Since it is officially autumn...

My profile photo was taken at a corn maze near Clever last fall. But, since I am from Iowa, it seemed appropriate. I detassled corn before there were machines to do it. Nothing like Iowa Sweet Corn!!

My nephew turned 13 on the first day of autumn. Happy Birthday, Sweet-Alien-Monkey-Boy!

My physician believes that I have diabetes and though I do not disagree that I have metabolic syndrome, I am not sure I have crossed the line to full-blown diabetes. While some of it is definitely denial in action, there is a substantial difference between having it and not having it from a biological perspective. I studied dietetics at college, but I did not finish my degree. I avoided everything about diabetes that I could, except when it crossed over into pregnant women's issues. I do remember that if a person is diagnosed with diabetes (not gestational diabetes) it is like automatically taking 15 years off of your life. Cheery thought. Perhaps in the back of my mind, even then I had an inkling that I might someday have an issue with this disease, and not because of genetics, but because my weight has been creeping up and up since I was about 29 years old.

Truly, I had a biased opinion of diabetes from the get-go. My grandmother on my step-father's side was morbidly obese and the memories I have of her having to give herself shots in the belly, of barely being mobile, of her foot problems, of struggling with diet and most of the time throwing the dietary caution to the wind and dealing with the consequences made me dislike the disease very much. It seemed restrictive and debilitating. There is also something to the fact that I am remembering my grandmother from childhood memories now viewed through an adult lens. I wonder how much that changes/improves/warps the truth in the memories.

But my reality is that God is leading me to learn some things. I am a very stubborn student, though I do not like admitting it. I am working on quieting my heart, spending more time in His word and praying for  His will, not mine.

Heart on Her Shoulder

We hear the expression "he wears his heart on his sleeve" to indicate someone who does not hide what they are feeling and may perhaps be vulnerable. I've always liked this sentiment because it does frame where a person is at pretty accurately.

My kitty, Inky, was taking a usual nap and I noticed that the white spot on her shoulder looked like a heart. It doesn't always, but it just struck me funny the other day. She is pretty outspoken. Sometimes it sounds like she forms words, specifically "No!" and "Mama!" She also chatters a LOT which is the cutest thing ever. The thing she loves the most is chasing moths, but only when my husband carries her around the house and holds her up high towards the ceiling when a month tries to escape by altitude. Her biggest weakness is her obsessive need to groom. She has been on steroids, we have switched foods, we have made sure she is flea-free. Nothing seems to help. Just a "sensitive" girl.

Wood shavings and Vinegar

I work at a vinegar plant. I don't make the vinegar, but we have several tanks and the plant does produce a lot of vinegar, especially to support the local mustard production plant. We have about nine old wooden tanks, kind of like the kind wine is made in, and we are in the process of eliminating them from the plant. We use steal tanks now and the process is much different than when vinegar was made in wooden tanks. However, all the old tanks have wooden shavings in them. If you drive by the plant you will see the mounds of shavings that have been collected from a huge, noisy truck called the "Guzzler"- no joke! The shavings have a mucous-like odor to them. Such a fascinating process to watch!!

We get some of the silliest questions about vinegar. Is it organic? How is it made? Does it go bad?  Vinegar is made from alcohol and some nutrient mash. Then live acetobacter (a type of oxygen-loving bacteria) convert the alcohol to acetic acid or what the layman would call vinegar.  It is usually bought at about 6% strength or 60 grain. But we produce up to 300 grain vinegar because we ship it concentrated for manufacturing other products.  I just got some 300 grain vinegar on my hands today. I am so used to it, I barely felt it. It does dry out the skin, though. It would be very, very painful to get in your eyes and can cause eye damage. For some people, at 300 grain, it would be irritating if the vapors were inhaled. It does bother me when I have a cold at that strength.

White vinegar has a very long shelf life. Balsamic vinegar gets better with age, especially if it was made well to begin with. Wine vinegars last about six months on the shelf. Cooking wines have varying shelf life depending on what the alcohol base is. For instance, sauterne is about six months whereas sherry and marsala last for years. We also make champagne vinegar,

The mother in vinegar is just a glob of live bacteria. But when I go to the grocery store and see apple cider vinegar "with mother" it makes me laugh because most of what is floating around in there is apple particles, not mother. If the particulates floating around are flakey this is not mother. If it is stringy, snotty-looking and even possibly chunky, then you have yourself some mother.  Does mother make a difference? It is harmless, but I really don't whether the health claims are true since I am not a food scientist. I do know it is required to make more vinegar, no matter what kind, though apple cider seems to have the most.

That's all I have to say about that.

The Stink of Skunk Wins Out

As I was driving to pick up my son from gymnastics, I rolled the window down and was so enjoying the evening air. Autumn evenings have a distinct scent to them- earthly, fresh, light. Though things may be dying for the season, they have a send-off scattered with beautiful aroma. That reminds me of the sermon from Sunday- that we are to be a sweet aroma for Christ. Such as easy illustration to absorb into every pore, especially while basking in the dusky shadows of early fall. However, the lovely evening's reflective moment was torn apart as I drove by a carcass of skunk. The stink overpowers and obliterates any hint of sweetness. It flavors the entire pallet and for me, I can almost taste it. Living in Iowa, I never encountered as much skunk as here in SW MO. Spring and fall, always tainted with the overbearing, non-too-undistinct odor of skunk. Oh, well. It was very nice while it lasted. Just a few moments later, I caught a whiff of burning leaves which is almost as nice as the scent of evening itself! Cannot wait for hayrides and shivering and hot chocolate and bundling up!!

Speaking of stink, I heard a report on NPR tonight  (Pledge of Allegiance Fight) about a man who thinks that children should not have to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school because they are publicly declaring an loyalty oath. This is a new one for me. I did not even realize the pledge was voluntary- the things I miss because of homeschooling. Some schools only recite the pledge once a week!!! I remember doing it every day of my school life and not thinking twice about it being offensive. I can understand why someone might object due to religious beliefs- though this country was founded on Christianity and taking God out of it is very dangerous. This man, from Brookline, PA, claims he is very patriotic but tries to tie the issue to peer pressure.  Is it not our civic duty to learn what being a citizen of America means? Isn't that why, in a public school especially, civic duty should not be torn down? This humanistic worldview is so extreme that I am just flabbergasted. If you live in America, you don't have to love everything about it- like who may or may not be in office; how laws are interpreted; how the military is run; the creation of new laws; the party wars, etc. There will never be a perfect country. However, to encourage people not to express their patriotism for their country for the sake of being able to exercise that freedom just seems like freedom gone awry.

The First Words

I am going to try to keep regular posts about life on here. I will try to include pictures and to not be terribly dull. Went to a baby shower today. Held a baby for awhile today. It was good to be with my church family.