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And the beat goes on . . .
March 3rd:
Dr. Schneider at Eastside Cardiology
Associates is inclined to believe that the anomalies on my
February treadmill stress test were more likely the result of high
blood pressure than heart disease. I will take another type of
treadmill test called a stress echo (ultrasound) test on March
17th. In the meantime he has put me on 5mg daily of
Lisinopril, a blood pressure medicine.
March 17th: I
managed to finish 14 minutes on the treadmill test with Dr.
Schneider (2 more minutes than in February) and he declared my
heart quite sound. It was a bit disconcerting watching my
valves while I sat there waiting to start the test. He
concluded that my periodic pains were related to high blood
pressure and not heart disease. He asked me to
increase my dosage of BP medication and see him again "in five
years."
More Gadgets ...
It's not the high-end still camera on my wish list but it's a nice
addition for the family. Just before their ski trip, Susan
bought a Canon ZR200 MiniDV camcorder. Actually, Susan
shopped in the stores and I
confirmed her choices by studying the products online. She
wants it for the Canadian ski trip but we will split the cost and
it will be the Sleight camera. We have been borrowing
Susan's for a few years.
I considered the more expensive Panasonic PV-GS120 but couldn't
justify another $200 more for a mix of a few better features and a
few features that favored the Canon model. Yet this is why
we bought a "Firewire" capable PC a few years ago. I'd like
to learn how to edit digital videos. I have a promise of
lessons from staff at SPU's Instructional Technology Services
group later this year.
My two "Vacation" weeks
Saturday: We got up at 4:30AM
Saturday the 12th and I drove Nancy up to Susan's house and they
left for their ski vacation. Nate and Annie have a four-day
weekend so they are having fun.
Bible study covered Ezekiel 45 and 46. A few more weeks in Ezekiel and then on to Romans. I napped while
the kids watched movies. At least I finished grading the
last of this quarter's homework.
Sunday: Church with the kids, then homework (and a Star
Wars marathon). I took a walk and shopped. Imagine finding
four Scottish tartan ties at a thrift shop for $1.50 each -- a
lamp shade to replace one I donated for use at SPU -- and bottles
of White Zinfandel for $0.99 at Cost Plus (they were closing out
holiday items.)
Monday: A new World's Record record was set today as I graded
Statistics exams while my students completed them and I calculated
the final grades and posted them to the university web site before
I even left the classroom. It was a shallow victory as I
only had 10 students in my Statistics class. Everyone passed. At
home I packed to stay with Grandma Ginger starting Tuesday night.
Tuesday: Grandma Ginger spent last night at Evergreen
Hospital under observation for heart problems. Tonight Annie
drove her home and I took four busses to get there from SPU.
Annie took Jeannie to and from Gymnastics and I stayed in
Kirkland. Earlier in the day I gave Spreadsheet exams to 70+
students.
Wednesday: I graded the final exams for all three classes of BUS
1700 students and submitted their grades. I have my PC set
up in Susan's wonderful sun room. I wired a phone connection
so I could get Internet access in there. Ginger is ensuring that I
eat healthy.
Thursday: In the morning I had my "echo stress test"
with Dr. Schneider of Eastside Cardiology Associates (see above).
In the afternoon I drove Susan's Volvo home so Ginger could turn
me back over to my family. I took Jeannie to Gymnastics and
shopped at COSTCO -- bought a blood pressure tester.
Friday: My one vacation "goof off" day. Too
tired to get serious work done -- we watched a DVD I had gotten
for the family. Earthsea is very loosely based on the fine
trilogy by
Ursula K. Le Guin
I had enjoyed in college. Not bad for a made-for-TV
mini-series but much less entertaining than the vivid novels.
Saturday:
Quick, clean the house! Nancy is coming home. The
kids did homework, J.B. even did some in her Math workbook.
I drove up to Susan's house at 10:30PM and retrieved Nancy.
She was in bad shape. Her many tumbles up Heli-skiing in
British Columbia had taken their toll on her.
Palm Sunday:
We went to UPC with the family as usual. When I got home with Jeannie I
found Nancy back in bed. She may be there for a few days.
I've traded taking care of a grandmother for taking care of a
mother.
Monday: Took care of Nancy -- she mends slowly.
Located the Bellevue ATM for BECU down between Main Street and 2nd
Street. Finished a script for a video project for the New
Majors' Dessert on April 19th. Ate baked potatoes for lunch
and dinner -- not on my diet.
Tuesday: Dr.
Henri Duyzend found one cavity. I go back on April 11th for more
dental work. Nancy needs to return this Thursday. She was
able to drive herself home -- carefully.
I worked a half day at SPU.
There is only time enough to prepare for classes which begin all
over again next Tuesday.
I'm now taking 10mg of my blood pressure medicine. BP
106/65 tonight! Wow, so low! Maybe my new testing machine is
not calibrated right.
Wednesday: It's sad to think back over more than 24
hours and not be able to recall the day. But I did realize that at
Cross Country races or Wrestling matches I feel like a sports fan,
while at the evening Band concert, watching Jeannie play her oboe,
I felt like a parent.
Thursday: I had
to submit my syllabus to the printer incomplete. It will get
the students through the first two weeks. I'll have to add the rest
later. Time just ran out. And I've brought lots of work
home.
Friday: I can't seem to diet while away from work.
Friday or Saturday night is often "Movie Night" at the Sleight
House. Often these are movies from the Bellevue Library, but
sometimes I come across a DVD sale. Tonight, for $4.99, we watched
the James Bond movie, Die Another Day.
Saturday: Dad
does the cooking when he's home. After finishing Ezekiel 48
and contemplating the Easter story at Bible study, I came home and
cooked pancakes. [
I observed at church that Luke 24:12,
"...he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves...," makes it
clear that at least they didn't go to the wrong tomb.
This tomb was not completely empty.] The
SPU Lady Falcons lost in the NCAA Division II basketball finals.
Our movie tonight was The Big Country, a classic western with
Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Chuck Connors.
Easter Sunday: 6:30AM
found us at Bellevue Downtown Park and Easter Sunrise Services
with my FPCB church. Dr. Scott Dudley preached on "Do Overs"
(second chances) from the "Peter, do you love Me?" passage.
A light rain was quite welcome considering the drought. At home I
cooked pancakes for a quick Easter breakfast. At 8:45AM we
attended UPC, where Dr. Earl Palmer preached from Luke 24. A
ham lunch at Susan's with the traditional egg hunt and an puzzle
followed. Finally home by 6:00PM in time for the kids to get
back to their homework. All in all it was a restful Spring
Break, if not very productive. |
 Annie
begins the High School home stretch
Here is Annie filling out her
college application to Seattle Pacific University on our week-long
sailing trip in 2004. This month she applied for the
University Scholars program, the
honors cohort at SPU.
In recognition of her outstanding
high school achievements, on March 5th Annie was notified that she
had been awarded SPU's "Eaton Scholar Award" of $2000.
Named for SPU President Phil Eaton, it is SPU's carrot to Annie to
entice her to say yes to SPU's offer of admission. The
Admissions Office does not know that SPU is the only college to
which Annie has applied.
On Monday the 14th she was officially named a BCS Valedictorian
(one of a record six!) She also received a letter saying
that she had been accepted into University Scholars (the SPU
honors program.)
On St. Patrick's Day she filled out the "yes I'm coming to SPU"
response letter and I added the $200 deposit check.
Local Newspaper features
BCS Wrestlers
What a surprise to open a local bi-weekly newspaper here, the
March 9th edition of the Bellevue Reporter, and spot a
color photo of BCS 119 pound wrestler David Del Moro wrestling at
the State Championships. There was a multi-page article
about the best season that Coach Paul Perkins had ever had in his
thirty years of coaching at BCS. Turning the page, there was
another color picture with the caption, "Nathanael Sleight, in
front, of Bellevue Christian wrestles against Zillah's Art Zevigny
at 125 pounds."
He is also listed in the article along with all of the BCS
wrestlers who earned spots at the Tacoma Dome last month. This was
a special reminder of an amazing season, and of the promise
of three more great seasons ahead.
Moderate Drinking Appears to Cut
Diabetes Risk
[ Stories like these make me think Paul's advice
to Timothy was sound. ]
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
Evidence continues to mount that moderate alcohol consumption may
protect against the development of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers based in the Netherlands looked at 15 different
studies and concluded that moderate drinkers were less likely to
have type 2 diabetes than teetotalers. Further, they report, the
higher risk of type 2 diabetes among nondrinkers in comparison to
moderate drinkers was equal to the higher risk observed among
heavy drinkers.
 "The
present study supports the evidence of a considerably reduced risk
of type 2 diabetes associated with moderate but not with heavy
alcohol consumption in men and women with low or high (body mass
index)," the researchers write in this month's issue of Diabetes
Care.
In comments to Reuters Health, Koppes said there doesn't seem
to be large differences in the effects of beer, wine or spirits,
"but the pattern of consumption is of importance. If you do drink,
do not save up for the weekend. One drink per day...is better than
seven drinks on Friday."
Altogether, the compiled findings revealed a U-shaped
association between alcohol drinking and type 2 diabetes risk,
such that the lowest risk of the condition was found among
moderate drinkers and the highest risk occurred among nondrinkers
and heavy drinkers. Body mass index, a measure of height versus
weight, did not seem to affect the results.
A standard drink contains about 10 grams of alcohol in Europe,
12 grams in the U.S. and Canada, and 21 grams in Japan.
Moderate drinkers -- those who drank between six and 48 grams
of alcohol per day -- were about 30 percent less likely to develop
type 2 diabetes than nondrinkers, the report indicates. The risk
of the condition among those who drank 48 grams of alcohol a day
or more was similar to that among those who did not drink alcohol.
Previous researchers have reported a similar association
between moderate alcohol drinking and a reduced risk of
cardiovascular disease. The exact mechanism by which moderate
alcohol drinking reduces the risk for either condition is unknown.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, March 2005.
A
Traditional Sleight Family Easter
 
 
Click to see larger images. The egg hunt was indoors due to
rain. As usual, the last egg was especially hard to find.
One problem is that I eat most of the hard boiled eggs.
Nancy still has some in the refrigerator from last year!!!
She hates to break the pretty shells. It drives me nuts. |
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Bits and Pieces
I went back to
SPU the day after Easter and discovered it was a "travel
day." School starts Tuesday. Boy, am I out of the loop.
But it meant fewer interruptions. I love spring quarter --
teaching on Tuesdays only and at least the hope of time to get caught up.
Tonight after I cooked
dinner I went off and gave blood. I never did this before
1992. Now I do it a few times each year. When I feel
like I'm pretty useless, I like to know I'm still good for a pint.
Nancy's Orthopedic doctor
suspects that a herniated disk in her back is causing referred
pain down her leg. The symptoms do closely match the
descriptions we have read. She will continue resting and
very little bending. An MRI scan is scheduled for later in
April. We'll know more then.
When I am wide awake I can
study technology. When I'm a bit tired I can study theology.
And when I am at least awake enough to not keep reading the same
lines twice, I can read fiction.
Next year when Jeannie Beth
is in 7th grade, she'll be doing homework on Wednesday nights, not
being driven to Pioneer Girls. This driving her to
Gymnastics and Pioneer Girls has one of us out with her three
nights a week. But, of course, it allows me to study
what I enjoy when I drive her to UPC. John Calvin writes of
Romans, "...when anyone gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has
an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of
Scripture." The hour from 8:00AM to 9:00AM on Saturdays is still
the anchor of my week.
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