Sunday, July 28, 2019


Perhaps I am a bit better today (although still no knitting). We had more heavy rain this morning – but this time it may have “cleared the air” a bit. The sun came out for half an hour this afternoon, and it is always surprising how much that lifts the spirits. And Alexander and his family came to see me, on their way to Murrayfield and the Liverpool-Napoli match. That lifted the spirits too.

They brought me some indescribably beautiful yarn from Colonsay, which they have recently visited. Plant-dyed. Here’s the link. A hat?

Tamar, thank you again: this time for the further note on electrolytes. I’ve got my new smoothie-maker, and will add a banana tomorrow. Mary Lou: I don’t think sleep apnoea is the problem, although the Medicine for the Elderly doctor I saw recently was interested in the idea of disturbed sleep, when he wasn’t lecturing me about cider-drinking. I get up often in the night to pee – far more often than I pee during the day – but always go straight back to sleep.

And, Shandy! I’ve started Trollope’s autobiography, and am enormously grateful to you. The Kindle version is free on Amazon. What an inspiring model for any author who has had a bit of an initial success and doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere! He persevered for 10 years before getting anywhere at all.

I think I had vaguely thought that his mother’s success was built on the name he had established. Not a bit of it! I knew that she had started writing late-ish in life, but it turns out that, even so, she had made her name, and supported her family with her writing, well before he got started.

I think he would have been surprised to be told that, 150 years later, his name would be as well-known as those of Dickens and Thackery and Scott – and his books, perhaps, even more enjoyed.

5 comments:

  1. I just peeked at the yarn page, can’t see what the weight is, but one can never go wrong with a hat. One color? If Trollope could see the movies and miniseries versions of his work.

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  2. Hi Jean, Just a note re sleep apnea, with which I was diagnosed last year. I thought I was sleeping okay too--but waking up to pee a lot at night is a sign that one is not sleeping as deeply as one thinks, because in deep sleep your body's metabolism slows down and your kidneys don't produce as much urine. (This is something told me by an acupuncturist/Chinese medical doctor years ago, and confirmed by the sleep doctors last year.)
    The sleep test was one of the most uncomfortable medical tests I've ever experienced, and I am treating the apnea through orthodontics and surgery, but lots of people swear by their CPAPs. Later this month I'll find out how successful that has been and know whether I am still advised to get a CPAP. It might be worth checking out.

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  3. Also, having looked back through the comments, I am with Mary Lou on the benefits of acupuncture. I was fortunate in my 30s to have access to regular acupuncture treatments and it is not too much to say that it changed my life and my health for the better, with effects lasting many years. I would have regular acupuncture again in a heartbeat (from the right practitioner) if I could.

    And I think Tamar is right about looking into electrolytes too. That makes a big difference especially when it's hot and we're all sweating a lot and drinking a lot of water.

    Gosh, we all just want to help you feel better! Wish one of us had a magic wand, and wishing you all the very best in healing up.

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  4. Recently I spoke to a friend about my inability to get on with Trollope and he said not to give up. He knows someone who for years was like me and finally something clicked and voila! thousands of pages of pleasure were there. So perhaps I'll make an annual effort?

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  5. When I was a child I had a card game with pictures of authors. I suppose it was called Authors. Every time you mention a new 19th century name I can envision the picture on the card. A fun memory.

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