Hitting the Books

You’d think that with my prolonged absence from the blogosphere I’d have some great excuse, like I’ve actually been writing for once, or the Punkin decided that she would only eat striped foods, or the American Punkin clothing line got bought out by Babies-R-Us already.

No such excuse.

Why the long silence?

I read a book. It was my hubbie’s fault (well, actually, it was my uncle’s fault originally–he told DH to read it).

The Long Emergency, by James Kunstler.

Basic premise: We’ve passed peak oil output, there are no alternative fuel sources strong enough to take over from oil, so it’s all downhill from here.

Kunstler is very doom and gloom, going on about no oil, no cars, no electricity, no suburbia.

His solution? Prepare to move back into small towns (like in New England) and farms, and back into agriculture and handicrafts.

Now I’m not an end-of-the-world type person, and I’m still not so sure about Kunstler’s credentials (he was an editor. Of Rolling Stone no less.). But I have a background in International Affairs (no, not the kind James Bond has) and a lot of what he says resonates true.

I’ve always liked to imagine what I would do if thrust back into a non-tech world like Swiss Family Robinson (okay, so how many of you just loved that treehouse?). So the past few weeks I’ve been letting my imagination go nuts with this scenario.

If nothing else, it’s finally gotten the DH to agree to look into buying land. And building a nice “green” house. And I can consider all this reading research for some future novel.

Anyone out there have any thoughts they’d like to chime in with?

Well, here I am back in my usual Sunday afternoon spot–sitting in the car in the church parking lot whilst the Punkin sleeps in the back seat. My hubbie is inside chatting with friends and eating (it’s a potluck dinner day). I’m barefoot in the front seat, laptop on lap (a good place for it, I guess), WIP open and ready to continue. I want to be writing. I should be writing. So why aren’t I writing?

Because I happened to pick up a wireless network from where I’m sitting. Suddenly I have Internet access in the parking lot, and the temptation is too great to resist (and on Sunday too.)

I shall be good girl now, and post this, then log off the Net and put my fingers to the keys in a more productive cause.

Had a little fun with this quiz (link found courtesy of Susan):

Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!!
created with QuizFarm.com

Actually, I really don’t remember Emma much. Read it back in 12th grade, and didn’t like it enough to read again. And no, I didn’t see the movie, which might be a good thing. Perhaps I should remedy that soon (in my copious amounts of spare time).

Elinor is actually my favorite character. Okay, maybe a more accurate statement would be Emma Thompson’s Elinor is my favorite character (Sense and Sensibility one of the few chick flicks I’ll watch), but I know I’m not near as logic-ruled as she is.

However, since she and Emma tied for #1, I guess I can be satisfied with that

Well, we just got back from the allergist. They tested the Punkin for 56 different allergens (poor thing looked like a swarm of mathematical mosquitoes had mauled her back.). And it turns out that she is allergic to (drumroll please):

Cow’s Milk (butter, cheese, cream, whey, yogurt, caseinates, hydrolysates, etc) Eggs (whites, yolks, globulin, mayonnaise, meringue, etc.) Peanuts (peanut butter, oil, hydrolyzed plant protein, etc.) Tree Nuts (cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, nut oils and butters, pecans–that was her biggest allergen) Oats

Those are the 5 that we have to avoid completely until they test her again next year. That doesn’t count the ones we have to avoid for a week or so, then add in one at a time to see if there’s a reaction. Those are corn (do you know just how many things have corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup in them?!), apples, pears, beef, turkey, chicken, and tomatoes.

Now we get to carry an Epi-Pen, just in case. Her allergies seem to be only skin-related, but the allergist wanted us to be prepared if one day her body decided anaphylaxis would be a fun thing to experience.

The good news is:

1. These are somewhat common childhood allergies, and the Punkin will most likely outgrow most of them in the next year or so.
2. She is also just peachy with wheat and soy. Between those two and all the fruits and veggies she can have we should still be able to give her a nice varied diet. Thank goodness for the Internet and all those free recipes!
3. She’s not allergic to her beloved doggies.

Thanks to those of you who sent well-wishes. I really appreciate them

I’ve not abandoned blogging. It’s just been a crazy week. For one, I’ve actually been writing (omigosh! say it ain’t so!). For two, the Punkin has had the worse case of eczema and hives. We go in for allergy testing in the morning–we suspect milk allergies, but there may be other things involved. It’s rough, watching your little one sit there and claw and itch and cry, and not be able to do much, other than drug her up on Benedryl and Zyrtec. But with testing, you have to stop any antihistimines 3-5 days before testing, so the past few days have been real fun. Thank God for infants’ Motrin.

Hopefully I’ll get some real articles up real soon.