Christmas Eve Blizzard 2009

We were going to work a short day on Christmas Eve. Mid morning the UPS man came in and said it was starting to ice on his windshield. I decided to move my car into the parking garage which is a definite no-no at my place of employment. Only the bigwigs get to park there. I walked to my car on a very slippery sidewalk and when I got there I couldn't open either door or my trunk. I walked back to the library got a big pitcher of hot water then walked back to my car and poured it around the door frame. The door opened at last and I got in and turned on my defroster. After a few minutes the ice on the windshield was scrapable (is that even a word) and I cleaned it off, drove to the building I work in and told my boss I was going home. By mid-afternoon it was snowing heavily and by evening the winds were gusting at 50 mph. So we were in a blizzard warning and ended up with 15 inches of the white stuff by Christmas morning. Unusual for Topeka. The roads were impossible. Everything was closed, if not by Christmas, then by snow and ice. Beautiful but deadly. My daughter and her boyfriend came over. We opened gifts and ate dinner. Then they went home. I spent the afternoon watching season 4 of "Bones". It was a quiet day.

More later....

Today the library staff and the Baker University School of Nursing faculty and staff had our Holiday celebration at the Brickyard Barn Inn. I called ahead and told them I needed to eat GF. I got to talk to the chef and he was quite familiar with GF dining. He looked at the menu for the luncheon and told me what I would be able to eat without fear. They brought me out a flourless chocolate cake kind of thing (he said it had almond flour) and they gave me a chicken breast that didn't have sauce on it. The potatoes and vegetables were safe. I was comfortable with the way they handled it and I was able to enjoy the meal without worry. Our waitress told me she understood and was being extra careful because she had an allergy to latex and had ended up in the ER during a dental procedure where they didn't pay attention to keeping everything latex free.

More later...

GF Holiday Partay

The local Celiac Support Group had their holiday luncheon on Saturday. There were 64 in attendance and most brought 2 dishes so their was an abundance of food. The menu included:

turkey (smoked and baked)

dressing

mashed potatoes

gravy

sweet potatoes

cranberry relish

fruit salads

pasta salads

jello molds

rolls (I guarantee you couldn't tell the difference from non-GF rolls)

pumpkin pie

cheesecake

lemon pie

brownies

and many other goodies

It felt so funny to be able to eat from all the bowls and platters without having to worry about whether it was GF. The group's president is going to make a newsletter out of all the recipes and we'll each get one attached to an email (or snail mail for those who don't do computers). I can't wait because there are some I'd love to try.

More later...