A lovely quiet restful day.
I did some stitching and a lot of reading in the morning.
My current Book is 'Wifedom' by Anna Funder, a portrait of Eileen Shaunessy who was George Orwell's wife. She is apparently largely ignored by Orwell's biographers, and Anna Funder sets out to right this wrong.
I hadn't realised quite how controversial Anna Funder's book is; if I had read the reviews first I might not have chosen it. I'm still at the beginning so I'll carry on for a bit longer. I think her view of 'The invisible Mrs Orwell' is highly influenced by her own feelings of being trapped in the role of mother and housewife while trying to retrieve enough time to do justice to her own career as a writer.
....
In the afternoon a friend came round for 'tea-in-the-garden'. BB did the 'butlering', making the tea, assembling the tea-tray and bringing it out, and we all sat and chatted, while friend and I companionably deadheaded a pot of pansies together. I can't resist fiddling with plants when I'm in the garden. That needs deadheading, or there's a weed, or something always needs something doing to it!
She's visiting a rather deaf elderly friend who is in hospital. We commented on how difficult conversations are in these circumstances - one certainly can't be private!
I noticed that when I talked to my parents who were both hard of hearing and could never get on with their hearing aids, that I always came away feeling cross and irritated, even though I wasn't really annoyed. I think it's something to do with the effect of raising one's voice, and using a slightly sharper tone in order to enunciate clearly. It's the way one speaks when one is cross, so I suppose it's not surprising that one starts to feel cross after twenty minutes of it!
Music
A lovely, delicate little piano piece by Robert Schumann. It sounds so simple, but is fiendishly complicated to make it sound like this. I've tried to learn it a number of times...
Fantasiestucke op12 no 1, 'des Abends'. Abend is German for evening.
The early piano music was written for Clara, his great love, and eventually his wife.
Sunny here too. I finished my stitching, and enjoyed being quiet
ReplyDeleteI've a bit more to do, will probably post on Wednesday all being well...
DeleteI've just read some of the reviews of 'Wifedom' and think I'll give it a miss.
ReplyDeleteSitting deadheading is most satisfying. I need to do quite a lot of 'tidying' of conservatory plants.
Knowing about Anna Funder's axe to grind about how women were/still can be submerged by their husband's career (and no doubt vice versa) means I can read it as not being 'exactly ' truthful.
DeleteI'm the same way when I'm out amid my flowers. Always some wilted bloom to pinch or weed to pull. When we built the porch we purposely didn't put steps down to the garden otherwise I would no doubt be forever running down and fiddling with some plant. Now we have to go through the sunroom to access the stairs down. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was thinking ahead... or are you forever running out through the sun room because you've seen something from the porch!
DeleteStitching and reading sounds like a lovely way to spend the morning.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely day altogether
ReplyDelete