Marty

Oh, I'm not so sure about that in Val's case... The way she told the story, I got the impression she was secretly (or maybe even openly) chatting the officer up...

In other news (@clochette may have already heard about this)...... French police's MDMA haul was actually strawberry sweets Extract: A MAJOR HAUL of the drug MDMA [Ecstasy] announced by the Paris police this week has turned out to be nothing more sinister than strawberry sweets, sources said Friday. The Paris police headquarters said on Twitter on Wednesday that it had a “fruitful investigation” of “a narcotics packaging workshop (MDMA, ecstasy) which supplied clandestine parties”. The police said their drug haul was worth around a million euros. Source: https://www.thejournal.ie/mdma-strawberry-sweets-5386843-Mar2021/

I'm fortunate in that I have ever suffered any side-effects from metformin. My current doctor took me off it for twelve months around four years or so back. My blood sugar levels rose ever so slightly over the next two blood test he took (six months apart), so he put me back on it as a precaution. Every time he takes blood he says my sugar level is perfect, and that if he didn't know I was diabetic, he wouldn't know looking at the results. I'm thinking that if he says the same thing after the next test, I may suggest to him that I try going drug free again... I should have had bloods taken back in January. The doctor put those off at the time, due to concerns over possible Covid-19 infection risks. He told me on the telephone that, as I have been managing the diabetes so well, he had no concern about delaying the tests in my case. We are hoping to see an easing of restrictions after Easter, so I may give him a ring and see if we can get those tests done.

Scofflaw... Never come across that word before. I'm thinking it probably means she like to scoff at the law...

I think we were both guilty of that.

I decided to check my blood sugar as a result of this chat. It reads 8.8 mmols/l (I think they use a different measurement your side of the Pond). That's just little higher than I would prefer, but I did have a slice of banana cake not too long ago. I like to keep it under 8. Usually, if I test it first thing in the morning, before breakfast it is between 4 and 5. If I test it an hour or two after a meal, it is normally between 6 and 7. My doctor did tell me about 4 months after my diagnosis that I am allowed to treat myself at times. I think she was worried that I was losing weight a little too quickly.

Ah! I assume now that when you said "no blood test so far" you meant no blood sugar test kit. I think I took you up wrong to begin with.

How did he reach the diagnosis without testing your blood? My GP took bloods on three separate occasions before confirming I was Type 2 diabetic and putting me on medication. Mind you, she did tell me after the first sets had been examined that she suspected I might be Type 2. It was three weeks (or possibly more) before she confirmed the diagnosis.

I'm on metformin (also known as glucophage). One 500mg tablet, twice a day. Has he given (or suggested you get) a blood sugar test kit? I have one. Simple enough to use (and not painful). I seldom bother with it these days, but whenever I do, the sugar levels are well within acceptable limits. Long term high blood sugar levels can affect the retina - hence the eye doctor. I have my retinas checked every twelve months. Excessive eating, or eating the wrong foods, can raise the blood sugar level. Hence the dietician. Trust me on this, Albert: If you follow the doctor's suggestions, Type 2 diabetes is not a death sentence.

It's not the end of the world. I was diagnosed with it 9 years ago. Hopefully it can be managed with medication, and any life style changes you can do. I have to admit that I went into a mini depression at the time. But I hardly ever even think about it these days - apart from just being a little more careful with my sugar intake than I used to be. I honestly think the diagnosis did me good in the long run. I look upon it as having been a sort of wake-up call. Without it, I would probably still be eating all the wrong things, and not getting enough exercise.

That doesn't sound good. Anything you want to share with us? (Only if you want to)

Greetings, young Albert! All well with you and Steve?

I assume the "inspection" is a safety check of the car - similar to our National Car Test (NCT), or the Ministry of Transport (MOT) test in the UK. I'm just surprised they don't contact you before your next test. They certainty do here in Ireland, and I'm fairly sure they do in the UK, as well. Now get that vehicle inspected, Val! Otherwise you'll have @dughlas accusing you of not being legal, same as he did to me last week (I think it was dugh...).

Let's just hope it doesn't make your own cats desert you...

And you, Gary! And I see he's got a ring in his nose. Does that mean that if you attach a chain to it he'll docilely let you lead him wherever you like, same as the rare breed pedigree bull I reared twenty-odd years back?

I understand why you feel that, Gary, but you are not being the bad guy here. Sure, the son and his girlfriend may be disappointed ,but that's just the way life is sometimes.

It's currently (3:20pm) 15°C/59°F here. And feeling even warmer in the sunshine (and lack of wind). I'm actually gardening with no extra layers on my upper body for the first time this year. Just a T-shirt.

Happy Friday, all! It's a beautiful spring day here! Hope you're all having good weather in your part of the world as well.

I know exactly what you mean about the oft hidden beauty there is in the world, @RafaelDe, and one of the things I particularly like about haiku is the way it's brevity enables the writer to to strip away all the ugliness and reveal the essential beauty. Thank you for commenting.

You're more than welcome, Parker! And thank you for taking the time to comment.

Does that say that schools and colleges are to stay open?

And Picardy is in that part?

Gary

It's a very common wildflower here in Ireland. Some of the older folk in my locality refer to it as the mayflower and, apparently, there used to be a tradition of sprinkling a semicircle of primrose petals around the outside of the front door on the 1st of May to bring good luck to the household for the summer.