BEAUTY FROM TRAGEDY

Last weekend we made a little trip to Biloxi Mississippi to the Beau Rivage Casino. This is only my second visit to any casino since gambling became legal in Louisiana. On the way, we passed through Gulfport where the wrath of Hurricane Rita was unbelievable, even three years later. I had heard about the oak trees that were destroyed and maimed by the salt water and tidal surge. Some of the ones that had no chance of being recovered were pared down and sculpted into pelicans, swordfish, dolphins and eagles. It was a very moving experience seeing these trees and so sad to know they are reduced to twigs only about 6-7 feet high. The total irony of it all is how beautiful they look as sculptures and how well done they are. Many of them are enclosed in a little fenced area right by the beach. You can see where entire houses and businesses once were and all that is left is a slab. One place had only the chimney sticking out of the ground, all alone in the middle of what used to be someone's property and home.

The casino itself was amazing! I never imagined such an elaborate and beautiful structure existed in the humble state of Mississippi. It is an enormous and elegant place, and is so well maintained and so clean! Yes, I know its a casino, and that part is mysterious to me. I don't really understand the lure of it all, but have to say it was fascinating to watch the people (i'm a people watcher big time). They had some gift shops that you can't believe and the restaurants were all top dollar, no fast food in that place! The casino also had a theatre that we went to and saw Yes. Some people may not know who Yes is, but us old-timers probably will. The sound was fantastic and the theatre was small and best of all, had RESERVED seating! I was told that most concert events nowadays are all reserved seating, so you can tell I don't get out much........ :)

Also, I had reservations about seeing a concert in a casino, but they were unfounded. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and am thinking about going to see Chicago in April at the same place. BTW, the rooms were awesome and very well appointed, room service extraordinaire (although we didn't order any THIS TIME).
I would like to stay two nights next time and relax a little more to watch the wildlife.

SNOW IN SOUTH LOUISIANA!

It was like Disneyland, Disneyworld and all the Six Flags had come overnight! Everyone had their cameras and picture phones out, and some schools were closed along with some state offices.

What a day! We were all children again for that short amount of time because of course it is all gone now.

IS THERE A JUNIOR IN THE HOUSE?

This is my "new" cat Junior. The caption to this particular picture is "don't wake this". Junior is a major live-wire when he is awake, so while he is asleep there is peace and quiet. He is a beautiful cat and is going to be really large when he is finished growing. I decided to keep him inside for the first six months or so because he is SO white and then was SO small, I felt he would be an easy target for predators at night (HOO HOO!). Anyway, now he is about 9 pounds so I am not nearly as concerned about him being kidnapped or killed.

Junior has a bunch of little rubber balls that he like to carry around in his mouth. He will play with these all by himself for hours. Sometimes he will bring the ball to wherever you are sitting or standing and drop it in your lap or at your feet. Then you are supposed to throw it and he will fetch and bring it back! Does he think he is a dog? IDK!

Around 2:30 or 3:00 every morning it sounds like the Olympics are going on in my living room, kitchen, foyer and upstairs as Junior is running and sliding and crashing into everything. He recently discovered the stairs and likes to run up and down them many times so it sounds like a herd of buffalo is in the house. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoy having little (?) Junior around. He is not an extremely affectionate pet, but when HE wants to, he will "allow" a small amount of cuddling, even though he does purr all the time.

HAPPENINGS IN LOUISIANA IN THE HEART OF ACADIANA

Thibodeaux: Boudreaux, did you get the parrot I sent you for your birthday?
Boudreaux: Yes, it was good!
Thibodeaux: You ate the bird!
Boudreaux: Of course I ate it.
Thibodeaux: That bird spoke five different languages.
Boudreaux: Then he should have said something. **********************************************
Thibodeaux: Boudreaux, What's the score?
Boudreaux: Seven to Ten.
Thibodeaux: Who's winning?
Boudreaux: The ten.
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When Boudreaux got home yesterday, Clotilde ran out to him saying,
"The car got water in the carburetor!"
"How you know that, you?"
"Cause it's parked in the Bayou!"
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Boudreaux told Thibodeaux he was having trouble selling his truck, with 200,000 miles on it, for $1,500. Thibodeaux advised him to set the odometer back to 50,000 miles to make it easier to sell. A few days later, Thibodeaux asked Boudreaux if he had sold his truck.
"No," replied Boudreaux, "I decided to keep it. It has only50,000 miles on it."
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Boudreaux and Thibodeaux went hunting and got lost in the woods. When Boudreaux began lamenting their fate, Thibodeaux said, "You know, I heard that the best thing to do if you get lost is to fire three shots in the air."
So they did that, and waited a while. When no rescue party showed up, they fired three more shots in the air. Finally, when there was still no response, Thibodeaux said, "Well, I guess we better fire three more shots."
"OK, if you say so," said Boudreaux. "But somebody better come soon-- > we're about out of arrows!"
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Dare was da time Boudreaux was having trouble sleeping at night. Boudreaux wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service. He put:"Dear Internal Revenue Service,For da tax year 2003, I underpaid my federal income tax and I ain't been able to sleep well since. Enclosed is a check for $200.00.
Yours in Good Government,Boudreaux
And he put at the bottom,"Mais, P. S. If I don't sleep better tonight, I'm gonna send you da rest." **********************************************

AM I STARVIN' MARVIN?

I have to think so hard about what i'm going to eat, when and how much! It's crazy, but unless you succumb to the demands of the diabetes monster, you will become even more enslaved by medications.

It is truly amazing how little food the human body needs to survive. Nowadays my thoughts about whatever is on the so-called menu are limited to what can fit in the palm of my hand. Granted, some days the palm can extend all the way to my fingertips especially when something I really really like is on the mastication horizon!

This is the second time I have blog'd about the new companion in my life, diabetes and don't want this to turn into a blog for that. BUT there are some thoughts about this whole journey that I just would like to put out there for whoever may or may not be interested.

Any and I mean any kind of a vegetable seems to agree with the glucose-challenged. As we all should know, vegetables are full of soluble fiber which digests much more slowly. Meats are okay in small amounts, but processed meats such as lunch meat are not good. For some reason the lunch meat type foods really cause the glucometer to skyrocket! Grains are okay in very small amounts and be sure they are of whole wheat variety! Never thought I would like whole wheat pasta either, but it is tasting pretty darn good these days............................

I have also definitely confirmed that exercise of ANY type is good to metabolize. If you are behind a desk all day and have to pretty much be available there, it is so difficult to move too much, so one must improvise. Subtle stretching works sometimes as well as the famous Keigel type exercises, which really are simply flexing your muscles while you sit!

There are also people whose blood sugar is always going too low and it has got to be terrible for those people to deal with that. Low blood sugar can definitely kill you much faster than high blood sugar! For a brief period of time I was over-medicated and experienced several "low" blood sugar events (very scary). So trying to keep the sugar down is probably the lesser of the two evils between low and high (see I know how lucky I really am)!

I can totally understand now how people fail at diabetes and it is a lifetime committment to yourself that, once it is firmly entrenched, will not just GO AWAY. Acceptance is still overwhelming on some days, but not as bad as it was at the outset. I well knew the symptoms of diabetes, but chose to float down the Nile river and just knew that I was not having those symptoms. It has been a long and short two and a half years, but I am so much wiser now. I always thought I took good care of myself but could have been doing better all along.

Thats my story for now and i'm stickin' to it!

FOOD AND FUN

Well, I have been "officially" a diabetic for a little over two years now. One of the main lessons I have learned is the success or failure of this disease is all about, drumroll, FOOD! Once the medical professionals get your sugar level somewhat regulated, if you don't want to have to take MORE medicine, you have got to learn to say "hold back" to yourself when sitting down to more than a palm-sized portion of whatever food is in front of you.

There is a page on the diabetic.org site that allows you to "create" virtual plates that are then scored for correctness as far as your two vegetables, one fruit, one carbohydrate and one protein. Sound exciting? You bet!!!

I feel so in awe of much younger people who are suddenly diabetic as this whole deal has taken way more will power than I have ever had to use in previous decades of my life. The phrase "comfort food" now has a meaning I never contemplated fully. When we were young, we were given special treats for good behavior and special occasions. I even remember being ENCOURAGED to eat because way back then I was somewhat underweight (LOL)!!!!

So this eating thing is learned and formed behavior. But it has been an interesting transformation for me, as now I actually look forward to my apple with cheese or the avocado with a little dressing on it. A really big deal now is perhaps some roast with gravy (see above) and just a little brown rice with some kind of green veg. Plus, a little seems to fill me up. Now all of this is great as long as eating at home is happening. Eating out is a whole different challenge.

In summation, I don't think that you, dear reader, will have too hard of a time figuring out why this could be a crime in a persons lifetime.........BUT like Fox News, I report, you decide!