Please allow me to introduce myself....

[Toxic Glutension]

Thank you Manasota, 

I haven't been doing too bad head wise till a few days ago. The Black Dog (Another one of Churchill's, his name for his depression) really has got me at the moment. It's like standing against the flow of a fast river. If it wasn't for my collection of singing potatoes I think I would have gone quite mad by now!

[manasota]

See.  You haven't lost your ability to think creatively nor your sense of humor!  But...it is completely OK if you do!  You don't need to feel pressured to "perform" for us.  We will support you and like you even if you become cranky and depressed!  On this site, you only need to be yourself.  Totally, and honestly yourself.  Warts and all.  You don't have to be "funny" for us--even though we all have commented on how much we appreciate it when you are.  We all are allowed "down days"--even you.

If you read enough on this site, you will find posts revealing "weaknesses" of all sorts by most of us.  We are all only human.

[Toxic Glutension]

I am generally a lot funnier in my less toxic state of being. So not performing so much as just trying to keep  bit of me out of the pit. But I do feel a bit lighter now at the bedtime end of the day, and in the morning it will be 8 days left. I'm definitely a rollercoaster of emotions right now. The only one I am free of right now is the irritations. Probably as am too busy getting scared and stressed about my blood results on Friday. Not helpful to get that way about what hasn't arrived yet, but as you say. Only human :-)

[squirmingitch]

Mansota has great advice.

And you're still a funny guy. Gotta love the laughter. It's my personal "best medicine in the world".

BUT, if you feel like throwing a pity party -- we'll be guests! There's probably not a single one of us who hasn't thrown at least one.

8 days & counting DOWN.

[Toxic Glutension]

I love the idea of a pity party. With Cold Play albums on a continuous loop, and a coffin in the corner full of doughnuts, pies and pastries where the buffet table should have been!

[squirmingitch]

Better doughnuts, pies & pastries in the coffin than our own bodies right?

AND there are gluten free versions of ALL those things; I guarantee it! You will be amazed at how much they taste like the gluten versions.

[bartfull]

I'm chiming in late here but I just wanted to mention pets as the ultimate mood booster. If you don't have one, maybe you could visit a friend who does. Or better yet, find the nearest shelter and either volunteer or at least visit and pet the kitties or doggies for a while.

Last night I was hurting and couldn't get comfortable because I threw my back out. Grunting and groaning as I tried to get situated in bed. My precious kitty came up and put his head on my pillow, inches from my face and just stared at me. It was as if he was saying, "It's OK Mom, I'll watch over you." The swelling of love in my heart ALMOST wiped out the pain in my back.

[Toxic Glutension]

3 hours ago, bartfull said:

I'm chiming in late here but I just wanted to mention pets as the ultimate mood booster. If you don't have one, maybe you could visit a friend who does. Or better yet, find the nearest shelter and either volunteer or at least visit and pet the kitties or doggies for a while.

Last night I was hurting and couldn't get comfortable because I threw my back out. Grunting and groaning as I tried to get situated in bed. My precious kitty came up and put his head on my pillow, inches from my face and just stared at me. It was as if he was saying, "It's OK Mom, I'll watch over you." The swelling of love in my heart ALMOST wiped out the pain in my back.

Ouch! Now DO NOT feel guilty as I completely understand where you are coming from. On the 29th December just gone I had to have the second of my 2 lovely little dogs put to sleep. My little Archie was also a star when I was feeling down, and would always show up for a cuddle when I needed one most. I had his sister Bezzle, until last August too. They were both over 14 so had a good life, but i miss them terribly. To raw to think about other animals right now, but I completely agree with you :-)

[manasota]

Ian,

NO wonder you're having a tough time right now!  Yikes!  That's a LOT to deal with in LESS than 6 months!  See.  You really need to give yourself a break.  Only a robot wouldn't be having difficulty with all this stuff.  And who wants to be a robot?!  (I know.  Sometimes I wish I were a robot too.)  Seriously, I think you're doing an admirable job of coping!  Pat yourself on the back.  Now.

And give my best to your "collection of singing potatoes".

 

[squirmingitch]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} to you both. Barty for your back -- ouch! And Ian for your loss. 

[bartfull]

Ian, I lost my best friend, a beautiful female kitty who had sat in the front seat of my car for 1900 miles with me when I moved from Connecticut to South Dakota. After 16 years she up and died and there was no way I wanted another one, at least not right away. But three weeks to the day after I buried her, this happened:

(If you click on the "Uh-Oh!" you can read the whole thread.)

I will always miss my little girl, but the best medicine for a broken heart is love, and the "new guy" and his love don't diminish what I felt for her one bit. On the contrary, I know that Grommit is in Heaven looking down and being happy for me that I have someone new to take care of me.

(((((HUGS))))) to you.

 

 

[manasota]

Bartfull, I know your post was not meant for me; but I just had to tell you.  Reading your posts always makes me feel SO good!  You have a real knack for demonstrating your open, loving heart.  You've quite a gift.

[bartfull]

Wow, thank you Manasota. I must say though, that if I seem like a loving person it is because I have mellowed with age, and I have mellowed with the gluten-free diet. If you had met me before the diet you would have thought I was one of the grumpiest people ever, because I WAS!

[Toxic Glutension]

10 hours ago, bartfull said:

Wow, thank you Manasota. I must say though, that if I seem like a loving person it is because I have mellowed with age, and I have mellowed with the gluten-free diet. If you had met me before the diet you would have thought I was one of the grumpiest people ever, because I WAS!

Good morning Bartfull,

I hope last night was easier for you, and if not i hope Patches was on duty with you. A lovely story, sounds like you were definitely adopted.

Manasota, really I do miss my dogs all the time at the moment, but they were both over 14 and always had great countryside lives, so I knew it was coming. Unfortunately, this came at the end of an awful 2 years. I have lost my Mum, a grandmother,  become astranged from my only sibling. My partner, who is a Mother, has suffered a loss that no mother should ever have to go through, and I have been becoming more and more ill. With all this I think you will be able to understand why I haven't had the time to look after my health, as me and my girl were also working 6 days a week. So, as we do I stupidly put my health on the back burner. Things have to start going back up soon don't they. Naturally, with this run of events I am finding myself very scared about going to get my results from my blood tests. I keep thinking if I get told "Sorry you have celiacs disease, but other than that you are clear of other problems" I shall be shouting for joy on the rooftops.

[Toxic Glutension]

Hmm! Sometimes I think I say too much! lol.

I have to wonder squirmingitch if the gluten-free products are better on your side of the water. Here I can't say I am impressed by what I have tried.

[squirmingitch]

34 minutes ago, Toxic Glutension said:

Hmm! Sometimes I think I say too much! lol.

I have to wonder squirmingitch if the gluten-free products are better on your side of the water. Here I can't say I am impressed by what I have tried.

It takes a while to find them. At first I was saying, "UGH! ICK! Who can eat this stuff????!" to everything I tried. You keep finding & trying different things & you run upon 1 here & 1 there that tastes like you remember. After a while you build a repertoire of replacement foods. I also found a fabulous cookbook with recipes for bread, dinner rolls, buns, biscuits, etc...

Honestly though, I found that I really can't hack the taste of processed foods anymore so am happiest just eating whole foods. Your mileage may vary. My hubs eats Cheetos & and I can NOT understand how he can eat those gosh awful things! I used to eat them pre gluten free & wonder what the heck about them ever appealed to me. 

[cyclinglady]

4 hours ago, Toxic Glutension said:

Hmm! Sometimes I think I say too much! lol.

I have to wonder squirmingitch if the gluten-free products are better on your side of the water. Here I can't say I am impressed by what I have tried.

Adding my two cents!  Nope, gluten-free products are not any better in the U.S. vs. EU/GB.  They are about the same -- most are junk!  But, I think it is more charming and palatable to eat a gluten-free cookie in the Cotswolds!  Just saying...

[manasota]

4 hours ago, Toxic Glutension said:

Hmm! Sometimes I think I say too much! lol.

I have to wonder squirmingitch if the gluten-free products are better on your side of the water. Here I can't say I am impressed by what I have tried.

Nope.  Rest easy.  You never have to see any of us and we'll never see you!  Ha!  Feel free to unburden yourself!  (Really sorry about all the stuff you're dealing with.)  That's the beauty of this site. ;-)

4 hours ago, squirmingitch said:

It takes a while to find them. At first I was saying, "UGH! ICK! Who can eat this stuff????!" to everything I tried. You keep finding & trying different things & you run upon 1 here & 1 there that tastes like you remember. After a while you build a repertoire of replacement foods. I also found a fabulous cookbook with recipes for bread, dinner rolls, buns, biscuits, etc...

Honestly though, I found that I really can't hack the taste of processed foods anymore so am happiest just eating whole foods. Your mileage may vary. My hubs eats Cheetos & and I can NOT understand how he can eat those gosh awful things! I used to eat them pre gluten free & wonder what the heck about them ever appealed to me. 

Yes!  One of the unexpected benefits of Celiac, for me, is a brand new appreciation for whole foods.  Can't much stand processed foods anymore.  I have lots of great memories of all the junk I used to eat; but no real desire to eat any of it anymore.  I miss the memories more than the junk itself.  Mostly, I can't believe I lived on all that junk.  Just reading the ingredient list of all the stuff they put in them can make me sick!  HA!

Would you mind sharing the name of your "fabulous cookbook"?  My baking has been limited to almond flour; but I am looking to expand with a good gluten free flour mix (know of one?) and a new cookbook.

Isn't it marvelous that no matter how bad the diagnosis, there will be positives if you REALLY look for them.  At least that's been my experience. ;-)

[Gemini]

1 hour ago, cyclinglady said:

Adding my two cents!  Nope, gluten-free products are not any better in the U.S. vs. EU/GB.  They are about the same -- most are junk!  But, I think it is more charming and palatable to eat a gluten-free cookie in the Cotswolds!  Just saying...

I would have to disagree with this statement.  At least in the UK, the gluten-free bread is much better and fresher.....you can buy it unfrozen and fresh, right in the bread isle.  A few examples......

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Both of these bread companies made bread that was far superior to what we currently have in the US.  Some of the US bread is not bad but the wraps from Newburn Bakehouse and the rolls and bread from the Just company had me asking  the management of where we ate whether or not the bread was really gluten free. Nothing wrong with passing some processed foods through your gut, in moderate amounts.  It has never killed anyone.

[cristiana]

Gemini - I remember you saying this before about the bread in the UK.  One really good brand is Marks and Spencers whole grain I think it is called - my fussy-eater family members can't tell the difference.     The other tip someone told me when I was missing 'normal' bread was gluten-free bread somehow tastes much better toasted.   I think they are right.

[Gemini]

5 minutes ago, cristiana said:

Gemini - I remember you saying this before about the bread in the UK.  One really good brand is Marks and Spencers whole grain I think it is called - my fussy-eater family members can't tell the difference.     The other tip someone told me when I was missing 'normal' bread was gluten-free bread somehow tastes much better toasted.   I think they are right.

Thanks for the tip, christiana!  I had no idea Marks and Spencer had gluten-free bread. I will say that the breads I referenced in my post taste really good, whether they are toasted or not, which is quite amazing.  The wraps from Newburn Bakehouse were so soft and delicious, I got nervous eating them.  The wraps here in the States are crap....they split when you actually wrap the sandwich so what good are they? 

Starbucks in UK offer up gluten free sandwich wraps in their stores and the wraps used are from the Newburn Bakehouse.  They are made elsewhere, not in the store and I have never gotten sick at all from eating them.  I am sensitive too and felt just fine.  You know how nice it was to buy a sandwich with my latte that tasted this good and didn't make me sick?  SWEET! 

[cristiana]

Yup... and good old Costa Coffee sell gluten free wraps too, I always seem to be buying their last one though.   I feel a bit guilty taking the last one!  It seems to me they should be selling more of them.

[squirmingitch]

5 hours ago, manasota said:

Would you mind sharing the name of your "fabulous cookbook"?  My baking has been limited to almond flour; but I am looking to expand with a good gluten free flour mix (know of one?) and a new cookbook.

The cookbook is "How Can It Be Gluten Free" Vol. 1. It's by America's Test Kitchen & they nailed it!!!! They now have Vol. 2 out but I have not gotten it yet. I understand Vol. 2 has a lot of recipes for those intolerant to dairy. Below is a link to their basic flour blend recipe plus their recipes for buttermilk waffles, biscuits & chocolate chip cookies from Vol. 1. 

Open Original Shared Link

[Gemini]

1 hour ago, cristiana said:

Yup... and good old Costa Coffee sell gluten free wraps too, I always seem to be buying their last one though.   I feel a bit guilty taking the last one!  It seems to me they should be selling more of them.

Love Costa coffee!  I had no idea that they sold wraps also.  I also love Nero's and they sell gluten-free sandwiches on the Just brand of rolls.......very, very good!

The liability laws are different here in the States so coffee houses generally only sell a gluten-free brownie, if you are lucky. We should adopt the same laws as Britain.  It is far too easy to sue here and that takes away choice.  We also only have 1 Nero's here in Boston and I hope more open.  I like Starbuck's but would like more choice. You guys have 3 major coffee houses...love that and they are all good!

[manasota]

16 minutes ago, squirmingitch said:

The cookbook is "How Can It Be Gluten Free" Vol. 1. It's by America's Test Kitchen & they nailed it!!!! They now have Vol. 2 out but I have not gotten it yet. I understand Vol. 2 has a lot of recipes for those intolerant to dairy. Below is a link to their basic flour blend recipe plus their recipes for buttermilk waffles, biscuits & chocolate chip cookies from Vol. 1. 

Open Original Shared Link

Yes, I have heard others praise this cookbook; but I was reluctant to believe them.  But I believe YOU!!  I'm ordering it tomorrow.  Yea!  Thanks!!

Ian, we haven't forgotten about you!  One week to go!  Now you can count down every day by saying. "This is the LAST Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.!"  Seven days!  You can make it 7 days!