schedule and bringing an hour to a rapid end. After the much-needed shower, and a foray into the laundry room I find that this is most likely the last day in a row where I won’t need to hang laundry. The piles are growing and I’m thinking that middle sister is going to throw in several piles during the night.

Breakfast over and done with, I take my coffee to the table and get down to business behind the computer in an attempt to get some serious writing done before it is time for us to leave for town and our bi-weekly lessons.

Though I had figured yesterday’s scene to be over and done with, it isn’t, and for the next two hours I pound the keys…I know that pounding is no longer required on the fancy new keyboards, but I’m old-school that way. Back when I learned how to type it was still on one of those mechanical typewriters so I’m used to it. Gawd, that’s gotta make me so old! Hah…adding another scene to the first.

The first true vampire scene, I’ll admit. Feeding. Now, I know that it has been done over and over again over the years, now that vampires are so popular, but the new angle on these types of vampires in my stories, give it a nice twist.
It’s more basic, I think. Not the sensual drama, or the “magical” aspect around it, but a basic need, nourishment that needs to be seen to. I like it better this way, less distracting and more…normal, perhaps? We’ll see.

I’m actually sorry when it is time to start to get ready for school. I would have liked to add more to the scene, rather than waste time changing clothes, going to town, sitting in that narrow little room staring at computer screens while filling in test after test.

It’s for the better good, however. It needs to be done, and that’s all there is too it. So there I go, heading up the mountain once more, changing into neat clothes and then climbing into the truck with my two brothers so we can go to town.

My dogs are all standing in the courtyard, looking up miserably as they see us moving back and forth in the carport, getting ready to leave. An occasional howl drifts up. Some yapping from Mosha too, while Dax squeezes his way through the fence and comes sniffing up to the fence that separates the carport from the main garden.

I keep a wary eye on the tiny dog that has a tendency to find narrow places to go through the fence up here as well, making a nuisance of himself because he can’t stand being left behind. None of them can, really. If it were up to the dogs they would all squeeze into the car and go where I went, no questions asked.

In the end we depart, heading down the massive mountain over-looking the sea town and mixing in with heavy traffic until we arrive at the school and are dropped off there to do our lessons inside.

We stay for about an hour and a half, going through tedious tests of A B C answers. On the overall it goes well, except for that particular one that has questions in it that have absolutely nothing to do with our lesson material.
It frustrates me that they put in trick question, inconsequentials and whatnot for what is really just a very basic thing.

It shouldn’t be like a quiz, for crying out loud! It is just a matter of what is allowed and what isn’t, for as far as I’m concerned, but whoever created the lesson material seemed to think otherwise. You’ve got stuff like: You can NEVER do this, and the next paragraph you’ve got: Except when this and that. So very maddening! It makes me want to go out and kick some butt. Idiots!

But enough ranting, the best one’s still to come. While little brother was keeping busy during the hour and a half, he rented three DVDs, which are going to see us through the weekend.

By the time we come home, I find that since all the sibs are ill (meaning that I’m likely to become ill too, soon. Drat!) no one cooked dinner, which of course obliges me to do that myself.

I decide on pasta with a couple of fresh tomatoes, onion, cottage cheese and some Italian herbs. Since it is such a light dish it is rapidly consumed by the siblings who come slinking down the stairs at the sound of “dinner’s ready!”

Our choice of tonight’s viewing is “P.S. I love you”…which is the reason for my starting OMG! I’m sorry to say. There might be some ***SPOILERS*** in my rant, so if you still want to see it, stay clear!

Seriously. Oh My God! I was bored out of my friggin’ mind watching the endless…well, whining about how “amazing” the Gerard Butler character thought his wife to be.
The wife, played by Hilary Swank, was an insecure, annoying and a downright pain in the butt character, for as far as I could see that I couldn’t live with if my life depended on it.

There was not one really redeeming character trait in the person she played, except, perhaps that she regretted that she’d been a whiner during the time when her husband was still alive.
Now, all this wouldn’t have been too bad, if the story had been remotely interesting. It wasn’t! There were some funny aspects, which mostly involved Butler’s character, but that’s it. Even the sad bits…or the bits that were supposed to be sad…failed to touch the right spot.

I think it was even worse than “The Notebook”, which is saying something since that one was horrid…or maybe not. Thinking back of that one, I might have to declare a tie between the two. Hah.

Now, what really got my dander up, was the Lisa Kudrow character who made some, so-called women’s lib remark when one of the guys (Spike from Buffy) called her worse than a womanizer, because she was treating men as dirt and then complained about not being appreciated as a woman. She started ranting about it being her right to treat men as such for all the centuries during which SHE had been suppressed.
She was allowed to behave like a cold-hearted b*tch because men had stared at her breasts instead of her face all her life. Because they had pinched her butt instead of greeted her with a handshake, and was generally looked upon as a pretty plaything rather than a person.

Now, if she were the personification of women all over the earth–through time and space–that would have been a justified remark on which the fellow female character responded with a lusty “Amen”, but since she was/is a modern woman in her mid-thirties who has undoubtedly had all the opportunities available to men and women alike in this day and age, that really just grossed me out.

Even if she HAD experienced all that herself (her character, naturally)–which I find unlikely that doesn’t make acting that way towards men any more right than the men who used to…and some undoubtedly still…do such things. How is such behavior of a sex that is purported to be more civilized than the clichéd Neanderthal, going to help making the world a better place to live in? Isn’t that just changing places?
Isn’t taking “revenge” as it is claimed to be in many of these chick flicks, just going to give men the same excuse a few decades from now, when they’ve been treated in the same fashion as they once treated women?
Way to make it all a vicious circle, Lisa Kudrow character.

I’ve got to admit that I don’t get it. Wasn’t feminism supposed to be all about making men more sensitive, like women, and not the other way around once the scales evened out?
So much for women being more civilized, I guess. Hah.

It’s sad really. It’s just women taking men’s places in the power games, which doesn’t make things any better for as far as I can see.

But enough of the rant: After that disappointing flick, I gather my things and head on up to the cabin to feed the dogs, do some more review reading and get online for my daily surfing on the Net.

Workout and writing. Best combination, ever.

Since I went to bed at least an hour early, I also wake an hour early, which does kind of defeat the point, and does very little to alleviate last night’s exhaustion. Still, I feel better when I wake this morning and for about half and hour linger between sleep and really waking as I try to decide whether or not I’m getting up from the bed.

In the end rising wins, and I drag my butt from beneath the warm and cozy blankets to hurry on through the morning rituals. I manage to read another short story from the book I’m reviewing and then head for the house. The weather is clear, slightly less cold than yesterday, but still not the way I like it.

Workout day has returned, albeit a day late, and I get to it with semi-enthusiasm just as soon as I’ve deposited my bag on the kitchen counter and changed into my exercise clothes.

Muscles and joints feel a bit gritty when I start the warm ups, turning the volume of the music a little louder in hopes that it can get my blood pumping. By the time I get to the “fun” part of the workout, kick boxing, everything is moving smoothly and a thin sheen of perspiration is already forming on my skin.

Perspiration, I have found, is essential to a good workout. If ya ain’t sweatin’ it ain’t workin’, hah. It goes well, I’ll admit and after about seventy minutes of punching, kicking, and weightlifting I’m actually sorry that I’m done.

When I’ve had breakfast and poured myself a mug of coffee I set up the computer and start on today’s writing session. It takes me a little while to get into the scene, but when I do, the words come out effortlessly, creating excellent imagery that make the characters jump out at me as they talk, act and generally live their lives on the screen before me.

I’m pretty much consumed by the scene, and somewhere around nightfall I finally resurface and am pleased to see that I’ve gotten down five solid pages that bring the total up to a third of what will be needed to make a full-length novel. A good day’s work, to say the least.

Since there are more than enough of last night’s burgers ready for those who want them, I don’t feel any inclination to make dinner tonight, and make myself a healthy sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, some cheese, onion and red bell pepper slices, soaked in a herbal yogurt sauce, instead, which goes down well enough and lasts me through the rest of the day with a couple of cookies to fill the gap.

By the time the new episode of “House” comes on the TV, I’m making a quick sweep at the glass doors of the kitchen closets, finishing up during the first commercial before I settle down to watch what Hugh Laurie (House) is up to today. Up to his shenanigans, as usual, I soon find out, smirking as he has his personal PI checking out his colleagues and boss.

I have to admit that I like the new (whether temporary or not) addition to the cast: The wacky Private investigator, who seems to have a very keen sense of what makes House tick, and gets along with him famously.

I don’t know how the writers, producers and whatnot manage to do it, but House is one of the few shows on TV that can pull off replacing/adding new characters without annoying me. Though, admittedly Vogle and the nasty cop made me a little less enthusiastic, the new cast is working very well for my viewing pleasure.

Next is the new show “The Mentalist” which hasn’t been failing in keeping my attention yet. Definitely a plus for new shows; since most seem to lose their “interesting” factor after the first few episodes.

By the time “Las Vegas” starts up, big brother and I get into a heated discussion about the action-reaction/cause-effect theory, distracting me enough to barely follow the episode, but by then the evening is drawing to an end and I pack up my things to take the dogs up to the cabin.

There’s a strange smell in the air when I head on up the mountain. It’s been raining most of the evening and there’s a mixture of an earthy and ashen scent swirling in the clouds that lay low overhead. It reminds me of the big fire, years ago when practically our entire mountain, minus our property, burned down.

I stand in front of my porch for a long time, peering at the low-hanging clouds and the fragments of the valley below. Suspiciously, I keep staring at the blackness, wanting to be sure that it is not a fire causing the smell, and then decide that it really isn’t possible what with everything wet around me.

I don’t remember until it’s time to feed the dogs that last night I used the last of the dog food supply in my room, and head on back outside to get the forty pound bag from the carport, and then feed the dogs their nightly meal.

A few more pages get read for the review, after which the time to get online has arrived. Just the Blog, messages and some fun chats to go and the time to go to bed has, once again, returned.

Lubika's home. Poor thing.

It was a darn cold night, close to the freezing point. Trin Trin woke me several times throughout, wanting to get on the bed and the warmth of blankets and bodies. Seeing as the other dogs feel quite the same, they keep pulling the blankets from me, making me wake up several times regardless of the monster, due to the chill. In the end I give up on the blankets, and nestle between the willing canine bodies that do an excellent job in keeping most of me warm.

I’m feeling pretty irritable by the time the alarm goes of, however, and I need to get up. I would sleep a bit longer, but knowing that I need to go out later to get Lubika from the vet, I decide to get up anyway and start on the morning rituals. I read a few pages of one of the review books, since I’m miserably short on new reading anyway, and then get dressed before heading down to the house.

No laundry, I’m glad to see, and after putting coffee in the machine I immediately set up the computer and get down to the messages and a few minor chats online.
My eyes keep falling shut, throughout. I don’t get it. I might have gotten too little sleep this night, but it’s not like this is the first time, and on the average I’ve been getting enough sleep these past few days.

I have a slight headache; apparently I cannot yet cut down on the Partenio pills that I take for that particular affliction, so tonight I will have to resume the usual doses, lest I’ll be walking around with a permanent headache again. I hate that. I had hoped to get over it by now, but apparently that isn’t so.

This thought alone doesn’t bolster my spirits at all. I try to write some, but I only manage a few paragraphs, due to the distant pounding in my skull, and finally just decide to give it up and read two or three chapters for a fantasy book I’m reviewing.

By the time sunset starts I shut the computer down and start on dinner.
Last night I decided to make vegetable nasi burgers today, so with that in mind I get to it.
Dried rice gets fried in herbs, garlic and onions, and vegetables baked in a different skillet until both mixes can be stirred together to a thick, lumpy paste.

I’m almost done with the burger base when the time to depart for the vet arrives. Middle sister and I head for the village, where we are met by the attending veterinarian, who informs us that the operation went well and that we can take Lubika home with the standard instructions for post-op treatment.

The poor Boxer is looking miserable when she is brought out and barely acknowledges me as she presses herself against middle sister for the comfort she so desperately needs. I don’t blame her, the poor thing. Besides the fact that she spent a night and a day away from her mistress, she’s more than a little sore from the spading.

We head back home, Lubika pressed tightly against middle sister throughout the drive, and hesitantly making her way into the curious pack, once we enter the house. Once the greetings with the pack are over, little sister and I start making patties from the nasi mix and roll it in breadcrumbs before baking. They’re a success, and with the large amount I’ve made, there are several quartets freezing in the freezer for meals later in the week.

It takes a while for the meal to digest, and since I am still dreadfully weary I don’t do much other than the cooking today. Though in an attempt to fight the lethargy inside me I do a few exercises during the course of the day, it seems to no avail, and I end up watching a few episodes of shows that have been recorded during the course of the week.

Big brother has the flu, mom as well, so it’s definitely in the air, which means that I have to be careful and really should get to bed early today so my immune system doesn’t get too weak to fight the bug.

I head on up to my cabin and go through the nightly routine in record time so I can call it an early night.

Visit to the vet's once more.

I wake well rested this morning, the record of my first eight hours in more than seven months, having its effect by lessening the shadows under my eyes. I’m a little fuzzy around the edges and stagger about throwing the dogs out the door before I slowly start on the morning rituals.

Yesterday’s moodiness seems to have passed, but I’m still not my cheery self by the time I’ve dressed for the day and gathered my things in the computer bag, which I always take to the main house with me. Heavy clouds loom in the West. Thick and heavy gray mountains of moisture that lay sluggishly on the horizon. I do hope that they won’t come our way. They look like they can brew up a mighty storm and considering that the chill in the air has already made me pull on several layers, I really don’t need more bad weather at this point.

There is a busy schedule ahead, so I don’t mind that today’s not an exercise day, and get the laundry done first, both hanging and folding before I have a quick breakfast. With coffee in hand and OJ pressed against the wall so the dogs won’t knock the glass over, I start up the computer and open the “insert” file of the latest vampire book.

What with getting so little done yesterday, I’m determined to use the next few hours to get a full scene down, before it is time to head for the car and take Lubika to the vet.
It goes well, I’m pleased to notice and though I get distracted when big brother wants to discuss some more details of the background story, in the end I manage to finish with four pages to add to the full-length novel.

It’s a good scene. Virtually a death scene, but it is potent and I feel almost giddy upon putting down the last few sentences, which then gets big brother excited when I read it out loud. It’s perfect for what we have in mind, giving a totally new twist to the vampire cliché and making “special” in more ways that one.

Since our appointment at the vet’s is still more than an hour away, I take the opportunity to read some in one of the books I’m reviewing. It is not the type of book I would buy for myself, seeing as I’m a little shallow that way and not ashamed to admit it. Hah. I like happy endings in reading, writing, watching and real life, and this collection certainly misses that aspect, which I find so very important in fiction. But still, it is well written and done in such a way that it make me curious as to what will happen next.

The time to depart arrives, and with it middle sister and I head for the car so we can take Lubika (mini Boxer) to the doctor. The poor Boxer is terrified of entering the car. Unlike her sister Amos, she’s the timid of the two lunatics and shivers as she sits against her master in the backseat while we head for the village.

Upon arrival the first thing I say to the young vet is that the previous times we witnessed these symptoms with more of our dogs it turned out to be a uterus infection. I’m most surprised that she practically takes my word for it, and only takes Lubika’s temperature and says she wants to do an ultrasound before they decide what to do.

I’m pretty sure that they’ll have to remove the uterus, the way they did with the other females we brought in (three in total) but they’re confused, stating that the swelling is only minor and that they really wish to have our regular vet check the Boxer out before they decide on a prognosis.

Since they aren’t exactly sure of his time of arrival middle sister and I pop in the bazaar next door where we do some minor purchases before we head for a small cafeteria for a quick snack to kill time.

By the time we return, the practice if filled with other customers–and canine and feline patients–and while his attention is vied for by most, our vet comes in our direction and explains that Lubika probably has a small cyst which is just starting to cause an infection inside her uterus…thus making our visit “in time” for once. The Boxer isn’t ill yet and now she will be operated in the morning, to get rid of the problem before complications arise.

Relieved about the prognoses and set surgery, we head home, middle sister’s relief tangible. Together we battle the jubilant pack when we return into the house. The contrast between the temperatures of outside’s chill and inside’s warmth is somewhat shocking, but at least it warms up my limbs as we eat the tasteful dinner little sister had prepared in our absence.

Dinner done and the TV playing a show that fails to really capture my interest, I start writing a new scene and get half a page done before the new show “Burn Notice” begins. I have to admit that I like this show a lot. The way the main character leads you through the story is entertaining and it does give a rather interesting insight into the world of spies. It certainly makes me regret that I missed the pilot, ‘cause I’m pretty sure it must have been great, too.

Afterwards, still seated in the comfortable armchair I took up during the show, we watch an old episode of Las Vegas, during which little sister dyes my hair, the way we’d been planning to do for weeks now, but never found the time for.

By the time the show comes to an end, I’ve showered, my hair’s a deep chestnut brown and I’m more than ready to call it a day as I head up the mountain to my cabin for the night.

After feeding the dogs, reading another chapter of the review book and settling behind the computer for today’s Blog, I’m pretty pleased to see the day come to an end, and log on to do a final survey of the forums and messages.