Dear Wednesday Diary….

As you know from my last missive, pain is a huge factor in my daily life, although I am without doubt the most stubborn baggage, never giving into woe or malaise for than a minute, (roughly around the half an hour mark before the mischievous mind monkeys spur me into some kind of action, they lead me astray terribly,doesn’t take much😊… Last week it was up doing a rather large cumbersome neglected, chest of drawers, I had little clue what I was actually doing or trying to achieve even, but I bought them on a whim.. despite this lack of training in all things woodworking wizardry, the finished result pleased me greatly and well worth putting myself through things a more sensible person wouldn’t have done…but I have infact never once claimed to be sensible, (thank goodness😊. This week however as well as a pretty piece of now dark stained, wood varnished furniture, complete with sunflower knobs ohhhh errr mrs😁, Bedecked in butter yellow organza ribbon…. I ache everywhere and there’s a tiredness im struggling to compete with, I fight it in the mornings and complete what I can before the caffeine effect where’s off and it takes over, I give in slifhtly but never completely😊. That’s just not me🙄😊😊😊😊.

The book reader…

Last year I read over a hundred books, before closing the covers on that very last upon the 31st of January, it took me down some twisty turny pathways, Some of the books were without doubt the most captivating reading I have ever had the pleasure to come across, One of these being “The Book list by Nisha Adams”, which as the name suggests encourages you to read books from the author’s list, while doing so you become immersed into the characters lives and stories, it was an emotional read and I was left wanting more at the last page…, the first book on the list happened to be without doubt the most memorable for me .. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini, I was told by many this would prove a challenge, it dealt with many of humanities failings, but for the most although it covers some difficult things to come to terms with, its also a stunning read, so descriptive, colourful and vibrant… For a short while I lived in Afghanistan among her people, alongside Amir the main character inbetween those pages, felt the heat, the scent of baked earth while sat under the shade of the old pomegranate tree in the late afternoons, The author weaving magic with word, for me to form my own pictures, once again I was left hungry for more, so I followed on from this with A thousand splendid suns again by Khalid Hosseini, both books thoughtfully written and the rarest Gems ….

Since last year though I have struggled to find reading material, most books for woman, (thats written with us in mind), follow a similar if not the very much the same Genre…Girl meets boy, they loathe one another from the start, neither have any money until the girl gets left untold wealth by great aunt Delilah twice removed who she’s never met before, let alone heard of until this point…this means they can finally fall hopelessly madly in love,(oh please!!) buy that huge mansion house in the sunny climes of Outter Essex, before riding off into the sunset on his Camel Harold!!…in reality what’s the chances of this happening, I crave reality, strong remarkable characters…Again I’m sorry but after reading about Airy Fairy stories since childhood, I want something with more substance, something that feeds my over imagination😊, gives me that basic road map then allows my natural GPS to lose myself between the pages, I want surprising, alluring, seducing ever onward….And these Chic lit comics leave me cold and unsatisfied… It’s like eating a large take away full of MSGs, its maybe ok at the time but in half hour I’m back hungry, 😊, it bores me with its tedium, there’s nothing to set my pulse racing or my mind into full overdrive….

While still in recovery mode on Monday from the escapades of recycling, upcycling or whatever that is my drawers…(no euphemism intended) ok maybe a little😁, I chanced upon another good book quite by accident..I was actually looking for pumpkin spice coffee syrups believe it or not as you do!😁,…Once in a while though “the Zon”(Amazon) come along with a jewel of a reading suggestion.,some real rubbish too, but there was something about the title that drew me in from the beginning…”The book keepers daughter” by Kim Michele Richardson…a fabulous read from the first to last page, it takes you into the wilds of Eastern Kentucky, weaving historical fact amongst fiction…I loved her main character, Honey , despite life’s cruelty shes firey, brave showing extraordinary courage in one so young, especially in the face of adversity…she was just 15 when both her parents are cruelly ripped away and thrown into prison…even with this you can’t help but admire her as the story unfolds…

Honey is left in the loving charge of an elderly neighbour Retta, who at 92 is still spry and spicy…she’s known Honey since birth, often minding her while her parents worked…Honeys mother Cussy, at one point had the very respectable job of Book woman…(travelling librarian) across parts of Kentucky some being extremely remote and difficult to access via road, it became the local book woman’s job to transport books on horseback to outback farms and cabins, it was a reliable job bringing word and much needed literature to those cut off from others …Set in the early fifties most didn’t have a telephone let alone a Television…reading was their only form of entertainment.

A name is mentioned throughout the story “The Fugates”, ..a family of folk living with an extremely rare blood disorder called Methemoglobinemia, they thrive and are healthy in every respect, it’s just their blood colour, its not being the same as yours and mine …Theirs being more of a brown colour, this ironically give their pigment, skin tone a blue tint…On reading this I found myself with the urge to Google for more information about the name Fugate..and sure enough to my surprise there it was in black and white, alongside many facts about Methemoglobinemia, it existed, Coming over originally with the founder of the Fugate family, one fifteen year old orphan boy called Martin…this clever author weaves us a story about the life of the bookwoman and her family which although is fictitious, it’s filled also with historical facts, you learn about the remote Appalachian trails, it’s people…this book fills you full of frustration, wonder and colour…feeding the mind along the way ….

I read this captivating book in a record breaking day, yup that’s quick even for me, I confess I just could not move away from it, I needed to know how Honeys life would unveil, not only hers, but characters like moonshine distiller Devil John, who despite his law breaking was a lovable rogue., Fire watcher Pearl up in her lofty home tower above the tree canopy, this writer with her extraordinary blend of fact and fiction stole a complete day away with her talent and I didn’t begrudge one second….I followed this book by one of the books mentioned the Awakening by Kate Chopin which I enjoyed immensely, since these I have blitzed through uncle Tom’s cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and following this on with Anne of Green Gables just for some diversity….reading as a child bought me adventure, escapism, joy….I guess that part of me still exists…I need that escapism as much today as I did back then….what ever your doing folks make sure you take time out for you…slip off your shoes, make a cuppa, open a window and let the air play upon your skin, breathe and just be….your worth it!!!!!!, Take care of you ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🌺

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