Tori’s Writing Hole

It’s here! Over 70 degrees… seems balmy. Still a bit of snow in spots that are shady, but hey… two days ago we were covered in the crusty, dirty piles. I can’t wait until it’s warmer for just a bit longer - I want to take Julia to the parks around here so that she can really enjoy the outdoors. Last year, she was just a little bit too young to really love the playground. This year she’s old enough for slides that are steamy hot from the sun (well, that’s if they still have metal slides these days), pieces of pine bark embedded in her palms, all the fun of kid stuff.

I still remember sitting on the swings when I was little, braver then than I would be in later years. I wanted to swing high, hands gripping the rusted chains, feet increasing the depth of the worn path under the swinging rubber seat. I’d pump and pump, but shorter and less athletic than my friends, I’d never make it quite as high. Then recess would be over, and I could still feel metal filings in my palms, smell iron on my fingertips as I sat in class after, wishing I could be outside daydreaming.

I don’t think that sort of experience ever changes… I bet Julia will have it and my mom did too. Just like the searing slide, the rusted and loose monkey bars, and the merry-go-round that had lost its coat of red paint, leaving ragged strips and rings around the nail heads. Gravel that gets stuck in your knees, but doesn’t break the skin, wet grass that makes your pants into wicks - bringing dew up to your ankles. Spring means all of that… more real than the flowers in any spring painting.

Technorati Tags: spring, weather, sun, playground, swings

Sometimes, I wonder about myself. I am very, very impatient. So it stands to reason that I’d be annoyed by the fact that I’m not feeling 100% from my new gluten free diet - and that I’d want to give up on it. Not an easy task, eating without gluten - especially when foods that you think would be “safe” by their very nature aren’t. I mean, who thinks of the fact that white rice at a Chinese restaurant might be steamed in the same pots/baskets as wheat noodles? Most people don’t even have to consider how their food is cooked when eating out (and probably would prefer not to!) - I can’t take anything for granted.

The thing is, aside from better digestion and weight loss, I’m still not feeling all that better on the fatigue and pain front. I can get up more easily in the morning, but my energy’s flagging by 10. I’d love to have an experience of a day where I get up, am able to perform the daily tasks of an average human being, and not want a nap in the morning. Will this ever happen? Is gluten even a part of this?

I feel like some sort of medical anomaly that will never be figured out. To look at me, you’d be like, yeah, she’s overweight and limps a little - but nothing severe’s going on. If only you (collective you, ie, the world) knew

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Technorati Tags: gluten, impatient, fatigue, pain

Well, out of necessity, I’ve been forced to find new ways to eat. I love to eat (evidenced by my size and the inordinate amount of time I think/talk about food). I’m a frustrated chef/baker, really, along with the million other careers I’ve considered.

So far, I’ve found Asian cuisine to be the most friendly to my GF (gluten free) diet. Many of the dishes are based on rice, and few require breading or flour to “hold” foods together. I’ve created a few dishes on my own - ones that are probably as far from authentic as you can get - and last night I tried this recipe for begedil which is an Indonesian dish using potatoes, beef, cilantro and shallots. Yum, but mine did not come out looking like the pics.

So anyway, here’s my recipe for nice, GF curry. Yummy, and I recommend it.

Technorati Tags: gluten free, curry, cooking, recipe

Here’s mine:

Funny thing about my new camera phone - I can take pics everywhere. Including on my bed when Julia’s fallen asleep next to me. The sound of the annoying fake camera shutter didn’t even make her flinch. Such a sweetie. She’s talking more and more, holding entire conversations with her Nana on play telephones. She makes sure to tell her all about the Backyardigans and Wonder Pets.

Julia’s also started singing along with songs she knows very well - if we sing one line of a Wonder Pets song, she’ll go ahead and sing the next. In tune. Wow.

She’s counting to 20 (not constantly, of course, but she can do it) and she’s actually begun to request her bedtime music when we switch on her iPod. So far, she likes to ask for “Einstein” (Baby Einstein’s Classic Lullabyes) “Ba Baluga” (Raffi’s Baby Beluga) and “Ellen John” (Elton John’s Love Songs). Such an amazing transformation, from just a few weeks ago when music was a favorite but not nearly as important as it is now.

Aside from exploring the wonder that is my daughter, I’ve also been cooking more and more gluten free foods. I plan to put up some recipes ASAP. I’ve also been writing poetry like a madwoman, although most of it ends up erased under the delete key quite quickly. Taking the advice of a friend, I’m not immediately assuming the poems I’ve finished are “done”. I’ve put them in a special lockbox (ie, folder on my desktop) and will return to them in a few weeks for further revision.

Trying to write fiction, but I have come up with more ideas for non fiction books. Arrgh. If only there was more time in the day.

Technorati Tags: baby, angel, sleeping, music, daughter

My daughter’s got some mad skillz when it comes to mechanics. Here she is, standing in front of the screen door (with the glass down, it’s cold here!) and she appears to be surveying the front yard. I think, aw… she’s looking outside and just enjoying nature. Then, she runs up to me exclaiming “Awwww…. cuuute!”, and hands me a bolt-looking thingie. I quickly realize it’s the pin from the hydraulic arm to the door. That she’s removed.

I brought Julia back to the door and replaced the pin, then cleaned off all of the black lubricant grease that she’d gotten on herself. Mind you, she was doing this door surgery for less than a minute, I figure. I closed the door and she protested, loudly… I’d taken away her new favorite puzzle.

I didn’t think I’d have to worry about Julia taking apart household items for at least a few years more… but I guess she’s decided to be a handyman/mechanic at age 2. Scary.

Technorati Tags: toddler, door, mechanic, handyman