Calf's-foot jelly and beef tea

[ailbhe]

I'm a bloody invalid. I'm going to be like that girl who was bedbound and beautiful (unless she was plain but didn't mind because she wasn't vain? I forget) and terribly terribly brave and turned her sickroom into a haven of peace and conflict-resolution for the whole family. I forget who she was; it wasn't Pollyanna, but it was about as sickmaking as that. Her accident was something depressingly domestic, too.

However, I'm reading plenty of books; almost every post seems to bring a parcel now; I really will have to get someone to start returning them to people. I have, and many thanks for them, one pack of Chalet School books (my god, how incredibly jolly hockey sticks the first few are!), two packs of Marlow books (still no Cricket Term, but I've read all the others and Traitor is another one that makes me genuinely distressed for the characters while I'm reading it), and one of Gemma which is Teh Fab because I can't get them anywhere else *either*. I'm also reading a Bill Bryson, because his books are sort of episodic and one doesn't have to remember a whole plot, but it's tough going; my current reading age is a small number.

I'm going to try getting up for lunch again tomorrow; last time I got up for a meal I suffered for it, but that was a few days ago now so it's worth another try.

Emer's just past five months old, teething madly, and sitting up solidly. Linnea is glad I've started spending time in bed in the front room downstairs, rather than isolated in my bedroom. Last night I dreamt that my mother was the head of state and had sentenced me to death by poison in a fortnight.

Comments

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

Remember the tip about not frowning? Cousin Helen used to smooth her forehead with her hand and purposely try not to frown, so she didn't get lines. I used to love those books.

[ailbhe]

Because obviously when you're stuck in bed for life being ill, the *important* thing is to look happy and young. Yeah.

[supermouse.livejournal.com]

In a way, yes. It's a pollyanna book, but a lot of the tips in there are useful. Sad but true. You feel better in a pretty room with good light and brushed hair. You just have to cleave away the sugary fluff.

I am sad, I still enjoy a reread now and then.

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

Well, according to her (if I remember correctly) she tried more to stay serene and happy, so she didn't fall into depression and start wallowing in it. That said, it has been a LONG time since I read the books!