Helen O'Rahilly

Neither GAA final nor Euro Women’s Final is of interest to Gracie. She was glued to the hurling last week. Getting to know her priorities.

Reported to @DubCityCouncil 2 weeks ago. Right beside a food shop. Nothing so far. Festering in the summer heat. It’s third world stuff: a health hazard for people living near it. Neighbours have reported it too. Zero action.

Lurching to ‘Changes’ at The Grove in Raheny: my first intro to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. RIP crazy man.

On my walk today I found Jesus. Literally.

First time Gracie feels comfortable enough to come up and join me on the cushions beside my kitchen table. I think she finally realises - 6 months in - that this is her forever home…she’s also happily in and out the cat flap. Took patience & a few worries days and nights.

I have a great GP @DrumconMedical who keeps a keen eye on my progress and checks my vitals/bloods as the dosage is increased. You shouldn’t embark on this pathway without serious medical oversight: paying privately for it without medical supervision is just dangerous.

Also I have upped my walking and bought weights to improve muscles. The weight loss can come from muscle too so one needs to keep up the strength and resilience. It’s not a ‘one way’ drug: you need to do the work too. #Ozempic

The weight loss is a *side effect*. It is not the reason I was prescribed the drug: my blood sugar needed to be brought down. My Dad died at 65 from diabetes. I am 60. I’m not going the same way.

2 months into my Ozempic journey to lower my blood sugar. A month on .25mg & a month on .5mg. 2 days of vomiting that had me bedridden. Appetite hugely affected (which is the mechanism of the drug). A brand new protein rich diet. Small portions. 5kg lost. Sugar down. Onwards.

Oblivious to Wimbledon and the GAA on the TV, Gracie fast asleep on a newly cleaned rug. So much for getting rid of the cat hairs…

Have to say it’s stirring to be sitting in one’s Dublin back garden in the glorious sun and to hear the voices of 80,000 people singing “Amhrán na bhFiann” carried on the breeze… #CrokePark #GAA

Great reply to Trump’s threat (to remove her US citizenship) by Rosie O’Donnell. Her Irish passport can’t come quickly enough.

A rare outing for the BBQ…the flavour of BBQ grilling is so good. Now for the steak…

I remember the dull thud under the Westway as I drove to work in Shepherd’s Bush: the Edgware Road bomb exploding. It was one of four this day, 20 years ago, killing 52 Londoners. Will never forget.

Gracie loving her first Wimbledon. I think she thinks she’s the new line judge…

I am cat, hear me roar… #Stoneybatter #Dublin

Just watched ‘Grenfell’ on Netflix. If you live in any sort of high-rise you need to watch it. 72 souls lost due to the pursuit of profit. Victims were working class immigrants: Somali, Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian, Irish. A posh neighbourhood who wanted to dress up a concrete tower.

Grumpy woman tweet. Why, when the temperature goes above 20C, does some local decide to pump up the volume to mega beats in their garden and ruin all the other locals’ evenings having a rare warm night in their back gardens? Thunderous shite. I may have yelled…

Incredible downpour in Brooklyn just now, hurricane level rain. And there, in the middle of the gale, a Conal clone from Normal People walking leisurely past in his with his hurley in his hand. Not a bother on him. Irish people are just built different.

In The Guardian this morning, an article about the Iran-Israel conflict. Check out the US General’s name. We are now indeed in Dr Strangelove territory.