Sometimes victory lies in just washing your hair

I have been SO SICK this week.  Baaad stomach flu.  Maybe the much-discussed norovirus?  I haven't been to the doctor, so can't say for sure.  I'm finally starting to feel on the mend today, and even managed to (miracle of miracles!) take a bath and put on actual clothes.

It always surprises me how miserable it is to be truly ill -- like I just don't really remember one time to the next.  I feel like I've never been this sick in my life, but I'm pretty sure that can't be the case.  And then it always impresses upon me a feeling of great respect for people who suffer great illness for an extended period or are undergoing chemotherapy -- not just a few days of suffering but weeks and weeks of relentless misery, with perhaps an outcome uncertain.  Even at my most miserable this week, I thought I might need to go the hospital if I got much more dehydrated, but I never worried I would actually die.  Sobering reflections.

Meanwhile the rest of life keeps rolling along.  A package I'd ordered last week arrived, and I had to prop myself up vertical for long enough to go out on the porch and retrieve it.  I keep feeding my cat every morning as usual.  She in turn has been a little confused by the change in routine, but has proven to be a very good companion for snuggling on the couch and watching (or sleeping through) endless movies.

It started snowing this afternoon, and I've been watching it fall out the window as evening falls.  In the twilight the fresh snow looks almost blue.  The cat is looking out the window too, who knows at what.

I'm glad to be feeling better.

Diet eliminated!

So I faithfully followed the elimination diet for the first two weeks of January, and then (not very scientifically or systematically, but somewhat gradually) added things back into my diet.  And the only conclusion that I reached is that while it made me feel very weird to eat basically cabbage and potatoes for two weeks, it didn't seem to fix anything.  And adding other foods back in doesn't seem to have done any harm or triggered any noticeable reactions.

Not sure what to make of that.  I felt remarkably crappy while I was doing the detox thing, which makes it seem like it must have been having an effect.  And overall I think that I do feel better when I'm avoiding preservatives and processed food, and mostly cook fresh foods from scratch, but that's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?

I made some really kick-ass chocolate chip cookies last week, using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour and quick oats, chopped uber-dark chocolate, cashews, and sprinkled with a little sea salt.  Chewy and delicious and good for the soul.

Is it (fail)safe?

I've been doing this elimination diet, the FAILSAFE diet (silly acronym) to kick off the new year, excluding various food chemicals and additives.  And so far I've felt ... terrible!  Which is weird because basically I've been eating really, really healthy.  So it might be caffeine withdrawal (I had a cup of tea this afternoon just to see if that makes a difference), or it might be that I coincidentally caught the flu at the same time.  Or it might be that my body is "detoxing" in which case I guess that's a good thing?

I also cheated this afternoon and had marinara sauce.  I know, living dangerously!  Apparently tomatoes are high in salicylicates, which is one of the major things this diet eliminates.  I think of tomatoes as being a great natural health food, so it's weird to avoid them (along with a lot of other things, like broccoli and salmon), while sugar and wheat flour and milk are all on the OK list.

The late late late late show

I'm working overnight this week and next week.  Unsurprisingly, it's dead quiet.  Turns out not too many people have legal research questions at 4 o'clock in the morning.  I also got a call tonight from a guy wanting to change his airline reservation, and one from a bunch of drunkish gentlemen from parts unknown who seemed to be delighted to be speaking English with me.

I've been thinking about travel plans.  I have a week off in November, which I may use to go to Montana, but it occurred to me that Montana in November isn't always the pleasantest, so perhaps I should explore other options?  Also talked with my mother about maybe going somewhere for her birthday.

For several years now I've wanted to go spend a week or two at a language school in South America.  Possibly Chile, because I am a huge fan of Pablo Neruda and would like to retrace some of his footsteps.  Or maybe Peru, because Machu Picchu.

There are a whole bunch of Northern Hemisphere places I'd like to visit, but ideally not in November.  Other southern hemisphere options?  Australia!  Man, I'd love to go back to Australia.  New South Wales is on my list of Favorite Places.  Also some of its residents are on my list of Favorite People.

Sparkly with a chance of cornbread

Food elimination diet so far has produced no reliable effect, with respect to the visual snow or anything else for that matter.  So that's the update, in case you were wondering.

I have been playing around with a kickass recipe for gluten-free, minimal dairy cornbread, adapted from here:

1 c. gluten-free flour blend / rice flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. maple sugar (or regular sugar)
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. almond milk / rice milk / soy milk / regular milk
Optional:
1 c. chopped veggies (I like bell pepper and zucchini) or berries (raspberries!)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet ingredients in another.  If adding veggies or berries, add those to the wet first.  Then combine wet and dry ingredients.  Spread in 8" square pan, or drop by spoonful into muffin cups.  Bake approx. 15 minutes.

I usually make a batch or double batch of these on the weekend and stash them in the freezer to reheat in the toaster oven during the week.  Also, I don't measure my chopped vegetables, just eyeball and toss 'em in.  But I think it comes out to about a cup or a little more.

Sight, food, mystery

If you didn't already know, I have psychedelic* vision.  Visual snow is the best description I've found.  There are some pretty good illustrations here, although a lot of these also include depictions of floaters and the blue-field entoptic phenomenon, both of which have a clear physiological explanation.  There's no great explanation for visual snow, and no treatment.

It's often labeled / diagnosed as a form of ocular migraine or migraine aura.  But since it's a persistent condition that generally has no relationship to other migraine symptoms, and isn't generally responsive to migraine medication, I think the diagnostic label ends up being more for the physician's peace of mind than anything else

All of this is really background information, because what I really want to talk about is food.

In my latest effort to combat the visual snow, I went to a naturopath to get tested for food sensitivities.  After two MRIs, a CT scan, an electroencephalogram, and multiple ophthalmological exams, it's pretty clear that there's no structural or electrical abnormality in my brain or my eyes that would be causing this.  I've also tried chiropracty and acupuncture, with no effect.

I like food.  I like to eat, and I like to cook.  I think nutrition is interesting.  I try to eat sustainably raised and minimally processed food, although I'd been pretty lazy about it in the past year.  And I know that there are a ton of people out there who have eliminated something from their diet (gluten, eggs, soy, whatever) with life-changing effect.  So I was pretty stoked to get my results back this week.

It turns out, based on the lab results, that I do have one strong food sensitivity: red beans.

Red beans?

I also showed a moderate sensitivity to yeast (and pinto beans and cashews), and a mild sensitivity to a laundry list of other stuff, including gluten and dairy.

So I've eliminated sugar, yeast (from things like bread and wine), dairy, and gluten, along with the other odds and ends.  At the end of the week, I'm not feeling particularly better or worse.  But I'm hoping it's not a coincidence that the last several mornings, I've had the unusual and amazing experience of, well, waking up.

I woke up at 7 o'clock this morning.  I didn't have to drag my ass out of bed.  I felt snoozy, but in a pleasant way, not in a leaden, foggy way.

The vision, however, remains crazy.

* I would never have guessed that this is how you spell psychedelic.  Thanks, spell-check.

Conversations with My Cat: More Dinner Please

Norma:  Excuse me?  Ahem, excuse me?

Me:  Yes, I see you sitting there by your bowl.  The answer is no.

Norma:  I don't think you understand.  The bowl is empty.  There is no food in this bowl.

Me:  Right.  You ate it all.

Norma:  And now I would like some more food please.  Meow.

Me: I'm not giving you any more food tonight.

Norma:  But, meow.

Me:  Remember how I said I thought you were getting fat?  And then my mom came over and said she thought you were getting fat?  And then my brother and sister-in-law came over and said that you're getting fat?

Norma:  That's irrelevant.  The point is, I'm hungry.

Me:  I'm sorry about that.  I shouldn't have been feeding you so much.  But it's the New Year, and we're cutting back.

Norma:  ... We?

Me:  And by we, I mean you.

Norma:  So, food?

Me:  No more food tonight.  Sorry, kitty.  It's for your health.  I wish you could understand.

Norma:  Ok.  Well, if I pee on your face while you're sleeping tonight, I hope you understand.