Go Fly A Kite

March. The month when the wind comes in with a fury. Perfect for kite flying. But, if truth be told, a kite just strings you along. Then, in one last leap of desperation, it plummets to the earth in a crash… uh, usually into trees, telephone/electrical lines or some other obscure location.

Rather than being strung along, may I suggest a book instead? Right now my novel “Three Steps: The Journeys of Ayrold” is on sale at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MZS89I/ for only $2.99 – that is in honor of the Leprechauns. After all, in addition to flying kites, we celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the wearing of the green. My book takes place in Ireland (also Washington, DC and Sherwood, OH) with the leprechauns prepping for battle against the dwarves. Strange thing, tho, dwarves can be leprechauns, leprechauns can be giants or, wait a minute, even elves? Well, read the book to find out all these mysteries since nothing appears as it would seem to be. Blink your eyes and they’re gone. Save some green ($2.00) and simply take Three Steps… to a tale of wonder.

Continuing on the kite theme - my health.  I'm about to fly a kite and let it crash but I'm going to stick it out.  I've been having all kinds of problems getting my sugar controlled this month.  One day it is 85 first thing in the morning, the next day it is 199. The doctor wants me to go on insulin, and I'm fighting the option... it seems so final. I have until 3/18 to get this under control.

I visited with the nephrologist. Very interesting. Of course, it also plays back on my diabetes with my kidney issues. Basically, the meds. Get my blood sugar under control and maybe the other issues will correct themselves - sort of.

Something tells me I need to watch my diet very closely. What I think is "safe" to eat, may not be. I found a "diabetic" recipe which included rice. Okay, it used brown rice and I didn't have any, so I used white rice. Needless to say, my blood-sugar sky-rocketed. I will try it again, but with the brown rice. Also, I think quantity is playing a major role here, too. I need to learn to cut back my portion sizes on some things. I can have as much celery, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, and some beans. Carrots (I love carrots!) are limited. The good thing, I like broccoli and cauliflower, so I don't mind eating them. In fact, I've learned to switch out cauliflower "rice" for white rice in many recipes... and it is good.

The one thing the nephrologist told me that plunged a knife into my heart - no soy sauce. I have to watch my intake of sodium and soy sauce is OUT. She did say I could "maybe" cheat once or twice a month with a sprinkle of soy sauce on my Oriental meals when I go out to eat. Guess I should mention I enjoy stir fry immensely. I mean, I cook - did you catch that? - I cook at least one, if not two stir fry meals every week. I've learned to cut out or back the sugar on many of the sauces but now, soy sauce, too? {staggers back in mock heart attack} 

On the farmer front - imagine my surprise when I walked out into the utility room the other day to see one of the baby chicks sitting on the aquarium tank's edge. Fortunately, it was still pondering the idea of flying (tumbling?) from that height to the floor where our pet dog, a Shih Tzu, waited anxiously to play with it. I grabbed it, put it back into the aquarium and found a makeshift wire cover for the top. I don't believe my boys will get the new coop built in time since it is snowing outside right now. So, I will go to the store for 4x8 sheets of plywood to create a roomy space for them to grow. Each chick needs approximately 3-4 square feet of space when fully grown. I have 8 chicks. So that means 32 square feet. Wow!  4x8=32. Great! 4 sheets of plywood should give me a mini-coop 4 ft wide by 8 ft long by 4 ft high. Plenty of space for them. Oh, and it will have a wire roof.  When I put the wire on top of the aquarium, you could see the little chicks looking up at the new "sky" - they were already plotting their next escape... I'm sure.

Until next I ramble on...