Sorry about the lack of reviews. It turned out there’s a gluten-free baking mix recipe in the gluten-free eating book, and I wanted to test it out before reviewing that book. I just made a final recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, so I hope to review that soon. I also plan to make a final recipe from the superfoods cookbook tonight.

Wednesday was the upper endoscopy. Apart from a killer headache that I couldn’t take anything for (no food, water, etc. for 6 hours before the procedure) it was quick and easy (not to mention I was blessedly unconscious for it). No ulcers; it looks like I just had acid reflux masquerading as gallbladder trouble, etc. A month on an acid-reducing proton-pump inhibitor med plus an improved diet has definitely helped, so, looks like I’ll be taking an acid-reducer for a while. Meanwhile they’re doing biopsies just to make sure there’s no h pylori infection or celiac disease (since the latter runs in the family and the former is often a cause of acid & ulcer problems).

Then I spent yesterday gardening, since my tomato seedlings arrived Tuesday. I planted nine seedlings (three each of three varieties), and six medusa pepper plants that I bought at the last minute (a decorative but edible sweet pepper with a bush growth habit). Some nifty new furniture that we got also arrived yesterday.

Here are a few gardening photos:

The red thing around the tomato seedling reflects red light at the plant, which is supposed to lead to a larger harvest. It acts as a mulch so you don’t have to weed around the tender roots. And if you pour water into the tray, it directs it down toward the roots of the plant, so they grow strong and deep instead of shallow.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve gone crazy with the camera.

It’s appointment day. This morning I went to see my GI doc. The last HIDA scan showed no gallbladder problems (which doesn’t fit with the symptoms, but that’s the weirdness of the human body for you), so in about a month I’m getting an upper endoscopy done. Wheee. I’ve always wanted someone to stick a camera down my throat. (Yes, that’s sarcasm there.)

There’s nothing like invasive tests and chronic mild pain to make you feel like you’re getting old. Mid-30s shouldn’t be old. (Ick, I’m whining! I’d better move on to another subject, quick!)

In different news, I’m finally looking at the possibility of getting a digital camera—I’d really love to liven up the cookbook reviews with some home-grown food photography so you can see what some of the yummy results look like. My tentative pick is a Canon PowerShot SD1000—it looks like it’s good quality, and capable of taking crisp, clear photos, even when food is involved. And it doesn’t cost a fortune (well, when we’re talking digital cameras). Speaking of which, yesterday’s review was of Betty Rosbottom’s Coffee cookbook. YUM!