JONQUILS IN BLOOM AND SPRING MUSING, CICADAS, & OATMEAL....
By Olivene Godfrey
My jonquils are in full bloom and even though winter is having what I hope will be one of its last gasps, I am hoping spring will soon be here. I always think of these words in the Bible's Song of Solomon about this time of year: "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is coming and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
My son, Barry, and I had mixed emotions about spring last year as it was our first spring without my late husband, Ralph, who loved spring, too. He enjoyed planting and caring for a small garden and had a green thumb. During the years that Barry and I cared for Ralph during his illness, we neglected the house.
So, last spring we had the wood trim painted white on our brick house and had new carpet installed in the den.
Barry and I also cleaned out closets and did some other cleaning jobs. When I cleaned out Ralph's clothes closet and packed up his clothes which we gave to the Salvation Army, I felt sad. So many things remind us of Ralph. But, we try to keep going and we are planning several home improvement projects for this spring, too.
One recent night, our good friend, Larry Ballew, took Barry and I out to dinner at a nice restaurant and night had fallen when we returned home. In the winter months, the nights here in our rural area in northwest Georgia are totally black and usually silent. But, this night we were greeted by a shrill, chirping sound that we recognized as the song of the cicadas
Usually, we hear them only during the summer and they aren't harmful insects except to tender young plants which may be damaged by their breaking of twigs.
I didn't know much about them so Barry researched on the Internet more than I really wanted to know about the cicadas. I found out the most prominent periodical cicadas are seven species from North America, three with 17 year cycles. Some of us in the country tire of the loud din of their "chorus" at night. Barry found out that most cicadas are strong fliers that spend their time high in the trees, so they are rarely seen or captured. And that is enough on this subject.
ABOUT THAT OATMEAL....
I guess people who know me think I am beginning to sound like a commercial for Quaker Oatmeal. I have always liked the taste of oatmeal and when I would eat it for breakfast, Ralph would say that it would "stick to my ribs" better than my usual light breakfast. So, when I saw the commercials on T.V. about the Quaker Oatmeal lowering cholesterol, I decided to try it as I had always been plagued with high cholesterol. I was taking a prescription medicine to lower my cholesterol, but it was still too high. I have eaten oatmeal almost every morning for about a year. Last week, I had lab work done at my doctor's office. The next day, I had an appointment with my doctor and she greeted me with a smile and a pleased expression on her face and handed me the report of my lab work, with a circle around the cholesterol number. It had never been that low. The doctor told me to keep on doing whatever I had been doing and I told her about eating the oatmeal. She said she would tell her other patients about the oatmeal, too.
So, if you have high cholesterol and haven't been able to lower it by diet or medication, why not give the oatmeal a try?
By Olivene Godfrey
My jonquils are in full bloom and even though winter is having what I hope will be one of its last gasps, I am hoping spring will soon be here. I always think of these words in the Bible's Song of Solomon about this time of year: "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is coming and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
My son, Barry, and I had mixed emotions about spring last year as it was our first spring without my late husband, Ralph, who loved spring, too. He enjoyed planting and caring for a small garden and had a green thumb. During the years that Barry and I cared for Ralph during his illness, we neglected the house.
So, last spring we had the wood trim painted white on our brick house and had new carpet installed in the den.
Barry and I also cleaned out closets and did some other cleaning jobs. When I cleaned out Ralph's clothes closet and packed up his clothes which we gave to the Salvation Army, I felt sad. So many things remind us of Ralph. But, we try to keep going and we are planning several home improvement projects for this spring, too.
One recent night, our good friend, Larry Ballew, took Barry and I out to dinner at a nice restaurant and night had fallen when we returned home. In the winter months, the nights here in our rural area in northwest Georgia are totally black and usually silent. But, this night we were greeted by a shrill, chirping sound that we recognized as the song of the cicadas
Usually, we hear them only during the summer and they aren't harmful insects except to tender young plants which may be damaged by their breaking of twigs.
I didn't know much about them so Barry researched on the Internet more than I really wanted to know about the cicadas. I found out the most prominent periodical cicadas are seven species from North America, three with 17 year cycles. Some of us in the country tire of the loud din of their "chorus" at night. Barry found out that most cicadas are strong fliers that spend their time high in the trees, so they are rarely seen or captured. And that is enough on this subject.
ABOUT THAT OATMEAL....
I guess people who know me think I am beginning to sound like a commercial for Quaker Oatmeal. I have always liked the taste of oatmeal and when I would eat it for breakfast, Ralph would say that it would "stick to my ribs" better than my usual light breakfast. So, when I saw the commercials on T.V. about the Quaker Oatmeal lowering cholesterol, I decided to try it as I had always been plagued with high cholesterol. I was taking a prescription medicine to lower my cholesterol, but it was still too high. I have eaten oatmeal almost every morning for about a year. Last week, I had lab work done at my doctor's office. The next day, I had an appointment with my doctor and she greeted me with a smile and a pleased expression on her face and handed me the report of my lab work, with a circle around the cholesterol number. It had never been that low. The doctor told me to keep on doing whatever I had been doing and I told her about eating the oatmeal. She said she would tell her other patients about the oatmeal, too.
So, if you have high cholesterol and haven't been able to lower it by diet or medication, why not give the oatmeal a try?
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