one not so serious post

At the risk of blog overkill, I have to tell you what happened yesterday. First of all, I sent Aaron off on his first overnight field trip. He was up at 5:15 a.m., ready for action. Ate oatmeal and cranberry juice (at 5:30 in the morning! Make me throw up.) and was humming as he strolled to the car. Bus left at 6:00 a.m. He barely gave me a hug, let alone a wave out the window. Sniff, sniff.

William, Pat and I went to a sushi bar for supper. Will started with octopus. Then moved forward, without rice, to the yellow-tail. Before the night was over, he ate raw octopus, yellow-tail, tuna, salmon, red snapper, sea bass, super-white tuna, and I don't know what all else. Pat LOVES sushi, and as I gnawed on my grilled totally cooked salmon (with no sauce, no rice, crap) she and Will poured over the plates in absolute delight. Kindred spirits. Next time, they enter the sashimi zone without me.....

juicing converstion, continued

Toot et al., I have done some reading on juicing. I do know about carrots, beats, yams, etc. being higher in sugar. It seems the general rule of thumb for veggies is, "everything that grows under ground is higher in sugar. Everything above ground is much less." According to my reading this morning, the best veggies for enhancing the pancreas are:

Alfalfa
olives
asparagus
lettuce
mustard greens
radishes
cabbage
cucumbers
brussels sprouts
string beans

What kind of a juicer do you have, Tom? Are you happy with it's performance? Since my life is topsy-turvy at the moment, I might as well give it a try. I am, however, going to pass on the below the ground veggies for the moment. Heck, (I really wanted to say Hell, here, but for Mom's sake, I decline...) I've made it through colonoscopy juice before. Surely this can't be worse than that. Love you, Mom. Still ready to paint that room in your choice of colors....

Kevin's Dad update

Kevin said his visit with Ernie on Tuesday night was the best. Ernie was really rough on Wednesday, but did seem some stronger yesterday. As I understand it, the problem is that the raging infection needs heavy antibiotics. He is getting 2 via i.v. One is ok. The second one is dangerous to his already compromised kidneys. (Gosh, Tom, this "antibiotics will mess you up" talk is a little unnerving, isn't it!) Anyway, the second one can only go in as a slow drip. The question is, will it be enough to kill the infection without killing the kidneys. His blood pressure/heart rate was better yesterday. He cannot feed himself because he is so shaky and weak.

Dusty, who hasn't seen any member of the family but Kevin since 2005, did come to the hospital yesterday morning with his wife, oldest son, and 19-year old granddaughter. They had a nice visit, both with Ernie and alone with Kevin. The two older sisters were there. (Kevin's mother's children, but not Ernie's. Although he raised them, things were always splintered between the children.) Kevin said everyone was civil, but strained. Nothing really new there; it's been like this between them for the 23 years I've been around. The thing to pray for is the first meeting between full brother/sister, Dusty and Lyn.

Kevin thinks that today is pivotal. He's anxious to see if Ernie continues to grow stronger and what the infection numbers are.

Kevin's Dad

Kevin's Dad is very sick. In the hospital in Lancaster, just below Columbus. His kidney function is at 25% last I heard. His heart rate is high (144) but his blood pressure bottomed out in the night and they moved him to ICU. Kevin flew up yesterday. He stopped at the hospital on the way from the Columbus airport and had a nice visit with him. It may be his last good visit, I don't know. Keep them all in your prayers, please. Kevin's sister and brother have refused to talk to each other since 2005, so there is a lot of healing to be prayed for. Kevin is the only member of the family...the ONLY one, who is on speaking terms with everybody. There is going to be a lot on him. Kevin adores his dad.

Thanks, Dad

So, yeah, like, I have a wonderful new doctor. A Phillipine woman. Dr. Intaphan. Really, I love her! The best g.p. I've ever had. Told me this morning I am on the threshold of diabetes. Need to start eating like a diabetic. Lose 25 pounds. No sugar. Little carb intake. Little to no pasta (lasagna, mac and cheese, spaghetti with meatballs, orzo, couscous) bread, rice, all of the above. So, my dear sibs, it's very possible that the dreaded "D" will get us all. I say we go on a group diet. First prize? A pot of Mom's dumplings.

Crap. Can't say I didn't expect this day to come. I'm fat and I eat ice cream like it's oxygen.