Hey Gang, glory be, I do believe spring has sprung, Wow! The hills are alive with 50 shades of green and lovely ‘dollops’ of neon purple from the gorgeous redbud trees.
Dogwoods, redbuds, crab apples and fruit trees are covered with beautiful blossoms. Hope you have taken the time to see, and appreciate, the great beauties in God’s wonderful creation. It raises the spirits and makes you smile; don’t forget to thank the Lord for His wonderful creation.
Flowers (and weeds) are springing up daily; I do believe winter is finally over. The old man, ‘pappy walnut’ and the gum trees are the last holdouts, not yet putting on their summer ‘clothes’.
Some bad news this month, my much-loved daughter-in-law Mary Martin, was diagnosed with Sugar Diabetes, a disease I knew very little about. I immediately went into research mode in my personal library and then called our county library. Mary’s doctor said if she could lose five percent of her body weight, her condition should improve. I am learning a lot.
You would think that sugar was the bad villain in a disease named Sugar Diabetes; however, think again. While sugar control is important, it turns out that refined carbohydrates are the true dark villains in this story: bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, grains, and of course, sugary drinks. (On reflection, these food items comprise about 80 percent of my diet – maybe I better sit up and take notice.)
After a lot of study from several different resources, a book written by Dr. Rob Thompson, M.D., with Dana Carpender, seemed to make the most sense, from a layman’s point of view anyway. Dr. Thompson’s (himself a diabetic) book, “The Glycemic Load Diet’ (2009, Rodale Books publishing house, gave me the best understanding of, and how to control, S.B.
I knew this disease was one of the ‘silent killers’, and unlike pneumonia, you can’t just ‘cure’ it (not yet anyhow); it is more like alcoholism, it is with you for life and you can only control it. Not having easily identifiable symptoms, in the layman’s eyes, makes it ‘silent’ killer and usually takes a doctor to figure it out.
According to Dr. Thompson, there are three main markers (danger signs) for S.B. The first is ‘genetic disposition’; you know the old saying, “It runs in families”, turns out that is genetic disposition. Don’t worry; it can be generally overcome – not all that easy though.
The second marker is a sedentary lifestyle; yeah, that dreaded “E” word, exercise (you do realize that I am a confirmed and devoted ‘couch potato’, right?) Dr. Thompson writes that two of the elements of muscle tissue, ‘slow-twitch’ and ‘fast-twitch’, are especially important.
‘Fast-twitch’ is energetic (sweat producing) exercise, good for whole body health, and ‘slow-twitch’ is a slower, more controlled kind of exercise that actually has more benefit for diabetes than the ‘sweaty’ kind. He strongly recommends walking and suggests that three, 10 minute bouts of exercise (walking) will fill the bill, so to speak. In any case, 30 minutes a day, three days a week, is a good start.
The third marker is, naturally, diet. The elimination of sugar (or the severe curbing of same) is obvious but the refined carbohydrates are a different story. Flour is a grain; try baking cookies without flour, Ha.
The family is supporting Mary (who, incidentally is doing a really good job of following her doctor’s orders) by modifying our family recipes to more acceptable content – and, at least for me, it is not easy. (I saw in last week’s paper, that Patriot was hosting a “Dining with Diabetes” seminar; you might check it out if you are interested.)
The diabetic diet is a very healthy diet for anyone but one thing I have found is that it is definitely more expensive to shop for, and eat, healthy.
Speaking of recipes, one that I have had some requests for (and it is fairly carbohydrate friendly) is my warm taco dip, not too, spicy just a hint. I got the original recipe from Joan Hochstrasser at a Spanish Club feast at the ‘Y’, naturally being me, I had to ‘play’ with the recipe.
One and half pounds of hamburger (fried until the pink is out of it, then drain); add one-third cup taco seasoning (or one package, cheaper to buy the bulk bottle if you use much of it) and three-quarters cup of water, then add one can refried beans and mash it all up together and put it in a casserole dish. Sprinkle one-half cup of mozzarella (shredded) cheese and about a quarter cup cheddar (shredded) cheese over the top and stir it up.
Mix together thoroughly one small bottle of taco sauce with a cup of sour cream and spread over the top of the meat mixture; then I add one can of Fritos Mild Cheddar cheese dip, spread gently over the top and bake at 350-degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (depending on your oven) till it is all bubbly. Serve with corn chips (not carbohydrate friendly) or pork rinds to dip (pork rinds have no carbohydrates at all.) This is really good, can be made ahead of time, and keeps in the fridge for a week, if it lasts that long; just re-warm it in the microwave.
We want to send out birthday greetings to our May ‘borns’: Bobby Brundige (1st), Lucinda Mangold (3rd), Jan Rayles (8th), Mary Davenport (9th), Brittany Bragg (12th), Josh Carr (15th), Frank Miller (17th), and Jessica Ledbetter on the 19th. We pray God will bless your special day with great joy; Happy Birthday.
Good news for our family, son Frank’s doctors have confidence that he will not lose his foot; this is truly a prayer answered. It has been five months since his foot was severely crushed in an auto accident and now he can walk (carefully) for up to a half hour at a time.
Hey did you all see that item in the Ohio County news (Vevay paper) a couple of weeks or so ago? I got a big laugh out of it and had the thought, we have come a long way baby.
In an item 70 years ago, April 5th , l945, “The following is a part of the new laws adopted by the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission to govern the sale of alcoholic beverages. If a permittee serves women at his bar twice within a year he is forever barred from holding another permit.” That is progress in equality right?
A couple of good books I would like to pass on to you, “A Burial at Sea” by Charles Finch and “Hell is Empty” by Craig Johnson; both are at our Library in the Mystery section. Bruce Williams would probably enjoy Finch’s book especially as he likes historic English mysteries.
Finch’s book is set in 1873 England and is about a covert mission taken on by Charles Lenox, a Member of Parliament, as a favor for his brother. This takes him from England to Egypt, on board the Lucy. Mr. Finch brings warm life to his characters and makes you feel like you are involved and on board ship right along with Charles and his nephew.
Mr. Johnson’s book is a kind of ‘modern’ western with Walt Longmire, sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County as the main character. If you like ‘westerns’, I think you will enjoy this book.
The Library also has C.J. Box’s new book, “Endangered”, featuring the always interesting, Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett and his family and his very lethal friend, Nate. ‘Box’ never disappoints and his latest book is no exception.
The girls and I finally got together for a Bridge game (the first this year) and had a good time reconnecting and catching up on all the news from our various families. Our Bridge afternoons are going to be somewhat sporadic for the next month or so, what with all the commitments each of us have. Carolyn and Ivan Green have two graduations, at the same date and time; Carolyn is going to one and Ivan to the other, plus the other stuff they have going on. Rita and Gary Green have lots of appointments and commitments this month and they always have lots of stuff claiming their time and energy.
Ana and I can almost always find time for a Bridge game but we are a bit more settled but when we do get together, we have fun.
Wilma was down to visit for a couple of hours a while ago; she said she was feeling pretty good but wasn’t getting around like she used to. My advice is not to try to reach her if the sun is shining because she is probably already gone.
Pastor Bobby had a wonderful sermon on ‘agape’ love this past Sunday; it was not only very informing (and warning) but also uplifting. Sometimes his sermons seem like they are only five minutes long but since we always get out at the same time, I guess it is just because they are intensely interesting.
We had several on our prayer concern list this week: Joy and Eldric Hazeldean, Frank and Donna Miller, Diana Wells (shoulder replacement on May 18th), the earthquake victims in Nepal, Jessie Martin (Mrs. Michael – her grandfather is terminally ill and in the hospital), Elaine Hazeldean (chemo treatment this week), several family relationship problems, Members traveling, Mindy Otter (recovering from hacking cough), Darla McAlister (home recovering from serious illness), Jeanne Otter (in Louisville hospital), Unspoken requests (God knows), several members’ co-workers that are having problems, Genevieve Sloan (Medical), Gayle Rayles mom (she is in the nursing home now), and all our unsaved family and friends.
There were lots of praises too: Debbie Bruce is feeling much better and her grandmother is home from the hospital, the beautiful sunshine Sunday, employment found, and many others for which we gratefully thanked and praised God.
In John 15:10, Jesus says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
Jesus told us very plainly that there are two commandments that cover (or take care of all the rest), “Love God first and then your neighbor as yourself.” After God, we should love each other (agape love – a caring concern for each other’s well-being, both physical and spiritual. Hate the sin but love the sinner. Love covers much; we should practice kindness and patience with each other. Think about how this applies to you, the words and actions you have used this week.
Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you safe; may He lift up His countenance and give you peace; amen.