The Great Chainsaw Massacre?

Watch out, logs. M’s about. Not much work coming in, so M has decided to make a fire – every day, for the last fortnight. We have a fireplace; it was well used when we first moved in and lived for six months without electricity (as described in The Fruit of the Tree,) and we have plenty of timber around in the woods. So last week M ordered a chain saw from someone on eBay, and, each morning, he can’t wait to get out and cut up logs. And I have to admit, it’s cosy having a fire, even if one of us has to clear the grate next morning.

It’s February already. Time to apply myself to accounts and VAT. Today I dealt with a pile of invoices, M having spent yesterday afternoon dictating them. But first, I spent an hour on my biography for Tainted Tree – just moving sentences from one place to another. And there’s still more work to do to TT, before I can send off the file to the printers – and only three months now to publication day.

On Saturday, Janice Windle (http://www.myspace.com/janatartwork4udotcom) brought me my painting – that is, the painting that she did for the front cover of TT. Soon I’ll be revealing it – here, there and everywhere and, when it’s framed, it will be in our lounge, but if you were very observant, you could see a glimpse of it on her site, as a recent photo showed her holding the very painting. Now it’s replaced by Jan with a vase of flowers. Very nice too, Jan.

I’m also working my way through Everyman by Philip Roth for the reading circle in a couple of weeks. This could best be described as being concerned with Disease, Depression and Death - with a bit of Sex thrown in. I can’t say I’m looking forward to getting back to it. The best thing about it is that it’s short. What constitutes a masterpiece, I wonder. I wouldn’t like to denigrate Philip Roth’s writing. Although, I haven’t read his work before, I know he’s an acclaimed writer. But, since I don’t care very much for the modern, (or is it post-modern?) stream of consciousness style of delivery and the actual content is like having an elderly relative tell you all the details of his operations during the last twenty years, this is not a book I would recommend. Particularly to anyone over forty. It’s downhill all the way, folks.