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

[ianpspurs]

Hope MIL is OK. She sounds like a strong and independent lady who doesn't want her family to worry.

Long winded way to say stubborn but she seems better today on the basis of the telephone conversation with JKP. I'm obviously not sure if being stubborn is merely a family trait or more gender specific. I have a working hypothesis which has served me well so far

 

[Krystyna23040]

Long winded way to say stubborn but she seems better today on the basis of the telephone conversation with JKP. I'm obviously not sure if being stubborn is merely a family trait or more genre specific. I have a working hypothesis which has served me well so far

Ah yes, I think that stubborn was the word I was searching for. Good that she is better today.

 

[Krystyna23040]

5.6 this morning. Waiting for the washing machine repair man to sort out a faulty door sensor. It is still just in guarantee - usually a problem occurs just after the guarantee runs out. So we were lucky this time.

 

[gennepher]

5.6 this morning. Waiting for the washing machine repair man to sort out a faulty door sensor. It is still just in guarantee - usually a problem occurs just after the guarantee runs out. So we were lucky this time.

Yes @Krystyna23040 it does always get a problem or two in the 13th month...which is what in the past I have paid for an extended guarantee...

My current machine is 16 years old...

Lady Luck is on your side!

 

[alf_Josiah]

Good Morening Ladies and Gentlemen and Neanderthals who dwell amongst us.

A surprising 5.3 on that meter this morning.
.
Washing machines, an interesting subject I have been informed that I don’t know how to use one and the one we own I’m not allowed to touch, the one we own has more settings than a jumbo jet, thankfully it doesn’t make as much noise as a jumbo jet. This also applies to the idiot box remote control.
.
Now it’s time for koffy, safety koffy and medication.
Stay safe all

 

[gennepher]

Fbg 6.8

I was doing another I cannot sleep at night thing.
The horrendous rainy damp weather had affected my aching bones badly.
So, painkillers and Amitriptyline.
While they took effect I went into the kitchen to make a cuppa tea.
It was just after midnight.
And who should I see sitting on the chair I had arranged for him, complete with a new fluffy fleece on it... cat Midnight!!!!!
For weeks I have been trying to persuade him to be indoors at night.
Yesterday was such a foul bitter cold day weather wise.
So, I went over and gave him a hug. He was doing the slow blink at me all the while. He does the slow blink when he is saying/asking if it is okay he is doing something new.

So, I went back to bed with my cuppa, and drew a painting of Midnight on that kitchen chair. I was so pleased he decided to do that. It makes me feel a lot happier that he has accepted the chair as a nighttime sleeping place. So, this is my Creative for today.



I was already editing a video on Midnight in the morning waiting for me to get up. So I have finished that and posted it on YouTube. And at the end of it you can see the red light at the bottom saying batteries low. He is the one using up all my trail cam batteries...

Time for a cuppa...and a well earned nap!!!

 

[ianpspurs]

Greetings from the distinctly chilly East. Good news on the washing machine still being covered by the guarantee @Krystyna23040 and your fbg @alf_Josiah . Remarkable longevity for your washing machine @gennepher. We walked the dogs in the local part of Thetford forest yesterday for the first time in over a year which was a joy as well as much easier for me as the paths and underfoot conditions suit me better than uneven/rutted grass. It is also cheaper, well free actually, than dog adventure parks. Have a great day and make what you will of the two creatives attached. Yes I know it isn't Dec 17th yet.

 

[ianpspurs]

Fbg 6.8

I was doing another I cannot sleep at night thing.
The horrendous rainy damp weather had affected my aching bones badly.
So, painkillers and Amitriptyline.
While they took effect I went into the kitchen to make a cuppa tea.
It was just after midnight.
And who should I see sitting on the chair I had arranged for him, complete with a new fluffy fleece on it... cat Midnight!!!!!
For weeks I have been trying to persuade him to be indoors at night.
Yesterday was such a foul bitter cold day weather wise.
So, I went over and gave him a hug. He was doing the slow blink at me all the while. He does the slow blink when he is saying/asking if it is okay he is doing something new.

So, I went back to bed with my cuppa, and drew a painting of Midnight on that kitchen chair. I was so pleased he decided to do that. It makes me feel a lot happier that he has accepted the chair as a nighttime sleeping place. So, this is my Creative for today.

View attachment 56599

I was already editing a video on Midnight in the morning waiting for me to get up. So I have finished that and posted it on YouTube. And at the end of it you can see the red light at the bottom saying batteries low. He is the one using up all my trail cam batteries...

Time for a cuppa...and a well earned nap!!!

Hug for the pain but winner for Midnight coming indoors, the wonderfully evocative creative and your unerringly can do attitude. Cuppas and naps are prescribed for you young lady.

 

[gennepher]

Greetings from the distinctly chilly East. Good news on the washing machine still being covered by the guarantee @Krystyna23040 and your fbg @alf_Josiah . Remarkable longevity for your washing machine @gennepher. We walked the dogs in the local part of Thetford forest yesterday for the first time in over a year which was a joy as well as much easier for me as the paths and underfoot conditions suit me better than uneven/rutted grass. It is also cheaper, well free actually, than dog adventure parks. Have a great day and make what you will of the two creatives attached. Yes I know it isn't Dec 17th yet.

I love this Creative @ianpspurs
It is beautiful, both words, and the illustration with them round it...

 

[ianpspurs]

I love this Creative @ianpspurs
It is beautiful, both words, and the illustration with them round it...

Glad you like them.

 

[gennepher]

Hug for the pain but winner for Midnight coming indoors, the wonderfully evocative creative and your unerringly can do attitude. Cuppas and naps are prescribed for you young lady.

Thank you @ianpspurs
Just had the first nap, now another cuppa!

 

[Annb]

Hello everyone from a hopefully improving day in The Mysterious East. A wet, dark and distinctly cool start to the day but hopefully temperatures will follow bond yields not sterling's value. Krisis, what krisis? I'm not sure how help with heating bills will be of any use to people rendered homeless by crazy mortgage rates but the Singapore on Thames Cult have a cunning plan (MMT) so who am I to doubt their genius? Two absolutely wonderful pieces of art today so many thanks @dunelm and @gennepher. Those splashes of colour on such a dreary day hint at more than meets the eye. @jjraak such a moving and brave post which also, to me, points to deep truths which rationalisation doesn't begin to explain. @Krystyna23040 good news on the knee recovering and thanks to google I now know what a PEMF machine is. @dunelm leaf tea and coffee beans, ground in the device also making each cup/mug are the way to go. I hope you acquire a slot for your booster. Yesterday's lamb was sublime, I think the anchovies are "a must". MIL was absent saying she had a heavy cold so obvious concerns given her age and this being almost the exact day last year she was blue lighted to hospital and given a DNR notice. She wouldn't hear of JKP delivering her meal which was also concerning. Cheery soul ain’t I? Have a splendid day everyone.

Interesting screenshot, Ian. That related to the political one yesterday. Today's one is lovely. I seem not to have posted the reply that I wrote yesterday and it's sitting here on my screen waiting to be posted. So the comments are yesterday's.

BG at 3.15 was 5.8. Followed by yet more pills and tea. By 7.30 it was 9.5 and by 9.15 it was 12.8. More tea. insulin (both basal and bolus) and I'm waiting to see what happens. I am expecting a visitor any moment and have made shortbread to go with her cup of coffee, so I might have one tiny little bit with my coffee.

Neil dug out an old coffee filter machine last night and made some proper coffee with freshly ground beans. He did that because he can't take instant coffee - messes with his Crohn's - but decided he'd better have some coffee because his blood pressure had dropped really low and he was feeling awful.

Today: FBG 5.4 at 3.45 am.

In Scotland the government has introduced a new benefit which they say is more compassionate than the normal British one. Instead of PIP, it is APP, or something. People on long term disability benefit (like Neil) have been invited to apply for this benefit instead of the one they've been on. Neil was persuaded to apply and was presented with a 96 page book to complete for his application! He did it and sent it off. Since then there have been numerous phone calls requiring extra information and, since there is no representative of the department dealing with it on the Island, he needs to provide ID (presumably his existing benefit isn't enough). He needs to have a photograph of himself, countersigned by a doctor, a dentist, or a DSS representative who knows him, but not the Disability benefits officer at the DSS. Unfortunately, the only doctor who deals with him and knows him has now left his post in Glasgow - he can't get registered with a dentist on the Island and the only person who knows him at the DSS is the only one who is not qualified to sign the photo.

The solution offered is to meet with someone from the department involved either in their office in Portree (a 1 hour drive and then a 2 hour ferry trip away) or Benbecula (a 11/2 hour drive and a half hour ferry trip away). They are dealing with people with various disabilities, some of whom may be unable to get around, some of whom wouldn't be able to pay the fares involved, some of whom would be unable to deal with the huge application form, some of whom would just give up when face with all the obstacles.

And this is supposed to be more compassionate!

 

[dunelm]

Late, very bad night - was it my double dip vaccinations yesterday (flue and Covid) - don’t know. Art bit - a start - have a great day if you can. @anneb, hugs for the bureaucratic “compassion” that still shoehorns everyone into a one size fits all box.

 

[gennepher]

Interesting screenshot, Ian. That related to the political one yesterday. Today's one is lovely. I seem not to have posted the reply that I wrote yesterday and it's sitting here on my screen waiting to be posted. So the comments are yesterday's.

BG at 3.15 was 5.8. Followed by yet more pills and tea. By 7.30 it was 9.5 and by 9.15 it was 12.8. More tea. insulin (both basal and bolus) and I'm waiting to see what happens. I am expecting a visitor any moment and have made shortbread to go with her cup of coffee, so I might have one tiny little bit with my coffee.

Neil dug out an old coffee filter machine last night and made some proper coffee with freshly ground beans. He did that because he can't take instant coffee - messes with his Crohn's - but decided he'd better have some coffee because his blood pressure had dropped really low and he was feeling awful.

Today: FBG 5.4 at 3.45 am.

In Scotland the government has introduced a new benefit which they say is more compassionate than the normal British one. Instead of PIP, it is APP, or something. People on long term disability benefit (like Neil) have been invited to apply for this benefit instead of the one they've been on. Neil was persuaded to apply and was presented with a 96 page book to complete for his application! He did it and sent it off. Since then there have been numerous phone calls requiring extra information and, since there is no representative of the department dealing with it on the Island, he needs to provide ID (presumably his existing benefit isn't enough). He needs to have a photograph of himself, countersigned by a doctor, a dentist, or a DSS representative who knows him, but not the Disability benefits officer at the DSS. Unfortunately, the only doctor who deals with him and knows him has now left his post in Glasgow - he can't get registered with a dentist on the Island and the only person who knows him at the DSS is the only one who is not qualified to sign the photo.

The solution offered is to meet with someone from the department involved either in their office in Portree (a 1 hour drive and then a 2 hour ferry trip away) or Benbecula (a 11/2 hour drive and a half hour ferry trip away). They are dealing with people with various disabilities, some of whom may be unable to get around, some of whom wouldn't be able to pay the fares involved, some of whom would be unable to deal with the huge application form, some of whom would just give up when face with all the obstacles.

And this is supposed to be more compassionate!

Good grief @Annb
That amount of effort and time would be totally out of my reach, and my financial pocket. If a disabled person could manage that unaided, they most certainly would not be classed as disabled after making that appointment.

In Wales, there are no nhs dentists, there are no doctors at my so called GP surgery, which has been doctorless since 2019, and there is no DSS offices here, they closed down many years ago.

So, on mainland Wales (if that benefit were offered, I know it is for Scotland), I would not be able to fulfill any of that.

You have some mammoth task ahead of you.
You need the help of someone who knows more about this.
Some advocate that can help you through this.

I am a member of

PIP claim help, plus ESA, DLA & Universal Credit

Get the benefits you're entitled to: help with personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and support allowance (ESA),disability living allowance (DLA). Claims, assessments, reviews, appeals.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

which reminds me, my yearly subscription is due soon.

Scotland's, however, is a new benefit to replace PIP, so there will not be a lot of current info anywhere on this.
But maybe they can help or guide you.

Also, I did belong to Disability Rights UK
And I did buy their handbook each year.

Disability Rights UK | We are Disabled people working for an inclusive society

www.disabilityrightsuk.org

But I found Benefits and Work more useful to my needs.

Maybe these can help.

I have no more ideas currently, but if I come across something, I will let you know.

You need help with this, whether it is an advocate, or a friend who will help and back you up every step of the way.

Hugs for both of you.

 

[gennepher]

Late, very bad night - was it my double dip vaccinations yesterday (flue and Covid) - don’t know. Art bit - a start - have a great day if you can. @anneb, hugs for the bureaucratic “compassion” that still shoehorns everyone into a one size fits all box.


View attachment 56601

Hugs for the bad night @dunelm

Absolutely love this start of the Art bit.
Amazing...

 

[ianpspurs]

Late, very bad night - was it my double dip vaccinations yesterday (flue and Covid) - don’t know. Art bit - a start - have a great day if you can. @anneb, hugs for the bureaucratic “compassion” that still shoehorns everyone into a one size fits all box.


View attachment 56601

Thank you for the art which will be amazing when you decide enough is enough. Talking of which, hug for the bad night and even if the double vaccination wasn't the cause I'm glad I decided to split them. Take care and if the art was today's kudos for being so creative and patient but I also hope the process was therapeutic.

 

[ianpspurs]

Interesting screenshot, Ian. That related to the political one yesterday. Today's one is lovely. I seem not to have posted the reply that I wrote yesterday and it's sitting here on my screen waiting to be posted. So the comments are yesterday's.

BG at 3.15 was 5.8. Followed by yet more pills and tea. By 7.30 it was 9.5 and by 9.15 it was 12.8. More tea. insulin (both basal and bolus) and I'm waiting to see what happens. I am expecting a visitor any moment and have made shortbread to go with her cup of coffee, so I might have one tiny little bit with my coffee.

Neil dug out an old coffee filter machine last night and made some proper coffee with freshly ground beans. He did that because he can't take instant coffee - messes with his Crohn's - but decided he'd better have some coffee because his blood pressure had dropped really low and he was feeling awful.

Today: FBG 5.4 at 3.45 am.

In Scotland the government has introduced a new benefit which they say is more compassionate than the normal British one. Instead of PIP, it is APP, or something. People on long term disability benefit (like Neil) have been invited to apply for this benefit instead of the one they've been on. Neil was persuaded to apply and was presented with a 96 page book to complete for his application! He did it and sent it off. Since then there have been numerous phone calls requiring extra information and, since there is no representative of the department dealing with it on the Island, he needs to provide ID (presumably his existing benefit isn't enough). He needs to have a photograph of himself, countersigned by a doctor, a dentist, or a DSS representative who knows him, but not the Disability benefits officer at the DSS. Unfortunately, the only doctor who deals with him and knows him has now left his post in Glasgow - he can't get registered with a dentist on the Island and the only person who knows him at the DSS is the only one who is not qualified to sign the photo.

The solution offered is to meet with someone from the department involved either in their office in Portree (a 1 hour drive and then a 2 hour ferry trip away) or Benbecula (a 11/2 hour drive and a half hour ferry trip away). They are dealing with people with various disabilities, some of whom may be unable to get around, some of whom wouldn't be able to pay the fares involved, some of whom would be unable to deal with the huge application form, some of whom would just give up when face with all the obstacles.

And this is supposed to be more compassionate!

That form and the entire process are utter madness @Annb. Similarly the situation you describe @gennepher. Normally I would be inclined to feel this piece was laying it on a bit thick but those two posts and other things I have read suggest this is sadly the big idea if one actually exists.

 

[Annb]

Good grief @Annb
That amount of effort and time would be totally out of my reach, and my financial pocket. If a disabled person could manage that unaided, they most certainly would not be classed as disabled after making that appointment.

In Wales, there are no nhs dentists, there are no doctors at my so called GP surgery, which has been doctorless since 2019, and there is no DSS offices here, they closed down many years ago.

So, on mainland Wales (if that benefit were offered, I know it is for Scotland), I would not be able to fulfill any of that.

You have some mammoth task ahead of you.
You need the help of someone who knows more about this.
Some advocate that can help you through this.

I am a member of

PIP claim help, plus ESA, DLA & Universal Credit

Get the benefits you're entitled to: help with personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and support allowance (ESA),disability living allowance (DLA). Claims, assessments, reviews, appeals.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

which reminds me, my yearly subscription is due soon.

Scotland's, however, is a new benefit to replace PIP, so there will not be a lot of current info anywhere on this.
But maybe they can help or guide you.

Also, I did belong to Disability Rights UK
And I did buy their handbook each year.

Disability Rights UK | We are Disabled people working for an inclusive society

www.disabilityrightsuk.org

But I found Benefits and Work more useful to my needs.

Maybe these can help.

I have no more ideas currently, but if I come across something, I will let you know.

You need help with this, whether it is an advocate, or a friend who will help and back you up every step of the way.

Hugs for both of you.

Thanks @gennepher, for your thoughtful reply. In fact, it's my son, Neil, who has applied for this new benefit. We found out what we did about it from the CAB in Stornoway. I had gone along to check that I was not entitled to any enhancement to my benefit (I didn't think I was, but a friend was determined that I should, so I went along, just to satisfy her, really). Neil went along with me to push me around in my chair and while there, he asked about this benefit which he had been invited to apply for at a DSS interview. He was encouraged to do so and it was then that we were told that it was intended to be more compassionate than the normal PIP. Obviously the CAB have the best of intentions but were not aware of the actual technical difficulties. We have yet to see if the department can come up with a solution. Can't believe that nobody else on the Isle of Lewis has come up against this problem before.

As it happens, I am not eligible for any enhancement (including dental work or glasses) because my disability post dates my pension age. My friend felt that justice would allow me the benefits she gets because her disability pre-dates her reaching pension age. According to the CAB person, those over pension age can expect disability, whereas those under pension age don't! That seems to be the reasoning behind the difference. Slight sense of injustice, but the rules are the rules and anyway I wasn't disappointed. Even in this situation it's nice to be vindicated.

 

[Annb]

Late, very bad night - was it my double dip vaccinations yesterday (flue and Covid) - don’t know. Art bit - a start - have a great day if you can. @anneb, hugs for the bureaucratic “compassion” that still shoehorns everyone into a one size fits all box.


View attachment 56601

What a talent you have @dunelm. I realise that you will develop the image, but already it is so evocative. Looking forward to seeing how it develops.

 

[Annb]

That form and the entire process are utter madness @Annb. Similarly the situation you describe @gennepher. Normally I would be inclined to feel this piece was laying it on a bit thick but those two posts and other things I have read suggest this is sadly the big idea if one actually exists.

It always surprises me that different brands of politicians can see reality and solutions to problems so differently. It also always surprises me that the public believe what any politician tells them and actually votes for them. My Persian friend is adamant that everyone should vote in elections - coming from a country where the voters matter so little or know so little about political intentions, she feels that it is everyone's duty to participate. But, I ask her, what happens if none of them speak for you? Who do you vote for? Who do you believe? Don't expect an answer from her because I don't have one myself.