Not really an update

Many, many thanks and hugs to all of you who 1) sent their love and thoughts for my mother and 2) were so understanding about the comma vs. semicolon rant. 

Mother will be transferred to another hospital today. She does have the necessary insurance coverage for a private hospital - not that private hospitals are always better than the public ones, but this one certainly is. It's also a lot nearer to where I live, so visiting will be less trouble. The doctors promised results for today at noon, so let's see.

Last night I went to see my brother at his place; we ate lots of Spaghetti al Pesto, drank lots of wine, and discussed family. We both solemnly swore to each other that we won't be as irresponsible as the older generation. There aren't many of them, which makes things a bit easier, but we have a set of parents aged 78 and 82,and then there's my maternal aunt aged 84. None of them has ever considered registering for a place in a retirement home (the waiting lists are absurdly long), and neither my brother nor I are able to take permanent care of them.

I'm sure none of you is going to think I'm a cold-hearted bitch if I tell you that I spent almost the whole of yesterday writing. It really does take my mind off things, which was good for me, since I wasn't able to actually do something about the situation. I'd like to say that the sequel to The Canterbury Handfasting is almost finished, but I don't know whether the threesome is going to be the grand finale or not. The build-up was a bitch and had to be even longer than I thought. Considering how things are at the end of Handfasting, the motivation for Severus to be invited to join the happy couple has to be very sound indeed. But I think I managed quite nicely - final verdict will be up to the readers of course.

Spamming the f-list (but it's a nice meme)

Coming from mcamy's LJ:

Leave a comment, and I'll pick 3 of your interests and 3 of your icons which I'd like to know more about. Post answers and meme to your own LJ.

mcamy picked these:

Interests:
1. ancient history
One hundred years ago I used to study Latin (and French), with a bit of Egyptology and Archaeology on the side. That's where the interest stems from. It came from and with literature, and remains linked to literature, i.e. I love to read Cicero or Tacitus both for the way they write, how they choose what to tell the reader and how, and for the actual content.
2. paper and pencils
Don't let me enter a stationery shop. The sight of blank paper, of pencils and colours, and of diaries awakens the papyrophile in me. I love to write by hand (story outlines e.g.), to draw (not well but what does it matter) and also to just simply stroke the paper.
3. thomas mann
One of the greatest authors there ever was, in my opinion. A devilishly difficult character, a married gay man with a large family. Nobody has ever used the German language like he did.

And icons:


This comes from a 1930's ad for... I actually don't remember. Reminds me of Hermann Hesse and Shostakhovic. I call him The Thinker.



This is Babe, of course. Pigs are among my favourite animals, and this particular picture makes me want to smile whenever I see it.



Another 1930s or 40s ad. I was struck by both the composition and the colour contrasts. I baptized it 'Femme Fatale'