Reading in bed

It was the end of a busy day; usually the time when I make notes about the day, then write a quick list of key things I need to do, follow up or remember tomorrow, but I knew I would fall asleep writing and wake to spidery wiggles across my page. Instead, needing to settle before sleeping, I read a chapter of my current book. It's calm and absorbing and I'm enjoying it: it's the story of a single woman in the 1930s, one of the generation of "surplus women" whose fiancés, husbands or potential future partners died in the first world war, of her attempt to make an independent life for herself away from a difficult mother also scarred by the wartime loss of her son, and the impact of a chance encounter with the Winchester cathedral broderers' service of dedication for their newly embroidered kneelers. I've enjoyed several of Tracey Chevalier's novels, set in a variety of historical periods, including Girl with a Pear Earring, based on the well-known Vermeer portrait and later made into a successful and visually beautiful film, and The Lady and the Unicorn, which builds up a meticulous picture of the life and work of a Flemish tapestry weaver and his family. My mother was a member of our parish church embroidery group, helping to create canvas work kneelers and a set of embroidered vestments for all the seasons of the church year, so the context is familiar and interesting to me, and I'm increasingly engaged in Violet's quiet story.

The morning was filled with hasty vacuuming before the arrival of rare visitors to the house, a dishwasher engineer investigating and pronouncing the dishwasher impossible to repair because the required part is no longer available, and finally the arrival of staff from both the company supplying J's very long-awaited shower chair and the company who have made the custom moulded seat (based on the mould they made last year for her new wheelchair). The verdict on the dishwasher is obviously disappointing, our attempt to repair rather than replace having proved expensive and fruitless; the shower chair is an excellent fit and will be a huge improvement on the outgrown and corroded one which was condemned by a safety inspection well over a year ago (though our quest for its replacement started in 2021). The rest of the day was for catching up with things that weren't done in the morning, or earlier in the week. J took a long time to settle; so climbing into bed and claiming twenty minutes with a book was a delightful relief.