Late

Song of the day: “Rotterdam” by the Beautiful South. It’s been in my head off and on several times during the course of the past week, or so.

Sorry to have taken so long, but I find it very hard to find a balance to write this thing. Hoping that once winter comes I'll get a little more time.

Emotionally things haven’t been easy. I mean, on the days that I am REALLY busy, I manage well enough, I suppose, but on the days that things are a little less hectic, as is prone to happen at some point (can’t get around that) I’ll be a complete and utter mess at the end of the day.

But it hasn’t been all bad. I’m learning, which is vital, of course. Getting a hang of the mowing bit. The lawns are actually looking nice and smooth now although, there are quite a few yellow patches. It has been rather dry here in the UK lately, so that might explain part of it.

Big brother arrived the day before yesterday, so we’ve been nicely busy, having the dogs with us, seeing as our colleague had time off. Was nice, the dogs, big brother, had me relax a little, unwind from the stress of the past week or two. Very difficult, this being on my own. I think I should try to look at it like a learning experience. Learning to be on my own, because…well, because everyone should be able to, really. I do have to say that so far these past couple of months have shown me that in all likelihood I am not cut out for this sort of work. I mean, it is not that I can’t do the work, it is just that I think I’ll be better off in the future either published (duh), or having our own freelance kind of work. Not a boss. It doesn’t matter that the boss is nice, or reasonable, it just means that the necessity of having a certain freedom is vital.

Doing that from Spain isn’t possible, however. Not from where I’m standing. For me Spain is still over. The only question is, where are we going to start over…I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

What else has been going on? We have been nicely busy, partly scavenging the future bonfire in the back yard…added to that, I burnt a rather huge amount of cartons, because I was getting sick and tired of them taking up half the shed…which is huge, only you wouldn’t believe the amount of boxes were in there.

Please don’t mind my typos. I am trying to write this blog late at night…well, two nights, actually, but you wouldn’t believe the amount of strange sentences I had to remove from last night because I was falling asleep while writing.

This was big brother’s last day here, which is sad, but we all gotta do what we all gotta do, right? We got some serious stuff done, including burning down the mess of plant refuse. It was a massive bonfire, which was nicely warm during the miserly rain that wrecked most of the day.
Well, it didn’t wreck it. It just kept the day rather nippy. Also fixed fences, which is a never ending thing, isn’t it?

Did make use of Big brother being here by finishing this rather cute shelf for computer stuff. It took forever to make, but I finished putting it together today, varnished it, and only have to attach hooks on the back now.

Not a lot of writing lately. Let’s face it, at the end of the day I can barely keep my eyes open, and I am lucky to be coherent, which is iffy at the best of times.
Cooking is still part the day, of course. I gotta eat, and since more folks need to, I usually volunteer. Did my first cooking of lamb chops today, which were a big success, much to my surprise. I didn’t like he smell at all, and yet, no complaints. Even got some serious compliments. Nice. Added to that, I made a rather nice apple tart, served with a rather splendid dollop of fresh cream on top. Darn that was good. Ate way too much, of course. Hah.

Did meet some of the locals this week, which was nice. Friendly folks. Good thing. Neighbors should always be friendly, otherwise you have a problem.

Am having three dogs in my room tonight, which helps a lot with the homesickness…but I’m worried still. Knighty boy has been having some trouble lately again. He got a fever several times, despite his feet not looking bad at all, and missed quite a few meals during the course of the last few days, poor baby.

Well, I’m starting to fall asleep again. Not good, so I’m going to leave it at this. I gotta be up at six thirty to say goodbye to big brother after all. Short night.
Gotta go.

Change

Song of the day…well, I don’t actually have one in my head right now. Could be because I’m sick as a dog, of course, and drank a bit too much of cheap wine last night, but what the hey, this is worth celebrating: No song of the day!

Right. Where to start? I know, I know, I’ve been writing way too little lately. Life is busy, I fear and at the end of the day I often can’t muster up the energy to be awake long enough to write this blasted blog.

First of, I’m writing this while I’m visiting in Spain. I arrived the evening before yesterday (sick as a dog, I’m sorry to say) meaning that I did get to spend time with my doggies, in bed, sleeping it off. And it was wonderful, piled under blankets and dogs…especially because coming home felt a little iffy at first, when Knight was all remote for all of five seconds, taking the time to sniff the tires rather than me, but once we were inside the car again, he plastered himself all over me, which was also wonderful. I couldn’t keep my eyes dry, of course, same as when I finally got to the house and Sitabah and Dax saw me coming into the courtyard from their window and were screeching and bouncing impatiently, slobbering all over me when I was forced to sit down due to a little dizzy spell…blasted flu.

Anyway, the trip to Spain went well enough, the flight wasn’t too long, and considering I had my new tablet with me, I spent the time well: reading!!! Jennifer Crusie. I just love her work. Time past wonderfully fast because of it.

Did have some busy days before we left. There was the mowing of the lawn, raking up the grass afterward. Spent time with the animals, of course, baked a blackberry tart for Emma, along with a nice veggie dish that only needed to be popped into the oven in the evening so she didn’t need to have to worry about dinner. Had it all ready on time, and were right on the dot when our ride arrived. Of course, once we were in it, and about ten minutes away from the house, some awful smell came up from underneath the car, indicating a problem with the brakes. Triple A had to be called, and a taxi for big brother and me because otherwise we would be late for our plane. I, of course, ended up falling asleep during the ride, very elegant, mouth open, head back, soft snorts right until big brother thankfully woke me up.

Which reminds me, I got news. Things are going to be changing in the near future. We’ve been offered an opportunity to move to the UK , big brother and me, along with the dogs, and grandpa, which is not an opportunity we feel we should say no to…I mean, besides it being incredibly scary, an enormous risk, and so many things that would stop me from making this decision, it is also exciting, in a way, and an adventure, sorta, and flattering , I think, to have been asked, and offered the opportunity…right?
I mean, really, this is going to be a nightmare to get done, the arranging of everything, paperwork, the dogs, vaccinations etc, the actual moving. Oh my gawd, I will get so little sleep, especially since we are going to need to do at least one trip driving over to the UK, if for no other reason than to get Knight there comfortably, and our things, including the car. I mean, can you imagine, 2000 miles to drive in a day or two, maybe three, with at least four, perhaps up seven dogs in the car? Yikes! Shouldn’t think of that. All that is a mountain to climb when it actually gets here.

What else…well, big brother and I had a rather wonderful afternoon chopping firewood. He broke in the new chainsaw (that would be in the UK by the way) while I broke in the new axe…which was awesome exercise. Got a full pallet of it going, which means about an eighth of that work was actually done. Yay!

Added to that, big brother and I took down the roof of a small roman structure. Darn thing was heavy as heck, and it took him several hours to hack his way through wood and glass fibre and then lifted it right off, with a much appreciative audience…of course he was so busy he didn’t realize that he’d left the new angle grinder on the ground where the roof landed, splitting it in two…and then clean up started, which lasted almost as long as the actual break down.
Was so nice to have big brother there, because it gave me time to actually catch breath at times. Before his arrival I was sorta running ragged, feeling homesick to boot, trying to get everything done when there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Running ragged just isn’t good.

I am a tad relieved that big brother was included in the offer for our future, because I was very much afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace, and therefore have to say no to the offer. Luckily big brother seemed keen enough on the idea.

As to my state of mind…I find it hard, being part of the reason for change, especially when not everyone is ecstatic about it. I mean it is a big change, and well, it is a tad scary…but scary should never stop you, should it…well, at least I think it shouldn’t…fear is never good to use as a lead, is it? Doesn’t help to realize that though. I’ve got the stomach aches, the lack of appetite, the panic attacks, buzzing in my head, the worries, the stress etc, bugging me, making life unpleasant. Doesn’t matter, though, this is an opportunity that we can’t let pass, so we are going to go for it.

I’ll keep you posted.

Plenty to do

Song of the day: “Love Runs Out” by One Republic. I’ve heard that they’re all it, but this is the first song of theirs that jumped out at me. Yeah, I know. New song, right? Well, I have been listening to radio a lot again, meaning that I actually hear some new stuff occasionally, rather than just my favorites on iTunes.

Well, it’s been understandably busy. But for the good news is that Big brother was here for the last couple of days, which thankfully took the pressure off me for a bit. Good thing is, he managed to figure out how to operate the mowing machines, so we both spent a solid afternoon on a couple of mowing machines, mowing the two acres of lawn that had grown out of control. Was fun, for about an hour. Then it just got tedious. Added to that, it isn’t looking all that grand because the grass was so long, and really needed some serious hacking. But no matter. Will do it again in a day or two, which should improve the looks considerably.

Big brother also spent some time chopping firewood, which is one of our favorite occupations, naturally. Hah. Seriously, it is a wonderful bit of exercise.
In the meanwhile, as he sorted out the machines, the wood and a dying conifer…am going to have to order some serious support poles for a hedge of conifers. I think they were placed fully grown, meaning that they can’t keep themselves up yet. Will have to place about eighty poles when the time comes.

Been training the dogs here for quite a bit. They’re a disaster going through gates, so I’m either letting them through one at a time, or making them sit before they are let through. The youngsters are just so boisterous. Have had an occasional one sharing the night with me, which is nice. Reminds me of my four-legged-ones, which is a mixed blessing, really. Still miss them badly…but on the other hand, I’m going back for a two day visit, nine days from now, I should be able to survive that. Added to that, grandpa assures me that they’re doing fine, and that Sitabah is even rather fond of him, which is a pleasant surprise. He told me that this morning, Sitabah and Knight were playing on their way up the mountain.

So, what have I been doing so far? I’ve trained dogs, fed them, cleaned up after them, mowed lawns, hosed terraces with a pressure washer, cooked many a meal (a perk, that one), picked blackberries, fixed fences, fixed gates, trimmed trees, trimmed bushes, worked the yard, built a shoe rack, filled holes in walls, repaired a gate handle, set up a workshop, scavenged wood, did shopping, for food, clothes, and tools. Hung curtains, went to a salvage yard, several construction companies, DIY stores, vacuumed floors plenty of times, arranged flowers, cleaned out cat litter, played with cats and dogs and many more things that just aren’t worth mentioning. Let’s just say I’m keeping busy doing the stuff I know how to do. Not a bad way to spend the day…and so far the weather has been benevolent toward me. Might be it is lulling me into a false sense of security. Hah

Was a good girl and did exercises several times. Not as much as I should have, but some at least. Hah. Added to that, I had some treatments from a genuine physical therapist, who gladly tortured me for an hour both times he visited. Aaargh. Gawd, my back hasn’t been this sore in years.

Even managed an edit or two, despite the fact that after 10 in the evening my eyes start to droop somewhat badly.

My foot was absolutely fine, and then, on a dewy evening I went out for a walk on my new Wellies, and since then the stupid thing has been causing me all sorts of trouble. Seriously, I’ve been wanting to chop it off again.

But anyway, to get back to the fun parts. I did some serious experimenting food wise. Most in this place is organic and high quality and so far I’ve got a 90 percent success rate, I think. The trick is to keep cooking for yourself. The moment you start trying to guess what others will like, you mess up.
I got a squash again, so I’m definitely going for soup again. Nothing is quite a nutritional as a squash soup.

As to anything else…well, emotionally things are still iffy. I have my good moments when I’m just working pleasantly, content with whatever activity I’m busy, while there are other moments when a panic attack will hit me in the face, or I’ll miss something from home somewhat fierce. The latter doesn’t change anything, really. It is just a waste of time. I agreed to this “adventure” and I will darn well see it through, even when there is a part of me that still acts like that scared little six year old going out for a sleep over with a friend, only to end up insisting (in tears) that “mommy” comes pick her up. Annoying kid. It should just grow up. I’m nearing forty, for crying out loud! I should be friggin able to handle six months on my own, for EFFING sake.

But anyway. Three weeks in, only…well, that is depressing to think of, so let’s skip finishing that sentence, shall we. Hah.

Be that as it may, in the mean time I get to play with power tools. Got a basic set of hand saws, circle saws, jigsaws and hacksaws now. (used most already) Screw drivers. Hammers. Drills. Sanding machines. Crowbars. Axe. Got a chainsaw under way. Along with a hedge cutter and a strimmer. Got a nice assortment of screws, nails and the likes going, but that is going to take more time. I mean, I fondly remember our own workshop from way back when, before the disaster: A supply like that takes years to gather…darn it.
As it is, I got some wood from my scavenge trips all over the property, and from my trip to the salvage yard…the latter is ridiculously expensive, though, meaning that we’ll be better off getting new wood that we’ll then have to treat and batter until it looks like old. Hah.

Things I’m planning on making: A couple of night stands.
A small shelving set to hang in the kitchen. And a coffee table, which is starting to get very necessary. When I’ll have the time, that is the question. LOL
Added to that, there is loads of painting to be done. Barns, sheds, not to mention the woodwork in the house.
Then there is the garden to think of. Small trees that need to be transplanted. Bushes and trees that need to be cut back. Electrical wiring that needs to be put in for lighting around the house, as well as the fountain for the pond that I need to find and have installed. So I’ll have plenty to do this winter…and that brings us to the end of today’s blog, because it is after eleven, and already my eyes are starting to go half-mast…bloody things.

I’ll be back…at some point.

Not all bad...

Song of the day: “International love” by Pitbull and Chris Brown, of course. Not the deepest song you can imagine, but what the heck.

Right. Lots of time past since my last post, hasn’t there? Well, I’ve been keeping busy, a necessary thing also because I get bugged a lot (in my head) if I don’t keep active. Rather annoying, but since I get paid to work anyway, I’ll consider it a good thing.

Sooooo, what’s been going on? There have been some trips into town. Basically getting the necessities that any workshop needs. Haven’t been able to find a proper work bench, either on-line, or at the local shops, so I decided to wait until I find something affordable, and good. Instead I’ve put together a couple of work benches from old pallets, and dove into the big pile of wood that was meant for burning in the near future to take out old wooden beams that have now been incorporated into perfectly fine work benches.

Did buy some wood. First to heighten gates that the dogs have been scaling. Managed one without needing to buy anything, but I simply didn’t have enough for two. Secondly, the main house needs proper shelving in one of the cupboards, so I need to get those cut…by hand, mind you, because I don’t have a circle, or a jigsaw yet. *sigh* Life is hard when you’re cooping. Hah.
Also been sorting through the meager supplies of tools, so far, digging through rubbish and finding old ones that are perfectly fine to use too. I’ll get this set up yet.

Also ordered three proper shelving units. Sure, I could have made them myself, but I’d have needed more tools too, along with wood, etc, meaning time. So I’ve got three proper units, nice and sturdy, that I’m putting together bit by bit.

Since the digs through the waste stack in the yard, I have managed to scrounge up some workable woods, which is reassuring. Not by far enough, but I can work with it at least.

Been trying to familiarize myself with the area. Went out a couple of times…first time I got lost on all the tiny little roads, found my way back, thankfully, and now there’s a TomTom in the car making that a lot easier…of course the second time I went out I’d tried so many roads the first time that I already knew where to go without it. Hah. Will be handy for new locations, though.

The supermarkets are very different here. The sequence of how the products are placed, the products themselves, the people, lots to learn…like the other day I had to gas up and couldn’t get the blasted thing to open. So I asked three guys that passed if they had a clue, and they either looked annoyed with the question (didn’t have a clue in other words) and one looked frightened as if he was expecting me to rob him, or something. Anyway, in the end I found this little lever under the front seat that opened it up. Phew. What a relief. Also had to “top up” my phone. Didn’t know it was called that, so the poor boy at the gas station was all confused when I asked if it was possible to charge my phone there. Had a good laugh about that later.

Had a visit at a builders supplier, which was fun. I’m going to need a friggin’ dictionary because they use completely different words for everything here. I asked him about certain sizes, materials, and the poor guy looked at me as if I was talking Chinese. We did figure it out in the end, though. And though they doubted that it would be possible before the weekend, the next day they came to deliver the lot for me. Yay. Then I didn’t have my work area yet, though, so all I could do with the stuff was put it away, but still. Yay. Nice fella. Will probably be seeing more of him in the near future.

What else. Well, I’ve been doing some tree pruning. I know, not the right time of year, but some of these babies are looking completely neglected, and I just can’t help myself. Spent about an hour doing that yesterday, and since the sun was shining that was rather nice. I mean, what more can you want, right? Sunshine, a bit of music, plants to talk with. I was very relaxed afterward.

Since no one is vying for the honor of cooking, I’ve been doing a lot of it, which is nice. Had a nice curry yesterday…I know, curry’s are not my favorite either, but it went down nicely enough.
Also, there was a rather impromptu dinner for a supposedly picky eater (nothing too spicy or too strong in taste), which came out rather successfully. There were jokes of stealing me away as a cook, so, I’m thinking it went well. Hah. The meal did work out nicely. I had a starter rainbow salad (all the colors I could get basically) with deviled eggs. They are very fond of their eggs here, apparently, so that whetted the appetite for the main course. A penne pasta with a white wine/cheese sauce, tastefully enhanced by fresh garden herbs. I was told that the guest didn’t like spices or herbs at all, but the way I figured it had more to do with the combinations and effects of said spices and herbs. I kept the tastes mild, soft, and creamy, and it was good.

Today I made a pumpkin soup for lunch, because I am trying to maintain my diet of proper feeding despite me keeping busy and sometimes forgetting to stop and eat. Luckily around six the work day comes to an end, and I can focus on cooking something that will keep my nutritional intake up-to-date, so to speak. Hah.

So far the weather has been relatively mild. There’s been rain, sunshine and lots and lots of clouds…which reminds me, there are lots of air balloons around these past, just yesterday one almost landed on top of us, which drove the dogs here a wee bit bonkers.

As for the proper attire over here…I’ve got myself some willies, aka rubber boots, (yay!) a good wax raincoat, and a matching Australian bush hat of real leather that is supposedly water proof. Let the rains begin…well, not right this instance, and not permanently, please, but I’ll take ‘m all for a “test drive” just as soon as the opportunity arises.

Hauled around some trees…nothing big, mind you. 5-6 foot long at most, ten, maybe fifteen inches thick. The gates here are not properly installed to keep lively dogs inside, so I needed to put in some emergency thresholds. They won’t be permanent, since it needs to look better than this, but for now it’ll do. I call it a workout. *wink*

Been working with the animals some as well, in particular obedience training. They are eager to learn but working with bigger groups than just one or two, is difficult. You’ll have the full attention of a dog, and are trying to make it sit, or lay down, only to have it be distracted by some other nimwit jumping at the treat you’re trying to use as a lure to make it obey. Hah. Still, all things considered; not bad.

I might have good news in the near future, but I don’t want to jinx it, so I won’t share just yet. Might be nothing too, so it has no use to get you all excited about it anyway. Hah. We’ll see.

Will be going home for a visit in September, by the way. First big brother will come to visit, help me out a little, and then I’ll fly back with him to be home with my lovelies for a day or two. Can wait to see my Knight and Sitabah and Daxie…even Tadaika, and Indigo, and Jelly, and all the others. Very difficult to be away from the lot like this.
Less than six month to go, I have to keep reminding myself of that.

But, it’s not all bad. I am adjusting, I think. There are moments I can just let go and enjoy the scenery, or the work. Right now I’m still running on a basis, “be busy or crash” thing, but even that should get less bad at some point…I hope.

The foot…well, on that part things are pretty good at the moment. I wonder if it has to do with the flat ground, or the softness of it, or something, because despite the heavy boots I’m wearing most of the day, I’m not suffering from extremely painful conditions. How’s that for strange, eh. A positive thing.

Well, that about sums up the past week. Sure there have been unpleasant moments, and frictions and human interactions that might have gone better, but I rather focus on the nicer stuff, ya know. Heck, I even got some edits done.

Saying that, I have some concerns about the home front. Apparently Knight II is having some trouble eating, which could have to do with the warm weather there, but still. And grandpa had himself a scare while he was out in the yard. He stubbed his foot somewhere and ended up bleeding all over the place. Makes me worried that his blood thinners might be doing their job a bit too well. Apparently he had to apply pressure a long time before it stopped bleeding.

As to anything else. I’m too tired now…sorry. I’ll be back.