Why I Refuse to Read Beowulf and the Disaster

 Okay, first of all, I have read Beowulf twice before. I will not read this copy/translation of Beowulf that I bought at Ollie's for $2.99. 

I read the Introduction, all 16 pages, as any good reader does  and started the story . That was pages 1-104. Then was Notes-pages 105-237. THEN, there came the glossary of Proper Names,  pages 239-249. Sorry, but I am not in the mood. I will get a fully translated copy with the pertinent information in footnotes. 

 Well, I don't mind looking up an occasional word that is written in Old English. However, the first page must have had ten items  to look up in the back of the book. I checked and it was exactly ten!

When I discovered that half the book was definitions, I called it quits. That is just too much flipping back and forth for me right now. Or, maybe ever! If I were assigned this book as a textbook, I would read an easier (better or more translation) version to get the story and then read this one. 

I am not looking for the easy way out when I read. But, this is just too much for a fun read. The original text is written in Old English/Anglo Saxon. I need the definition of most all the words. The Canterbury Tales was written in Middle English, and I can/could slog my way through the original without the help of a dictionary, although it does help for perfect understanding. 

This translation was written in the 19th century, so the language is very different anyway and really okay. But, throw in Old English into 19th century writing, and I am very tired of the efforts I will have to expend before I even get past the first page.

I got books and I got a light and chose the wrong book! 

So, now I feel obligated to get a fully translated version of Beowulf. Have you read Beowulf? What will cause you to give up on a book other than the fact you cannot stand it, or it is boring?

Saturday night, I was going to bed about 2 am, carrying the clothes I forgot to hang to dry. So, I put a nightgown on a hanger and headed from the bedroom into the hall. I heard water trickling like the shower was barely running. I hung up the nightgown and opened the bathroom door that was shut so it was just a crack.  As I went to the shower and was passing the commode, I still heard the trickle but it was coming from the side, the commode. 

Water was pouring over the top of the porcelain. I bent to the cutoff and could not turn it. It has been there since 1965. So, I frantically took the back off the tank. The flap was stuck in an open/up position. I put the flap back into position. When the water went down, I tried to flush to see if it would drain now. Nope!

Of course, Tommy had to pee and was heading outdoors, but I told him to pee in the commode. Then, I had to pee so many times all day Sunday. Then, I had a solid situation and no place else to go. I accidentally put tp in 3 times. The rest I remembered to not put in. 

Tommy headed back to the recliner and I tried to sleep. Then, I decided the soaked towels might ruin the tiles/grout. Soooo, I got back up and put those in the bathtub. Tommy put the soaked run in the shower sometime in the night. 

When I got up, Tommy had tried to reach a plumber. Then, I had him call again. Then, I told him to try one more time. He found a different number, a cell phone, and he called that.

Then, he went out to hang the soppy towels on his ramp. He somehow did NOT get the phone in the cradle...so I had him call again. I thought maybe the guy had tried to call and got a busy number. The plumber called right back and cannot come until 9 am. He told us to just do what we had to in the commode.

It has been a long day!

Have you ever faced a reading that you did not want to finish? Have you ever read Beowulf?

Baring It All: Disinfecting My Buttocks

As usual, I had trouble sleeping and slept from 4 am until 7 am! Ugh! We left in a light rain to drive to Cullman to the lunch at the pretty church, the one that uses real tableware instead of plastic and foam. I even had my unsweetened tea in a glass.

The rain came and went and traffic was minding its manners. We went to the PO and by my place. Then, we arrived at the church early enough and not too early.

I love scouring the counters and tops of recycling bin for junk mail, like I never get enough. I did score a USA Today and a local paper, both tossed without even reading. I only looked at two of the half-dozen or more tables in front of the PO Boxes.

At the church luncheon was a program by the Unsheltered founder. They have plans for the future with about ten acres and Tiny Houses for the homeless. It was very enlightening. At the present there are 28 people who are homeless in Cullman. This does not count people who are sleeping on the couch of a friend or sleeping in their car or in a shelter. Some of the 28 are sleeping in the woods.

Lunch--Lasagna, buttered garlic bread, salad, and a dessert with whipped topping on cake and maybe berries and blueberries. I did not eat mine, so not sure. I think the lasagna might me the best I have ever had!

Then, we left like the wind, okay like a breeze, to get to Huntsville to the cardiologist. After tests it turns out there is no problem with my veins. I am happy, but disappointed I did not find out the source of the problem. he gave me clues why my feet swell, so I am off on that quest.

I made chicken sandwiches and took Halos so we would not have to buy lunch. On the way back home from Huntsville we stopped in Cullman and ate at Sportsman Lake as we watched two fishermen and little bitty ducks who ended up being teenagers whose mothers had left them on the lake. The interlude was very relaxing.

The distance from Birmingham to Cullman is about 50 miles. The distance from Cullman to Huntsville is about 50 miles, also. We left at 4 pm to drive from Huntsville to Birmingham and arrived here 7 pm. Long day.

Then, we stopped at the cleanest bathroom I know of since I really had to pee. As I pulled up my pants, my buttocks felt yucky. I looked back at the commode seat and it looked as though several people had peed on the back part of the seat. It was dying and sticky. There was nothing on the front part. OH YUCK! I put my hand on my backside and the whole back of my pants was damp.

I got in the car and sat in the filthy residue. It felt so sticky and gross. When I arrived home, I stripped from the waist down. I did not want to sit on the commode here and contaminate it. But, I had to pee. Afterwards I took Lysol wipes and thoroughly cleaned the seat and then sprayed it with Lysol.

Finally, I soaped up a cloth and washed my buttocks well. Very well and long! I am still grossed out. Why did I not look at the seat thoroughly? Because I have used this commode and it is never, ever anything but pristine.  I just gave it a cursory look. Maybe I need new glasses.

Those pants go straight into the washing machine. I am going to use a plastic bag over my hand to lift them. GAH! Even though my backside is clean from soap and water, I used a Lysol wipe on myself.  I hope the Lysol wipe does not give me a rash.