We have this very elderly cat, that is too arthritic to climb on the bed any more, so we put a stool by the bed to help her. Last night I was getting ready for bed, when I tripped over the stool and broke my foot. Now I'm in plaster from toe to knee and unable to do anything much for the next four weeks.

This has no ex-pat relevance at all. I just want you all to feel sorry for me.

You have my sympathy for two reasons .

1 - We also have a stool for our cat to get on the bed.
2 - I broke my own ankle by tripping over my own flip flop.


I hope you have a large collection of books waiting to be read.

Thank you Bevs. There is always a large collection of books...

Oh you poor thing! Talk about no good dead goes unpunished! Hope your ankle mends quickly and is good as new.

p.s I love that you got the stool for your cat, people who love animals are the best

Sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you are out and about soon. Earlier this year, I had two accidents in one day. In the morning, whilst taking out the wheelie bin I twisted my ankle. Later I severely burned my leg whilst increasing the pressure on my boiler . When I was telling my other half about my injuries he was concerned that I wouldn't be able to drive. I pointed out that both injuries where on the same leg and I drive an automatic, so worries on that score. Every cloud has a silver lining.

In her senior years, my Westie had her own personal stool at that the side of the bed, so you made me smile when I read your story. Enjoy your books and if you get really bored you can always spend more time on here

Much sympathy from me too. I too have injured myself trying to accommodate pets .

Hope you have lots of good reads, & someone to wait on you hand & foot !

S

Much sympathy from me, Editha! A bit of a déjà vu for me, as someone in my family recently also broke a foot and is immobilized...as I said to her (having already had some info about how she was spending her time), I fear that when one has broken one's foot and is stuck at home, one probably doesn't actually feel like doing all those things one imagined one would do if ever one broke one's foot and were stuck at home!

In my case, I imagine sorting all my photos, or writing a Magnum Opus, or knitting some amazing sweater.....but in fact I would probably just do endless sudokus and hakuros and read comfort books (those one has read before and loved--Barbara Pym's novels, diaries of Adrian Mole, P G Wodehouse etc...not sure if any such gems reside in your enormous book collection?

I hope there is something to enjoy about it all.....at least the cat will be getting lots of lap time!

how is the cat

The cat is fine. She is around 20 years old; we aren't sure of her exact age because she came from the Leek Cats and Dogs Home. She went to Canada with us, came back with us, and is now enjoying life back in the English countryside again, but especially being able to spend evenings basking in front of a fire. When we got her, thirteen years ago, she was a very timid, frightened animal. But, today she sleeps on the bed with us all night and gets us up by patting our eyeballs (really).

I'm reading Proust. I'm envious of one of the friends I made in Canada who has read all of Proust and also Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, while I've only read bits of both, so I'm aiming to catch up with her.

And yes, I also intend to sort out my digital photos.

Or alternatively, I might play Spades or Hearts on my laptop and read a lot of historical detective novels:

Proust, eh?! Well, that is indeed one of those ambitions one can have for so long and never actually get round to. I am impressed. Chapeau. I have read bits--few and small bits-- in English. Then, at the end of my three-year sojourn in France, I decided I should treat myself to the literary souvenir par excellence--all of Proust in French. With the serious intention of reading it some day.

Hm.

Re historical detective novels, on the other hand, if you haven't read Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears, do. Time well spent. And you probably know the books of Lindsey Davis set in ancient Rome....

My French is not up to reading Proust in the original. I'm tackling the Scott-Moncrieff translation.

For historical detectives, I recommend CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels, about a Tudor lawyer, and Ruth Downie's Ruso novels about a Roman doctor in Britain. Unfortunately I'd just read the latest Shardlake before my accident, but there are a couple of the Ruso novels to catch up with.

Sympathy from me for the broken foot.

sympathy for you and your broken foot.. the good thing is you can't do much so you get to relax and read.. hope it heals well..

Thanks everyone.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I spent the small hours of this morning puking up. This came about because OH had decided that he'd take the opportunity of my disability to learn to cook. His first attempt was sausages and red cabbage and it seems he did not make sure the bangers were cooked through. BTW, red cabbage makes really spectacular puke, but that's probably TMI.

OH is doing pasta in tomato sauce tonight, which was the safest recipe I could think of, and tomorrow we take delivery of a really large order of pre-prepared meals from Waitrose.

Oh no!! Oh dear oh dear. Luckily I know that you are too good a writer for the humour one cannot help spotting in the way you tell this to have been unintentional, and so you will forgive the little smile that is creeping through, alongside my absolutely heartfelt sympathy...it must have ben horrid at the time.

Luckily pre-prepared meals can be OK....!!