Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Sane Travel and a Most Perfect Fruit

Gorgeous lychee fruits
So here I am, with my new computer cord (Thank you Apple! My computer is waaay out of warranty, but they didn't skip a beat in getting a manager to comp the cord, a $70 gift...) and therefore the ability to write, but.....well, I am sort of out of the habit. That's sort of how I feel about Intro now too. I have lost the thread. Oh, I am eating totally GAPS, and avoiding things like the bread, nuts and fruit. But I somehow don't feel connected to the process, and I certainly don't feel as connected to the group. I enjoyed the break from so much computer time, but I can see it left me something of a "vox clamantis in deserto" ("the voice of one crying in the wilderness").

I suppose I will just summarize what's been going on this last week. And try to tease whatever messages are there out for me, for us.

Miss Blondina and I journeyed to Seattle last Thursday morning, both to the the Broadway musical Mary Poppins (fabulous!) and to our friends' home, where the daughter was hosting my girlie and her cousin for a birthday sleepover celebration. I packed enough cooked food for the journey--chicken soup, a country pate, cheese and yoghurt (Blondie's), ginger tea--and the makings for a lavish meal to share with our friends. We feasted on braised grass-fed roast, asparagus, acorn squash and a cucumber salad, and everyone but me had my home-canned apricots for dessert. The duck eggs that I brought were for breakfast (asparagus omelets!), and there was plenty for my drive home.

In fact, it was such a successful trip food-wise that it made me wonder why I would ever eat out. I never got sick or developed a migraine, despite many hours spent at a mall looking for jeans (why does no one make attractive jeans for a curvy woman who is not a teenager? I left without the jeans.) Normally, a migraine would almost be a given after countless hours in stores that are too loud, too bright and filled with noxious scents (intentional, like candles and "air fresheners",  and others like shoe glues and other chemicals in the products). Even though I drove home much later than I had intended, and ate my dinner waiting for the ferry, I ended up at home in pretty good shape.

There was a time, when The Bosun was actively racing his sailing pram, that we traveled to regattas with a Crock-Pot plugged into an inverter in the car. We would arrive at our hotel with dinner ready, needing only a salad. We could eat well, even without a kitchen, using a cooler and the slow cooker. This last trip makes me want to re-institute that set-up, or at least to invest in some more great stainless steel thermal bottles, as the two I have were in constant use with the soup and ginger tea.

Weekends are always busy, but we spent the last one getting ready for the arrivals of two of our kids. The Scientist, our oldest daughter, drove across the country in record time, dog and four-year old in tow, showing up Sunday night to a warm, but short, welcome--everyone was exhausted and soon settled down, knowing we have two months to visit. Yesterday, we picked the Writer up at the big airport (yes, that means we have driven to Seattle a crazy amount of times this week, as the Captain has gone twice to drive his parents to and from the airport). Sigh. Now we can rest for a bit. Except that it's The Professional's birthday this weekend. And the Juan de Fuca Festival. And....

Lucky for me, my kids are all superb cooks. That will make this busy summer easier, what with all of the comings and goings of our nine kids (and two grandkids), who will all visit at some point over the next few months. The Writer took dinner in hand tonight--without my asking!--turning out an absolutely amazing pot of oxtails that looked like they were made of burnished mahogany. Add in some pureed cauliflower and a salad, and of course our huge family, and we had a lovely evening. We topped it off with a bag of fresh lychees that the Writer picked in Coconut Grove, near my parents' home, and presented to us along with a bag of mangoes.

Thanks to Baden's insightful post from the other day, I happily partook of the lychees, willing the guilt to sit in the corner. Lychees are one of those amazing ephemeral fruits that don't travel well, are never sold in stores, and are limited to a very short season. The flavor is perfumy, almost floral, and there is a ritual to the peeling and eating that keeps it all in balance. Instead of gorging on a huge amount of fruit, I sat and savored the experience, so rare and special it is. And it seems to have worked--I have no headache or heartburn, despite eating fruit before its formal introduction (this is the second such lapse, and the first did not go well, so I am indeed surprised).

Perhaps cultivating not only balance, but also finding gratitude and pleasure in our moments of "cheating" or making exceptions or whatever you want to call it, perhaps that is what makes the difference. Perhaps our attitude about the treat can predict the outcome. I know that if I feel guilty or stressed, or like I am succumbing to a craving, then I end up feeling poorly in the end. Whether that's from the cheat food or from my emotional state, I may never be really clear. Still, the lychees were a treat I embraced and so far my body seems to be embracing the treat! Not a statistically meaningful experiment, but maybe a tiny bit of insight to add into the mix.

I hope you have had a lovely week while I was away from my computer! Did you have any great insights you would like to share in the comments? They are always welcome and do help other people, so please do join the conversation....

5 comments:

Sue Fowler said...

As always, really enjoy reading your posts and getting a little "taste" of your world. My sister lived in Sequim for many years and just lived visiting her and exploring the peninsula and my dad gre up in P.A! Just love the area and really miss it!
I am S L OW L Y coming out of the dredges of major toxic overload from Intro. Actually ended up in ER because my digestive tract literally shut down! I was very very sick and lost 12 lbs (not a good thing as I didn't have anything to lose to begin with - now at 98 lbs). BUT the good news in all this yech is that it made it very CLEAR to me that I have extremely high levels of yeast and bacterial overgrowth, something I have suspected for years but could never get confirmed w any testing as to the levels of overgrowth. (I have battled extreme stomach / digestive issues all my life)
I was eating a very limited diet for year but would have little binges of vegan scones and organic dark chocolate!! Still the main foods I eliminated that I ate daily, and that prompted this massive die off were just sweet potatoes and fruit!! I ate sweet potatoes daily as they were always something I could eat that didn't prompt stomach pain...but little did I know what the nasty critters they were feeding in my gut!!!
I feel mow I have a DEFINATE focus in my path to healing and after YEARS (I'm 50 this summer) of going doctor to doctor and SO many different food plans, I know what I need to do to heal. I cannot tolerate any sweets, even a bite of winter squash sets my stomach off! I'm still on a little bit of fruit to slow down the detox symptoms. I'll wean off that very slowly. I'm mainly eating just turkey broths and turkey bone stock, the turkey meat and some steamed blended veggies. That's all I seem to tolerate for now. Thank goodness the fatty broth always satisfies.
QUITE the experience needless to say and staying positive, feeling like i'm finally on the path to healing. Know it will be slow and long but fully committed to it as I know deep down it's the only path that will bring deep inner
healing.
Your blog is one of the only ones I continue reading as it's so upbeat and mainly, I love how you are so connected to the whole process of foods...hunting, gathering, preparing and then eating! It gives me hope and I look forward to the day when I can start adding in more foods! You've given me great ideas for future reference! Thank you!
Blessings,
Sue

Anonymous said...

As always, really enjoy reading your posts and getting a little "taste" of your world. My sister lived in Sequim for many years and just lived visiting her and exploring the peninsula and my dad gre up in P.A! Just love the area and really miss it!
I am S L OW L Y coming out of the dredges of major toxic overload from Intro. Actually ended up in ER because my digestive tract literally shut down! I was very very sick and lost 12 lbs (not a good thing as I didn't have anything to lose to begin with - now at 98 lbs). BUT the good news in all this yech is that it made it very CLEAR to me that I have extremely high levels of yeast and bacterial overgrowth, something I have suspected for years but could never get confirmed w any testing as to the levels of overgrowth. (I have battled extreme stomach / digestive issues all my life)
I was eating a very limited diet for year but would have little binges of vegan scones and organic dark chocolate!! Still the main foods I eliminated that I ate daily, and that prompted this massive die off were just sweet potatoes and fruit!! I ate sweet potatoes daily as they were always something I could eat that didn't prompt stomach pain...but little did I know what the nasty critters they were feeding in my gut!!!
I feel mow I have a DEFINATE focus in my path to healing and after YEARS (I'm 50 this summer) of going doctor to doctor and SO many different food plans, I know what I need to do to heal. I cannot tolerate any sweets, even a bite of winter squash sets my stomach off! I'm still on a little bit of fruit to slow down the detox symptoms. I'll wean off that very slowly. I'm mainly eating just turkey broths and turkey bone stock, the turkey meat and some steamed blended veggies. That's all I seem to tolerate for now. Thank goodness the fatty broth always satisfies.
QUITE the experience needless to say and staying positive, feeling like i'm finally on the path to healing. Know it will be slow and long but fully committed to it as I know deep down it's the only path that will bring deep inner
healing.
Your blog is one of the only ones I continue reading as it's so upbeat and mainly, I love how you are so connected to the whole process of foods...hunting, gathering, preparing and then eating! It gives me hope and I look forward to the day when I can start adding in more foods! You've given me great ideas for future reference! Thank you!
Blessings,
Sue

Baden said...

Hee! Justine, I can barely express the excitement and joy and relief I feel with you being 'back'!

Loved this post. Am amazed to learn you are a grandmother! Excited to read about your family's happenings as well as about the fruit emotions.

I have good jeans and since we're twins I'll try to remember to send you their details when I'm next not wearing them :)

Justine Raphael said...

Wow Sue! You have been a real healing warrior! I would say I am sorry for the challenges you have endured, but I now think that they are an integral part of healing. You must be so thrilled that things are shifting from all of your hard work. You will regain the weight as everything normalizes--GAPS is amazing that way. Are you doing the detox baths? and any of the other coping techniques? It's a lot to be handling, but you have a wonderful approach! Keep at it, and keep checking in and sharing your progress...

Best,
Justine

Sue Fowler said...

Hi! Thanks for the encouragement!! I need it! And yes, I am doing the detox baths every other day and they seem to help. Also am chronically constipated so have to the he "lovely" enemas every over day. Otherwise I am just making sure I ge fresh air daily (will just sit next to an open window if I don't have energy to go out, which is most of the time lately!) and make sure I do some kind of light exercise like my rebounder, light weights, push ups, etc. There are days where I feel high emotion during his cleansing time, just weeeeeepy... Crying over somethin silly or days of deep sadness, discouragement and sometimes hopelessness. BUT I have a deep strong faith and believe that my Father God has a plan in all of this and is shaping me to become all He created to be! I am learning a lot and pressing in deep to not let any of this experience be wasted!! Also surrendering my wants and desires to Him and seeking His ultimate purpose in my life! So I am GOOD!! And I look forward with GREAT EXPECTATION to full healing!!
Btw I apologize for the spellings errors..typing this on my little iPhone keyboard!! : )

 
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