Diabetes, life and all that - personal diary

[pavlosn]

lol...

 

[pavlosn]

I am reminded of this poem as I once again set out on my daily walk.

The days of the future stand in front of us
Like a line of candles all alight----
Golden and warm and lively little candles.
The days that are past are left behind,
A mournful row of candles that are out;
The nearer ones are still smoking,
Candles cold, and melted, candles bent.,
I don’t want to see them; their shapes hurt me,
It hurts me to remember the light of them at first.
I look before me at my lighted candles,
I don’t want to turn around and see with horror
How quickly the dark line is lengthening,
How quickly the candles multiply that have been put out.
Constantine P. Cavafy

Constantinos Cavafis is my favorite Greek poet, his writing more than a little melancholic but profound and beautiful nonetheless, especially in the original.

Acknowledging the transient nature of our existence makes it easier to accept somehow and highlights the importance of making our time count and of making sure that our own lighted candles ahead are not put out prematurely.

Pavlos

 

[alliebee]

I am absolutely loving this thread. Beautifully written and wonderful photos. Thank you so much

 

[Jamrox]

Wish Scotland could say we had an independence day

 

[pavlosn]

Wish Scotland could say we had an independence day

Now this is an emotionally charged subject on the merits of which , an outsider such as I, should probably best keep his counsel.

I imagine that whichever way the poll ended, a very big proportion of Scots would have ended up bitterly disappointed.

We went through a similar experience in 2004 when we had to vote on the Anan reunification plan for Cyprus. Such black or white, yes or no decisions, with no room for middle ground or compromise, inevitably lead to deep division of polarly opposed sides, both claiming the moral and patriotic high ground.

Inevitably, the losing side comes out with a strong sense of bitterness, even resentment for those that did not share their vision.

Talk of how, immediately following the referendum, a page should be turned and all should now go forth as one, striving for a better common tomorrow may be correct and well intentioned but is in my opinion probably premature.

Wounds must be allowed time to heal, in some ways we are still licking ours even so many years later, and the losing side must be allowed time to grieve their shuttered dreams in dignity.

Only after such a period of adjustment can the two sides truly reunite.

Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

I am always on the lookout for alternatives to the too many diet cokes I consume.

This is probably the best alternative I have found so far



Mint lemonade made with fresh lemon juice, a twig of fresh mint, Perrier water and lots of ice. I like sour tastes so I find no need to add artificial sweetener.

Pavlos

 

[AndBreathe]

I might rather like that.............................. and it looks like a mojito.

 

[pavlosn]

I might rather like that..............................

My wife tried it and she almost spit it out. Lol

"It needs about two spoonfuls of sugar .... she said.

You have been wormed it does taste sour.

 

[Scandichic]

I might rather like that.............................. and it looks like a mojito.

That was my first thought too! We're clearly coming from the same place!
@pavlosn

 

[pavlosn]

I set out on my morning walk much earlier than normal today. It was still dark, a few of the brighter stars were still visible in the sky and day brake still a distant promise a somewhat lighter, more orange glow in the eastern horizon.

View attachment 7294

The sensitivity of modern digidal cameras does not allow me to capture the scene properly.

Everything was thrown into pitch darkness five minutes later as the roadside lamps were all automatically switched off at 6:00 am. At first walking like this alone in the dark was slightly disconcerting but my ayes soon adjusted and I find myself enjoying the solitude and the silence. The sound of my footsteps, previously ignored in the crescendo of sound that usually accompanies my morning walks, sounded impossibly loud to my ears. The sound of some early rise crickets surprisingly pleasant.

It did get progressively lighter of course and the sun finally did break over nearby houses by the time I was completing my walk.

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The bright yellow flowers of this tree ( must look up name later) in this neighbor's garden look lovely and oddly perfectly color coordinated with a nearby letterbox - a bright splash of yellow in front of a rather unsightly building site.

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On returning home I rechecked my sugar levels and was pleased to find that despite my walk and or perhaps because of the small square of dark chocolate I had before setting out, my glucose had remained at my fasting level of 91mg/dl(4,9 mmol).

It's our housekeeper's day off today but she usually tides up the kitchen in the morning before catching the bus downtown. I exchanged good mornings with her and shamelessly accepted the offer of breakfast from her:,another delicious egg &tomato omelette washed down with some a aniseed tea - I am exploring different herbal teas at the moment.

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I breakfast completed I walk out into the garden, the grass seems to be recovering slowly although there are still a couple of bear patches particularly where my sons football goalpost used to sit.

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Ginger inevitably puts in an appearance and tries to attract my attention.

The sprinklers go off and I find myself actually enjoying both the sight and the sound that results. I do not know what it is about moving water but I seem to find it irresistible.

Ginger does not share my enthusiasm and is chased indoors.

I follow and make it up to him.





Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

I set out on my morning walk much earlier than normal today. It was still dark, a few of the brighter stars were still visible and day brake still a distant promise; a somewhat lighter, more orange bit of night sky in the eastern horizon.



The sensitivity of modern digidal cameras does not allow me to capture the scene properly.

Everything was thrown into pitch darkness five minutes later as the street lighting was automatically switched off at 6:00 am.

At first walking like this, alone in the dark, was slightly disconcerting but my ayes soon adjusted and I found myself enjoying the solitude and the silence. The sound of my footsteps, previously ignored in the crescendo of sound that usually accompanies my morning walks, sounded impossibly loud to my ears. The sound of some early rise crickets surprisingly pleasant.

It did get progressively lighter of course and the sun did finally break through over the rooftops of nearby houses by the time I was completing my walk.



The bright yellow flowers of this tree ( a kind of Vignonia I think, I must look up name later) in this neighbor's garden looked lovely and oddly perfectly color coordinated with a nearby letterbox - a bright splash of yellow in front of a rather unsightly building site.





On returning home I rechecked my sugar levels and was pleased to find that despite my walk and or perhaps because of the small square of dark chocolate I had before setting out, my glucose had remained at my earlier fasting level of 91mg/dl(4,9 mmol).

It's our housekeeper's day off today but she usually tides up the kitchen in the morning before catching the bus downtown and that is where I found her. We exchanged good mornings and I shamelessly accepted her offer of breakfast: another delicious egg&tomato omelette washed down with some aniseed tea - I am exploring different herbal teas at the moment.



With breakfast completed I walked out into the garden for a look around, the grass seems to be recovering slowly although there are still a couple of bare patches particularly where my sons football goal used to be.





Ginger inevitably puts in an appearance and tries to attract my attention.



The sprinklers go off and I find myself actually enjoying both the sight and the sound of the dancing water drops.




I do not know what it is about moving water but I seem to find it irresistible.

Ginger does not share my enthusiasm and is chased indoors.

I soon follow and make it up to him.





Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

Md

 

[cold ethyl]

Beautiful photos and I over the Cavafy poem. I have a second hand collection of his poetry somewhere so most dig it out. I believe he is a favourite of Leonard Cohen whom I love too and this song was based off one of his poems.

 

[pavlosn]

Beautiful photos and I over the Cavafy poem. I have a second hand collection of his poetry somewhere so most dig it out. I believe he is a favourite of Leonard Cohen whom I love too and this song was based off one of his poems.

I believe the Kavafy poem the song is loosely based on is:

"God abandons Anthony

When abruptly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession pass by
with delightful music, and voices,
don’t grieve for your failing fortunes,
your spoiled deeds,
the illusion of your life’s plan;
to mourn is useless.
Rather, with foreknowledge and boldness,
bid farewell to the departing Alexandria.
Above all, don’t fool yourself, don’t claim it was just a dream,
that you heard a lie;
avoid all such futile notions.
As if long prepared, and ever courageous,
acting as one who deserves such a city,
make your way to the window,
and listen closely with your heart, not
with cowardly pleas and protests;
hear, as a last pleasure, those sounds,
the delightful music of the invisible procession,
and bid farewell to the Alexandria you are losing. "

The Anthony referred to in the poem is Marcus Antonius, the famous Roman general, who, following Julius Caesar's murder, co-ruled the Roman Empire as part of a triumvirate. Despite marrying the daughter of Octavius , adopted son of Caesar and another member of the triumvirate, Anthony, who was responsible for the Eastern provinces based in Alexandria, Egypt, carried on an affair with Queen Cleopatra.

The power struggle between Anthony and Octavius, eventually led to civil war and Anthony and Cleopatra's forces were ultimately defeated at the sea battle of Aktion.

The defeated Anthony returned to Alexandria in Egypt were he committed suicide.

Octavius went on to become Octavius Augustus, first Emperor of Rome.

The poem is therefore about accepting defeat, which our mortal nature dictates must eventually come, with grace and dignity.

Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

Spent the day in the Macheras forest in the Troodos mountains.





In the morning we visited the 12th century monastery with the same name dedicated to the Holy Virgin.

 

[pavlosn]

We then met up with friends for a barbecue lunch at an organized picnic site not far from the monastery.






As I was in charge of cooking I made sure that the menu was not only tasty but reasonably low carb.



The menu comprised:

- Barbecued boneless chicken marinated in yoghurt garlic, mint and cumin
- barbecued haloumi cheese
- barbecued portobello mushrooms with a garlic and fresh herb butter
- the obligatory Greek salad and
- pitta bread ( I gave this a miss)

Following lunch I took a three kilometer walk up and down a mountain road, an excellent way to burn away any excess glucose while enjoying the scenery and pine scented fresh air.









By the time we made it back to the site, all I had energy for was to lie back on a convenient blanket and enjoy the sight of fluffy white clouds drifting past the top of the pine trees

 

[aqualung]

lovely photos pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

To gym or not to gym?

There is not a lot I hate to do more than working out at a gym. The enclosed spaces, sweaty bodies, the undeclared but ever present competition, the posing.... The list goes on.

Yet again, I know that working out is good for us!

So time and time again I buy my gym membership, start with the best of intentions, only to give up a couple of weeks later.

As I write this, I am waiting for my first gym session with a new trainer.

So why am I contemplating starting this vicious circle again?

Surely it is folly to repeat the same steps hoping for a different outcome.

The answer is because, deep down, I realize that I need to do so.

The dieting and the walking is causing pounds to shift and improving my aerobic fitness but I still need some toning and strengthening exercises.

Lol toning! That makes me sound like a fitness freak!

What brought it all home is that after overdoing the walking a bid on Wednesday, my right knee was giving me trouble for the next couple of days; a condition which I have been told was caused by the surrounding muscles not being strong enough to hold the knee in the right position.

I bet this comment has put any illusions any of you may have had of me as a Greek bodybuilding God, well and truly to bed!

Besides, increases in body muscle percentage are just as beneficial to reducing insulin resistance as drops in body fat percentage.

So my mind is sold on the idea that this is all worthwhile.

Now if only I can find a way to convince myself that this is pleasurable!

Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

So far so good. First gym session successfully completed.

To be honest it was not too unpleasant an experience as I was guided through everything by the gym trainer, a very attractive and patient young lady.

Perhaps that is the answer to keep my interest up, lady gym instructors!

Pavlos

 

[pavlosn]

My latest acquisition.



All part of the master plan to get more fit and lose weight while having fun. It also opens up the possibility of going on bike rides with my eleven year old son.

Let's hope it does not end up being an expensive white elephant.

Pavlos