Today was the monthly OWLS (Older Wiser Livelier Seniors) luncheon and meeting for Betty. As usual, I have become her chauffeur. We had a wonderful luncheon and I noticed that there were different kinds of apples on the tables. I knew the topic of the meeting had to do with apples. Rev. Sands  was the speaker today. He spoke about Johnny Appleseed aka John Chapman. It was interesting to listen to Rev. Sands talk about the history of Johnny Appleseed. He provided a map of the trails took, cabins he built. He said that Johnny Appleseed probably planted over 5 million apple seeds that was obtained from the apple presses where Johnny picked them out.

The OWLS group is planning another outing next week out of town. I am planning to go with them.

Betty and I had errands to do after the meeting. We are making plans for doing our errands when we have a meeting to go to, to save on gasoline since it is now $3.79 a gallon for the cheapest grade. After delivering Betty home, I knew I had to take my blood sugar from the delicious luncheon. It was 226. So I took my shot.

I have been getting concerned with our household finances and how can I get my credit card rates down. I have become a very responsible person concerning paying my credit cards due to past problems with them. I called my bank the other day to inquire what the credit card rate was there. Their rates are a lot higher than I want to have. I have been looking for a way to compare credit card companies’ interest rates.

With today’s economy, I need the best interest rate for my type of credit card. One of my present credit cards has a high balance and higher interest rate. I need one that I can transfer my balance to a lower or zero interest rate. I found a great website, Better Credit, which will help with what I am looking for. They have available a Center for free credit advice to answer questions about credit cards, fees and their services. They have online credit card applications for which is the best card for everyday purchases, for balance transfers and for people with bad credit. There are rewards cards for gasoline, airlines, hotels and cash back rewards. It is great to be able to apply online as well. This is truly a great website that has a way to answering my credit card questions.

I got woken this morning (5/04/08) at 4:45 AM by a police officer telling me that my van had been hit during the night by a young man who stole a car from a local car lot and took it for a joy ride. I had heard something after 11. Due to the fact that I am very hard of hearing and did not have my earing aids in, I was not sure what I had heard. Thank the Lord that the damage was minimal. The joy ride ended with the man totaling the car he was driving in another part of town and ending up in the hospital. When the police interviewed the man, he admitted to hitting a van on my street. When the officers came to my street, they saw the light damage to my van so the reason I was woke up. The officer made a report and explained the details of the joy riding event.

I did attend church though I was very sleepy, I managed to stay awake. Lack of sleep and stress affects me greatly. I tried all afternoon to accomplish somethings on the computer, but haven’t accomplished much. My dinnertime blood sugar reading was elevated and I knew the reason why. I was hoping to get to bed early but between the phone ringing and a friend wanting to chat tonight. Am up late again. So off to bed I go, it’s 1:35 AM.

This evening I went to go visit an elderly man from my church who is in the hospital. On the way coming back home, a young lab puppy ran out in front of my vehicle. Thank goodness I was going slow through this section of street and did not hit him. There is a local ice cream restaurant in that area and a lot of people getting in and out of their vehicles. So I always go slow in that section of the street.

I quickly pulled over in the parking lot of an apartment complex and called the puppy to come to me out of the street cause the traffic had stopped to avoid hitting the puppy. When the puppy came to me, I was glad. I saw the terrible condition the puppy was in. The puppy had been eaten up with fleas. She had been chewing on herself severely. She was friendly and so sweet. Whoever had owned her didn’t deserve to keep her due to her dehydrated, flea bitten condition.

I went into the ice cream shop and asked the owner to call the dog warden or the police about the puppy. I was not able to take the puppy out to the animal shelter due to it being a weekend. While I was in the ice cream shop, the puppy went back out in the street again. I ran back out when I saw in the window of the ice cream shop what was happening. Another nice lady and her family stopped and called the puppy out of the street. The nice lady brought the puppy back across the street to me. We talked for a few minutes. They were going for ice cream and would be right back. I ask them to check if the shop owner had made the phone call yet as it was getting ready to pour down rain. I was able to sit with the puppy on the front porch of an empty house next door to the shop. Within a few minutes, the lady and her family came back out and also the shop owner telling me that the police was on their way. The policeman arrived shortly and we put the puppy in the back seat of his cruiser. He explained that he was waiting on a call from the dog warden. If he were not able to get a hold of the warden, he might have to put the puppy down. The nice lady asked the officer what he meant by “put the puppy down”. He explained about euthanasia. The nice woman started sobbing and trying to dial her husband in Pennsylvania to drive here and get the puppy. She would not see that this puppy was killed. The police officer received a phone call from the dog warden that the puppy would be taken to receiving to be flea dipped and given her shots. She would be fixed and put up for adoption. The nice lady was so happy for the puppy too as I was.

The puppy was looking at us both through the back window of the officer’s cruiser looking like someone caught after escaping. The lady and I was glad we rescued this sweet puppy from a worse demise of getting killed by another vehicle in the street. The fact that the puppy’s owner had been neglectful in her care is upsetting enough to see. Now this sweet young female lab puppy will get a better home.

Yesterday, I attended a wonderful luncheon held by the Church Women United group. I was invited by my dear friend, Betty. I found out something new about Betty. She organized the local group and is in charge of it. Her granddaughter helps her with this group and also a different group too. Betty continues to amaze me at her fortitude to serve the Lord at 88 years of age.

There was a Live White Elephant Auction and also a Silent auction held. Betty asked me to help write the auction papers for the items that came in to go in the auctions. Another nice lady, Marilyn, came in and started helping me. It is nice to have other sisters in Christ to help when we need it. I was surprised at how much money was made to help other missionaries.

The theme for the meeting was about hospitality. Plant a seed of hospitality and reap bouquets of friendships. I really enjoyed the luncheon, auction and the meeting. I met several new Christian friends through this event.

When I got home I took my blood sugar as I knew it was going to be high. Most of the luncheon consisted of fruits, gelatin salads, pasta and of course, loads of sweet desserts. It is hard to resist what was there without having any other low sugar food solutions. I took my Novolog shot because my blood sugar was 327. In the future, I am going to have to think of what I can do in advance for these types of events.

Today, a friend of mine, Coleman, told me he has been diagnosed as a diabetic. His doctor just told him to cut out the sweets, cut down on the carbohydrates and lose some weight. My friend does not know what exactly he can eat. I talked to him about some great websites that have great information on diabetes. He needs to attend a class locally that can give him a better insight as to the size of the portions and what he can and can not eat.

He goes back in a month to see his doctor to see what kind of progress he has made. His doctor has not prescribed any prescriptions yet. I thought this odd since his blood sugar was 276. I guess his doctor is trying to see if diet and exercise will help Coleman first and prevent having to take medications.

I know Coleman had been unusually tired lately. I thought it was his fibromyalgia acting up. I am glad he did go to his doctor. He is going to be going through an adjustment period. He is still in the state of shock. Stop by his blog and give him a word of encouragement.