Thankfulness Challenge Week Three

Last week started with an anniversary of my first date with Shirley 56 years ago.

On October 20, 1962 at CUC on a Saturday night entertainment, we spent our first evening together in a progressive party on the campus. We were both in 11th grade.  All the students met in the chapel to divide into groups of about 20 kids. I made sure to gravitate into the group where Shirley was. We were both 15 at the time... and I thought she was incredible! I am very thankful for the beginning of a most amazing relationship.

A plumber I am not, but I was thankful for the encouragement of a plumber friend who loaned some of his tools... a crimper and pipe cutter, etc. and instructed me how to do this little renovation project. We are putting a shower into the church. Not a difficult job for a plumber who does this kind of work every day... but a real challenge for some one who hasn't done it before.

I learned how to use Sharkbite fittings to connect pex pipe to copper lines. It took us a couple trips to the both Ace and Home Depot to finally get the right parts. 

Working in a dirty cramped crawl space is not fun. Could not have done it without the help of Norm Chabot.  Here Norm is putting teflon tape onto the clean-out plug that we had to remove to make the tie into the sewer main. We worked for more than three days (part days), and believe me, we were both very thankful to get this job done.   We were most thankful to pass the water test without a leak. 

We got the shower valve installed into the new wall we built, and the first coat of mud is on the drywall. This week I will tackle the tile job. I was hoping to find some tile guys who work of us to do this, but they are swamped, so I will do it. I know how to do it.

October 24 was Shirley's birthday. This was the first formal photo that she gave me in 12th grade. It is one of my most treasured memories. I am thankful for my sweetheart. 

I worked this week on some graphics and quotes to update the bulletin boards in the fellowship room where Dr. Sid Kettner and pastor Angelo Nugent will be doing our mini series, LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE. I am thankful to be able to work on the evangelism team and help with the advertising materials, tee shirts and signage. On Friday November 2 the meetings will be under way.

In Defense of Food

Shirley and I have watched this documentary about three times and rate it right up there with the best. I think Michael Pollan did well here. The film is a work of art, with lots of art! And great photography.

I love food! It is one of life's greatest pleasures. 

The sad thing is that four of the Top Ten Killers are linked to diet. And since I have diabetes, I am highly motivated to try to reverse this problem.

It is not my intention to summarize the entire 108-minute documentary here... but just to give you a few of the highlights so you will hopefully want to see it for yourself.

One of the things this documentary will be remembered for is Pollan's interesting Food Rules. 

This is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what humans should eat in order to be healthy.

Michael isn't selling any particular diet. And you don't have to be a scientist to know how to eat. It's really pretty simple. You can forget about counting calories.

So much of the factory-prepared food contain preservatives to increase their shelf life... not your life!

Why do you think we should avoid foods that are advertised on TV?

I liked the suggestion to eat your colours. We bought our first dragon fruit this past week and it was a lot of fun. Get out of the rut and try some interesting things.

Michael is pretty middle of the road on this one. For me, meat has become less important to have and more important to avoid.

He gives "plant-based" a new meaning to me!

Learn how using smaller plates can save you gaining 6 to 9 pounds in a year.

The order in which you dish up your food is super important. That is why I used to like to start with pie in a restaurant! That way I would always be sure to get dessert!

Michael says that the French spend 127 minutes a day eating... the Americans 67 minutes. For sure we can do better than this. I think we are just too busy and don't really care.

Take a minute to watch the trailer. This documentary was on PBS in December.

There are several more cool rules... but you have to see the movie! It's available on NetFlix and on YouTube. There are several on YouTube, but the full movie is the PBS Version.

As we begin this New Year, It is my hope that we can all learn more about how to eat smarter, live longer and have a better quality of life.  I welcome your comments and suggestions. 

This is just the first review that I plan to do on health-related topics. More exciting things to follow!