Rain, Pain, Thunder, and Sweet Rest

It's raining outside. Rain into December is especially good. Lib has gone to work and the rain eases my conscience at taking the luxury of doing a blog post in the day time.

I caught the last half of my writing class yesterday, the final of the year. Fellow student Stuart read a piece about the Greek gods. I have always had trouble absorbing and remembering who is who and who did what in Greek mythology but after Stuart's piece and the thunder and rain this morning I think now I have Zeus nailed permanently as the Lord of the sky and the god of rain. It was an excellent class. Barb, Stuart's partner, read a piece about a lady taking in a refugee family in a country town. Julie, who has a young child she leaves next door at the Community Centre childcare while the class is on, read her piece about doing a photo session on the streets of St.Kilda for her course. And July read the first chapter of the book she has been writing about her and her Greek husband's 10 year project renovating a rundown hotel in Greece. Maria read a poem by Anne Sexton about her mother which bamboozled everyone but provoked much discussion and different opinion. Also present were Kerrie, John, Suzie and Judyanne. What a variety and what a great group of talented people I consort with on Fridays when I get there. I'm so glad I made the special effort yesterday even if I was more than an hour late.

I couldn't stay for the afternoon tea break up, I had to find bunches of variegated box for the 5pm pick up which I learned had been ordered when I dropped off my beech and variegated pitto foliage at the farm before I went to the class, as well as do my Friday afternoon fruit shop shopping and get my tattslotto on, and I wanted to go to Monbulk for shopping at the new Aldi after getting Gord to the post office to have passport photos taken (he's hoping to go to NZ with friends in January). We were home about 6.15pm. I was tired and quickly headed to the bathtub after putting the shopping away.

Now for the pain. I had a bad night with pain in my shoulder and an intermittent ache going down through my right upper arm, elbow, and forearm and into the wrist. Most unpleasant. I had little sleep having to move my arm carefully numerous times into new positions seeking relief. The most effective position seems to be putting my hand behind my head but after a while the ache returns so I have to change. I was pretty good earlier in the week but I guess after 5 solid days of work where my right arm gets a hammering pulling on the rope to cut with the cutters at the end of the pole in the air, it is no wonder that by Saturday I'm hurting and need a rest. And I don't mind if it's Zeus, Hewey or Jehovah I should thank but I'm grateful.

After Lib left at 6.30am, I took painkillers and the cortisone and went back to bed. I fell asleep to be woken at 8.30 with Pip whining at the bedroom window. She sleeps inside but I put her out earlier when I fed her, and while I was asleep the thunder and rain came. She has developed an acute sensitivity to thunder and literally goes nuts. We had a really bad night Wednesday night when the thunder went on all night and she would not stay in her bed. She scratched at the bedroom door till I had to let her in, or have all the paint removed, then she was not content to lie on the bed she had to burrow under the covers with us and go down to our feet and wriggle about. Very little sleep again.

I worked with my friends Pat and Mal yesterday morning for a couple of hours putting netting over their well cropped fruit trees and help tidy up before the fire restrictions come in next Monday. Their dog Cammie is like Pip and went nuts on Wednesday night. The difference is that he's an Irish deerhound, a very big dog. In the end Pat had to lay down with him in his bed and hold him tight but no sleep was had in their house either.

I will do little today. Maybe get some more zuchini seed in, and some basil. It's probably too wet to do a burn off as I was planning. Can't say I'm sorry.

PS Maria always starts the class with some quotes, mostly yesterday they were about Christmas. I missed that part of class but I have seen them now in the notes - here's two-

Roses are reddish,
Violets are bluish,
If it wasn't for Christmas,
We'd all be Jewish.
Benny Hill

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calender of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
Charles Dickens