Interesting Dementia info/rain

I learned something from my doctor this week. I mentioned that I noticed that my dad's dementia gets worse when his sugars are high. She said that research is showing that sugars are actually one of the causes of dementia. High Sugars actually hinder memory, which I've seen first hand. It's also amazing how it effects steadiness when walking. He had a rough go the first week back home but seems to be pulling himself into line today. Yea!!! :)  I guess we sometimes need to prove to ourselves that what some else says is really true. The last few days were NOT good days sugar wise for him.

I'm quite excited. I picked a basket of raspberries tonight. YUM!!! There's nothing better then fresh picked raspberries! (Or tomatoes for that matter!) We have nice weather until next Thursday so hopefully I can get a decent amount of raspberries before then! Although this week they were saying 3 days of rain a week ago and the only real rain we had was really early Thursday morning then just scattered showers. So we'll see what next week really brings! The Pacific Northwest is one area where you use all different kinds of rain terms. Misting rain, light mist, heavy mist, scattered showers, heavy rain, light rain, downpour, then just rain (steady rain everywhere). You get the idea. And I do love the weather! Being we are now in an El Nino, and a strong one at that, it'll be interesting to see what we get this winter. There's a good possibility for more east wind then normal due to the set up we get in a typical El Nino, maybe some freezing rain, maybe some snow. I think the only guarantee from those is the wind! :) And above normal temperatures over all. I think I'm ready to pull most of the summer garden this weekend. I'm going to plant some broccoli seeds and lettuce and swiss chard and see how it does! Oh, and peas.

I'm seriously considering a several day break sometime soon. Maybe to the coast? The trick would be finding something within my budget. I've definitely reached the point of needing a break! The hours have been ridiculous the last 2 1/2 months!  Everyone is pretty much caught up. There's just one client that has a bunch of back years but the trick is getting all the information needed to finish the years off! But that being said, I need an away break so that I don't end up working during my vacation!

End of visit/Diabetes

Today my dad headed home. Overall it went very well with the diabetes (type 2). It was interesting what we figured out. Everybody is an individual and as an individual tomatoes are a no no for him. It's supposed to be a 'free' food but it sends his sugars up. If it's just a couple of slices it's fine but a whole tomato will actually bring it up and 2 tomatoes will really send his readings up. I've mentioned this one before but the other weird thing we found out is caffeine is a no no for him. It actually blocks the insulin from working properly. Bread, of course, is an obvious one but it actually only takes a partial slice to send sugars on an upward trend. He had a biscuit at convention and it really sent the sugars up. Luckily my dad is doing fairly well physically for being 80 years old and he can take good walks to bring the sugars down. It is amazing what a walk can do. Sugars started a 147 just before dinner (high for just before a meal) so he took a 20 minute walk (a brisk walk) and when he came back they were 95. That leaves room for a good meal and not having to worry about what the meal will do. We did a lot of basic cooking. Very little starches, cottage cheese, cheese, vegetables, fruits, meats were the main stays. It helps being able to pull some of the vegetables from the garden!!

We went to the park Tuesday after dinner with the family. The pictures are below. Christina had to work so she missed the family dinner. :(

It's hard to believe that the summer is almost over! We have a couple of days of heat tomorrow and Saturday but then fall weather sets in again. It's supposed to be 94* tomorrow and then by Tuesday it's supposed to be 62*! I really hope the sixties with rain don't stick around for too long as I don't want my raspberries to mold! Although I have gotten a couple of good picks so it wouldn't be too big of a loss. It's really hard to beat garden raspberries!! The squash plant is still putting out squash. There should be about 6 ready to pick before the weekend is over. It's been amazing what that crook neck squash has put out! Peppers are still producing but we'll see how big those small ones get it the summer with is gone for good.

And on a last note- It's hard to believe Christina will soon be moved out!!! My baby has become quite the young lady!

Scarlet just wasn't so sure about getting her picture taken with great-grandpa!!

Smile dad!!

Maybe there's a little smile there?? :)

Exciting (nerve-wracking) Times! (By Christina)

Bonne soir!

I must say that the conventions that have just passed were greatly needed! There was much spoken on that really touched my heart, and it was with gratitude that I continued with the strength provided. It was a pleasure to see everyone there, and though I did not get a full Boring convention this year, what I was able to get was wonderful.

Lately, things have been fairly stressful. I know where to get strength, but with everything happening at once, it seemed impossible to just let things work out! But, work out things do, so... life just continued! I was fluctuating between not knowing about jobs, housing, vehicle situations... all at once! So, I just went with the flow and hoped desperately for the best to be accomplished.
And, after much internal desperate pleas, things have finally panned out. Whoo!

I got the school job (noon assistant), thus being able to move in where I planned, and I got a bike (my transportation dilemma). With all of this happening in one day, I can only marvel at how things just work. If one does what one is supposed to do, the situation just works! Especially if I listen to my Father.

So, I think I have told everyone and their next-door neighbor about my new bike, but this shall make that official! Here she is. (pictures at bottom)

Now, the whole reason I am writing on this blog (sorry to take so long to get to the point..), is that getting this bike really brought back memories.
Memories of riding my old bike with my dad around the block, and riding on Powell Butte.. it was something that I loved as a kid, and that love just seemed to fade out for the sport. But I don't think I ever thanked my dad for all of the wonderful memories that were created in those years.
The reason I was able to pick riding back up in 15 minutes? My dad taught my how to ride  a bike on the pavement at a local elementary school. I fell, but was encouraged to get back up.
Those are the sort of memories that will make my reunion with bike riding all the more special. Because in a way, it is a reunion with the special memories that he left, and I dearly wish that he was here to see it.

I love you dearly, and if you ever read this, I hope that you know that.
-Christina       

Wonderful days

We had our conventions the last two weeks. What wonderful encouragement and fellowship!  It was made real again that it is a daily service to my Father. It's not just once year or twice a year, it's daily! One thing that really hit home was the word commitment. Am I actually committed? Or am I just saying what I know needs to be done but not really planning on following through? Another thing that was revealed to me was answered prayers. I can look back and see where prayers have been answered and strength has been given and it is so very reassuring.

I got to see quite a few cousins this year that I haven't seen in a long time, if ever. That was quite a privilege! My cousin Nancy was out for Boring 1 and so we got a really good visit in! Then a cousin from San Francisco was up for Boring 2 and I'm not sure if I've ever seen her. If I have it was when I was a little kid! Had some very nice visits with her and then low and behold her sister and her husband show up today as well! And their nephews (my cousins as well). My family is actually fairly large when all the cousins start getting counted!

The weather was quite interesting. Last weekend we actually had a nice wind storm! Gusts were between 40-50 mph. It was actually a late fall/early winter storm set-up. They said that in current times that there has never been that type of storm so early (late August). The earliest one before was the end of September and even that is pretty unusual. Power stayed on luckily but it was a close call several times! Before that it was quite warm, after that storm it has been quite cool! First Boring we really didn't need coats until Sunday. Second Boring we wore coats the whole convention! I think it might have reached 60* or maybe 65* today but that was it! It's rained off and on but interestingly enough the downpours that have sporadically happened for the last week didn't cause much mud! The ground was so dry that it's soaking the rain up and has yet cause real mud issues!

Now to go out and live and put to use all that we heard!!

Zoo visit!! Smoke, smoke and more smoke

Luckily yesterday was absolutely perfect for a visit to the zoo. It was cool- in the 60's- and cloudy most the time we were there. The sun broke out later. One of my dad's goals was to get to the zoo. So we went with Erika and the girls. All enjoyed it! Although Scarlet is a bit young yet to really appreciate it much! All the lions were out, even the younger ones. One was chewing on mom. :) Quite cute! The girls lasted about 2 hours although we were needing to persuade Teagan to smile for the picture at the end!

Today the smoke from all the fires moved in. We've actually been quite lucky so far. This is the first day it's been super bad while a lot of other area's in the state have been dealing with this smoke for a couple of weeks. The air quality was HORRIBLE!! It was at 229 and when it reaches 100 it's considered bad! We went out to the convention grounds today for the last day of preps. My job was to spiff up the well house and clean the drinking faucet area's. Then conventions start next week! YEA!!! :)

Work is going quite well right now. Although I did lose a client today. :(  Really, I'm better off without him and it all happens for a reason! At least some taxes should get paid next month.

The lions were out!

There's something interesting in there! Great grandpa and Teagan.

Snack time!

I really like this profile picture of my dad!

Erika and Teagan

Picture before we left.

Teagan had quite the attitude at the end!

Erika tickling the mood out of Teagan. :)

The Well house is clean!

Spiffed up!

So smokey!!

My dad is going to mow the dandelions! He was one happy camper!! :)

Smokey- Orange sun. This school may be where Christina's second job may be.

These months really like the mint!

And so do the bees!

Raspberries are already ripening! A month ahead of time!

Caffeine and Diabetes? & updated grandchildren pictures!

It's been a bit of a roller coaster with my dad's diabetes. I found out he didn't have his Metformin and hasn't taken it for quite a while! I'm thinking that is part of the issue. However we've managed to make progress regardless! Today it got down to 109 and he has been in a wonderful mood!! A couple of days ago it really spiked though and he really hadn't had anything that was 'bad'. So I started wondering about caffeine, as he had had quite a bit of it. I looked it up and they are finding that too much caffeine will actually cause the insulin to not be near as effective as it should be. So the last couple of days he's had no caffeine and as I said his mood is much better. Once we get the Metformin, hopefully tomorrow, we can start having a bit more meal wise. I've been fixing very low carb meals and it's been a struggle to keep it below 150, but again how much of that was because of the caffeine? So those wondering why insulin isn't working very well, how much caffeine is being consumed? That was certainly an interesting find!

In other news, I had the girls Monday and Wednesday this week. Yea!! :) They're growing up so fast! Scarlet is starting to talk quite a bit, however it takes some doing to really understand her sometimes! :) She'll be 2 the end of next month and Teagan will be 3 1/2! We went to the park Wednesday morning. Those pictures are below. Great-Grandpa helped push!

The garden is doing pretty good. It's been a tough go for the cucumbers but the crooked neck squash are doing quite well!! As are the tomatoes. Hopefully lots of those can be frozen, as I'm 1 shy of being completely out of them! One of my favorite dishes that I make using the tomatoes and squash is frying the sausage (Hillshire horseshoe shaped) in some olive oil and browning it and then add onions and bell peppers and saute those and then add summer squash saute some more and then tomatoes right at the end. No seasoning is necessary since the sausage takes care of that! My dad LOVES that dish and it is extremely low carb. At this point the peppers, tomatoes and squash are from the garden! Garden pictures below. I need to take some more. There's not many new ones right now! :)

Diabetes

My dad  is visiting for 6 weeks. And an interesting 6 weeks it'll be! We're going to try and figure out why his sugars are so high in the morning and as a result just over all.(170-180) I have my suspicions but only time will tell. I do know part of it is those snacks that have 30 carbs in just 6 pieces! (Yikes!!!)   Those goldfishes are nasty things for diabetics! Needless to say a handful really plays with sugars!! It is tricky because fruits need to be eaten in small portions. Since he's running so high probably just a 1/4 of an apple with carrots for a snack, with maybe peanut butter? It's tricky when there's a love for food! ;)  Scarlet has neonatal treated as type 1 diabetes. My dad has type 2 diabetes. They're treated somewhat differently. I have found out they avoid using short lasting insulin with type 2, although I need to research the exact reason. I do know that technically speaking type 2 diabetics do produce some insulin.  For Scarlet's both long lasting and short lasting are used. There is very little or no insulin at all produced by the body.  Long lasting insulin and metfromin is what is being used for my dad. It's going to be a journey. I hope that we are able to make progress!! Carb counting here we come!