I mentioned yesterday about listening to Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. Audio books have kept me going for years. Sometimes they are live, sitting on my sofa- my Dad used to read to me every lunchtime. We would watch Working Lunch together- oh yes I had sorted my self out with a pension from the age of 25 thanks to the gurus on there- while eating our lunch and then he would sit and read to me. We went through Treasure Island, 39 Steps, Robinson Crusoe, lots of classics. Also the Harry Potter books when they first appeared (my husband continued with that tradition when the final few were published).
The difficulties, of reading to myself, were varied over the years. Focusing on the page was sometimes difficult. Dizziness would result in me trying to read with one eye open and one eye closed. Nausea would also set in quite quickly after 15-20 minutes. The biggest problems, which are also occurrent now are the lack of short and long term memory, and poor concentration. I can read 3 pages and realise that I have taken in only one paragraph, constantly turning back pages and getting nowhere fast isn't particularly helpful. The tiredness can cause such bad concentration that I might need to give up for a couple of weeks- by which time I have forgotten what I have read so far! My cognitive ability is improving but I still have to see what happens, some days are better than others and non-fiction is easier to read as are books of letters or short chapters and children's books
My husband reads to me now most nights before we turn out the light. It is a great way for me to keep in touch with literature and remember some of my favourites. With such a poor memory I can enjoy the same book a couple of years apart and it will seem completely new to me. We switch between drama and comedy, sci-fi and classic, also reading a lot of children's books for a gentle interlude occasionally, we have gone through the whole Narnia series and also Anne of Green Gables. Every Christmas we come back to a seasonal tale- last year it was 101 Dalmatians, the year before The Box of Delights and before that Harry Potter, preceded by Narnia. (I can remember that but very little of the contents of the books!)
Listening to reading also came in CD and cassette form. Mum would look out for free ones on the newspaper and I bought a few magazines when a series came out of Classic stories. My favourites became Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Rebecca and Jane Eyre. The incidental music and the tone of the voices became a familiar comfort after a while and if I heard nothing else the background sound of it would lull me to sleep on difficult nights.
I'm listening to Radio 4 Extra a lot, which has book readings and dramatisations- usefully in 15 minute chunks and also available for 7 days on the internet radio via iPlayer. I have also found a couple of websites which have unabridged downloadable readings of books which are in the public domain. Most recently I have found The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A childhood favourite, I was over the moon to have a new voice read it to me like Jackanory all over again! These times are more for comfort and familiarity than study or great significance. Books just give me something to look forward to, to see the time pass, another daily foothold which has nothing absolutely to do with me being ill.
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Friday, 15 June 2012
Thursday, 14 June 2012
My Day Continued
5pm woke five minutes ago from a dozy, sleepy afternoon, drifting in and out of unconsciousness with The Chamber Of Secrets continuing beside me, keeping me sane.
8.30pm woke at 8pm after more drifting in and out of The Chamber Of Secrets. At 5.30pm I began feeling very strange, mixture of dizziness-without the vertigo, nausea and foggy head syndrome(yes, I just made that one up!) still not feeling great, so sitting in bed, continuing to listen to Stephen Fry and obviously typing! I try not to sleep after 6pm unless something is desperately wrong as I will usually wake by 10pm and then loose my sleep routine for the night. So bed it was and shall be for this evening. Unlike usual I am not watching TV while sitting/lying here or trying to do any reading or knitting.
Next Day
So had a good night's sleep, only punctuated by one of my hot water bottles bursting at about 9.30pm. I was saturated, as was the main sheet and mattress cover. Action stations worked quite well and the bed was half-changed, as was I, within about 10 minutes. I then quickly went online and ordered three new ones from Amazon. They are particularly budget friendly! at this time of year and we always need a stash of spare ones for incidents such as these. (failed last night!)
It is interesting to document a day such as this. In the week of an ME patient, even one who is recovering, there are days of calmness and days of confusion. Yesterday was unusual in that I slept in the evening, but not unheard of. I usually have an afternoon sleep 4-5 days a week, of an hour or up to three hours. Otherwise have an inactive resting morning or afternoon; I'm lucky in that sometimes I can choose if a friend or appointment requires the day to be flipped.
Asking why days like yesterday happen is usually not a good idea. Analysing and questioning such things can be overly exhausting. Maybe I ate something that didn't agree, maybe I slept in an odd position in the afternoon, maybe a yoga pose was too much, maybe I lifted something at the weekend that is just starting to show itself as an unwise move. It could even be something completely beyond my control- likely candidate hay fever, as my eyes are sensitive and my sinuses have been aching too- washing my hair might help and changing the bed clothes again. I am unlikely to know. If I keep listening to my body and follow my best options as well as learning a little bit every week if it feels right, then I will be doing my best. "do your best, leave the rest!"
8.30pm woke at 8pm after more drifting in and out of The Chamber Of Secrets. At 5.30pm I began feeling very strange, mixture of dizziness-without the vertigo, nausea and foggy head syndrome(yes, I just made that one up!) still not feeling great, so sitting in bed, continuing to listen to Stephen Fry and obviously typing! I try not to sleep after 6pm unless something is desperately wrong as I will usually wake by 10pm and then loose my sleep routine for the night. So bed it was and shall be for this evening. Unlike usual I am not watching TV while sitting/lying here or trying to do any reading or knitting.
Next Day
So had a good night's sleep, only punctuated by one of my hot water bottles bursting at about 9.30pm. I was saturated, as was the main sheet and mattress cover. Action stations worked quite well and the bed was half-changed, as was I, within about 10 minutes. I then quickly went online and ordered three new ones from Amazon. They are particularly budget friendly! at this time of year and we always need a stash of spare ones for incidents such as these. (failed last night!)
It is interesting to document a day such as this. In the week of an ME patient, even one who is recovering, there are days of calmness and days of confusion. Yesterday was unusual in that I slept in the evening, but not unheard of. I usually have an afternoon sleep 4-5 days a week, of an hour or up to three hours. Otherwise have an inactive resting morning or afternoon; I'm lucky in that sometimes I can choose if a friend or appointment requires the day to be flipped.
Asking why days like yesterday happen is usually not a good idea. Analysing and questioning such things can be overly exhausting. Maybe I ate something that didn't agree, maybe I slept in an odd position in the afternoon, maybe a yoga pose was too much, maybe I lifted something at the weekend that is just starting to show itself as an unwise move. It could even be something completely beyond my control- likely candidate hay fever, as my eyes are sensitive and my sinuses have been aching too- washing my hair might help and changing the bed clothes again. I am unlikely to know. If I keep listening to my body and follow my best options as well as learning a little bit every week if it feels right, then I will be doing my best. "do your best, leave the rest!"
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
What Do I Do With My Day?
8am Woke up
9am On living room floor practising yoga
9.30am Meditation followed by Breakfast. Blueberry/yoghurt/milk smoothie- thank you Kenwood blender. This concept of eating protein to stave off the blood sugar lows is great, such a simple thing for breakfast will keep me going for hours.
10am Checking emails and typing at Kitchen table, whilst listening to Simon Mayo's Confessions podcast.
11am Just finished talking to a friend, who popped in at 10.40 for a quick chat and "how are you". Also managed 5 minutes lying on the floor after a parcel came in the post- a new yoga bolster pillow. Ideal for putting under the knees to ease the back when lying on the floor. Wonderfully relaxing. Going to do that again now, with a Yoga Nidra meditation, am feeling sleepy...
12pm That was quick! 45minutes of meditation and a ten minute yoga stretch for my tight neck and shoulders. I should probably say that yes I rolled my shoulders and bent my spine over and back, but the fact that I was concentrating on my breath and coinciding the movement with the inhaling and exhaling makes it a yoga 'union' practise. Will check email-expecting something from a friend-, read a bit of pdf leaflet I downloaded about ME.
12.30pm Lunch! I deserve an omelette with bread or toast. My omelettes are very unsophisticated, like a lazy scrambled egg. Break the eggs into the pan after frying up whatever I might choose to add as an extra, then swish them around a bit and leave to cook for a couple of minutes! (Eyes starting to droop!)
1pm finished lunch, yum; put half a tin of wild salmon in the pan before the egg, also swirled a bit of spinach round the pan once the omelette was on the plate. Brilliant menu, most of it completed by sitting at the kitchen table waiting for everything to cook! As it is so cold today- 12th June, WHY!!!- I also had toast instead of bread. (eyes definitely drooping, will wait for OH to ring for our daily lunchtime chat at 1.25 then have a rest) going to find my pyjamas and fill hot water bottles.
2pm managed the chat, change into pyjamas and a bit of a rest, then an unexpected visitor-my brother showed up on my doorstep. It is very difficult to say "no" when you see someone so rarely, so we sat at the kitchen table and my eyes drooped more and more. I was able to hold the conversation together though and was pleased to see him.
2.30pm I have fiddled a little with the Hampshire County Library website and downloaded the second Harry Potter book. Stephen Fry's dulcet tones will keep me company for a while now... To be continued...
9am On living room floor practising yoga
9.30am Meditation followed by Breakfast. Blueberry/yoghurt/milk smoothie- thank you Kenwood blender. This concept of eating protein to stave off the blood sugar lows is great, such a simple thing for breakfast will keep me going for hours.
10am Checking emails and typing at Kitchen table, whilst listening to Simon Mayo's Confessions podcast.
11am Just finished talking to a friend, who popped in at 10.40 for a quick chat and "how are you". Also managed 5 minutes lying on the floor after a parcel came in the post- a new yoga bolster pillow. Ideal for putting under the knees to ease the back when lying on the floor. Wonderfully relaxing. Going to do that again now, with a Yoga Nidra meditation, am feeling sleepy...
12pm That was quick! 45minutes of meditation and a ten minute yoga stretch for my tight neck and shoulders. I should probably say that yes I rolled my shoulders and bent my spine over and back, but the fact that I was concentrating on my breath and coinciding the movement with the inhaling and exhaling makes it a yoga 'union' practise. Will check email-expecting something from a friend-, read a bit of pdf leaflet I downloaded about ME.
12.30pm Lunch! I deserve an omelette with bread or toast. My omelettes are very unsophisticated, like a lazy scrambled egg. Break the eggs into the pan after frying up whatever I might choose to add as an extra, then swish them around a bit and leave to cook for a couple of minutes! (Eyes starting to droop!)
1pm finished lunch, yum; put half a tin of wild salmon in the pan before the egg, also swirled a bit of spinach round the pan once the omelette was on the plate. Brilliant menu, most of it completed by sitting at the kitchen table waiting for everything to cook! As it is so cold today- 12th June, WHY!!!- I also had toast instead of bread. (eyes definitely drooping, will wait for OH to ring for our daily lunchtime chat at 1.25 then have a rest) going to find my pyjamas and fill hot water bottles.
2pm managed the chat, change into pyjamas and a bit of a rest, then an unexpected visitor-my brother showed up on my doorstep. It is very difficult to say "no" when you see someone so rarely, so we sat at the kitchen table and my eyes drooped more and more. I was able to hold the conversation together though and was pleased to see him.
2.30pm I have fiddled a little with the Hampshire County Library website and downloaded the second Harry Potter book. Stephen Fry's dulcet tones will keep me company for a while now... To be continued...
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