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      <title>FelineNoir.com</title>
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      <description>A cute gluten-free blog about old movies, pop-culture, music, kitties and life!</description>
      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2008</copyright>
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            <item>
         <title>2008 Resolutions</title>
         <description>I have never been one of those people who made resolutions and took them serious.  Whatever resolution I usually did make was over by the first week in January.

But last year sucked so bad that I am actually going to try to make some resolutions this year.  I need some serious change in my life.

1.Write in my blog more than every 6 months. (which I would have done if not so sick this  past year)
2.Take control of my health.  I am going to be more pro-active in my celiac disease and not let the disease continue to depress  and debilitate me.
3.Decide what I want to do in life.  I have worked in corporate america for the past 22 years.  I struggle all the time with “is this what I want to do the rest of my life”.  I want to be creative.  Sew,  be artistic and find some bliss.  I am tired of working with people who don&apos;t care about each other.  Where I work everyone is phoney and unaware of the world around them.  But I know I need my insurance and well paying job to pay off all my medical bills.   This will be my most challenging resolution.
4.Read a book daily.
5.Listen to more music.
6.Get out of the house more.

I know that these are going to be very challenging to accomplish.  But if you knew me you would know once I REALLY put my mind to something there will be no stopping me.

So those are my New Years Resolutions.  I am going to try really hard to make them happen and regain control of my life.

</description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/journal/2008_resolutions.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Journal</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:17:43 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Celiac, The Emergency Room &amp; Masterbation</title>
         <description>Hey.  I am still here.  I haven&apos;t been writing because I have been recovering from my 3rd surgery.  I have just been feeling lousy.  But thanks for all the comments.  It&apos;s nice to know there are others out there who can relate to what I am going through.  I do have a funny story to share with you.  Well I think it&apos;s funny.  Just a warning.  It is sexual in nature.

I had to go to the Emergency Room last Wednesday.  I was having pain, nausea, sweating profusely and dehydrated.  When I get like this my pain doctor told me that sex or masterbation can help.  Due to the endorphin rush.  Which is the best natural pain medication there is.  In the past I have done this and it has helped.  Not everytime, but sometimes.  Because I am so sick, sex is out of the question so I usually try to masterbate.  It just wasn&apos;t working this time.  So after 5 hours of misery I dragged myself to the ER.

I was lucky and got in right away.  I have been to the ER enough times and have seen enough doctors, that I never lie to them about anything.  It doesn&apos;t help you and they do not judge you.  They just need to know what is going on.  I had a male nurse and a male doctor treating me and both were about my age.  When it came to the standard question  &quot;Any burning when you urinate&quot;.  I said yes, but I do not have an infection.  The doctor asked me how I could be sure.  So I explained to him that I used my vibrator for the last 4 hours and I have irritated myself.  The RN then said.  And you aren&apos;t wiped out.  And I said no, because it didn&apos;t work!  I never had an orgasm. He then asked why I did it and I explained that it helps with pain etc.  I could tell he was a little embarrassed.  Then the doctor said I think masterbation is helpful for everything and thanked me for being so honest. 

After that I got excellent treatment.  They were both very attentive.  Not because I was so desireable but because I think I gave them a little humor in their long days of treating sick people.  My RN even told me he would never forget me.

So that is my funny little story about my last ER visit.  Hope you can find the humor as well.  It is important in life to see the humor of things.  It makes this journey of life just a little easier,  

 </description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/celiac_the_emergency_room_mast.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/celiac_the_emergency_room_mast.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Celiac</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:28:32 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Struggling with Celiac</title>
         <description>I have been sick and depressed which is why I have ignored my blog.

I am struggling with Celiac disease.  I hate it.  I feel trapped.  I know intellectually what to do and what kind of attitude I should have.  But right now I am just not there.  I am depressed, fatigued and I feel pretty hopeless.  In fact so much so that I went on a Gluten binge last week.  I ate Big Macs, Pie, Dorritos and Cake.  I felt so naughty getting away with my Gluten food and no one knew.  It was like a high I was on.  The food tasted great.  I was out of control.  I knew I would pay for it but I didn&apos;t care.  I felt like I just couldn&apos;t stop. It also made me feel normal again.  I hate to use the word normal but I think you know what I mean.

I know some of the depression is from recovering from surgery the past 4 months. And what a nightmare my surgery and then complications were.  My surgery wasn&apos;t the kind where you get up and get moving.  It was the lie in bed for months and hopefully heal.

I don&apos;t personally know anyone who is going through this that I could talk to.  You need that.  Also I just ordered a lot of Gluten free food and was so disappointed with some of it.  The bread like products just taste weird to me.  They just don&apos;t taste the same.  All the bread products are dense, thick and heavy.  They are not light and fluffy. And since I don&apos;t have the right attitude I am not probably keeping my options and opinions open.

I think I am making this more difficult than it needs to be.  But how do you force yourself to feel and think positive when you just can&apos;t right now.  I did find a local support group and I hope that gives me the push I need.  Anyway I am struggling right now and hope the struggle ends soon.</description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/struggling_with_celiac.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Celiac</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:19:02 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Deer in my backyard</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/525913573/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1244/525913573_36c07bdcf9_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Deer in my back yard" /></a>

This is my deer who visits me every day and grazes in my yard.]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/photos/deer_in_my_backyard.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Photos</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2007 23:15:07 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Review: ENER-G Wheat Free Crackers</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.ener-g.com/store/detail.aspx?section=6&cat=6&id=70">ENER-G Wheat Free Crackers</a> are the best.  

<img alt="EnerGCrackers.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/27/EnerGCrackers.jpg" width="200" height="200" />

Since I have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease it has been a struggle to give up bread and crackers.  I have tried many brands of  gluten-free crackers that tasted like shellacked disks.  So when Jacob came home with ENER-G crackers I was a bit skeptical.  The box says Gluten, Wheat, Milk, Lactose and Egg free.  What the heck were these going to taste like? When I opened the box I was pleasantly surprised that they looked like actual high quality good crackers and most important they taste great.  I love them.  I eat them with everything I use to eat bread with.  They are a daily staple in my gluten-free diet. It is one of the few items I can honestly say I don't feel like I am missing out on.  So if you are gluten intolerant, or actually intolerant to any of the above mentioned ingredients. I highly recommend you try this product.         

]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/glutenfree_recipes/review_ener_g_wheat_free_crackers.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/glutenfree_recipes/review_ener_g_wheat_free_crackers.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Celiac</category>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Gluten-Free Recipes</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sun, 27 May 2007 13:09:38 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>My Boyfriend Sucks Today!!!!!</title>
         <description>Jacob is my boyfriend.   We have been dating almost 4 years and living together for 2 years this May.  Most of the time Jacob is really cool to me, understands my quirky/passionate behavior, interests, hobbies and totally accepts my &quot;Kymberlyism&apos;s&quot;.  I know I am not the easiest girlfriend, and with my past recent health issues he is a Saint!

But today he woke up and he SUCKED!  He was bitter and angry instantly towards me and asked if I was going to lay in bed all day.  

Like I have mentioned in the past I am recently recovering from two surgeries and just went back to work this week part time.  All I really want to say about my surgery is this.  It was in a very sensitive spot and a place that no one would ever want surgery unless they ABSOLUTELY had too.  My surgery was not elective. The recovery from my surgery unfortunately is not the get out of bed as soon as possible, it was the lay around until this wound heals and it is going to take some time. Especially when you get an infection that you surgeon tells you is &quot;the worse he have seen in the 25 years&quot; of doing this specialized surgery. So my recovery has been long, painful and frickin exhausting.  

No I wasn&apos;t going to lay in bed all day!  He got way more sleep than I did last night and we both took naps after we got off of work yesterday.  I mention that because he gets upset that I am exhausted still since I have no stamina or endurance and just spent my first week working on that and a need a frickin nap after work.   He then very passive aggressively announced  &quot;his only plans today is too wait around to take me to Urgent Care&quot; because I was having symptoms of possible infection again.  I just feel so bad/mad when he does this.  He then took a shower went upstairs to play video games.  I waited a few minutes and went upstairs to try to salvage this day and said &quot;Honey I am not going to lay in bed, I will do 4 hours of house work, continue with my 4 hour work day to help me build my endurance blah blah&quot;. He seemed happier and even said he was feeling better and woke up in a bad mood blah blah.  I came down stairs and decided to write in my new blog he created for me about our night rescuing Jessika at the Ferry.  

Jacob loves video games.  He has practically every system, has a well received and viewed blog that reviews and discusses video games and even on occasions reviews video games for the Seattle Stranger.  Needless to say Video Games our his thing. Since he was upstairs playing video games I thought he was continuing this better mood.  But nooooo.  1 Hour later emerged a pissed off boyfriend slamming the cupboard we keep our basic health aids, toothpaste etc. Demanding where is some aspirin or ibuprofen. I very nicely said &quot;I don&apos;t know I haven&apos;t used anything like that in awhile&quot;.      Which prompted him to make a bullshit dig about of coarse not I have been on so many pain meds and wouldn&apos;t bother with simple over the counter meds.  I went  to the cupboard, found some menstrual relief pills and gave them too him!  He took them and left to go to Target.  I asked him nicely if he would like for me to go with him.  (Which normally he would.) Too which he replied very loud and sternly NO! and proceeded to slam the front door and drive off.

I know he is tired of my health issues and doubts our life at this moment will return to normal (what ever that is).  So I am trying to understand all this.  But right now My Boyfriend Sucks!


</description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/my_boyfriend_sucks_today.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/my_boyfriend_sucks_today.html</guid>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sat, 26 May 2007 14:28:32 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>When you miss the Ferry!!!!</title>
         <description>When you live in Bremerton it can really suck if you miss the ferry.  Last night my good friend Jessika missed the boat.  And she missed it by literally a minute.  

First off I want to say the Ferry is very cool.  I love that I can walk on a boat, take a beautiful ride across the Puget Sound and an hour later arrive in down town Seattle.

There are lots of times in the day to catch a ferry.  The Boat runs back and forth practically all day.  But there is this weird gap of time in the evening that can really mess up your whole night.  In the evening leaving Seattle going to Bremerton there is a 10:30p.m. and a 12:50a.m. boat.  So when going to Seattle you have to decide do you want to get home at 11:30 or basically 2:00am.  That&apos;s a big gap! So when you miss the 10:30p.m. boat and your stuck with the 12:50a.m. boat that can really ruin your whole night.

Jessika is the Festival Fairy.  She was at Seattle&apos;s yearly Folk Life Festival.  And she missed the boat.  She called me from the terminal to bitch and complain and I knew I had to save her.  Bainbridge Island is a half hour drive from Bremerton and a half hour ferry ride from Seattle and there is no gap of boat times in the evening.  So I told her to jump on the Bainbridge boat and Jake and I would come get her.

I could hear the grateful relief in her voice and got ready to go. We had to leave immediately.  Now this is not just a 30 minutes drive to the ferry and a 30 minute drive back.  This is a 1 hour and 45 minute round trip for us.  But I love Jessika and Jake is totally cool with my girlfriends so we rescued her and got her home safe by midnight.  You do that for a friend.
</description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/journal/when_you_miss_the_ferry.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Journal</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sat, 26 May 2007 12:16:53 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Driving the Cats and Jacob crazy.</title>
         <description><![CDATA[Yesterday I drove the cats and Jacob crazy.  It was sort of fun and really not my intention.  You see my birthday present from my MOM arrived yesterday.  I brought the box in and placed it on my bed.  Opened my mail and was exhausted from work.  I am still recovering from surgery and I have very little strength or endurance.  Desi my cat had already made himself comfortable on top of the box.  He was all sprawled out and as happy as he could be.  He was so cute I decided to lay down and let him have his fun.  I knew Jacob would be home soon and would wake me up.  I figured I would open my gift then.  

Jacob came home and I just wouldn't wake up.  He kept tugging at me "Honey don't you want to open your present.  The cats are going nuts."   My cats go nuts over boxes.  They like to lay on top, or inside and they usually can't/don't wait until the box is empty.  So at anytime there may be numerous empty boxes laying around the house.  

I finally woke up after I realized that Jacob was starting to open my present.  I told him to stop.  I had decided at the time that it would be really cool to open my present when my mom called.  She had told me she was going to call because my box  hadn't arrived the day before and she was starting to get a little worried.  My Mom lives out of state and we haven't spent a birthday together in 7 years.  So like I said I thought it would be cool.  Finally after 9:30pm and no call I opened my box.  It wasn't difficult since the cats had already worked on it.  As soon as the lid was off Desi planted himself right on top of all the tissue paper and started to tear into it.  Soon all 6 cats were tearing into the box.  I carefully extracted the gifts, put all the paper back and the cats have not stopped playing with their present since.  Thanks mom for the great gifts.  The kitties loved it.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/516887721/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/251/516887721_d25e0dd654_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Tigger helping me unwrap my birthday stuff" /></a>]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/driving_the_cats_and_jacob_cra.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/driving_the_cats_and_jacob_cra.html</guid>
        
        
         <pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2007 22:48:51 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>I Went Back to Work Today!!!!!!!</title>
         <description>So after 3 months of being off from work.  I went back.  It&apos;s not as simple as that you see.  The past two years I have been sick with Celiac disease and didn&apos;t know it.  So I have missed lots of work in the last two years.  Maxed out my FMLA both years and had to even go on extended disability for this last time out.  So when it comes to work there is lots of anxiety.  Am I finally back for good??? Am I going to get sick or need some other surgery in the near future?  Am I going to eat something and have an attack at work?  On top of all that.  There is the stress of my boss and co-workers.  They have been supportive but I know they are tired of Kymberly and her illnesses.  I can&apos;t say I blame them I have felt the same way about myself many of times.  It&apos;s only natural to resent someone who is out sick all the time and you have to pick up the slack.  So at this point lets just say they don&apos;t trust me yet.  Trust to know that I will be present. 

That is a FISH philosophy.  FISH philosophy is a corporate concept that we subscribe to.  It basically evolved from the Seattle Market Fish Throwers.  There are 4 basic principles. 1. Be present  2. Have fun/play   3. Make their day   4. Choose a great attitude.  If you apply these principle&apos;s to your work, attitude and co-workers then everything is better.  It&apos;s a good/fun philosophy to have but lately I have been falling short.  I haven&apos;t been present and I definitely haven&apos;t made their day.

So today I marched off to battle.  It feels like a battle.  A battle with my body and sometimes my spirit.  For the most part everyone was nice and welcomed me back for the umpteenth time.   

 

</description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/journal/i_went_back_to_work_today.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Journal</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2007 23:15:02 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Today is My Birthday</title>
         <description><![CDATA[Today is my birthday.  I turned 41 today.  Where the hell did the time go?  Seems like just yesterday I was in my 20's.  I don't feel 41.  I still feel hip and with it.  I go to concerts (I love brit-pop, punk rock and indie music). I am involved in Roller Derby.  I color.  I make zombie dolls and love old movies.  

I am not one of those crazy birthday people.  You know the type where it is their day from the moment they wake up and every second revolves around their day.  I am not putting these people down that's their thing.   

I guess it is a good thing I feel this way since I spent all day today in bed sleeping recovering from my previous days Celiac attack.  I slept all day with the comfort of my kitties sleeping all around me.  

Jacob made me some delicious gluten free spice birthday cup cakes.  
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/509012149/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/509012149_3e32c9e018_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Birthday cupcakes - Gluten Free" /></a>

They are so good that Tabitha (my evil kitty) keeps grabbing the cup cake wrappers out of the trash to lick them.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/509012159/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/509012159_e26f6298a0_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="Tabby Bad and digging in the trash" /></a>

I received some great gifts.  Six more months subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio.  I love Howard Stern.  New Derby skates and gear,  2 cool new coloring books, pearl earrings, a cool book about Hollywood and some nice cards.

All in all a very nice birthday and with that here is hoping no more bad Celiac attacks for the rest of 2007.
]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/journal/today_is_my_birthday.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Journal</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Mon, 21 May 2007 19:14:23 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>I had a Celiac attack today</title>
         <description><![CDATA[Today sucked.  I woke up this A.M., went to the bathroom and was instantly sick.  I had all the classic symptoms that I experience when having a Celiac attack.  Sweating, chills, nausea, severe stomach pain.  I was so bummed getting mad at myself for having an attack.  I suffered from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M..  I should have gone to the emergency room a lot sooner but just didn't want to go.  I have been so many time in the past and have not had to go in nearly as much as before my diagnosis. Finally after my 6th shower my boyfriend Jacob gave me no choice.  

They treated me great and within an hour of arriving at the ER.  I had my IV, blood draws and my first injections of nausea and pain medication.  It helped a bit and an hour later got my 2nd injection of nausea and pain mediation.  That 2nd treatment really helped and I started to feel much much better.

When we got home Jake and I just could not figure out where the Gluten came from.  We finally realized that while visiting a friend yesterday I ate gluten.  My friend Jessika (you'll hear more about her later.) was being nice and made up a cheese, ham and cracker plate.  I DID not eat 1 cracker, but I did have some ham.  So when we got home we called Jessika and one of the Evil ingredients was in the ham.  Modified Corn Starch.  The meat was pre-packaged sandwich meat.

I was very happy that I figured out what happened and will avoid all luncheon meat unless it comes from the butcher. 

Going to the ER is no fun, and I am still learning what I can eat or what foods I need to check on.

<img alt="tiggerstring.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/20/tiggerstring.jpg" width="240" height="180" />

What was really the bummer, is that today is Tiggerooo's 1st birthday.  So I didn't even get a chance to go get him treats or toys.  My baby kitty is growing up.]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/i_had_a_celiac_attack_today.html</link>
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                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Celiac</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sun, 20 May 2007 23:16:22 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Bette Davis -  Mini Film Fest</title>
         <description><![CDATA[I Love <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000012/">Bette Davis</a> movies.  I love the era they were made, the characters she plays and at times her acting is flawless.  Some of her movies are better than others.  But for this day I was just in the mood for a Bette Mini Film Fest.  I had recently borrowed a Bette Davis Biography from my local library.  

Bremerton has a really cool library that has many wonderful services available to everyone. The downtown Bremerton library is being renovated (<em>The Martin </em><em>Luther King Library</em>) to it's original art-deco style.  I can't wait since it is right down the street from my work I can walk there everyday if I want to.

I have read many books on Bette Davis. I guess reading the book made me think of her movies and since I own most of her movies I felt like a little Bette Film Fest.  You see I have had the past 3 months off from work recovering from a surgery and then an infection from the surgery. So I have had some time to do nothing but lie around.  The Films I chose to watch were: <em>The Letter, Jezebel, The Little Foxes and Dead Ringer.</em>

<img alt="theletter.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/20/theletter.jpg" width="240" height="240" />
Why I love  <strong><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032701/">The Letter</a> </strong>
First off. How can you not love a movie with Bette Davis, 1940 Warner Bros., story by W. Somerset Maugham, Directed by William Wyler and with Herbert Marshall as co-star. That's a winning combination right there.  I Feel this movie could stand up as a Masterpiece if it was released today.  Even though it is set in a specific period of time and made in a specific era of time. The story and the beauty of the film feel timeless.  

Basic story line: The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death (her Lover of 7 years) and claims it was self-defense. Her poise, graciousness and stoicism impress nearly everyone who meets her. Her husband is certainly without doubt; so is the district officer; while her lawyer's doubts may be a natural skepticism. A letter in her hand writing written to the deceased on the day of the murder turns up and may prove her undoing.  

Bette Davis is beautiful in this movie.  Not just in appearance but  her acting and every mannerism.  You really believe she is Leslie Crosbie and not Bette Davis. The acting by everyone in this film is flawless. I have watched this movie more times than I can actually remember, so by this point I get to "really" watch the film.  My favorite scene is when her attorney has been informed of an incriminating Letter and given a copy.  He goes to the prison to visit/confront Leslie about the letter.  Of coarse she denies the letter. After persistent questioning from her attorney she faints.  Once revived she does start discussing the letter. She is laying down on a cot with a wet cloth on her head.  You can not see her face just the back of her head.  Her arm slowly, very casually slides up the wall. With each question she asks,  just by the subtle movement of her hand,  tells you exactly what her facial reactions would be and exactly what she is thinking.  Her hand did more acting in 4 minutes than most Hollywood Stars do in a life time of work.  The scene is pure poetry in motion, and I never tire of it.  If you have never really watched a good Bette Davis movie The Letter is a must see.

<img alt="jezebel.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/20/jezebel.jpg" width="240" height="240" />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030287/">Jezebel</a>:  Since I was in the mood for a young strong bitchy Bette.  Jezebel seemed like the natural choice.   Again another strong cast; Bette Davis, Henry Fonda & George Brent.  Directed by William Wyler.  A beautiful period movie, and while in black and white is alive and vivid.

Basic story line: Set in antebellum New Orleans during the early 1850's, this film follows Julie Marsden through her quest for social redemption on her own terms. Julie is a beautiful and free spirited, rapacious Southern belle who is sure of herself and controlling of her fiancé Preston Dillard, a successful young banker. Julie's sensitive but domineering personality--she does not want so much to hurt as to assert her independence--forces a wedge between Preston and herself. To win him back, she plays North against South amid a deadly epidemic of yellow fever which claims a surprising victim. 

Again Bette is physically beautiful in this movie.  But her heart is full of games and fighting against social rules.  Pushing, shoving and forcing her own wiles on to everyone who has decided to live by their precious Southern rules.  In this movie it's those characters  who are the unfortunate pawns to Bette's Jezebel ways.  Her portrayal of spoiled Julie is so believable you just get completely lost in this character.  It was watching this movie that I realized she was an actress not just a movie star.

<img alt="littlefoxes.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/20/littlefoxes.jpg" width="240" height="240" />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033836/">The Little Foxes</a>:  I enjoy Bette Davis teamed with Herbert Marshall so much, I felt like watching them together again. Plus this movie is set in the South so it complimented and followed Jezebel well.

basic story line: This film adaptation of the Lillian Hellman play depicts a post-Civil War southern community where nothing is more important than money and power to Regina Giddens.  In order to join her equally ruthless brothers in a scheme that is sure to gain her wealth and power, she uses her young, naïve daughter to fetch her estranged, ailing husband who is living elsewhere. When she cannot convince her husband to give her the money, she sets forward a cunning plan which escalates.  Proving that some people will do anything to get what they want.

Bette has matured in this film. Her character is older in age than the previous two movies. Her acting is polished, icy and effortless playing mean, conniving Regina.  She will stop at nothing to get what she wants.  Money.  Not even helping her dying husband reach his precious heart medicine.  You just watch her icy cold close up while he struggles to climb the stairs in the back ground.  Not one word is spoken but that stare speaks volumes.  It's a great social movie about right and wrong.  How evil Money can be. How people will do anything, even ruin a town to get what they want.  It reminds me of the times we live in right now.  It's sad how some themes of life just never change.

<img alt="Deadringer.jpg" src="http://www.felinenoir.com/2007/05/20/Deadringer.jpg" width="240" height="240" />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057997/">Dead Ringer</a>: By now I was ready for some older Bette Davis.  I had gotten along further in my book and I knew that this was a movie she made later in her career and basically for the money.  Bette is a lot older and plays the dual role of twin sisters.

basic story line:  After the funeral of her brother-in-law, Edith Phillips learns that Margaret de Lorca, her rich twin sister, had tricked her way into marriage with the man she also loved. So she kills Margaret and assumes her identity and life-style. However, her life becomes complicated by her late sister's sleazy boyfriend, Tony Collins (Peter Lawford) and Sgt. Jim Hobbson, (Karl Malden) a Los Angeles detective who loved the "dead" Edith.

This movie is so bad it is good.  Paul Henreid (who co-starred with Bette in Now Voyager) was the director.  The year was 1964 and I get a real Hitchcock/Preminger feel to the movie.  The movie is in no way as good as any Hitchcock or Preminger film.  But you can tell that was the cinematography style he was going for.  I appreciate the movie just for that.  The movie is awful.  Bette looks awful and by this time she has become just a character of her self.  In the beginning of the movie when she is playing poor-nice-down-on-her-luck Edith, her acting is actually good.  But when she plays the character Margaret.  She is so over the top.  She over acts in every scene.  And the attempts to make her younger and more glamorous are just cruel.  The other really creepy thing about this movie is the music.  There is this weird Gothic harpsichord piano running throughout the movie to signal some intrigue. It's not cool at all.  It's actually quite annoying and distracting.  Another thing I noticed is that the musical score has samples of the theme to Twilight Zone.  I swear they are there.  Not the obvious beginning music but the music at the end of the Twilight Zone intro.  Again I swear it is there.  So if you want to see a good/bad B Gothic-intrigue-murder starring Bette Davis, this is the movie for you.

So that was my Mini Bette Davis Marathon.  I enjoy these clasic old movies. I never tire of them and they have really helped me get through the long days of surgical recovery.]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/movies_tv/bette_davis_mini_film_fest_1.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/movies_tv/bette_davis_mini_film_fest_1.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Movies &amp; TV</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sun, 20 May 2007 10:52:38 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>Kymberly&apos;s Favorite Gluten-Free Chicken Salad</title>
         <description><![CDATA[Hello my name is Jake and I am Kymberly's boyfriend and this is my recipe for her Favorite Gluten Free Chicken Salad.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/504938455/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/504938455_1836b7fe57.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Kymberly's Favorite Gluten Free Chicken Salad" /></a>

On of my duties as Kymberly's boyfriend is to not only be her Gluten Nazi but to be her personal chef to whip up delicious and tasty food for her so she is not tempted to go poison herself at McDonalds with a McGluten Death Burger with Cheese. Since she is still coming to terms with her condition it is a bit tough. She used to love the sandwiches that they made at Safeway Deli. Kymberly loved the chicken salad there and sent me to get some. Now being her Gluten Enforcer I asked the deli workers to show me a listing of the ingredients of the Chicken salad and low and behold there were two bad ingredients including my nemesis Modified Food Starch.

So I decided to make it from scratch and got the ingredients for it. Now picking out the right kind of canned chicken is important because you have to look for non GF ingredients. The only one that was good was <a href="http://www.valleyfreshkitchen.com/products-chicken.php">Valley Fresh Canned Chicken in Water</a>. Like all good Gluten Free cooks I am constantly on the look out for good canned food products that have as little ingredients as possible so that we know that we are not getting any bad gluten stuff. The ingredients of Valley Fresh Canned Chicken are "<b>White Chicken Meat, Water, Salt</b>". Sounds pretty good to me.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/504907618/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/504907618_ba69251749_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Kymberly's Favorite Gluten Free Chicken Salad Ingredients" /></a>

Ingredients:
3 10oz Cans White Chicken in water (drained) (Make damn sure to check to see if it is gluten free)
5-6 stalks of Celery
1 yellow onion (medium size)
1 red onion (medium size)
2 Cups Mayonnaise (Make sure it is gluten free, and don't get Miracle Whip but real Mayo, you really can taste the difference)
2 teaspoons ground pepper
Seasoned salt to taste (Safeway makes a really nice gluten free seasoned salt that I like)
2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Dash of Paprika
Dash of dried Parsley

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/504907428/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/193/504907428_57f29e6c48_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Mince both the yellow onion and red onion" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/504907260/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/504907260_c91224dd5d_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Mince the celery into small pieces and add to the bowl" /></a>

Instructions.
1. In a really big glass mixing bowl place the drained white chicken meat and break it up into a pulp using a big wooden spoon or a pestle.
2. Season with seasoned salt and pepper
3. Mince the celery into small pieces and add to the bowl
4. Mince both the yellow onion and red onion (Breath through your mouth to help avoid burning your eyes on the onion fumes) and add to the bowl
5. Add Sweet pickle relish
Finally add the Mayonnaise and mix it all together with a big wooden spoon.
6. Add dried Parsley and paprika and stir
7. Give it a taste and see if it needs any more seasoning. I recommend you go easy on the salt since it is better to under salt something than over salt it.

Serve with Gluten free crackers, GF Toasted bread, with a small spoon. Olives, sliced apples and some good cheese are a nice side to this dish. It is even better the next day since the flavors have settled and mixed.

Variations on this recipe:
Thanksgiving Turkey Salad :Try turkey or instead of chicken and add some dried Cranberries
Curried Chicken Salad : Add a table spoon of curry powder and some raisins to the mix.

Now I know this sounds like non-gourmet peasant but it all reality it is not that far off from a high culture pate. But it is a tasty good comfort food and It is good to have most of the ingredients on hand so I can make it when called on to. (I've actually had her want me to make this in the middle of the night)

Fresh Chicken Salad has a really awesome fresh, creamy taste and you can enjoy it with other stuff like crackers, fruit and cheese. It can keep up to a week in the fridge if you store it in an air tight plastic container but you are probably going to eat it all up by then. Also it is good since if your stomach is bothering you to eat multiple smaller meals than one big one. For the past couple months Kymberly has been recovering from major surgery (with complications) on her GI track so this has been a good recipe to have on hand during those tough months.]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/glutenfree_recipes/kymberlys_favorite_glutenfree.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/glutenfree_recipes/kymberlys_favorite_glutenfree.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Gluten-Free Recipes</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2007 14:30:26 -0800</pubDate>
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         <title>My Journey with Celiac Disease - The Beginning - What the Hell is Wrong With Me!</title>
         <description><![CDATA[I have spent the last 3 years of my life being sicker than a dog.  We came to the conclusion in a semi-diagnosis about 9 months ago with Celiac Disease. This was after many many Emergency Room visits (43), more scopes than you can imagine, blood work to the point I didn't have any veins left and scan after scan. 

My symptoms were extreme.  They would hit without any warning but usually in the morning after going to the bathroom.  Sometimes all of a sudden I would have nausea, vomiting, severe sweating, chills and severe stomach pain. (I was literally a wet rag doll.) I would lie in the shower (until all the hot water was gone.. to the chagrin of my boyfriend who wanted to take a hot shower)with the hot water just running down all over me trying to relax and feel better.  My <em>"episodes" </em>would last 5-12 hours straight depending on whether I would pass out from sheer exhaustion or finally decide it was time to go to the Emergency Room.  

On two occasions the attacks were so bad I had to call an ambulance.   My treatment was always the same.  Bags of fluid due to dehydration and electrolytes out of whack, blood work, nausea medication and pain medication, plus some new test.  My visits would last anywhere from 4-6 hours with the occasional over-night stay. The Diagnosis was always the same,  Gastritis or Abdominal Pain of Unknown Cause.  I always left the hospital feeling great.  I was rehydrated and higher than a kite.  After each <em>"episode" </em>it would take a whole day of sleeping to just recover from the physical and emotional stress my body experienced.  

On top of the <em>"episodes"</em> I was also experiencing  weight loss, loss of energy, sleeping 12-15 hours a day or sleeping all weekend.  Fear of food, no appetite, anxiety and stress about leaving my house (it really was a nightmare to I have an "episode" while out and about.) And let us not also forget the depression, helpless and hopelessness I felt.

My physical symptoms would appear sporadic and there was no pattern.  I was tested for lots of digestive and female disorders.  Crohn's, Colitis, Cancers, Bacteria's, Ulcers, Endometriosis, Hormones, Acid reflux.  Anything they could think of, and many I have forgotten by this time.  As each test came back negative my depression, anxiety and fears increased.  

<strong><em>What the Hell was Wrong with Me! </em></strong> I was getting desperate.  These<em> "episodes" </em>were affecting every part of my life!  My work, My relationships, My confidence, My ability to even function. 
  
To be Continued.
]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/my_journey_with_celiac_disease.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/celiac/my_journey_with_celiac_disease.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Celiac</category>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Journal</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2007 00:17:01 -0800</pubDate>
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            <item>
         <title>Caution Cats at Work</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinenoir/502976818/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/502976818_d4c95fd379.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Tabitha the evil cat approves of the logo" /></a>

The kitties are hard at work on this site!]]></description>
         <link>http://www.felinenoir.com/kitties/caution_cats_at_work.html</link>
         <guid>http://www.felinenoir.com/kitties/caution_cats_at_work.html</guid>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Kitties</category>
                  <category domain="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category">Photos</category>
        
        
         <pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2007 23:24:03 -0800</pubDate>
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