[Swuzly]

I need some suggestions as to how to handle this.

Every year my mother and sibs with families- 23 total, get together for a 2 week vacation at a lodge we own in the Adirondacks. Each couple has its own room and most of the "cousins" share- 2 to a room. We share the restaurant style kitchen, all foods go on shelves together in the industrial sized refrigerator, and boxed goods are stored together in a pantry.

Breakfasts and lunches are prepared in the kitchen by each family on their own timetable. Sometimes it is packed in the kitchen and finding a small space in which to work is difficult. When the "cousins" come in for snacks, which is often- ages 11 to 23, they prepare foods and often don't clean up after themselves. Coaching is done in reminding but more often than not the kichen is abandoned with food on the counters.

Something is baked every day from scratch- flour is airborn from 9am until 5pm.

Then around 6pm, a quick wipedown of the kitchen is done and one family begins the preparation of the group meal for the evening which is served buffet style in the kitchen and eaten together in the dining room around 8pm. The menu is left to the family preparing. Every family prepares 2 meals in the course of two weeks for everyone present.

This worked great until my son and I were diagnosed- GS, last fall. I am much more sensitive than our son and last Thanksgiving when we were there for 6 days, I had a three week setback in gluten detox. No one meant to include gluten in the meals, but it ended up there anyway and I was not told when it did. Gluten ataxia revenge.

The common areas, 2 living rooms, 1 dining room, 1 game room, 1 reading room, are shared by all and everyone eats in those as well as the kitchen. Gluten containing snacks, or crumbs are often left sitting on tables, couches and chairs. It would not be common practice for anyone to wipe down a place they had been in if they had had a snack containing gluten.

A general pick up is done each evening, but furniture and tables are not wiped down except for in specific eating areas- kitchen and dining room.

So the plans for this year are forming and I have said I do not see how we can attend. All of our meals would need to be prepared separately for starters in a completely cleaned kitchen which I cannot go in and clean. Can anyone see a way around some of the other obstacles? This is the one opportunity I have to see my mother and siblings each year. I am in Maine- my mother and 1 sis in VA, 1 sis in MD, 1 sis in CT, 1 bro in NH (who I do see other times) and 1 bro in NY. We have done annual large family vacations, and for our family- dh, ds and me, the only vacation- since 1980.

Thanks for your input,
Leslie
ps see the lodge: www.ottercreeklodge.com

[lmb3]

If I were in your situation, I think I would still go, however buy a fridge to keep in your room to keep your food separate. I would probably prepare all meals in a seperate, clean area and then just go into the kitchen for cooking the food. I think with that many people, even if they are willing to 'try' to do everything GF, it just isn't possible to keep it 100% GF.

Or maybe you can setup a scheduled time in the kitchen to prepare GF meals and then set aside (in fridge) until it needs to be cooked. I am thinking first thing in the morning before anyone else hits the kitchen or last thing the night before - after the kitchen is cleaned.

Where there is a will, there is a way. I don't think I would expect to be included 100% in the cooking or having allowed access to the kitchen though. Not with that many people. Now that I think about it, I would probably do option number 2 above. That way I would just know that things are safe.

As for cleaning the remainder of the house, I would not put that responsibility on everyone else. You are responsible for your health, wipe things down before you sit. Maybe you can do what my son's school does - keep a handy container of Lysol wipes in every room. Easily accessible and convenient. Then, maybe, just maybe, your family members will take the initiative to clean up after themselves. (That would be a big MAYBE if they are anything like my family. )

[KimS]

That's a tough situation! It would be such a shame to miss this.

You could always ask if everyone would consider going gf for vacation time. You could teach them how to make cookies etc. so they wouldn't have to go without. Everyone could eat rice noodles for spaghetti, etc.

Barring that, here are some things that we've found to help:

Bring all your meals in covered containers that can be heated in oven or microwave with cover intact.

Put table cloths on all tables so that contact with table tops doesn't occur. That way the cloths can be changed twice a day and just thrown in the washer. (Second hand stores have tablecloths for awesome prices!)

I would strongly suggest that NO scratch/flour be allowed there. If people want homemade bread, etc. they can make it at home and bring it... the same as you will be doing with every single meal of your own. If they won't comply, I would suggest bringing a tent.

Get in the habit of wiping your face or rubbing your nose with your sleeve, not your hand.

Keep all YOUR food in your bedroom... maybe put a mini fridge in there too.

Bring your supplements, a pot of chicken, carrot, cabbage broth (if you don't react to any of those) and a big bag of epsom salts. Have an es bath every night and a bowl of soup to help you detox. every day.

If you start to feel 'yuck', do a day of soup broth only. Do not do more than 3 or 4 days for a fast though.

Spend most of your time outside.

That's all I can come up with for now... I'll keep thinking though.

(Wow! What a gorgeous place!)

[Swuzly]

Of my sibs, only one has started a Gf diet herself, and she is not completely GF, just moving in that direction- with no known adverse effects of GS,- just knowing she is at risk. But noone else is concerned so I would not ask them to cook Gf or wipe down an area for our sake. It is, vacation- in everyone's mind, so things are kept mostly low key.

I got to laughing about the scratch flour comment. I thought to send my brother a new ad for the lodge:
~glutenated vacation lodge comes with scratch flour~
The lodge is prestocked, flour, sugar, b and w, confectioners, cocoa, bkg soda, bkg powder, olive oil, vinegar, vegetable oil, crisco, salt, pepper, a cabinet of herbs and spices, a cabinet of "natural flavorings", tea, coffee, hot chocolate, filters and sometimes after we all leave,.. a freezer full of assorted remnant icecreams. Many of which will undoubtedly contain gluten.

Kim, the table cloth is a great idea. The es baths sound good too, but I'm not sure if there is a tub in any of the rooms- maybe only showers. The rooms I have stayed in only have showers.

As for the broth, is turkey as effective as chicken as I have anaphylaxis (sp) with chicken. I know chicken has specific healing enzymes and I do not think turkey does.

LOL on the tent, what a great idea! We actually discussed renting a small cottage in the area- but it is cost prohibitive for our family. Just to give a little perspective our home here in Maine is smaller SF than the new great room at the lodge.

For us, the cost of the trip to the lodge- gas, tolls- and the 1 group meal, which if we go will be GF, uses all of our budgeted vacation money for the year. So I guess that really does say tent,.. which then says GRRR,.. bear, coyote, monsterous raccoons, bobcat I will have to ponder that one a while. The bear are good sized.

Thanks for your comments though, they help me organize my plans and see if there is a feasibility. Maybe 3 days instead of the week or two. Maybe wait until Thanksgiving again.

Leslie

[KimS]

Use turkey then instead. The important part is to use ALL of it though. The skin and bones offer a realm of nutrition that the meat doesn't (and vice versa).

I just thought later... when we went to my s-i-l's we put a fitted sheet over the love seat that we sat on because that is where they regularly snacked to watch t.v. - so we knew there was gluten all over it. It was a really quick fix and we did not get sick at her house... However, she let us take over her kitchen and they ate gf right along with us... so the furniture was the only issue left.

[Swuzly]

HI Kim,

The fitted sheet is a great idea. Thanks for the post. Leslie

[bob26]

I'm still pretty new to this, so there is a lot I don't understand about gluten contamination, cross contamination of foods is obvious, but can one inhale enough airborne gluten to have a reaction? But aside from that I would suggest getting a seal-a-meal, precook and freeze all of your meals, and like most thanksgiving gettogethers you make have to sit a separate table.

[NancyM]

I think someone posted an article from a Dr's blog about air contamination with gluten on BT. Unfortunately that site is so slow, finding it will be about impossible.

[bob26]

Originally Posted by NancyM

I think someone posted an article from a Dr's blog about air contamination with gluten on BT. Unfortunately that site is so slow, finding it will be about impossible.

I thought it was just me, I'm on dial up, every time I've tried to log on to BT I just give up.

[Swuzly]

I thought it was just me, I'm on dial up, every time I've tried to log on to BT I just give up

It's getting better over there, Bob, sometimes you can get in fine but then trying to post can be worth hopping back off again. Today I posted a couple of things but not without first getting a lot of vertical lines that sliced though my posts and left more than half out. Oh well, maybe with time it will get better. ANd I would say, yes, you can get gluten by way of airborn flour. You can also get it by touching it or touching something it has touched.

Lelsie