(Nearly) Mid-Lent health report

Finally, finally, I have managed to get one of those home cholesterol kits to work.

At least – I think I have. I am a bit confused by it.

My cholesterol levels appear to be remarkably, even astonishingly low. The conversion chart that came with the gizmos didn’t start converting until well over what my result was. And how can you have an HDL level which is twice the amount of the *total* cholesterol count? Dunno – but the testing stuff didn’t seem to worry. And, it seems, neither do I need to. The home testing kit, even if not absolutely reliable, would appear to suggest that I can continue to indulge in butter, cheese and cream to my little heart’s desire. Except that we have just given them up for the rest of Lent!!!!!

Tell you what, though – I am going to be scarily fit, healthy and exer-getic by Easter at this rate. The only possible cause for concern would seem to be my blood pressure, and even that is viewed by the health websites as high, but within acceptable limits unless you: have diabetes (it seems not); are of Sub-continental extraction (not so far as I am aware); tick various other boxes which I don’t; or are likely to have a heart attack in the foreseeable future. Not quite sure how I am supposed to gauge that one – so I will assume not, for the moment! And will hope that continued alcoholic abstinence until Easter, an increasingly wholesome and plain diet and the continued decreasing of girth might induce the blood pressure to come down a bit too.

I also appear to be finally waking up. For the past few evenings I’ve managed to stay awake until after the interesting bits of the ten o’clock news. And I haven’t been ready for a nice, evening nap by eight o’clock. You never know – by Easter I might even have become mildly active!

I’ve been down the Moor and come back with four whirly flower things to put around the pond. I also seem to have been diverted by my wayward feet into the Chinese grocery store and have come back with 1.5 kg of Japanese rice and 1.5 kg of glutinous rice. The people behind the counter made very sure that I really wanted these two varieties of rice and not the American style long grain that most Westerners buy. Absolutely not. Long grain rice is BORING and Japanese rice is lovely.

The Builder’s attention has been diverted from useful things recently. He’s been doing the “autumn” scene of the four season jigsaw that T, A and F gave him for Christmas. Marlo had a good time helping him, and protecting the jigsaw while we were not there by lying on it. Fortunately they have both finished now and their attention has been directed back to where it should be – firmly focused on me!

Has anybody else noticed that the weekends seems to be coming around with a quite unseemly haste – and then disappearing again at supersonic speed? Time seems to be behaving very oddly all round. I keep waking up, having slept for hours and hours and hours – only to find that I have in fact only been in bed for an hour or so; then I go back to sleep for about twenty minutes, and wake to find that the clock says it’s been 6 or so hours. I think that Time is playing mind games with my head!!