Well, this really isn’t the post that I expected to write today. All week, I have been planning a lovely set of outfits based around a particular cashmere jumper and I had hoped to be strong enough to get out of bed and wear them. Unfortunately, although I am a lot better than last week, I am still not recovered to the extent that I can get dressed properly. Perhaps I will have recovered enough by next week.
Anyway, this is the jumper in question: a purple cashmere crew neck from Pure Collection:
Outfit of the day 18/03/22: with Hermès’ Le Premier Chant and Pure Collection’s purple jumper
The photo above is from a year ago, almost to the day! In fact I had planned to wear this same scarf, Le Premier Chant, with the lovely jumper this week. Well, it will work next week just fine. Here is an image of the scarf in full:
Le Premier Chant by Hermès
Regular readers may remember that purple is one of my favourite colours and that I have quite a few accessories in shades of the colour. I must try to wear some of them soon – here are a few:
Purple suede boots by Duo BootsPurple accessories
And my amazing and gorgeous Hermès cashmere and silk 140cm shawl, Plumes en Fête, also has plenty of purple elements, so will look great with this jumper:
Plumes en Fête shawl (H243433S 04)
OK, that is as much as I can manage today. I hope that you all have a great weekend!
This week I will write about two more books that I was able to complete whilst I was ill.
Terms of Restitution by Denzil Meyrick
The first book was a completely random choice from the County Library’s ebook service: Denzil Meyrick’s Terms of Restitution. For once, we have a detailed blurb. I wish all books could come with something lengthy like this!
“Gangland boss Zander Finn is so sickened by the brutal murder of his son in a Paisley pub, he decides to change his life. Following the advice of his priest and mentor, he moves clandestinely to London and becomes an ambulance driver. But when his old second-in-command Malky Maloney tracks him down on a London street, Finn knows he must return. Both his real family and his crime family face an existential threat from Albanian mobsters determined to take control of the Scottish underworld.
Under the watchful eye of his charismatic mother, he must try to look after his lovelorn younger daughter and her older sister who is pregnant to his old enemy Joe Mannion’s son. His estranged wife, who has more than just a business relationship with Mannion, and his remaining son, crippled while serving in Afghanistan also require his attention. But most of all, he must take back what is his.
Facing the forces of law and order under Detective Chief Superintendent Amelia Langley, a ruthless gang of Albanians and a beautiful but deadly Italian woman, Zander Finn struggles for survival in a rollercoaster ride of brutality, tenderness, misplaced loyalties and the utterly unexpected. The path to redemption is a perilous one, and it begins to look like Finn should have stayed in London.”
I awarded the book three stars and you will see the reason why in this response:
A real hit and miss of a book for me. An exciting plot, a well written setting and some memorable characters. Very violent but absorbing. But, a lot of the writing was very clunky, some characters were simple stereotypes and the editing was quite poor with homonyms and bad spelling. A gripping read but not an author I will return to in the future.
My second book of the week was another episode of a favourite series: Bad Apples by Will Dean, #04 Tuva Moodyson Thriller. I had already read the first two books and am waiting for the third book, but then this one popped up on my waiting list. Eventually, I will go back and read the third.
Anyway, this is the blurb:
“It only takes one…
A murder
A resident of small-town Visberg is found decapitated
A festival
A cultish hilltop community ‘celebrates’ Pan Night after the apple harvest
A race against time
As Visberg closes ranks to keep its deadly secrets, there could not be a worse time for Tuva Moodyson to arrive as deputy editor of the local newspaper. Powerful forces are at play and no one dares speak out. But Tuva senses the story of her career, unaware that perhaps she is the story…”
This was a really great read, worth five stars, and I wrote the following on Goodreads. Yes, yet again I should apologise for hardly writing anything! I was very poorly at the time…
This is the best in the series so far, in my opinion. Dark, grim, creepy, quirky, gripping and terrifying in parts. There is also more than a hint of surrealism. I am really enjoying this series and I will certainly continue to read more of the books.
I am still stuck in bed, recovering slowly. Most of the horrible pain and itching from the shingles has now faded, so I am nearly back to my “normal” state of illness. I have sorted out a lovely set of clothes and accessories that I want to wear when I can next go downstairs. Everything is arranged on a hanger which I can see from my bed as a kind of motivation! I just hope that I feel strong enough very soon.
My life seems to have shrunk down so much. Thank goodness that I have the means to reach out beyond my bedroom and keep in touch with what is happening in the world. It would be so limiting without my iPad and mobile phone! I can catch up with news, read and write emails, look at various websites and Twitter, write this blog, browse Facebook, whizz through Instagram, watch TV, download and read ebooks, keep up with my friends’ activities and phone Younger Son for a chat. I am entertained, amused and kept busy all day!
Apologies, but I don’t have much else to say today, so I will leave you with this…
Screenshot from @womensart1 on Twitter – accessed 01/03/23
Daffodils always make me smile – I think that they must be my favourite flower because they are just so cheerful after a bleak and cold winter season!
I will be back on Wednesday with the usual Reading Roundup post and on Friday I am planning to show you one or more outfits from this week. That’s my aim anyway.
Way back in September last year, I received an email from Marco Massaccesi (handbag designer and craftsman extraordinaire) with the following image:
Croco leather offer – Massaccesi
Those leathers! Those colours!
Here were more of the colours:
Croco leather colours – Massaccesi
Gorgeous! I fell for the Pavone colour as it looked like a perfect turquoise that would compliment so many of my outfits. As I already have a handbag in the Croco leather (not real crocodile but stamped calf leather), I knew that it would be lovely.
Anyway, I had to wait a very long time for my bespoke handbag, although this didn’t really bother me because I knew that the result would be stunning. It arrived a couple of weeks ago, right in the middle of the worst of this shingles attack!
Here it is: Selene midi zip in Pavone Croco, with silver hardware and a marine lining:
Selene zip midi in Pavone Croco by Massaccesi
Well, I suppose your first thought is “turquoise”??? That was mine! Yes, the bag is a pale blue with a hint of grey. Not turquoise at all!
However, as I continued to gaze at the bag, I fell in love with it. The colour compliments so much of my wardrobe and looks gorgeous with my two base colours of navy and grey. Then I also realised that this twilly – Hermès’ Dans un Jardin Anglais – matches it perfectly. They could have been made for each other!
Dans un Jardin Anglais twilly – Hermès
I have enjoyed gazing at this superbly made bag, as it hangs on my wardrobe door, throughout my enforced bed rest. Now I need to get better so that I can venture out of the house and actually carry it!
Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for March! It seems such a long time since I last wrote one of these. Unfortunately, I have been very ill, but I do have some books to tell you about. I will spread them out a bit over the next few weeks as I am unable to write very long posts as yet.
Here is the first book:
The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi
Our Library’s ebook service has loads of John Scalzi’s books at the moment and I was very pleased to find one that I hadn’t already read: The Android’s Dream. This is the blurb:
“When a human kills an alien during diplomatic negotiations, the fall-out is astronomical. To prevent interstellar war, humanity must deliver an extremely rare sheep for the aliens’ coronation ceremony – or face enslavement. So Earth’s government turns to Harry Creek: ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire.
It should be a straightforward mission, but there are others who covet the priceless animal. Ruthless mercenaries, a religious cult, and alien races eager to spark revolution. Harry’s mission will take him across the galaxy, as he tries to pull off the grand diplomatic coup of the century. There’ll only be one chance to save the life of the sheep – and ensure the future of humanity.”
Readers of Philip K Dick should get the joke! Anyway, this was my response on Goodreads:
An enjoyable, humorous read, but not quite as good as many of his other works. Amongst the clever and funny set pieces (the shopping centre section), there were long passages where I began to lose interest. Still, it was all wound up nicely with a very satisfying ending.
As always, I highly recommend Scalzi for his imagination and humour. Just start with Old Man’s War!
For my next book, I returned to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, volume 8 this time!
Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
I have really enjoyed this series so far and love Bujold’s clever writing and sense of humour. This is the blurb:
“After the audacious prison camp escapade described in Borders of Infinity, Miles is on the run from the Cetagandans, who aren’t about to take that kind of thing lying down. The worst of it is, Miles and his friends are starting to see double, and it takes a while to find out who is responsible.”
Oh dear, it is so short! Let’s see if I can find a better one…
“Miles is having enough trouble keeping his two identities separate — the charismatic Admiral Naismith of the Denarii Mercenary Fleet and a Vor lord of the Barrayan aristocracy — when assassination attempts begin. But are his enemies after Miles Naismith or Lord Miles Vorkosigan? The problem of split identities becomes even more confused when a clone of Miles is discovered, in this novel Booklist called “a first-rate sf tale that mixes court intrigue and galactic warfare.””
Not much better. Anyway, I wrote this on Goodreads and awarded the book four stars:
Yet another entertaining and enjoyable episode in this epic series. As usual, the author’s sense of humour was great and her story telling excellent. The character of Miles is well drawn and now there is an additional player on the scene! I will continue to read this series with the anticipation of having a great experience.
Sorry that this is such a short post today, but my concentration and energy are very limited at the moment. I should have a trilogy to write about next week, all being well, and I will try to expand a bit more on my Goodreads comments.
Hello and welcome to all of my friends and visitors! It is now four weeks since I was diagnosed with shingles and it has taken this long for me to even begin to feel better. There is still a long way to go, but I am going to try to resume my usual posting pattern.
I am stuck in bed, with both Lovely Husband and Elder Son waiting on me hand and foot as I am too weak to be able to go downstairs. Obviously, once the worst of the pain and itching have eased off a little further, I will need to make myself get up and do more, so that I can rebuild some of my strength. After all, I actually need to get dressed and wear some of my beautiful scarves!
Ebook reading has now resumed as I can concentrate much better, so I will restart the Reading Roundup posts on Wednesday with some of the books I have enjoyed. On Friday, I have a gorgeous purchase to show you, so I need to take some photos before then.
OK, that is all that I can manage to write for now, so I will leave you with this…
Screenshot from @met_greekroman – accessed 23/01/23
Hello friends and visitors! Unfortunately I am still too unwell to write a proper post. It is now three weeks since I first noticed the symptoms of Shingles. I am a little better than a week ago in that I can concentrate enough to read ebooks, but I am not yet able to write a post in my usual style.
So, I am extending this break by a further week and I hope that I improve enough to be able to compose a post about my latest arrival for next Monday. At the very least, I will try!
I leave you with this beautiful image from Twitter:
Screenshot from @ArysPan on Twitter – accessed 26/02/23
The sculpture must have been wonderful in its day! To have seen the full wings and the head would have been stunning, I am sure.
Today’s post is a quick update to keep my lovely visitors and friends informed.
I am unable to return to regular posting as I am still too ill to think clearly. Over two weeks ago, I noticed the symptoms of what has turned out to be a serious case of shingles on top of my usual long list of unpleasant medical conditions. This was confirmed by both a doctor and a paramedic who were called out on subsequent days as I became more ill.
Even now, I am in considerable pain and unable to concentrate. I really hope that all of the nasty stuff fades away as quickly as possible so that I can return to my normal pattern of posting. There is something lovely to show you!
You can tell how unwell I am because I cannot even read an ebook!
Anyway, that’s all I can manage to write for now. I hope that I am able to post properly very soon. Huge thanks are owed to Lovely Husband and Elder Son for looking after me.
Apologies, but I don’t have any idea when I will be able to post again. Unfortunately, I have yet another health issue that has hit me this week and I am very ill indeed.
The last few days have been fairly peaceful, which is just as well because I have been suffering from an extra helping of pain. Usually, my multiple conditions result in debilitating exhaustion and discomfort rather than outright pain, but, at the moment, I am really struggling with both excruciating acid reflux and awful back ache.
But, I shouldn’t moan and complain!
So, I will try not to.
Instead, I will post this which I found online and found really thought-provoking:
Facebook screenshot accessed 25/12/22
Now I am going to settle down with my book so that I have something to write about for Wednesday’s Reading Roundup!
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
That does seem to be the problem, there alway sis another one isn't there?! The correct decision will come to…