two weeks of leisure...

yay - i'm on leave! well, i went to say i was on holidays, but hey – something just niggled me that this was no doubt another word with its origins in christianity and lo and behold, on checking it appears it was ‘coined’ around the 1200s – “haliday (c.1200), from O.E. haligdæg "holy day; Sabbath," from halig "holy" (see holy) + dæg "day" (see day)”… it later took on dual meanings “in 14c. meaning both "religious festival" and "day of recreation," but pronunciation and sense diverged 16c". it had lost it’s christian meaning by the 19th century “as a verb meaning "to pass the holidays" by 1869.” ...  online etymology dictionary 

looks like 'ye olde english' could just as easily be called 'ye olde christian' - it pervaded the language and peoples lives totally...

i’m hoping it’s going to be a relaxing, reinvigorating next 2 weeks – i applied for these couple of weeks off a few months ago now – and i’ve been hanging out ever since… although i’ve been a tad depressed this weekend because my old girl was always there to spend my leave with, so this is actually my first real time off that she hasn't been around for in 15 years… i'm sooo missing canine companionship...



i occasionally check out the save-a-dog website but whenever i do me boy jumps on the keyboard and zaps me (as only cats can) to 'stop looking at dogs – stupid, stupid dogs’ (and i swear, i can actually 'hear' him saying that in my head! – and for some reason i hear it in antonio banderas’ voice – if you’ve missed shrek 2 and its layers of humour for young and old - it certainly wasn’t just a kiddies film - the ‘puss in boots’ voice won’t mean anything to you!)…


but there’s a pull, a tug – i think my old girl is telling me it’s time – or nearly time - to save another older homeless babe (or is the 'nearly time' just me procrastinating - due to a guilty disloyal feeling where shadow's concerned whenever i ponder the prospect perhaps - but then i feel bad for doing nothing because there are so many in need! - and then i wonder if i have enough space - me old girl was blind and deaf when we moved in here and didn't need a lot of space - is there enough 'territory' for a dog and a cat with just a small courtyard - but of course there are some wonderful, beautiful areas around here to go walking with a canine friend... oooh, why can't i just make a decision?!!!!!…

i saw me mother yesterday though and she’s not well – between copd (chronic pulmonary disease) and ckf (chronic kidney failure) she’s having a hard time at the moment…which could mean her condition (it's chronic remember, so no 'getting better' - and hey, she's 82!!) could be deteriorating - at the very least she may have to have another hospital 'visit' - guess i just see how the next few days pan out…

but i brought plenty of ‘provisions’ home with me - that’s books galore… if you’re interested, these are some of the books i’m hoping to get through…

the immortal life of henrietta lacks - rebecca skloot...

"Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance...."

 

me of the never never - fiona o'loughlin

"This book is for anyone who likes to laugh (and cry), who wants to read about a woman living her life on her terms."

the particular sadness of lemon cake - aimee bender

"On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the slice. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she’s  privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden: her father’s detachment, her mother’s transgression, her brother’s increasing retreat from the world..."

the book of rachael - leslie cannold

"Two thousand years ago, as a charismatic young preacher from Nazareth was gathering followers among the people of Galilee, his sister swept floors and dreamed of learning to read. In Leslie Cannold’s story, it is the women of Nazareth who take centre stage..."

now all i have to do is line up some smoke (i’m almost out – not what you want when on ‘holidays’)…

it's 3.45am now, i couldn't sleep so thought i might as well write a post, but i'm going back to bed now - maybe a couple of chapters will help me 'nod off'...