Tuesday, May 04, 2021

 

All well, although I have been seized by a sudden gloom. My food package from Mindful Chef failed to turn up today =- most unusual – but that is not enough to account for sudden gloom. Nor is the weather – the sun has made a dim appearance, after a day of dampness and chill. I've known worse.

 

I’ve found a carer for the cats, when I go cruising -- the last big hurdle. I limped around the garden with Archie this morning but have registered only 2008 steps.

 

As for knitting, I went on working on brioche and have made, I think, some progress. Arne and Carlos’ simple lesson on the subject was some help – perhaps my difficulty with Marchant is that she explains so much, so carefully, with so many illustrations, that it is hard to get an overview. I think I’m just about ready to embark on a scarf for real.

 

Maureen, you’re absolutely right about socks. (And I like the concept of “bar knitting”.) I used to knit them all the time, when away from base. In the days when my husband and I went to London for the art and the family three or four times a year, I usually finished half a dozen pairs in a year. The difficulty now is a silly one, easily resolved – I have a pair ¾’s finished (see sidebar), in which state they have remained for many a long month, I don’t think what’s left to do would fill a ten-day cruise. So I could either finish them now, and start a new pair. Or I could just take them along as-is, and pack yarn for a new pair. Easy. I’ll sort that out tomorrow.

 

General

 

I’m sorry about the Gateses. There are few famous, rich people in whom I feel any interest at all, but they are an exception. Some of you may know the weekly “Lunch with the FT” feature in the Financial Times. The rules are that the FT pays, and the subject chooses the venue and of course the menu. Bill Gates chose a modest café across the street from the office, and the interview, in truth, wasn’t very interesting. At the end, the FT man stood up, and Gates said, “Are you sure you want to pay? I’ve got money.”

 

I’m missing “Small Pleasures”. I’ve covered about 40% of “I Vicere” and am sorely tempted to give up.

4 comments:

  1. Perhaps a new book would lift your spirits. Worth a try.

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  2. I have just finished The Windsor Knot which I enjoyed very much, a whodunnit set in Windsor Castle and solved by the Queen - I found the details about how the castle is run fascinating and the depiction of Her Majesty and The Office very believable.

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  3. Re beliefs around buying an infant from God. I have just finished reading "Unorthodox" by Deborah Feldman. In it she describes a ceremony conducted when a first-born son is a month old. The idea is that in biblical times the first-born was dedicated to the Temple as a future priest, and had to be redeemed from this service by offerings.

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  4. I enjoyed your Bill Gates story, me no fan of Microsoft!

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