Song of the day: “Royals” by Jasmine Thompson covering Lorde, who I’d never even heard of until I heard the girl sing the song. Hah. Gorgeous song, though, and the Jas does sing it lovely.
Finally, a day that can be arranged to my own liking, and therefore a moment available to write a proper blog. Yay.
So, what’s been happening…instant blank, of course. Well, let me just get my diary and see what pops up, eh?
Ah, working our way backwards then. Last night I was asked to come over to Ronda, you know the place big brother and I went to lunch a couple of weeks ago? There’s going to be a gathering of sorts so for two days I’m going to be helping out in the kitchen, which should be fascinating. Nothing like getting a good meal put together with all sorts of restrictions. It’ll keep the mind flexible, and the taste buds busy. Ideas are already popping through my head and I’ll let you know if I get to try any of them out.
Yesterday I was feeling a bit under the weather, so big brother stayed the afternoon at work in my place. Good thing too since I was balancing precariously between bursting out in tears at any second, or dropping down in a dead faint. Hah. Got to do a humongous load of laundry once at home (was way behind) and had a wonderfully long nap that restored some of my spirits…and actually had me hungry for the first time in days.
Am way behind on my correspondence as well, by the way, which is something I’ll need to see to today. Lots of “still need to write to…” fill in name, waiting, so plenty of computer work to do still. I do hope to find a minute or two to work on a new story that popped up in my head the other day. Working title: “Good morning Mr Pratchett” A short romance, really. Light on the plot, heavy on the romance. Hah. I’ll explain more about it some other time. Right now all I’ve got is the first paragraph and a page plotline.
Did a bid on putting up a fence. It’ll be hard work, but good earnings, so let’s see if we get it. I doubt it. We’re peanuts compared to a construction company with big discounts due to stock buying, but you have to try, don’t you? It’ll be fifteen work days at the very least with digging some odd fifty holes, pouring concrete, hanging fence and all the fun stuff that will have you working in the wonderful fresh spring air. *sigh* Keep yer fingers crossed.
Had a job re-installing a lady’s satellite. It involved me doing the business side of the whole thing while big brother worked on a three story roof setting up a new metal “foot” while I called up “instructions” from the safety of the ground. Me and heights, ya know. Hah. The lady was particular. Nothing bad about that, of course. It’s always better when folks know what they want, rather then those who just say “take care of it” and afterward complain why you did it “That” way.
Went to visit a kennel up in Almogia. “In the Doghouse” it’s called, and it’s run by this lovely couple who also do animal training. Nice place, if you ever need to board your dog or cat, and if your dog if unmanageable, they also offer bootcamp. Here is the link if you want to check it out.http://inthedoghousedtc.com/
I find that the place has a nice atmosphere and the animals appear happy, which is always a plus, isn’t it?
Did some painting. Nothing interesting, really, just a wall in pale-ish blue to see if the owner would like to have the whole house painted that way. Of course the blue of choice was soooo light that the owner didn’t even notice until it was pointed out. Hah. Ah well, got another bit of painting done yesterday to make the doorway white again to create some contrast. Luckily I like painting well enough.
Took Knight II and Labhana to the vet for their checkup. Knight was declared fine, so now I have to finish up his antibiotics for safety only, because at his age pneumonia is really dangerous. Labhana’s ear is healing properly, and her antibiotics have stopped now. She does still need anti-inflammatory while the last bit of her ear heals up, but then she should be fine. Am still a bit worried about her having lost so much weight, though. And her walking is still not great…although the “No Ake” from the Neem Team is doing her well. She walks better than before, and doesn’t have the heavy breathing from pain anymore. Arthritis is really horrid!
Went out for some groceries. Such a pain, groceries, always when you least expect it you run out of the essentials, don’t you? If I could, I’d do a big batch once a month and not think about anymore. Not possible now, though. Just not enough space to store stuff.
The Land Rover had to go to the MOT, which is always a tad stressful. Strange, huh. It’s designed to protect you from garages out to swindle money from your pocket, and yet every time feels like some sort of test. Hah. Passed, though. Went through without a hitch, which means that we have another six month’s reprieve of doing mandatory repairs.
Tomorrow we need to go to Liane’s finish up on that cabin, meaning that at the moment we need to get a door done (where the opening to Sally’s bathroom used to be) the finishing boards of the roof, the “coping” or ridge of the roof need to be sawed and painted, and concrete paint has to be mixed up into the color of ceramic tiles. Fascinating, I know. Hah. But when Liane asked how to get her concrete floor to look nice beside her tiles, I suggested to make a color matching her tiles, and then continue the pattern as if it was all tiled…me and my stupid mouth. Hah. No matter, though, I’ll figure it out.
The pouring concrete went rather well last week. The floor looked good once finished, the roof plating all fit and got on in time for us to finish the biggest part of the cabin. Now all that needs doing is the aforementioned items, which should take half a day at most. Less profit than expected from the entire thing, but it is better than letting the wood rot away in the open air.
Later on big brother and I need to go out to get a sick goat to a vet in Malaga. Don’t ask how we got around to doing that, it’s a long story. Hah.
Am totally planning on doing some serious cooking today, but don’t know if I’ll find the time. Will make pattie dough, though, will make for an excellent lunch tomorrow.
Were at the consulate last week, middle sister and me. It’s that time again that our passports need to be renewed, meaning a lot of hassle and BAD passport picture. Seriously, I had to have them done by this guy who knows all the specifications, and he should be SHOT for making a picture like that. Seriously, I look like some misshapen eejit in it. Why do they always do that with passport photos? I mean I’m no beauty, but I’m not as bad as that photo. I bet I could make a fortune offering myself as a passport photographer who’d make you look your best at least. Hmmmm. There’s a thought.
Anyways, middle sister looked great in hers, but then, the guy seemed to really enjoy taking her pictures. He shot her, like, fifteen times, while he took only three of me. I almost laughed in his face about that. No challenge in shooting pics of middle sister. She’s cute!
Got her B-day coming up, by the way. About a month and she’ll be thirty for crying out loud. Time does fly. Am making pie…chocolate, probably, because she likes that.
Had a few bad days since the last blog. Stomach is playing up lately, which is bad. Nothing hurts the reserves like puking, and I did that twice this month. Grrr. Must be the lack of sleep (am getting the luxurious six hours at most, bad Sammie!)…at least that is what I tell myself. Hah. Must eat proper…should even do some meat today…I’ll let you know if I manage. *wink*
Had a bank visit, and our insurance agent because we’re having lots of problems with payments lately. Something is wrong with the account number, and I needed to set that straight. So time consuming, bureaucracy.
The car got a service the other day, don’t know if I mentioned that already. But anyway, it is always nice to hear your mechanic say that she runs like a dream. Hah. Considering we passed the MOT, I’m taking his word for it. Also, he told us that there is a paint for cars that you can apply with a roller and yet ends up looking like spray painted, and when we explained that it was tough to do at our place because we’re in the country, he offered that we use his shop in a weekend some day to do it proper. I found that extremely nice…made them pie as a thank you, of course.
Summer time is hard to get used to this time round. My inner clock is still on winter time. Even grandpa is complaining about it, which is a first. Guess all the busy-ness is getting to him too.
At the moment my Sitabah (Weimaraner) isn’t feeling well. A stomach thing, I think. She’s been off since yesterday…not that it stops her from making a nuisance of herself, of course. Even now she’s running to the gate to bark at the other dogs. Silly girl.
Tenant’s Birthday is coming up, and since I can hardly make her a pie (darn it) big brother, grandpa and I pitched in together to sent her a present via Amazon. It should arrive a day before the big day…hopefully she’ll be home by then, since she was feeling poorly last week and got admitted to hospital. Finally they found out why she’s dehydrating so fast. A thyroid problem, apparently, meaning that she gets too much calcium in her blood. Hopefully they’ll manage to resolve it this time.
Sally is still the same, and soon she will be moved to a permanent care facility, rather than the hospice where she has been staying until now. Regulations say that you can only stay at such a hospice for 3 months and she’s been there 5. She’s hanging in there, much to everyone’s surprise.
Well, this will have to do for now. I still have much to do, and to prepare for tomorrow’s finishing of the cabin. I’ll be back…I hope. Hah.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Review of "Kissed by a Cowboy"
I am so sorry. I am way behind on th blog, and I really should be writing y'all one, but there just isn't time at the moment. Got several jobs going at the moment, and the days just don't have enough hours in them, darn it! You'll be happy to know that the building of Sally's cabin is almost done, so that should clear up some hours in the near future. There might also be another fence building job coming up sometime soon, and the other day we were hired to reset a satalite dish. Well, Big Brother did most of the work, seeing it was on a roof and I don't like heights at all. I basically did the verbal stuff with the client and did a lot of pointing so big brother knew where to aim at. Was only about an inch and a half off. Not bad when one is aiming at a satalite. Hah.
But anyway, no time today, so I'l leave you with a review of a book I read recently and really enjoyed.
Kissed by a Cowboy: an Inspy Kisses Novella by Lacy Williams
In my own starring system of one to seven.
* * * * * * (6)
Unfasionably good!
Kissed by a Cowboy was absolutely adorable. There’s just no other way about it, and you gotta give credit where credit is due.
The basics: teenage girl had a crush on her best friend’s brother in high school, boy felt the same but somehow they drifted apart. Ten years later, after lots of heartache, they meet again. The connection is still there and this time they want to do something about it. Simple and…well, sweet, with not a single sex scene, which was so wonderfully refreshing that it took me completely by surprise.
The characters were lovely, both Haley and Maddox (always a plus when you can actually like the characters without any “buts”) the beta characters were nice as well, adding to my overall enjoyment, and the writing had a pleasant pace that was neither hectic, nor too slow. Very natural, all of it, even though I would have liked to see a bit more to the story, some extra scenes to give it some more depth, and maybe an admission of “I’ve loved you, like, forever, why were we such idiots?” but you can’t have everything.
On the overall, the general sweetness of the story made up for that bit, and the occasional typo/missing word. None of it mattered because I just had plain and simple fun reading Kissed by a Cowboy.
Conclusion:
Definitely for readers of the old block who read romance for the sake of romance, nothing more.
Heck, I thought stories like this (the kind that got me into reading romance novels way back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth) didn’t get writ anymore, but there you have it.
Thank you Ms. Williams, I’ll be looking at more of your work.
Which concludes today's blog, I fear. I will try to give y'all a proper update some day soon, but at the moment sleep is my top priority for some peculiar reason. Hah
But anyway, no time today, so I'l leave you with a review of a book I read recently and really enjoyed.
Kissed by a Cowboy: an Inspy Kisses Novella by Lacy Williams
In my own starring system of one to seven.
* * * * * * (6)
Unfasionably good!
Kissed by a Cowboy was absolutely adorable. There’s just no other way about it, and you gotta give credit where credit is due.
The basics: teenage girl had a crush on her best friend’s brother in high school, boy felt the same but somehow they drifted apart. Ten years later, after lots of heartache, they meet again. The connection is still there and this time they want to do something about it. Simple and…well, sweet, with not a single sex scene, which was so wonderfully refreshing that it took me completely by surprise.
The characters were lovely, both Haley and Maddox (always a plus when you can actually like the characters without any “buts”) the beta characters were nice as well, adding to my overall enjoyment, and the writing had a pleasant pace that was neither hectic, nor too slow. Very natural, all of it, even though I would have liked to see a bit more to the story, some extra scenes to give it some more depth, and maybe an admission of “I’ve loved you, like, forever, why were we such idiots?” but you can’t have everything.
On the overall, the general sweetness of the story made up for that bit, and the occasional typo/missing word. None of it mattered because I just had plain and simple fun reading Kissed by a Cowboy.
Conclusion:
Definitely for readers of the old block who read romance for the sake of romance, nothing more.
Heck, I thought stories like this (the kind that got me into reading romance novels way back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth) didn’t get writ anymore, but there you have it.
Thank you Ms. Williams, I’ll be looking at more of your work.
Which concludes today's blog, I fear. I will try to give y'all a proper update some day soon, but at the moment sleep is my top priority for some peculiar reason. Hah
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Pretty good for a first time. ;-)
Song of the day: “I hope you dance” by Lee Ann Womack. Such a beautifully inspirational song, and a perfect motto in life. You should look it up…you know what, here it is, have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV-Z1YwaOiw
Sure the clip is a little sugar sweet, but that doesn’t change the song, does it. Love this one, so I actually enjoy the days that it is stuck in my head.
So yeah, what all has been going on lately. A lot actually, but even as I say as much information scatters inside my brain, hiding in dark niches where I can’t for the life of me find it. Grrr.
First off, we had our first two days off at work, so that was nice, the fact that it followed up on a really short hour and a half on Sunday morning, only made it better. Hah. Big brother and I had an appointment in Ronda, and for that reason we had asked to just rush through the chores, preparing everything for our replacement of the day, and then hitting the road. Made use of the opportunity and got all dressed up. I mean, it’s not often that I get to go out socially, so I might as well have some fun with it. Was all color coordinated, special hat, big earrings and even a bit of makeup. It’s been ages, but it was fun.
Had everything packed, Knight II in the back, apple/pears/cranberry pie and plenty of water, and then we realized we’d forgotten this big bag of dog food that we were supposed to take along. So, the forty minutes earlier we had planned on, turned into fifteen minutes later on our way into the mountains. It was a wonderful trip, by the way. We like to take the winding road, seeing as it will keep us on our toes, and were properly awed once again by the nature reserve we passed through on the way there. It’s a 1:45 trip, and Knight II loved every second of it. The lug has a need for speed, I tell ya.
Anyway, the day was a beautiful one, sunshine and a fresh breeze. What more could you possible want. We arrived at a quarter to two, missing a turn only once before driving straight to the property where invited to have lunch. A nice place there. A bit of deserted mountain slope overlooking Ronda’s valley and the mountains in the distance. Huge cork oaks, interspersed by small patches of recently planted apple trees (well, they’re tiny little things, really. Can’t actually call them trees, since they’re babies, but you get my drift.)
The moment we pulled to a halt we were welcomed by a gorgeous Vizsla under two years of age (her name’s Chi) who’s the pride and joy of our hosts for the day. She was barking up a storm, which only got worse when Knight II emerged from the car and eyed her warily from where he hid behind my legs. My hero.
The other dog, a massive mutt named Benito, came sniffing immediately, but otherwise gave no objection to our arrival. So there we went, pie in hand, into the courtyard/terrace where Chris was trying to calm poor Chi down now that the lug was intruding on her territory. It took us a moment to recognize, Chris, by the way. Last time we saw him he had a somewhat shaggy beard, hiding half his face, so we were like “who is that? Could it be…” then of course he started talking and we were both like “oh, right. Chris!” and went through the nice-to-see-yous and all that. I gotta say, bearless does him well. Hah. Anyways, Chris is the one in charge of setting up an apple orchard, so those little trees are his babies. Just FIY.
What followed were introductions to two of Chris’s friends and of course saying hi to Maggy and Maarten our hosts. Knight II was properly oohed and aahed over, and he was a true gentleman, going through the pats like the stoic Knight he is. Hah. Don’t be fooled, he loves the attention. Remember market days how he’d sit in his chair eying people who came to admire him and wanting to take pictures of him? He loves that.
But anyway, lunch was a wonderfully drawn out affair with relaxed talk, some laughter, Knight slobbering all over the place, and wonderful food. Not bad for our first luncheon, eh?
There was a quiet walk afterward (good for the Knight, too) more talking about the past and future, which was nice, and before we knew it the day came to an end and we had to load Knight into the car (he was more than eager, the big lug. It’d been a long day for him, poor darling) and start on the way back.
We couldn’t resist trying out a shortcut, of course. There’s this big looping road over there in Ronda, which is really roundabout, so we guessed at a certain small turn-off that should cut off the entire loop, and sure, within no time we were up at the main road again, shaving off a couple of miles. Gotta love the shortcuts…good thing, too, since we decided to go back over San Pedro which was a massive roundabout way of getting back. Hah. We didn’t get back until after ten in the evening where I found Labhana with a badly swollen ear. Aaaargh.
Poor darling was uncomfortable but there was little to do about it seeing as it was hardly an emergency. Would have to wait until Monday, and until later n the day since first we had to bring the car to the garage for her service, drop little sister off at work, take grandpa to a lab for some blood tests and then to our insurance broker to clear up some mess that was caused due to problems at the bank. Ever since ours was taken over by Santander all our regular billings are being messed up, darn it. But anyway, there was plenty to do once we got back, leaving the city car to mom who had to go out, too. I had planned on cooking, but it turned out that there just wasn’t any time for anything remotely elaborate.
We had to get ready for Tuesday, which was a work day up in the mountains while little sister did her second day at the job. There was the concrete mixer to fix, tools to gather, cement to load up and all those little things necessary for a day of pouring concrete. We were actually looking forward to it, in particular since the weather sites were predicting a nice sunny day.
But anyway, I left big brother to it while I took Labhana and Knight II to the vet. The latter for his checkup, and the first to have her operated. I noticed in the morning that it wasn’t just a swollen ear but an actual abscess, meaning she had to be operated. First they wanted to keep her during the night so they could do it first thing in the morning, but when I asked they agreed to do her quickly before closing time. Little sweetheart was a gem all through the examination, and was toddling after me the moment I came to pick her up right before closing time. She couldn’t wait to be home regardless of her cone collar.
Luckily grandpa was there to take care of her the next day while big brother and I woke early for the last few preparations for our construction job. Knight II went right along, but I already noticed that he wasn’t feeling well when he got into the car. He was pulling his leg a little, and had refused to eat in the morning as well as the night before. Regardless, we had to head on out, drop little sister off at work and then drive through with the trailer in tow.
A good day pouring concrete. First setting up, of course, taking out big rocks, unloading the future cabin from our big trailer which we brought there some weeks ago, and then leveling the ground so we could start on the cabin. Went well, but I was mighty worried about Knight whose paw for some unfathomable reason had started swelling from noon, and who started shaking somewhere in the middle of the day and still refused to eat. Finally called the vet to ask if I could hop by before closing time, and luckily they were willing to wait for our arrival. His pneumonia had gotten a little worse again, and his paw had, by this time, swollen to twice its size. He was so miserable, and considering he had a fever once more, he is now back on antibiotics, darn it. Luckily the swelling, quieted down as soon as I started giving him homeopathic Apis, meaning that I was right when the small lump on the bottom of his foot reminded me of an insect bite. By now it’s almost back to normal, thankfully. He’s also eating normally again, so the worry is subsiding a bit.
What else? Well, we finally managed to get in some exercise today. Made a decision this morning to go for a jog after work, and went through with it, Yay. Was nice, even though my stamina is down to half the distance I used to be. My foot was a little battered afterward, but not excruciating, so I would say it was a good thing. I missed jogging…also it was excellent for Knight who trotted after me reluctantly. He would have preferred riding the car with grandpa, following closely behind. He went the distance, though, so he was a good boy.
Managed to eat some meat the other day, so I was a good Sammie…kinda. It was only a teeny slab, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
I have an appointment at the consulate this Monday together with middle sister, so I figure I might as well clean myself up a little by cutting my hair this morning. Took of a total of an inch and a half (I know! Don’t gasp. It’s horrid, but it had to be done. The ends were getting way thin again) which no one noticed of course. I mean, I come into a room, look around once and see in a single glance if someone cut their hair, but over here, unless I stand in front of them, saying “so, what do you think?” turning this way and that, practically aiming neon signs toward the area, anyone is unlikely to notice unless I decide on a Mohawk, or something. *snort* I mean, seriously, I came in at work the other day, was one step into kitchen when I saw the cleaner and said, “You cut your hair!” which no one had noticed yet. It’s insane. How can you not notice something like that. Mostly it changes the entire facial shape, for crying out loud.
Okay, that was my rant for the day. Hah. It is not like it’s important, or anything, it just astounds me sometimes how rarely people notice such things.
Had two trips to the garage for the car, since they couldn’t finish up on Monday, and needed it back on Wednesday. Had a nice long talk with our mechanic, asking him how much a new paint job would cost. €1200,- Yikes! But, he told us, we could also order this new kind of paint that you roll on with a small roller, and which dries just like spray paint, for around € 100,- Really fascinating and tempting but really not doable in the campo where dust is, like, par for the course. Which is where having your favorite private garage of five years, with your own mechanics (I consider them friends these days, actually) comes in. He offered that if we wanted to, we could come to the shop some weekend and do the painting there ourselves, if we wanted to.
Duh! That would be so cool. It would make the car look nice again rather than just like the work-horse it is. Hah. And we also think that in case of an emergency it would make the car more likely to bring up a good price in the event that we are forced to sell in the future. Of course this had the mechanic sputter that the car ran like a dream and wouldn’t get much more with a paint job. Always nice to hear that a mechanic thinks that your car runs like a dream! Hah.
Cooking: So there was the pie experiment for the Sunday lunch. It was a chestnut and normal flour mix for the dough, and added to the spices that I used, it was a potent pie. You should try it sometimes when you’re using nutmeg and cinnamon to add a bit of black pepper. It really adds some kick to the mix. And the vanilla, bitter almond drops, and lemon concentrate only add to it. I’m so going to add this one to my cook book. Yay.
As for other experiments…I had another good back of pattie dough. Buckwheat again. Finally balanced out the herbs, cheese and structure. Even little sister complimented that the last one was a particularly tasteful batch.
Spent the afternoon, after getting home from work and our jog, getting together metal roof plating and wooden boards which had been sent flying during the last storm. The wind was blowing, so it was a tad dangerous. It all went well enough, right until I was going downhill with one of the large plates, and lost my footing. Had a slight dislocation of my hip going there, which had me freezing on my sore bum needing to ask big brother to pull my leg straight. Darned loose joint. Luckily it popped right back, making me sore is all.
Been doing a lot of reading lately, seeing as I finally have a touch screen phone (hate the darn thing for anything except reading and music. Strangely enough it has particularly good sound. Hah) and am able to fit in a reading session every free minute during the course of the day.
Neither tenant nor Sally are doing well at the moment. The first is feeling poorly with some sort of strange virus, and Sally is on a downward slope that is going faster by the day, according to the health workers at the hospice. She has stopped wanting to drink, and they have decided to stop forcing her simply because he body his barely functioning anymore. The quality of her life has reached a point now that maintaining her life would just be unfair to her, seeing as she is only lying in bed now, her eyes closed, and no longer responding to anything. Sad news that, but we knew it was coming, I suppose. Not much longer now.
And though I hate leaving the blog on that note, there isn’t much more to tell at this time. In regard to town hall, we’re still waiting. No news on any of the publishers. On the overall the other dogs are all still doing well. Life is still busy. And anything else that happened has fled my brain completely…don’t you just hate only weekly blogs? I can’t even keep you properly informed of everything going on. *sigh*
Gotta go.
Sure the clip is a little sugar sweet, but that doesn’t change the song, does it. Love this one, so I actually enjoy the days that it is stuck in my head.
So yeah, what all has been going on lately. A lot actually, but even as I say as much information scatters inside my brain, hiding in dark niches where I can’t for the life of me find it. Grrr.
First off, we had our first two days off at work, so that was nice, the fact that it followed up on a really short hour and a half on Sunday morning, only made it better. Hah. Big brother and I had an appointment in Ronda, and for that reason we had asked to just rush through the chores, preparing everything for our replacement of the day, and then hitting the road. Made use of the opportunity and got all dressed up. I mean, it’s not often that I get to go out socially, so I might as well have some fun with it. Was all color coordinated, special hat, big earrings and even a bit of makeup. It’s been ages, but it was fun.
Had everything packed, Knight II in the back, apple/pears/cranberry pie and plenty of water, and then we realized we’d forgotten this big bag of dog food that we were supposed to take along. So, the forty minutes earlier we had planned on, turned into fifteen minutes later on our way into the mountains. It was a wonderful trip, by the way. We like to take the winding road, seeing as it will keep us on our toes, and were properly awed once again by the nature reserve we passed through on the way there. It’s a 1:45 trip, and Knight II loved every second of it. The lug has a need for speed, I tell ya.
Anyway, the day was a beautiful one, sunshine and a fresh breeze. What more could you possible want. We arrived at a quarter to two, missing a turn only once before driving straight to the property where invited to have lunch. A nice place there. A bit of deserted mountain slope overlooking Ronda’s valley and the mountains in the distance. Huge cork oaks, interspersed by small patches of recently planted apple trees (well, they’re tiny little things, really. Can’t actually call them trees, since they’re babies, but you get my drift.)
The moment we pulled to a halt we were welcomed by a gorgeous Vizsla under two years of age (her name’s Chi) who’s the pride and joy of our hosts for the day. She was barking up a storm, which only got worse when Knight II emerged from the car and eyed her warily from where he hid behind my legs. My hero.
The other dog, a massive mutt named Benito, came sniffing immediately, but otherwise gave no objection to our arrival. So there we went, pie in hand, into the courtyard/terrace where Chris was trying to calm poor Chi down now that the lug was intruding on her territory. It took us a moment to recognize, Chris, by the way. Last time we saw him he had a somewhat shaggy beard, hiding half his face, so we were like “who is that? Could it be…” then of course he started talking and we were both like “oh, right. Chris!” and went through the nice-to-see-yous and all that. I gotta say, bearless does him well. Hah. Anyways, Chris is the one in charge of setting up an apple orchard, so those little trees are his babies. Just FIY.
What followed were introductions to two of Chris’s friends and of course saying hi to Maggy and Maarten our hosts. Knight II was properly oohed and aahed over, and he was a true gentleman, going through the pats like the stoic Knight he is. Hah. Don’t be fooled, he loves the attention. Remember market days how he’d sit in his chair eying people who came to admire him and wanting to take pictures of him? He loves that.
But anyway, lunch was a wonderfully drawn out affair with relaxed talk, some laughter, Knight slobbering all over the place, and wonderful food. Not bad for our first luncheon, eh?
There was a quiet walk afterward (good for the Knight, too) more talking about the past and future, which was nice, and before we knew it the day came to an end and we had to load Knight into the car (he was more than eager, the big lug. It’d been a long day for him, poor darling) and start on the way back.
We couldn’t resist trying out a shortcut, of course. There’s this big looping road over there in Ronda, which is really roundabout, so we guessed at a certain small turn-off that should cut off the entire loop, and sure, within no time we were up at the main road again, shaving off a couple of miles. Gotta love the shortcuts…good thing, too, since we decided to go back over San Pedro which was a massive roundabout way of getting back. Hah. We didn’t get back until after ten in the evening where I found Labhana with a badly swollen ear. Aaaargh.
Poor darling was uncomfortable but there was little to do about it seeing as it was hardly an emergency. Would have to wait until Monday, and until later n the day since first we had to bring the car to the garage for her service, drop little sister off at work, take grandpa to a lab for some blood tests and then to our insurance broker to clear up some mess that was caused due to problems at the bank. Ever since ours was taken over by Santander all our regular billings are being messed up, darn it. But anyway, there was plenty to do once we got back, leaving the city car to mom who had to go out, too. I had planned on cooking, but it turned out that there just wasn’t any time for anything remotely elaborate.
We had to get ready for Tuesday, which was a work day up in the mountains while little sister did her second day at the job. There was the concrete mixer to fix, tools to gather, cement to load up and all those little things necessary for a day of pouring concrete. We were actually looking forward to it, in particular since the weather sites were predicting a nice sunny day.
But anyway, I left big brother to it while I took Labhana and Knight II to the vet. The latter for his checkup, and the first to have her operated. I noticed in the morning that it wasn’t just a swollen ear but an actual abscess, meaning she had to be operated. First they wanted to keep her during the night so they could do it first thing in the morning, but when I asked they agreed to do her quickly before closing time. Little sweetheart was a gem all through the examination, and was toddling after me the moment I came to pick her up right before closing time. She couldn’t wait to be home regardless of her cone collar.
Luckily grandpa was there to take care of her the next day while big brother and I woke early for the last few preparations for our construction job. Knight II went right along, but I already noticed that he wasn’t feeling well when he got into the car. He was pulling his leg a little, and had refused to eat in the morning as well as the night before. Regardless, we had to head on out, drop little sister off at work and then drive through with the trailer in tow.
A good day pouring concrete. First setting up, of course, taking out big rocks, unloading the future cabin from our big trailer which we brought there some weeks ago, and then leveling the ground so we could start on the cabin. Went well, but I was mighty worried about Knight whose paw for some unfathomable reason had started swelling from noon, and who started shaking somewhere in the middle of the day and still refused to eat. Finally called the vet to ask if I could hop by before closing time, and luckily they were willing to wait for our arrival. His pneumonia had gotten a little worse again, and his paw had, by this time, swollen to twice its size. He was so miserable, and considering he had a fever once more, he is now back on antibiotics, darn it. Luckily the swelling, quieted down as soon as I started giving him homeopathic Apis, meaning that I was right when the small lump on the bottom of his foot reminded me of an insect bite. By now it’s almost back to normal, thankfully. He’s also eating normally again, so the worry is subsiding a bit.
What else? Well, we finally managed to get in some exercise today. Made a decision this morning to go for a jog after work, and went through with it, Yay. Was nice, even though my stamina is down to half the distance I used to be. My foot was a little battered afterward, but not excruciating, so I would say it was a good thing. I missed jogging…also it was excellent for Knight who trotted after me reluctantly. He would have preferred riding the car with grandpa, following closely behind. He went the distance, though, so he was a good boy.
Managed to eat some meat the other day, so I was a good Sammie…kinda. It was only a teeny slab, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
I have an appointment at the consulate this Monday together with middle sister, so I figure I might as well clean myself up a little by cutting my hair this morning. Took of a total of an inch and a half (I know! Don’t gasp. It’s horrid, but it had to be done. The ends were getting way thin again) which no one noticed of course. I mean, I come into a room, look around once and see in a single glance if someone cut their hair, but over here, unless I stand in front of them, saying “so, what do you think?” turning this way and that, practically aiming neon signs toward the area, anyone is unlikely to notice unless I decide on a Mohawk, or something. *snort* I mean, seriously, I came in at work the other day, was one step into kitchen when I saw the cleaner and said, “You cut your hair!” which no one had noticed yet. It’s insane. How can you not notice something like that. Mostly it changes the entire facial shape, for crying out loud.
Okay, that was my rant for the day. Hah. It is not like it’s important, or anything, it just astounds me sometimes how rarely people notice such things.
Had two trips to the garage for the car, since they couldn’t finish up on Monday, and needed it back on Wednesday. Had a nice long talk with our mechanic, asking him how much a new paint job would cost. €1200,- Yikes! But, he told us, we could also order this new kind of paint that you roll on with a small roller, and which dries just like spray paint, for around € 100,- Really fascinating and tempting but really not doable in the campo where dust is, like, par for the course. Which is where having your favorite private garage of five years, with your own mechanics (I consider them friends these days, actually) comes in. He offered that if we wanted to, we could come to the shop some weekend and do the painting there ourselves, if we wanted to.
Duh! That would be so cool. It would make the car look nice again rather than just like the work-horse it is. Hah. And we also think that in case of an emergency it would make the car more likely to bring up a good price in the event that we are forced to sell in the future. Of course this had the mechanic sputter that the car ran like a dream and wouldn’t get much more with a paint job. Always nice to hear that a mechanic thinks that your car runs like a dream! Hah.
Cooking: So there was the pie experiment for the Sunday lunch. It was a chestnut and normal flour mix for the dough, and added to the spices that I used, it was a potent pie. You should try it sometimes when you’re using nutmeg and cinnamon to add a bit of black pepper. It really adds some kick to the mix. And the vanilla, bitter almond drops, and lemon concentrate only add to it. I’m so going to add this one to my cook book. Yay.
As for other experiments…I had another good back of pattie dough. Buckwheat again. Finally balanced out the herbs, cheese and structure. Even little sister complimented that the last one was a particularly tasteful batch.
Spent the afternoon, after getting home from work and our jog, getting together metal roof plating and wooden boards which had been sent flying during the last storm. The wind was blowing, so it was a tad dangerous. It all went well enough, right until I was going downhill with one of the large plates, and lost my footing. Had a slight dislocation of my hip going there, which had me freezing on my sore bum needing to ask big brother to pull my leg straight. Darned loose joint. Luckily it popped right back, making me sore is all.
Been doing a lot of reading lately, seeing as I finally have a touch screen phone (hate the darn thing for anything except reading and music. Strangely enough it has particularly good sound. Hah) and am able to fit in a reading session every free minute during the course of the day.
Neither tenant nor Sally are doing well at the moment. The first is feeling poorly with some sort of strange virus, and Sally is on a downward slope that is going faster by the day, according to the health workers at the hospice. She has stopped wanting to drink, and they have decided to stop forcing her simply because he body his barely functioning anymore. The quality of her life has reached a point now that maintaining her life would just be unfair to her, seeing as she is only lying in bed now, her eyes closed, and no longer responding to anything. Sad news that, but we knew it was coming, I suppose. Not much longer now.
And though I hate leaving the blog on that note, there isn’t much more to tell at this time. In regard to town hall, we’re still waiting. No news on any of the publishers. On the overall the other dogs are all still doing well. Life is still busy. And anything else that happened has fled my brain completely…don’t you just hate only weekly blogs? I can’t even keep you properly informed of everything going on. *sigh*
Gotta go.
Monday, March 17, 2014
R.I.P. Sama
Song of the day: “Here I am” by Brian Adams, of course. It’s been a while since I had any Adams in my head, so that’s a nice change. Yesterday, strangely enough, it was Michael Bublé’s “Haven’t met you yet”, so maybe it’s connected. Hah.
Still working, but only two more days to go ‘till two weeks notice if over and don with. Nothing’s resolved yet, so there’s really nothing more I can say than, we’ll see.
As you can see in the last post, Doing It The Gangster way (did you get the double pun, by the way? The sexual innuendo, is obvious, of course, but the other? Huh? Huh? Remember how I was asked to revise it three times, adding more and more about the gangster angle so it’d be nice an dark? Well, voila. This is the gangster way. I am resolved to also publish the original, which was just downright sweet. They you can decide for yourself which was better.) where was I…right. Doing It the Gangster came on life, available for those who are interested…and don’t forget to post a review, please, pretty please…with a cherry on top? *wink*
Okay, that was my shameless self-promotion for ya. If you can’t do that on your own blog, then I don’t know where.
On a sad note, to have out of the way, today Sama, our 16 year old husky passed, peacefully and without any fuss. Gawd, I still remember when we first got her and her brothers and sisters. We had bought Akata (white male) at a breeder for big brother, back in ’97, because he wanted a pup he could train properly, and a year later, we discovered that said breeder still had the majority of Akata’s litter, which included Sama, Dhiti, Puma, and Tadaika I, all of whom he’d been unable to sell…the same went for three bobtails, so rather than have him put them all down, which was his other option, we offered to take the lot off him, to which he agreed. So, in the spring of ’98, we were seven dogs richer, and have enjoyed their company in the years that followed. Now Sama was the last one to go, which is a pity, but not something I want to be sad about. She had a wonderful life, knew freedom after spending the first year of her life in a 3 by 8 foot cage (they were all agoraphobic—afraid of wide open spaces—when we first got them), ate well, was loved, and what more can anyone ask for really.
Knight had to go for his checkup to the vet this morning, and regarding his pneumonia the vet said he was okay. He still coughs once or twice a day, but he’s eating well (gained a total of eight pounds since he’s home) and is making a pest of himself again being snarky to Fortuyn. They got into a fight the day before yesterday, leaving Knight with a big scratch on his cheek, while Fortuyn has a hole under his chin and in the back of his neck. Stupid boys, I tell ya…though admittedly it’s the girls in the packs that are usually the problem. Girl dogs will rip each other apart while the boys will just posture and snarl a lot.
But anyway, while we were there, she had a look at this black small lump on his skin, and decided that it was better to remove it, because it was growing so fast. It had me worried a little, but the procedure involved a small injection at the spot, tweezers and scissors and two stitches afterward. Phew. Such a relief.
I got stabbed by a wasp the day before yesterday. Am having some sort of allergic reaction to is, since the majority of my lower arm has been swollen ever since. Hurts like heck too, not to mention that I have a patch of about three inches in diameter that is hot and red. Today the pain turned into itching, though, so I might be on the mend at last.
Am going to be doing some cooking later on (it being my free day and all) something like a pumpkin squash, buckwheat burgers and something really veggie tonight. Yay. But first I’m going to do a workout. I need it. It’s been weeks since I managed to fit one in, and it really is time that I use these ol’ joints properly for a change.
The foot. At the moment it’s not too bad, but I have good days and bad days in that regard. I can’t really find a pattern there. I do know that I didn’t drink my habitual glass of wine last night, and this morning I could hardly stand on the darn thing. Might be that the revreratol and antioxidants have something to do with that. I’ll have to try having some again tonight and see if I have less trouble standing on my foot tomorrow morning.
Writing. Haven’t done a lot of it, this past week. Mostly because…well, no time, seeing as we spend a couple of evenings getting Doing It the Gangster Way on the Kindle program. Also because we had to prepare a package for Saving Nina, which we’re sending out to publishers again. Strangely enough, all that takes a ridiculous amount of precious time. *sigh*
Did read a rather wonderful romance novel. I’ll post the review I did for it soon. You should really see about getting it if you’re into old fashioned romance, as in, no sex but lots of sweetness. I really enjoyed it.
What else? I’m sure I’m missing something, but for the life of me I can’t think of a single thing. Thinking…thinking….thinking some more…
Grrr.
Right, the MOT is coming up again, meaning that we have to have the car checked at the garage again for the basics. There go the savings. *sigh* Ah well, I’m not expecting big disasters in that regard. For the moment the Land Rover is running rather well. *knock on wood*
Grandpa is still having a lot of trouble adjusting to the changes, which is not surprising since he’s on his own a lot. Not that he needs us to hold his hand, or anything, but it is hard on him, I can see it, in particular since we were all used to working together a lot. He flourished then, and now you can see his age, if you get my meaning. It doesn’t help that there’s not a lot to do now, not little projects to keep life interesting, since our hobby area is gone completely, and that we lost a lot of the tools in all the messes that were caused during break down. Several of them ended up in he rain, which is lethal for electrical tools. In this regard (grandpa) the job ending is a good thing. We’ll be home more a bit, at least until we find something else. Hopefully it will settle him a little, make him feel less lonely. Sally, cousin Ed and tenant were good friends of his, and he misses their presence, I think…heck, so do I.
No news yet from town hall, but mom did deliver pictures to show that we removed what we were ordered to remove, so let’s hope that that’s enough to have this whole thing disappear for once and for all.
Labhana is getting worse by the day, I fear. Even grandpa is noticing it these days, and he’s not one to notice such things until it is really bad. I’m trying one more thing, a herbal mix, to try to alleviate her pain, but if that doesn’t work, I’m not going to drag out her suffering just because I don’t “like” having to make that decision. I would find selfish of myself, not to mention cruel, so…yeah, need to get that decision set in my head.
The weather is still agreeable, despite that we really need some serious rain before summer, because the country isn’t even green at the moment, which it should be this time of year. We had three, maybe four decent rainy days this winter and that simply won’t do. We’re suffering from a drought, clearly.
Well, this is going to have to be it. I don’t remember anything else worth mentionable, and I do want my workout before the day is through. I’ll be back…I hope.
Still working, but only two more days to go ‘till two weeks notice if over and don with. Nothing’s resolved yet, so there’s really nothing more I can say than, we’ll see.
As you can see in the last post, Doing It The Gangster way (did you get the double pun, by the way? The sexual innuendo, is obvious, of course, but the other? Huh? Huh? Remember how I was asked to revise it three times, adding more and more about the gangster angle so it’d be nice an dark? Well, voila. This is the gangster way. I am resolved to also publish the original, which was just downright sweet. They you can decide for yourself which was better.) where was I…right. Doing It the Gangster came on life, available for those who are interested…and don’t forget to post a review, please, pretty please…with a cherry on top? *wink*
Okay, that was my shameless self-promotion for ya. If you can’t do that on your own blog, then I don’t know where.
On a sad note, to have out of the way, today Sama, our 16 year old husky passed, peacefully and without any fuss. Gawd, I still remember when we first got her and her brothers and sisters. We had bought Akata (white male) at a breeder for big brother, back in ’97, because he wanted a pup he could train properly, and a year later, we discovered that said breeder still had the majority of Akata’s litter, which included Sama, Dhiti, Puma, and Tadaika I, all of whom he’d been unable to sell…the same went for three bobtails, so rather than have him put them all down, which was his other option, we offered to take the lot off him, to which he agreed. So, in the spring of ’98, we were seven dogs richer, and have enjoyed their company in the years that followed. Now Sama was the last one to go, which is a pity, but not something I want to be sad about. She had a wonderful life, knew freedom after spending the first year of her life in a 3 by 8 foot cage (they were all agoraphobic—afraid of wide open spaces—when we first got them), ate well, was loved, and what more can anyone ask for really.
Knight had to go for his checkup to the vet this morning, and regarding his pneumonia the vet said he was okay. He still coughs once or twice a day, but he’s eating well (gained a total of eight pounds since he’s home) and is making a pest of himself again being snarky to Fortuyn. They got into a fight the day before yesterday, leaving Knight with a big scratch on his cheek, while Fortuyn has a hole under his chin and in the back of his neck. Stupid boys, I tell ya…though admittedly it’s the girls in the packs that are usually the problem. Girl dogs will rip each other apart while the boys will just posture and snarl a lot.
But anyway, while we were there, she had a look at this black small lump on his skin, and decided that it was better to remove it, because it was growing so fast. It had me worried a little, but the procedure involved a small injection at the spot, tweezers and scissors and two stitches afterward. Phew. Such a relief.
I got stabbed by a wasp the day before yesterday. Am having some sort of allergic reaction to is, since the majority of my lower arm has been swollen ever since. Hurts like heck too, not to mention that I have a patch of about three inches in diameter that is hot and red. Today the pain turned into itching, though, so I might be on the mend at last.
Am going to be doing some cooking later on (it being my free day and all) something like a pumpkin squash, buckwheat burgers and something really veggie tonight. Yay. But first I’m going to do a workout. I need it. It’s been weeks since I managed to fit one in, and it really is time that I use these ol’ joints properly for a change.
The foot. At the moment it’s not too bad, but I have good days and bad days in that regard. I can’t really find a pattern there. I do know that I didn’t drink my habitual glass of wine last night, and this morning I could hardly stand on the darn thing. Might be that the revreratol and antioxidants have something to do with that. I’ll have to try having some again tonight and see if I have less trouble standing on my foot tomorrow morning.
Writing. Haven’t done a lot of it, this past week. Mostly because…well, no time, seeing as we spend a couple of evenings getting Doing It the Gangster Way on the Kindle program. Also because we had to prepare a package for Saving Nina, which we’re sending out to publishers again. Strangely enough, all that takes a ridiculous amount of precious time. *sigh*
Did read a rather wonderful romance novel. I’ll post the review I did for it soon. You should really see about getting it if you’re into old fashioned romance, as in, no sex but lots of sweetness. I really enjoyed it.
What else? I’m sure I’m missing something, but for the life of me I can’t think of a single thing. Thinking…thinking….thinking some more…
Grrr.
Right, the MOT is coming up again, meaning that we have to have the car checked at the garage again for the basics. There go the savings. *sigh* Ah well, I’m not expecting big disasters in that regard. For the moment the Land Rover is running rather well. *knock on wood*
Grandpa is still having a lot of trouble adjusting to the changes, which is not surprising since he’s on his own a lot. Not that he needs us to hold his hand, or anything, but it is hard on him, I can see it, in particular since we were all used to working together a lot. He flourished then, and now you can see his age, if you get my meaning. It doesn’t help that there’s not a lot to do now, not little projects to keep life interesting, since our hobby area is gone completely, and that we lost a lot of the tools in all the messes that were caused during break down. Several of them ended up in he rain, which is lethal for electrical tools. In this regard (grandpa) the job ending is a good thing. We’ll be home more a bit, at least until we find something else. Hopefully it will settle him a little, make him feel less lonely. Sally, cousin Ed and tenant were good friends of his, and he misses their presence, I think…heck, so do I.
No news yet from town hall, but mom did deliver pictures to show that we removed what we were ordered to remove, so let’s hope that that’s enough to have this whole thing disappear for once and for all.
Labhana is getting worse by the day, I fear. Even grandpa is noticing it these days, and he’s not one to notice such things until it is really bad. I’m trying one more thing, a herbal mix, to try to alleviate her pain, but if that doesn’t work, I’m not going to drag out her suffering just because I don’t “like” having to make that decision. I would find selfish of myself, not to mention cruel, so…yeah, need to get that decision set in my head.
The weather is still agreeable, despite that we really need some serious rain before summer, because the country isn’t even green at the moment, which it should be this time of year. We had three, maybe four decent rainy days this winter and that simply won’t do. We’re suffering from a drought, clearly.
Well, this is going to have to be it. I don’t remember anything else worth mentionable, and I do want my workout before the day is through. I’ll be back…I hope.
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