Friday, September 11, 2009

Stump Town

The first two real weeks after our move have been packed with all kinds of adventures. We started with hiking in the Columbia Gorge, Angel's Rest to be specific. Great little hike for those who are willing to go all up, then all down, for a fantastic view. After that my parents came to visit for a week (yep, we leave and they miss us =) ). They biked us all over P-town and Vancouver. Three days of riding putting in about 80 miles, which, for someone who doesn't bike, is pretty but about as far as one would enjoy in a week. My dad is amazing at planning bike routes. Much more ambitious than I would be on my own. By the time they left we were set up for commuting and excited to do more day trips on our own.
As soon as they left, other friends came to visit. This time we took the MAX into downtown and walked/wandered all over. Probably about five or six miles. In the rain. We'd best get used to that since most of life here is in the rain. That night we ate the best Thai food I've ever had. I love Thai! E-San's at 2nd and Pine nails it! We ordered four different dishes and none of us could decide which was our favorite. All so great!
Our next adventure has been quite different. Not of the wandering sort. We've been wanting to find out if we are allergic to any foods. Both of us suffer with various symptoms of possible food allergies: headaches, fatigue, etc. So, starting four days ago, we started a regiment of "safe foods" (aka ones we don't eat very much of and don't taste so great as some other foods). Been learning to cook lamb and have found that cold lamb with avocado lightly sprinkled with sea salt is excellent.
Unfortunately, part of this process means withdrawal from things we are addicted to. Caffeine, sugar, maybe wheat or dairy...all we haven't had in a four long days. We've been in bed with headaches and fatigue for the past few days. Ready to get moving on to better days. Supposedly tomorrow through Monday will keep getting better. After that we can start adding foods back into our diet. Until then I will keep craving a sugar free vanilla latte, Umpqua ice cream, french bread, thai food, noodles....(see list going on for a long time...)
The process of preparing for this has actually been very enlightening. We are learning just how many things have corn in them. Hopefully we won't be allergic to corn. Or wheat. That's almost as many foods. It's been a good jump start into whole foods, that's for sure. Go Micheal Pollen! We'll keep you updated as to the progress.

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