NEW IBS TREATMENT CAUSING DISCOMFORT & MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY BUSY FOR BARRY & GEORGIA DROUGHT

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Since I last wrote in this space, I have endured discomfort as I continue the treatment that my GI-doctor prescribed for me a couple of weeks ago. At times, I have been tempted to stop the treatment but I have persevered as I am hoping that in time it may be the solution to my Irritable Bowel Syndrome problem.

I had a scare one day last week during a painful interlude
in my bathroom. I felt faint and started walking to my bed and the next thing I knew I was on the bedroom floor and aching all over. Fortunately, I had no serious injuries. The medicine
I am taking is very expensive and is not on my insurance company's list. I am taking samples now the doctor gave me and I want to be certain the medicine is helping me before I have the prescription filled.

I didn't leave the house during the Memorial day holiday weekend.
Because of the wildfires in South Georgia, the air quality outside is bad and dangerous for people with breathing problems like I have. Georgia is in a drought and the experts say the antidote to the problem may be a tropical storm that would bring heavy rains to the area. It is so dry here with no heavy rains in sight. For several days a tiny bird has been taking a bath in the asparagus fern saucer water and I have enjoyed watching it. Son Barry had a four-day holiday and was busy most of the time, taking care of odd jobs in the house and doing yard work. On Memorial day, he grilled steaks for dinner. He went out some during the weekend and enjoyed sleeping later in the mornings.

Quotes-- "Always put off until tomorrow what you are going to make a mess of today."-Talelights

"Money and women are the most sought after and least understood things of any we have"- Will Rogers

"Don't despair, the sun has a sinking spell each evening."
Jack Key

See you next time.

DOCTOR VISIT, WILDFIRES ON OUR MOUNTAIN & HOME COOKING BEST

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Last week, I had an appointment with a GI specialist regarding my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I liked the doctor and am following his instructions. Since I've had the colonscopy test twice during the past ten years and nothing was found wrong, the doctor decided to start me on a treatment program with a prescription drug and fiber capsules for two months. If that doesn't work for me, he will schedule a colonscopy .I am hoping this will solve my problem which has been interfering with my life for too long. I found out some interesting things about IBS
in a brochure in the doctor's office. For instance, contrary to what many people, including myself, think, it isn't caused by stress or eating habits. The brochure information says that IBS sufferers may have a digestive system that reacts to change in a naturally chemical in their body called Serotonin. This regulates movement in the digestive system and the perception of abdominal discomfort and pain. I will keep you posted with my progress.

When son Barry and I returned home from the doctor's office in Dalton last week, a cloud of smoke hung in the air. Later,
we learned that wildfires that burned more than a 1,000 acres near our county line in the Chattahoochee National Forest were contained. Lightning appears to be the cause of the fire, according to the Forestry Service. I hope it doesn't happen again but we are still so dry and need rain here in northwest Georgia.

I read an interesting article about home cooking vs eating out in restaurants recently in the Consumer Reports ON Health newsletter. A 2006 study from the University of Minnesota found that those who cooked dinner at home at least once a week, consumed less fat and more fruits, veggies, whole grains and Calcium than those who almost always eat out. So, according to the article, and my own experience it's typically healthier to eat at home if you watch portion size and limit salt and fat, and include fruits, veggies and whole grains. Some restaurants serve huge portion sizes which is probably why we're become a nation of fatties. When we eat a buffet meal, I try to eat only small portions.

QUOTES---"How can we expect another to keep our secret if we cannot keep it ourselves? " La Rochefoucauld.

"Middle age is when your legs buckle--and your belt doesn't."
Earl Wilson column.

"Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them." Oscar Wilde,
British wit and dramatist.

See you next time.

REMEMBERING MY OLD BUDDY

By OLIVENE GODFREY

My cousin, Ernestine, who is my late 103-year-old aunt's daughter,reminded me last week of when her late brother and I were childhood buddies. Since then, my thoughts have gone back to those years when my cousin, who I called Brother, and I would go to the magnificent Tivoli theater in downtown Chattanooga on Saturdays.

It was an innocent time when we felt safe for our Saturday outings. Actually, it never occurred to us that we wouldn't be safe. I lived with my family on the outskirts of Chattanooga and Brother lived across town with his folks. On Saturday
mornings, our parents gave each of us fifty cents to finance our outing before we left our homes to catch buses to downtown Chattanooga. When we arrived, we ate lunch at a small eating place downtown where we ate hot dogs and drank big soft drinks. The next stop was at a dime store to purchase bags of candy. Then, we headed for the Tivoli to watch the Saturday matinée movie.

Brother made me enter the theater first as he wanted to be certain that none of his friends were around. (Heaven forbid if his friends saw him going to the movie with his girl cousin).
Finally, we settled down in the theater for a couple of hours of magical entertainment. Afterward, we returned to our respective homes. We had made memories we would never forget for the sum of fifty cents

I have many memories of the time I spent with Brother during my childhood. When I was a young teenager, my family moved to a small town in northwest Georgia. One summer, Brother visited us for a week. He and my twin sisters, who could be real pests in those days, had found my "love letters" from my boyfriend while I was outside the house with friends. While we ate supper that night, they started quoting phrases from the letters. I was furious with them but they thought they were so clever
and even my parents only smiled at all of the comments.

Later, Brother was serving in the Army when I married but he was able to be at the wedding. We didn't see each other for many years but exchanged birthday cards each year. I was able to see him when he visited his family. We were all crushed when he died and I knew I would never forget the days when we were buddies.

MORE QUOTES---"If you don't like people in your neighborhood, why don't you make a change by moving to another neighborhood and not liking the people there?" Olin Miller

"The trouble with most of us is that we'd rather be ruined by praise, than saved by criticism." Earl Wilson column

"Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change." Ann Landers

See you next time.

BLACKBERRY WINTER, FOOD CRAVINGS & MORE QUOTES

By OLIVENE GODFREY

The blackberries here in Georgia's high country are in full bloom. So, it isn't surprising that we are having what we old timers call Blackberry Winter. The temp on our patio this morning was 40 degrees and now in the early afternoon the skies are a bright blue and the sun is bright and there is a crisp nip in the air. The weather folks tell us that we will continue having this pleasant weather for several days. There is a danger though that brush fires could occur as we need rain so badly.
Son Barry has carried all of the house plants out to the patio except a few that can't tolerate the heat. The 30 year old asparagus fern looks pitiful as the 20 degrees recent weather in the garage nearly killed it. Barry is trying to save it with Miracle Grow.

One recent Saturday afternoon, I had a craving for a little Krystal hamburger. Barry and a friend had eaten large steaks for lunch and Barry decided that a Krystal would hit the spot for supper. I usually cook on Saturday night but decided to take that night off. At supper time, Barry went to town and bought two Krystals for me and four for himself. I had the french fries ready when he returned home. The little Krystals were delicious but before bedtime, my gut wasn't feeling too well. Barry reminded me that "the guys call the Krystals gut busters". I guess they are worth it at least occasionally.

Speaking of food cravings, since I am a diabetic, I am only allowed one or two sugar desserts a week. If we eat at the Village in Chatsworth on Sunday, I have either strawberry cake or German chocolate cake. Both are delectable but so rich I take them home to eat for lunch the next day. When Barry buys groceries, he can't resist buying fresh baked goodies. Recently, he bought home a package of cherry turnovers that looked delicious. Usually, I don't even think of eating them. I am controlling my blood sugar by diet alone and I want to continue doing that. But, that day, I kept looking at the turnovers and finally I removed a half of a turnover from the package and it was delicious and satisfied my sweet tooth and I didn't eat any more of the goodies.

In about a week, I will see a stomach-intestine specialist about my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I hope he can help me. And, I hope I will have good news to report to you soon.

And now more quotes---"Any man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart-- but he's not very bright"--Earl Wilson's column.

"Argument: two people trying to get the last word in first."
Jack Key.

I think this is true."There is only one trait that marks the writer. He is always watching. It's a kind of trick of the mind and he is born with it." Morley Callaghan

See you next time.

IN MEMORY OF MY 103-YEAR-OLD AUNT HELEN

By OLIVENE GODFREY

My 103-year-old Aunt Helen Rollins went to Heaven last week.
I believe she is having a joyous reunion with her loved ones who went before her. She was a truly good person and I believe
God has a special place in Heaven for her.

Aunt Helen's kindness and help touched many people and our family was blessed to have her. My late mother, Aunt Helen's sister, often said she didn't know how she would have coped with twin babies without Aunt Helen's help. When the twins, Joan and Jeanette, were about four, they loved to talk to Aunt Helen on the phone. Most days Jeanette would belt out her rendition of San Antonia Rose to Aunt Helen's delight. Jeanette, and our kid sister, Dianne, have their own warm memories of Aunt Helen and my late sister,Joan, also loved her very much.

When I was a young adult, I took a job in Chattanooga and stayed with Aunt Helen and her first husband a couple of months until I found a place to live. At that time, they lived in a small apartment with coal grates for their only source of heat. It was frigid weather and at night, Aunt Helen would heat bricks
in the coals in the grate and wrapped them in some kind of fabric and tuck them in at the foot of the beds to keep our feet warm.
It has been 60 years since that period in my life but I vividly remember the era. Aunt Helen also "scolded" me for the only time in my life during that period. My late husband, Ralph, and I were dating and my curfew at home had been 11 P.M. and Aunt Helen gave me the same curfew. One night, Ralph and I were a little late and Aunt Helen was waiting up for me. She gently scolded me and she never mentioned it again but I made certain after that to be home on time.

Later, when Ralph and I were married, we lived on the beach at Treasure Island, Florida. Aunt Helen was a widow then and she wanted to spend a vacation with us and we were delighted to have her. We lived in a small duplex and only had one bedroom but we had a screened in porch with a cot and a little furniture and when she arrived, she quickly settled in on the porch.
She would rise early and fix a little breakfast and then put on her bathing suit and take her towel and bag and head for the white, sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico. She soon met a nice widower at the beach and they would chat every day.
We ate lunch at different restaurants every day and some afternoons we would shop or just rest at home before supper.
On weekends, Ralph and I took her sight seeing. Several times a week, Ralph would drive us to the waterfront where the fishing boats came in and we would buy fresh fish. Aunt Helen loved to eat fish more than anyone I ever knew and she would save a portion of her dinner fish to eat at breakfast in the mornings.

And, at her 100th birthday party, I asked her if she remembered those three weeks and she smiled and said she did.

During the past few months, Aunt Helen's daughter, Ernestine,
would read my columns to her and she enjoyed them and sometimes she would smile and comment on one. Ernestine said Aunt Helen's mind seemed alert until nearly the end of her long life.
Aunt Helen was blessed with a warm, loving family and I know they will miss her very much now.

So long for now, Aunt Helen. I hope to see you again one day and I hope they have fish in Heaven for you.