7-Quick Takes

1.  We traveled north to Michigan to attend the wedding of a young man who is the son of our very good friends. We have been friends with them for close to 40 years. Their daughter is our goddaughter, and one of them is a godparent for our son. So we have a lot of history and many memories. It was great to be able to add to both by sharing this special time with them.

2.  They actually had two weddings. The first one on Thursday night was a Catholic wedding. The next night was a Persian wedding. I loved that the bride and the bridal party including the mothers were able to wear their dresses twice! It was great to see the two families coming together and to see each tradition honored. We had a wonderful time!

3.  I was soooo very happy that I was able to get a second knee draining and steroid injection in my knee on Monday. My knee is virtually pain-free for the first time in six months. I was able to dance (within reason) at the reception and do all of the walking that I needed to do. Most importantly, I could concentrate on my friends and the events around me instead of cringing and trying to avoid putting any weight on my leg. It was totally worth it!  More on that Monday.

4.  So many of my friends and acquaintances are gluten-free or hoping to be gluten-free soon. One of my friends at the wedding shared with me that he was diagnosed with celiac disease a while back and had to wipe all gluten out of his diet. Surprisingly, his life-long experience of headaches and stomach pains subsided! Likewise, another friend with Crohn’s disease has cut back on her gluten and noted improvement in her symptoms.

To anyone else looking to improve their GI health through diet here are my recommendations. They have worked for me and I have been gluten free for almost 5 years.

And the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Web Site. 

5.  Rosie has been running every morning at 8:30 a.m. While I was at the wedding, her brother managed to get her to practice. She also got all of her Shakespeare homework done. I’m actually quite proud of her, and of her two adult siblings. They managed to keep the homestead going in our absence. Maybe Mr. Pete and I will be able to take a few more short trips sans offspring!

6.  My summer is about to get a lot busier!  I have a training program with an online writing program that I will be auditing. I am starting my book proposal and getting my homeschool support group and co-op things in order. I also hope to do some painting around the house and scraping in the flip house! And I hope to get most of that done in July. Did I mention that I also have 4 weddings to coordinate?

7.
While we were in Michigan, we visited the grave of my father-in-law and his brother – two devout Catholics who served this country during World War II. I think this rosary would have been perfect for them.