Of Thinking Ahead, Reading, and Hyacinths

 

January has been very grey, not cold, but dull. On Sunday, I walked around the bog and took few photos because nothing caught my eye, until, almost at the end of my walk, I turned around for one last look and caught the sun peeking down, illuminating reeds and bullrushes and changing them to gold. I'm so glad I turned.

These solitary days at home are good for thinking and I've been doing a lot of that, examining my life, and pondering the year ahead. It's a year of great change as my husband will retire in a few months. In some ways, his retirement will have a greater effect on me than my own retirement a year or so ago. Our first plan is a major kitchen renovation.

For this year I want to take a lesson from Henry Miller's words,

"Develop interest in life as you see it;

in people, things, literature, music - 

the world is so rich,

simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls,

and interesting people."

I've met so many interesting people (you!) via blogging and hope to continue writing and posting here at least once each week. I am filled with immense gratitude for those who read my scribbles and comment or email me. Thank you. 

Here today, the single amaryllis I planted is blooming, pure white and very tall. I may have to tie the stalk to the staircase to keep it from falling over. It towers over me when I walk past it, and I admire it most while descending the stairs. 

Regarding reading: I finished Louise Penny's latest Gamache book A World of Curiosities. I found it not as pleasurable as some of her other books. There was intense darkness and unmistakable evil portrayed in this book, with disturbing scenes. Armand and Three Pines were lovely, as always, and I won't say more for fear of spoiling the book for anyone who wants to read it, but I'd be curious to know what you thought of it. 

A book I'm dipping in and out of is Little Stories of Your Life by Laura Pashby. I started the book early last year and have not made much progress with it. There is much to think about, and right now I'm thinking about why I am drawn to certain things and not to others. I've not arrived at any conclusions other than the old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

Back in November I had a cold and a cough that persisted for a couple of weeks. I tested negative for the C-virus, but since then my sense of smell is greatly diminished and I often smell odd scents, like exhaust. Negative tests are notoriously unreliable and my conclusion is that I did have a very mild case of the virus. 

Blue and white, light, and fresh green growing things have always attracted my eye. Hyacinths, with their glorious scent, are some of my favourite spring flowers, but with my sniffer being out of whack, I am sad that I cannot smell them at all unless I bury my nose in the blooms. Odd, no? I hope my sense of smell returns soon. One advantage is that I can chop onions without my eyes tearing up! 

This has been a rather scattered post, and I'll stop here to prevent further blathering.