La primavera

The seasons here are so much more tangible. The phrase 'spring has sprung' is a cliche but it comes to mind. The feeling is palpable. Squirrels going about their business with so much energy. The ducks that I see daily have come to life, no longer snoozing under reeds but swimming vigorously and quacking exuberantly. The air, though still damp, has a sweetness to it and sometimes warmth. 

I had my second exam today. One of four this term. Today was the warmest day so far this year, almost twenty degrees. Cycling through the common field over to college I felt privileged to be here. Fields bathed in sunlight, daffodils nodding at me. To sit for a peaceful hour in the well manicured college garden, with a few bees buzzing happily nearby. The peace at odds with the pace at which I was trying to cram the last few ideas into my head. I wanted to stay out in the garden, not go in to the exam, pretend it wasn't happening. But go in I did. Afterwards, I knocked on a friends door armed with left over Easter treats and we went and sat in the last of the warmth drinking tea and indulging in a few sweet bites. A well earnt break before the next subject looms. 

Now, to work. 

Musings

I still take too many* photos of clouds and sunsets.

I'm living in a new country and enjoying the seasons flipped around (Christmas in summer still wins).

I'm back studying after graduating over 8 years ago. Fulfilling a lifelong dream. My own carpe diem moment, which I feel very lucky to be able to do (thanks to a very supportive husband who is my cheer squad).

I never stopped reading blogs, but comment very rarely - even though I feel like we could be the best of friends! (Shout out to Cherie and Kerri, just to name a few)

I'm still lamenting the loss of Google Reader. Old school blog reading. Why? Why? Feedly has to do the job these days (I like the magazine view).

I hope reigniting this blog will help me to reconnect with the blogging community. Hello all!

*In my honest opinion there is no such thing as 'too many' photos of clouds and sunsets

Leap Year

Happy Leap Day!!

Sent from my iPhone

Resolutions

Happy New Year!!

1/1/11 It's 2011!! Another year. Not sure what this year has in store but I want to do my best to make it exciting! I have spent a lot of time reading blogs and scrolling on twitter but very rarely do I blog or tweet. Twitter is not my kind of platform but blogging is. I don't often make resolutions but this year I will.

I want to -

- blog more
- exercise
- take part in more activities - painting, horseriding, language courses

You get the idea. I will have a think about the specific things I want to achieve and perhaps write a post soon so I can keep track of what I achieve.

Here's to a fabulous year!

D Blog Day - 6 things about D

I'm very early on this, but I am on the other side of the world to a lot of the D-bloggers out there!

What would I want people to know about diabetes?

I want people to know that Type 1 diabetes is not something I got from eating too much sugar, nor is it something only children get (ok so that's sort of 2 things that I'll count as 1)

I want people to know that if we collapse they shouldn't give us more insulin! This is when sugar is in fact vital!

I want people to not ask - do you have too much or not enough sugar?! Hmm, let me think before I answer that? I might just go with the answer that I don't have enough insulin (and by not enough I mean none).

The trouble with doing this is there is so much I want people to know. That's three bullet points, how to grasp 3 more succinct ideas when really we need to tell people so much.

As much as I want to be positive about it, I want people to know that living with D can result in devastating complications - there is no cure, so managing this life long disease can take its toll. BUT... don't tell us about your grandma or aunt who had her leg amputated. It's really not very helpful.

We can eat sugar. (Note: I am not a dietitian. But if as a diabetic, I make the informed choice to consume carbohydrates that is my decision. It may or may not be the right thing for another diabetic).

And last of all... we are wives and daughters, mothers and sisters, husbands and brothers... you won't be able to spot us on the street, unless the sighting of a glucose monitor or needle or insulin pump peeping out of our top gives us away.

Happy D - Blog Day!

Mauve - Point + Shoot 8 November 2010

(Author's personal collection)

Growing up I always said my favourite colour was blue. And then I started loving pink, and owned quite a few magenta tops in my teenage years!

At some point this has all combined so that, like some sort of kaleidescope, it seems these days my favourite colour is purple. But not really purple, more closely mauve or lilac.

I've had more than one man say to me - what is mauve? And swear to me that the mauve shirt they were wearing was in fact pink (men!). This photo is of the lovely jacaranda out my window.

There you have mauve.

Point + Shoot - better late than never. [Updated: Link to Chantelle's old school Point + Shoot (before the days of her amazing Photo A Day) seems to be broken these days, but go along and have a look at her website].

What's your favourite colour?

After the rain...

There has been a lot of rain this week! Not a single day without rain. We're only meant to be a few weeks away from summer!

It has made for some very dramatic clouds and sunsets, so I got out P's camera with its super zoom lens (I'm such a novice, I don't even know what it is) and played around trying to capture the maelstrom in the sky.

I'm quite pleased with my efforts (see photo top left).

I quite like this weather - coming home from work hopping on the lounge after dinner under a blanket with a hot milo. I can indulge in a few extra days of winter before the horrible humidity of summer hits.

But I was quite excited to wake up to this today...

Bright blue sky and a few fluffy clouds. Everything sparkles just so after the rain and it puts a smile on my face. Just the way to start a Sunday.

Are you a winter or a summer person? I'm not sure I can choose.

(Photos author's personal collection)