Day 3--Acadia National Park--Sparky Rides the Carriage Roads!

So-o-o-o-o...We're in Bar Harbor, and it's time for Sparky to ride the carriage roads! She has been riding the flatlands back home in FL...about 60 miles a week, so she should be in good shape to ride the carriage roads, right! HA! Wish we knew what the inclines were on these carriage roads, but first things first...Rent a bike. There are several shops where you can rent bikes in Bar Harbor, but Sparky is partial to Bar Harbor Bike Shop on Cottage Street. It's right down the hill (remember that) from an entrance into Acadia, so you can ride right from the shop to Acadia National Park. Cool beans! as Judy would say, (Travels with Judy and Emma blog).

Sparky likes Bar Harbor Bike Shop so much she bought her Trek 7300 bike there four years ago. But since we flew into Bangor, we didn't have bikes with us this time. Sparky rented a Cannondale Quick...a fitness bike. It's lightweight, and it's awesome! Much lighter than her Trek bike back home. the price of the rental is 19.00 for four hours. They have put wider tires than what normally the bike comes with, in order to give the rider a safer trip on the carriage roads without tire incidents. Sparky thought she would start with that time period and see what happened. You can rent cruiser bikes, and comfort bikes, but for the carriage roads, you really need a lighter bike and this model was perfect! No cushy gel seat, but you can swap the existing seat out and for a few bucks more, get a gel seat to rent! The shop replaces their rentals EVERY year, so you are getting a really recent model of bike. They have fantastic sales in the fall when they get rid of their old models. Sparky wished she was going to be back in the fall, but that's not possible this year. But she's going to start saving for a Cannondale Quick! There's a Quick 4, 5, or 6 to choose from. Sparky will check out all the options for sure! She's tired of getting passed by on long bike rides by the road bikers. A lighter bike would help and motivate her to ride even more back home.

The shop gives you a nice map...the one in the shop is color coded so you know which carriage roads are challenging and which are easy. The map they give you is black and white. There are stars for the bridges, but no bridge names on the map. Sparky tends to forget the order of the bridges after she gets back home. She tried to find some piece of literature that had it all in one spot while she was there, but didn't find a good combination. Oh, well!

Sparky marked a copy of the map so she could see which roads she covered. "Easy" is a relative term. Just remember that!

You head out from the bike shop and almost immediately, you go up a STEEP hill, West Street, and head out on Duck Brook Road. It's so steep it's almost impossible to ride it up, even with the proper gear functioning. Sparky actually got off the bike and walked a bit. Oh, boy...Not as good a shape as she thought she was! Finally, the road evened out and--first bridge, a road bridge---yay! It was drizzling and COLD, in the low fifties! But Sparky didn't care...She was on the carriage roads, everything was a lush, lush green, and the brisk temperatures kept her cool!

Along with some nice warm merino wool socks from Vermont that Sparky bought in town...They are called "Darn Tough Socks from Vermont"....Very lightweight, very comfortable, and WARM, but not hot!

Duck Brook Bridge is the largest, most expensive bridge in the system...It's a triple arch bridge...

The streams were full of rushing water....Tons of little waterfalls.....

Sparky rode past Eagle Lake and the Eagle Lake Bridge (1928)....

She could see a loon and hear him in the distance....

Sparky spotted one solitary lady slipper...There were NONE others around, and she looked!

On she went, past Bubble Pond and its bridge....

Sparky continued on the carriage roads....There were definitely steep inclines but overall, the roads evened out just when she thought she might have to get off the bike and walk....

When Sparky got to marker 17, she decided it was time to turn back. It was exhilarating, and she wanted to keep going, but for the first day out, she decided to get the bike back in time for a four hour rental, so back she went on the same path. It was roughly about a 12 mile ride round trip. Sparky didn't have an odometer on her bike, and trying to use the app, Map My Ride ran her battery down before she was even half way through the ride! If you figure in all the hills, that was a good workout! Sparky LOVED it! She'll be back for another ride another day for sure!

Day 2 -- Acadia National Park--Rained Out Again

Well, shoot, it's coming down pretty hard again today....It's coming down so hard that there are waterfalls cascading down from the rocks at the side of the road everywhere as we drive through the park.

Sparky had to get a new senior pass because she lost her old one, so we stopped at the Acadia Park Welcome Center to get new hike info and a new pass.  If you lose your old pass, all you have to do is show a driver's license at the park and get a new one for 10.00, just like the original. You can also do it online but there's an additional fee to do that, if you are not anywhere near a national park or preserve, Sparky thinks the additional administrative fee on top of the card fee was 10.00.

We decided to explore places to stay when and if we come back to Acadia. Sparky says, we will! Since we no longer have the motorhome, we would have to stay at a motel or hotel, bed and breakfast, or cottage, of which there are MANY! We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce in downtown Acadia at Cottage and Main, where we got some information about rentals in the area. There are about 400 places to rent on Mount Desert Island alone, one of the chamber volunteers mentioned. (Bar Harbor is on Mount Desert Island). There are houses to rent, lots and lots of antiquated cottages, and cute little bed and breakfast places, take your pick! You can find places from less than 100.00 a night, to upwards of 300-400 dollars a night and depending upon whether it's "season" or not. Season, in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, gets going in mid June. That's when rates really start to climb, as soon as the kids get out of school. This year, 2015,  they were still having to make up snow days and were in school till the middle of June! So things were very quiet in downtown Bar Harbor, and in the restaurants and shops the week we were there, the first week of June.

We drove around and basically drove into places we thought looked interesting, there were cabin signs for rent EVERYWHERE!....Here is what we found...Unfortunately, Sparky did not take photos of the interiors...She just wasn't thinking about the blog at that time! In a nutshell, if you don't mind rustic, VERY dated cottages, MOST of them are just that...Very old, they haven't been updated in years and years, old gas stoves, showers and no tubs, tiny spaces, and no AC. The bedrooms are so tiny, the bed takes up most of the bedroom. Many did not have any separation between sleeping quarters and a tiny little galley kitchenette. Sparky even laid down on some mattresses to test them out, and oh, boy...back troubles probably were guaranteed. BUT--Several of them had wonderful views of the inlets and bays....That makes up for the quaintness and musty cabin smells of the interiors, we suppose....Sparky actually was ready to reserve a cabin on Frenchman's Bay, despite how old the interiors were, the view was that fantastic! There were kayaks and canoes and a dock available at this one place. Prices for a week for these vintage cabins ranged from $700 and up. Then we decided what about a HOUSE for rent? We found a wonderful one in town, a duplex, with a super nice lady living in the other half. We met with her and just really enjoyed her and the house, right smack in the middle of town. But the house was too much house for us. We wouldn't need it unless we had family or friends coming for a visit, and at this point, we didn't know if that would happen or not....We checked out an upstairs apartment near the seafood restaurant called the Charter House. It was nice and modern, but zero views and no place to sit outside that you could call your own. So, for now...we are on hold on a place to stay for next year...There are many, many places to rent all over Mount Desert Island and in Southwest Harbor, but if you don't check them out ahead of time, you might be disappointed. Photos on the web of some of these cabins were all about views, (many of them), and not so much about the actual accommodations.  Seeing them in person, gave us an eye opener about what you pay for long term stays in Bar Harbor. You don't get a lot of modern conveniences for your money, but that's because it's a tourist town that needs to make money in the summer! If you love the memory of staying in a little cabin up north when you were a kid, then these kitschy cabins would be perfect for you! We didn't check out bed and breakfasts...Eldy is not as fond of them as Sparky is....

The rain continued but appeared to be lessening....We ate at the Thirsty Whale for lunch...right in town...GREAT chowder! Is there any place in Bar Harbor that DOESN'T have good chowder? It's all good here....The atmosphere is really cozy, too....We decided to drive around the island heading on the way to Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, and ended up near the Asticou Gardens...The last time we were here, Sparky climbed all the stairs to the Thuyla Gardens at the top, where there were AMAZING displays of all kinds of flowers and LOTS of hummingbirds, but this time we stayed at the bottom...What a beautiful place! The azaleas were in full bloom, many different kinds and colors...This garden was created in 1958 by Charles Savage, a long time resident of Northeast Harbor, who was inspired by Japanese gardening and his desire to save the plant collection of Beatrix Farrand, a famous American landscape designer and pioneer for women in the profession. Mr. Savage built the the azalea garden at the bottom of the terraced landscape, and the Thuyla Gardens, a semi formal herbaceous garden, is at the top. Both are at the intersection of Rte. 198 and Rte. 3 in Northeast Harbor. Asticou is a strolling garden with a meandering pathway and is truly beautiful in late spring....

On to Bass Harbor, as the sun is coming out! There are so many fabulous photos of the Bass Harbor lighthouse, but about the only way to get a decent one is to go clambering out on the rocks and be there at the very early dawn or very late in the day. Sparky got on the rocks, but we were there mid afternoon, so the lighting was not right. Phooey!

While she was out on the fringes of the rocks moving VERY carefully around on the rocks, (that woman is going to give me a heart attack one of these days!) Eldo remained further back, talking to some RVers. It turns out the guy was wearing a Sarasota shirt, so Eldo just HAD to strike up a conversation. They are part timers, heading out of the heat during the summers from FL and there we were, two couples from the same town with the same idea. Only Sparky and Eldo had one week to enjoy the cool temps, and they had all summer planned in Maine and other New England states.

And time to head back, Sparky is getting hungry! Looks like tomorrow is a bike ride on the carriage roads!

See you there!

Day 1 Acadia and Bar Harbor

We arrived late last night, all we had time to do was grab a late supper at Route 66, a fun, 50's diner in downtown Bar Harbor. There is a TON of memorabilia in this restaurant, and it's really fun to look around while you wait for your food.

Sparky had a bowl of really good clam chowder...Eldy had a burger which was equally delicious. And  then we spent a little bit of time checking out the antiques on display in the restaurant.

But, they were getting ready to close so we bundled ourselves up to go back into the rainy night back to our hotel....The temperatures for the week were looking like highs in the fifties to low sixties and rain was forecast for the next day...What to do on a rainy day in Bar Harbor? Drive the Park Loop Road to reacquaint ourselves with Acadia, one of Sparky's top national parks! The next morning, that's what we did....But first--had to eat breakfast at "Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast"...Sparky really likes that restaurant, as their name is the same as her first name. She keeps hoping that they will offer her a discount for having the same name spelled the same way, but nope......Good food, a little more pricey for breakfast, there are cheaper places in town, but that's a tourist town for you. And the food is very good.

It was a slow steady rain, not too hard that Sparky couldn't get out and take some photos of the blooming lupines, most of which are purple in the park, but can be spotted in white and pink, sometimes, too....These were taken with an iPhone 5S.

We stopped at Thunder Hole, which if you get there at 3/4 tide on the day of a threatening storm or just after, Sparky is not sure which, you could see a TERRIFIC display of saltwater spray and booming sound, as the water comes rushing into a very narrow channel with a cutout hole on the side which causes the boom sound-- very little of which was happening today.....

On to Cobblestone Beach.... A very cool little beach where there is no sand, just cobblestones, and the water makes a delightful tinkling, clattering sound as the waves rush in and roll out at the beach. Sparky did a little movie on her iPhone of the sound of the waves clattering over the stones, but it didn't transfer to the blog....Darn!

The rest of the day, we took it easy, the rain continued to come down all day, more of the same tomorrow, possibly...That's ok, it is SO refreshing! Everybody is wearing heavy jackets, hats, and even gloves! Sparky is really loving the cooler temps! But somebody wishes it would warm up just a little.....(Uh, that would be me, says E.) Tomorrow, if the rain eases up, Sparky is going to rent a bike and ride the carriage trails!  See you later......

Sparky and Eldo Get Out of "Dodge"

As in escaped the heat!

Sparky would like to give a shout out to her better half, "Eldo", a.k.a. Eldy or Eldon...For HOURS each day for WEEKS, he'd been researching a get away vacation to somewhere cool as in temperature cool. First, we were going to Alaska, but decided since we'd done the Glacier Bay cruise tour, we wouldn't want to come back unless we could go into the interior of Alaska and see Denali National Park, maybe rent an RV...Too expensive for now, we decided...Eldy doesn't do any researching half way...He will cross check and cross reference multiple sites for days at a time, getting the best deals. We had possibilities there, but then we decided Bar Harbor....Actually, as Eldy has trouble with his knees and shoulder, he would have probably preferred going to Alaska and done more of a sightseeing vacation, but knowing how much his gal Sparky LOVES to bike and hike, he planned out a terrific week's stay in Bar Harbor so she could hike and bike at Acadia and maybe Eldo would, too.

First, the weather....We checked out the extended weather for Bar Harbor, and it was TERRIFIC for Sparky...Fifties and sixties for highs, lows in the forties at night...A little too cool for Eldo, but a refreshing change for the both of us, since weather in Sarasota/Bradenton skipped spring and went straight to summer...low nineties! Then, the flight...Allegiant Airlines flies from St. Pete, FL to Bangor, Maine, two days a week, on Mondays and Fridays. Airfare is VERY reasonable to Bangor....It was about 350.00 for one person round trip the first week of June when we went. The problem with Allegiant is, they charge you for everything else...regardless whether you check your bag or carry it on, you pay. Thirty dollars for a checked bag one way, per bag. Allegiant had some problems recently with an episode with one of their jets just this week. Apparently, an engine started smoking 10 minutes out of the airport from St. Pete, and an emergency landing forced them back to the airport. From the news, the evacuation of the flight was sloppily handled by the crew, and it made us nervous to think that this airline might be cutting corners and not keeping their planes well maintained, despite federal regulations. If you google "Allegiant Airlines mishap" you will see several instances of problems, more than you seem to hear from other airlines...Pilots have been raising concerns about the planes' safety for months. Pilots have cited 65 times in seven months where flights had to divert because of mechanical or engine problems. Here's a link to more information about that. http://nyti.ms/1HLP1AG  Yikes!

Next, the rental car...Eldy got on Priceline and made a bid of 23.00 a day, which was accepted. (Taxes extra). Lastly, accommodations....Bar Harbor Manor, a four star hotel right in town for 109.00 a night with AAA discount...But of course, it WAS off season rates.

Our room was terrific...very newly decorated and the whole inn appeared to have been freshly renovated with paint and new fixtures...

There was a little balcony viewing the parking lot, which was very nicely landscaped, lots of wild blueberries going to bloom all over the place soon...In the main office, a sitting area with fresh coffee, a fireplace that they did turn on during the week, with nice cozy couches to sit and read on a rainy day. Very nice people to work with, we enjoyed our stay very much.

We got in late the first night, so about all we did was to find a place to eat...Route 66 right in town, a delightful 50's style diner with great chowder and burgers.

A cool place with LOTS to look at!

Time for bed...Sparky was all tuckered out from the late flight in and the drive from Bangor to Bar Harbor.....She can't wait to get on a bike in the morning! See you soon!

You Know You're Getting Old When.....

Getting old sucks....Sparky is resisting as long as she can....She is pushing herself to keep going and keep moving, when some days she just doesn't want to exercise. But Sparky has the "jumpin' bean gene"....She can't sit still for very long at all. When friends come over, Sparky gets restless when sitting, she's got to bounce her leg, jiggle her foot, or do something with her hands like knitting. And even then, that's not always working for her. She feels like getting up and MOVING! Let's go somewhere everybody, is what is going through her mind along with a jillion other things. Sparky has trouble focusing...(and finding her way around town, and finding her keys, her wallet, etc. etc. adds E.) Yes, yes...she does...She's probably an ADHD adult that has never been diagnosed. While Sparky was traveling, the sights, the sounds, every day a new experience, she reveled in that...She never noticed how much trouble she had sitting still, BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T! Except to sleep!

So how's this relating to getting old, you ask? Well, Sparky is noticing some things that she needs to work on, like balance...Sparky cannot stand on one foot for more than 20 seconds on either foot. Sparky starts losing her balance when closing her eyes and standing in one place. Sparky cannot walk a straight line toe to toe across a room. Tai chai might be in her future...yoga, too....Or a visit to the ear doctor, as one ear keeps getting infections. Sparky knows all these things are great things to bring up to the doctor next time around which will be when she gets on Medicare-- soon. Yippee!

So here's Sparky's list culled from several different places and her own experience, but she's not going to tell you which ones are which. You know you are getting old, when......

You get excited about getting on Medicare....
You have lots of trouble keeping your train of thought going on the single line track....like this blog, for example!
You have trouble driving at night....Or no longer want to drive at night....
When a young person the age of one of your children calls you, "sweetie" and it bothers you.
People call you at 9:00 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"
You can't remember the last time you lay on the floor to watch TV
You bend over, you look for something else to do while you are down there or you notice dust     bunnies that you can't see while standing up.
You don't think of speed limits as challenges any more.
You know what the word "equity" means....
Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.
Your address book contains more M.D.'s names than friends.
You constantly talk about the price of gas....or your ailments.
You get on the mailing list for funeral insurance....Sparky was depressed to get this in the mail today.

You look for your glasses for a half an hour only to find they are on your head.
You don't care where your spouse goes, just so you don't have to go along.
Your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio....
Getting lucky means finding your car in the parking lot.
Your childhood toys are now in a museum.
Your drugs of preference are now vitamins.
You get propositioned by AARP.
You shop for health insurance like shopping for a new car.
A late night now ends at 10:00 PM or sooner.
Your idea of weight lifting is standing up....BWAHAHAHAHAHA....Sparky likes that one.
You start researching information on the internet for "cataracts".
Dressing becomes complicated---is this style suitable for a senior? Am I going to be able to fasten or zip up the back?
You realize things you buy now are not going to wear out before you do....
You like to get home early and "get settled".....
You recount stories of "I remember when the price of.......  was..........."

And there are lots lots more, she's sure....

At any rate....an interesting sideline on the diabetes topic Sparky has been on lately...She was really bad for dinner this evening...After a long day subbing for several days for a rambunctious 5th grade class on the last four days of school, (What WAS she thinking??!!) Sparky jumped at the chance not to have to fix dinner...So we went to Texas Roadhouse. Now, you COULD be good at the Roadhouse, IF you ate just a salad with vingarette dressing, a 6 oz. sirloin, had a small baked potato, and drank water...That doesn't raise Sparky's sugar too much. As a matter of fact, it stays within an acceptable range. But does Sparky resist the bread?  NO-O-O-O-o-o-o-o-o...Does she cave in and have only one roll and skip the delicious cinnamon butter? NO-O-o-o-o-o-o.... She eats TWO rolls, has her own little tiny cup of butter that normally TWO people are supposed to share, and eats a great big baked potato and has the salad. She DIDN't have a Sprite like she used to do.... Glucose level after two hours of eating? 229....One of the highest on record...Musta been those two rolls and the cinnamon butter, mutters Sparky, feeling just the slightest ashamed....

So-o-o-o-o...despite working all day and being bone tired, Sparky decides to take some cinnamon supplement and ride her bike 6.5 miles...Checked her sugar after coming back home, one hour later after the high reading and it's 125...which is good for someone working on watching their levels. Sparky has discovered that exercise really helps bring that sugar level down. She has also read that cinnamon has a positive effect on reducing blood glucose levels, so she did more reading.

There are two kinds of cinnamon--Ceylon cinnamon, a lighter and more refined type of cinnamon, and more expensive, and cassia cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is the common kind most often found in the grocery store. Both come from the inner bark of the cinnamomon tree. There is a BIG important difference between the two. The cheaper, cassia cinnamon has a naturally occurring toxic substance in it called coumarin. Coumarin can cause liver damage in high doses. Ceylon cinnamon has very little traces of that in it. You can find cassia cinnamon with chromium (an additional mineral added to a cinnamon supplement sold in health stores and at Walmart). Chromium is supposed to enhance the action of insulin in your body, thus helping blood sugar levels along with the cinnamon.

Sparky tried this supplement for awhile, and it really seemed to help bring her blood sugar levels down when they occasionally rose to alarming levels. But after reading about the coumarin possibly causing liver damage in high doses and not being able to find what constitutes a high dose, she switched over to the more pure refined Ceylon cinnamon. The doctor didn't blink an eye when Sparky mentioned she was taking cinnamon, the doctor didn't ask which kind, she didn't mention what an ok level was, and Sparky didn't have the information about cinnamon types at the time of the doctor visit, so she took it upon herself to switch to the Ceylon cinnamon and stay away from any possible liver involvement with the cassia cinnamon and chromium combo. A standard dosage listed for cinnamon capsules, by the way, is two 500 mg. capsules twice a day. Sparky knows that supplements can be a dangerous path to head down, because they are not regulated very well, nor are you sure of what you are getting in the supplement. She read not long ago, that well known brands of supplements being sold at drugstores and Walmart and other places were recently tested and found to contain very little of what they were supposed to have, along with other stuff that didn't belong there. (A very scientific explanation is not in Sparky's repertoire at the moment). So-o-o-o-o...be careful with dosing yourself with cinnamon in your attempts to get your blood sugar down, Sparky says...Do some research, check it out more, but there IS some credibility (according to research) to cinnamon having a positive effect on blood sugar....It wouldn't hurt to sprinkle some on your oatmeal and toast, that's for sure....The danger comes in using high levels of cinnamon supplements on a daily or regular basis, and also which type you are taking....

And while Sparky thinks cinnamon is helping with the blood sugar levels, the biggest impact on sugar levels thus far has been her bike riding....Sparky can't afford a gym membership, nor is she able to run or wants to run like some folks....But a simple bike ride (yes, she puts in some miles) on a hybrid bike, NOT a road bike, has been the biggest factor so far in affecting her blood sugar in a positive way. So dust off that bike of yours, and out you go! It can only help you feel better, lose some weight maybe, (Sparky has lost 13 pounds so far!) and help get those sugar levels down.
AND ----you never know what you might see...At least in Florida, it's pretty cool! Time for a bike ride.....Bye for now......

Two little sandhill crane chicks spotted on my last bike ride

So How's Sparky's Diet and Type 2 Diabetes Coming Along?

To clarify right off the bat...Sparky erred in the diabetes diagnosis. She has type 2, not type 1  diabetes. She went back and reviewed the comments and caught the mistake in the blog.

Just in case you are wondering....Sparky feels the need to be accountable to her family AND herself, so by going public and talking about how things are going, maybe that will help someone else! So far, by picking up exercise and riding her bike more, (15 miles at least three times a week), cutting out regular Coke every morning, and starting to watch portions and carbs, Sparky has lost ten pounds. (And she doesn't eat a handful of peanut M & M's every day any more either, adds a helpful E.) How are the glucose readings going? Not the best that they can be...According to some information Sparky has gleaned from lots and lots of reading...SUGGESTED guidelines for acceptable glucose readings should be:
         Fasting level (first thing upon waking up after not eating for 8-12 hours since the night before)
                              80-120
         1 hour after a meal:  <160
         2 hours after a meal: <140
         3 hours after a meal: <120
         Bedtime:  120-150

Sparky is not sure whether this is for people just trying to get their numbers down and who aren't on medication yet (that's her), or if this is for people who are on some kind of diabetes medication. She will find this out at her next doctor's appointment. But for now, she is using these guidelines to keep a food diary and testing her sugar 4 times a day for the probationary period, looking for patterns and spikes in food ingested. Sparky has another three months till she goes back to the doctor to find out what her A1C level is and whether it's stabilized, lowered, or she's in big trouble. For anybody curious and new to diabetes information, your A1C level is a blood test that gives the doctor an idea of an average of glucose levels for the past three months. You don't fast for this particular test. When Sparky found out she had diabetes, the criteria was, said her doctor, anyone who is 6.5 or higher on their A1C test is Type 2 diabetic. THAT was Sparky's wakeup call. She was 6.5...She had read that usually a second test is run within a certain amount of time of the first one, and if the second one came out with 6.5 or higher, that was the official diagnosis. NOPE! says the doctor...You're there, you're diabetic.

Sparky has learned a few things...

1) She has to deal with the "Dawn Phenomena"....that is where your blood sugar rises in the wee hours of the morning even though nothing has been eaten. Everybody's blood sugar rises around 4-5 AM even if they are NOT diabetic. But in people with Type 2 diabetes, it jumps up more. Sparky's sugar is quite a bit above the fasting morning level, anywhere from 120-140...The reason for the blood sugar rise is people with diabetes don't have normal insulin responses to adjust for this, so they might see their blood sugar go up. Her body is making less insulin and more glucagon (a hormone that increases blood glucose) than it needs. Suggestions to combat this have been to get a little more exercise in the evening, or to eat a little protein snack right before going to bed. Sparky has tried the snack route, and sometimes it helps, and sometimes it doesn't. The hard part is figuring out the best snack. Sparky doesn't like eating after dinner, she NEVER snacks after dinner and hasn't for years. (WAIT A MINUTE! says E., wanting to clarify. WHAT ABOUT OUR ICE CREAM SNACK a couple of times a week?????) Uh, well, uh....yes, we do have occasionally, a little teeny tiny serving of Hagen Daz ice cream now and then. (WAIT A MINUTE!....interjects E. Don't you mean the big size tubs and not the little ones?) AHEM! Whose story is this, anyway? grins Sparky. As she ways saying, you know those little serving cups they sell at the grocery? That's USUALLY what we have if we want some ice cream. And actually, that HAS had a favorable effect on blood sugar the next morning. Guess that little bit (OK, a LOT) of creamery fat has helped. So ice cream is good sometimes, in small doses...Sparky has also tried nuts, cottage cheese, and a cheese stick to get that morning sugar level down (But not all together, haha.)

2.) Things that Sparky thought would make her blood sugar jump through the roof, haven't. Like having a meal at the Cheesecake Factory---big green salad, Vietnamese summer rolls (thin wraps with asparagus, rice, mushrooms, carrots and shrimp served with peanut sauce and teriyaki sauce) AND a slice of strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Barely a jump....

3) Eating leftover pizza for breakfast is a bad idea, a big jump in blood sugar....Eating pizza is bad  most of the time, although accompanied with a big green salad first helps. Sparky used to eat a half of a pizza, no problem. Now, it's two pieces, tops. Hey...baby steps, right? Sparky is NOT giving up pizza....And yes, she knows there are much healthier pizza options out there...whole wheat crust, totally veggie...well, not going that route for now, although we have done veggie pizzas before....Sparky is making changes, whole grain bread for sandwiches...cutting out half the bread on the sandwich....substituting water for fruit juices, making smoothies with spinach and almond milk and other good stuff, eating much smaller portions. Clam chowder, shrimp cocktail and white bread...that makes Sparky's sugar rise quite a bit. Sparky thinks it's the potatoes in the soup, the saltine crackers she just has to eat with the soup, and the cocktail sauce. Probably all the carbs and hidden sugars in the sauces...sigh....

4) Sparky has discovered that you can't make generalizations about a diet when you are working to get your blood sugar down. What works for some people is not going to work for others. For some, corn might be a trigger to higher blood sugar numbers, for others, it won't be. And there's hidden sugar everywhere! Ketchup, hamburger buns, sandwich bread.....processed foods (which Sparky is trying very hard to stay away from)...Surprising where you find sugar. Sparky saw on a nutrition label that there are 3 grams of sugar in Publix grocery's cottage cheese! Why in the world does cottage cheese need sugar!?? Sparky is reading food labels really closely. Is Sparky doing sugar free everything? No, because she doesn't normally eat much sugar anywhere in her regular diet, at least not any more...no coffee with sugar, no sugar sweetened beverages, no more carrot nut muffins...sigh...Sparky thought she was eating a decent breakfast with one carrot nut muffin--lots of vitamin A in those! But too much fat and carbs. Now, about ice cream, she's putting her foot down on that. Not going sugar free ice cream. Let's tackle the really bad stuff first! Sparky was eating too much candy and drinking too much pop. So that's a given...it's OUT!

5) Mexican food jacks up Sparky's sugar...she thinks it's the corn tortillas and the chips before the meal...(Her favorite meal is shrimp tacos with mango salsa) Sparky's sugar levels appear to be sensitive to corn. She is still learning what other restaurant meals are triggers. We'll have to keep testing different restaurants, she thinks...  (GROAN......) Guess who that was? :-)

You have to find a diet that works for YOU! Sparky talked to the nutritionist at her doctor's office, and it was like talking to a person speaking a foreign language. She wanted Sparky to try nut butters, tempe, bulgar, quinoa (Sparky tried that---no thank you!) and kept giving her recipes...(Oh, that was a mistake! laughs E.) Sparky kept telling her she hated to cook, but the lady wasn't listening very well. Sparky thinks the nutritionist was a vegan, nothing wrong with that, but as Sparky was formerly a meat, potatoes, and pasta gal from the midwest, we couldn't get on the same page and speak the same language! Sigh.....Sparky knows what to do to do better....If we're going to eat out...grilled stuff...salads with vinegrette dressing, but even that can have a fair amount of sugar in it....Cooking with olive oil...(if and when she cooks, grins E.)  Lean meats, less beef, more fish (ugh), smoothies with veggies and fruit...fresh fruit....lots of water....not very many diet drinks...She's on the right track, she thinks...We'll see what another month brings...(You can't tell Sparky very much on what to eat, she's a very picky eater!) Yes, that's true...sigh....But she is trying!

Sparky found this magazine which she really liked....Some great information, some USEABLE recipes, (don't hold your breath says a resigned Eldo)...and healthy living tips for anybody, not just for those who are dealing with diabetes....

Oh....one more thing...You can buy an A1C test (2 tests in the kit) at Walmart for about 25 dollars. Sparky tested herself after two months, and she is at 5.7 according to the test, so she is encouraged to see that the weight loss and trying to watch her diet seems to be helping. But--the doctor's office is the official test, so next month will be the decision....Meds or no meds....Sparky is really hoping not to have to take medication and will try harder to lose a few more pounds and try harder on the diet aspect....She will report back on this subject at her Introduction to Medicare appointment in July.

UPDATE....Sparky went in for a recheck on her sugar levels, and her doctor is VERY happy with her results so far...Sparky's A1C level is 6.2, NOT what the Walmart test said, but the doctor was still ok with that. She said if Sparky can stay under 6.2 and fine tune her diet a little more, no meds will be needed. HOORAY! But it just goes to show, that you can't always rely on the little lab tests sold in stores and for something like this, you really need to be checking in with your doctor on a regular basis.  Sparky still needs an eye exam to make sure nothing funky is going on with her eyes with the high sugar diagnosis....Okay...NOW she can say, until next time......

Close Encounters of the Alligator Kind

Sparky is at it again....Getting too close and personal with alligators...But not on purpose...(Yeah, right! says E. with consternation.) Well, the story goes like this...

Sparky was riding her bike through Lakewood Ranch, and there's a particular pond she has spotted an alligator every now and then. They are usually on the small side, NOT like this one which was in Sparky and Eldo's neighborhood pond just down the street from their house two days ago.

At any rate, Sparky stopped to take some photos of these really pretty marsh plants that are experiencing a resurge in blooms right now....She was really focused on these blooming plants.....

She looked up and in the distance, saw an alligator swimming in her direction...She didn't think anything of it. They move around in the water, and float for awhile.....She could tell that this one wasn't very big, so she kept taking photos of the plants.

The alligator kept coming. He was a young one, only about 2 feet long....Sparky wasn't worried. (Yeah, but they all have teeth! says a worried E.) The alligator was going to keep coming right to the water's edge, Sparky could tell, so she backed off a bit. She decided to get her bike between her and the gator, just in case. As she moved her bike to the left of the marsh plants, a few feet from the water's edge, the gator swung the same way. She moved to the right, the gator swung back. He was definitely not afraid of her, and definitely watching her movements. Normally, the little ones, if they are near the water's edge and a human comes within eyesight, they scuttle back into the water with a splash. Not this one! Even his eyes look very different from the normal lazy eyed gators we have seen.

Sparky decided this might be an aggressive little gator, AND possibly a hungry one. So she backed off even more and took her bike back to the sidewalk, watching behind her all the way, making sure the bike was between the pond and the sidewalk. The gator glided into the marsh, right up next to the flowering plant Sparky had been taking photos of.

Sparky decided it was time to get back on the bike and back on her ride, while she still could! :-)
BUT---curiosity tempted her to turn back and take one last look at the gator to see if he was still in position. This time, she used her zoom on her camera from a different angle. He was hidden at the VERY edge of the pond, close to the sidewalk. If anybody had decided to take a walk around the marsh to admire the plants....(AHEM! COUGH COUGH!) that gator could have easily surprised the heck out of them and perhaps taken a bite, giving new meaning to the words "ankle biter".

Sparky is learning about the habits and movements of gators, that's for sure! One more note about gator encounters....

Eldy was golfing with his buddies last week, and they observed a 8-10 foot gator laying with his head practically in the water, tail side out. Two buzzards were working on a meal on the ground behind and to the side of the gator, and all of a sudden that alligator whipped around so fast, facing the birds, the guys thought the gator was after the birds. Nothing happened but the startled birds were hesitant to keep going after the meal on the ground after that. The guys said you wouldn't believe how fast that gator turned himself, it was a blur. Another golfing day, and somebody lost a ball in the woods. They were going to go after the ball when all of a sudden, a little alligator came dashing out of the woods making a beeline for the water on the other side. The fellas were VERY leery after that about going into the woods to look for lost balls. You don't expect to find a gator in the woods! But he was probably making his way across the greens, into a patch of woods directly in his line of sight of water, and so, no worries, guys...probably won't encounter a gator again in the woods. Now, the golf course? That's another story for another day.....