Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Is tomorrow REALLY the last day of May??

It sure enough is and I'm still trying to figure out where the month went. Though I'd get some things done since I had four days in a row off work. Didn't happen. It seemed like every time I thought about loading a quilt on the machine the clouds would turn dark and the thunder would rumble. I don't plug the machine in if there's any lightning going on.

I have had a really good genealogy week. Made some new contacts, found information on the Klatts, Veenkers, Wragges, Races & Baileys.  Sometimes it just seems like every click of the mouse turns up something new. The thing I'm most excited about is finding pictures of DH's Bailey great-great-grandparents.  I stored quite a few files on my computer and printed out a bunch more. Now I just need to sit down with all of it and get it entered into my genealogy program and set up some file boxes for the paper stuff. Actually I bought the stuff I need to do that two years ago, shoved it under the bed and there it sits.

One can always hope I'll get more done in June. :)

Monday, May 28, 2012

Beautiful Memorial Day

After several days with rain & chilliness, then hot steamy days with thunderstorms and the possibility of severe weather, it's about as perfect as it gets here in Nebraska today.  Blue sky with fluffy white clouds, sunshine, temp in the low 70s and a gentle breeze.  A real day to enjoy.

What have I been up to since the last post?  Nothing memorable enough to blog about apparently. LOL  Just the usual everyday stuff, plus I've spent time cleaning strawberries, got some flowers, tomatoes and peppers planted, have a quilt ready to load on the machine, read a few books, read some blogs....and let's not forget vacuuming up cat hair, it's that time of year.

Yesterday we got going in the morning on the cemetery rounds, before the thunderstorms could set in again. When we got to the Creighton cemetery I really wished I'd taken my camera long. They do quite an impressive display with flags flying to honor all the local veterans. Just beautiful.


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Just Finished Reading

I just finished reading a rather interesting book:


The gist of it is that modern wheat has been so hybridized and genetically tinkered with during the last 50-60 years that it really doesn't qualify as a "healthy whole grain" any more.  Of all the carbohydrates it raises blood glucose the highest and fastest, leading to diabetes and obesity...hence the title, Wheat Belly.

The author also discusses his observations that wheat can contribute to a host of problems that can be improved by getting rid of wheat in the diet.  In addition to celiac disease, diabetes and obesity he sites studies about the effects of wheat consumption on cholesterol, bone density/osteoporosis, acne, arthritis and a host of other ills and complaints for which doctors can't always find a cause.  Unexplained aches and pains, sinus issues, fatigue, foggy thinking, etc. could be the result of a wheat sensitivity and the best way to find out is to quit eating wheat. And that can be difficult because wheat is in almost every processed food....just read the labels!!

I'm sure this book will be soundly criticized by everyone from wheat-based agribusiness to diabetes educators to the junk food industry since they all want the consumer to believe wheat is about the perfect food. Anyway, it might be worth a read.