busy busy busy and i love being home
MAJOR achievement today.
Had a go at the Target puzzle in today's Herald (the one with three rows of three letters, in which you have to make as many 4+ letter words as you can, all using the centre letter). The target was: 18 words, good; 27 very good; 36 excellent, and I - that is, me, who is rubbish at puzzles where you have to recall things - got twenty one words! I got twenty one words in the Herald Target puzzle! Including the one nine letter word (mitigated)!
I've never gotten anywhere near the targets before! I am so proud of myself it's ridiculous. :D
Very busy around here lately.
Have decided to make my living washing cars, and have so far done four (not including my own, because I didn't pay myself, even though it was a bloody big job. There were spider webs in the door and old hornets nests under the bonnet. This is what happens when you go weeks at a time without driving your car), and hopefully will get a couple more during the week. I like the work - it's outdoors, and good and physical without being too strenuous, and you actually have a finished product by the end of it - and it's a nice set up, as I do it in Grandma's backyard in town, so we get to hang out at the same time. I like to be doing things with myself.
Did meals on wheels with Grandma the other day, and might be doing it again this week. Last time, we took Pop (who has Parkinson's, and lives in care at the hospital) for a drive while we were out, so I did all the delivering. I love the local old people, and a lot of them were regular customers when I worked at the paper shop, so it's nice to still see them, and because they know me and we have a bit of a chat. Plus I am astoundingly noisy curious about the world and love seeing other people's houses. Especially the ones that haven't been decorated since 1976.
We marked the lambs on Saturday. Instead of getting some of my teenage cousins out to help, Mum, Lucy, and I went down with Dad and did it, and were joined later by my uncle and two cousins, who are up visiting from around Newcastle (and had arrived at 4am the night before), and then after that by my brother (who was accompanied by his partner and sons, who, obviously, weren't there to do sheep work).
It was really fun. There were plenty of people to help, and it's really quite an easy job, so everyone was laughing and chatting and in good spirits. Most of us haven't marked lambs for years (what with working and living away, and Dad getting the boys out to do it lately), despite all of us growing up doing it. There were a lot of stories about, like, my uncle working for cheap old cockies when he was a kid and being made to dig holes when it was too wet to do sheep work, or Dad being paid bugger all when he was young and going out to sheds with Pop, and one of Ben's friends who used to pick up the smallest lambs he could find and leave the big ones for Dad. I still always feel a bit bad for the poor little lambies though. They go all dopey after, and just sort of flop about for a bit. Better than cutting their tales off though, and certainly better than being flyblown, I suppose. Still, poor little lamby lambs.
Me and Dad and the dogs went to move the second mob from behind the dam to the yards after we finished the first lot, and oh god how I love doing real work. Riding my motorbike and getting knackered and covered in dust, so that when you get home and blow your nose your snot's all brown. After we'd moved both mobs, we drafted the second one, and I love doing that too. Pushing the sheep through the race and darting off to catch the occasional lamb that gets in with the ewes.
I just feel so good when I'm doing physical stuff. It's satisfying. Normally, especially during semester, I put off going to bed for hours, until it's stupidly late, just because I don't really feel ready enough to quit the day yet. I was in bed by 11pm on Saturday night, and I really wanted to be there; I felt buggered enough to just drop and sleep, and god it was good. I need to work my body more, and to do more, I think, then I might start sleeping and eating better.
We went back to the house after marking the second lot, and I spent most of the time playing with the babies. They smile and laugh, and look at you, and are always spontaneously spewing up milk. Twin A is quiet and clam, and is always staring at whatever's around him, but I had him giggling madly when I bounced him up and down on my sister's exercise ball, and Twin B's a bit of a sook sometimes, but he laughs as easily as he cries, and is endlessly amused by raspberries and Pop Goes the Weasel.
That evening, Grandma came out (she'd been at golf championships all day) and we had a bonfire. I took over the cooking of fire toast after tea, because there is no point in having a fire if you don't take advantage of it's nature as creator of the best tasting toast in existence. We sat around the fire for a few hours, and then the visitors left, and the twins stayed over here for the first time ever.
It's was great to have them for hours at a time. I got up early on Sunday just so I wouldn't miss out on any time with them. By the time we were taking them home, Twin A was blowing raspberries back at me.
Today was Nan's birthday, so I went out to visit her. Took her some choccies and scratchies, and stayed out there until evening. Saw my cousin Tace for the first time in a while, as well as the three regulars. I must say I really don't approve of this "getting older" business these kids seem bent on. Nan and I nipped up to my Aunty Hel's to see something on the computer, and Hel had done a cobloaf, so that was bliss. Back at Nan's, I was there for the evening feeding animals and locking up ducks. Breakfast and Dinner had three ducklings (Smoko, Tea and Brunch, I think) a while ago, so getting them all in the hutch is a bit of a battle. It was so funny to watch. Nan stood by the hutch with a rake, and Tace got the shits and started swearing. "Get in there ya c--t of a ducks!" was my favourite. I was no help. Too busy laughing to be of any use. I love how ridiculous my family is.
The desktop computer has been struck by a virus, so will be having a go at removing that tomorrow. Am writing this from my laptop in the loungeroom, via Mum's wireless thingy, which is really only good for times when you want to stay on one page for extended periods of time without clicking anything.
My uncle Steven gave me a dozen eggs from up his mum and dad's place today while I was out there, so will have to do some cooking this week. Nan gave me a bag of lemons today too, and none of us eat lemons (I told Nan this, but there is no deterring my Nan in these matters), so will endeavor to cook something that involves both lemons and eggs. I have no idea what.
To anyone who I owe a reply to, I'll get back to you tomorrow. Was going to do so tonight (since I've been cut off the last few days, what with sudden virus attacks and going to bed early so as to not disturb babies, and being knackered, and wireless being slow and laptops being temperamental), but this post has took a lot more time than planned, and now I really need to go to the loo, and have thoroughly run out of steam and am going to bed.