There are times that I am lying in bed reading, and I stretch my legs or roll over and I feel exactly as I was, as if the world is full of possibility and I can leap up at any moment and plunge headlong into the glories of life. In those moments I feel I am still a young girl and the world awaits, full of promise. The promise is still there; I am improving, although slowly, but now there is also temperence.
That does not mean there are not moments of joy. I have rediscovered the joys to be found in simple pleasures. This was my breakfast on Sunday, a current favorite, although it this particular combination never crossed my mind before I was confined to bed. I have also rediscovered how contented I am with a supply of radishes, cucumbers, baby carrots, berries. I dream of the spring crop of baby turnips, and have developed a renewed appreciation for the simplicity and goodness of roast chicken. There is just something special about a lovely plate beautifully filled with a few tempting morsels...
I have settled into a state of fuzzy contentment. Well the fuzziness is due to medication, which comes with all kinds of warnings about not driving, or operating heavy machinery, etc etc. I see no warnings about riding unicycles. I wonder.....
No, I know better. It is actually fine that the drugs make me light-headed because I don't really move very fast anyway. They did fog up my thinking apparatus for a few days. I had to abandon Churchill and I haven't started my next knitting project due to a profound inability to count to 400. I am feeling a little sharper today, so I believe knitting will resume.
So I resorted to some light reading. A friend brought by a couple of the Mrs. Murphy mystery books by Rita Mae Brown. The first book I read, Sour Puss, was somewhat enjoyable but was mired in too much detail about viniculture and the diseases that affect grapes. It was also a little too preachy, especially in the conversations between the cats. But it wasn't so bad that I didn't want to read the other book, which was much better.
The second book, Catch as Cat Can, which is actually an earlier volume in the series, was much more enjoyable. The writing isn't particularly better, but at the same time it doesn't take itself too seriiously either. I enjoy the animals and their conversations and observations about their humans. I also enjoyed the story and its setting more than I had in the previous volume. It is definitely light fiction, but it is an entertaining, relaxing read and I will probably look into reading more of the books in this series.
Finally, as part of the Kindle First program, I downloaded I Am Livia which I finished early this morning, and which I absolutely love. This is not surprising. I remember watching I Claudius with my parents in the 1970s, and later, when I read the books by Robert Graves, I loved them even more than the mini-series. I also devoured Colleen McCoullough's series of novels about ancient Rome. Livia has been much maligned in history, but I am not sure how much truth there is in these stories and how much is reactionary vilification toward a woman who lived outside the normal expectations for a woman of her age. This novel paints attempts to pain a more flattering portrait of a strong-willed and impetuous girl, a girl who has a sharp intelligence, a girl thrown into difficult circumstances, a girl who demands to be accepted for who she is without apology. It is not a difficult novel and I highly recommend it to people who like historical fiction with strong female characters.
