Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 28 Comments

We Shall Decide When You Shall Return To The Office

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Unfortunately, I’ve had a really shit week. I accidentally got my Covid booster shot during the week. I had a doctor’s appointment late one afternoon and they had vaccine doses left over so they offered me one and I accepted. Gee, the fizzer shot raises your blood glucose level, doesn’t it? My BG has been all over the shop. The day after my shot, I was high all day so I decided to walk that blood sugar down. I felt really good when I started out. That should have been a warning sign. With the pump cannula in my leg (I know, stupid), the intramuscular insulin and exercise slammed me down pretty fast. I started to stagger when I reached my street on my way home. I don’t know why I didn’t stop to drink my Lucozade when I felt the hypo symptoms. Too far gone and too stupid, I guess. But I only had a few hundred metres to go, so I pushed on. I made it to our bin when my legs started to collapse under me. I then somehow made it to the front steps. I don’t know how long I was outside, clutching on to the railing, but by the time I was discovered, I was covered in mosquito bites. I remember whispering, “Help me. Help me.” Very pathetic. My True Love has a sixth sense about these things and he found me on the stairs.

My hypo awareness is not so good after a big hypo. I had a smaller hypo today but I still needed help. Fortunately, my True Love was working from home, but that will change from next Monday. He and other federal public servants have been directed to return to the office full-time. And, in my opinion, for the flimsiest of reasons – community expectations (by that, do they mean the Property Council?) and because the quality of policy advice is apparently better when people are in the office together to come up with a likely story work through issues. Well, sure. I guess you could apply the same quality measure to those consultancy reports that the Government are so fond of. If a public servant can’t outline the productivity gains from working from home, then that public servant must return to the office. Simply doing one’s job is not good enough apparently.

I know my True Love doesn’t get paid to stay home and look after me, but his caring responsibilities take a mere few minutes of his working day. It means the world to me. Too bad, so sad. That is not the Australian Government’s problem. A little bit of compassion, flexibility and consultation with staff goes a long way. Again, that’s my opinion.

I think we need a song to conclude this woe-is-me saga. Today my pick is Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman singing Stumblin’ In. Enjoy.

Remember that not everyone who staggers down the street is a stupid drunk. They may just be stupidly hypo. I’ll be back to normal in a few days. Take care, everyone.

Bring on the election and subsidised continuous glucose monitoring!

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Information For Readers
Tracy has had Type 1 diabetes for nearly 50 years. Next year, if she makes it that far, will be the big 50 year Diaversary. It would be nice if the Australian Government could partially subsidise Continuous Glucose Monitoring for adults with Type 1 diabetes. It is not as though we grow out of this damn disease.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 29 Comments

The Changing Seasons – November 2021

Canberra (Australia) – A veil of green pools on valley floor. Grey-filled sky billows adding to uncertainty. Will I or won’t I go for a walk? We put on our gardening gear and gumboots to dig in the loam once labelled the garden bed of death. Intermittent sunlight sounds of engines thrumming, dogs barking, bees humming and tiles cracking. Beyond Canberra, on the vast flood plains of eastern Australia, rivers rise, fall and rise again.

Read more
Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 28 Comments

Poor Bill

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Clyde, the evil cat, is asleep on the job, the rodent hunting job that is. He much prefers prey of the feathered variety. I can’t help losing my cool because my neighbour’s open compost pile next to our shared back fence, is a cafe for rodents. Consequently, our life has been hell. This is because our dogs are hunting dogs. They are rodent hunting dogs. They are completely obsessed with catching rodents, and being Finnish spitz, they are not quiet about it. I sometimes hear a scittering when I am in my outdoor art studio and I see occasional rodent excrement resting delicately on my tile stash. Anyway, my dog, Fynn, decided he could also hear and smell the little beasties in my studio.

My True Love (TL) eventually investigated and much to his surprise found a rodent in an upside down self-watering pot. Crafty bugger, the rodent, not my TL. Anyway, the rat had taken up residence in the small, dry water well of the pot. Luxury accommodation. I was there to witness the mayhem at its discovery. I might have even contributed to some of the mayhem. My TL tried to contain the beastie in the pot but there was nothing on hand to trap it and I was frozen in fright so I was no help. Anyway, a rat the size of small Toyota sailed clear over the rim of the pot, whereupon I found my voice once again. Unfortunately, Fynnie dog can’t unsee what he saw. He will never forget the day he saw that rat run under my tile shelves. He will tell us about it. Every. Single. Day.

I reckon we need a song about an evil cat, a lazy cat. This cat’s name was Bill. Let’s listen to Ami Williamson sing Bill’s song. It is the stuff of cat lore. I bet Bill wished he had kept his legs crossed and his mouth shut.

Stay calm and safe, everyone.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

RDP Akimbo

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 35 Comments

Grey Expectations

Each month, Jude hosts a colour challenge, Life in Colour. The colour for November is black and/or grey. This is definitely my last contribution to this month’s colour challenge.

What Next?

On the lookout for smoke tendrils in the sky,
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike surveys the scene.
Each year lurching from one extreme to another,
What are we to make of the constant vacillation?

Grey expectations –
Hoping for a break in the weather.

There has been yet more flooding in parts of Australia. The rain would have been welcome had it come after harvest. British Columbia (Canada) has also been experiencing serious flooding this week. Please take care if you live in a flood affected area.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 27 Comments

Actions Speak Louder Than Slogans

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Photo by ArtHouse Studio on Pexels.com

I have begun to think about the next piece in my climate change protest art series. I have time. The Aussie government isn’t in any hurry to beat me to the punch line. Its climate action ambitions do not appear to be high, or low, or whatever. despite its own peculiar protestations.

Read more
Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 37 Comments

Black and/or Grey – Ode to Cop26

Each month, Jude hosts a colour challenge, Life in Colour. The colour for November is black and/or grey.

This may be my last contribution to this month’s colour challenge. Or possibly not if the sky keeps crying. Today, I have four photos to share. Three were taken by my True Love. I managed only one which is a damn sight more than was achieved at Cop26.

Read more
Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 25 Comments

Go,Team!

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Today I met up with friends for coffee. It was the first time we had coffeed for about six months due to Covid restrictions. It took me a while to engage my mouth again. It worked. 95.8% of Canberrans over 12 years of age are now double-vaxed so more and more restrictions are being removed. To our north, Sydneysiders are also achieving high vaccination levels. Hence, double-vaxed Sydneysiders can now travel to Canberra (Australia).

Anyway, my friends and I did some e-bike baby-sitting for a lady who had come down from Sydney. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her name but I do know the name of her dog. It’s Evie and Evie is a miniature Schnauzer. The two of them decided to hire an e-bike and go for a ride. Evie rode pillion in her mum’s backpack. It was Evie’s first time riding pillion. She was a little champion. Naturally, I had to take a couple of photos.

Read more
Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind · 31 Comments

Magpie Latest

Last week we rescued a magpie chick that had become caught in the dog fence while most likely fleeing from our dog. We were so happy and relieved when we saw the the magpie family of five down the street at the park. The injured chick had recovered sufficiently to be released and was successfully reunited with its family. Unfortunately, this afternoon my True Love picked up a dead magpie chick on the side of the road near our house. It had been struck by a car. Many young birds die this way each year. Hopefully it died quickly.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

A Tragedy Of Sorts

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

There was a huge commotion in the backyard late this afternoon. Birds were screeching. Ama launched herself at high speed hoping to join the fray. My True Love beat her to it. One of the three magpie chicks had caught its wing in the dog fence, possibly trying to escape our big dog, Makea. Maybe the chick was already trapped before Makea arrived on the scene to complicate matters. The other magpies were screeching overhead and swooping to fend off the attackers. My True Love untangled its wing and popped it over the dog fence but it was injured and unable to fly.

In Canberra, we have this marvelous system where all vets provide a community service by treating injured wildlife. I was in two minds about whether to separate the maggie chick from its family and take it to the vet. It was pouring rain, the little bird was sodden and hurt, and of course, there was Clyde, our neighbour’s evil, cat to worry about. So My True Love and I reluctantly boxed it up and took it in. All going well, the chick should go to the wildlife carer tomorrow before being released back in the vicinity when it fully recovers. We hope its parents accept it back into the family again.

We are all in shock. We wonder whether we are now off the magpie family’s Christmas card list and will become swooping targets in future. Maybe the chick will become a swooper due to the trauma. Maybe I shouldn’t worry so much about evil Clyde and worry more about my own evil hounds. It is notable that Fynnie, our male dog, remained inside during all the commotion. As far as he is concerned, traipsing around in the rain is strictly for the birds.

How shattered ma and pa magpie must be right now! It breaks my heart. What song could possibly convey that? I dunno, but I am going with Lullaby of Birdland, performed by Andrea Motis, Joan Chamorro, Scott Hamilton and Ignasi Terraza (the latter playing a very special introduction).

Take care, everyone. Try not to worry.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

RDP – Under the Weather