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

[Krystyna23040]

5.3 this morning. Hectic day ahead. Dog walk was lovely - a light covering of snow looked really picturesque. Classes all day long and hopefully will be able to catch up with posts later.

 

[dunelm]

good evening all

4.8 yesterday and 4.6 today

I will catch up on all yesterday's posts later

Mum's jab went off ok. Very well organised, in through the back door of the clinic and then out through the main door. She had the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine.

When we left mum's after lunch it was snowing the biggest snowflakes I've seen in along time, like pocket handkerchiefs, beautiful and impressive (if I'm inside that is ).
Mr gee drove us home, I'm not bad at driving on dodgy roads but I don't like heavy blowing snow, years ago I got stuck in a snowdrift in a howling blizzard and that stays with you. The snow soon stopped and went off today though and we managed a village walk in a gap in the weather, cold but beautiful.

Hope your day is treating you kindly

@ianpspurs - I'm a fan of roasted salmon with herb and lemon butter and a big side salad myself but mr gee isn't keen, he got too much poached salmon as a child visiting his Scottish granny

@dunelm - interesting dry brush technique, it's produced a pleasing composition.

@gennepher - hugs for the appointment frustration and good for you for sending a letter about it. Although you don't find your picture restful today it's striking and has a brooding quality, I like it, the colours through the centre are beautiful.

@Muddy Cyclist - that icy edged mere has worked very well and as ever your handling of the foreground foliage is very effective. I'll go back and look at yesterday's later I often find my own 'art' looks different to me on reflection.

art bit -
Mist gathering across the water of the firth.

View attachment 46987

Thank you @geefull and pleased that your mum’s jab went without a hitch. Smashing painting of mist gathering across the Firth. That red tinge works really well.

 

[dunelm]

Like a fool I volunteered to tutor the neighbour's lad in GCSE Maths for a re-sit five years' ago. Then I read the spec. Aaagh!!! Not only was calculus tested in the higher paper, but the mysterious SURDS were also assessed. Fortunately the idle youth didn't accept the free offer, so my out-of-date skills (lack of) remained secret.

Ah, the absurd surds and the crazed denominators - there is one easy fix for most occasions - can you multiply everything by 1 in the fractional form of any denominator - 1/1 = 1 so does -root3/-root3 if you get my meaning. Some answers are best just left as a surd - mind you, like yourself, it’s been a while.

 

[gennepher]

@gennepher
Given your predicament with your doctors and requirements for medical cover, it might be time to move into another health area.
Just a thought and probably a very impractical one at that.
Me and me's wish you all the best in your battles.

Edit: thanks for all the artwork you post.

Hi @alf_Josiah
Thanks for your thought.
It is impractical, but I always say nothing is ever impossible. I do the impossible.
I have a bungalow to sell.
I have been working things out since last year, ie to get away from my senseless stupid neighbour next door. But no actual solutions yet. Although ideas.

Where do I go?
Where do I want to go?
What do I have to hold me to this place? Answer is nothing now. J has gone more than 10 years ago now. Do I have any friends I care for here? Answer is no. There was my art group where we met weekly, but since Covid they have faded away because they have close knit local families.
I don't have a close knit family. They are scattered. So, I have the freedom to go anywhere.
And even more so now is this incomprehensible non doctor situation. Leaving me with no practicable health care.

I've enjoyed living on the edge of the countryside, but I am thinking it is now to go back to the city.
When I attended my appointment at St Paul's Eye Hospital Liverpool recently, I realised I missed the city and its people. Even though I am deaf I still enjoy banter and engaging with people. I bought a baked sweet potato from a vendor, and had to say I couldn't lipread through a mask when he asked questions. Whereupon he and everyone in the queue dropped their masks. Vendor taking the pea out of me in a humorous laughing joking way. And a lot of humorous banter went on. I enjoyed that interaction which is totally lacking here in Wales. I realised I have missed all that.

In Liverpool, there are always other options for health care, which are not here. And they have hospitals nearby and the dental hospital. Also there is my cochlear implant maintenance where I now attend Gan Clywd some distance away, but since more people have been implanted since 2008, there is now a faculty at the Aintree Hospitals to maintain it. That would be so much easier to access than what I have now.

So you can see where my mind has been going.

You can also see that your suggestion might not be that far out.


Thanks for the painting compliment.

 

[RFSMarch]

Well... nice chat this morning over breakfast with cave dweller. I noticed he was trying to gather up any crumbs and picking up stuff to put in the bin... chatted about the inauguration and he is also on the dating site wheel of fortune so ... feel relieved that he is not about to hand in his notice when the rent is due and he sheepishly said he would REALLY hoover the stairs as we both went up! I just said thanks and that I really appreciate it and that I'd do the dusting and hoovering downstairs in between lounging around watching films today - then we finished off with a deep discussion about a couple of Kurt Cobain documentaries I have been watching.

Feel relieved as I hate any kind of atmosphere in my home when lodgers go a bit wonky so that feels like at least a positive this weekend!

 

[gennepher]

Poor investment, increased population and Intelligent Technology.

Yes @Muddy Cyclist
I think the coffers are empty in this area...

 

[gennepher]

May 3 1979 is a very good place to start IMHO

I remember that day...

 

[gennepher]

Good morning everyone on a crisp yet bright morning here in the dark and dangerous north.
The wonder wheel of moules and a few frites came in at 5.6 this am.
Park was open yesterday but a bit of a mess. Water level in lake had dropped about 2 feet, leaving mud and debris on paths and verges (not vergers ). Water birds having a whale of a time. Looking at some parts of the feeder stream, a bit of dredging might be needed quite soon.
Kimchi making - now sat in the larder gently bubbling.
Youngest son’s birthday yesterday so a video linked birthday tea with grandchildren insisting on candles on cake and lights out for the birthday song - champion.
Art today - some more dry brush pushing - this time using a wolf hair brush - it’s quite a stiff brush. Hope everyone has a splendid Saturday. Koffy.
View attachment 46996

I personally love my wolf hair brushes @dunelm
This is beautiful.

 

[lindisfel]

Ah, the absurd surds and the crazed denominators - there is one easy fix for most occasions - can you multiply everything by 1 in the fractional form of any denominator - 1/1 = 1 so does -root3/-root3 if you get my meaning. Some answers are best just left as a surd - mind you, like yourself, it’s been a while.

What about the square root of minus1?

 

[True Blue]

5.3 this morning. Hectic day ahead. Dog walk was lovely - a light covering of snow looked really picturesque. Classes all day long and hopefully will be able to catch up with posts later.

Well done @Krystyna23040 I'm sure your students appreciate your efforts (on a Saturday and weekdays as always). The profession has much to be proud of, during the pandemic. The challenge of duplicating virtual and face-to-face learning must be very tiring. I wonder how you assess student progress from the virtual classes. Maybe students submit written exercises by e-mail. More marking!

 

[ianpspurs]

@Krystyna23040 I hope today isn't too demanding and there is still some you time. Watched a programme about 2 farming families selling their local produce (beef and wine) here. Looked interesting if, like all farmers' markets, very "aspirational". Is this somewhere you have been, close to you or not something that would interest you? You never know, once there is a "new normal" we may pass each other without ever knowing should we both go there. On to Wells and round the coast for foodie goodies - Deli in and Smoke house at Cley. Walsingham also in that area.

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

.

Like this a lot, very chilly. Lots of interest in that skyline which underlines that very cold sky

Thank you.

 

[dunelm]

What about the square root of minus1?

Eh, i - that’s a bit compex

 

[Muddy Cyclist]

Good morning everyone on a crisp yet bright morning here in the dark and dangerous north.
The wonder wheel of moules and a few frites came in at 5.6 this am.
Park was open yesterday but a bit of a mess. Water level in lake had dropped about 2 feet, leaving mud and debris on paths and verges (not vergers ). Water birds having a whale of a time. Looking at some parts of the feeder stream, a bit of dredging might be needed quite soon.
Kimchi making - now sat in the larder gently bubbling.
Youngest son’s birthday yesterday so a video linked birthday tea with grandchildren insisting on candles on cake and lights out for the birthday song - champion.
Art today - some more dry brush pushing - this time using a wolf hair brush - it’s quite a stiff brush. Hope everyone has a splendid Saturday. Koffy.
View attachment 46996

Living in the wild side, Wolf Hair, home made from scratch of course, would expect nothing less from a park explorer and world traveler. Good Mountain scene and colour palette.

Family virtual birthday party best next thing to real ones.

 

[dunelm]

Fbg 7.1 at 2am

I woke up, and thinking about this GP letter to write fully woke me up.
But I had gone to bed at 6pm (felt sleepy), so I have had my 8 hours.

Yesterday I collected my medicines and because it was such a beautiful clear day with the sun was out first thing, instead of coming straight back home the short way, I drove the slightly longer way home.There were very few cars out. And then when I got on higher land, I could see snow covered Snowdonia. That was very uplifting. It was a very bright clear day.

Coming back home, a stream had burst its banks, flooded houses, so a detour was needed. I came back through some ancient woodlands which was glorious with the sunlight coming through the trees. I was glad I took that route back home. It gave me ideas for paintings.

So, when I woke up at 2am I began work on this digital painting. It is not finished. It never will be. It was painted while I was doing my thinking processes on this GP letter to the Practice Manager. And also an online friend who is often online at those hours invited me to chat. So I told her about the GP letter and what led up to it. Her opinion was that I was wasting my time. I had also told her about the so called missed appointments in 2019 which was on my account in the appointments section, but none of these appointments had ever been given me, and they are with people (none of them Doctor's names, but women's names beginning with Ms or Mrs Somebody or other) I have never heard of. There are 6 of them.

My online friend said I was wasting my time, that the GP surgery would insist that I had been sent them. But I keep copies of ALL my prescriptions, and I looked at the 2019 ones, and there is nothing on any of them to tell me I had any appointments in 2019. In addition I keep all the texts I have had from that GP surgery, they have notified me by text in the past. But there are no notifications on these so called no show missed appointments that I was supposed to have had.

My online friend told me to forget it, and that it wasn't worth bringing any of this up, and was only going to cause trouble for me.

So this digital painting was being painted as I am talking on chat with my online friend, and as I am thinking about what I want to say and how I say it.

Just a bit of further information on my doctorless surgery. When I had that traumatic appointment with that nurse who changed my pessary last September '20, and she caused excessive bleeding (oh and by the way, that appointment is NOT on the list of appointments I had in 2020, I wonder why?), and that was when I found out this was a doctorless surgery, I researched online when I got home, with the aid of another online friend. She was very good at finding and unearthing stuff.

What we discovered was that there was something called e-consult, and this is marketed as the online solution for NHS run GP practises, which in English means for doctorless practices. Now, I have NEVER had a letter or any information at any time from my GP practice of any of this or the new way to do things.

My GP practice in early 2019 still had about 6 GP's and some part-time GP's. Now it is run through e-Consult, which means filling in this NHS site form with a million tick boxes as you try to self diagnose your problem. As I found out a couple of days ago while I tried to navigate it to send a message to my GP practice to ask about this appointment I have never been notified of. And the site insisted I answered 20 pages of most inappropriate questions, including of my gambling habits which they asked in every way possible, before it would allow me to access a box of very limited characters to use.

Yesterday I did a bit more digging online because someone suggested I get a different GP. Alas no. This is not possible. Why? Because it would make no difference to my current situation. I found out yesterday that there are now 6 doctorless surgeries in my local area. They are all run by NHS e-Consult for the NHS run GP practices. There are no actual GP' run practices in this area.

If each of those had 6 GP's then that is 36 GP's out of a job or retired, and it means there are 36 GP's that do not need training now to replace them. This is just my local area.

I also found out that the person who invented/created/designed this e-Consult system, intended it for busy GP practices to help with their workload. It was NEVER intended to be a replacement for a a GP surgery.

This is now sounding like a people-less robot medical healthcare experiment for my area.

So here is my digital painting for today. Within it is my thoughts and feelings, and processes of thought about my GP (less) Practice.

View attachment 46994

Well what a carry on - I would still be writing in and asking for some answers purely for reassurance. Smashing piece of unfinished art.

 

[dunelm]

I personally love my wolf hair brushes @dunelm
This is beautiful.

Thank you @gennepher - it began as an idea to paint the mountain K2 and then it sort of morphed a bit. I sometimes leave ink on a brush and let it dry to stiffen it up a bit - sometimes works.

 

[dunelm]

Living in the wild side, Wolf Hair, home made from scratch of course, would expect nothing less from a park explorer and world traveler. Good Mountain scene and colour palette.

Family virtual birthday party best next thing to real ones.

If only - and I am not really sure if the wolf hair is real or not as many brushes are synthetic. Some fine ones are made of rat whiskers - I don’t have one but dear me.

 

[jjraak]

Fbg 7.1 at 2am

I woke up, and thinking about this GP letter to write fully woke me up.
But I had gone to bed at 6pm (felt sleepy), so I have had my 8 hours.

Yesterday I collected my medicines and because it was such a beautiful clear day with the sun was out first thing, instead of coming straight back home the short way, I drove the slightly longer way home.There were very few cars out. And then when I got on higher land, I could see snow covered Snowdonia. That was very uplifting. It was a very bright clear day.

Coming back home, a stream had burst its banks, flooded houses, so a detour was needed. I came back through some ancient woodlands which was glorious with the sunlight coming through the trees. I was glad I took that route back home. It gave me ideas for paintings.

So, when I woke up at 2am I began work on this digital painting. It is not finished. It never will be. It was painted while I was doing my thinking processes on this GP letter to the Practice Manager. And also an online friend who is often online at those hours invited me to chat. So I told her about the GP letter and what led up to it. Her opinion was that I was wasting my time. I had also told her about the so called missed appointments in 2019 which was on my account in the appointments section, but none of these appointments had ever been given me, and they are with people (none of them Doctor's names, but women's names beginning with Ms or Mrs Somebody or other) I have never heard of. There are 6 of them.

My online friend said I was wasting my time, that the GP surgery would insist that I had been sent them. But I keep copies of ALL my prescriptions, and I looked at the 2019 ones, and there is nothing on any of them to tell me I had any appointments in 2019. In addition I keep all the texts I have had from that GP surgery, they have notified me by text in the past. But there are no notifications on these so called no show missed appointments that I was supposed to have had.

My online friend told me to forget it, and that it wasn't worth bringing any of this up, and was only going to cause trouble for me.

So this digital painting was being painted as I am talking on chat with my online friend, and as I am thinking about what I want to say and how I say it.

Just a bit of further information on my doctorless surgery. When I had that traumatic appointment with that nurse who changed my pessary last September '20, and she caused excessive bleeding (oh and by the way, that appointment is NOT on the list of appointments I had in 2020, I wonder why?), and that was when I found out this was a doctorless surgery, I researched online when I got home, with the aid of another online friend. She was very good at finding and unearthing stuff.

What we discovered was that there was something called e-consult, and this is marketed as the online solution for NHS run GP practises, which in English means for doctorless practices. Now, I have NEVER had a letter or any information at any time from my GP practice of any of this or the new way to do things.

My GP practice in early 2019 still had about 6 GP's and some part-time GP's. Now it is run through e-Consult, which means filling in this NHS site form with a million tick boxes as you try to self diagnose your problem. As I found out a couple of days ago while I tried to navigate it to send a message to my GP practice to ask about this appointment I have never been notified of. And the site insisted I answered 20 pages of most inappropriate questions, including of my gambling habits which they asked in every way possible, before it would allow me to access a box of very limited characters to use.

Yesterday I did a bit more digging online because someone suggested I get a different GP. Alas no. This is not possible. Why? Because it would make no difference to my current situation. I found out yesterday that there are now 6 doctorless surgeries in my local area. They are all run by NHS e-Consult for the NHS run GP practices. There are no actual GP' run practices in this area.

If each of those had 6 GP's then that is 36 GP's out of a job or retired, and it means there are 36 GP's that do not need training now to replace them. This is just my local area.

I also found out that the person who invented/created/designed this e-Consult system, intended it for busy GP practices to help with their workload. It was NEVER intended to be a replacement for a a GP surgery.

This is now sounding like a people-less robot medical healthcare experiment for my area.

So here is my digital painting for today. Within it is my thoughts and feelings, and processes of thought about my GP (less) Practice.

View attachment 46994

Some nice investigative journalism there. @gennepher .

Be a good bet this is rolling out to other areas before long ..

My surgery has about 6/8 gps rarely see the same one twice

And it's recently hooked me up with its latest e-system that includes e-consult.

So maybe I'm not too far behind you

Deffo worth knowing more about it, while I guess we still can affect how far it rolls out.

Sounds like your Liverpool plan has a lot going for it .

 

[ianpspurs]

For those who enjoyed the poetry this link should be a twofor. I like the idea of Communion with a whisky in the side -maybe later?

 

[gennepher]

Well what a carry on - I would still be writing in and asking for some answers purely for reassurance. Smashing piece of unfinished art.

Thank you @dunelm
Yes, I am.
I will start it again tomorrow morning!