Under a Red Roof

Shake It Up

October 29, 2008 in Eating, Learning by Colleen | 2 comments

I went to my naturopath yesterday and got some rather exciting and disconcerting news. For those who know me, you probably are well acquainted with my tender tummy woes. I get sick pretty easily. The problem was trying to figure out exactly what was making it happen. It was like my body was always changing its mind. One day I’d get sick from wheat, but the next time I had it, I’d be fine. So I tended just to get sick a lot and suffer through the frustration of wondering why. Was it the wheat, oil, corn, oatmeal, potatoes, dairy?

Finally, I got a really good doctor (Petra Caruso), after trying out what seemed like a million. She prescribed the anti-inflammation diet for eight weeks without adequate results, so our next step was to have blood tests done for some definitive answers. As it turns out, surprise, surprise, I have food sensitivities, A LOT of them, and not to anything that my doctor previously expected, well, except dairy. So, for at least the next three months to a year, I will be eliminating anything that came up high on the test:

Dairy, except for goat milk. Um, no thanks.

Eggs

Peanuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds

Lima beans

Flax seeds

Green Peppers (apparently my body only likes ripe ones)

Garlic (I know, weird and hard to get around)

The rest I have to rotate, because almost everything I eat gets my antibodies atwitter, and I do mean everything. The only foods that registered a zero were cocoa beans(!), raspberries, strawberries, apples, and apricots. Basically, with the rotation, if I eat it today, I cannot eat it again for another three days. The idea being that my body, with the help of some supplements, will heal itself, and one fine day I will be a normal person who doesn’t vomit all the time or have to think about every bite of food that enters her mouth.

I am also hoping that a side effect to all of this will be some weight loss. Though Amber and Becky will probably protest at this, I would like to look like Kelly Ripa (with my head) in the current issue of Shape magazine. She is my height and body type, so I think it is do-able. The scale at the community center currently has me at 122 pounds. That means I’ve got about ten pounds before I hit Ripaville. Why is it always ten?

As I went to sleep last night, I got to wondering, is this good luck, bad lucK? Because looking at all those results sure got my heart beating quickety-quick, and this rotation will be a pain in the arse – am I on day one or two? However, in the long run, I think it is good. I finally have solid answers and a greater understanding of this marvelous machine I call home. In time, and with proper care, she’ll be running like the oh-so-gorgeous 1969 Super Sport Camaro pictured above. Hear me roar!

Little Friends

October 13, 2008 in Giving, Learning, Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

When I was younger, I looked on in wild wonder at a certain breed of older ladies. While they looked normal – well groomed, no nervous tics to speak of – they had habits that set them apart from the crowd – kooky habits. Despite saying, “I will never ever be one of them,” I’ve somehow, over the past couple of years, turned into one and am now likely the focus of some other young person’s mocking. Though there are many facets to my kookiness, here is the most glaring example of my transformation: I feed animals.

To be fair, Gregory started it! Oh, listen to me, blaming it on him. Seriously, he did though. We were at the coast a few years ago and he saw some hummingbirds darting around a feeder. I was so tickled at his excitement, “Buddy, did you see that one? How about that one? They’re so neat!”, that I bought him a feeder. Placed just outside our kitchen window, we’ve had many a tiny visitor.

Then there were the Bushtits, literally the cutest birds, and aside from the hummingbird, the smallest in North America. They twitter around in flocks, and despite their rather drab color, they bring so much cheer, bobbing and darting through the trees. Anyway, I kept seeing them in our yard, and then I saw them en masse at a suet feeder at my neighbor’s house and, well, you can see the giant snowball forming, can’t you?

So, we started with one suet feeder outside the bedroom window, and got lots of traffic from the Bushtits, as well as Warblers, Flickers, Jays, Starlings, Chickadees, and Juncos. As you can imagine, I got excited about all these birds, and thought, well, wouldn’t it be neat if we could watch them in the dining room, too? Feeder count: three.

Then I noticed all the house finches on the wire and wondered why they weren’t gobbling up the goodies at the suet feeders. As I later learned, at the Backyard Bird Shop, they’re not big on suet, but boy do they love sunflower seeds. Feeder count: four. Additional birds: House Finches, Purple Finches, Song Sparrows, Pine Siskins, Golden Crowned Sparrows, Gold Finches, and Lesser Gold Finches.

At this point, I could see the kooky transformation happening in a big way, yet, rather than stop right there, I asked Laura (yeah, I’m on a first name basis with the bird shop manager) what kind of birds eat at the flat feeders they have in the shop. Well, gentle readers, a whole new crop that wasn’t visiting before, and since I had already crossed the threshold there was no going back. Feeder count: five. Additional birds: Black Headed Gros Beak and Evening Grosbeak, plus a Hawk (not sure what kind) that came to munch on these fellas (he missed – this time).

But, you may remember, I said animals. I feed animals. Well, as those in my situation already know, feeders don’t just attract birds, but squirrels, too. They are tenacious, I might add. So, as the package of squirrel food says, “Don’t fight ’em, feed ’em!” Feeder count: six. Kooky lady transformation: done and done!

Connected

September 15, 2008 in Learning by Colleen | 1 comment

This past week, I had the honor of serving my community as a juror. It’s kind of a funny thing, both nerve wracking and fascinating. Tough on the nerves because there are so many unknowns. Will I actually serve on a trial? Is it going to be a creepy one? How long will it last?

Fascinating because of the people involved and the judicial process. Our jury of six was composed of men and women (three of each) from vastly different occupations and backgrounds – a writer, machinist, software engineer, construction manager, administrative assistant, and a scientist. I learned a lot about the manufacture of airplane engines, selling tin cans, and windows.

As for the process, there are a lot of rules – a lot. The most important, for me, anyway, was how jurors are not allowed to discuss the case until all the evidence is presented. So, even though the only connection we had was the trial, we couldn’t talk about it – kind of funny. Next, the attorneys and judge keep very strict control over what the jury hears, and if there was a chance that forthcoming information was off limits, we were sent to the jury room. Also very interesting is that every time we returned, the court would rise. Some other interesting facts: Witnesses can’t just read from notes (it has to be from memory); the prosecutor can present a rebuttal to the defense’s closing arguments, but not vice-versa; and questions must be asked in a particular order. Break one of the rules and the judge (who, amazingly remembers them all) turns into something akin to a referee in the NFL. “Improper order of questions, five yard penalty.”

Quite thankfully, what struck me most was the deep reverence the judge, attorneys, clerks, and my fellow jurors had for both the law and people involved in the case. There was no cruelty, angry words, or character bashing. Everyone was kind, respectful, and eager to perform their job well.

It made me proud and grateful to have a system where we can come together to work for the greater good of society, where voices can be heard, and decisions made upon the evidence presented.

Which brings me to our verdict. Sadly, the facts led us to believe that the defendant, was, in fact, guilty. I think this is what threw me off kilter last week. This man, this stranger, seemed like a kind person who had overcome a lot of obstacles in his life. I, as a juror and peer, forever connected to him, aided in the process of adding one more, and felt the weight of it. I wept for him and prayed that this obstacle would be his last.

One Word

September 9, 2008 in Learning, Practicing, Thinking by Colleen | Permalink

The pen is mightier than the sword, so they say. But that mightiness, when one thinks about it, has very little to do with the pen. Words are the real source of the power. Though many of them look rather pedestrian, when brought together with skill, they can topple even the most worthy opponent, win the heart of a beloved, or make a Madeleine jump off the page and into the mouth of the reader.

Think of the first potent word most of us learn, two simple letters, placed side by side. N-O. No. A small utterance. It doesn’t look like much, but it speaks volumes. We hear it and are brought to attention.

Another powerful word discovered early in life is mine. Though we are tiny when we come to know it, it gives us our first taste of wealth and power. This teddy bear is mine. Those blocks? Mine! These dolls? All mine, mine, mine! So exciting!

Until recently, I had thought I’d reached a sort of plateau with words. Even when I learned a new one (coming soon – to this very post!), the excitement wore off rather quickly. Ho hum, yes, another word. I’ll put it in the files, find a good use for it, and be off on my merry way.

Well, gentle readers, imagine my surprise when I started using an old and somewhat faded word to dizzying effects, lightening the burden of some very cumbersome thoughts. Sound the trumpets because here it comes!

** Sometimes **

Sometimes? Really? Yes, really. Look:

I abhor the solipsistic (the new, dollar word) nature of my blog – sometimes.

I am terribly lazy – sometimes.

The world is an awful place – sometimes.

Election coverage is so annoying – sometimes.

I am so negative – sometimes.

Ahhh, it just feels better, doesn’t it? Thanks to my not-so-new, favorite, dime-store word, I am turning frowns upside down, am less quick to anger and frustration, and generally happier – most of the time. Try it, and see if it doesn’t work for you, too.

In Spirit

September 4, 2008 in Admiring, Inspiring, Learning by Colleen | Permalink

My friend Kelli recently asked what inspires me, and I have to say, without question, it is people who love what they do. They are passionate, kind, interesting, and interested. They don’t need a lot of positive strokes telling them they are doing the right thing because they already know it. Today’s post is a perfect example of this.

Meet Ben and his beef cow Celeste (though he calls her Tank, for good reason). Gregory and I met them last week at the Oregon State Fair’s 4-H Competition (head, heart, hands, and health – being a city girl, I didn’t know this). Ben had just finished showing his lamb. Ever curious girl that I am, I asked him about her, and was so excited when I got the dollar lecture and tour. Here’s what I learned:

* Not all sheep make the same kind of wool. A meat sheep, like Ben’s, has wool that is more suitable for a carpet. It cannot be spun into the wool we like for sweaters. Also, it can be very cost prohibitive to sell the wool for carpet, unless someone nearby makes it. Bummer.

* Sheep do not have top teeth. They only have teeth on the bottom, and their adult teeth come in kind of slowly (for an animal), only two per year, starting at the middle front. Once all of the teeth are in, it is about time for slaughter because the other teeth are badly damaged from so much gnashing and tearing at grass, especially if the sheep lives in a dry climate where the soils are harder.

* Both sheep and cows have four stomachs and chew their cud.

* I also learned that a cow can gain up to a thousand pounds in a year! That’s a lot of food!

* Both sheep and cows are really soft, and so warm that petting them made my palms sweat.

I felt so privileged to learn from someone like Ben. He was easy going with a good sense of humor, yet very well spoken and already a great asset to the farming community where he lives. I have no doubt his life will be filled with success.