Thursday, March 20, 2014
Stop Diabetes Now! Test Yourself for Diabetes 2 or Pre-Diabetes
I am diabetic. So was my grandma. So are many of my cousins on her side. It's a family thang.
Diabetes can be a blessing because it can alert you to live right.
In honor of Stop Diabetes Now Alert Day March 25, try this test to determine if you are at risk of Diabetes 2 or Pre-Diabetes:
http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/
Monday, March 17, 2014
Waking Up to My Irishness
[Originally published in 1993]
Somehow it was
hidden from me, my Irishness. It took me a long time to figure out why. I
started putting the pieces together this summer, after a sixteen-year-old
Irishman became part of my family.
Tony Memmel and the Symphony: Hearing His Music So Big...
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Book Launch Give-Away Contest!
My new book, Dessert First - Glimpses of Wisconsin Life, is out in paperback. To celebrate, I'm having a drawing for a free copy of the book. Anyone who puts a comment on this blog post is eligible. The deadline for comments is midnight March 31.
On April Fool's Day, I will write the names of commenters on slips of paper and put them into my husband's fuzzy ear-flap hat. He will reach in and draw the name of the winner.
I hope there is more than one name in the hat!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Dessert First is published!
In these pages you’ll travel from city
streets to haylofts. You’ll encounter mice wearing clothes, a bad guy stopped
by a smile, a St. Francis in need of recapitation, and two old ladies whose
racy conversation leads them to calamity. You’ll find leaves to kick, spring
peepers, chickens, fruit flies, deer, drought, and frost. There are earthly
delights like a blue Fiestaware dish – and bummers like walking to the gym
shower wearing socks.
Inside you’ll find seventy-seven glimpses
of Wisconsin life, to be read in any order. This book has your name on it if
you like short true stories – if you laugh at everyday comedy – if you’ve lived
through highs and lows – and if you believe good trumps evil.
Dessert
First
is Wisconsin life transcribed through my pen. I'd like to think that my eyes are open and that I see the world as many folks see it. I think you'll find that I describe that vision with clarity, compassion, and humor.
The stories are true...some names have been changed.
You may order Dessert First from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Dessert-First-Glimpses-Wisconsin-Life-ebook/dp/B00IN7AL6K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394234962&sr=1-1&keywords=dessert+first+gail+grenier
Hope I can keep up with this 85-year-old
I had coffee yesterday with my friend Peggy Ludeman, who just turned 85. Peggy used to be a student in my writing class, and she's become a friend. I remember back a few years ago, when she came to class all excited because her first great-grandchild had been born. She mentioned that while that baby was being born, Peggy (the great-grandmother) had been playing tennis!
Another story she shared awhile ago: she could tell she was having a heart attack, so she quickly drove herself to the doctor. She said climbing the stairs was a bit difficult.
Yesterday she told me that she has stopped playing tennis because she wishes to stay home to care for her husband, who is battling an illness. With tennis no longer in her life, Peggy wants to ward off fat and heart attacks. So she installed a gym in her basement, with equipment she found at Goodwill.
I told her that Mike and I don't go snowshoeing on days when it's zero outside, but I too want to do something active. I added that I've good a good, weighted hula hoop but haven't gotten into the habit of using it.
She said, "I use a hula hoop!" She explained that she doesn't count her hula hoop use by the clock, but rather by revolutions. She aims for 100 revolutions. She said the secret is to keep a wide stance. "The other day I did 500...but not all at once," she told me.
Okay. I have my inspiration. On to the hula hoop. I love you, Peggy!