Page 23 - Through a glass brightly

e. Sorting through the bookcases by subject. (Adventure, poetry, fiction, local history, biography, etc. Trouble is I can’t thin them enough in spite of having taken 10 boxfuls to the Oxfam shop.)
f. Practising Bach partitas on the piano. (Very calming)
g. Weeding the strawberry patch on the allotment. (Somewhat back breaking.)
h. Reading ‘The Mirror and the Light’. Am up to page 399. Only another 483 to go! (You can
hear it read by Anton Lesser on the Radio, if you’d prefer that.)
Survive the cabin fever, dears! The life of the mind – that’s what counts, after all. While we’ve all still got them. ... ! Hosa En opion they oo. (Remember the old school motto? All Greek to me, can’t remember what it meant, let alone how to spell it. Can you?
From Jenny at 12.40
'Ever in the presence/sight of God' - that was the motto.
Everyone's contributions have been very 'noble' and I hesitate to say what I am doing. I have just jigged around the lounge to a couple of bouncy tracks from a CD - that is my exercise for this morning. Owing to dodgy knees I am a bit more limited than some of you, so sorties are short and - in suburbia - not very scenic, although after reading Glenda's I can say that the magnolias are in full bloom and the horse chestnuts are already in leaf in the balmy south - and my tête a tête daffs were glorious, but are just about finished now as are the early tulips.
Unlike Ruth I hesitate to do much baking as I shall just end up eating it all and will be the size of a house by the time this finishes. I have plenty of decluttering that needs doing but am reluctant to start at the moment - but will eventually get there I am sure. It is challenging enough to have to do my own housework and attempt to keep the garden tidy, both of which have been done by others for ages. Now that the weather has turned colder the garden has less appeal.
Our choirmaster is attempting to assemble some rehearsal tracks on our practice website so we can keep singing, having had to abandon our performance of Messiah this term. He is aiming for a concert at some point entitled 'Have You Ever Been in Love?' which will be a light and frothy affair - our 'summer concerts' are always more light-hearted. We were due to be singing in Birmingham in late September - will that happen now?
My only other concern at the moment is my family - some of you will know that son-in-law James was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma at the start of the year. He has just had his 3rd chemo treatment at UCLH and is currently at home. The whole family has been in isolation already for 3 weeks and told to remain like that for at least 12 weeks. The complication that has arisen this time is that while in for treatment he was accommodated in an area where someone was diagnosed with Covid-19 so now he has to self-isolate at home staying away even from the family for a week to ensure he has not contracted the virus. It never rains but it pours! It also looks as if the final chemo may be delayed or abandoned so we are naturally concerned.
Oh well - the sun has just made a fleeting appearance which is cheering. Must be time to get some lunch. Love and best wishes to you all
From Cary at 16.13
Greetings from the beautiful hill country of Texas. Thanks, Val, for starting this. It's been fun hearing from y'all and that we are all finding ways of coping with the situation. I live on my own 3 miles out from the small town of Fredericksburg (population about 10,000) in 4 acres of woodland, with views of cows, goats and deer in the day, and raccoons at night. Spring is
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