Lovely to be back

It was lovely being back, and this time round we negotiated a decent wage for me, with the result that I was now paid hourly, and as I had to work long hours, the pain in Joe's eyes when he had to pay out my wages was hillarious, but as I know how stingy he was with money, I kept a straight face! Rosanne at this stage couldn't care less, as she just wanted to get out.
Alex was his own self, and still threw humongous tantrums if I was too slow to his liking, but we had a good working relationship, and I never took his insults seriously, as I knew that it was not personal.
My priority at that stage was to get the Panda going, but I found that the big front window was broken, and when one of the villagers told me that it was Rosanne's kids, with some of their friends from the village who threw it out with a big piece of rock, I went to Ged, and asked him what they were going to do about it. He promised to replace it, but it took about two weeks to find another one, and only then could I take the little car, who by the way started immediately after I put the battery back, for it's MOT.
Stan, the garage owner fixed everything needed, also the oil and water leaks, and that gave me a some peace of mind, as I would be driving around a lot now that the car was mine alone, as I had paid Anna half of what we paid for it.
This time I had brought my small one man tent with, as I was looking forward to sleeping out a lot on my days off. I actually prefered to be on my own, as I loved to just sit quietly, waiting to see what animals would come into my view, and even once, up in an indigenous Scottish Pine forest near Kenmore, thought I saw a Caper Cailee, a fowl looking much like a turkey, but very shy, passed me by, as soft and silently as a shadow. But it was so sudden, and so dark in the forest, that I afterwards decided that I dreamed, as not many people had that privilege.
On my first trip with my newly fixed car, I drove to Aberfoil, a small town on the Trossachs trail, and after walking around and had a coffee, I drove further on a thin little road to Kinlochard, and at a beautiful clearing next to Loch Ard, I decided to put up my tent, and stay for the night. It was so peaceful, with a small stream joyfully cascading down to the loch, and the trees growing to each other in such a fashion so as to make a calm, green roof through which the sun played hide and seek! I t was quite eery, and again I had a feeling that umpteen small creatures were hiding amongst the exposed roots of the very old trees, watching my every move but that did not bother me too much.
I made myself a comfy nest, then lay reading before going for a long walk along the loch, after which I barbequed my meat, a tomato cut in half, warmed up some beans on my small gas cooker, and also made some toast on the barbeque pan.
It was a warm night, and I sat outside until the coals from the barbeque went out, and that was, I now think, the sign for the midgies that it was their time for feasting! ON ME!
I had to hastily escape this murderous and famished bunch by zipping myself into the safety of my tent, but some of the little man-eaters got through, so I had to run through the dark forest to the car, as I had forgotten my Tabbard, used in South Africa for our man-eating mosquitoes, in the cubby hole. The bally midges followed me like a thick cloud, and they were in my mouth, eyes, ears, and I sommer in the run smeared my face with the Tabbard, which made them sneeze, or so I hoped, and leave me alone! I put some of the stuff all around the opening of my tent, and could not believe that they actually left me alone after that.
It is wonderful to wake up in the morning, not so wonderful when trying to get up and your back capitulates, not able to straighten, but then, with a cup of lovely strong coffee in your hands, the feeling of being at one with the world is just the best feeling ever! That is, until a bally mother sheep suddenly let out a hair raising bleat right behind you, and you spill half of the coffee, then tell the sheep off in no nice way, but smiled again when a smallish lamb suddenly appears through the smaller bushes, and mother and child both are overwhelmed with the relieve of finding each other!