Re: [gardeners] Saturday in the garden

George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 21 May 2000 09:23:26 -0500 

If you consider 5 foot seven inches and 249 lbs husky that's what I am/was. I've
always been short but not always fat. Since about 1982 I ballooned up over 200
and it's getting harder and harder to get it off. Right now I'm swinging between
223 and 226 but want to get down to 180-190 just because I'll feel better. Side
effects are a lowering of blood glucose and blood pressure. I have been able to
cut my insulin intake from 100 units a day to 70 units a day just by losing 26
lbs. Blood glucose is in the normal range but I'm still taking 3 metformin pills
a day and 70 units of insulin a day. I hope to get the pills and insulin a lot
lower than that. Blood pressure is still high but I don't have much hope of
lowering that too much more. To many clogged veins and arteries on the heart.
Still, I feel better, local folks say I'm looking healthier and I'm able to do
more around the garden.

As for bread, yes! Bread, potatoes, and rice were my mainstays. I actually had a
biscuit for breakfast this morning and it was delicious. Haven't had potatoes or
rice or pasta for more than a month now.

penny x stamm wrote:
> 
> George, not many people are instructed to lose 70 lbs -- I've
> always pictured you as lean and strong.  Maybe you're
> husky instead? From your almost daily descriptions of all the
> veggies you eat, there does not seem to be much room for
> the carbohydrates. Have you a passion for bread...?
> 
> Three days of continuous drizzle (with an occasional small
> thunderstorm) are taking their toll on my morale. I have so
> much garden work to accomplish that it hurts...  There are two
> old azaleas to move to the "nursery", and a fushia azalea plus
> an orange one to plant in their places.  Three bright red Vulcan
> rhodies. Two mountain laurel "Yankee Doodle" (cherry red).
> Three hot pink azaleas and one Hino crimson. I have to return to
> the nursery for a new brilliant red and white rhodie, and another
> Vulcan, plus 3 more azaleas. And then we must start planting
> the space where we used the car to remove the 20 or so low
> junipers which were sick -- if I can find them, I will bring home
> low growing cotoneasters.
> 
> I guess a lot of you don't recognize these names...?  They are
> typical northeastern plants which can withstand 90 degrees in
> the summer, and minus 10 degrees in the winter. If I ever get
> my act together, we intend to get a proper scanner, and put the
> photos on the Web. 'Tis a far trip twixt the cup and the lip, however.
> 
> 10 days ago, we boarded a plane at LaGuardia at noon for a 2 hr
> flight to St.Louis, Mo.,  and arrived in 8 hours, due to the line of
> horrendous storms in the way. After 6 hours of sitting in the plane
> at a standstill, we headed south to Norfolk, Va., then west to
> Atlanta, Ga., and up to St.Louis!  Yesterday my b-in-law left Florida
> and had to fly northwest up to Cleveland, Ohio, to get back east to
> New York, because of the same stormy conditions -- a 2-1/2 hr
> flight which altogether started at noon, and landed at 7:30pm...
> I am ready to put cotton in my ears, and resist all invitations to
> travel, no matter how alluring!
> 
> Penny, in gloomy New York (49 degrees)

You would have to talk about the flights. Miz Anne is heading north to Maryland
on Tuesday morning. We're hoping for an uneventful flight for her up and back.
Her Mom will soon be 92 years old and we're trying to get her up there at least
every two years. Thank goodness for Southwest Airlines and cheap flights. Now if
they would just get the feeder flight from here to Houston down in price we
could be happier.

George