Monday 5 July 2021

Busy

 Believe me, when you reach your eighties, life can get very tiring.   Today has been one of those days and yet, when I think of what I have done it is next to nothing.   However, it has been very enjoyable even though I feel 'on my last legs'.   I got up at the usual time, my carer came and we had our nice morning's chat and usual jobs done for Monday.   Then it was Book Group and at present we hold it here because otherwise I would be unable to attend as I no longer have transport.   There were only five of us (at present 6 is the maximum).   All I had to do was set the trolley for five, put on the crockery and the biscuits and set the coffee on.   All five arrived and we had a lovely quarter of an hour chat with our coffee and biscuits before getting down to the job in hand - that of discussing this month's book.   And here, for the first time, I fell down in that I had only read a third of the book.

Why?   The book had almost nine hundred pages.   The print was small so that I could only read it with a magnifying glass and it was so heavy that I had to lay it on the Dining Room table because when I held it any other way my hand shook so much that I could not read it.   I got to Page 354 before giving up on it but it was fascinating listening to the other four, who had read it and enjoyed it.   What was it?  It was 'The Count of Monte Cristo' - I think I have read it before but a long time ago.

After lunch I needed to tie up some plants in the garden as strong winds are forecast.   I can only manage the plants at ground level but that is better than nothing but it is a performance getting out Priscilla and getting her down into the back garden.  By the time I got back in it was almost time for our fortnightly Zoom with friends P and D and that has just finished and that too was very enjoyable.

We have not had rain today despite some being forecast but we did have a good rain yesterday and I am hoping my gardener soon arrives to mow the lawn and put in my new plants.   So you will see that although there has been little effort on my part I am ready for a sit down,  a cup of tea and a sandwich.   Tuna I think.

Unless anything exciting happens between now and bedtime see you tomorrow.

20 comments:

The Feminine Energy said...

It sounds like you did quite a bit... at least it would be for me. Sometimes things occupying our minds is just as tiring as things occupying our bodies. I hope you sleep well. ~Andrea xoxo

Rachel Phillips said...

You have sometimes asked me for recommendations for your bookclub and I have always made a point of recommending short, readable, interesting books. As for your Count of Monte Cristo I remember saying to you a few weeks ago that I would not read it and would do as one of your bookclub friends and watch the film, if anything. I have a recommendation for you if you need one and it is your turn - Tin Man by Sarah Winman - and is a quick read and a nice story and plenty to discuss.

CharlotteP said...

300 pages with a magnifying glass is really good going. With normal size print, that would probably equate to 500 pages - quite enough! If you look back to what your were able to do only 3 or 4 months ago, you ought to be be amazed at how much more you are able to do now. Entertaining visitors AND gardening in the same day.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I must admit that I seldom tackle any book with more than 400 pages so I think you did very well indeed!

Tasker Dunham said...

I always thought the Count of Monte Cristo was the number of glasses of sherry one can drink.

Heather said...

That sounds like quite a busy day. I find close and humid days extremely tiring and as I like to get my walk in early, by the time I have arrived back home I am shattered and ready for a sit down. I find myself nodding off over the crossword puzzle! Wonderful cloudscapes down here and plenty of showers.

Minigranny said...

Good to hear discussion about the Count of Mount of Monte Cristo even if you've not got through it this time - enjoying the input of other folk is the thing we all need and they probably see something we didn't when we read it. Really wet and stormy here -must admit I'm quite enjoying it as if we were in Crete as we should have been now it would have been 40 degrees. Sometimes English weather is more forgiving.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Tasker - very good joke - might have used it if I had known it prior to the meeting.

Thanks Rachel - will bear it in mind. I am now reading Ernest Hemingway and really enjoying them.

The Furry Gnome said...

Sounds like a busy day! No wonder you're tired.

Janie Junebug said...

Perhaps the group can choose books to read that are not so long and come in a large print version.

Love,
Janie

Cro Magnon said...

I can't cope with VERY long books any more. The book I'm reading at the moment is long-ish, but of the type that one can pick-up, read a few chapters, then leave for a couple of days. Perfect for my busy schedule.

Bonnie said...

You did very well with a book of that size that you had to read with it on the table and using a magnifying glass! You read more than enough to take part in the discussion and I'm sure you enjoyed what the others had to share about it.

I hope you will sleep well tonight after such a busy and enjoyable day. You often get far more accomplished in a day than I do!

Ankit Ron said...
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Librarian said...

The description of your day does not sound to me like you have done "nothing" or "not much" - it does indeed sound busy enough to tire out anyone!
Such a big book with small print was maybe not the best choice for the book club. I would not even have started - my eyesight does not (yet?) allow for something like that.
I was given Barack Obama's "Promised Land" for Christmas (it was on my wish list) and have been reading it ever since, usually not more than half an hour on three or four nights a week. Would never choose that for a book club :-)

Crafty Green Poet said...

My Dad's almost 86 and would probably identify with much you say there!

thelma said...

I listen now to my books, though I must admit it sometimes takes the Audible reader 20 hours to get through a book. But it is 'slow' reading and comforting and it makes me more choosy in what I want to listen to. Count of Monte Christo must be a bit dull?

Yellow Shoes said...

Audio books are a good idea and have you thought of reading them as an E book on a tablet?
You can make the font as large as you like and there is no effort in keeping the page open.
I read a 700 page book this way last year; there was no way I was going to try to keep a book that size open all the time!

Carruthers said...

I have not read The Count of Monte Cristo. I did read Middlemarch though. My copy is minute - not much bigger than the palm of my hand - so I know what you mean about the small print.

Although it's long, Middlemarch would be quite good for a book group. There's a lot to discuss in it.

You could always give them To the Lighthouse. I would, because I'm a Woolf nut, but it's not just that. If people HAVE to read it, on the whole they end end up being pleased they did. They realise how good it is. One of the great books, like Ulysses, that's more talked about than read.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have tried audio books but my hearing is very bad. I do tend to drop off with the sound of the human voice.

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