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ARCHIVES:
JANUARY 2004
01
30: FRIDAY
-- Yesterday finished off super swell.
I had done a design favor for a friend and she bought me a nice
meal last night. I had sea scallops and polenta. My most frequent
"fancy meal" complaint is one of two things: too rich
or too much garlic. No amount of toothbrushing can prevent waking
up in the middle of the night, tasting garlic (oh the nightmare!).
That meal was just perfect. On the dessert menu were two flourless
chocolate cakes! Imagine my luck! The one i got was cheesecake-ish
in looks and pretty dense. Yum. Now, if i can just find a flourless
krispy kreme doughnut...
When i got home, my crate+barrel booty was waiting patiently for
me. The bathroom has finished off nicely! Now, if my flonase shipment
would just come in, i'd be all set.
--
Here's what's weird about caller id. The other night i called a
friend long distance. i got a man's voice mail, realized i had the
wrong number and hung up. Last night, there's a message on my machine
from that person. Why on earth would you call someone back
that you don't even know, who didn't even leave a message? You,
sir, are a dork.
01
28: WEDNESDAY
-- Uh-oh. I may really kinda have to own this. I didn't mean to
find something that i have to have. it just happened on accident.
i swear.
 "Blood"
by Mark Ryden, a miniature
exhibition book. Includes details and drawings of paintings from
"Blood" exhibited at Earl McGrath Gallery. The book measures
2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Distressed leather-like embossed soft
cover. Smyth sewn binding, Ninety two pages. Limited printing of
20,000 books (This book will not be reprinted). Each book is individually
numbered. Also included, while they last, is a special miniature
bookmark
01
27: TUESDAY
-- Two weeks into my gluten free diet and there are a few foods
that i could easily abuse: chips/salsa, avocados, eggs, chicken.
There is no doubt that i need to learn to cook some new things.
I have mostly been thinking of baking some enchiladas....i'm seeing
shrimp...i'm seeing tomatillo sauce and some rice.
It's so easy to get into a food rut and forget about all the things
there are to make. That's why i like the food mags and the foodtv.
Mainly to keep me thinking of foods that i forget about. I haven't
really been looking at either of those, since my diet changed. Yesterday,
I opened my new COOKING
LIGHT to a giant picture of "Chocolate Chip Dutch Baby"...it
was a thick puffy pancake baked in a skillet. Man, that thing looked
yummy.....the name alone! How can you not want to eat a Dutch Baby?!?!?
GET IN MY BELLY BABY!!!!!!
The new EVERYDAY
FOOD has a flourless chocolate cake recipe. i'll no doubt be
trying that at some point
01
24: RAINY SATURDAY
-- I've got a full coat of that yellow-green color on my bathroom
walls (see 1-18 post). I like it! Unfortunately, the walls are textured,
which makes it a little more challenging to get good coverage. Once
its dry, i will go back in and see how much of a second coat it
needs. I bought a new towel and toilet paper bar today. Can't wait
to put those up, along with the other finishing touches.
I think we'll need to paint the back bathroom next. I have no ideas
for a color there.
01
21: WEDNESDAY
 Beveragy
Goodness
-- Snail surprised me with a delightful little specimen of fine
packaging the other night, known as Kombucha
Wonder Drink (pictured far right). Great colors, great font,
great frosty plastic coating on the glass bottle. The taste was
unique, tea-like, gingery, sparkling...not sweet. A little expensive
( wonder drinks don't come cheap, after all ) I would drink it
again, more for the look than the taste.
Today at lunch, I tried IZZE.
Sparkling Raspberry. Really refreshing and deliciuos. Slightly
sweet and not as pricey. I'm liking their t-shirts.
01
20: TUESDAY
-- GLUTEN-FREE DAY 9: The part that's hard to grasp for me is the
less obvious sources of gluten that i'm supposed to be watching
out for. Easy enough to spot a peice of bread or a dougnut when
its coming at you. But, wheat is used as an additive in all
kind of foods: salad dressings, sauces, seasonings
--- all things fairly easy to avoid at home, not so easy at a restaurant.
Even soy sauce's second ingredient after water is wheat. If you
look at a list
of these additives (with their own mysterious names) that a gluten-free
diet should steer totally clear of.......
Abyssinian Hard (Wheat triticum durum)
Alcohol (Spirits - Specific Types)
Barley Grass (can contain seeds)
Barley Hordeum vulgare
Barley Malt
Beer
Bleached Flour
Blue Cheese (made with bread)
Bran
Bread Flour
Brewer's Yeast
Brown Flour
Bulgur (Bulgar Wheat/Nuts)
Bulgur Wheat
Cereal Binding
Chilton
Club Wheat (Triticum aestivum subspecies compactum)
Coloring
Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Couscous
Dextrimaltose
Durum wheat (Triticum durum)
Edible Starch
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum)
Emmer (Triticum dicoccon)
Farina Graham
Filler
Food Starch
Fu (dried wheat gluten)
Germ Graham Flour
Granary Flour
Gravy Cubes4
Groats (barley, wheat)
Ground Spices4
Gum Base
Hard Wheat
Kamut (Pasta wheat)
Malt
Malt Extract
Malt Syrup
Malt Flavoring
Malt Vinegar
Miso4
Macha Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Matzo Semolina
Mustard Powder 4
Oriental Wheat (Triticum turanicum)
Pasta
Pearl Barley
Persian Wheat (Triticum carthlicum)
Poulard Wheat (Triticum turgidum)
Polish Wheat (Triticum polonicum)
Rice Malt (contains barley or Koji)
Rye
Seitan
Semolina
Semolina Triticum
Shot Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Shoyu (soy sauce)4 Small Spelt
Soba Noodles4
Soy Sauce
Spirits (Specific Types)
Spelt (Triticum spelta)
Sprouted Wheat or Barley
Stock Cubes4
Strong Flour
Suet in Packets
Tabbouleh
Teriyaki Sauce
Textured Vegetable Protein - TVP
Timopheevi Wheat (Triticum timopheevii)
Triticale X triticosecale
Udon (wheat noodles)
Vavilovi Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Vegetable Starch
Vitamins4
Wheat Triticum aestivum
Wheat Nuts
Wheat, Abyssinian Hard triticum durum
Wheat, Bulgur
Wheat Durum Triticum
Wheat Triticum Monococcum
Wheat Germ (oil)
Wheat Grass (can contain seeds)
Whole-Meal Flour
Wild Einkorn (Triticum boeotictim)
Wild Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides)
Yeah,
so....you see what i'm saying. It's probably best for me to not
look at this list, because i'll go insane and i don't want to become
an anal paranoid label-reading "special" person. I'm
just going to continue to do my best and talk to people that know
more than i do about it.
-- The bathroom is all prepped and ready for painting. Next step:
buy paint.
01
18: SUNDAY
-- I am going to paint the bathroom. The eggshell walls in our
house are wearing on me. I'm shooting for next weekend, since this
weekend is over. You should know that we haven't painted a single
wall in this house since we bought it. I figure i can handle the
bathroom myself, since there's no furniture to move or valuables
to protect.
Before i start, I just have to do some wall texturing on the area
where we replaced a light fixture (the new fixture has smaller
footprint). I bought the stuff today to do that with. I would like
to paint it a light lemon/green color. I couldn't find the color
i wanted at the home depot. The home depot swatch is either green
or yellow with not much in between. So, i guess i'll go toward
green. I'm going to purchase a medicine cabinet at target with
my chrsitmas booty gift card and a stripey rug and shower curtain
that i really like at crate
and barrel.
I hope that the power of posting will make me follow through.
01
15: THURSDAY
-- The hair cut went well. The shampooing part was aromatic and
relaxing. My only regret is that i didn't go sooner.
-- I stopped at the store on my way home when i realized that i
had nothing for lunch tomorrrow. I didn't want to stop but i didn't
have a choice. I got some cooked chicken off the salad bar, and
a package of rice crackers and whipped up some chicken salad when
i got home. My chicken salad has pecans, onion, mayo, celery. Its
tasty. ( the rice crackers are actually pretty
good. of course, in typical "health food" fashion there
was no such flavor as "regular." it was either tamari
seaweed, onion sesame, garlic, unsalted or cheddar. that's the
thing with health food stuff -- they have to go extra crazy, because
they need to appeal to ALL of the health nuts, not JUST the one
that you are.) I got the cheddar ones.
Today is Day 4, and its going well, but i keep thinking that this
is some random thing that I made up and that it's going to be over
soon. Reality will sink in soon enough. I am not used to constantly
thinking about what i'm going to eat next. I'm certain i will develop
more of a system with time.
-- I had a little gift waiting for me when i got home. Snail bought
me BLANKETS,
by Craig Thompson. I have no idea what its about, but i've heard
good things. The only other graphic novel i have read was one of
chris ware's, so i'm excited to have something new to look at and
read.
01
14: WEDNESDAY
-- I
am getting my hair cut tomorrow after work at a fancy place.
I generally get my hair done somewhere that's more punk than sorority.
Not that my hair has ever been punk, but if it WERE to go one way
or the other, i would rather it be punk. But those punk joints
tend to be a bit rough around the edges ( their music hurts my
ears ) and tomorrow, i just want to be treated like a fancy girl
in a place with no friction or angst. I think the most ideal scenario
would be a sorority 'atmosphere' with punk hairstylists. Then,
i can get all the indulgent surroundings and still leave with a
haircut that isn't the same as the girls on Friends.
I
remember going a fancy place about 4 years ago. It was a shabby
shic sorority joint and the soccer-mom lady hairstylist gave me
wispy bangs. The kind that thin out into almost nothing the closer
they get to your eyes. I hated them. And when i left, i thought
that i should have known that that kind of place would give me
those kind of horrible middle-of-the-road bangs. If you can't judge
the kind of hairstyle you will get by the style of the place, then
what can you do?
Hurray! i can't wait! They better offer me a soda.
01
11: SUNDAY
To All the Breads I've Loved Before.....
-- See ya, Crusty Ciabatta Bread with Olive Oil! ( honest,
friendly and true )
-- Farewell, Cream of Wheat! ( rich with beigey goodness...you
were always there for me )
-- Catch you next time, Convenience Store Powdered Mini-Donuts!
( meltly in my mouthy )
-- It's Been Fun, Pizza! ( sunday night food of champions )
-- Buh-Bye, Krispy Kreme! ( a childhood pal.... I sold dozens
of you to pay my way to Italy with the high school Latin club )
-- Take Care, Homemade Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting!
( sweet petite perfection )
-- Au Revoir, Work-Lunch Turkey Sub Sandwich! ( you've taken
much abuse and still remained desirable )
-- Stay Sweet, Einstein Chocolate Chip Bagel! ( though many
miles were between us, i never stopped thinking about you )
-- I Hate to See You Go, French Toast! ( remember the time
we ......? sigh )
-- Miss Ya, Chicken and Dumplings! ( the years have been good
to us )
-- Adios Amigos, Whole Foods Cranberry Walnut Muffins! ( I
should have called more often )
After
today, i'm making a big change in my diet. I am giving up bread
and all bread relations in hopes of making my stomach feel a lot
better. Based on some research i've done, it seems that going gluten-free
might help me. I will give this a try and in a couple of months,
i will (i think) be able to tell if it has made a difference. If
it has, then i will continue to give up gluten for the rest of
my life. If it hasn't helped then...we will go from there.
For the past few days, i have been enjoying some of my favorite
bread items as sort of a last hurrah. Its amazing all of the things
that i have enjoyed on the rare occasion and others that i have
counted on day to day. When i first thought about making this change,
it was a slow steady realization of all items i would miss. I mean,
it's not just about giving up bread but its about giving up all
of bread's friends, family members, distant cousins and the like:
tortillas, cookies, pasta, oatmeal, cream of wheat, bagels, cake,
sandwiches, canned soup (with gluten thickeners) and so on.
Tonight,
i eat a ceremonious Cinnabon to mark the tides of change.
01
07 : WEDNESDAY
Snail and Sleepy: A Chance Meeting in the Night
--> I am my best when i get a good night's sleep which usually
isn't a problem and when it IS a problem, it makes me frustrated
and a little bitter and kinda cranky. Last night I woke up at 4am
and I was baking alive. The heat had been turned up and I was getting
all congested and my mouth was dry and I couldn't sleep. I got
up and turned the heat down and got some water to drink but my
mouth was the kind of dry that a little water can't fix. I couldn't
go back to sleep at all and just laid there getting mad that i
was awake and no where near going back to sleep.
About 4:45ish, i was delighted to hear Snail get up and I called
out to him.
"Snail!"
I made sure to say it loud enough to be heard from behind my closed
door over the whirr of my air filter. He answered back. I can't
remember now what he said. Probably, "yeah." I continued
to lie there, waiting and waiting for him to stop by for a visit.
About 10 minutes later, I got up and went into the hallway and
saw that his door was pulled to. Without saying anything (in case
he was asleep), I pushed the door open and startled him as he sat
on the edge of his bed eating a bowl of cereal in the dark and
watching the news. This is his work week morning ritual. Something
that i have never witnessed. I felt as if i had snuck in on something
very special.
He was neither expecting nor happy to see me, at first. We have
an unspoken rule that if either of us are up in the wee hours and
see that the other one is up, there is no reason to speak or acknowledge
each other's existence. I like this rule a great deal. Partly because
its just not the time to be social and partly because there is
the chance of scaring the crap out of the other person such as
this perfect example.
I crawled into Snail's bed, while he continued eating his breakfast.
I asked him why he didn't come into my room and i guess he wasn't
really awake when i called his name. He thought he was hearing
things because why would i be up at that time.
About 6am, as he got ready for work, i got back in my bed for some
more tossing and turning and a little more sleep. It was a long
tired day at the office. But it was well worth catching a rare
glimpse of Snail, at an ungodly hour, starting his day.
01
04 : SUNDAY
-->
I am good and ready to go back to work. I've had some time off
this week, but i haven't done much. Lots of laying around with
the occasional errand excuse to get out of the house. I have enjoyed
the lazy time, however i regret not being able to paint. Saw STUCK
ON YOU last night. It was what you'd expect. Not bad. Not great.
THE CHRONICLE gave that movie the same number of stars as LOTR:ROTK.
Isn't that just unbelievable? sheesh.
The only news i have is that i'm going to a free seasonal allergy
clinic at the local fancy grocery store tuesday night. I was looking
again at the flyer and the guy speaking isn't even a medical doctor.
He has a doctorate in herbology. I am curious what he'll have to
say. Regardless, i will leave there with a story.
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