Beautiful Words, Old Friends

A beautiful word is like an old friend with whom you can get together with for coffee anytime.
Some beautiful words were introduced by old friends, words like superfluity, plethora, gobsmacked.
My old friends will respond: WHO YOU CALLIN' OLD!?!?

Thoughts About #specificprayer

Praying specifically can give God an opportunity to reveal His Power.

While attending Nazarene Bible College, my late wife Lynne once prayed for a specific list of requirements of a home to rent in Colorado Springs area, a list that I had devised as an obstacle to moving. The house had to have 220 volt wiring for an electric clothes dryer. (It takes 2 hours to dry a sock if your dryer is hooked up to 110 volts. Some of you are not old enough to have seen a house with 110 wiring.) The house must be carpeted. (Not popular in the 70's) Must have a fenced in yard. (We had dogs.) Sufficient wall sockets. And not one dollar more in rent. ($100 a month.) Lynne's requests were isolation and in the country. Imagine my dismay when a house exactly like that popped up in the Classifieds (remember Classifieds?) the next week.

Just how much carpet was in the house? Wall to wall in every room and in the closets!! How many electric wall sockets? On. Every. Wall. Why was the rent low? A rancher way, way out in the country (look at the pic with the Dittmers hitchhiking) who worked at a carpet outlet part time was offered a free house if he would move it, which he did for $4000. He totally redid the wiring, the walls, the ceilings and the floor. Frankly, I think the Lord set me up for this miracle, but I asked for it when I kept praying that He reveal Himself to me. Be careful what you ask for.

Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Eyesight

Scientists believe high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in these areas may protect the eye from damage due to oxidation. Lutein and zeaxanthin are commonly found in dark-green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale, and are well-absorbed from egg yolk. A large egg yolk contains 252 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin.
I found this at https://www.incredibleegg.org/eggcyclopedia/l/lutein/
Funny thing about this link. When I posted it on Facebook, the Facebook algorithm told me it was spam. I reported this to Facebook. We will see.
That fact makes me suspect that vegans are offended by this site, and may be at war with the egg industry.
I love vegan food! I love sugar! I love beer! But the truth is, some things are delightful in small quantities, but poisonous in large quantities.
Vegan food in large quantities can be poison.
For some people, the limits of veganism, sugar, and/or beer can be very small or even zero.

Short Term Memory and Low Carb Diet

2 incidents of Mary revealing her short term memory working without repetition, prompting, or writing it down. Telling her brother on the phone without prompting about the deer we saw yesterday. Also, noting the goop on a knife was from a banana she had cut up earlier.
In both cases she was relaxed and happy. Her short term memory almost never works when she under pressure, excited, and/or angry. On one hand, she has high standards. On the other, she is and loves being retired.
I have noted bunches of research that Alzheimer's, dementia, and of course Type 2 diabetes improves if carbs are restricted and protein and fat are moderate and at times generous. Within the confines of Mary's precise personal taste and fierce independence, I have endeavored to followed the Diabetic's Association's recommendation of limiting Carbs 15 Carbs a day (each Carb being 15 grams of carbohydrate each) and Mary is meeting or beating that goal daily.
According to Virta, a leading group for curing Type 2 Diabetes, a patient is in remission from Type 2 Diabetes is under 6.5 on their bA1c blood sugar count. Mary has been under that for over a year.
God is good.

Progress In Running at Age 70

Progress on running at the age of 70:
I run once a day, barring busy days, snow, ice, and cold below 20 degrees. Since I've been running on the road in winter, I measured out a distance by running slowly, (gently would be a better word) for one minute, then running back faster to my starting point. As I run faster, I breathe more quickly naturally. Breath in, two steps, breath out, two steps. At some point during this last stretch, my arms and legs get heavy, so I double time my breathing, in, step, out step. Since I am taking in more oxygen than I need, my head starts to feel light, so I increase my stride, and finish fast, or at least fast for a 70 year old man who is not a great runner.
I've been gradually moving back the the turn around point, I have also picked up speed at the end of the run. I wait longer before I have to breathe harder. My recovery is getting quicker after I run, which encourages me to keep improving by extending the run and quickening the end.
I chose this method rather jogging, because I don't hurt afterwards, and I can almost always work it into a busy schedule. The method is called High Intensity Training and was used by the greatest runner ever. Emil Zátopek was a Czechoslovak long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life. (Wikipedia)
I briefly thought about making up my own acronym, Short High intensity Training, but I didn't like how that came out. I could call it the Busy High Intensity Training (BHIT!) or perhaps more accurately, the Lazy High Intensity Training (LHIT!).
I only ran a few days in January, and a few in February. I am running more frequently in March. The days of cold snow and ice are getting fewer each month.
God is good.

Convenience Vs. Savings

Convenience vs savings:
I love convenience. When Mary and I were married, way back in the olden days of 2010, she introduced me to the Keurig Coffee Maker, and their K-Cups. It was the solution to the problems I had been fighting since I was a young man, the problems of bitter coffee.
Since I was a young man, I had solved this problem by taking leftover coffee and refrigerating it. I wish I could say I invented cold coffee, but I learned that off of my late wife's grandmother, a German immigrant. She would make a pot of coffee, serve one or two cups, and put the remainder in a recycled pickle jar and store in the refrigerator.
This would explain my peculiar behavior of taking the left over coffee at large church functions, poring it into quart jars and refrigerating it. Beth Wade Kathy Brinkley Tedrick
I also learned how to get the freshest cup by being the person who makes the pot of coffee for the third shift from Mike Wade. He would always make a fresh pot when he was ready for a cup, and as the Mr. Coffee was dripping into to the Karafe, he's place his cup under the drip point, and get the freshest coffee possible. It was also strong enough to knock your socks off.
Which brings me to shakes. We have been using Glucerna shakes for some time as a partial meal replacement for Mary. She likes having one morning and evening when she takes her pills. The chocolate flavor helps her down her daily regimen of numerous pills, but sometimes there is not enough shake to help with all the pills.
Enter Chef Mike. I started with adding a little milk to a shake poured into a large glass root beer mug, but then I added some flavored yogurt to increase the volume.
Several renditions later, I am now making a large shake in the morning, enough to help both morning and evening, and I add a powerful probiotic, Stonyfield Yogurt. We have been able to cut back on both the expensive shakes and expensive supplemental probiotics, saving over $100 per month.
Add this to the fact that Mary prefers inexpensive home cooked meals and the savings are adding up.
God is good.

The Older I Get #rmdo #oldhumor

The older I get, the more it helps to grunt when I pick up things off the floor, which gets further away each year. #rmdo

Responibility #rmdo #humor

The oldest child is most responsible. Something goes wrong, parents say SO YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE?!

The Dittmer Family a long time ago!

Daytime Sleep, Power Naps, and Ambition

I wrote a note to a friend: How to sleep in the daytime.

Silicone ear plugs. sleep mask, fan, and sometimes television just under the level that demands attention.  It also helps to have a nap watchdog. My late wife Lynne used to do that. Mary also does an excellent job now.

Just ask me. I'm a professional daytime sleeper. 

Also, grasshopper, empty your mind of any compelling problems and questions. My problem is ALL questions are compelling.

Consider yourself blessed if you can get a ten minute power nap. I could then get up, work 3 or 4 more hours, then take another power nap.

I once went several months on an average of 4 hours sleep. Martha Stewart and President Trump both do well on 4 hours sleep. I think Solomon did, also. The great inventor, Thomas Edison, went months at a stretch on 4 hours when on a major project.

But I have switched to the other camp, 9 hours or more. I joined this camp when I decided to forgo my depression medication at the time I decided to drop all health insurance at age 62, while taking an early retirement.

I noted that great athletes often sleep longer than 8 hours to get full recovery. Lebron James is an example.

I am lucky to still be alive, but power naps are indeed powerful. Power naps at stop lights are dangerous and irritating to drivers behind me. Also, I had decided to stay awake to listen to a dear friend, my brother Ted, but my body would disagree and say, "Time for a quick power nap." 

At the factory, I could sit on a small reel, and take a power nap while a reel ran out, and wake up in time to to stop the reel. 

I could power nap in class at Bible College and when the Professor woke me with a question, I could replay the question in my mind, say it out loud, then answer the question. My late wife Lynne was sitting beside me once. She asked, "How do you do that?! You were snoring!!"

My problem is and always will be I had and have too many ambitions and interests. In Bible College I was married, had a job, was a student and traveled on weekends with the Insights Gospel Music group. But I now warn my daughters, son-in-laws, and grandchildren to be careful following that example.

It's taken me 50 years to admit I can't do it all. In 2010 I retired from a full time job and Pastor of a church I founded and dearly loved, Family Bible Fellowship.

In 2012, I gave up my home that I dearly loved in Indiana.  

In 2013 I dropped out of choir at Brighton. (The choir leader was just like me! She played the piano and directed, did ALL types of music, and the choir had a BAND!!) But I would get so wired after practice (I hear all the parts, the voices, the instruments, and even add parts in my head) it would be hard for me to sleep. 

Now I just live with and cook for Mary, scheme to get together with my daughters and their families, and write a little when I can. Seems like I'm busy enough. I also warn my family about carrying the ambitious fewer hours of sleep too far. Their lifestyle trajectory seems very similar to my early years.

God is good!

Knowing, Learning #rmdo #wisdompoet

Everything I needed to know, I learned at the Cross. #rmdo #wisdompoet

Bad News, Good News

First the bad news: People have commented that my oldest grandson looks like me.
Now the good news: In one year he has gone from being one of the smaller players on the basket ball team to one of the taller players, and he's not finished growing.
And he'll have no trouble attracting a wonderful, beautiful Godly woman.
Right, Mary?
Mary: RIGHT!!
(His late grandmother was also a wonderful, beautiful Godly woman.)

Two of my three grandsons, along with my late wife Lynne.

Slaying the Jabberwocky

Alice Kingsley: I try to believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Count them, Alice. One, there are drinks that make you shrink. Two, there are foods that make you grow. Three, animals can talk. Four, cats can disappear. Five, there is a place called Underland. Six, I can slay the Jabberwocky.

Night owl report:The reason I put the Jabberwocky quote from the Tim Burton "Alice" film on my time line is because my extreme night owl habits have moderated. Not long ago, I would have thought that impossible.
With small changes in our routine, I have gotten up early and stayed up all day. Remember, early for me is before 2 in the afternoon.
I am amazed at how far a little sunshine therapy goes. It's been several weeks since I've had a chance to sit or walk in the sunshine, but the little bit that seeps through our windows has been effective in rousing me.
Now I find myself not only getting up, but staying up all day. Of course, this means I have to go sleep earlier. One night I drifted off at 1:30 am. That might be a record.
With more daylight hours, I can do more projects per day done, instead of bailing out at 2 in the afternoon, and galloping to the bank before they close at 6 pm.
Today I got up with the sun at 8 am. I am still up. Weird, but nice.
Please don't misunderstand. I like being a night owl. On Christmas Eve, after driving to Indiana to visit my children and their families, Mary and I started back home around midnight. There was a fierce snowstorm. We arrived home at 6 am. I went to bed at 6:30. I saved a ton of money and a day of hassle by NOT having to spend the night at a motel. I can do that.
I also have no need to sit out on the front porch, soaking up sunshine and being social. I have no desire to fit into a day shift world, and it would be too much work to straighten them out. My standards are too high.
Actually, there are is long list of impossibilities that have been made possible, through God's grace, and I am hopeful that God may reveal the steps for a couple of more changes.
Hence the line "6 impossible things before breakfast." Reversing Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the Jabberwocky - Short Term Memory Loss are my next targets, with God's help. Surprisingly positive changes have already happened with the addition of bone broth and egg yolks to our regimen.
God is good. Stay tuned.

RELAX! #rmdc

RELAX! God's got this!

Photo by Mary. #rmdc means I didn't write it, but I'm collecting it. RMD is is the acronym for Rev. Mad Dog. #rmdo means I wrote it.