33 and a Third

Ronnie and I spent some time yesterday building a pile of leaves and jumping in…..

Spent the evening last night with a wonderful group of people, munching on yummy food and enjoying wonderful conversations. It was a perfect way to unwind after a couple of hectic days for me.

The UCLBS (Upper Canada Lower Bowel Society) is made up of a number of individuals in the Toronto area who share a common illness (Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, IBS, etc.) and who follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to combat them. We each brought a dish and then proceeded to pig out (or, at least, I did). The food was incredible, and so was the company.

It was wonderful to see Tanya, whose parents welcomed us into their lovely home for the potluck. Tanya has been working hard on our UCLBS web site, which is hosted on “tnir”, our server in the basement. We’re hoping it’ll make an excellent resource for people trying to find specific food items in the Toronto area. For example, we use plenty of ground almonds to make muffins and breads since we can’t eat wheat. Ground almonds are very expensive, but through the group, I found a store where I could buy a 25 lb. Box for a reasonable price.

I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I found out I wasn’t the only person in Toronto on this diet. And it’s amazing to see how much our group has grown in the last few months. It’s great to get the word out about the diet. People suffering from these illnesses can be so very, very sick. I myself became quite ill in 1998, when I happened to stumble on the diet. The difference it made in my life was incredible and I’m astounded that doctors don’t promote it actively. Again, I’ve been lucky. My doctors are supportive (I don’t deal with those who aren’t any more). My GP seems happy that it meets all my nutritional needs, backed up by the fact that my blood work is just fine.

Another highlight of the evening was meeting Domenic for the first time. What a delightful, friendly man. I think I could have talked to him for hours (wait, I think I did). After speaking to him for a short while, it feels as though you’ve known him for a long time. In fact, I thought he and Tanya were old friends by they way they talked - but they had just met, too!

Finally got a chance to view the LOTR trailer. I’ve been dying to see it since Debbie made reference to it in her Waiting for Frodo comic strip. Reid’s been attempting to download it, but was unable to. That’s a whole story unto itself. Jeff (Debbie’s husband) came to our rescue last night and placed a copy on our server for us. So we watched it.

Reid imitated me watching it… “Wow…but that’s… oh wow… that’s….cool….oh…oh…oh..” I complained to him: he made it sound like it was being a little too excited/intimate, if you know what I mean. Silly man.

I knew they had made Arwen into some sort of warrior-maiden, but I didn’t think I’d be that upset by it. I think I must be one of those purists. I’d love to see the first showing, but I expect the theatre will be full of die-hard fans (like me?) who will “boo” or complain wherever the movie is not true to the books. Normally, I love seeing first showings of a movie with people who have been waiting in line for hours. (Like the Star Trek movies.) The experience of watching a movie with such fans is wonderful. Everyone gets all the little jokes and there’s a cooky feeling of togetherness… makes it lots of fun. But LOTR. Hmm. I’m not as sure.

In the end, I’m sure you’ll find me in line, hopefully with Debbie! (And with my 11 year old son who I would consider taking out of school for the day: he’ll never forgive me if I don’t take him!)

Note to Reid: Thanks for putting the trailer on my PC, but it doesn’t work!!!! I get a strange little “could not open movie” window. Bring the Mac back home from work!!!!

Snow White: The True Story

Michael showed me a story he had to write for school, yesterday. I got a kick out of it. Here it is…

Everybody knows the story of Snow White. At least they think they do. But I’m going to tell you the True Story. It happened like this:

Just because I have bad sisters in the Wizard of Oz and Hanzel and Grettel doesn’t mean I’m bad. I don’t know why people call me witch. I’m not magical, I mean, I may look ugly but I’m not a witch.

So , anyway, it all started when I asked my beautiful stepdaughter for a few beauty tips. Of course, she said no. Now, I get mad when someone says no. So, I knew I had some work to do and I stormed downstairs and I knocked down some potions and … poof!! I became really ugly.

However the little wretch moved out to a cottage in the middle of the woods. That made me even madder. Then I thought I would be nice to her. (I really needed those beauty tips now.) So, I headed over to her place and gave her an apple. A worm must have gotten into it or something because she fell asleep right after. Then those pesky dwarves hunted me down and tried to kill me. Luckily I only broke 28 bones and dislocated 4.

So that’s my story and if you still don’t believe me at least stop calling me witch.