Today . . . at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month we salute our Veterans in thanks for all that they have done for us.

A few years ago I discovered that Taps (played at funeral services for men and women who have served in the US armed forces, as well as at memorial events) has not only a haunting melody, but the following words:

Words to Taps
(Note: there are no “official” words to Taps - below are the most popular.)

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
‘Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

I can no longer hear this haunting medly played without a lump in my throat.

This page has a “history” of Taps.

My thanks to all who have served . . . those who are still serving . . . and to those who have lost loved ones in service. I have a grand uncle and an uncle buried in Arlington National Cemetery. And, my father and his brothers all served in the Army during WWII. All have now been laid to rest in various places.

I salute you and thank you all for your selfless service to “man and country.”

It seems that Billy has a heart for those with diabetes. He is going to compete in the Reality Castaways Dodgeball event in early December to benefit Reality for Diabetes.

How can you help?

Come watch or even better, play against, no wait, even better, play with your favorite past Contestants from the CBS show Survivor in a Celebrity Dodgeball tournament. Then hang out for a special VIP after party where you can rub elbows and hear stories about Reality TV’s biggest Reality TV Show.

In the First Tounament, Fans will compete with and against the Reality Castaways then in the second Tournament watch teams from Fiji, Cook Islands, Guatemala, Vanuatu, Asia(Thailand & a surpise), Panama(Exile & Allstars), and a Hybrid Bomb Squad compete(Palau, Pearl Islands & Exile).

There are 4 ways you can get involved to help raise money for a great cause.

1) Purchase a ticket to the event/after party - Cost $100
2) Purchase a VIP pass and participate in the tournament against your favorite Survivor contestants - Cost $150
3) Purchase the Immunity Idol pass and get to play on a team with your favorite Survivor contestants - Cost $200
4) Make a seperate donation to help us find a cure.

Check the above website for more VERY IMPORTANT!!! information, okay?

And, Billy . . . thanks from the bottoms of our hearts! Muah!

Billy Garcia, Survivor, diabetes, Survivor Dodgeball

“>Gestational diabetes, which is on the rise nationwide, is becoming more recognized as a significant risk to mothers and their babies. In the news, here is an article about gestational diabetes - and what might cause it. I confess that I don’t understand a lot of what is being said in the article - but it sounds like they (the infamous “they”) might be getting a handle on why gestational diabetes happens.

At the least, it looks like they have the sequencing down - the timing of when it starts and when it stops - or the body starts using insulin again properly. There is talk about “islets” and “menin” and “prolactin”. You know . . . all that scientific jargon that none of us really understands - but when it HELPS us, we are thrilled. Right? Right.

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In other news . . .

The swimming continues - I am getting to be more comfortable putting my face in the water. What?!! You already do that when you swim? Well, friends, I do not like to have my face in the water - there may be psychological reasons for that, but I am not going to worry too much about all that. I am taking it slowly and now get my face wet a lot more often than I used to 8 weeks ago when I started swimming with my daughter.

8 weeks - tomorrow starts week 9.

Last week a coworker came up behind me and mentioned “you know, you are trimming down!” I thanked her and sort of shook my head. Later in the day I got curiouser and curiouser and finally went to the back bathroom to step onto the medical type scale there . . . .

. . . . drum roll, please . . . .

I have lost EIGHTEEN pounds!

Yeah, you coulda knocked ME over, too. How awesome is that? I knew that my (brand new!!!) work slacks were starting to be a bit loose in the legs and seat . . . but I hadn’t thought too much about it really.

May just have to have them taken in soon.

It’s a nice problem to have, right? Right.

You say you’re a diabetic . . .

or

someone in your family is a diabetic . . .

AND

you say you’re an Idol-izer . . .

OR

you just love to watch American Idol . . .

AND

you love to write . . .

or

know someone who loves to write . . .

Well, then, friends . . . we have got something for you!

Elliott Yamin is

According to Idol Stalker and Watching American Idol You may win tickets to an Elliott Yamin concert.

It’s a “creative expressions contest” so put on your thinking caps and sharpen those pencils and get set to write. Here are the submission/format catergories:

Short essay or poem - 500 words or less
Photograph(s) - Up to three prints
Original drawing or painting - no larger than 43cm x 66cm (17″ x 26″)
Music - Original composition, up to three minutes in length (instrumental and lyric)

Participant categories in the Inspired by Diabetes contest are:
Children (age sub-groups 5-6, 7-8, 9-12, 13-17 years old; includes children with diabetes or family members or friends under 18)
Adult with diabetes (ages 18 and older)
Family member or friend of a person with diabetes
Health care professional

If you’re reading here, I’m pretty sure you fit in one of those categories!

Eliott will serve as judge of the entries, and will donate several ticket passes to his tour. The entry deadline is January 31, 2008.

To learn more about Inspired by Diabetes and how to enter the Creative Expression Competition, please visit the Inspired by Diabetes website.

elliott yamin, american idol, inspired by diabetes

We make sure that there are nutritious snacks available every day for the participants - fruit, bagels, muffins, juice, etc. There are also the not quite so nutritious snacks - chips, chocolates, etc. The days are long - the subject is hard - there is a need for comfort food, too.

One of the participants has gestational diabetes so we saw her check her glucose levels several times through the week.

That opened avenues for discussion, of course. Discussion about diabetes are ALWAYS a good thing. It is important to be open and to share when you find you can help someone grow in their own mental/physical/emotional health. In sharing with others we also can be helping ourselves. So . . . as the kids say . . . it’s all good.

And, speaking of kids - and getting to the title of this entry . . .

I came home a bit early one night this week and popped the tv on and happened to see the Jonas Brothers on Ellen. Hubby and I looked at each other and shared our feelings - it’s like stepping back 40+ years and seeing the Beatles perform with screaming teeny-boppers in the audience. The early Beatles - you remember them, the clean-cut youth from across the pond who smiled and charmed all of America’s girls?

The Jonas Brothers are home grown - teens from New Jersey; 19-year-old Kevin, 17-year-old Joe, and 14-year-old Nick.

The reason I’m writing about these young singers? Nick Jonas has Type 1 Diabetes. Here’s his story - in his own voice:

He’s a great spokesman for Type 1 Diabetes.

diabetes, type 1 diabetes, juvenile diabetes, nick jonas, jonas brothers

Hubby (type 2 diabetes) told me yesterday that he would probably never be able to go swimming again. He is worried about his feet - he has another infected toe. As disappointing as it is for me to know he won’t be joining me in the pool - it must be much more disappointing to him. He LOVES to swim.

Nor is it apparently a good idea to use the foot spas that are so popular.

Several years ago I bought hubby a foot spa for Christmas. I looked EVERYWHERE in our small town trying to find one - finally had a small pharmacy order one for me. Nowadays you can find one in every sort of store - they are coming down in price, too.

This all comes back, of course, to the fact that diabetics should take extra good care of their feet.

Hubby wears cotton socks year round - in the colder months (Alaska, remember?) he wears a pair of polar fleece socks over the cotton socks.

Every night when he takes off his socks, he checks them for any tell-tale signs of bleeding or oozing. He then checks each toe with the help of a hand mirror to see if he can see any cuts or bruises.

Even the smallest cut can become infected. With neuropathy, the sensation of pain that would drive any of the rest of us bonkers just is not there. Hubby has found infected sores in the past that he did not even know were there.

He doesn’t feel it if I or one of the grandkiddos step on his toes - he doesn’t feel it if he stubs his toe into a door or wall - he doesn’t feel the same pain you or I might.

So, he has to take these preventive precautions.

Right now he has a prescription to use a hyperbaric chamber to help increase the speed at which his foot heals. Last time it was amazing just how quickly all that extra oxygen caused healing.

So - take good care out there - and if you are wondering if foot spa usage - or swimming - are appropriate for you, please check with your physician. Follow his/her instructions.

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Like contests? Like knitted dish cloths? Come on over to Knitting Passion and check out the new contest - be sure to sign the comments and let me know you’ve been there and that you want one of the skully dish cloths!

I noticed he was sporting a cool purple binky (pacifier) - or at least that is what I thought it was. After getting out of the pool and making his acquaintance from a closer distance I noticed that it was a purple substance in and around his mouth.

Ahhh, I said to Mama - he has thrush and you’re treating it with gentian violet.

As we talked she said that he gets the thrush often and she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t seem to get rid of it once and for all.

I mentioned all this to hubby over lunch today and he said “Is she diabetic?”

I hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility, but realized I should have made the connection. You see, when he was diagnosed (diagnosed, that is, for the second time - see previous article) he had gone to the doctor several times for a yeast infection. He was quite upset because the nurses would laugh at him each time - because a yeast infection is considered to be a woman’s problem. (He didn’t stay with that doctor’s office - embarrassment and anger at his treatment!)

First, why does diabetes increase the risk for developing yeast infections?
GERALD BERNSTEIN, MD: It’s important to understand what the elevated blood glucose in people with diabetes actually does to the body. When the blood sugar increases, two things happen. One, all the body secretions will have an increased amount of glucose. Two, all of the tissues of the body stop functioning normally, and therefore the normal defenses that the body has against intrusion by outside substances — such as yeast — will be abnormal.

The above quoted article also talks about the diabetes/yeast infection being a woman’s problem. I’m here to tell you that men also can be affected.

So - if you think you or your spouse may have a yeast infection - get to a doctor as quickly as possible. Women, don’t douche before you go - don’t pre-treat. See the doctor FIRST and let him/her decide what the course of action should be.

diabetes, yeast infection

Hubby has been a bit down since his cataract surgery - oh, the surgery went well and his recovery from THAT has been all good . . . but . . .

He caught a bit of a chill up in the big city while pumping gas. From there it was kind of all downhill - he couldn’t get warm for several days and huddled under his blankie in his chair sipping echinacea tea and taking vitamin C.

As if that weren’t enough, then he discovered a sore on one of his toes - as you all know, diabetic foot ulcers are NOTHING to play around with. He immediately made an appointment to see his doctor and got some antibiotic cream for the toe. He also brought home a script for hyperbaric treatments. They have helped heal foot ulcers in the past.

Then, of course, my mind went a little crazy . . . would getting all that oxygen treatments blow out his eyeball from the recent cataract surgery?????? A call to the big city docs was in order. I was reassured that the treatments would NOT cause any harm to the new eye. And, so we go on one day at a time.

In the meantime, daughter, Lessa, has flown the coop to CA to visit friends and family - leaving us with her treasured children. We are blessed big time.

Hubby and I have been in the big city for the past couple of days - he had his second cataract surgery Thursday afternoon. I cannot tell you just how impressed I am with the staff of this office. They have some of the nicest people working there - very concerned for the patients and yet they crack jokes and keep the whole atmosphere light. I appreciate it muchly.

And, the surgeon? He prays before EVERY surgery - and he does upwards of 40 a day - two days each month. But he takes time to ask the Lord’s guidance while he performs the surgery on each patient. THAT is a blessing in more ways than I can tell you.

But, back to the title of this entry and a bit about the picture.

When in the big city (remember, we live in small town Alaska) one must - MUST, I say - simply try all of the new restaurants that are within your budget. And, so . . . thanks to a recommendtion from our B&B hostess, we stopped by City Diner before heading out of town Friday afternoon.

Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my!

Things we did NOT order:

Chicken Fried Bacon (yes, you read that correctly - chicken fried BACON!)

Flat Foot (fried balogna and fried egg on a bun) - hubby was tempted - he LOVES fried baloney - yes, he was born in W.VA, so he says BALONEY.

What we did order:

Cold Meatloaf sandwich and Granny K’s Killer Chili (hubby)
and
Tuna Melt with pineapple cole slaw (mine - the tuna was great - the slaw so-so)

And, of course - I had to try to Orange Moose to drink: orange soda with ice cream - a float if you will.

And, as I author the PurpleMoose Gazette, and because I collect the purple critters, my mind went directly to how I could make a PurpleMoose! Grape soda over vanilla ice cream! Yup, already planning my next birthday party. I need a plate from The Moose’s Tooth to hold the moose cake I’ll ask the Ladybug to make me - and then everyone steps up to have a PurpleMoose ™ from the Nana! Yup - it’s a plan. Now, if I can just remember it until January.

Back to the City Diner - just looked it up and see that it is owned by my favorite local tv cook - Chef Al and someone he has often as his guest - Chef Kelly. Didn’t see either of them there but then we weren’t looking for them, either.

There was a crowd at lunchtime - but our wait for a table was short - shorter than the 10 minutes we were quoted when we got there. Service was fun and the decor was just like you would expect in a diner from the 50s.

The menu - well, just pick and choose and you won’t have that heart attack - all things in moderation, remember?

city diner, anchorage, eating healthy - or not, cataract, surgery,

Over the past several years Disaster Preparedness has been the big topic around these parts. There are folks who have sponsored mass inoculation exercises - last year that is where I got my annual flu shot. There are folks who have worked on getting emergency buckets put together and distributed to area senior citizens.

They have put together lists and more lists with what should go into a portable emergency kit in the case a disaster should occur.

I’ve read a lot of those lists. They generally have one line that says something like “include extra medication.” Along with that is the admonition that you should rotate the medication - changing it out every time you get a new prescription, using what is in the kit while place into the kit your newest script.

You should check with your doctor to make sure you are storing the meds properly, by the way.

But, I have not seen a list specifically for diabetics - until now. Diabetes Monitor has a “diabetes disaster plan” here.

Hubby and I both can benefit from this type of preparedness planning.

Prepare a portable diabetes disaster kit that is both insulated and waterproof containing the following items:

*List of all medical conditions and prior surgeries.
*Information about your diabetes including past and present medications, any adverse reactions to medications, and past and present complications.
*List of all your health care professionals with their contact information.
*Letter from your diabetes health care professionals detailing most recent diabetes medication regimen (especially for insulin) and containing most recent laboratory results.
*List of all medications which should also include pharmacies and active prescription information and eligible refills.
*A 30 day supply of medications for diabetes and all other medical conditions. This should include insulin, oral antidiabetic agents and glucagon emergency kit (if prescribed by your physician).
*Blood glucose testing supplies including lancets, test strips and preferably at least two glucose meters with extra batteries.
*A cooler and at least four refreezable gel packs for storing insulin (do not use dry ice when storing your medication).
*Empty plastic bottles and/or sharps container for syringes, needles, and/or lancets. Source of carbohydrate to treat hypoglycemic reactions (e.g. glucose tablets). Ideally should also have one or two day’s supply of food that does not require refrigeration (e.g. non-perishable).
*At least a 3 day supply of bottled water.
*Pen and/or pencil and notepad to record blood glucoses and any other test results and any new signs/symptoms suggesting medical problems.
*Additional medical/first aid supplies like bandages, cotton swabs, dressings, and topical medications (antibiotic ointments or creams) to treat cuts or abrasions.

There is a lot more information there, so be sure you check it out. Many thanks to the folks at Diabetes Monitor for putting together such a list.
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Hubby and I are headed for the big city tomorrow. He is having his second cataract surgery sometime after noon. We have to be at the office at noon. So, your thoughts and prayers for journey mercies and for the Lord’s hand on hubby during the surgery are much appreciated.

Thanks