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

[gennepher]

Smashing flowers

Thanks @dunelm

 

[SlimLizzy]

Do any of you remember me saying Kiki is mostly interested in in insect prey?
Well yesterday evening she tried for something a lot larger - She was sitting peacefully just inside the gate when a hare came up the road and appeared behind her, a little over a metre away. Obviously the hare hadn't seen her until it was really close and took off at 90 degrees, leaping over the road, up the bank into the hayfield opposite with Kiki in close pursuit. Fortunately the hare was so fast Kiki lost it almost immediately. ( I think her eyesight is poor ) Otherwise, if she had caught it - might have been emergency vet visit. Both animals were startled to see the other and reacted so quickly I was unable to get a photo.

 

[Annb]

Do any of you remember me saying Kiki is mostly interested in in insect prey?
Well yesterday evening she tried for something a lot larger - She was sitting peacefully just inside the gate when a hare came up the road and appeared behind her, a little over a metre away. Obviously the hare hadn't seen her until it was really close and took off at 90 degrees, leaping over the road, up the bank into the hayfield opposite with Kiki in close pursuit. Fortunately the hare was so fast Kiki lost it almost immediately. ( I think her eyesight is poor ) Otherwise, if she had caught it - might have been emergency vet visit. Both animals were startled to see the other and reacted so quickly I was unable to get a photo.

Our cat, Jimmy, used to catch rats and rabbits but the rabbits here are comparatively small and he was a big cat. He never saw a hare - we don't have them here.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Our cat, Jimmy, used to catch rats and rabbits but the rabbits here are comparatively small and he was a big cat. He never saw a hare - we don't have them here.

The hare was at least twice her size. Good thing she didnt catch it.
Here we don't seem to have rabbits. Or at least not wild ones. Plenty being reared for the pot. Am assuming La Chasse has eliminated all the wild rabbits nearby. We have now been here five years and seen only a single wild rabbit and that was miles from home.

 

[Annb]

The local council is changing the collection days for our bins so that glass is collected every nine weeks, plastic and metal recycling every 3 weeks, organic waste every 3 weeks and non recyclable waste every 3 weeks. But the weeks are all different. The council set out the collection days in a series of charts in the local paper but tghe print is so small that, even wearing glasses I can't see what it says. I used a magnifying glass and found our road on the chart (School Road) but there is another road, also called School
Road, for some unknown reason, about half a mile away from us and collected on different days. Which one are we, I wonder. Alistair's house is in the village of Back but 2 main roads are quoted, one of which may be his road, being the main road through the village and the other the main road which leads from Stornoway to the villages all along this east coast of the Island. Also collected on different days. The notice seems to indicate that we can't expect a collection for the next 5 weeks though so there is time to sort it out. Unfortunately, we have already run out of space in our 2 non recyclable bins - Neil didn't wake up in time to put them out on the last collection day.

It's not the end of the world, but it is irritating and confusing.

 

[SlimLizzy]

18.05
8.25am FBG 5.9
No Mow May!
Between the French moratorium on hedge cutting until end of July and the No Mow May initiative plus the preceeding nearly no mow April, our garden is a mess. Nearly no mow April due to broken down mowers - both of them! Bad weather, bad back (him) and dodgy knee (me) So very little gardening done and most effort concentrated in the greenhouse.
The vegetable beds were full of weeds, almost invisible against the grass infested weeds. It has taken me over a week to get them edged and weeded. Yesterday I was fetching soil from under the bonfire one end of our land and wheelbarrowing it to the vegetable beds the other end. I finally got fed up of pushing the heavy wheelbarrow through the long vegetation and got the mower out. Now I have cleared paths for the most used routes.
MrSlims back has mostly recovered and he has been working on the front of the building. It looks amazing, such an improvement, although I didn't see the point at first.
He has now moved on to repairing the barn doors. Slight hitch to plan. The day it rained he tidied up in the barn and found a hedgehog nest. Now he has repaired them the doors will have to be left open at night to allow Mama and babies to get out.
Meanwhile i have about 30 tomato plants needing more space. Some will be moving out of the greenhouse this week if the weather stays warm.

 

[dunelm]

The local council is changing the collection days for our bins so that glass is collected every nine weeks, plastic and metal recycling every 3 weeks, organic waste every 3 weeks and non recyclable waste every 3 weeks. But the weeks are all different. The council set out the collection days in a series of charts in the local paper but tghe print is so small that, even wearing glasses I can't see what it says. I used a magnifying glass and found our road on the chart (School Road) but there is another road, also called School
Road, for some unknown reason, about half a mile away from us and collected on different days. Which one are we, I wonder. Alistair's house is in the village of Back but 2 main roads are quoted, one of which may be his road, being the main road through the village and the other the main road which leads from Stornoway to the villages all along this east coast of the Island. Also collected on different days. The notice seems to indicate that we can't expect a collection for the next 5 weeks though so there is time to sort it out. Unfortunately, we have already run out of space in our 2 non recyclable bins - Neil didn't wake up in time to put them out on the last collection day.

It's not the end of the world, but it is irritating and confusing.

Blimey. Could they have made it more confusing. Mind you, we are in ‘zones’ and then you have to, by osmosis, figure out which zone your particular street is on.

 

[dunelm]

18.05
8.25am FBG 5.9
No Mow May!
Between the French moratorium on hedge cutting until end of July and the No Mow May initiative plus the preceeding nearly no now April, our garden is a mess. Nearly no mow April due to broken down mowers - both of them! Bad weather, bad back (him) and dodgy knee (me) So very little gardening done and most effort concentrated in the greenhouse.
The vegetable beds were full of weeds, almost invisible against the grass infested weeds. It has taken me over a week to get them edged and weeded. Yesterday I was fetching soil from under the bonfire one end of our land and wheelbarrowing it to the vegetable beds the other end. I finally got fed up of pushing the heavy wheelbarrow through the long vegetation and got the mower out. Now I have cleared paths for the most used routes.
MrSlims back has mostly recovered and he has been working on the front of the building. It looks amazing, such an improvement, although I didn't see the point at first.
He has now moved on to repairing the barn doors. Slight hitch to plan. The day it rained he tidied up in the barn and found a hedgehog nest. Now he has repaired them the doors will have to be left open at night to allow Mama and babies to get out.
Meanwhile i have about 30 tomato plants needing more space. Some will be moving out of the greenhouse this week if the weather stays warm.

Lots of work. Exhausting just reading about it. When my parents moved to France nearly 30 years ago, they did not realise until they had moved in that they now owned two orchards as well as their gardens, one of which they eventually had to sell because it was so big. Luckily, they moved into the city but still have three little gardens and a potager.

 

[dunelm]

Good morning everyone on a bit of a dull start on double dip bin day here in the dark and dangerous north. Must be because Middlesbrough lost at “footy” last night. Daughter and son in law went to the match so I expect they will be sad this morning. Girl In The Bubble stayed with us to protect her from disappointing looking faces. I have little interest in the game myself but I know how it cheers people up and brings cash into the towns of successful teams. Bread and circuses. Art bit, colour added so onwards and upwards. Hope your day is kind to you. I best make another koffy.

 

[ianpspurs]

Morning all on a day which promises to be adjacent to spring like here in L.A. Swipey is suffering inflation today at 5.2. Oh well, the BOE brains trust will solve that with their cunning starvation plan. Off to Huntingdon today to choose a cricket bat for middle son. Then have to look after said bat and take it to Wales - he lives in Winchester. The other highlight will be h/m Gaucamole. @Annb proper conundrum with the rubbish collection. No glass collection here - any seen in bins means none emptied. In Cambs glass went in the mixed, dry recyclables. @dunelm thanks for the majestic (other wine warehouses may exist) art. Hugs for 'Boro fans but Coventry V Luton is a tale of two Lazarus like recoveries. Enjoy your day everyone bat, Gaucamole or not.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Blimey. Could they have made it more confusing. Mind you, we are in ‘zones’ and then you have to, by osmosis, figure out which zone your particular street is on.

So unnecessarily confusing. Am now grateful for our very simple system. Organic matter is composted but otherwise ALL rubbish or recycling has to be taken to one of the decetteries by ourselves.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Lots of work. Exhausting just reading about it. When my parents moved to France nearly 30 years ago, they did not realise until they had moved in that they now owned two orchards as well as their gardens, one of which they eventually had to sell because it was so big. Luckily, they moved into the city but still have three little gardens and a potager.

Your parents little gardens and potager sound lovely.
We have another field with Apple trees. Can't really call it an orchard any more as they keep falling over and becoming firewood. Only about four trees left now. We do only minimal mowing in there. Few times a year to prevent the brambles and nettles taking over.
You are right about it being exhausting, but at least I am sleeping better now.

 

[Annb]

Neil noticed an oil leak from the car but couldn't trace where is was coming from so he took it to a garage this morning. Problem is a simple pipe that is leaking but it is more of a problem because the engine needs to be dismantled to reach it. He's not going to drive the car until he can get it repaired because if it actually fails it will do a lot of damage and it could go at any time. Managed to get a slot for a Tesco delivery next Thursday and will ask Alistair to get some bits and pieces on Monday to keep us going. Neil suggested that, perhaps, we don't need a car any more. He can travel by bus now and we could use taxis if needed. 2 shopping trips a week by taxi would cost us about £80. Then there are the occasions when we have medical appointments - both of us - maybe another £40 a week. No - I think we'll just have to bite the bullet and get the car repaired, even though it will cost hundreds.

 

[dunelm]

So unnecessarily confusing. Am now grateful for our very simple system. Organic matter is composted but otherwise ALL rubbish or recycling has to be taken to one of the decetteries by ourselves.

Yes that makes life so easy. There is an underground decetterie at the end of my parent’s venelle. They just pop their rubbish into the relevant part that stands above ground level and thats it.

 

[gennepher]

Good morning everyone on a bit of a dull start on double dip bin day here in the dark and dangerous north. Must be because Middlesbrough lost at “footy” last night. Daughter and son in law went to the match so I expect they will be sad this morning. Girl In The Bubble stayed with us to protect her from disappointing looking faces. I have little interest in the game myself but I know how it cheers people up and brings cash into the towns of successful teams. Bread and circuses. Art bit, colour added so onwards and upwards. Hope your day is kind to you. I best make another koffy.


View attachment 60963

Completely different atmosphere. I like it very much @dunelm

 

[gennepher]

Neil noticed an oil leak from the car but couldn't trace where is was coming from so he took it to a garage this morning. Problem is a simple pipe that is leaking but it is more of a problem because the engine needs to be dismantled to reach it. He's not going to drive the car until he can get it repaired because if it actually fails it will do a lot of damage and it could go at any time. Managed to get a slot for a Tesco delivery next Thursday and will ask Alistair to get some bits and pieces on Monday to keep us going. Neil suggested that, perhaps, we don't need a car any more. He can travel by bus now and we could use taxis if needed. 2 shopping trips a week by taxi would cost us about £80. Then there are the occasions when we have medical appointments - both of us - maybe another £40 a week. No - I think we'll just have to bite the bullet and get the car repaired, even though it will cost hundreds.

We are all being priced out of existence....

 

[gennepher]

Fbg 7.8

Late to post this today.


Yesterday I was sitting on top of my bed in the afternoon doing some writing, and suddenly Mr Magpie flies into my bedroom (The door was open into the garden) and stands on my bedside table looking at me. I look at him, tell him he's not meant to be in my house, and he turns around and flies away. He was less than a metre away from me. I didn't have my sound processor on, so I have no idea if he 'spoke' to me but his beak didn't open, so we'll assume he didn't. I then decided to cover all the items in my bedroom with tea towels (they were the nearest thing to hand) just so he couldn't steal them. I don't know whether that will work.

This morning I was out early because I had blood tests. I explain to the lady who was trying to find a vein that my veins are a bit difficult. So she stopped, what have you drunk yesterday...tea and water I said...what have you drunk this morning...tea and water I say.

Next time you're due for a blood test she tells me, knock off the tea the day before, and just drink water and on the morning before the blood test knock off the tea and only drink water. You can do what you want when you get back home, you can drink all the tea you want but do not drink tea the day before the blood test. Why I asked? Because tea shrinks the veins, dehydrates you and we can't find the veins if you drink tea. Drink water the day before and the morning of the blood test and you will be just fine she says, and proceeds jabbing me trying to find a vein.

It is now 9:00 a.m. and I go to the chemist to pick up my missing meds, I have the owing form in my hand. But there is already a long queue. They appeared to be looking for medicines unsuccessfully again. But what it does it turn out to be is that there are no meds for the customers. Quite a few people walked out with no meds and they had a bit of discussion with the counter assistant but I wasn't quite sure what was going on. There were quite a few people with owing slips and they presented them, and they were told something and they walked back out with their owing slips and no meds.

I presented my slip and I was told to go and wait at the front of the chemists and so I sat on my walker.

About 20 minutes later the counter assistant comes out, (and I have no idea why I had to wait for so long just for this), and she tells me that they are not in. So, do I come back in next week, I asked? That won't be much point, the counter assistant said. May I ask why, I said.

The counter assistant looked every which way except at me. Because they won't be in, she said. And why won't they be in, I asked again. Because they won't be coming in again. I saw no point in asking anything any further because people listening are beginning to stare at us by now, because I was the only one who asked so many questions. And the counter assistant looked like she wants to get back on the other (safe) side of the counter.

I am stunned. I didn't feel safe asking more questions in the chemist. I go to bed when I get home. I am tired anyway after waiting in the chemist for so long.

Just woke up 2pm. I feel like I am wasting my day and time again. A part of me feels like I am giving up when all these problems arise, and just going to bed. But I am tired

I have a lot on my plate this 2 weeks and I need my energies just for that. And to top it off, something else is coming up which wasn't supposed to happen until September, but is now happening next week, and I just do not have the energy to deal with all this September thing which is now next week, they insist on me providing some more paperwork asap....they have already had the paperwork, but want it again.

Anyway when I woke up, my head had already thought of a couple of strategies on the missing meds, which I shall set in motion, when I have some head space.


Wildlife nighttime video.
The foxes were very active this night, but did not disturb Midnight.
Two new young foxes in my garden.
One has black front legs.

This Creative is a raspberry flower, done in iPastels and then Procreate. It appeared from nowhere into my garden last year, and grew vigorously. The raspberries were not very palatable, and Google told me it was a foreign raspberry. But I cannot remember the name, and Google this year is telling me it is a blackberry, but the flower is wrong.

Now, I am going to find my hidden bottle of sherry...

Have your best day...

 

[Krystyna23040]

Do any of you remember me saying Kiki is mostly interested in in insect prey?
Well yesterday evening she tried for something a lot larger - She was sitting peacefully just inside the gate when a hare came up the road and appeared behind her, a little over a metre away. Obviously the hare hadn't seen her until it was really close and took off at 90 degrees, leaping over the road, up the bank into the hayfield opposite with Kiki in close pursuit. Fortunately the hare was so fast Kiki lost it almost immediately. ( I think her eyesight is poor ) Otherwise, if she had caught it - might have been emergency vet visit. Both animals were startled to see the other and reacted so quickly I was unable to get a photo.

I initially misread your post and read that Kiki went after a bear. Good that it was a hare and made a very fast getaway.

 

[Krystyna23040]

This morning was 7.5. Has been a very busy day but have had a chance to relax before going into Norwich for classes and 1:1s.

 

[Annb]

What an awful time you are having Gennepher. Is there no other chemist you could go to? That one sounds absolutely useless and unhelpful to boot. We sometimes have problems with supply, but at least the assistants and pharmacist are usually helpful and do their best. If our local pharmacist knows there is going to be a problem, they will either get a supply from one of the bigger pharmacies in town or give you your prescription back so you can go yourself and get it. There have been problems but they are not as unhelpful as your one when problems arise.

Oh - here we go again - the forum is refusing to upload my reply so I will delete it from here and post it separately.