What to Do? What to Do????

It's the first day off I've had since the first week of the month and I'd love to say I'm at loose ends and have a day full of possibilities stretching in front of me.

There's something so elegant about a harpsichord. The sound is
lighter than that of a piano, and they are usually so visually
decorative as well. Compare this to a black Steinway piano. The
harpsichord is as easy on the eyes as it is on the ears. Here is
artist Kristian Bezuidenhout from South Africa. 

Of course, that's not necessarily inaccurate, but things still have to get done and I have writing deadlines that are looming which I will spend a few hours trying to proceed with this afternoon. But, as I sit here, listening to Jean Philippe Rameau Suite A Minor 1728 on harpsichord, I have to smile. I may have all sorts of errands to do today, but heck! It's a DAY OFF, and that is glorious in itself.

Although there are non-metallic finger braces (and given my metal
allergies, I may have to do this type of splint instead), the metal
styles are so much prettier. 

I'm thinking about getting a finger splint for one of my fingers to help halt the bend that my osteoarthritis is putting into it. Finger splints and braces are used by people for many reasons, but arthritic countermands is one of them. When I was a much younger beader, attending my very first Bead & Button Show (actually, it was still called 'Embellishment' at that time), I met a lovely petite whirlwind of a young woman. This redhead with enough energy to power an office building was Jennie Might, and she was tiny, bouncy, and active in many things. She also suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was under doctor's orders to exercise her fingers for X amount of hours every day. Thus, she was an accomplished pianist and a very talented beader, using those two methods of exercise for her hands. She had just published her first book at the time I met her, and went on to publish another three in the series.

The first two of Jennie's books are here. I still sell four of her books
in this series, these two and the two additional volumes. They are
really cute designs and I love knowing that so many people I knew
made the samples for the books. 

What brings her to mind for me? Well, she wore finger braces on all of her fingers and they were quite lovely. They looked like pieces of jewelry on her hands, but they were jewelry that helped to save her hands from deformity and halt the crippling of her RA.

This picture shows many different types of finger splints. I think
I might spend a bit of time today visiting the website of one of
these manufacturers and possibly get a non-metallic splint to see
if it helps my dodgy finger at all. I think it's time to try and reduce the
pain and maximize the finger use. 

I never met her again in person, although I heard about her from mutual friends and acquaintances for several more years as she continued being active in the bead world. I forgot about those finger braces. But I read a book on my long list of books to be read about one or two months ago which featured a character with a particular brittle bone disease. He wore finger braces and that brought them back to mind. I was curious, couldn't really remember that much about them, so I Googled them and yes - then I remembered them and how much they had helped Jennie.

Some of the finger splints can be quite beautiful. This particular
style is sterling silver and very attractive while still performing
a vital function for the person wearing it. 

So as my own arthritis starts to become more and more intrusive in my life, I'm thinking a new piece of jewelry might be just the trick. In the meantime, I'm off and running to get my errands done today so that I can get some writing accomplished before talking with Aearwen later this afternoon.

Those hills just won't go away. They are on their way to the Alps for the weekend, so this is a
bridging stage between Monday's mountains and the Alps proper. Only Cat 4 and Cat 3
climbs today, but with Froome and now Contador out of the race, it's turning into a bit
of a free-for-all. 

Of course, Le Tour de France is back in swing today with Stage 11. Here is the profile for all of you addicts. Happy Wednesday to all!