I am still sick! Migraines have never been such a problem for me, I am unsure why they are impacting in life so much at present, thankfully I have a screen reader which allows me to continue working on my computer to some extent.
Reading has halted until my eyes settle down. I am unsure whether or not the shimmering on the screens are the cause of my problem or my eyes are just being generally difficult. I want to finish Susan Joyce's book and start something completely different now I am finally on holiday for two and a half weeks. I have dozens of unread books in my kindle just waiting to be devoured.
I need to get on with my writing also and start something which can become a summer project, maybe a book I can write and finish or several articles and poems. Time will tell, holiday time is the time to dream. I am looking forward to some lazy days doing very little, other days filled with work and anticipation of completing a project, now just to do some relaxing reading!
I have been unwell all week, what a waste of a holiday! Treatment for the atrocious migraine left me feeling as though I had experienced a grand mal seizure. Funny eyes were deemed to be ok and not the precursor of another retinal detachment, the GP has referred me to a neurologist yet the cure seems to have been procured in a half hour of treatment with the osteopath. I never considered my neck could be the cause of the headache as the symptoms were so different. All is well that ends well but it has been a difficult and expensive week.
Due to the odd eye symptoms I have done little reading although I have made some headway with The Lullaby Illusion which is proving to be both interesting and easy to follow in small slices. I am finding Susan's adventure in Cyprus in the 1970's very interesting if a little dramatic for my taste. My benchmark for a good memoir is:
This is the story of an Australian journalist who does a complete about turn in her life and purchases a small farm in Tasmania from where she grows and distributes organic food. The book captured me when I read it a couple of years ago and remains my benchmark for a wonderful memoir.
I have not purchased any new books for my kindle lately but really do not need any at present. Despite all the people who say they still prefer a 'real book' the world of the e-book has opened up literature to me that I would otherwise be unable to read due to print size. I need to read something other than a memoir as my genres still need expanding and exploring.
I received the latest issue of 
this earlier in the week but have only been able to see well enough to look at it over a cup of coffee this afternoon. There are some beautiful homes in it, designed I imagine to tempt us into feeling summer is definitely on the way. Daylight saving starts this weekend which will help us to believe that long hazy days are really here.
Instructions I have received to relax, slow down, enjoy the moment may take root now the days are lengthening. I foresee long days lazing about, enjoying my garden and finding ways to ensure I remove my stress and tension and dream of Italy, France and other exotic locations.
I had to leave work early on Friday due to an ocular migraine, then pounding headache which resulted in a large jab of anti-inflammatory to try and reduce my headache. My eyes are still playing up so I have rung the eye clinic to see if they need to see me to find out if this could be the beginnings of another detachment.
I started reading this last night although I have the slight suspicion that I have read it as a talking book before. The theme of a book written in hiding during the Nazi occupation of France and the early death of the author sound familiar but I will read it again and see. I have always enjoyed stories of WW2 and anything to do with the Resistance, Nazi occupation and the tenacity of the general population under huge duress.
Today I have to write a series of questions for Kylie Bax so I can write an article about her for Dionamic. I enjoy doing these interviews but have to confess I would have preferred to interview her in person.
I have done little other reading other than of Annabel Langbein's new cookbook.
I am going to make a salad today from her new book which I purchased last week, a walnut salad which hopefully a gluten free friend of mine will enjoy. I think her books are a delight to the eye and the recipes are in the main easy to follow and obtain ingredients for. Still trying to find pomegranate molasses though.
Yesterday afternoon I went to see the replay of Andre Rieu's 2014 Maastricht concert. My friend and I were a bit surprised at how long the movie was but apart from a very bored guide dog we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was a real pleasure to find the concert had not gone quite as overboard as it sometimes does and the music was beautiful. I think Andre does need to realise that playing the same thing over and over again does get a bit boring, he needs to vary his repertoire more.
A big day and two late programmes on television, Call the Midwife and A Place to Call Home meant little reading was done yesterday. The previous night I finished Twenty Thousand Miles to See a Tree and was stunned by the thoughts of Cindie as she provided an epilogue to explore where this amazing journey had led her. Trawling down the many books I have on my kindle I decided to read The Lullaby Illusion by a member of my memoirs group, Susan Joyce.
As I only read a few pages I gather it is about Susan's life journey after marriage to a man she eventually divorces. As I write this I am also chatting with Susan in Ecuador as she prepares dinner, early morning here. I will provide updates as I read what appears to be a very interesting life journey filled with pain and disappointment.
I am hoping to purchase Annabel Langbein's new cookbook this week. Her TV programme based on the recipes began on Saturday night and the coq au vin and pineapple puddings looked divine. Just a pity the book is only available at Paper Plus until later this week.
I have arthritis which is very painful today. I tried sleeping with my electric blanket on but a short trip to the supermarket has left me in dreadful pain, to the point of giving in and taking painkillers which I know make me really sleepy. This happens every time I stop taking anti-imflammatories so wonder if I should continue.
I have started a new book on my kindle.
Cindie tried to send this to me as an email attachment but it did not work so I was alerted to the fact it was free last week on Amazon. The story of a couple who abandon their comfortable life in the US and cycle around the world, ending their trip in India where Cindie now lives, divorced from her husband and a convert to Buddhism. I have read as far as their arrival in Australia so will be fascinated to see how their cycling goes in New Zealand.
I began reading this last night on my VRS. Dervla makes a foray into Northern Ireland at a time when the troubles were at their height. She has begun the book with an outline of the recent uprisings and explores the differences between the two Ireland's. Certainly a story worth pursuing. Having visited Ireland in 2012 I was surprised at the surface decency yet the underlying tension was palpable. I met people in Dublin who had never been to Belfast, something people in this country find difficult to understand where one's religious beliefs are both respected and ignored. I loved Belfast but certainly found the writers mores of Dublin very moving.
After reading Grand Obsession I have become obsessed with having a look inside a grand piano so have arranged this for next Friday. Should be an interesting lesson in how a piano is constructed and the differences in sound.
Enough years have gone by that those of us not directly impacted by 9/11 have placed it in our sad memories yet I think we all know that those who live in the US and New York in particular still grieve deeply for what happened that day. We are thinking of you all.
As the election draws closer here, Saturday next week, the political nuances are making this the dirtiest election campaign ever held in New Zealand. In discussion I have wondered if we are just catching up with the rest of the world or somehow that dreadful Kim Dotcom is behind the destruction of a kind and decent political system. Time to deport him!
Unbelievably I am still reading Piano Obsession which is quite a long book, about 370 pages I think, plus I have worked extra days this week which has reduced my ability to read at length. I am learning more about the piano and its music than I ever learnt while I was learning music, a wonderful memoir. Just checking my kindle I realise the book is called Grand Obsession!
I bought this yesterday for my kindle, am curious to see how another blind woman travels, although unlike me she is not alone.
