It was good to be away from everything, including thoughts about how to invigorate my art-life while being in the horizontal. I had a lovely time, relaxed, warm, quiet, cared for. Spent most of it, apart from a couple of visits by old friends, with my mom, who in her small garden magicks huge blossoms from the most unpromising plant. Towards nightfall, when the light started to fade, they glowed as if lit from within, musky lanterns ablaze with the last of the day’s ingested heat. Oh yes, it was as hot as befits the month of August, often in the 30s Celsius, and I loved those mellow evenings on the terrace, sipping prosecco and chatting leisurely while feasting our eyes on the juicy colours around us until even that became too strenuous for this tired person.
As so often I wished I could go places without travelling, since much of the (physical) good of my time there was undone with the strains of the journey back. I’m still reeling from the exertions but starting to feel some relief as the worst of those excruciating M.E.-pains lift. There’s a puzzling discord within my body: on the one hand it is weighed down by the blunt force of extreme fatigue, dulling affect and sensations, on the other hand there’s the sharp focus of the piercing pains. In fact the first few days after I felt as if skull and feet were clamped in the jaws of vises and the rest of my body wrenched into a parabolic arc. Watching the Paralympics kind of helps (not that I compare myself), so many people have things to overcome, make the best of what they’ve got. Such glory.
Brain fog clearing, hooray – time to start sifting through the motley crew of mails in my exploding inbox, but first I wanted to link up with you, here. A new little piece is growing between my fingers, four balls of inherited wool to play with. Hey there.
Edith’s shoes: Tied pair (2001)
Material: tissue paper
Dimensions: 14 cm x 15 cm x 14 cm
