An apology

Why I have not posted in the past week

(The image is a photograph of my difficult-to-see sparrow neighbours in the sparse bush they inhabit during the deep winter. I have no idea how they survive in there, but I am glad for their company.)

Dear subscribers to The Orange Notebook, at the start of 2026 I committed myself to posting daily in this medium, Monday to Friday, in my Tiny Manifestoes series, and in addition to maintain my pace of weekly posts on Alasdair MacIntyre’s body of work (transferred from my school’s Substack). I last posted on January 27. Thank you for your patience. Here is the reason for my lapse in the past week: since sometime before Christmas, I have been suffering from severe fatigue, brought about by a drastically low hemoglobin level. As a result, I am only able to be active for about six hours a day, needing the remainder to rest or sleep.

Blood transfusions earlier in January helped some, and further blood transfusions are likely. When my hemoglobin level reaches a required level, I will be able to undergo further tests, which I hope will confirm the diagnosis my family doctor and I anticipate. I had a similarly exhausting experience twelve or so years ago, and in the end it required only a small surgical intervention in addition to transfusions, supplements, and patience for me to recover fully.

At present I am only barely keeping up with (and sometimes lamentably falling behind in) my school work, family connections, housekeeping, and participation in the life of our parish and my order. But I hope to be able to resume my intended posting pace in the near future, with a little help from the local blood bank. Once again: thank you for your patience.

Gideon