S is For... Sachi (& Some Potpurri)

Happy Saturday, Humble Readers...

Have I ever told you that although I want to travel the world, I'm not particularly interested in visiting Asia?  It's not that I have something against the continent... quite honestly, I know it's because I am afraid.  The culture is so different, so outside my comfort zone.  (And yet, I long to go to Africa.  I never claimed to be sensible.)

But I never tire of reading novels set in Asia.  For today's A to z Challenge post, I want to tell you about Sachi.  She is the main character in Lesley Downer's first novel, The Last Concubine. 

Set in the last days of medieval Japan, Sachi's story takes her from rural anonymity, to the heights of the royal court.  When a royal princess passes through Sachi's village, she chooses the pretty eleven year old to accompany her back to the Women's Palace in Edo. 

Soon, Sachi is in the middle of all the court intrigues and jealousies.  What else do you imagine happens living in a place with hundreds of women and only one man? 

Sachi is eventually chosen as a concubine for the young Shogun.  And just when her life appears to be secure and comfortable, all hell breaks loose.  The arrival of the first western sailors, and the beginning of a revolutionary civil war, bring about the downfall of the royal house, and the end of the Shogun era. 

I love Sachi because she is continually adapting to her surroundings.  She is taken from the life she knows in the mountains and succeeds in the contentious world of the imperial court.  When life at court is no longer safe, she takes a few trusted friends with her, and escapes back to the world she was forced to leave behind.  She doesn't weep or mope or whine.  She does what needs doing, and she stays focused. 

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We are so close to having our spring cleaning done, it's driving me mad.  It has never ever taken this long to spring clean the house.  Granted we didn't do a real thorough clean last year, but this has been going on and on.  All we have left is the living room (walls, baseboards, windows, and furniture) and the walls in our entryway.  That's it.  But after spending three hours working on our master bedroom (including purging and reorganizing my crafting trunk... I threw out a disturbing number of half-finished cross-stitch projects, that I hadn't worked on in more than 5 years), I was just completely worn out.  We WILL finish the remainder tomorrow after church, and after I run a couple of errands.  So much for going to the park tomorrow afternoon.  Oh well. 

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I think I may be having actual contractions, rather than Braxton Hicks.  They don't go away when I rest, and they are actually a bit uncomfortable.  Nothing consistent, and not terribly intense, but still they are different from my usual BH. 

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Is it totally bizarre that all I really want to eat is ice cold apple pie filling?  Seriously, I want a can of apple pie filling that's been in my fridge for a couple of days.  Cherry pie filling would be a good second.