Good Health Report...Countdown to Vacation

It's been a few days with more than enough to keep me busy before vacation begins on August 6. You might say that I'm counting down to a 10 day escape to cooler temperatures. All is not lost in Oklahoma as the crape myrtles love the warm temperatures and show their splendor along the canal in Oklahoma City. The temperatures have crept into the triple-digit range and there's little respite in sight for the next week or so.

On the health news front, I received my first 3-month report from my physician this week regarding the management of diabetes. The good news could not have come at a better time. My average glucose dropped from 267 to 123 (his goal was to eventually get me near 150); my hemoglobin dropped from 10.8 (very high) to 6.1 (right on target); and, total cholesterol dropped from 184 (not bad to start with) to 156. I was not anticipating results to be this dramatic and the nurse and physician were delighted and very pleased. It's so nice to see your diligence pay off in a positive manner. I was congratulated for skipping a couple of target ranges on the way to bringing numbers down. My physician is also quite good in monitoring and choosing an effective plan of therapy. The only down-side is that I am iron deficient anemic and very low on B12, but we begin therapy on these issues this coming Monday for the next few months.

Did I mention vacation? My plans are for a trip to the West coast in part to celebrate the first birthday of my great nephew, Joshua. How can I resist that smile who can say my name?! I'll be visiting my sister, Elizabeth along with her family and their spouses in the San Francisco Bay area for 10 days. I can't wait to get away and find cooler temperatures.

My dad has recovered very well from his knee replacement surgery and has begun to adjust and make friends at the VA Center. It has been a long road to get to this point, but I'm very grateful that he is embracing the changes.

One of my other passions is scrapbooking photos taken from travels with friends. My current project is volume 2 of 4 for my trip to Spain last summer. I enjoy the research before and after the trips as well as retelling the story through my scrapbooks and reliving the moments captured in the photographs. I'll close this post with a photo from an area north of Barcelona, the second holiest pilgrimage in Spain, Montserrat. We performed a short concert after the Sunday morning mass. This is an overall photo taken just behind the last row in the sanctuary. Hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Wishing you good health and happy days. Peace until next time...