Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Seven

The brain has shrivelled. I'm finding it difficult to string together a coherent sentence, never mind a post, so am resorting to the old standby, a list. The equivalent of a musical scale, an arpeggio. It may have limited interest but it is the doing of it rather than the end result that counts.

1. Less blogging, more reading. I am re- reading Molly Fox's Birthday. It was, yes, a birthday present and turned out to be such a page-turner that I galloped through and only realised at the end that I had skipped much that was good, that deserved time and care. You could be tricked into thinking of this book as superior Irish chick-lit. It isn't. A subtle, compassionate writer, Deirdre Madden. (The Indie liked it too.)

2. Prompted by the news headlines I took down Reading Lolita in Tehran from the bookshelf where it had been gathering dust since I brought it. You probably need to have read more Nabokov and Henry James than I have to appreciate it properly, but the book shines a chilling light on the realities of living in a theocracy. At around the same time I caught Iran and Britain on BBC 4. Very, very good. Unfortunately it is no longer on Iplayer on the Beeb's website, but if it ever comes your way, watch it.

3. I dreamed the other night that I was temping in a grey steel and concrete office that I shared with a man and woman that I didn't know. I had been careless and made a mistake. I knew it, tried my hardest to concentrate but to was unable to. Nightmare.

4. My boss has gone down with swine flu. Am checking whether or not I have a sore throat.

5. The cat's fur is a totally different colour in sunlight. Bright ginger. On grey days he is sandy, mottled. A lion's pelt.


6. An afternoon of summer sun, warm strong wind, pink rhodendendrons, the first fuschia. Ten bumble bees on the lavender bush at last count. The silver birch outside the window sways in the breeze, slender and loose-limbed branches in perpetual motion.

7. Feeling the way forward step by step after a trying time. Tentatively. The landscape has changed. Certainties are no longer as certain. (Astrological note: Saturn transiting 12th house. Still).

16 comments:

Zhoen said...

Re:not feeling like it, I'm there too.

Chameleon cat.

herhimnbryn said...

Lists are good. Yours is.
I shall look out for our book recs.

Celeste Maia said...

Interesting list. I particularly identify with "certainties are not longer certain". Cat' fur, ginger/silvery. Reading. What else is there during summer? I have been in a state of perpetual Mozartian joy.

Sky said...

we are washing our hands so often now after every encounter with the outside world (and using purell when we can't wash) that i am surprised we still have skin on them! hope you remain safe from the flu and no one else in the office comes down with it.

i have had my own experiences with #7. sending hugs.

Dick said...

Agreed: nothing wrong with the list approach. Many very readable blogs depend upon it.

I caught a bit of the Iran and Britain programme and then went off in search of something less bleak and relentless. No reflection on the programme - solely me and my profound distaste for all things theocratic.

May the clouds life, literally and figuratively, mm.

Avus said...

As Dick said - nothing wrong with a list. I thoroughly enjoyed your pot pourri.
Nice moggy - reminds me very much of my old boy - who died at 18 some years ago and used to jump up on my lap when I was on the PC - still missed.

Winterwood said...

I liked your list - easy reading but fun. I too have resorted to a list of kind... my brain isnt doing so well either, I think the cold may have shrunk mine! lol!

mm said...

Thanks everyone. Apologies for the delay in acknowledgment ... it doesn't mean your comments are any the less appreciated.

leslee said...

Wow - didn't realize your post has been up for almost a month. I've been busy! And not blogging or blog-reading as much either.

I'll have to look for that book - need new reading (just finished Olive Kitteridge, which was wonderful). I trust you have not contracted the flu. You kitty is gorgeous! Wish I weren't allergic or I'm no doubt have my own.

Good luck with Saturn in 12th! Saturn just left exact conjunction of my Sun and square my natal Saturn. Looking forward to loosening the ankle weights now...

20th Century Woman said...

A list can be a good thing. Thanks for yours and for your reading recommendations.

Minnie said...

If Saturn is transiting your 12th house, MM, then does that mean your ascendant is Libra? If so + in first decanate, then Pluto may well be adding some in-depth churning to the mix. In any event, Saturn's opposition Uranus at the moment - anybody connecting to either end of the spectrum automatically affected by both. The main thing will be a testing even destruction of old certainties in order to replace them with more suitable new attitudes. Good luck in weathering the passage.

Sky said...

stopping by to say hello. hope autumn has infused you with its energetic color and finds you and the kitty well. thinking of you this morning and wanting to make a quick visit to let you know.

herhimnbryn said...

Ok?

Anonymous said...

Hang on in there.

Jan x

sonia a. mascaro said...

I like your list too!
Your cat looks gorgeous!

Jenny Woolf said...

An interesting list. And a fascinating observation about the cat's fur.