Archive by Author

The Butterfly Effect

28 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistHave you ever heard of the butterfly effect? (with reference to chaos theory) It’s the notion that a butterfly fluttering in Rio de Janeiro could change the weather in Chicago. In other words small actions can have big results.

Last night, Nan’s mom and I went to the fifth grade chorus performance at her school. Nan had invited me and I usually tell her mom I’ll pick her up, but this time, I put it on the calendar and forgot about it until practically the last minute. I jumped in the car and ran over there and Nan’s Daddy was doing some computer work. He sat and talked to me about his hopes and dreams for the children. He and his wife are having their fifth child in a few months. They’ve really spread them out. The first one (a boy) was born about twenty-four years ago. Dad was hoping for a boy this time because boys are easier to raise. I said I was hoping for a girl, ‘cause I think girls are easier. It was none of my business, though. Instead of arguing, he said maybe a girl would be best. I wasn’t trying to persuade him. He said Nan and her mom would probably enjoy a girl since their other daughter is grown and gone. It seemed as if that short positive conversation opened a new thought for him – the flutter of a butterfly’s wing.

When the mom and I got to the concert, we sat down front so Nan could see us when she went by. Every kid in the group wore black pants, a white shirt, a turquoise satin cummerbund, and a matching bow tie. Nan gave us a big smile and a wave.

While we waited for the concert to begin, Nan’s mother said she didn’t think she’d put Nan in chorus next year. I had envisioned a whole string of years of chorus and all the friends, trips, and new experiences they would entail for Nan, plus thinking about how singing and playing music is for people. Again none of my business. But Mom wanted to talk so I ventured a question about whether Nan wanted to go to chorus next year. She said she’d ask her. That gave me freedom to tell how much our children enjoyed music in school and what a nice bunch of kids they met. I wanted a little to persuade this time. When I said they got to go on trips and do fun things, that clinched it. “She can go if she wants to,” Mom said.

Upon such small encounters, ones we’re not even looking for, lives can drastically change — the flutter of butterfly wings.

Here’s my paraphrase of Hebrews 10:24

Don’t give up the habit of meeting together with one another. Be concerned for one another with a sincere heart and sure faith. Accept Christ’s atonement so that there are no guilty consciences. Omit resentment and judgment. By example, gently inspire and encourage each other to do well in their decisions.

What do you understand that passage of scripture to mean?

By DiVoran Lites

By DiVoran Lites

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My Diet Journal~Part 4

21 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistWhen we first started talking about our diet, some very dear friends mentioned that we looked good to them. We appreciated their compliments, but we had both knew that if we didn’t put a stop to it, we would continue until our health was threatened again.

From tomorrow, we have four days of the diet left. Bill has gone under the weight he was formerly happy with, and I’ve lost a total of ten pounds. That’s fine. I didn’t have a specific goal.

When I was reading the plateau page of the hcg protocol, I came across a suggestion to take apple cider vinegar, so I decided to try it. At the store, I saw Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar and recalled how many times I’ve read about their products nutrition books. I picked up the bottle. The vinegar inside looked cloudy, so I read the label, and in large print, it said, “With the Mother.”

Aha, I thought, I remember Mother in the vinegar, my own mother told me about it one day when I pulled a bottle of vinegar off the top shelf and it looked as if it had a jelly fish floating in it. Mother laughed, told me its name, and reassured me that we could still use the vinegar.

Apparently, the Mother in apple cider vinegar (ACV) consists of fine spider-web molecules which account for the cloudiness. It is protein enzyme that occurs naturally and is good for digestion. In 400 BC Hippocrates, the father of medicine, praised ACV for its amazing natural cleansing, healing, and energizing health qualities.

That connected with the new/old information that is now coming out about fermented foods, such as coleslaw and yogurt which have probably been around as long as APC. I have since learned that in olden days when there was no doctor or veterinarian available folks put it APC on the food of sick cows, and sick people and many of them got well.

So there I was catapulted into another world, APC for animals. Naturally I began to wonder whether Jasmine and Lily would accept it on their food. I could not believe that they would.

Jasmine

Jasmine

Jasmine has allergies that make her itch until she scratches off big patches of fur. When left untreated a bacterial infection results. She has also been poisoned by a combination of cortisone, that melter of bones, and flea repellant.

On the other hand, Lily has a heart murmur,

Lily

Lily

probably congenital and though a large cat, weighs only six pounds. Her pharmaceutical is an ACE inhibitor which she is now on. But what if the old-fashioned remedy would work?

It didn’t seem likely that they would take it, but I tried six drops on their grain free, canned fish to see if they refused. They liked it. Wow! We’ll all try it for a while. Maybe we can get well, or a lot better, anyhow.

 

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Summer in Florida

15 Jul

I asked DiVoran for a summer poem. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do~Onisha

 Rainy Season

DiVoran Lites

5

 

Overhead, gray clouds swarm and boil.

Trees whip and moan.

A mockingbird flies fast, trying to avoid the storm.

All of a sudden it is here, drumming on the porch’s aluminum roof

Lightning flashes. Thunder rumbles and booms.

The storm passes.

 

Cats run to hide.

 

Tree frogs sing like bawling cattle.

Sun slants through pink muhly grass

Emeralds sparkle on green leaves.

The cats come meowing for their supper.

In the cool, cool, cool of the evening, we hold hands.

 

6

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My Diet Journal~Part 3

14 Jul

A Slice of Life

DiVoran Lites

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

When I started journaling this morning, everything in me felt low from energy to emotions. Usually when I start writing I tell the Lord what I’m unhappy about, so I planned to complain for about five hours. My routine had changed. I slept in until seven and then it was starting to get hot, so I thought I’d skip the coffee and the writing and hit the trail.

I’ve become able to drink coffee with Stevia and one quarter grain saccharine, but I still need the creamer, which is 2cheating. I tried to do without it one day, last week, taking Anacin with its 32 mg of caffeine, in order to avoid the withdrawal headache. It didn’t work, so I had a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I know I’m addicted, but I don’t want to give it up because I enjoy it, feel that it clears my mind, and have more energy when I drink a cup. I drink two a day. Some studies show that a moderate amount is good for most people, but if doc says no, then it’s no.

We bought some new Stevia called Truvia and we like it much better. I still want a quarter gram of saccharine, in fact I wish I could stay on that combination, even though Dr. Simenon discovered that artificial sweeteners are truly bad for people.

Flashback — Okay, I’m ready for my walk. Hat, key, phone, “sticky” note-pad, church pew pencil, (I found it in my car), tissue, iPod, and dark glasses. At first it’s not unbearably hot. I start listening to a book. Some days I don’t listen, I just enjoy the fresh air and observe, and maybe I’ll listen on the way home to make the journey shorter. It gets hotter as I go. By the time I head home I’m thinking about calling Bill to ask if he’ll come get me. But no, that would be wimpy. I didn’t drink water because you’re supposed to take the hcg and give it a chance to get into your system without interference. What if I pass out from dehydration?

When I do get home I lay on my bed for a while getting lower by the minute. Here comes the addiction withdrawal headache. I think I’ll lie here like this all day. This must be how it feels to be in deep grief, just wanting to stay in bed.

I decide that for a cup of coffee I can make myself get up.

3

Now I’m writing. Bill comes in for a minute and we talk about his weight. To our great surprise he has already reached his goal, though he didn’t realize it and wants to keep going, He lost ten pounds his first week. The way I understand it, you don’t go off the diet when you reach your goal weight, you continue with the hcg until the three weeks are up, but you eat more. When you reach your goal, you can eat as much of the designated foods as you wish. You don’t have to count calories, anymore, just stay away from starch and sugar.

After our chat and three quarters of the cup of coffee, I didn’t feel down anymore, so I started writing and here you see the result.

Oh, by the way, in case you’re interested, I have lost 6.05 lb. this week. Thanks for listening.

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Diet Journal Entry~2

7 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

 

DiVoran and her mom

Mom-Dora, Me-DiVoran probably at my highest weight, several years ago.

 

Day Four

I can’t believe we’re starting day four on our diet. That means we only have two weeks and three days left, and then three weeks on maintenance when we have more food choices and won’t be limited as far as calories go. If we follow the rules adequately, we will keep it off for a good long time, who knows, maybe forever.

The diet has been in existence for over fifty year after Dr. Simeon researched and experimented with it on his willing patients for over fifteen years.* I think it was the diet Bill and Judy’s mom went on many years ago, only she had to go the a doctor’s office and get hormone shots. Nowadays we don’t use the real hormone, we use a homeopathic, which the body perceives in exactly the same way. Agnes was thrilled with the results, and we were thrilled for her. She never went back up to her original weight.

The rules are detailed because while the hcg triggers the body to let go of the fat, the chemical make-up of various foods either aid or hinder the loss. The website we use has counselors online to help.

We spent half an hour after lunch yesterday hashing out the directions, our experiences with the diet, and our needs (or wants). Both of us are first-born, perfectionist, control freaks so we have many discussions over almost everything. Certain words such as sorry, say, again, I blipped, and let me see if I understand what you’re saying, are vital to the discussions. The cats don’t like it if we raise our voices.

We appreciate every bite we get, except at this point we still can’t stand the Stevia we have on hand. We’ve had it since the first diet about five years ago, though, so we’re thinking of getting a new package, hoping it has improved and will be better when it’s fresher.

This morning the scale put on a light show of flashing numbers ending with an ERROR message. Yesterday, my first day, I’d lost two-and-a-half pounds. Bill has lost four. The scale is working fine now, maybe it had to change its mind from continually showing gain, to showing loss.

By this time, you may be thinking that we’re rich and fussy about food. Are you thinking of the poor, the homeless, and the people dying in countries where their governments deliberately starve them to death? I need to pray about all that again, will you join me?

Dear Lord, only your omniscience can know how deeply grateful we are to have so many varieties of food and drink to choose from. We thank you that we can buy what we need and what we want. We don’t have the power or the resources to supply jobs, farms, and sustenance for everyone in the whole world, and as you say in your word we will always have the poor with us. However we do ask you to show us where and when to share, and to give us the wisdom, the power, and the love to obey you. All we do know to do is to trust you with all our hearts, to thank you, and to help us not to depend on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The way I wrote part one it sounded as if MAINTENANCE consisted of no oils at all. That’s a false impression. It’s the diet that lets you have no oils. Maintenance give you all the fats you’d want: dairy, cheese, cooking oil, butter, etc. The way I’m understanding it, our bodies are supposed to run on the fats they break down. What gets us into trouble is combining them with starch or sugar or both. After three weeks on maintenance, the directions explain, you may start back with carbs, but carefully.

For more information here is a handy link to a PDF

http://www.yourhcg.com/poundsandinches.pdf

 

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Diet Journal Entry~1

30 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistTorrents of rain, crashings of thunder. Two lamps on in the middle of the day. First day of diet. Feeling hungry, a little headachy from lack of caffeine.

Bill got the infrared grill from the warehouse where we had stored it. Why did we put it away? I don’t know. Last Christmas a grill quit working. There were only two on the shelf at the store. I bought one for Bill, Bill bought one for me, too. Grilling is best because we’re not allowed fats or oils. The melting fat in our bodies will provide all we need, all the calories, nutrients, and fats.

No breakfast, I drank a cup of tea with Stevia. I’m trying to talk myself into loving Stevia. I usually have a cup of strong coffee with lots of agave syrup and creamer, but I refuse to drink coffee without creamer.

We have a, “loading,” period before the diet. We start taking our HCG drops and for two or three days we gorge, eat anything we want. Those are the rules. Don’t ask me why. We kept trying to start the real diet, but pre-gorged for days and then seriously loaded. Last night we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken and had everything fat we could find—fried chicken, biscuits with lots of, “butter,” mac and cheese. At Publix, we got a pint of Ben and Jerry’s chocolate mint ice cream and brought it home. Is B. & J.’s still the fattest ice cream you can buy? The lush food made us drunk with love, drunk with a surfeit of food. We were so happy.

This morning we took our homeopathic remedy. It helps get the fat moving even though we are also on a 500-calorie diet. The remedy helps the dieter not to be too hungry. We’ve been on it several times over the years, and so have four other adult members of our family. All of us have lost weight and none of us has suffered any side effects except having to buy new clothes or have the old ones altered. A doctor developed the diet about fifty years ago. Back then they used real HCG instead of homeopathic and you had to have shots.

We only have two weeks, six days, and eight hours to diet and then we’ll be ready for maintenance. Maintenance is easy and quite pleasant. We’ll have salads with grilled chicken for lunches, plain meat (seasoned, but not sauced), and a fresh vegetable for supper. We’ll munch on two saltines or grissini and have an apple or orange for snacks.

At 5’4”, I weighted 128.5 for so long I thought I could get by with bread, pasta, cake, Lindt dark chocolate truffles, Lay’s Original Potato Chips. No. Pride goeth before a fall.

At my most svelte, friends at the Titusville Art League suggested I get my baggy pants altered. They gave me the name of their tailor. She is from Vietnam and is the old-fashioned kind like the big Silk Shirt 3department stores once hired. In spite of the 139.5 lb on the scale this morning, most of the pants, shorts, blouses still fit. But I do have this pair of white cotton pants that are perfect, and a silk blouse that’s about the prettiest thing I ever saw, that I can’t wear. I’ve displayed them on a door to inspire me.

Last night Bill dreamed he saw two tiny birds in a nest. Was that him and me after our diet? Forty minutes from now, I’ll have a sliced orange and another cup of Lipton tea – with Stevia. The rain is over, but the sky is still dark.

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A Passion for Work

23 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistHave you noticed that when you are doing work you enjoy, life can be full of excitement? Do we realize that when we retire to nothing but TV or grousing, life can become deadly dull—literally? Dullness kills, it brings complaining and bitterness.

Yes, I agree that God tells us to focus on Him. God in Christ, Christ in us, the hope of glory. But if you’ll think about it, the Bible, especially the parables of Jesus, are full of stories of people doing practical and artistic things while focusing on God. The first person to praise God in the Old Testament was an artisan. Jesus was as much human as he was divine. He put God’s will first, as we hope always to do, and he spoke of living every day to its fullest. He did the work for which He had an all-consuming passion.

Some people love making bread, making music, or making plans. Do you write, iron, clean engines? No matter what it is, God put it in you to do that thing with all your love, passion, and might. Don’t hold back. Ask Him for help and inspiration and you’ll find your life filled to the brim with joy. And, he can use your joy to lift other’s out of their darkness, too.

Divoran and cat

 

Here’s a Bible paraphrase from Romans 12:6-7, The Message

 

My Beloved Child,

Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit in without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on Me and you’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what I want from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you that is constantly dragging you down to its level of immaturity; I bring the best out of you, and develop well-formed maturity in you.”
 
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Proverbs 4:12

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Roots

16 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites 

 

Author, Poet and ArtistOne day I was wandering in the cleared area behind our house and I came upon a miniature liquor bottle. I have a penchant for bottles, so I picked it up, washed it out, and stuffed a small spider plant into it. The spider plant then proceeded to grow roots. I have a penchant for roots.

Yesterday I had breakfast with a friend who is a professional photographer. We like to talk about our gardens and share cuttings and clippings. I gave her some purple heart.

She gave me some plants, too. When I looked in the succulent’s bag, I saw a long root. “I’m into roots, right now,” I said pulling out a beautiful aloe plant.

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Then she asked the big question. “Why?”

I’m still not sure I can answer it, but I have a book, Finding What You Didn’t Lose, by John Fox CPT. In a chapter called, “Leaving the Roots on Your Writing: Revealing Yourself in Your Poetry.” Fox says, “When I lead workshops and people share their spontaneous poems, one of the first qualities people recognize in the atmosphere of the place…is that there is a deepened level of genuine intimacy. People begin to leave “roots” and “dirt” on their words. This intimacy is first self-honest, which then extends into the group experience.”

As I understand it, roots are the opposite of pretension. Pretension is like a plastic string—it doesn’t grow anything new or nourishing while a root does.

My mother always said, “Make yourself the best you can, and then be yourself.” I was still working on the first part, but I began to see that it was time to bring the second part into play. It seems that one way to start living with the roots is to quit trying so hard. So what if I drop the g’s off words when I get excited? So what if I wear my shorts and no lipstick to Wal-Mart? So what if I ask dumb questions or snort when I laugh? At least I’m laughing. I will soldier on as if it were none of my business what THEY THINK. Like Popeye, I yam what I yam. Ain’t we all?

 

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Behold How Good and Pleasant

9 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

On my way home from my walk I met one of the neighbors, Chuck, who had helped another neighbor remove the tree that fell on our house during Hurricane Charlie. Chuck was walking very slowly

Author, Poet and Artistallowing his ancient dog to saunter and sniff all he wanted. We spoke as we passed. When I got to the curve in the trail where I leave it, I stopped to make a note of something. There I heard a forlorn meowing from the bushes. It had to be a lost domestic cat. It was. Chuck’s cat big male tiger kitty.

“Your cat is here.” I yelled. He started back and I went back on the trail to meet him. He wasn’t going anywhere and I was on my way home so we turned around and sauntered back toward the neighborhood. The cat came out and twined around Chuck’s ankles.

“He follows us out here, but he doesn’t like to go too far.” Chuck said. We started slowly making our way back into the neighborhood. I told him I’d been walking past his house since his kids were small. The first time I ever saw them they had run out of the house with no clothes on—just little kids being free and happy. Chuck now had all the time in the world to talk to me. His major kid rearing days were about over. They’re off to college next year. He and his wife have been excellent parents. I’ve heard swimming parties from behind their privacy fence, I’ve seen the family coming home from camping, and watched as boy scouts gathered for projects.

When we got to Chuck’s house right off the trail. I said goodbye and Chuck took his dog over to greet a weenie dog they knew and his master.

I felt so blessed to walk with him, pet the cat, greet the dog, and hear about the kids. How wonderful to have watched a family rear good, happy kids who will become ordinary fine Americans and hopefully rear theirs kids the same. How great that this young man, who probably is quite busy during the week, had all the time in the world for an old dog, an old lady, and a cat who clearly adores him.

Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in one neighborhood where people get along and kids can grow up in safety and in love. Paraphrase of Psalm 133.1

 

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Big Savings at the Discount Club

2 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

Author, Poet and ArtistYesterday I went to a discount club for some cat litter. My alternative health provider said they had good, natural litter there. When I walked into the vast, cold warehouse-type store, which was loaded with luxuries any housewife would admire, I was told I could buy something without having a membership.

We’d had memberships in such clubs for years. It was supposed to be more economical. When we remodeled our garage into a workroom, we lined the walls with cupboards so we’d have room to store the large packages you usually get at those places. We never went into one, even just to look, without dropping a few Cs. And oh, it was all so economical.

A big buggy rolled across the parking lot toward my car, so after I had parked I grabbed it and pushed it into the store. When I got to the pet aisle, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to get down a box of litter. They were slightly above my head and weighed twenty-five pounds. So I waved at a big, strong-looking associate. But before I could catch his eye, I realized that unless I could convince him to go home with me, I’d have to wrestle the box into the trunk of the car and somehow get it into the house. I decided to think it though, and make other arrangements. So there I was with my buggy and half an hour before I had to be at my daughter’s work place to go to lunch. It was enough time to walk a mile, the weather was growing warmer outside and by afternoon would be hot, so I started up and down the aisles.

Was I tempted by anything as walked at a moderate pace through the store? Oh, yes. But the only thing I paused long enough to pick up and think about was a book. However I had just discarded eight books in a row that I’d bought used, because I didn’t like them. It would be foolish to pay $9.99, and find myself once again giving up on the book. I laid it down and continued on my way.

Why was I not tempted to buy anything else? I think it was because Bill and I have made some progress in simplifying our daily life. We know what we like to eat and what’s good for us. Two people don’t consume much. Everything costs so much, but thank God, we can get what we need. And I’d already filled up all my cupboards with art supplies.

I’ve been trying for decades (with not much success) to follow the wonderful precepts in Quaker, Richard J. Foster’s book, Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World. The book shows how living more simply not only allows us to enjoy less stress and more leisure, but also contributes to the health of our bodies and souls.

While I was walking around the store, I passed a woman with eight children accompanying her. I figured they were all hers because their sizes ranged from a couple of teen-aged girls walking beside her, to a toddler in the cart. The three small boys bringing up the rear, were, of course, having a good time of their own. I admire a woman who can handle that many children all at once. It was apparent that the discount club was a good place for her to shop, because her family would always need a great deal of food and other things.

When it was time to leave, the buggy was still empty, but I had something to take away. I had gained an exercise time and recognized once again how blessed our country is to have stores of plenty. Also I had a new self-respect for not lingering long enough to find a temptation I couldn’t resist. I rolled the buggy up to the man who stood checking tickets against purchases and asked where I should put it. He was a bit confused, so I just parked it next to an empty behind him.

Even though life still seems complicated and full of decisions and choices, I may be making progress toward simplicity after all. Is this something you desire as well?

 

 

 

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