Those of you who know me in person or who regularly read this blog will be aware that I am really struggling with my mental health. To be honest, I am in a deep and dark place. I am getting professional support and hope that this leads, eventually, to a healthier outcome. At the moment, I am clinging on with the help of my family and close friends.
At a time when I am finding it difficult to even read my books (always my first love since I was three years old), writing blog posts is beyond me. So I am going to take a break from the blog until I feel a lot better.
So, it looks as if Fridays are out at the moment in terms of blog posts! A few things seem to be happening on that day. Nothing amazing, just stuff like health appointments and the like. I have decided to write today and may eventually switch to Saturdays. Well, I haven’t fully decided yet!
Nothing much seems to be happening in the house selling saga. The prospective buyers are having a visit there today and their survey is due next week. These are nerve racking times for us, but there is nothing we can do but wait and trust the skills of our estate agent.
I am struggling terribly with my mental health and the extra stress of all of this is not helping. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist this week and he has ordered some extra blood tests to see if some of my long term physical health issues could be making my mental health worse. I must admit that I felt a little better after talking to him. I hope that the tests show that something can be done to help me.
Yesterday, Lovely Husband, Elder Son & I braved the torrents of rain to go to the health centre for our flu vaccinations. While we were there, I spoke to the receptionist about our difficulties in getting on to their online system. She gave me the required instructions and I am hoping that I can work it out from those. Mind you, LH refuses to use his mobile phone so I will probably have to use his to book his repeat prescriptions and other matters!
I had a real disappointment this week with two purchases. I won’t give the exact details, but just tell you that some Christmas decorations arrived smashed to bits and a velvet jacket came with dreadfully poor stitching. So, I now have to sort these two returns out.
On a more positive note, it was my birthday last Saturday and ES gave me a really pretty amethyst “tree” ornament for our purple bedroom. I am also expecting the delivery of the framed photo of purple heather on the Derbyshire moors that I showed you some weeks ago. I will take a photo of it when we have hung it on our bedroom wall.
Here is the amethyst “tree”…
Amethyst “tree”
I have also worn a few pretty scarves lately…
Can you spot the Hermès scarf? You can see that I am trying to cheer myself up by wearing some of my collection.
Anyway, I think that is all for now. I hope you are all having a great weekend.
Wednesday is Reading Roundup Day! Welcome to my blog, fellow readers. I am still struggling to find my reading mojo, due to illness and stress. So, I am sticking with the series that I wrote about last week: R K Lander’s The Silvan. I have finished the second book in time to write this post and am also half way through the next book.
Road of a Warrior by R K Lander
Here is the blurb…
“A light in the forest, a king returned, a past to claim.
Fel’annár is an immortal half-blood warrior from the Deep Forest, an orphan whose questions were never answered. With a dream of becoming a Silvan captain in an army ruled by the Alpine elves, he is sent to protect a prince of the realm on a journey to Tar’eastór, land of the mighty Alpine elves and of Fel’annár’s own father – whoever he was.
His nascent powers continue to evolve while his shrouded past finally surfaces. The truth he never thought to hear will thrust him onto a path strewn with political intrigue, discrimination, self-discovery – and danger.
Meanwhile, a failing king will rise from the depths and reclaim his place as leader of the Great Forest. Warriors will battle the enemy on the borders, while at court, councillors will clash over the racial divide that is tearing them apart.
They say that civil war is coming, but one elf can avoid it – if he can embrace his past, control his powers and accept the role he is destined to play. From warrior to master and beyond, Fel’annár is The Silvan who can restore peace in the Great Forest, or cast it into eternal chaos.”
Another enjoyable episode in this fantasy series. The characters continued to develop with new challenges awaiting them. The plot moved forward at a fast pace, keeping the reader’s interest. I just wish there were more female characters, although I can see that this might be improved in later books. I hope so. After all, can any society survive without its female members? Even fantastical elvish societies? I don’t think so!
I am not sure how long I will stay with this series. There appear to be six books in this one, plus more sets of spinoffs. I may decide to take a break, but this level of reading seems to be working for me at the moment: not too taxing or too dark. So I will probably keep going until I become bored or the writing goes adrift as happened with the Green Rider series!
Yet again my mental health issues mean that I cannot concentrate enough to write a proper post today. I am really struggling at the moment and my medication isn’t very effective. It’s my birthday tomorrow, so I hope that I can enjoy the day!
Welcome to this week’s post. Regular followers will be aware that I have been struggling to find a book, never mind a series, that really entertains me. Due to my mental health issues impacting on my concentration levels, I have been starting books then putting them aside after only a few chapters and I found this really upsetting.
Anyway, I found this series recommended in a Facebook group and gave the first book a try. Here it is…
Path of a Novice by R K Lander
Path of a Novice is #01 in R K Lander’s The Silvan series. This is the blurb…
“His face would kindle love, garner hatred, inspire loyalty – bring persecution.
An immortal half-blood becomes a novice warrior and joins the ranks of the Silvans as they battle Sand Lords and Deviants. He only ever had one dream; to become a Silvan captain in an army commanded by the dominant Alpine elves, colonizers of the Great Forest. There had once been another dream though – to know who his father was, but years of unanswered questions later, he told himself it didn’t matter anymore.
Meanwhile, the powerful Alpine lords weave a story of racial superiority, relegating the native Silvans to second-class subjects. Village leaders, Spirit Warriors and Foresters are starting to rebel.
Fel’annár learns the true meaning of warrior hood when he travels as the only novice warrior in a multi-racial patrol into the Deep Forest. As he battles the enemy for the first time, a power unfolds, one he cannot control – does not want. While friendships are forged, a destiny begins to unravel, one that is tied to a past he knows nothing about. For others though, it is only a matter of time before the truth is revealed and the danger becomes real.
Can Fel’annár overcome his fears, become the warrior he always wanted to be, or will his dreams be stunted by his own shrouded past? By one elf’s lust for absolute power?”
I really enjoyed this book, with only a couple of issues. The plot moves swiftly and engages the reader, the character development was also well done and the setting imaginative. My main niggle is with the lack of female characters. Would it be too much to ask that some of the warriors could be female elves? There are a couple of females mentioned but they are not really central to the story. I hope this is rectified in later books in the series.
The other issue is really an irritation. I think this has been mentioned by other readers: the gratuitous use of apostrophes in the eleven names! How on earth does the reader make sense of the names, or should I write n’ame’s???
Well, here we are on the first day of a new month and it’s Saturday! Yes, yet again I was too tired to post yesterday because I managed to leave the house to run some errands.
The first task was to go into town, with the help of Elder Son, to pick up my new glasses. Then we went to a café for a drink and some scrumptious chocolate cake (bribery usually works with ES). After that, we took an Uber over to our old house to do the weekly checks and also for me to attempt to put the central heating on. As we are now coming into the season of cold temperatures, we need to make sure that the pipes do not freeze and then burst. It is years since I last did this job (Lovely Husband usually dealt with things like the heating), so I was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it. Anyway, at least LH had found the boiler instructions and I hope that I switched on the correct times and temperatures.
Apart from that, there is very little news about the selling process. There is some to-ing and fro-ing from our buyers and the respective solicitors about building and repair work we had done over the years, but we just have to work through this. Also, we are waiting for the buyers to organise a survey of the house and are keeping our fingers crossed that they are happy with the results of that!
All in all, these are rather nerve wracking times for us and my mental health is suffering at the moment.
On a lighter note, a lovely silk scarf from Clarissa Hulse arrived recently and I wore it yesterday for the first time. The scarf has gorgeous shades of teal, turquoise, green and yellow and will work beautifully with my teal and turquoise clothing and jewellery. Here is the scarf…
Cloud Forest Silk Scarf by Clarissa HulseCloud Forest Silk Scarf by Clarissa Hulse
And this is how I wore it! With a cashmere jumper in turquoise and navy accessories. My enamel and gold bangle is by Halcyon Days and the blue topaz earrings by Blue Nile.
Outfit of the day 31/10/25 with Cloud Forest Silk Scarf by Clarissa HulseTurquoise enamel and gold bangle by Halcyon DaysEarrings by Blue Nile
Aren’t the colours lovely? She also has the same design in other colourways as well as many other beautiful scarves and products for the home. We have some of her bedlinen in our new bedroom and I would love some more if she decides to create some with a purple theme.
Well, I think that is all for now, so I will wish you all a very happy weekend!
Welcome to this week’s reading post. To be quite honest, it has been a very strange week in my reading journey. Yesterday I gave up on yet another book and looked through my “Currently Reading” list on Goodreads and marked even more as “Couldn’t Finish”. Yes, I am still struggling to find books that I enjoy!
Regular visitors to these weekly posts may remember that I was immersed in the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. The first four books were great and I was really looking forward to the fifth: Mirror Sight. However, the plot took a very unexpected turn which I didn’t like and so I decided to stop reading the series at that point. On investigating other readers’ reactions to the later books, I think that I made the right decision for me.
So, then I picked up a couple of other books. I managed to finish one because it was quite short but, to be honest, it was poorly written and doesn’t really merit the writing of a response. After that I tried another book and also became really bored with that one! This has never happened to me before!
This took me to some more books that I had started and logged on Goodreads. My current difficulties with severe depression meant that these books also went into the DNF pile!
So, what on earth should I try next? I am stumped, I must say. I really have no idea what to do. I could try the new book by my favourite author, Guy Gavriel Kay, but his work has a seam of melancholy running through it that I don’t think would be the best for me at the present time.
Reading has been such an important part of my life since childhood and I now feel quite upset that my mental issues are taking this source of solace away. If you have any suggestions as to what I should do I would be very grateful if you could share them with me.
Apologies. I can’t post today because I am struggling dreadfully with my mental health. I was supposed to go out today to get my new glasses and visit our old house, but I can’t get out of bed.
I hope that my normal pattern of posting can be resumed soon.
Every Wednesday I post about the book I am reading. Usually, I manage to finish a book in seven days, but this year I haven’t always achieved that goal. Due to severe health issues and house moving, I have been finding it very difficult to concentrate. Some weeks I have struggled to find a book that engages me.
In recent weeks I have found a book series that has really held my attention. Perhaps the writing isn’t the best in the world, but the plots are exciting and fast moving. At first, I had the thought that tackling a long series in one go would not work for the blog. Then I realised that this was quite silly! After all, who do I read for? Surely it’s for my own entertainment and to help my mental health!
So, I am offering a half-hearted apology for perhaps boring my visitors with the Green Rider series, but I am wholeheartedly admitting that reading these books is doing me a lot of good!
This week’s book is #04 in Kristen Britain’s Green Rider series: Blackveil…
Blackveil by Kristen Britain
Here is the blurb…
“Once a simple student, Karigan G’ladheon finds herself in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand when she becomes a legendary Green Rider-one of the magical messengers of the king.
Forced by magic to accept a dangerous fate she would never have chosen, headstrong Karigan has become completely devoted to the king and her fellow Riders.
But now, an insurrection led by dark magicians threatens to break the boundaries of ancient, evil Blackveil Forest-releasing powerful dark magics that have been shut away for a millennium.”
Another enjoyable episode in this engaging series. There are some faults: some overlong sections and a rather rushed and OTT ending, a definitely cringe-worthy scene and a character that seems rather divorced from the main plot. However, the author has created a really interesting world with realistic and well drawn main protagonists. I will definitely carry on with the series and have already started the next book.
Welcome to my blog. For most of this year I have been using Friday’s posts to log our house moving saga. Today I don’t have any news for you on that front, instead I am writing about my first trip out of the house for ages!
I have been really struggling with my physical and mental health, which have become much worse since we moved. There are errands that I need to run, so I have been trying to get those done for a while. On so many days I have got dressed and ready to leave the house, only to feel ill and frightened to leave the safety of our home. So, I am feeling very pleased that I was able to go into town, supported by my very lovely Elder Son.
First, we took the gorgeous picture that I showed you the other week to the framer. I spent quite a lot of time choosing the frame and the coloured backgrounds. I am sure that the final effect will be lovely.
The next task was to go to my appointment at the optician’s. I had my eyes tested and chose two pairs of glasses. I have had reading glasses for a while, but now also need distance glasses to watch TV! I paid for more extras for the reading glasses because I spend most of my time reading! Well, the logic of that made sense to me!
Finally, ES and I went to a café for drinks and treats, together with a chat. While we were there, we bumped into some old friends and caught up with all of the news. ES then sorted out the taxi home and I am now sitting in bed again writing this post.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I take any opportunity to wear a nice outfit, usually with a lovely scarf. Today’s scarf was Hermès’ Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage with clothing in navy blue. I also carried one of my favourite Massaccesi handbags in pale blue and wore a Liberty of London bangle.
Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage by Hermès (90cm)
Handbag by Massaccesi
Ianthe bangle by Liberty of London
Here’s a quick photo…
Outfit of the day 17/10/25 with Hermès’ Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage scarf
The lower part of the scarf looks like this when tied…
Outfit of the day 17/10/25 with Hermès’ Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage scarf
Right! I think that is enough for now. I shall spend the rest of the afternoon reading my book and drinking tea.
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
Dear Lauren, thank you so much for this kind and lovely comment! Love & best wishes, Anne XXX