Today's Excitement...........

..........not quite in my backyard, but close.  The vacant lots to the west of my house caught fire late this afternoon. Luckily what little wind there was was blowing the other way so I didn't even smell the smoke.

The Fire Dept. wasn't taking any chances. They had all of our trucks out there and all of Royal's too. They kept it contained to a fairly small spot and got it out quickly.

Since the day started out with the sewer starting to back up just as the rinse water drained out of the washing machine I can only wonder what happens next.

I also got the neutral string setting blocks trimmed for my Jamestown Landing quilt. These are 4 1/2 inches square.

I think there's 160 or so of these.

And, my one other accomplishment this week......

After picking a bunch of dead-ripe tomatoes and knowing I DON'T need any more canned whole tomatoes, I made V-8/tomato juice instead. It's amazing what three tomato plants can produce when you really only want enough to eat fresh.

I really shouldn't say those were the only two things accomplished this week because it was the NE Library System's "Week of Weeding."  My goal was to get the adult general fiction shelves weeded and I got that done.  They haven't been removed from the computer database yet, but I can at least put newer books away on the shelves or display a book face-out.  Boxes of books are HEAVY!! Or I'm just getting wimpier.  LOL

Hourglasses Done!

The hourglass units for the Ohio Star blocks in Orca Bay are finally done, trimmed & counted. Can you say, "S  L  O  W going?"  I found I had made about 50-60 extras. Didn't bother trimming them, just threw them in the "extra unit" box.

These finish at 2". (Those little, bitty pieces you wanted to see, Lori.)

Hi, I'm the real boss around here and helped write this post...now put that camera away, Mom!!

The expression kind of says it all, doesn't it?  If her legs were long enough to reach the sewing machine pedal I'd have her slaving away in my sweatshop too.  LOL

Catching Up

Seventy-four pints of sweet corn in the freezer....I'm almost recovered! :)


All those Quarter Square Triangles  I sewed up are now pressed....that took a while. Next the dog-ears get snipped off and then they all get mixed up real good and get sewed into little hour-glass units.  I read ahead to the next step....a whole bunch of Half Square Triangle pairs cut from black & neutral 2 inch strips.  This quilt has so many little pieces it may have to go on my Bucket List. It may BE my Bucket List.

Enough ripe tomatoes have accumulated that I will have to can a few. I don't really want to, but there are too many to just eat. Freezer space will be at a premium if there are any apples or deer later on and I just can't throw them away. Today I went out and pruned the plants.  They were about to squash my pepper plants and I'd rather have the red bell peppers than the tomatoes. 

The squash vines are producing way more than I want too.  I canned a lot of squash last year and only wanted a few for cooking with this year.  Let's just say that DH is an over-achiever when it comes to planting things in the spring.  I said to stick about six seeds into a hill and call it good. Not exactly what he did.  Picture me later this fall throwing Butternut squash into unlocked cars along Main St.  LOL  It's just taking things OUT that's illegal isn't it???

Yesterday

It's really quiet at work so let's do a little blogging about my day yesterday....

Sweet Corn Day!! Picked it and husked it. The silks were really hard to get off and IT TOOK FOREVER!!

Boiling water. Tons of steam. AC running like crazy to keep me cool.

Sharp knife!  Watch the fingers!

In the bag and into the freezer. It will taste good this winter.







Oh, the aches & pains after a long day putting up corn.  And since I only got half of it into the freezer yesterday I get to do the other half when I get home from work.

(All pictures from the Internet)

See....

...EMPTY!!!

Finished sewing the QSTs last night. Now on to pressing and trimming dog-ears. But first work today and corn tomorrow.

Just Living Life

That seemed like a better post title than, "No Catchy Title."  Not too much exciting going on around here. This past weekend was the annual celebration complete with parade, bbq and other activities that I didn't take part in. I did ride along with DH in his classic '55 Chevy station wagon in the parade.  Even though the weather was lovely, temps were much cooler than we've had lately, it still gets hot in a dark colored car going real slow in a parade in the bright sunshine. I'm glad it was a short parade. We brought the car home and I stayed here enjoying the AC until time to go back downtown for the bbq.

We're just beginning to get some fresh produce from the garden. Five tomatoes, two onions and six ears of sweetcorn so far. I've been enjoying BLT sandwiches.

Should have taken a picture of this one before I started enjoying! -giggle-

I went out to the garden about noon today to find some more sweetcorn for supper. If I'd gotten out there earlier I'd probably be freezing corn today. There's enough ready for a smaller batch. As it was I just picked a couple grocery bags full to put in the fridge for eating fresh. Took a look at the squash while I was out there too.  DH has been complaining that they aren't setting on very good.  I think there's way more than I really wanted since I canned so much squash last year. He always takes the negative view.

Yesterday I sewed up about half of the QSTs in the container I showed in a previous post. Maybe I can get a few more sewed up yet today since I got out to the corn patch too late in the day to pick any for freezing.

While it was so hot I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the AC and reading. My fellow book club members think I read some, shall we say, strange stuff.  I like alternative health books and books that "tell the rest of the story." 

What did I learn from these?  Pretty much everything we eat & drink and the air we breathe has been contaminated by chemicals and various additives. Green tea isn't the super healthy drink I thought it was. You shouldn't be taking statin drugs unless your cholesterol is REALLY high and not just a little over 200 like your Dr. tells you. And if you do take it you'd be best off to cut the pills in half or quarters because the overdosing is probably what causes the side effects. Also, you should take CoQ10 supplements----something else your Dr. may not have told you, or may not even know.  Statins aren't the miracle drug that their manufacturers would have us believe and they can be very dangerous.

Another thing I learned is that the profit motive in America trumps everything, including human safety.  Is your water treated with fluoride?  Did you know that fluoride is a toxin that is a by-product of the aluminum and chemical fertilizer industries? It accumulates in the body and causes brittle bones among other things, which might include ADHD, autism, violent/aggressive behavior and Alzheimer's. Fluoride occurs naturally in some water but not in the amounts added to municipal water supplies.  I was appalled by some of what I read in these books.  If anyone thinks the FDA exists to see to it that our food and medications are safe should think again.  Their main purpose is to protect the profits of large corporations at the expense of the citizens.   Anyway, these books will be showing up in the local library soon though I don't have much hope that too many will read them.  People are happier sticking their heads in the sand and doing what they've always done even if it's slowly killing them.

I'm also reading a novel by Eileen Wilks called "Blood Challenge."  Werewolf fiction. It seems to be part of a series and I may have to look for earlier books.  I also read "The Dinosaur Hunter" by Homer Hickam.  Paleontologists, a cop turned cowboy, ranchers, teenagers, environmentalists, survivalists & the Russian mafia....gotta be a good book, right?  It was.

Now, time to sew.

Summer Winding Down

It's really hard to believe but summer is winding down. School starts on the 17th. Today we held the final event for the Summer Reading Program at the library. Over half of the reading records were turned in with over 35,000 minutes read. I know there was more reading than that done, but some participants didn't return their records. Today's event consisted of a pizza lunch and handing out the earned prizes. Everybody wins something and even the kids who just earn a candy bar are happy. Two little boys who won the big bottles of pop were deliriously happy!! This picture is of the group attending today.

Our Summer Reading Program is for kids and adults.

I'm slowly getting a little more done on the sewing/quilting front. This container of QSTs is cut....the question is.....is there enough?  I need 448 pairs to make hourglasses.

We have some good clouds building up. I hope we get some more rain. Wednesday night's was wonderful, this morning's shower was nice, but we need so much more to break this drought.  This weekend is the local annual celebration and tonight is the classic car Cruise Night. If that doesn't bring rain I don't know what will.

Working On:

Neutral string blocks for Jamestown Landing.

Black/neutral quarter-square triangles for Orca Bay.

Got all those triangles cut today and a good batch of the string blocks sewed. The pile has built up pretty good and I need to count them to see how many more I need to make. I know there aren't nearly enough triangles cut so I have more strips matched up, ready to cut more.

Dog-sitting

Such a dirty little face.

This May Not Look Like Much.....

....but it's keeping me cool!  Not quite as cool as the old one did, but it was a 10,000 btu and this is an 8,000 btu and I was lucky to get it.  (It doesn't spew smoke so that's a plus.)  Quite a few stores were sold out and most of what was left were 6000 btus which just wouldn't do the job.  One store told me they probably wouldn't get any more in because it's the end of the season. Haven't they been listening to the long range forecasts??? It's supposed to be hot & dry until Halloween.   Anyway, I absolutely LOVE Sears because they at least had one close enough to what I needed at a price I was willing to pay.  And a big thumbs down to Alco that wanted $400 + tax for a 7800 btu.  :(

It Fought The Heat......

and


     the


         heat


              won!!!





Yep, when the AC starts smokin' that's a bad sign.  That's what the big window AC in the living room did earlier this evening.  So I've cranked up the little window AC in the sewing room/guest room as high as it will go and have a box fan trying to suck some of that cool air into the rest of the house.  I hate the thought but I'm going to have to go AC hunting.

Wow! Second Post Today

Maybe I'm just making up for weeks that go by with none.  Actually I'm having a hard time typing with my fingers crossed because the window AC is making a strange noise. Now would be a heck of a time for it to die.  Bet there isn't a store in the area that has any left.

Just wanted to show some quilting progress. These bags represent 892 blue/neutral HSTs...plenty for Jamestown Landing, with some left over.

Next up is making 168 neutral string-pieced 4 1/2" squares for setting pieces.

I love string piecing. I already have the string-pieced parts of Orca Bay done so I guess for that quilt I'll have to start cutting and piecing MORE HSTs. To be honest, my sister Quilt Club members think I'm crazy making quilts with so many little pieces.  :)

In the last post I mentioned the power co. calling last night about the possibility of shutting down the power for a while. I forgot about the other interesting call my DH answered.  It was from Trans Canada wanting him to press "1" if he approved of the Keystone XL pipeline which is slated to come through about 3 miles north of us. I asked him if there was a number to press for disapproval and he said he didn't think so.  Why on earth would we approve of something with  its potential for pollution?  When the company won't even tell us what chemicals they're putting in that nasty tar sands oil to make it flow?

In my opinion they should build their own refineries in Canada and build a pipeline to the coast so they can do their exporting to China & India without the United States taking  the risks for very little return.  Or are government officials getting a good return for selling out the middle of our country? We sure won't see any of it. The landowners along the route are supposed to be satisfied with a one-time payment.  How about annual rental for the use of their land??  Jobs? Big lie. Certainly not for people along the route. Tax income for local areas?  The first Keystone pipeline hasn't lived up to the estimates in that area either.  What about pollution in the areas of the refineries when this chemical laden crap gets there?  People who are stuck living near the refineries are already sicker and have more cancer than other places. They don't need even more chemical fumes.

Well, I guess now the world knows where I stand on that little issue doesn't it??  I think it's important that people speak out. It's time for our government to man-up and tell Canada they can deal with their own tar sands oil and leave us out of it.

Just for good measure, they need to man-up with Mexico too and send the illegal aliens packing. This country is in bad shape financially and we can't afford to take in everyone.  Mexico doesn't. Just ask the Central Americans who get caught there illegally.  There's a saying in rural America, "Good fences make good neighbors." Might be something to think about.

Is It Hot Enough For Ya????

Yep, that's the kind of silly question we ask each other when it's this hot. Like anybody has to ask. It's been around a 100 here the past few days, tomorrow is supposed to be 105, Sunday 102, right on through Tuesday.  The heat index warning runs from this afternoon to Tuesday night.

 Wednesday night at midnight the power company shut power down for a while....due to more demand than they could meet I heard.  They called customers last night to announce that it might be shut off again after 10pm  for a while. It never happened so I'm assuming customers were conserving power or a few irrigation systems got shut down.  The electric grid is overburdened already yet farmers are given grants to switch over from diesel or propane to electricity. Does that make any sense?  We're also under water restrictions, voluntary so far, but if the irrigation systems keep running 24/7 it might become mandatory.  If we can't water our garden and have to watch it burn to a crisp while those systems keep running I will be POed for sure. Running them every other day would be plenty.






Go outside any time after noon and you kind of feel like the fellow pictured to the right. My remedy is lots of lemonade and not doing any cooking in the house after breakfast.  Told the DH the other night that it would be nice to have a grill with a burner so I could cook more than two things at once for supper. I do have an electric hot plate, but using it and the toaster oven at the same time might not be such a good idea. They're both on the the same circuit, along with some other things, so probably all I'd accomplish is to throw the breaker. The gas grill and the toaster oven in the garage get used every night.

There's been a little sewing going on. The bags hold HSTs for Jamestown Landing. I'm hoping that the strings of HSTs will be enough after they get pressed and counted. Pressing is an issue in this hot weather too. I just hate to add more heat to the house. The window AC struggles in the late afternoon as it is, but I've turned the one in the sewing room on too and will chance it as soon as I post this.

So long until the next post unless I melt into a puddle of goo.

The Start of Another Week

Ah....Monday....what can you say?!? I spent a good part of the day at work putting together the library's annual report to the Village Board. It never ceases to amaze me that I can have the year's spreadsheet and the state report in front of me and come up with a third set of figures. So I just picked one and went with it!!! Ended the work day with a Library Board meeting at 4:30 and then the Village Board meeting at 7:00. I'm happy to say that the library is fully funded for another year and I still have a job.  Now on to the rest of the week!!

Let's see....Club meeting at the coffee shop in Creighton in the afternoon tomorrow. Antelope Co. Library Assoc. meeting at the library on Wednesday morning and a potluck for Quilt Club in the evening. Work on Thursday. Maybe I can sew again on Friday. Hope so. I have about a 100 HSTs left to do for Jamestown landing.

Hope you're getting to do the things you want to get done this week.

Big Bang Boom!

Hope you're all having a nice 4th. It's a hot one!!!  Read a post on FB about a family driving around last night to see fireworks. The first ones they saw set a ditch on fire. She said it was exciting.  Could get way too exciting way too fast!! We'll enjoy the neighbors' fireworks again this year. They always have really good ones.

So far my 4th hasn't been overly exciting. Slept in. Went to the library and installed the new blinds on the new storeroom window. Moved the shelf unit back in. Sorted through some stuff in there & in one of the storage closets. Made a few trips out to the dumpster. Stopped at the C-Store and got a sandwich for lunch.  Now I'm trying to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Nothing outside, that's for sure. Just too hot. And I'm a weenie, I like my AC.  There are HSTs that need to be pressed but I hate to add to the AC's job by having the iron on. The poor thing struggles to keep up by late afternoon anyway.  Oh well, I'll think of something. :)

Your e-Book is Reading You

Here's a kind of creepy article I came across: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304.html  It looks like "big brother" just might be watching after all. Apparently, when readers download books to their e-readers the e-readers are sending information about the owner's reading habits back "home." It makes me real happy that my Sony doesn't have either wifi or 3G connections. 

BIG Quilts!

Here's the two BIG quilts, all quilted. I showed them on the machine before but here you can get a better look at them. Very eyecatching.

I asked my friend about the pattern name. She said one like the bottom one was hanging in a quilt shop where she took a class. They were selling kits, but she didn't want to buy one. They wouldn't let her take a picture so she memorized it as best she could and re-created it.

Weekend Job

Here's my job this weekend.

Yep, dog sitting. He's so sweet resting in his brand new bed.
And, to keep this an animal post, here's my kitty. She hopped up there and posed for me. Too bad I couldn't take a perfectly focused picture.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Too Good Not To Share

Thanks to Al from the Bayfield Bunch.

Obituary for Common Sense:  Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since
his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

• Knowing when to come in out of the rain
• Why the early bird gets the worm
• Life isn't always fair
• and maybe it was my fault

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:

1. I Know My Rights
2. I Want It Now
3. Someone Else Is To Blame
4. I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Maxine---Words of Wisdom

Of course, they're blood-suckers in their own right so how would that work??

Ready for a rant??

There I was....fixing a nice taco salad for my supper. I don't put chips in my taco salad so I opened a can of kidney beans & rinsed them.  Then it happened.... I decided to read the label. Good grief...corn syrup, sugar, cane syrup and high fructose corn syrup plus a couple of chemicals. Our so-called American food industry can ruin perfectly healthy beans.

We hear on the news and read in all the media how fat Americans are....60% over-weight, 30% obese with growing numbers of obese children. Type 2 diabetes is running rampant. It used to be unheard of in children but growing numbers of them have it too.  Some "expert" is constantly telling us to eat less, exercise more,  lose weight, lower our blood sugar, lower our cholesterol. People try, honestly they do, but with all the sweeteners (the worst of which is high fructose corn syrup) in pretty much all processed food it's a losing battle...and it's not weight we're losing, it's our health.

Back in 1906 Dr. Harvey Wiley, the first head of what would become the FDA, banned corn syrup in food because it was the only sweetener that caused diabetes in all of the bureau's test animals..... 1906 people!!!!!!! Dr. Wiley predicted that if we ever allowed corn syrup to be used as a food additive, we would become a nation of diabetics. (I cringe remembering all the Karo corn syrup we ate on pancakes as kids.) Today, due to pressure from food manufacturers, high fructose corn syrup is in 98% of food in America.  And we are a nation of diabetics. 

Dr. Wiley was forced from office after six years because his work was a threat to the profits of food manufacturers.  In 1929 he wrote a book exposing the failure of the FDA to protect the American people. In 1930 he died in his home. Within weeks his book disappeared from libraries and bookstores. Draw your own conclusions, people. I have.   The book has since been republished by some brave soul and I intend to get a copy for the local library.
Update:  Dr. Wiley's book can be seen online at -- http://www.whale.to/a/wiley_b.html
Over 300 pages of pretty heavy reading.  The reprint is way expensive!!

Anyone who thinks the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) exists to look out for our safety is living in a dream world. It's only job is to protect the profits of big business, specifically the processed food industry and the pharmaceutical industry. What better way to do that than allow everything that's bad for us to be put into our food so the pharmaceutical companies can sell us over-priced pills.

READ the labels on your food!! If it contains high fructose corn syrup or ingredients you can't pronounce it isn't good for you. Put it back on the shelf.  The health you protect will be yours and your children's. Unless people quit buying it, it will never go away.  One more thing-----just recently the food processors petitioned to change the name of high fructose corn syrup because too many people are getting wise to it. Thankfully, that petition was denied, so if they use it they still have to list it on the label.  For now.

It's Wednesday...

.....and it rained!!  It's been a while since we last saw rain.

There's also another quilt on the machine.

This is a BIG one...95 in. wide. There's just barely enough room to park the machine off the edge of the quilt.  I once did one that was 99 in. wide and that was a real hassle....plus I worried that the machine might leak oil on the quilt. This is about as big as I want to go with my 10 ft. frame.

Tuesday night was Quilt Club at Luanne's house.  I took my little Brother sewing machine along and sewed a bunch of half square triangles that I had stayed up till 10 the night before cutting. Could have gone to bed earlier because I still have a lot of that batch left to sew. I really wish I'd taken my camera along. Maxine won a wonderful antique quilt at the Verdigre Quilt Show. And of course Luanne had plenty of wonderful food for us to snack on. Her daughter makes delicious desserts...I could have made a meal on the Fruit Pizza alone.

Sunday...

....and another quilt on the machine.

After working on the smaller QOV quilts this one seemed HUGE. After getting it loaded up and making a few passes I was ready for a break...and at this point I'll probably only go back to the basement to unplug the machine. (The next one in line is even BIGGER!)

Here's Grandson with the big catfish he caught on Saturday (with Grandpa's help.)

Proud fisherman.

He said he caught seven in all and Grandpa was so busy helping him that he only had time to catch two of his own.

Have a great week, everyone!

Another Day...Another Post

For lack of a clever title, that's it. :)

Not a lot going on. DH has been on vacation this week. Does that mean I've been on vacation? No. It just means that he gets up early every day & goes fishing and says he has even less time to help me with things like getting the air-conditioners put in. Every year I threaten that I'm calling the furnace guy & have him install the outside unit and hook it up for central air. Then all I have to do is push a couple buttons.

Wednesday's catch of the day by DH & his cousin. Largest around 27".

 

 

This quilt is finished:

Really wanted it done over the Memorial Day weekend, but I was just a slug    and didn't get a whole lot done. I have a couple customer quilts to do next, but for something to just sew on, I think it's time to drag out the strips I cut for Orca Bay and Jamestown Landing. Once I get the triangle pairs cut it's mindless sewing, just pushing one after the other through the machine. It will be pleasant work now that the small AC is installed in the sewing room window. I got tired of waiting around for DH to get around to it, what with his IMPORTANT vacation schedule & all, and put it in myself!! That's why I bought that small one to start with....DH though AC was unnecessary. He works where it's hot and thinks everyone else should suffer too. Bull!!

Had to spend some time getting the sewing room/guest room ready for this guy to come spend the week-end, shown here with his trophy & medal from

last week's soccer tournament in Omaha.
His team is undefeated and he's pretty pumped about that. I probably won't even see much of him this weekend. He has a baseball game tonight and I'll bring him home from that. Then Grandpa is taking him fishing on Saturday. Mom will come get him on Sunday. My job is to make sure the food he likes is available.

Motivation???

Dakota City Quilter says it is "Motivation Friday."   Guess we'll see about that. So far I've only been motivated to have a little breakfast,  read a bunch of blogs and write this. (You would not believe the time I spent getting that bottom picture cut out of a Word document and getting it formatted to something Blogger would accept.) Cloudy, gloomy and cold weather tends to rob me of any motivation I might have had. I'm so glad it's supposed to start warming up today. I need to see the sun!!!

TWO things I WILL get done today are loading a quilt on the machine and sorting out the genealogy stuff I printed out over the past week of super-duper ancestor hunting.

Great news is that Bonnie Hunter's next book will soon be coming out....in July, I think, and she offered a sneak-peek on her blog.  Click on this link to see it. Lots of stringy goodness.

Front

Back

Nebraska readers might be interested in the new book by D.R. Haskin coming out in June.

Third in the Hills of Mars series

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. :)

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.

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.

Finished!!

This one will live on the back of the couch.