Posted by Tania Kindersley.
Four days till deadline.
You know how sometimes in American films one character will ask another: ‘What you got?’
And the other will say: ‘I got nuthin’.’
I’m afraid, today, I got nuthin’ for you.
Editing should not really be that much like hard work. I am sitting at a comfortable desk in a lovely country regarding words on a screen, not working down a mine in a banana republic. But for some reason I find it requires a level of concentration that leaves me quite drained, by the end of the day.
Also, today was supposed to be the happy hat edit. I have a tendency to grow too grave, to indulge in seriousness, which is not the British way. One must be ironical and comical, even when making a serious point. It’s the Mary Poppins theory: it takes a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.
I was supposed to be putting in a few jokes. Only I could not think of any. I am a bit shredded and sad today; last night, I suddenly violently and bitterly missed my other dog, which sounds a bit stupid, but there we are. Sometimes I stumble on a picture of her, and look at her amber eyes, and cannot quite believe she has gone. I’m tired, and I did not feel cheerful and antic and ready to set the table on a roar.
So not much blog for you today, I am afraid.
There are only four days to go. It’s only a silly old book. Suddenly, I sharpen up, call in the perspective police and snap back to normality.
In the meantime: I’m running on empty.
Sorry about that.
I know every day can't be a clappy, happy day, but I always do feel that it's a frightful bore when I give in to moroseness, so here, in compensation is SMILING PIGEON:
Nemesia:
And hill:
A smiling Pigeon is all we need, so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove from sunny Devon.
Days are sometimes like this one has been. I have felt ill and crushingly tired all day. Minor bad things have happened, probably because I didn't have the energy to prevent them. But your photos and your honesty have lifted me. Today is nearing an end (I certainly don't have the energy to stay up much later to finish the things I should do, and I'd only do them badly if I did.) Tomorrow is, thankfully, always another day. I'm sure it will be better for us both!
ReplyDeleteA smile from the beautiful Pigeon - a perfect start to the day :)
ReplyDeleteYou're almost there x
Anon - how lovely it is to think of kind thoughts coming from Devon.
ReplyDeleteHelen - your comment really touched me. Hurrah for another day.
Em - you are such a wonderful cheerleader; thank you.
Strenuous mental work is far more taxing than a lot of rather mindless physical work, apparently (not of course the really ghastly stuff - 12 hours a day in a mine etc). But mental work is supposed to use up a LOT of calories...
ReplyDeleteKeep going!
Vivien - lovely. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhen I feel especially taxed, I close my eyes and imagine myself on my own private section of beach at an exclusive tropical resort, sitting in a low chair with wet sand seeping up between my toes, just listening to the water as it swirls over my feet, left to right...right to left...and then I reach out to find the flag pole planted next to me and jiggle it, to signal that I would like a glass of cool, fresh-squeezed juice brought out to me—guava, or mango, or litchi—and maybe a bit of sandwich, too. And I sit there as long as I need to, or as long as I can spare, before I open my eyes again.
ReplyDeleteUnder the circumstances, it really would be okay if in the next few days all you do is say hello and repost some photos, if that's what you need to do. We'll keep. Lots of cheering going on here. The end is in sight.
Today's photo of the Pigeon was especially fine.
Razinah - brilliant comment; thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is no wonder that you are so tired; you have been working so hard. As Razinah so wisely says, we'll keep. All the best.
ReplyDeleteDon't why but that lyric popped into my head: "I got plenty of nuthin' and nuthin's plenty for me..."
ReplyDeleteIt's a happy-go-lucky song as I remember.
Keep on keeping on. You're almost T H E R E.
(Waiting to pop the champagne cork.)
XX
(And the wv is "singraw" -- which is pretty much how I do it. Used to make my dog howl in accompaniment.)
Jennifer J - you are so kind; thank you.
ReplyDeletePat - love that song. Am going to buy actual champagne tomorrow so cork may be popped on Sunday night. Brilliant idea.