Three Good Things: 12-01-2006
Published Fri, Dec 1 2006 11:30 PM
Fire. "Sugar Free" Chocolate. Dogs.
It was "cold" out today. It was colder earlier this week, but even so, it was below freezing when I left work to come home. It was really nice to come home to a warm house with a fire in the fireplace. Now there's some anthropomorphic local warming!
Is the house warmer because of the greenhouse effect caused by the CO2 released by burning the logs? Or is it the liberation of chemical energy converted into infra-red radiation and increased molecular kinetic energy which is then conducted through the body of the wood stove and distributed throughout the house due to convection?
Whatever it is, it was about forty degrees warmer in the house than it was outside. Now that's a suburban heat island that I can really enjoy!
I'm a diabetic. That can be a real bummer at times, but I've got a lot easier life than diabetics of times past had. I don't know how I'd get along sometimes without chocolate.
Now chocolate by itself isn't bad for a diabetic. But chocolate by itself isn't something that would be very enjoyable to a great many people without some form of sweetening. I'm partial to dark semi-sweet chocolates myself, but the sugar that goes into sweetening chocolate does horrible things to me.
I really miss a good old Snickers bar or some M&Ms. Thank God someone discovered sugar alcohols. Sure, they eventually convert into sugar in the blood, but they do it a lot more slowly than starches or just plain sugar.
Atkins has a low-carb bar with nougat, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate that while it's not exactly a Snickers bar comes close. And WinCo (a local mega-grocery) carries bulk candies, including a sugar-free or low-carb line. One of my favorites from that line is the ones that are just like peanut M&Ms without the edible white inked "M"s.
Even people with metabolic diseases can take some pleasure now and then with sugar substitutes. Thank God and science!
Dogs are wonderful creatures. Especially dogs that appear to love you. Like my dog. We call her Snoopy, and there's a story behind her name, but that's not what makes her special.
She's a West Highland Terrier, but not exactly a "show-quality" dog. What she lacks in "show" she certainly makes up for in affection. Every night when I come home from work, she runs to the door to greet me and does a little dance until I pick her up.
She's not doing it for food, because she's well fed, and can eat just about anytime she wants. I believe she's genuinely happy to see me when I come home.
That makes me happy, and it makes here a special dog as far as I'm concerned.
Fire. "Sugar Free" Chocolate. Dogs.
Three more simple things that make my day better.
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