allergies and vacation

The test results came back to show that Mark is allergic to all kinds of things. Thankfully most of the allergies are fairly mild, so we've been instructed to eat no more than one allergic food in each meal, and not to eat that food again for three days... which sounds simple, but is not so simple in practice. What is somewhat worrisome is that if we just eat what he isn't allergic to all the time, he could become allergic to those things too. Three things he is very allergic to are pears, pork, and lentils, and he's not supposed to eat those at all for 90 days! (Sharon, I tried your lentil recipe on your blog before I knew this, and they gave Mark terrible heartburn!) The doctor thinks that within two or three months of eating no animal products and eating the foods he is allergic to as instructed, Mark will have a normal stomach again! With that kind of outlook we don't have any problems with continuing this crazy diet. :)

We went on a little vacation last week, and had a camping disaster.. We went to South Padre Island and set up our tent on a beautiful dune-covered but very windy beach. After a night on a bed slowly filling with sand from the driving wind I ended up with such a horrible pain in my neck/shoulder that Mark packed up the car at 4:00 in the morning and we drove back to a hotel. After a warm bath, some sleep, and a massage we decided to go horseback riding on the beach, and then spent some time on the bay side of the island. We spent one more night on the island (but this time in a hotel) before coming home. I didn't get a single picture of our trip -- in fact, the only souvenir we have is a shell I picked up while Mark was digging the car out of the sand. I think despite the thorough cleaning the car had when we got home, we're going to be seeing the sand for weeks to come. :D

I think vacation somehow made me appreciate coffee again... I guess maybe it's just as well we don't have a coffee maker. ;)