Hi everyone, hopefully everyone has had a good day or week, mine has been pretty good, tomorrow is my granddaughter Summer’s 13 birthday.
So this morning me and Sue took Summer’s birthday present over and left it in the boot of her mum’s car. After that we went and saw our brother at his work, we called in for only 10 minutes.
The next few days will be hard for my sister Sue as two of her grandchildren have birthdays and in between them is the anniversary of her husband’s death.
Daemon was born on the 22, he will be 14, Mick died on the 23ten years back and Thea was born on the 24 she will be 3. So, it is one hard day after another for her.
Today we are looking into eye care in Australia, here most people go to an optometrist for routine eye exams. This is the primary eye‑care provider for checking vision, detecting early eye disease, and prescribing glasses or contact lenses. You don’t need a referral, and Medicare usually covers the cost of standard eye tests.
Generally, Australians will see an Optometrist every two years until the age of 65 when it drops to every year. However, if you have a medical condition such as diabetes you will need to have your eyes checked every year.
At an appointment your vision n will be checked if needed they will prescribe glasses or contacts.
You will also be screen for diseases like glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration and a retinal imaging photo will be taken. If needed, you will be refer you to an ophthalmologist.
Medicare covers most routine eye tests, and many clinics bulk bill, meaning no out‑of‑pocket cost.
General Practitioners (GPs) can check basic eye symptoms, but if they suspect a vision problem or eye disease, they will suggest you see an optometrist or refer you to an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) for medical treatment or surgery.
You see an ophthalmologist when a disease is detected such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease or if you need surgery for something like cataracts.
Children can see an optometrist every 1–2 years, with the first exam ideally around age 3–4. Some optometrists recommend a check at the start of each school year to monitor changes. However, many children only have their eyes checked if someone thinks there may be a problem.
The cost of seeing an Ophthalmologist vary depending on, whether you have a referral (needed for Medicare rebate) and if they charge above the Medicare schedule fee and if it’s an initial or follow‑up appointment.
If you don’t have private health insurance, here’s what you can expect:
Optometrist: Often free (bulk‑billed) or $50–$120 for extra tests
This week will look at snakes the legless reptiles, they are far more diverse and surprising than most people realise so here is some information about them.
It is believed that they evolved from four‑limbed lizards around 100 million years ago. Some species, like pythons and boas, still carry tiny vestigial leg bones — evolutionary leftovers.
They can be found everywhere except Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, and the polar regions.
They live in some amazing habitats such as forests, deserts, grasslands, mountains but only up to 16,000 feet, oceans and even 800 feet underwater of Australia.
They don’t hear airborne sound well but detect ground vibrations with great sensitivity. Their eyes are covered by a transparent scale called a spectacle, which sheds with the rest of the skin. Many species use heat‑sensing pits to detect warm‑blooded prey.
When it comes to moving, they use several locomotion styles depending on the terrain there is the classic slithering which is called lateral undulation, then there is rectilinear movement which is for slow, stalking. Some can glide from tree-to-tree others are excellent swimmers and when on loose sand the do something called sidewinding.
Do you know what they eat, well they are carnivores so small snakes eat insects, frogs, lizards and rodents. Larger ones can eat deer, antelope, capybaras and even jaguars, not something I have ever they would eat. Mostly because they swallow prey whole thanks to flexible jaws. Also, some can go two years without eating due to extremely slow metabolism.
Most snakes lay eggs, but some give birth to live young, babies are independent from birth needing no parental care. A few species (like pythons and king cobras) guard their nests. Some females can store sperm for years. The Brahminy blind snake is all‑female and reproduces without males.
There are about 725 venomous species, and 250 can kill a human with one bite.
The most dangerous snake globally (in terms of human deaths) is the saw‑scaled viper.
Australia’s inland taipan is the most venomous by toxicity but rarely kills because it avoids humans.
About one‑third of adults have some level of snake fear. Scientists believe this may be an evolutionary instinct — early humans who avoided snakes were more likely to survive.
This week we are still in Cowra, and I thought I would tell you a bit about the Peace Bell which is there.
Officially called The Australian World Peace Bell, but often called the Cowra Peace Bell, is a national peace symbol housed in Civic Square, Cowra NSW. It was awarded to Cowra in 1992, a rare honour usually reserved for capital cities. The choice reflects Cowra’s deep commitment to peace, especially its post‑war relationship with Japan.
So, what makes it special, well it’s made from melted coins donated by 106 UN member countries, symbolising global unity.
It is a replica of the original World Peace Bell at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Apparently, visitors can ring the bell, listen to an audio presentation, and read interpretive signage explaining its story. Tim and I listened to the audio and read the information about the bell but didn’t ring it
The bell sits in a pavilion designed and built by local Cowra community members, including hand‑decorated tiles at its base.
Cowra Peace Bell
You may be wondering why Cowra?
Well, it seems Cowra’s selection stems from its remarkable journey from wartime tragedy to international friendship. Its reconciliation efforts—especially with Japan after the 1944 Cowra Breakout—have made it a global symbol of peace.
Each September, Cowra hosts World Peace Day events, including youth forums, awards, and a Peace Day dinner. The bell is rung to mark the opening of UN Disarmament Week.
How many World Peace Bells exist?
There are more than 20 official World Peace Bells worldwide, installed in various countries as part of the World Peace Bell Association’s mission to promote peace. However, there are also regional peace bells, and bells inspired by the movement, but the official number is 20.
There are bells in: New York (UN Headquarters)
Cowra, Australia
Japan (multiple locations)
Toyko Peace Bell
Yes, there are multiple peace bells in Japan, there are so many peace bells because peace became a defining national identity after World War II, and bells are one of the most powerful symbols in Japanese culture. When you put those two things together, you get a tradition that feels both ancient and deeply modern.
Japan now has peace bells:
In Hiroshima
In Nagasaki
In Tokyo
In many regional cities
Nonofficial bells can be found in:
United Kingdom (London Olympic Bell)
United States (Tennessee’s International Friendship Bell)
Good morning world, here I am up washed and dressed, I have unpacked the dishwasher and took some rubbish to the bin.
My blood glucose level is 6.1 and I had around 8hrs of sleep, even though the watch said I had only 6hrs but that would be because it came loose during the night. It is 22c or 71f at 5am.
Been a sticky day but not hot, I did a load of washing and hung it on the clothes hoists to dry, I placed them in front of the fan.
Steps: 9,584 = 4.8k’s or 3 miles
Hello Monday, hello world, I slept good had 9hrs of sleep woke feeling good, I am washed, dressed and moisturised, I apply moisturiser to my face, neck, chest and arms each morning so my skin doesn’t dry out.
Anyway, my BGL: was 6.3 this morning and it is 22c or 71f it is only supposed to reach 24c today.
We have had light rain on and off all day.
By 5.30pm I started to feel really tired.
Steps: 4,435 = 2.3k’s
Good morning, all, what a shit night I have had tossing and turning and not sleeping only managed 4hrs in total of sleep, I have been up since 4am. Tim also has had a shocking night not being able to sleep, he has been up since 3am.
It is 22c this morning and my BGL was 5.9 and I except I will need a nap sometime this morning.
I managed to have a short nap sitting in my armchair, but I woke up when Tim got home.
I had the air cons on for a few hours this afternoon.
Had another incident with the tremor being bad so I took and extra half tablet and in 10 minutes I was ok everything had settled.
Tim rang me at 5.15pm to let me know he will be home late around 7pm, he rang again at 6.15 asking if I could order pizza and he would pick it up on his way, which I did.
Steps: 4,396 = 2.2k’s or 1.3 miles
Good morning, everyone I slept well I managed to get 7hrs of sleep, I was up at 4.10am as I woke up felt awake so got up. Tremor noticeable this morning settled 15 minutes after taking my meds.
It is a hot day temp of 30c or 86f, I have the air cons going. I cleaned the glass sliding doors.
I didn’t feel well between 12.30 & 2.15pm, I took my meds at 2pm and in 15 minutes I was feeling much better.
Steps: 7, 589 = 3.8k’s or 2.3 miles
Good morning, all who read this it is currently 5.30am I have been up for an hour, and I am drenched in sweat, waiting for Tim to leave for work so I c.an have a shower.
It is 22c or 71f, we are heading for a top temp of 32c. I had 8hrs of sleep and I feel good.
Sue’s blood tests showed her glucose level was too high, her liver function isn’t good, and her cholesterol is too high. She needs another test to check for diabetes as well as other stuff.
She also needs to have an ultrasound of her stomach.
It went from a hot day to a coldish day. I even had to shut the front door for a bit as the breeze on my legs was cold.
Steps: 4,396 = 2.2k’s or 1.3 miles
Had a good 7hrs of sleep woke feeling good, was up at 4.30, it is much cooler this morning only 19c or 66f, our top temp is supposed to be 22c.
Sandra came around to show me her new car; it is a 2011 Honda Odyssey silver in colour.
By 11am I was starting to not feel good so went and had an hour nap after which I was much better.
Had a phone call from Tim he is doing emergency rail and will be home late.
Steps: 5,447 = 2.7k’s pr 1.6 miles
NATASHA’S BIRTHDAY SHE IS 39 TODAY
I slept well till 3am then the pain in my left shoulder and right hip got to so at 4am I got up.
It is 19c or 66f this morning and even though I needed the heater on in the bathroom when I got dressed, I had to change from long pants into shorts as I started sweating.
Tim came to bed at 1.20am but I have no idea what time he got home.
I have had a rough morning but doing much better after I ate.
Natasha and Blain are having an issue he isn’t coming to see her for her birthday, and this has upset Tasha. I get how she feels but she always says birthdays are just another day.
For some reason, I got it into my head that I had done something to piss Tasha off and sent her a text saying sorry, she came down gave me a hug and said I hadn’t said or done anything to upset her.
This week my eye post is about colour blindness, my maternal grandfather was colour blind. This is a condition that affects around 8% of men and only 0.5% of women. It is estimated that 300 million people are colour blind.
The huge gender difference exists because the most common type is linked to the X chromosome.
Colour blindness is a colour vision deficiency, not a total inability to see colour. In fact, 99% of people with “colour blindness” still see colours, just with reduced discrimination between certain hues.
There are different types of colour blindness with most cases fall into three major categories:
Protan defects – reduced sensitivity to red light
Deutan defects – reduced sensitivity to green light
Tritan defects – reduced sensitivity to blue light These correspond to the three cone types in the eye.
Red–green colour blindness is by far the most common, affecting 95–98% of people with colour vision deficiency. This is sex linked and recessive, passed through the mother. A father cannot pass red–green colour blindness to his sons. If a woman is red–green colour blind, all her sons will inherit it.
Colour blindness ranges from mild to absolute although it is rare for someone to have absolute which means they see everything in greyscale
People with strong colour blindness may distinguish only 20 hues, compared to over 100 for those with typical colour vision.
This condition may cause some to feel overlooked or misunderstood, as others often don’t realise how much it affects daily tasks.
Being asked “What colour is this?” is widely considered the most annoying question to colour‑blind people.
Colour blindness is detected through colour vision tests that check how well someone can distinguish between different colours. These tests are simple, non‑invasive, and usually take only a few minutes.
The most common test is the Ishihara Colour Plates
The test shows a series of circles filled with coloured dots. Inside each circle is a number or pattern made of dots in a different colour. People with red–green colour blindness often cannot see the number, or they see a different number.
There are other tests such as the Farnsworth D-15 test, Anomaloscope, HRR (Hardy–Rand–Rittler) Test. Online screening tests, however, these can give an indication but are not fully reliable because screen brightness and colour calibration vary.
Babies are born colour blind; full colour vision develops by about 6 months.
It’s possible—though rare—to be colour blind in one eye only (unilateral dichromacy).
The first scientific paper on colour blindness was written by John Dalton in 1794.
This week we are looking at another reptile the chameleon.
Chameleons are believed to have been around for 65 million years. There are over 200 species across Africa and Europe and Asia, with Madagascar as the stronghold—home to more than half of all known species.
They range in size from very tiny, no bigger than a thumbnail up to 2 feet.
Their eyes can move independently, giving them nearly 360° vision. Many species can see ultraviolet light, which helps with communication and mate selection.
We all know that they are able to change colour, many may think this is done solo as a form of camouflage but that’s not the case, they also change colour to communicate and to regulate temperature.
A chameleon’s natural colour as in the one it displays when calm, unstressed, and not trying to communicate—is usually a blend of greens and browns, sometimes with muted yellows or greys depending on the species. These resting tones provide passive camouflage in their typical habitats.
These baseline colours are part of their camouflage strategy, helping them blend into vegetation without needing dramatic colour shifts.
The brighter blues, reds, oranges, and yellows only appear when they are communicating, regulating temperature, or reacting to stress.
Colour change happens through layers of pigment‑filled skin cells that expand or contract under neural control.
When it comes to feeding and hunting their tongues can shoot out at high speed—up to about 13 miles per hour—to snatch prey. They most eat insects although larger ones may eat small birds or lizards.
Many species have prehensile tails for gripping branches, they can be found in rainforests, deserts, and mountainous regions, depending on the species.
How long they live varies, but a typical wild chameleon lives around 12 years.
In Madagascar, chameleons appear in folklore and proverb’s, sometimes viewed as mystical or omens of luck.
Jo-AnneRamplings 