No note needed

I had to laugh when I saw the photo Curtis posted earlier. As he said, he didn't get a note from his wife first, but that's okay. I was very pleasantly surprised to find my bedroom colour changed from a dark tan colour to a cheery royal blue. I've always been partial to blues and greens anyways.

Well, aside from Isaac's continued drippy nose and occasional cough, and Curtis' continuing fatigue and occasional headaches, things are looking a bit better, health wise. On the work front, I've been getting a lot fewer shifts than I'm used to, although I've been told that is normal for this time of year. I pray it picks up soon. (Could you pray, too, please? ) I believe it will. Curtis continues to seek opportunities for his photographic skills, and has a couple of things lined up in the next couple of weeks, but would like more steady work.

Remembering an old picture

I've been sorting through some pictures on my computer today, and came across this one I took last summer when Bonnie and Isaac were in Penticton. I took it in the store where I bought the paint for our Master Bedroom that I was repainting as a surprise for Bonnie.



No, I obviously did not have a note from Bonnie!

Health challenges

Our family has succumbed to the cold (and possibly flu) bugs. I have been struggling with a sore throat and occasional cough for over a week now; Isaac started a couple of days ago, with a bit of fever at first, runny nose and cough; and now Curtis seems to be fighting a flu bug. At times like this, when I'm feeling mostly okay, it's hard to know whether to go to work or other places and risk passing it on. I've been trying to get lots of rest, and take vitamins and other things to fight off the illness, and, as I said, I feel mostly okay, energywise. Curtis, on the other hand, still struggles with fatigue on any given day, so illness just magnifies it, poor guy!

On a brighter note, Curtis and I spent yesterday evening at the Hudson Bay Lodge, taking photos of couples who had come to dine at one of the restaurants there. We had a good time, and photographed over 30 couples, I think. We did this last Valentine's day, too, but this year Curtis had his studio lights, which made things better. The restaurants provided each couple with a certificate for one free 4x6 photo, to be brought to us in the lobby. There Curtis would take some photos and then allow them to choose one, with the option of buying more if they wanted to. Some did. It's a good way to advertise, we think, and it also provided us with a night out together.

My gift for Valentine's this year actually came a couple of weeks early. Curtis surprised me one day with a beautiful silver and diamond cross on a fine chain. He had heard me comment how I missed the cross I used to wear on my favorite necklace, which had fallen off one day two or three years ago. (Try as I did, I wasn't able to find it, and I had purchased it on a trip to Scotland, so it had sentimental value.)One day while he was out doing errands, he bought the necklace on impulse. I thought Curtis' gift was very sweet, and extravagant. Isaac gave me a "Happy Valentine's Day" balloon and some chocolate (which he was hoping I'd share, and I did). Do I feel blessed? Oh, yes!

More of the Wisdom of Isaac

I think Isaac has said this before, but it bears repeating. The other day Isaac told Bonnie and me that, "as big as God is, that is how much I love you".

Then today at lunch, Isaac was praying before the meal and he thanked God for the food and for His creation and then said Amen. But before he started eating he said he forgot something, and proceeded to pray, "and thank you God for creating the people that make Lego".

Bonnie and I both smiled.

Speaking of Lego, last night after we watched Wall-E for the umpteenth time, I tried my hand at creating the titular character. Here's the results.







Isaac was quite happy with it when he woke up this morning. He's already made his own modifications to it (which I fully expected).

Soccer Classes

We've recently signed up Isaac for a few weeks of soccer classes. It's been fun to watch him develop new skills doing something he's not done too much of before.

A Call For Recipes

As some may know I've had health issues for the past couple of years, dealing with stomach cramps and fatigue. To make a long story short, I've recently started going to the local Naturopath here in Smithers. Last month I gave some blood for some allergy tests and the results I got last week were informative to say the least. Many of the things I've been eating over the last 1 1/2 years (since my last Abbotsford Naturopath appointment) I found out I'm significantly allergic to.

So now I'm trying to find recipes for the food that I can eat. Which leads me to this post. I'd like to list the major things I'm allergic to and then ask you for your help. If you have any recipes that use foods I can eat (mostly for baking items but not necessarily limited to them), please let me know. Thanks. Now on to the main items on the list:

Significantly Allergic To:

• Dairy: cheese, milk, butter, ice-cream, sherbet, sour cream, buttermilk etc.
• Beef
• Eggs (whites or yolks)
• Gluten (I can only have kamut, oats, barley, buckwheat, 100% rye at most once every 4 days, but apart from these, no gluten)
• Wheat
• Almonds
• Peanuts
  

Alternatives/Substitutes to the above list that I can have:

• Some of the dairy substitutes I'm able to have are: rice milk, coconut milk juice, So-Nice Soy Beverage)
• Some of the grain substitutes for wheat I'm able to have are: rice, rice flour, rice pasta, rice noodles, millet, amaranth, teff, quinoa, quinoa pasta.
  
• For Baking: rice flour with non-aluminum baking powder or baking soda added to it. Thickening Agents: potato flour, arrowroot
• Corn Products: corn flour, corn germ, cornmeal, corn tortillas, cornstarch, corn syrup, popcorn, corn pasta
  

This is not easy at all for me to deal with, so for those who've had to deal with these things, whatever advice you have as far as coping strategies, and of course, recipes, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

So how was your Christmas?

When we booked our flight a couple of months before Christmas, we certainly weren't expecting the Fraser Valley to have as much (or more?) snow than we'd be leaving behind in Smithers! I must admit, though, it was very, very beautiful! I am so thankful that our flight was not cancelled or delayed like so many hundreds or thousands of other peoples. My heart went out to them, especially those I saw in the Vancouver airport as we made our way to our luggage. They looked so forlorn! I'm thankful that my aunts and uncles made it safely, too.

I really enjoyed our time at Mom and Dad's over Christmas - eating, playing games, eating, doing puzzles, eating...I felt really bad for Curtis, though, since he couldn't eat a lot of the goodies that were around, not even the special ones I had made for him, as even they seemed to trouble his stomach. Poor guy!

Unfortunately we weren't able to get together with some of the friends we had hoped to see, because of the weather, but we did manage to see a few. So to those we did see - thanks so much for the memories! For those we didn't see, we're sorry we missed you, but maybe next trip?

I wish you all a very blessed New Year, and look forward to sharing emails, talks and visits with you, hopefully soon!