Let the Great Gluten Experiment Begin!

Here we go, friends and family.  I will be going off gluten for the next 3-6 weeks, starting tomorrow.  This, of course, means no more eating at anyone else’s house, because how could I possibly expect other people to keep up with what I can and can not eat?  I would be the most demanding dinner guest ever!

That sounds like a superpower no one would want.  Behold!  For Overly Demanding Dinner Guest is here.  I would fly in and announce, “I’m hungry.  Don’t you have any snacks besides crackers and cheese?  No, veggies and dip won’t do either.  Hummus is out.  No chips, except if they’re processed in a facility that doesn’t process gluten, but none of the brands here will work for me.  Well?  Why don’t you run out and buy me something, hmmm?  And what do you have for dessert, while you’re at it?  I could go for baked apples.”

Perhaps Overly Demanding Dinner Guest could also be called Really Great at Killing your Party Woman — or Friendship Breaker Upper, but only if you invite me over too often.

This is what I would look like, now in line drawing for your coloring ease.  Check out my hot boots:

Something’s Wrong with Me

Well, I got tested for Celiac, Anemia and Thyroid problems.  I’m all clear on all accounts.  But since then, I’ve been obsessing over food.  I mean even more so than usual.

I can’t stop thinking about chocolate, and how much I would like some.  Perhaps this is some kind of grief response to Memere’s death, where my body says, “it’s a time of stress, eat something with lots of sugar.”  Isn’t that what bodies do?  They gear up for the lean times.  So I’m thinking about chocolate.

And pie.  Sugar pie, blueberry pie, apple pie, banana creme.  It doesn’t matter.  I want some pie.  And ice cream.  Prefereably pie with ice cream, and a side of chocolate.

For months, all I’ve wanted is savory food.  And now I can’t stop thinking about dessert!  I tell you, I can barely even recognize the taste of chocolate so more, I haven’t had it in so long.  What would happen if I suddenly started eating chocolate creme pie and avocados and sour cream?  Migraine central.  So I think I’ll hold off on that and just look at pictures of dessert and drool a little.

Wacky Wedding, Part 10

I spent time in CT this weekend with my family.  My mom and her sister (Tante) have been dealing with the aftermath of Memere’s death, and consoling all Memere’s siblings and the like.  It’s hard work.  That’s why, I think, they were so excited about going fabric shopping with me on Sunday morning and having a meeting with the cousin who will be making my wedding dress.  They thought it would be a stress reliever.  Ha!  They thought wrong.

You may recall that I decided to make a dress out of bamboo fabric.  That was way back in November, and as of this weekend, I hadn’t bought the fabric yet.  So Mom, Tante and I trundled off to the nearest Joann Fabrics to see what they had in stock.

The answer: not much.  They cut back on their fabric section, so we were left to wander around four sad aisles of denim and costume satins.  After fifteen minutes of this, I made for the nearest Joann’s employee.

“Excuse me,” I tried to be polite, “do you carry any bamboo jersey?”

The employee in question was folding a length of quilter’s cotton.  “What?” she said, halting all activity and glaring at me.  She sounded dangerously like Gollum with a certain insolence in her voice.  It was as if she couldn’t believe her ears.  Someone was asking for something that didn’t compute in her brain, and she made sure I knew it.

“Bamboo jersey?” I asked, this time unsure.  Let me clarify something: It’s not that unusual of a fabric — sporting goods stores carry lots of items made out of bamboo jersey.  Target has sheets made out of it, for pete’s sake.  And to top it off, I had seen it at my local Joann Fabrics store in Massachusetts not two months prior.

She scoffed, perhaps in disgust.  “No,” she said, and dismissed me by resuming folding her fabric.  Maybe she thought I was the one being insolent, daring to ask for a newfangled fabric.

Sheesh!  We went to two other stores before giving up and calling it a day.  I almost bought some sheets from Target, but in the end, decided that the quality might not be good enough for a dress, and ordered fabric online.  So much for a relaxing day.

Follow my progress as I chronicle the weird things that happen around this wedding with the Wacky Wedding series: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9

Flickr

How do they choose who gets on the front page of Flickr?  Does it change every time someone loads it?

I like to use Flickr to make me think of warm things and summertime.  It certainly perks up my day.  Here are some neat pictures that I can’t post, but I can link to:

Stripey Socks

Summer landscape

Sunflower!

Can you tell I’m craving warmth and sunshine?

Happy Blogaversary to me! A Year in Pictures

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Thank you for reading with me for the past year!