Snow White and the Two Coos

WordPress Daily Prompt   –  Captivating

I’ve never been much of a camper.  Until recently, I could count the number of times I’ve been camping on one hand.   For something different, and to save money, my love and I decided to take a driving/camping holiday en route to visit family in Queensland.  We had no excuses because my big boy worked in a camping store so he could kit us out.  I now realise what I’ve missed out on my whole life.  This is the story of our first night camping. Read more

From Start to Finish

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge  –  Story

In this week’s photo challenge, we have been asked to be a visual story-teller.  Rather than choose a series of photos that provide a complete narrative, I’ve chosen three photos (three different stories) that respectively represent a beginning, middle and an end. Read more

No Such Thing as Typical for a Type 1 Diabetic

WordPress Daily Word Prompt – Typical

I don’t like to write about my experience with Type 1 diabetes because it is all just s?/* really.  The point is no day is typical.  Let me explain just a little.

We do have a lot of new tech.  Little devices that can help with day-to-day management and identifying trends.  So that is great.  But then, life, hormones, illness, inaccuracy in product labels (for carb counts), exercise, the time of day, diet, insulin resistance, etc, affect results; so much so that I find it difficult to say what my blood glucose levels typically are when asked by some doctors.  My answer is always that it depends.  I often get the you-should-know-better look.

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During the first 20-30 years of my having this condition, doctors would often blame me for my unpredictable results.  There is greater understanding now among the medical profession that perfect control is unachievable for most.  There is less of the blame game.  Thank goodness.

I’m grateful for the new tech.  I really am.  But the device companies and insulin manufacturers (many of whom fund research efforts) have a vested interested in maintaining the status quo.  It’s business as usual.  I’m over it.

What do I want?  Real innovation – a cure.  When do I want it?  Now.

PS. For all those low-carbers out there that think that low-carb is the way to flat lines, sure it helps.  But it is not a panacea, certainly not for middle-aged women like me.

Comments welcome.  Can’t find the Comments Section?  Keep scrolling.

 

Close Encounters of a Canberra Kind

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge  –  Out of This World

If we could visit another society in another galaxy, what would their buildings look like?  Perhaps they might look like one of my favourite buildings, the Shine Dome, which houses the Australian Academy of Science.  The Shine Dome, which was completed in 1959, was constructed when the space race was just starting to get serious.  It is an exceptional building.  I’m grateful for the assistance of my true love who kindly took these photos for me.  I subsequently applied some filters to them to achieve the otherworldly special effects.

shinedome2 Read more

Book Review: My Everest: Thirty Years of San Diego Hiking (With Dogs!) by Martha Kennedy (2017)

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I have just read the most wonderful, life-affirming book – My Everest:  Thirty Years of San Diego Hiking (With Dogs!) by Martha Kennedy.  You might think a story about 30 years of hiking the same trails might be a little boring.  Not so.  This is a grand love story; a tribute to the enduring relationship between one woman and her wilderness, encompassing the creatures of the Chaparral that watched over and befriended her, and the dogs – her faithful companions – who were always by her side.  Read more

Singin’ Sweet Songs of Melodies Pure and True

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge  –  Sweet

Once upon a time, my love and I did what many young Aussies do – we went backpacking around Europe.  One of our favourite places was Nice.  Our stay in Nice was not without its dramas, and maybe because of that, it made the rest of our stay all the more sweet.

Our hotel room window overlooked an alley way and apartments.  Every morning, a little canary in its cage was hung outside the window of the adjoining apartment.  Read more

Coffee, Don’t Leave Me This Way

WordPress Daily Prompt  –  Conjure

The thing I most look forward to each year is not Christmas, birthdays, the football finals, or Mother’s Day; it’s the National Folk Festival (affectionately known as the Nash or the Folkie in our household).  The Folkie is about to roll around again and so we are dusting off our tie- dye and beanies in anticipation of four perfect days.  Every year is memorable but some are more memorable than others. Read more