Her 101 Food Things

My experience with food allergies and food intolerance issues began long before I was aware of the fact that my body chemistry didn't allow for the consumption of, well, let's just say, most of the canned or processed items readily available on the shelf at the local market.

Random symptoms would pop up time and again.  Over the years, I've been treated for severe anemia, vitamin deficiencies, skin rashes, irritable bowel syndrome, incontinence issues politely speaking, migraines, eczema, stomach acid issues, GIRD, and sore joints.  I've been tested for cancer, Chron's disease and more.

I was involved in a car accident in 2006 and the practitioner asked me how long I had lived with food allergies.  I told her I didn't have any allergies except to nickel.  She sent me off for tests, and the results showed an amazing array of issues.  The accident recovery was minor compared to adjusting to the introduction of the You Can Not Eat This Without Getting Sick list of foods.  

My food restrictions include garlic, gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, ginger, walnuts, and pecans.  For my best health, it is a necessity to strictly avoid these ingredients in my diet.  

I don't know about you, but I am not keen about drawing extra attention to my self when traveling or dining out. Eating Out with food intolerance or allergies requires diligence and extra attention. 

The server, the chef, and the people who are gracious enough to have us over for dinner must make an extra effort to prepare and plate food that I can eat, or I will get sick. 

As my daughter often says, Get over it or get sick over it.  Well said, grasshopper.  She also says I'm putting my health in some one else's hands when dining out.  She was born a wise soul who also lives with multiple food allergies.  She teaches me to stay aware.

The great thing about being a newlywed is that both Paul and I are open minded to one another's quirks and idiosyncrasies.  However, I was still reluctant to introduce to Paul the amount of stuff I wanted to pack along on a journey across the states.  

I started light for our first trip. His eyes were still bigger than saucers when he realized all of the stuff that I staged for loading into the Subaru Outback for our trip out West.

We began our one month trek from the Atlantic Ocean to Utah and back with two medium sized hard coolers, three lunch sized soft coolers, and two paper grocery bags full of stuff.  Essential travel food.  Did you know that bacon qualifies as essential? 

We'd agreed to eat one hot meal out a day on the way out.  I assumed that it would be fairly easy to find either a sushi place or a place that would serve an unadulterated steak and baked potato to eat our lunch or dinner.   

There are many stretches along the homogenized highways of America where the only foods available are served in franchised restaurants.  The food is fully prepared off site.  Most food is preseasoned, gluten filled, soy-extended, garlic infused, fried in soybean oil or some other unfriendly blend of deep fat that is filled with cross contaminants.   

Even with the advent of Google search, it was harder than I expected to find safe restaurants.  My criteria for safe means the chef has the option to prepare something off to the side in it's own pan or tray in the broiler or oven. My standard order was normally a plain baked potato and a steak with no seasoning added. Just over half the time I'd call the meal a success. Two out of five meals on the way out west, I got sick.  Those aren't great odds. It was quite a relief when we stopped to stay with family and friends to make use of a kitchen to prepare a meal I could safely enjoy.   

I didn't want to risk getting sick on the way journey back east, so we spent a day in my Mom's kitchen preparing food to freeze for the trip. Two days into the trip we stayed with other dear friends who offered use of a huge kitchen.  We prepared the food that would sustain us for the last half of the trip east.

In my mind, while traveling, I try to put my self into what I call chuck wagon mode.  Bring it with you, fix it yourself, and keep moving on.  I'd rather spend time shopping for and cooking the food I can eat, than spend time recovering from reactions to foods that don't agree with me.  

I feel utterly blessed to be married to a man who has the patience to live this alternative food lifestyle.  It's even better when he smiles and enjoys the home cooked meal.  

So who does the dishes?  Who pours the next glass of wine..... 

  

Listing a Home

  We met with the real estate agent earlier this week and that has adjusted our plans.  We thought the nanny suite that is rented out would be a plus.  However, the agent thinks it would be better to clean out the furniture, refinish the floor, and call it a game room.

  The agent had done a market analysis prior to seeing us and based on what he could find in the area and all the work Kelly has done over the last five years, the agent gave us an estimate higher than we were expecting.  Now we are debating what price to list at.  If we go with the high end of the estimate it might result in a bit more money in the bank, but it could take longer to sell.  However, if we list at our initial price, it may sell much quicker and allow us to go to New Mexico sooner.

  The agent also emphasized that the first two weeks are really key to a quick sale, so our thought of downsizing while listing the property has changed.  Instead we will work for the next week or so downsizing and if we feel that we've accomplished enough, we will try taking a military Space-A flight to Sigonella, Italy.  

  Yes, there will still be work to do, but we can't do much with the nanny suite until the renter moves out.  That doesn't happen until mid-March.  So, instead of sitting and waiting we will reward our efforts with a trip.  Kelly has a friend stationed at Sigonella and there are fairly frequent flights from Norfolk.  Now that the Christmas/New Year season is over, most of the Space-A flights have shown available seats.  I've also been seeing occasional flights from Sigonella to Norfolk.  If that doesn't work we may boat/train to Naples, which has three or four flights a week.

The Many Options of Downsizing

   What does downsizing actually mean?  For many it is just a matter of simplifying the existing living situation.  But others have taken it to the extreme, in my opinion.  A few years ago I read a book by Tammy Strobel.  The book documents her journey from living in a large apartment, to a smaller apartment, and then into a home built on a trailer.  Smaller than many people's storage shed.

   I don't want to go that far.  Here are the options I see:
1)  Sell or give away everything, nothing remains except the clothes we want to wear.
2)  Keep some things that mean something to one of us.  (Still no home.)
3)  Make the effort to identify items we will need when we are in one home.
4)  Sell the big ticket items and put everything else in storage.
5)  Sell what we can and keep what we don't give away, but do buy a place to live and setup a home.

Option 1:  This option gives us the freedom to travel and not have to worry about a house being left empty and if the money from the sale is invested wisely we can use the interest earnings to cover our rentals.  However, it means we need to be lean enough to bring all we keep in one car.

Option 2:  This is more practical, but requires us to find some storage.  We would be paying storage unit fees, but that would be less than maintaining a home.  We could travel as we like, and use our travels to find our eventual new home location.

Option 3:  This would probably take a bit longer as we would need to put more thought into what we keep and get rid of.  However, it would make it less expensive to setup home, when we eventually get to that point.  It would also necessitate a larger storage unit.

Option 4:  Yet a larger storage unit and it puts off deciding whether to keep something or not.  Not an option I like, because we would end up paying to store things we probably don't need or want.

Option 5:  This gives a place to move everything to, but we need to know where we want to live.  Kelly has only visited New Mexico for a week and half that time she was sick.  So, she doesn't know if she could live there or not.  We are also both interested in looking at Northern CA or Oregon.  Why buy a place before we know where we want to be.

   The kicker with any of these options is, what do we do with the pets while we travel?  If we are driving we can bring them with, but if it is a flight to Europe or Latin America, I would only bring the pets if we knew we were going for three months or longer.

 

When is Less really Less?

Downsizing is hard work.  Don't believe me?  Ask Paul.  Or maybe it's the blogging.  When I think of the reasons to begin blogging the downsizing process, focus and accountability immediately come to mind.  Many of our friends asked if we were documenting the process.  Initially I thought, oh No.  Not one more thing to do!

Then again, on reflection, it might be a good idea to have to report back to some imagined Headquarters on the progress of the day.

Today is Sunday.  Ten weeks ago Paul and I married.  Today we took a long walk around the river front.  It was a good walk.  He ate an apple while I noshed on a gluten free soy free dairy free and if I dream hard enough calorie free enjoy life chocolate bar.  We had memories to share and dreams to weave.  Delighted with our four mile journey, he took to the easy chair.  I decided to take the bull by the handlebars and get on with this downsizing effort.

I went to the kitchen.  I opened the cupboard doors.  Four words came to mind.  Less, Less, Less, Less.  How much salt can one kitchen really need?  

 Yes, this is 3/4 of a shelf in a cupboard which holds Kosher Salt, Hawaiian Sea Salt, Smoked Salt, Red Lava Salt, Austrian Salt from Halstatt salt mines, Celtic Grey Sea Salts, Trader Joes Table Salt.  Well, you get the picture.    To be fair, the doc had advised that to keep me from hypotension something or other I needed salt each morning.  This may be the one time I chose to be a compliant patient.  Salt.

 I can't begin to imagine how to downsize a cabinet of booze.  Begin with bourbon normally on hand for baking brownies.  Let's make more brownies.  The last time Paul and I made brownies with bourbon the oven door blew open as a fireball escaped to the heavens.  Life is exciting when you get married.  And then bake together for the first time.

Tonight we made scallops and shrimp with tequila and lime in the sauce.  Paul inhales a snort of the tequila vapors, and announces his approval.  I give him a full report on the price and the qualities of this tequila versus the other three bottles in the rack.

Less, less, less, less.  Who will want an accounting of downsizing a cabinet of scotch, whisky, bourbon, wine, and two bottles of virgin pressed olive oil straight from Greece?

Perhaps we should start with something more sanguine.  The ever necessary, ever present, ever more annoying than matching socks for a family of six, the scariest storage area in the house, dah - dah - dah - the storage container cupboard.

 To be fair.  When I was still working, I packed breakfast and lunch, and I had meals ready to go in the freezer.  To be honest, I threw out more food than I want to admit because labels fell off, or I forgot about the food, or the seasons changed and I wanted no more thawed out beef stew in the summer, I wanted fresh fish or burgers on the grill instead.   Shhhhhh.  I have two more of these cupboards filled with empty storage containers downstairs.

There is also a camping trunk of similar containers in the shed.  Less, Less, Less, Less.

 Paul, I think you've found the answer.   Like the old commercial said, I'd rather switch, than fight.  I think I will join you and rest.

On Food - His list is shorter

Paul is reading aloud an article online that details the food banned in other countries, food that is still available for consumption in the United States.  And I sigh.  I am reminded of all of the food I can not eat and wonder who makes these decisions to allow us to buy and eat until proven toxic?

When Paul and I first began our correspondence with one another, I had no idea that we'd eventually log over 6000 minutes of phone conversation before we ever met.  Part of our discussions included an introduction to my list of safe foods and how I try and manage food issues while dining out.  We talked a great deal about our plans to travel together stateside and overseas.

As newlyweds, we put about 7000 miles behind us traveling by Subaru from Virginia to Maine, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.   Not a bad start.  We've been traveling just over half of the time we've been married.


It's just as easy as it sounds.  Load up the car, travel across America, and stop at a restaurant to eat.  The server will take the list of foods we can't eat back to the chef, the chef will take all possible care to prepare and plate the food, and we'll have a symptom free journey.

Sort of.

Paul has a few food intolerances of his own.   He was gracious enough to agree to eating, in general, from the same list of foods that I can eat.   When we dine out, I encourage him to live a little.   It's simpler for him when he orders from the menu, as he can state 'hold the bell peppers' and enjoy what is served.

The trouble is, the menu isn't always clear.  For example, Paul ordered Teriyaki Steak and Seafood with vegetables.  The presentation of the food was beautiful, and the mixed vegetables were broccoli, with vibrant red, yellow, and green peppers.  It looked, and smelled, delicious.

Bell peppers of any color, paprika, and most curries don't agree with Paul.  Fortunately, he can move the offending items to the side without any cross contamination.   I love bell peppers.  The soy sauce is on my restricted list, so there they sat on the side of his plate, daring me to take just one bite.  I didn't.  I wanted to.

An Inspiration and The Room That Must Not be Entered

  Thanks to Kelly's daughter Ava, one bedroom looks like this.  Ava recently moved to a new apartment and was able to take the California King.  Now we have one room to inspire us.
  However, next to this bedroom is another which is known as the Room That Must NOT be Entered.  It is locked, the key is not in the door.  The room is full of many boxes that will eventually need to be opened.
  Part of me is glad that we are starting on Kelly's home.  It is far easier to tell someone else to get rid of something.  I don't have the history.  I don't know what piece of furniture was given by a friend or relative, what may have special memories or what can never be replaced because it just isn't made any longer.
  I wonder what will happen when we get to New Mexico and Kelly thinks we can sell this piece of furniture or that piece of artwork.  I do have all the memories of where we bought things or which ones were gifts.  After my first wife died, I gave away things to the people I thought would appreciate them.  Many were things that had associations for Laura, but not for me.  How different will it be when it is an item that has memories for me, but not for Kelly.

Downsizing! Here we Go!

Ah, downsizing.  I don't think a day went by these last ten years, when I hadn't yearned for a lot less stuff and more time to be away from the house to enjoy what's "out there."

During those ten years, there were teenagers who grew up and moved out, then an empty nest, followed by the challenges of breast cancer surgery recovery.

Now there is post op pain that lingers far longer than I would have ever imagined, which limits my physical activity.  Thus the yard rake, the motorcycle, the power tools, and many more items need new owners.

On leaving the house:

The joys of home ownership are many; there is a great deal of freedom in changing the paint or the landscaping or the plants in the garden as the seasons change.

There is a certain pride in selecting the architectural shingles for the install of a new roof, or admiring the new sliding glass doors I framed in on each side of the sun room.  These are the things I will miss.

On pursuing this crazy concept:

My dream of being out from under the privileges and responsibilities of a Big House (2400 sq ft plus 2-story shed and big yard) chatters like a constant niggling that likely stems from a desire to get on with the enjoyment of life with less stuff.

 How to spend less time anchored to yet another house project, repair, upgrade, and any other major undertaking on those few precious days off of work?

Enter Paul Richard, who is a brave and adventurous soul.  We fell in love before we met, and now we are embarking on this downsizing adventure as a husband and wife team.

What better motivation to get this done!  Will the knowledge that we can soon be on the road to one of many travel destinations spur us on?

It is with a mixture of relief and some anxiety that this process gets underway.   So what is the best approach to downsizing?  Fast and furious?  Pass belongings of worth on to family and friends?  Put things in storage?  Sell the big ticket items as is or fix'em up first?

Slow and steady, I remind myself.

Tomorrow we will take photographs to document Phase One of our downsizing for the things in Virginia.

Insane thought of the day

I am hopeful that Phase Two, which will be for downsizing the things in New Mexico, will also be on the calendar for 2015.

Creating a New Life and a New Blog

In November 2014 Kelly and Paul got married. Before we ever knew each other, we both had been considering downsizing our homes and moving. Kelly and I corresponded by email and phone, met, and got married, yes in that order. Now we have twice the stuff to downsize. We have two homes, three cars, two motorcycles, abundant kitchen dishes, glasses, and appliances. We are also book lovers and have libraries to downsize. We are now at Kelly's home and working to downsize and sell her home. We hope to document the process and also discuss books and travel. Kelly has many food intolerences, so she will write about her challenges to alter recipes and finding restaurants that will work with her.