What makes this skirt work is the slight flip out at the hem. Without it the shape would be ball like. With it, it's softer and gives me shape by moving the eye around my hips, in at the knees, and then out again. It's an easy skirt to wear. I may need to copy it soon as it's starting to show signs of wear.
The skirts I showed you last week were slightly shorter ending just above the knee. If I wear this skirt higher, it's not at all flattering. I look heavier. It's an interesting journey to find the balance between my proportions, the garment's proportions, and the fabric factors. Although sometimes I wish things were far more cut and dried, I'm glad that sewing retains its challenges and hasn't become boring and same old. Some challenges are good - like the ones with fabric not food.
sdBev wrote - What bothers me most is that you are not an anomaly. There are many many people experiencing food allergies. Is this new? It certainly seems so. I can't remember as many people having as many and as extensive allergies as there are today.
My allergies all showed up with a hormone shift like pregnancy or menopause and that seems to be a commonality with my friends who are experiencing similar issues. I also know far more women with extensive food allergies than men. That might not be statistically substantiated and might only be my awareness because of my age and gender.
One of the things you discover with food allergies is how often you're eating the same food even when you think you're not. Wheat and corn especially are used as fillers in powders like spices. The plain chip in a line of popular potato chips contains corn and a very popular crispy rice cereal contains wheat. Why? As I mentioned Friday, vegetable oil contains corn and soy. Coffee is often rolled in flour to prevent sticking and cranberries are often rolled in icing sugar which can contain corn. Almost all salad dressings contain soy. As the population has moved away...
... from eating single item foods and has utilized more and more prepared foods, they've been overexposed. At the same time, we overindulge in things like sugar or caffeine that have a detrimental affect on our intestines that then develop leaks that then allow food particles into the blood stream that then causes an allergic reaction. If you research leaky gut syndrome, you learn more about this. Unfortunately research typically comes after the fact. What's frustrating to me is that neither my GP nor my Naturopath are doing much to help me. In the almost three years that I've been dealing with these allergies, the situation has gotten much worse.
Carolyn wrote - One day I took around some pears for us to share, since I knew they were on her list of OKs. It turned out she was only allowed Bartlett pears, all others were a no-go! I was pretty embarrassed, but she was exceedingly gracious about the whole thing!
Please don't feel embarrassed. In fact, I bet your friend felt worse. It's very hard when someone has gone to such effort to then say you cannot eat the food. You're never sure of how people will react. Food allergies separate you from other people. They exclude you from common events like a pot luck and weddings and you're not invited to people's homes or out to restaurants. If you are, you have to give your list of foods and explain about checking every ingredient of every ingredient and - usually - you're not invited back or, in some cases, you're uninvited. That has happened to me.
I imagine your friend was simply thrilled that you had thought of her, sorry that she couldn't eat the gift, and thankful for the time spent together. Losing friends is a very real possibility. I have one woman who is still not talking to me from years ago when she held a wedding shower and cooked the food including shellfish in her very small kitchen. When I wouldn't eat anything, she was furious with me because she'd been "very careful". My allergy to shellfish is deadly. I didn't think risking my life was worth her feelings only she didn't see it that way. Food is a really big deal.
ParisGrrl wrote - Seriously though, knowledge is power. Now that you know what to avoid, you can take pleasure in creating recipes that use what you can eat, and take control by replacing pre-prepared foods with things you've prepared from scratch. You can make patterns fit and you can make recipes work for you as well. Then you can start hosting those meals with friends so you can still "break bread" (or in your case, take a break from it) with friends.
Unfortunately, mediums are not directly interchangeable. While I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of fabric, I have never enjoyed cooking although I do enjoy good food and particularly used to love trying new restaurants and flavours especially when travelling. Now, it's almost impossible for me to travel. It takes a tremendous amount of work. When there were...
Carrie wrote - I can understand a bad reaction to man-made prepared foods - but why the basic God-give foods that are in their original states?! I'll pray that you can find answers. If anyone can, you can with your can-do attitude.
... only one or two allergies, it was easier. At this point, I'm overwhelmed and when people who love to cook tell me they wouldn't have a clue how to handle this, I'm even more overwhelmed. I'd like to say I spent the weekend coming up with a battle plan. I didn't. I spent most of the weekend crying and feeling sorry for myself. It's not a long term solution but it did feel good for a bit - LOL.
When I was hairdressing, my boss's daughter was in the salon and for some strange reason decided to put her mouth around the barrel of a hot curling iron. She ended up with a huge burn on her lips and blistering around the mouth. We put cold water and ice on it and later my boss bought an Aloe Vera plant and applied the juice. It wasn't immediately. It was hours later. The next day, the girl had barely a red mark. You couldn't tell at all that she'd had a really bad burn. The impact was so huge that I've never forgotten that experience.
Two fruits that came up on my rotate list were papaya and pineapple which I thought was strange because even though I love pineapple I've already been avoiding it for a while and I have never eaten papaya. It turns out these are two of the key ingredients in the digestive enzymes I'm taking. These enzymes are supposed to be a key component of healing. I take six or more a day. That's frustrating - when what is supposed to heal you makes you worse.
This weekend, I researched natural digestive aids. Aloe Vera was one of them. Because of my experience with the healing powers of this plant, I researched it further and found this article that seems very promising. I'll try this. There really isn't an option even though I am tired of expensive doctors, expensive compounds, finding my own solutions, and dashed hopes. Did I mention that I'm overwhelmed?
This weekend, I wanted to sort through my fabric closet, get rid of what I don't need, and condense what I do want. I've been ignoring the increasing mess because I have too much fabric for the space allotted and that's overwhelming me as well, to the point that I can't sew. In looking for one fabric, I came across several that I had no recollection of buying. That bothered me. Plus, the fabric is no longer nicely contained in boxes on a shelf. It's spilling all over the place.
Cleaning didn't go well. I pulled out a few pieces, started to fold them, and then threw them back and gave up. There's too much on my mind right now to deal with this too. I did pull out five knits to sew t-shirts. Originally, there was pink, teal, blue, and green plus a black only the black didn't have enough stretch for the pattern I'm working with so I replaced it with the print. They will all be V-necked with 3/4 sleeves using my T & T pattern. I get a lot of wear out of that configuration. I cut all five out on Friday, sewed one seam on Saturday, and that was it for the weekend. Sorry to sound whiny but this latest twist in my food journey has - LOL repeating myself - completely overwhelmed me.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - the ability to do research on the Internet and find answers much quicker than if I had to rely on a library, sales clerk, or word of mouth
It's OK to whine (and cry and feel sorry for yourself). It's good to get it all out and then try to regroup. It's a lot to deal with. We *need* food to survive and human interaction is often so centered around food and food events. I don't really have advice, but I do feel confident that you will get through it. You seem so centered and thoughtful that I can't help but think so.
ReplyDeleteThis is an overwhelming issue for you and it will take time to process it in your mind before you can actually do something - if there's anything to be done. It's a loss and therefore must be grieved. Too often we tell ourselves that "it's not as bad as ... (insert whatever comparison)" and therefore I just need to get on with it. No. Acknowledge the grief, ask God to help heal the hurt and with his strength, and in time, move on.
ReplyDeleteOkay...so the word verification that came up is ... blest. I took it as blessed. God does have a sense of humor.
Oh Myrna! I wrote the other day about my food allergies--which include aloe vera, so please be careful with that one. I get really sick from it. My mother had a deadly allergy to shellfish too.
ReplyDeleteJust be glad you don't have fibromyalgia, very painful arthritis everywhere, slipped neck disks, and a very painful shoulder injury. That, with the food allergies, is a lot to handle. You seem otherwise pretty healthy, so get with the program, girl! I would be thrilled to have only allergies!
Gail D.
I'm so glad you responded to me, I didn't think you were whining at all. In fact, as you described the current food preparations trends, I understand not only why times of hormonal imbalance affect allergies but also why so many small children are experiencing the same issues. They are overexposed. That is definitely one of the reasons we develop allergies.
ReplyDeleteI do have allergic rhinitus. It is an annoying situation. I can go nowhere without kleenex. Seriously, when I leave the house, I grab the car keys, the purse and check for kleenex (or equivalent).
I'm sorry to say, I don't believe the medical profession has many answers for us. They seem to be recording data and looking, but not finding. My DH insists that they are interested in revenue generating activities NOT cures. Then they scoff when we use folk remedies.
Unfortunately, it is most likely you'll have to find your own solutions. I'm pleased to tell you that my reflux is largely controlled with 1/4 of an apple and a tablespoon of honey (and yes we prefer organic) before bedtime. Serious, none of the medications were are effective and all had undesirable side effects.
So good to talk....
As you say, this is your food journey and the great thing is - you own this journey. That's how you'll succeed on the road to good health. Stay with your sewing and don't worry about culling your fabric for now.
ReplyDeleteI have allergies, not nearly as extensive as yours but uncommon ones (celery, carrots and mustard which can hide in "spices" or "broth") and it's enough.
ReplyDeleteI think you are being a trouper and it's okay to whine a little. I remember when I first started reacting to carrots and I had hives every day on my chest for weeks and weeks. I cried looking in the mirror at my poor polka dotted breasts wanting them to look "pretty" again. I agree with the commenter about needing to grieve what has been lost and when you do you'll be up to the challenge.
Also, that was good advice for the person with the pear story. I struggle with not offending people who try very hard, but it's a lot of trust for me to actually eat at a pot luck. I think this is part of why I'd much rather host than attend a party. At least I know I can eat the food.
And for a sewing comment, I'm loving your skirt assessments. I think I know what suits my figure, but you are really making me rethink what it is about these things that work... don't.
Food issue4s can be overwhelming nowadays. There is so much processing and mixing of foods; it's very hard when a person is eliminating from their diet. i sure hope you find a happy balance soon.
ReplyDelete