Rusla

I use almond breeze original flavor and have no problems with it and I am highly sensitive.

This is really hard, Lisa. So, #5, #6, #13, #21. Mainly because of the depth, colour, composition, and detail. I like #1 because I like deers just the contrast needs to be different. But your flowers and bugs are phenomenal.

There is an ointment that a doctor has to prescribe and you apply it to the affected part. Soon as I dig mine out I will send you the name. It manages to alleviate the pain for awhile. I use it on my instep and my ankles.

Go to the health food store and pick up sublingual B-12. You hold it under your tongue and it tastes good and disolves into your blood stream immediately. I take it everyday and don't have to take shots because of it.

I had and stil can get pernicious anemia and of course normal B-12 does not absorb with me. So, I had no intentions of taking B-12 shots every week for the rest of my life if I don't have to so because the sublingual goes directly into the blood stream, I don't have to have shots.

I am so sorry for your loss.

It takes different people different amounst of time to heal from their loss. Remember how he was not how you found him. Celebrate his life and remember he will not be in pain anymore. Remember the good things and rejoice in the memory of his love and it will be much easier for you.

Ignore this one it was the top one repeated.

My take on your doc is that he is of the old school of thinking and is an uneducated boob.

I guess it is okay to cheat if you want cancer, pain, etc. Some of these doctors need to be whacked upside their heads with a hammer.

The pictures were a treat (gluten free of course). White tailed deer and snow simply don't exist where I live in Southern California. Thank you for sharing them.

I have no problem sharing our snow with you Phyllis, would you like some? It just won't quit here in Calgary.

I have to concur on rice steamers. I love mine because I don't have to watch it and worry if I am preoccupied with other things. I always mix brown basmati rice and wild rice together. With white rice I will add spices and onions and with just onions in it is called rice pilaf. Now I have a hankering for some rice.

Great Bambi pictures, Lisa!

No, Bambi is not yummy. Why does everyone want to eat cute animals; wolves, people, bears all want to eat them...Bambi's don't look at all of those creatures and think "boy do they look tasty." They look and think, "oh no they all want me for dinner."

I am reminded of an old computer game where the deer gets revenge by hunting rednecks and drinking their beer. Yay Bambi!

What we have here is nothing compared to BC and to vastly much smaller cities than this one. You should see the stuff and restaurants in Victoria. BC is who I am jealous of, so jealous I intend to get my act together and devise a way to move there.

Hey Babe - You only go around once. Pack up the felines and go. It's a world away from me but I understand it is incredibly beautiful.

It reminds me or a cooler in temperature of Jamaica also. I am so sad today I was actually crying as I looked out my window at the snow, brown grass underneath, bleak sky and leafless trees. If I can land an apartment and job there I am so much history here. It will take some months though. I bought newspapers to look through which I am digging out of my suitcase.

This may be long, sorry but I am so excited.

As many of you may know I recently went to Victoria BC for a Conference to do with my other job, Epicure Selections. For any of you who do not know what they are they are a wonderful selections of all natural spice mixes, chef quality kitchen utensils and now soaps and cleaning products. Why I I got involved with them was because all except for two of the spice dip/mixtures were gluten/wheat free, excellent quality, cost, all natural, and not harmful to animals, people and the environment. Unfortunately they are not in the US yet but hopefully soon.

Anyway, I have no idea why I am living in Calgary now. I went to Victoria where the grass is green, flowers growing and blooming and cherry trees in bloom everywhere. The people are friendly and will help you find anything you want or need to. 2boys4me sent me an excellent list of restaurants that were gluten free friendly.

I happened to find some places on my own that were and believe me for a City of 300,000 a mere fraction of Calgary's population I had no problems. Most of my breakfasts and lunches were at the Convention centre who bent over backwards for me, the only Celiac there of 400 people. They prepared special meals and a special chocolate cheesecake on a thin slab of killer good chocolate for me that, melted in your mouth and was to die for. One morning on our wandering around Victoria we came upon a restaurant on the list called Cup of Joe and it was a small,friendly unique restaurant where graffiti on the walls was encouraged. The menu was named mostly for movies, movie stars, and musicians.

I had the "In the Garden of Good and Evil" omelette which had feta cheese, spinach, roasted garlic and mushrooms. Usually it came with fried potatoes and toast but we excluded them because the fries are done on the grill and toast is a given exclusion. That omelette was huge and delicious, if I would have had the fries I couldn't have ate them all, it cost me around $10.00 with a pop and tax. My friend had the "Chuck Berry Pancakes ladden with black berries and whipped cream, the small order, and she could not finish them. She said they were the best pancakes she had ever eaten. Her meal with a umpteen cups of coffee was about $7.

There was a small restaurant pub that was next door to my hotel and there were things on their menu that I could eat and they made sure to keep them away from bread and flour. Along with our hotel was also gluten-free friendly but it was far too expensive for my tastes.

The air in Victoria is so much better for me and I don't care about the rain because in a place where I can see green grass; flowers bloom, fresh fruit growing practically all year yes, also palm trees, and the ocean it wouldn't matter. The good thing is that I would no longer have asthma attacks, snow to shovel and my arthritis hurt a lot less, plus the availability of so many gluten-free foods. I am looking into what it would take for me to move there and get a job.

Victoria is one of the oldest cities in North America and people are willing to help you out and they even stop at the crosswalks to let you cross the street.No horn beeping or finger salutes along with obscene remarks. Their rush hour daytime traffic is like driving around on Xmas day in Calgary. I think we saw one jerk driver speeding, I figured he must have come from Calgary. Why I have lived here I do not know but I am looking to move to Victoria and if not least BC. Victoria is full of old architecture and being a person in love with old buildings and nature I was in my glory.

I almost missed the highlight of my trip. We went to "Fisherman's Wharf" there were many floating houses, some up for sale and very beautfiful but there at the pier lives some wild seals. There is a fish and chip place there and a fresh fish market there. At the market you can buy fish that is not good for human consumption that you can feed to the seals. Not only does that cute and adorable seal know the bowl but it watches who is buying fish to feed her. She will jump up and take it gently out of your hand. She is so sweet and most of the pictures I took were of her. They also said there is no flea problems on the island for other animals.

Vancouver Island which Victoria is on and is the capitol of BC is like dying and going to Valhalla. It so magical and creatively stimulating. I always have loved BC and have loved Vancouver and the Okanagan but I love Victoria even more. Also, as an island their gas has to be shipped in and they are only paying 10 cents more than we do in Calgary. Their rents are pretty on par with Calgary as are the housing prices and they have an ocena nearby, we don't.

If totally recommend visiting Victoria, I wished I could have stayed longer. I actually only wanted to come back for my cats.

If anyone wants to know more about Epicure Selections you can PM me or email me at the thespicygourment@telus.net

Wow! this is great Linda, thanks. I am staying at the Marriott.

Shirley, I will more than likely wish I was moving there. I am only going for 3 day to a conference. I will probably cry when I come back. If I win the lottery I am moving to BC. It is funny I was born and raised in Alberta but my heart belongs to BC, in Canada. It also belongs to a few Carribean countries too.

Okay you BC bunch. If you know of any good gluten-free restaurants in Victoria it would be appreciated if you can post the names for me. Also, has any one ate at the "The Joint" on Wharf street it is a pizza place that boasts of alternative pizza including wheat /gluten-free.

Thanks!

Well at least it was not 8:30 pm like they said it would be getting back.

Dessa, I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it is to lose a good friend. I lost one of 25 years, she was murdered and the guy got off. Whether a person is killed by a disease, a person or anything else it is okay to hate it for taking your friend as it is part of the grieving process.. When my friend died we rejoiced in her life and had a good old fashioned wake. That is what she wanted and that is what we did. It makes the process so much easier. Toast her life and celebrate it. We told stories, played her favorite music and laughed at all our fond memories of her.

Having a wake makes it so much easier to bear. During the ceremony we cried but after we had the wake. You may want to do that even if you have to do it alone.

I don't think you are going overboard, better safe than sorry. I don't know about the highlighting kits because when I was busy highlighting my hair I used normal hair dye and just did streaks, here and there. Cheaper that way.

Well, many of the tests come back with false negatives because they were not done right or you were not on enough gluten at the time, etc. Tests are not infallible.

First, she is not much of a friend. If it makes you feel better perhaps indulge yourself in a white lie for your health and sanity. Tell her you have to redo the tests because they discovered something was done wrong. Then wait a few weeks and tell her you had the test and this time it did come back positive. Then don't tell anyone again that it was negative just tell them you have the disease. Gluten intolerance is not a lot of difference than Celiac Disease and who cares whether you do or don't have it as long as YOU feel better without the gluten.

I have used Lorel Preference and Feria hair dyes since I was 16, none of them so far contain wheat. This means I have used these dyes for a few years more than dirt has been around.

I met up with Lisa and her mother today after Lisa's torture session. She was not in the best of shape and not feeling too punky after a week of gluten and then torture at the hospital. However, now they are on their way back to Saskatchewan if the bus has even left yet. It sounds like they are taking the grand tour back and will be visiting every farm, hamlet and deserted village along the route. They are supposedly arriving in Saskatchewan at 8:30 tomorrow evening.

Hopefully it won't happen like last time. They are hoping to return to Saskatchewan before next Christmas.

Lypsol is not gluten-free however. I use my own lip stuff that I make or vasiline.

That is usually a sign of B-12 deficiency. You need to be very careful as it gets worse meaning it is more often and painful. It will also result in your not remembering things and getting so fatigued that you can barely make it up a set of stairs. Mine became so bad that I was 2 points away from being paralyed and 4 points away from permanent brain damage. I still have problems remembering things after that. If you ever get as low as I did with B-12 you need to take B-12 either shots or sublingual for life. That is because your body loses something that you can never truly aborb B-12 and maintain without supplementation. I know when my B-12 is dropping as I get tingling and fatigued all over again.

I stayed at the Starfish Trelawney. They were awesome and all the lovely fresh fruit also.. Good luck.

Well the other way you could have convinced your brother Jerry, would have been to tell him that only Celiacs look young for their age, and are incredibly hot.