Croix Parler

[Croix]

I'd like to use this pace for miscellaneous matters that don't fit elsewhere or you think I might help

Thanks

Croix

[Croix]

Dear MK and Paws~

MK I'm glad you are back home again, the extra night in hospital must have been rather frustrating, but at least you are having fun with your self-reproducing printer. It reminds me a bit of "The Trouble With Tribbles" which reproduced at an alarming rate.

Paws I wonder if the essential minerals (frozen or otherwise) included clams? They are most definitely essential!

I think that might be an unconsidered aspect to flooding my iceberg with more inebriated kiwis. As you know an inebriated kiwi will consume its own weight in its favorite beverage every few hours. , which means the more kiwis you import the more beverages of choice you will have to import at an exponential rate 😞 

Although my iceberg is a tax haven it still will work out pretty pricey. Anyway I like my bijou iceberg and to not want something large enough to land a 747.

I remeber putting out a Christmas treat for tradesman in Wales when I was a kid, particularly Jones the milkman and of course his horse Llewellyn who got some cabbage. Actually I think the gift for Mr Jones was superfluous, as he was in the habit of constantly refreshing himself from a thermos of 'tea' and leaving all the work to Llewellyn who always stopped at the the correct doors.

Trying to maintain weight is indeed a battle, and for me greed does come into int, if I see a lolly or cake my hand reaches out before I notice and I'm busy scoffing the treat - which I certainly don't need.

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hi Croix & Pawsy-Paws,

Oh, dearie me, I don't think having to have an aircraft carrier stationed at your back door will quite work, even if it is only there so the 747s can land & take off again. It would kinda spoil the festive atmosphere, with all the fumes, I mean.... maybe some of those new)ish) submarines would be better... You know, below surface,where we will only ever notice them when they make waves, & then, I will blame the Pesky Penguins.

Oh, Croix, how do we be strong when we realise we are in the process of doing something we know is simply no good to us?

I try, but I cannot convince myself that vegies are treats.

Maybe you'll do better with clam Pops.

I try to not have much of that yummy stuff in my fridge or cupboard, but when I've had none, I find I am searching around, thinking there simply MUST be something I can snack on.

I know I can at least switch to less unhealthy options, if not actually going for healthy things like fresh fruit, for sweetness or getting unsalted, raw, nuts, such as macadamias. some choices I have to make are for more expensive options, which irks me.

I will look into the ingredients & often, because of all the numbers & chemical sounding ingredients, I will be put off getting those particular, no doubt yummy, things.

It sure is really difficult. I agree. It's like I have to be mindful of every meal & snack I order, the things I buy in my shopping, when out for lunch, every time. Maybe one day, it will get easier, with lots of practice.Ideally, I'd like to not even think of those yummys at all - just forget them, leave them behind & with each day, they are further & further behind, in a past I don't have to revisit.

When I was booked to go into hospital, I was told, because I live on my own, with no-one to be with me for the first day following my procedures, that it was recommended that I not leave the hospital until Friday. That information was what my support worker & I had relied upon, so she could make arrangements with her hubby, to make herself available Friday, but the hospital staff decided to try to get me out on Thursday. So, it didn't feel like an extra night to me at all.

Indeed, I got a much better night's sleep overnight Thursday. Wednesday night it seemed damned near impossible.

There was a man who was loudly, angrily upset about something which had indeed gone wrong with his surgery. He kept calling out, trying to get the nurses & a doctor to finally take him seriously. But I think his calling out was having disturbing effects upon myself & the other two people in this ward where we were. That & my need to get up frequently meant that I only had about 1.5hours sleep.

I was very glad I could explain my anxiety & that the surgical staff knocked me out before doing anything more than putting a canular into my hand.

Except for a couple bruisy spots, I'd not know I'd had the procedures - oh, & the description of what was done was documented & given to me. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know anything had happened.

Hugzies,

mmMekitty

[mmMekitty]

Hello Croix,

Can you help me find a thread written by amd1953 about listing life lessons?

I have another: I've learned, I owe no loyalty to 'poop'holes. When I realise someone is behaving like a 'poop'hole towards me, & I am unable to leave the situation, I will do my best to behave with the minimal amount of respect, but they need to learn & earn my trust & loyalty thereafter. However, I woulld rather not interact with them again.

Ah, it's never as simple as I would like.

Oh, I also meant to tell you, V8 juice is a vegetable juice, mostly tomato juice, but with other juices added in small amounts.

carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach 

Plus: Salt, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Natural Flavoring, Beta Carotene (for Vitamin A).

The one I got had no sugar added. To make it drinkable, I stirred in near equal amounts of condensed tomato soup, added a little milk, & heated it so I could drink it like soup.

Hugzies,

mmMekitty

[mmMekitty]

Hey, no worries, Croix. I found the thread when I went back into my Notifications, I found it there. It'sccalled: Ten Life Lessons. However, I still don't understand why the search thingy at the top of the BB website pages didn't find it. The first thing I tried was "ten life lessons". Do I really have to remember when words are capitalised or not to have my search be sucessful?

Okay, off again

Hugzies,

....mmMekitty💨(zoomies away)

[Croix]

Dear MK (wiht a wave to Paws)~

Glad you found that thread, the choice of books is interesting, I have read one before.

Trying to user the Forum Search function 🔎 does produce a lot of fails and also unpredictable results unless you are after a single unique word. I tend to use Google instead with the following written exactly as shown in your browser's location bar:

"string you are searching for" site:forums.beyondblue.org.au

Which reminds me if you are still planning on flooding my iceberg with large numbers of inebriated kiwis please remeber that Pinniped's Potations Perfect Prices (clams accepted) can supply all your beverage needs with free ice cubes thrown in. Now you know what all those submarines are for:)

I'm sorry you had such rotten sleep in hospital. I too have found other people in distress to be most disturbing. The other thing is when drips run out at night and chime/buzz for attention. As the staff are always elswhere the number of drips chiming grows and grows until it is a bit like the Anvil Chorus.

I'm glad they ended up giving you what you needed to know exactly what had been done.

Diets are horrible, even if necessary. The original Mrs C was a diabetic and was supposed to be on a strict regime. Every now and then she would rebel and eat what she fancied. Luckily it always worked out alright by tailoring the 2 insulin dosages.

I agree that avoiding those undesirable persons whenever you can is the answer, reminds me of that phrase in the Desiderata "Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit".

I don't think you have convinced me to rush out and lay in a stock of V8 juice, sounds far too healthy:)

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hi Croix, & yes, waving to you, too, Pawsy-Paws & everyone else looking on. If I wave enough, widely & wildly enough I am sure to look as if I have invented a new dance - so I expect you all to be dancing the Cat-O-9-Lives very soon.

I wonder if the recipe for V8 juice has changed since I was a child. No, I didn't much like it then, but now it seems even worse & really does taste as if there is motor oil in it. True, a small amount, but with motor oil, you don't need much to ruin a drink.

I forgot to ask the nurses if I snored. I'm not sure I slept deeply enough on the second night to have caused me to snore, but I would really like confirmation either way. I have no witnesses to tell me unless I am in such a situation as being in hospital. Would you call that a disabvantage of living alone?

My diabetes is mild, so mild my GP doesn't think I even need to monitor my blood glucose levels. I've only been told to get my diet under control - more than I already had. I'm mnot sure what I can realistically do unless I am willing to lower my quality of life by cutting out all but a very little of the carbs, sweet stuff, & to be eating salad stuff & even more vegie stuff & barely ever having those salty fast-food things I enjoy.

Sometimes I do better, sometimes I rebel & find some of those things I like. I remind myself about the long-term goal, about how eating better is in my own best interest & will  (hopefully), keep the worst of the diabetesrelated conditions at bay. The way I feel, some days, especially when I am tired, irritated & frustrated, I think, "b****r it" & give in, knowing all the while, I will have to get back on the wagon later that day, or the next ... usually when I've got a little sleep.

So far, mymost successful strategies has been to take a close look into what I'm eating, examining the ingredients on the label - the small print, I mean. Well, not often literally, for me, I use my app on my phone & have it read for me. When online shopping I check the information they hae & if it's not there I will google for it. It takes time.  (Didn't I write some of this before?). I am also trying to be more careful about what I order when out for lunch.

At the hospital, I was very tempted to go for the lasagna, but opted for the rice with vegies in teriyaki sauce. But, yes, I had a little dessert - it was indeed small, too. I made it last by eating it in three bites instead of one.

They had weighed me before the procedures & it seems to me I've lost a little weight, but I think that may  be due to a loss of muscle rather than of unwanted fat. & even so, I haven't felt any difference in myself. My clothes still 'fit' (heheh) much as they had, except for the waistline - thing feel tighter there.

Oh well, Pawsy, let's you & I rest ouurrselves against the walrus & make shadow people up on the igloo walls.

Hugzies,

mmMekitty

[Croix]

Dear MK and Paws~

Yes by all means go flat out with the waving, I've seen a cat dance up to catch a dangling string but not an all out dance. V8 drink sounds like a waste of good motor oil. I tend to stick ot sparkling tonic water.

Making shadow puppets is good. I watched a Chinese play where silhouette figures on sticks were behind a screen. They were even slightly colored (the plot was indecipherable and the percussion music an acquired taste). Can you do clams, not just rabbits?

If you are by yourself does it matter if you do snore? After all if it is not so enthusiastic as to vibrate the alarm clock off the bedside table  there really is no inconvenience.

One thing about being a mild diabetic and not getting worse is the lack of testing and injections (unless things have changed nowadays). The first Mrs C had it and constantly ran out of fingers to test the blood level, in fact that was the most painful part. The needles sometimes did not hurt, other times they did. I got reasonably skilled at doing these for her.

If the above motivates you to be reasonable in your diet all to the good. I guess its a balance between what is ideal in a diet and what  you can live with knowing the risks. BTW is catnip OK?

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hi Croix,

I think catnip is fine, after all, it's a vegetable. It doesn't freeze very well. & I'm still pretty much a carnivore, though, some semi-dried Catnip, applied as any herb, or added to burgers is great. It may well be a good substitute for coffee (?) I f I had  what the industrial food packers have to snap freeze the Catnip, I think I'd add it to icecream, & frozen yoghurt. I could even start a new business of frozen fruit dessert, all with a sprinkling of Catnip.

I'm so glad your iceberg is one great big freezer; I'll need the storage room.

In hospital, they checked my levels, & it did sting, like an insect bite, only the stinging sensation didn't last but for the time it took to poke my finger. One nurse suggested that it may have hurt a little more when my fingers were cold.

I gather there are alternate sites for testing & for injecting insulin when the usual sites are 'worn out' (needing a break).

I had no worries like that while in hospital. I have enough toes on my paws to go around & not need to repeat any single site while I was there.

But, yeah, I was surprised that the little sting was so sharp. It felt like it goes in more than skin deep. They only need a tiny drop of blood, anyway, so why go in any deeper than the first few layers of skin?  Infact, I think that was just my impression based on how it felt. I expect, the thing only goes in a to where the tiny capillaries are, like when I had the continuous Blood glucose monitoring thingy on my arm.

On ya, for helping Mrs C with testing. I imagine it can't be easy with those flippers of yours. 

Hugzies,

mmMekitty

[Croix]

Dear MK~

Actually the hard part was putting exactly the same injection in and it not hurting and the next time it being quite painful, and as for that lancet, it always hurt, which is surprising as I've often got a splinter or scratched myself and only noticed it later. I think they are designed for efficiency, not comfort. 

Rather than V8, have you ever considered the equivalent made from catnip? Probably would get rid of the engine oil taste.

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hi Croix, & everyone,

It was feeling like Spring today, here in SEQld. On my way home we travelled a little way along the Brisbane River & my support worker observed thousands of people gawking up at the sky as these huge jet planes roared overhead - barely! They were flying low, rehearsing for 'River Fire'. We could feel the noise in our chests, through the floor of her van, so loud , it was provoking some anxiety in me.

I've thought, if I was interested, I would not be amongst such a huge crowd as there will be tomorrow night. I'd rather pay a heap of money & stay in a hotel & experience it from my room. Now, I think, those jets that will fly over will rattle the windows & walls enough to feel like a minor earthquate is happening.

I did have a thought for people who have experienced war & planes going over, on bombing raids, thinking how these jets flying over could easily trigger PTSD in many folk. I've never experienced any such thing directly, yet, I was feeling somewhat affected this afternoon.

I also feel a deep response when Ihave heard air raid sirens on tv, movies, historical films & such.

& Croix, just how much catnip do you think a cat can take in one drink? I"ve been working on it, modelling my capnipiccino on the green vegie juices, but I had to concentrate the original Capnipiccino from appearing like algae in suspension, to looking like something which now looks like liquified spinach. In between these extremes, it looked like slimey swamp water mixed with liquified kale

Where are Professor Porpoise & Heston Blumenthal when I need them?

I'd really like to get Heston on to making those awful drinks I had when I was in hospital. As is, it was not easy keeping it down. I thought I could gag on it, or bring it all up & thereby ruin the preparation & then I'd have to either drink more then & there or perhaps, my scheduled procedures would have been postponed & I still would have to drink the lot another day. It was that thought that helped me to keep swallowing & just keep it down.

Hugzies all round,

mmMekitty