On strike from being sick

I've been sitting and stitching away, filling in the sky and adding to the border down the right side. I've got far enough down the 'page' now that I have to turn my frame each time I swap from sky to something else, which is interesting. It's nice to work the right way up, at least.

I've decided that I will make my focusses the sky and the border, a length of thread on each to each length of thread on anything else. The sooner I get the sky done the better (I am so sick of it, though it looks good) and if I get the border done I can get down to the scene at the bottom, and start filling in the green when the sky is done. I think I'm going to be as sick of the grass by the end of this as I am of the sky now! It's coming along well though. If I finish the sky I'll take a photo, otherwise expect one on Monday.

I'm tired, but fed up with being sick so I pushed myself through tonight so I could get to Church. I'm glad I did, the minute the priest says "Blessed are you Lord..." (the opening words of most services) I am at home, I am at peace, and all seems right with the world. And most importantly, my focus is off myself, which is the important thing. We had a grand total of two in the congregation tonight, me and Jeremy, without even an altar server this time. Usually there's at least us two and his godfather who is often the altar server! But nope...and Jeremy was getting me to chant, which was interesting. He'd take a line, then make me take the next. Things like the litanies (responses are just "Lord have mercy", though we alternate the languages between english, greek and arabic) are easy, but psalms? Yiiikes. Reading them is fine. Chanting them is something else! We did a few bits line by line that I knew how to chant already, but Jeremy made me chant them in arabic - that was scary, but I did alright, I think. Anything I had no idea how to chant I just left to him :) Abouna (Father) seemed to think it was okay though, so that was nice. We were a bit less lost this time around - by the end of Lent we should be doing things pretty much right, but we won't do this service again for another year!

I have a bit of an interesting 'to do' list - an essay, an article to interview people for tomorrow night, fabric to buy for a dress for my godmother's great niece, that dress and a robe for the same girl to make, homework for all three subjects, and a dress to sew up, among other things. I'll be fine, it's just a bit daunting!

It's funny though, how it'll take me just getting fed up with my illness to get me out of the house and doing things. I just decide to refuse to be sick anymore - it doesn't change me being sick, but I get on with life. It's good.

Bindi's sick, so I asked her if I could light the candles in front of her icon. She laughed and said sure, and I passed her the icon, saying 'humour me?' She smiled, kissed it, and gave it back. I lit the candles, said a prayer, and left it be. It's nice doing the devotional things - we are not simply our minds, and to do things physically helps too, and I think I like the physical things best of all sometimes. Bows, prostrations, lighting candles, kissing the Cross, icons, the priests' hand... everything means so much. I love the Church.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I've started reading Les Miserables. My sister read it a few years ago, I love the story, she acted in the musical, and I've recently got back into reading classic literature. The most recent of those I've read being The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas) and The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky) both of which were fantastic, and recommendations from good friends - well, the Brothers K was recommended by Jeremy who is more than just a friend :) So far I am 35 pages of absolutely tiny text in, and have come across none of the major characters. I do, however, know an awful lot about the bishop...and a lot of random stories about what he did in the years leading up to meeting Valjean... hopefully I'll get to see Valjean soon :) It's good stuff though! But it's classic (heh) classic lit - looong backstories, and that particular style of writing. It's been easier for me to get into it this time than the other two books though, I think because I've had more practice reading this kind of thing recently. Very good stuff.

And it is the 27th. A month 'til Pascha...and a month less a day until something else. Lord have mercy, may I be ready...