What was your fasting blood glucose? (full on chat)

[ianpspurs]

Gorgeous baby girl - big congratulations to you and all the family! Xx

Thank you. She appears cute if'n you like that sorta thing. I'm not that easily fooled

 

[lindisfel]

Anyone had this contamination on Whatsapp?

 

[Krystyna23040]

It does take time to train a dog...
It sounds as though you worked it out perfectly for Archie @Krystyna23040

I think we were really lucky it turned out so well. Even though he has very definite ideas about what he will and won't do.

We thought he didn't understand how to retrieve when we asked him to.

When we got Poppy we realised that he perfectly understood but had decided that there was no way he was going to retrieve anything.

We were training Poppy to retrieve two items but when when she retrieved first item she expected us to throw it again and we couldn't find the right way to instruct her to pick up the second item.

Archie watched our unsuccessful attempts and then sighed really heavily and stalked over to the second item. I thought 'oh my goodness he is going to retrieve something for the first time in his life '.

No he wasn't - he was going to train Poppy to retrieve the second item! He looked at Poppy and then he looked at the item a few times and she suddenly got it and retrieved the second item. He is a very clever dog.

 

[ianpspurs]

@Krystyna23040 fantastic story of the 2 dogs and retrieval. Since some of you enjoyed, or claimed to, Malcolm Guite's advent anthology I thought I might share a few during Lent - yes, I know it starts tomorrow. Anyhow, this is as much about hospitality and helping others as overt religion. A common theme in all religions and none. Comes from a series of sonnets on the theme of In the Wilderness - wonder why they appeal to me? Please tell me to stop when you've had enough.( Obviously I'm going to listen to all seven one after the other. I've just watched two programmes about an extended self-sufficient family in the Alaskan wilderness)

 

[gennepher]

I think we were really lucky it turned out so well. Even though he has very definite ideas about what he will and won't do.

We thought he didn't understand how to retrieve when we asked him to.

When we got Poppy we realised that he perfectly understood but had decided that there was no way he was going to retrieve anything.

We were training Poppy to retrieve two items but when when she retrieved first item she expected us to throw it again and we couldn't find the right way to instruct her to pick up the second item.

Archie watched our unsuccessful attempts and then sighed really heavily and stalked over to the second item. I thought 'oh my goodness he is going to retrieve something for the first time in his life '.

No he wasn't - he was going to train Poppy to retrieve the second item! He looked at Poppy and then he looked at the item a few times and she suddenly got it and retrieved the second item. He is a very clever dog.

Animals are very clever @Krystyna23040

Meg was my Hearing Dog for the Deaf like I said before. And cat Popeye learnt off Meg how to alert me as well for some of the sounds. There was a race between cat and dog as to who could alert me first for that particular sound. And Hearing Dog Meg (who was same sizeish as Popeye) was not having a cat beat her at her job, and it caused quite a few literal physical fights between them.

Now, many years earlier, when I had my first Hearing Dog Truffle, in 1988, I had several cats at that time. One beautiful tabby female whom my young son had named Slimer (after the ghostbusters?), raced my Hearing Dog Truffle to alert me to a sound (notably a text alert). There were always treats left by the textphone. Cat Slimer always got to the textphone alert first, while Truffle was still thinking about leaving her bed. Oh great thought Truffle, I can stay in my nice warm comfy bed and I don't care if cat Slimer gets my treats. Truffle was a very big dog, compared to Meg. This earlier Hearing Dog Truffle was a cross between a Labrador and a Dalmatian. I am not sure that was a good combination of breeds for a Working Hearing Dog. But Truffle would alert me by her stance to Grouse on the moors....she was brilliant at that...

So in my experience a cat is a brilliant learner from another animal (dog), and will always attempt to get one over the dog...

I do remember demonstrating to a Hearing Dog assessor, cat Slimer's skills as a Hearing Cat, and asked why didn't they train cats for this job. Needless to say, this did not go down very well...

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

@Krystyna23040 fantastic story of the 2 dogs and retrieval. Since some of you enjoyed, or claimed to, Malcolm Guite's advent anthology I thought I might share a few during Lent - yes, I know it starts tomorrow. Anyhow, this is as much about hospitality and helping others as overt religion. A common theme in all religions and none. Comes from a series of sonnets on the theme of In the Wilderness - wonder why they appeal to me? Please tell me to stop when you've had enough.( Obviously I'm going to listen to all seven one after the other. I've just watched two programmes about an extended self-sufficient family in the Alaskan wilderness)

Keep them coming. I will be looking up the paintings for whichthe poems were written to accompany.

 

[ianpspurs]

Keep them coming. I will be looking up the paintings for whichthe poems were written to accompany.

If you follow the links at the top of that poem you can hear all 7. In between trips around Slabbington I'm currently on 5. Glad you liked the poems and art. It is hearing the poems aloud that works for me - in theory weren't poems meant to be enjoyed in that way?

 

[Krystyna23040]

Animals are very clever @Krystyna23040

Meg was my Hearing Dog for the Deaf like I said before. And cat Popeye learnt off Meg how to alert me as well for some of the sounds. There was a race between cat and dog as to who could alert me first for that particular sound. And Hearing Dog Meg (who was same sizeish as Popeye) was not having a cat beat her at her job, and it caused quite a few literal physical fights between them.

Now, many years earlier, when I had my first Hearing Dog Truffle, in 1988, I had several cats at that time. One beautiful tabby female whom my young son had named Slimer (after the ghostbusters?), raced my Hearing Dog Truffle to alert me to a sound (notably a text alert). There were always treats left by the textphone. Cat Slimer always got to the textphone alert first, while Truffle was still thinking about leaving her bed. Oh great thought Truffle, I can stay in my nice warm comfy bed and I don't care if cat Slimer gets my treats. Truffle was a very big dog, compared to Meg. This earlier Hearing Dog Truffle was a cross between a Labrador and a Dalmatian. I am not sure that was a good combination of breeds for a Working Hearing Dog. But Truffle would alert me by her stance to Grouse on the moors....she was brilliant at that...

So in my experience a cat is a brilliant learner from another animal (dog), and will always attempt to get one over the dog...

I do remember demonstrating to a Hearing Dog assessor, cat Slimer's skills as a Hearing Cat, and asked why didn't they train cats for this job. Needless to say, this did not go down very well...

Animals are very clever @gennepher = although it does look as though cats are a bit cleverer than dogs.
It is interesting how our animals all have such different personalities. We are so lucky to have them in our lives.

 

[SlimLizzy]

16.02.2021
8.00am (after bowl of grain free granola) FBG 5.8
Thankfully MrSlim is looking, and feeling a lot better this morning. Still not back to his normal, but possibly on the way.
Yesterday he looked terrible, had chills and headache all day. Can only assume it was at least partially due to covid jab.
15.02.2021
8.00am FBG 5.3
MrSlim has had a disturbed night. The injection site is very sore. He feels hungover but has had no alcohol for about three weeks now.

 

[gennepher]

16.02.2021
8.00am (after bowl of grain free granola) FBG 5.8
Thankfully MrSlim is looking, and feeling a lot better this morning. Still not back to his normal, but possibly on the way.
Yesterday he looked terrible, had chills and headache all day. Can only assume it was at least partially due to covid jab.
15.02.2021
8.00am FBG 5.3
MrSlim has had a disturbed night. The injection site is very sore. He feels hungover but has had no alcohol for about three weeks now.

Hopefully Mr Slim will feel a lot better soon.

 

[lindisfel]

Had a change of scene this pm and looked at the high tide but very few birds around it was windy but very misty, not at all like a Cumbrian winter day but it started sunny and mild this am.

I think a lot of birds must have moved out in the hard weather. Some go into Ireland.
Temperatures hit 10.5 deg c at one point this pm, I don't think it's been that high for a couple of months.

Still plenty of birds in the garden, we had c.20 blackbirds one morning before week end.
A Nuthatch came to feed this am and again this pm. Tree Creeper and Goldcrest and double figures of Long-tailed **** tend to feed at ends of the day.
c.30 Yellow Hammers coming to feed on scattered seed throughout day.
A Jay paid a brief visit last week and Sparrow Hawks dash through a few times per day. One at lunch time disappeared chasing a Great Spotted Woodpecker, I didn't see the outcome.

I'll try to download some camera pictures soon.
D.

 

[lindisfel]

Its amazing how prudish some of these websites are!

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

16.02.2021
8.00am (after bowl of grain free granola) FBG 5.8
Thankfully MrSlim is looking, and feeling a lot better this morning. Still not back to his normal, but possibly on the way.
Yesterday he looked terrible, had chills and headache all day. Can only assume it was at least partially due to covid jab.
15.02.2021
8.00am FBG 5.3
MrSlim has had a disturbed night. The injection site is very sore. He feels hungover but has had no alcohol for about three weeks now.

Hug for Mr Slim and you, did he have Oxford Jab? Mrs MC and my daughter had Oxford and both had chills, exhausted, temperature and sickness lasted about 10 hours, also sore arm which they still have. I had Oxford and only had sore arm.

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

No Muddy Bike ride, Mrs MC INSISTED I helped in the garden so a morning hoovering leaves.

Finished my watercolour from yesterday, the first in a few stormy winter days. I like the way the ground takes on the light and reflects the colours into the clouds and objects become dark and bold. This one the sky looks more like the Northern Lights than reflected Earth.

A4 watercolour.

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

It is hearing the poems aloud that works for me - in theory weren't poems meant to be enjoyed in that way?

Absolutely, poems and story telling read out loud on cold winter nights around a Log fire or warm summer days as the sun sets below the horizon are quite magical. In our family it's been a tradition to tell stories and read poems at family get togethers. Dad started it with things such as Albert and the Lion, Brown Boots and stories read in Black Country Dialect we carried it on and I suspect my Daughter will once my time on Earth comes to an end.

We also do story rounds where someone starts a story and then the next person picks it up and so on, our grandchildren love it and now tell some amazing imaginative tales with all sorts of accents , we now have to do it on Zoom, works but not the same.

 

[geefull]

good evening all

4.4 today

It's surprisingly warm here today although very windy
Even the big heap of snow we piled up when we shoveled the car and path out has melted now

Over to Mum's to pick up her shopping list ready for the weekly trip tomorrow, the snow there is gone but, of course, the pool is back, it's not bothering the snowdrops though



Hope your day is treating you kindly

@gennepher - hope it was just a bit of a long nap for Popeye and he continues to be well.
You've managed a lovely glow with the light in your painting and the conifers have real presence

@dunelm - glad Mum's hip operation recovery is going well. A fantastic raven you've painted, such an intelligent look in his eye

@Krystyna23040 - Archie is a real character

@SlimLizzy - Hope mr Slim continues better. Could be a side effect, it took mr gee 3-4 days to get over the fatigued and sleepy stage completely.

@lindisfel - we had two yellow hammers in the garden this morning, so bright

@Muddy Cyclist - Lovely painting, such an interesting sky and I love the hints of colour (definitely more like naturalistic Northern lights than my effort ), and the foreground foliage adds effectively to the depth, very satisfying

art bit - lost the reference for this (could be inspired by one of Adrienne Pavelka's though)

 

[Krystyna23040]

good evening all

4.4 today

It's surprisingly warm here today although very windy
Even the big heap of snow we piled up when we shoveled the car and path out has melted now

Over to Mum's to pick up her shopping list ready for the weekly trip tomorrow, the snow there is gone but, of course, the pool is back, it's not bothering the snowdrops though

View attachment 47531

Hope your day is treating you kindly

@gennepher - hope it was just a bit of a long nap for Popeye and he continues to be well.
You've managed a lovely glow with the light in your painting and the conifers have real presence

@dunelm - glad Mum's hip operation recovery is going well. A fantastic raven you've painted, such an intelligent look in his eye

@Krystyna23040 - Archie is a real character

@SlimLizzy - Hope mr Slim continues better. Could be a side effect, it took mr gee 3-4 days to get over the fatigued and sleepy stage completely.

@lindisfel - we had two yellow hammers in the garden this morning, so bright

@Muddy Cyclist - Lovely painting, such an interesting sky and I love the hints of colour (definitely more like naturalistic Northern lights than my effort ), and the foreground foliage adds effectively to the depth, very satisfying

art bit - lost the reference for this (could be inspired by one of Adrienne Pavelka's though)

View attachment 47532

Lovely tranquil painting. Beautiful colours.

You are right that Archie is a real character.

 

[gennepher]

No Muddy Bike ride, Mrs MC INSISTED I helped in the garden so a morning hoovering leaves.

Finished my watercolour from yesterday, the first in a few stormy winter days. I like the way the ground takes on the light and reflects the colours into the clouds and objects become dark and bold. This one the sky looks more like the Northern Lights than reflected Earth.

A4 watercolour.

View attachment 47530

I love the vast open expanse of sky on this painting @Muddy Cyclist
There is something calming, soothing, and hopeful about it for me.

 

[gennepher]

good evening all

4.4 today

It's surprisingly warm here today although very windy
Even the big heap of snow we piled up when we shoveled the car and path out has melted now

Over to Mum's to pick up her shopping list ready for the weekly trip tomorrow, the snow there is gone but, of course, the pool is back, it's not bothering the snowdrops though

View attachment 47531

Hope your day is treating you kindly

@gennepher - hope it was just a bit of a long nap for Popeye and he continues to be well.
You've managed a lovely glow with the light in your painting and the conifers have real presence

@dunelm - glad Mum's hip operation recovery is going well. A fantastic raven you've painted, such an intelligent look in his eye

@Krystyna23040 - Archie is a real character

@SlimLizzy - Hope mr Slim continues better. Could be a side effect, it took mr gee 3-4 days to get over the fatigued and sleepy stage completely.

@lindisfel - we had two yellow hammers in the garden this morning, so bright

@Muddy Cyclist - Lovely painting, such an interesting sky and I love the hints of colour (definitely more like naturalistic Northern lights than my effort ), and the foreground foliage adds effectively to the depth, very satisfying

art bit - lost the reference for this (could be inspired by one of Adrienne Pavelka's though)

View attachment 47532

It was quite warm here too yesterday. I love the snowdrops in the photo @geefull

Thank you. Popeye has improved back to his normal. I am grateful for that.

I like the intensity of the green of your trees and their reflections. Beautiful. It is a soothing painting for me.

 

[gennepher]

Fbg 6.9

Popeye is right under my chin, and aided with a few brush strokes of his own, and one dramatic change which I had to reverse. Because, this is an apple tree which is round the corner from me in someone's front garden which has a mug always hanging on the same branch. Incidentally, there is an old telephone box, obviously in use long ago because it has a short concrete path leading to it from the road, but now has garden tools and equipment in it.

Going back to the apple tree, when I saw it the other morning, it reminded me of when J and I went into the mountains not far from here to visits a garden in the Yellow Gardens scheme (I wonder if that will return when/if Covid gets under control?). It was high up. There was an apple orchard in full bloom. I am sitting on a wooden bench. Suddenly gusts of wind blew most of the petals off the trees all around me and on to me. It was like I was sitting in heaven. Just this snowfall of pink petals.

So, in Procreate I used only two painting tools to create this digital painting. On was a dry brush for the landscape and apple tree. And for the blossoms I used the shimmer painting tool.

I had finished it. But Popeye, being his usual helpful self, touched something with his paw, and completely changed the painting. I saved what he had done because I thought it was an interesting effect (but how on Earth I replicate what he has done, I have no idea), but I pressed the undo button and got my painting back...

I am just about to post my painting here, when I realised I was being mean, and so I am going to get his version back, and sign it with his seal...

Okay, done that!
First version is my digital painting with my memories.
Second version is Popeye's redoing version of my painting...what his memories are I have no idea...



Popeye's version...

I have completely given up fighting him for the iPad...