Flying solo

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Freezing this morning; coat-muffled, blanket-wrapped.. Was too tired to light the stove last night after building m' new raised bed, so the chill crept indoors.

Got a wonderful surprise yesterday though - after posting here, had just manoeuvred wheelbarrow into place ready for moving blocks, when a car pulled up. The grinning occupants were the lads who rebuilt the second wall, plus Baby (great to see Spanish men volunteering for child-care - still quite rare in the campo :T).
Bemused when congratulated on their telepathic ability, Lads made short work of unloading the blocks while Baby learned how to stroke a dog nicely. Dad said she was a terror with pets, but she couldn't have been more polite to CD - an absolutely gorgeous little girl, and classically beautiful too!

Unfortunately the garage was running late; couldn't check van last night which means it'll have to wait until next week because of heavy overnight rain.
Plumber is the only person who has attempted the track this morning - called in to see if we need anything from town, because he knows I won't venture out when the non-concreted section of hill is mush. He is such a kind man, it's a shame his on/off GF doesn't like him having female friends under pension age - somehow don't think she'll last very long.
Bit of a pain for yours truly, because there's a list of paying-jobs for Plumber which just aren't getting done.

The Lads are coming back though. They're going to spend a day on heavy garden tasks; rotovating, moving soil, walling and terracing. Also perhaps make a start on preparation for the next 'proper' building project - a water tank* / exercise pool (the reason behind m' current enthusiasm for buying more blocks than strictly necessary in order to keep CD safe ).
*Note to self: Go and tell the Mayor - he'll want paperwork and a contribution in exchange for permission. Am entitled to build an irrigation reservoir, which the Nest does need.

Have realised an alternative form of exercise will be essential, from the sad moment when it is no longer necessary to walk daily with CD.
Being realistic, it's on the horizon.
Plumber is on call in case a vet visit is needed before Van has been fixed, although for now 'phone consultations are working (until CD provides the requisite sample, anyway lol - didn't bother trying this morning, she's too wary atm apart from the dodgy-track problem ).

But now, the Sun has emerged and birds are singing - time to enjoy splashing through muddy puddles with Clever Dog.

maddiemay

Miss Border Collie sends :j:j:j to CD and you for having muddy puddles to jump in, but really, really hopes that CD does no also have to submit to the indignity of a wash:eek::(, like wot she did this morning, why do humans always have to spoil things, don't they know that a muddy coat and paws were just designed to be cleaned on the carpets/rugs:D

Great news about the boys turning up to move blocks, but we hope that you have a rest day or three before you do any more. Take care.

MM & MBC

Brightspark87

Robin welcome home - I noticed this before I read my diary and SO happy you are back.

Old CD really is a clever dog, so accurately named!

Sorry about all the internet troubles, is it worth complaining?? Just to ensure that you feel better about it all... even if they are 'right' sometimes you can get some form of refund?

Good luck anyhow xx

satchmo1

Scudded back over (cloud reference) to this diary, as I didn't want to fall off this cloud.


Hurray for help with the blocks, for CD cleverly learning to get into the van, for the neighbourly Plumber, for sun breaking through. Boo to unlit log-burners, necessary vet visits, uncollected CD-wee, van troubles etc


At first I thought that the boo list is longer than the hurray list, but it isn't, is it? Unless I've painted a too-bright picture?


Satchmo xx

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Dear MSE Friends, :hello:

Thanks for popping in Maddiemay, Sparky and Satchmo. :T

Maddie - muddy paws not a problem here; CD learned many years ago that when she gets wet or mucky, she must stay on the doormat and wash herself before venturing further indoors. She usually spends a couple of hours grooming herself every day - whether or not she is dirty.
Like most snow-dogs CD has an instinctive dislike of large amounts of water (dogs who fall into a river in Alaska but succeed in clambering out again will freeze to death before their fur dries!). Can only remember having to bathe CD once for being filthy, long ago when she was a gangly pup (rolled in carelessly abandoned intestines after someone prepared chicken for a birthday BBQ ).
Yes, of course CD has had baths since then; before hospital visiting, fun dog shows, weddings and funerals, but luckily for yours truly the breed does not have that typical 'doggy' smell - bury one's nose in her soft fur, and there is just a hint of new-mown hay..

This past week our weather has been very similar to that in the UK. Heavy rain fell as snow at higher altitudes - all the mountains have a glorious mantle - glittering today because the sun has returned.
It now seems normal to wear a coat indoors even when the stove is blasting out heat; had to abandon m' bedroom in favour of sleeping next to it on the sofa, and central-heating-envy has been rather a problem mentally (:rotfl:).

CD has a habit of asking to go outside in the middle of the night. Muggins tends to dive back underneath her duvet as soon as front door is unlocked. Three days ago Morpheus overtook before CD returned; woke up in the morning unable to feel m' nose - temperature inside the living room was minus two degrees! :eek:
Poor CD was subjected to hours of moaning while I tried to warm up. Terribly aware that we only had one bucket of logs left and no chance of fetching more for at least another couple of days, decided to be very unMSE and resorted to DS4's fan-heater.
Eventually thawed out enough to operate 'phone, so summoned a delivery from our local wood-man. He's more expensive than the DIY yard, and tends to bring logs too big for the stove (got a sizeable pile of those :mad:).
But he's a nice man, a neighbour at DH's cottages - recently he stopped DS4 and self on the road, offering to bring a load to the Nest - guess business must be slow because he turned up straight away!
We had our usual conversation about how next time he will bring his chainsaw to tackle the oversized logs from previous deliveries, but I was happy to congratulate him as this time, he only brought three lumps which must join that unusable pile.
He was also very generous as to quantity - giving a better deal than ever before - and threw in a gift; a boxful of organic oranges and lemons.

Anyway, back to Clever Dog. Although I'd made no attempt to teach her anything during m' extended whinge, that night her behaviour changed. When she returned to the Nest after her trip outside, CD woke me up again; waited until after I'd shut the door before curling up on her favourite chair. Following night - the same (last night either she didn't go out, or I don't remember..? Door was locked this morning).
Sparky - see why her nickname has long been Clever Dog (in RL too)? :T :rotfl:

Yesterday the track looked dry enough so we finally made it to the garage. Boss spent a good half hour walloping a rear brake drum before managing to get it apart, when it became clear that one of the shoes had slipped off it's mechanism, jamming. There was a little extra wear but much less than Boss expected. He said it will be safe for at least another six months [the way I drive] and reassembled it. The charge? Nothing!
..Despite m' protestations Boss wouldn't accept any money at all! :A

Satchmo - more on the boo list; washing machine has given up the ghost. Appears to be an electrical fault, so not sure it's worth trying to fix? Must make a decision before running out of clean laundry! :cool:
However, hooray list definitely upped by Wood-Man and Garage-Boss, and the sun is shining which always helps.
..Ooh, just thought of an extra hooray; another kilo has slipped away somehow, making ten altogether.

Spends:
Firewood - £50
Groceries - £40

Sun_Addict

Hello Robin Boo to the washer but hooray to the weight loss, wood man and garage man. CD getting you up in the night I can sympathise with - my little dog always wants to go out in the night usually around 2.30am. Bless her

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Gentle Readers, :hello:

Sun.A - thanks for posting.. Was suddenly struck by an image; thousands of devoted owners stumbling out of bed for the sake of their pet's comfort, in a kind of synchronised Mexican Wave sweeping around the dark side of our planet, lol.
..The things we do for our darlings, eh?

CD performed her new trick again last night, so the Nest is significantly warmer inside than outside today; hooray - because the wind is blowing a real tangled hooley!
Awoke to a crash - m' Bay Tree overturning! It's in a 150 litre pot which was in a sheltered corner on the south-side terrace.. Managed to rescue the thing before it blew off the cliff (CD's block defences worked - a couple toppled, but bought me enough time to get outside ).
Nearly crippled m'self wrangling the pot upright and close enough to one of the patio roof pillars so that I could chain 'em together..
All very exciting while half asleep, and rather less than half dressed brrrr.

Divo Four sent some amazing 'photos of his US campus - snow is about a metre deep everywhere (except neatly cleared pathways).
Like Lucky, we had our own little coatgate at the Nest before DS4 left.. While he was packing, he found a designer unisex winter coat which SIL gave me five years ago. It's fantastically warm, but rather posher than Muggins' usual image so had only been worn once.
SIL was a personal friend of the designer; attending her show at London Fashion Week was one of SIL's favourite treats, and at what turned out to be the last year she could attend, during the after-party D asked SIL which was her favourite piece? This coat, SIL said, then was overwhelmed when kind and generous D presented her with a huge bag containing not one, but two - one in each of the colour-ways. SIL preferred moss-green, and gifted the dark blue one to yours truly.
Wearing it, Divo Four looked fantastic (once we'd worked out how to change over the buttons to 'male' lol) Fits him much better than it does me - and he really appreciates the warmth now!
MSE solution too - saved DS rather more than £75 on having to buy a decent coat when he arrived. :T

Divo Four is working hard, not just on his main subject [Eng Lit] but he's also required to study something completely new to him; he chose to start learning to play the violin. Wow - why not? What a great complimentary activity (especially as I don't have to listen to early practise sessions, lol).
Overall, sounds like Divo Four is having an amazing time, making the most of this opportunity. His one disappointment is the food; not sure how long he'll last in halls where he is apparently expected to eat red meat several times every day ('burger of the week' advertised widely). The odds on there being GM crops on the menu in the campus [STRIKE]restaurants[/STRIKE] diners is also terribly high - for the sake of my unborn grandchildren we're both very concerned about this, so wouldn't be surprised if DS4 doesn't find himself a flat-share - ha, they'll call it a room mate - within easy reach of an organic grocery [STRIKE]shop[/STRIKE] store, at the earliest opportunity.

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Darling Divo One brought me the current school bug, exchanging it for his Xmas pressie which finally got through the seasonal postal backlog.
..He got the better deal.

So here I sit, surrounded by the tools of recovery; echinacea - half a mil every four hours, Olbas oil - jammed up m' left nostril. Posh soft kitchen roll to hand in case am tempted to swallow any phlegm. Ginger, honey and lemon drink instead of tea (must avoid milk)..

To add insult to injury, it looks like Muggins has developed an intolerance to chocolate.. Just had one square to cheer me up last night, and this morning a three-pill headache (have tried this experiment four times now - with the same result).

All in all, Robin is a bedraggled bird today. Does not bode well for m' current somewhat urgent task; get TR figures to Accountant.. Should have been done weeks ago.

On the bright side, the almond trees are coming into blossom - covering the garden in pink - and Blackbird is back on his favourite perch outside the living room window, singing his heart out (must be nesting - mental note - remember to brush CD outside so that all the baby birds can have soft warm nests lined with her fluff ).

Divo Three has suggested we should meet up for a few days exploring Istanbul - sounds great except what about CD? :think:

DS1 is also heading off on an adventure which he's been saving up for, over several years. It's a good time to do it; DGS is old enough to enjoy and remember a special holiday, and Headmaster has given permission - DGS is still a long way in front of his peers so missing three months in the classroom won't impact his education at this stage (the others are still copying out letters whereas DGS is reading in both English and Spanish).
Am rather jealous; they're going to climb mountains in South America! ..Did query whether DGS' five year old legs would be up to such exertions in the thin air at high altitude, but Divo One said that's another reason to go now - while he can still carry DGS if necessary! Fair point. Also true that DGS has had a fair bit of practise climbing the local mountains [mostly] under his own steam - although they're mere hillocks compared to the Andes!
The family are going as soon as DS has signed off his current project - so hope the weather co-operates as he hasn't allowed much time for snagging..

Was very sad to read that our dear MSE friend Kissjenn has left this realm; we will all miss her wonderful attitude, great sense of humour, and wise words.
RIP Kissjenn. :A

lindens

Sorry to hear you are bedraggled today Robin. take care

please-let-me-be-lucky

Sorry to read you are poorly Robin, hope it passes soon.

All good stuff with the Divos though :T.

R.I.P KJ, a true star Xx