Baby it's cold outside

According to the cat-thermometer, the warmest spot in the house is snuggling on the afghan that my aunt made. I went out this morning to get a loaf of bread and the cashier was also saying it was c-o-l-d outside (56 degrees at 8:00am). But then she said a guy from Alaska said this was nice weather. It's all relative to your tollerance level and we tollerate toasty here.

Spooky Political Signs

I'm on a quest this week to ride my bike around my community and find the combination of Halloween decorations and political signs. Sure, there's political signs and there's spooky decorations, but the combination of the two is as elusive as healthy halloween candy.

So far I've only found three and this is the best of them. Black widow spiders are really intense this year.

SD Hospice Art Committee

I have been volunteering with San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine for over three years now. I don't remember what introduced me to San Diego Hospice, but I aligned myself with the preeminent Hospice organization in the country. Once my workload increased, I could no longer devote the time and energy required of a Patient Care volunteer. Their website has a picture of the Intensive Care Center on the home page. But Hospice isn't a "place to go when you're dying," it's a philosophy of pain management and caring to improve quality of life at this stage.

About a year ago I began volunteering with the Art Committee assisting with the art rotation. Six times a year, paintings are rotated at the ICC. Artists pick up their work which was on exhibit for the prior two months and new artists bring in their work to be displayed for the next two months. We refer to this exchange as "rotation", not "hanging" although some hammering is done at the end of the morning to display the works. The Center is then open to the public the following weekend with an artists' reception with wine and cheese and a chance to meet the artists and purchase a painting. Their website has a picture of the facility on the home page.

A few months ago, two long-time fixtures of this event, the staff liaison and the Art Rotation coordinator retired after more than 10 years of service. The Art Rotation and Reception has improved and streamlined itself greatly in this period with everyone's input and assistance.

So it was no big deal when Gail asked if I would be willing to step in as Art Rotation coordinator. I was already bopping around performing the different tasks of the morning, learning the ropes as it were. If they needed a figurehead, I wouldn't mind. They failed to mention at the time that it included laundry duty! White gloves are worn by the people who help deliver the artwork to and from the artists and they would need washing before the next time. It also turns out that as coordinator, you are the point person if there are any questions, but my common sense has served me well.

At the end of the annual Art Committee meeting at the end of September, they awarded my common sense with this lovely silver clock engraved with "2008 SDH Art Committee Volunteer Of The Year." The Art Committee Chairman, Mary, encouraged me to open it (at the time I didn't know it was a clock.) The top swivels and I noticed a sticker, "Oh, look, it has a alarm so I won't be late to the next rotation!"

85th Birthday

Our neighbors, Angel and Yoli in black on the left, planned a surprise 85th birthday for Angel's dad, Leelo. It was a lovely gathering of friends and family. Many of their friends are musicians. Sam played some ballads on the guitar. Joe from Lucern didn't perform but made the music selections. As for Wayne, any story told with a British accent and hand gestures is funny.

Wailin' Sarah Palin

Photo Credit: We For Animals

D. A. Kolodenko's column, Presently Tense, in this week's San Diego Citybeat is titled, "Animal rights and wrongs -- Sarah Palin's Hypocritical Speechwriter." Matthew Scully wrote speeches for many Republicans including Sarah Palin's turn at the Republican National Convention. It's amazing that a person who penned a book (in 2003) titled, Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy could pen a speech for a "lifelong animal killer."

Read the entire column here: Animal rights and wrongs

Sarah Palin's disregard and abuse of animal welfare has been reported by U.S. New and World Report, The Los Angeles Times, and the Huffington Post. Let's expose this wolf in sheep's clothing and the senseless violence she embodies.

I also want to share this email I received:

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following. Please read.

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Eve Ensler, September 5, 2008

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COMMENTS:

Thank you for publishing Eve Ensler’s letter and informing me about Sarah Palin vs animals. It has always been a mystery to me how one can say he loves God, yet hurts his creation.

End of Summer

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer and back to school. Here in San Diego, summer goes on for a couple more months. The pacific ocean and the land has warmed up to bring us many more days of warm summer-like temperatures.

So what did you do to mark the "end of summer"? Cynthia and I took a ride down to Mission Gorge and the old dam. Except that she took me "the back way" and I was whining as I am know to do when faced with a little endurance test and warm temperatures. We stopped at a trail head where a lot of mountain bikers were heading across this bridge. There's a number of trails out there for rugged bikes and their peddlers.

The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park ended their summer hours on Labor Day weekend. Since we hadn't been up there in a few years, we drove to Escondido to the wild animal park. They've since added a balloon ride and extended their train ride, charging $20 and $15 respectively. Since we've been on the old train ride (when my sister was out visiting in, wow, 2005?) we passed on this one. Later in the day when we went, the temperatures were cooler and the lions were more playful. We also visited the elephants and gorillas. Was the gorilla thinking what I was, "when will this heat break?"

Doggie sitting and swimming

My aunt called Saturday morning to talk before she headed down to the Connecticut coastline to see her sister. Sue was throwing a back-to-school last hurrah. Debbie said she would like to come as long as she didn't have to go back to school. Would my cousin and her five children be there? Yes, all my cousins. It'll be fun to get an update.

Meanwhile, I was doggie sitting mid-day on both weekend days. On Sunday, Larry thought he'd come over and bring his trunks. He got a lesson on having dogs in the family. He got into the pool. Well of course the puppies wanted to come in too. I strapped on their jackets and helped them in. Hadley is a good little swimmer while Benny plays king of the island. Dylan the standard poodle was there too and swam in the water without a jacket. He's become a strong swimmer since I've seen him last summer.

When Larry's blood sugar felt low, he asked if there were any bananas. I know bananas are one of their favorite treats, but Larry didn't. He was quite surprised to have the attention of Sam the boxer, Benny & Hadley. You have to give them each a piece. They schooled Larry.

Garden Inspiration

I still get over to our old North Park neighborhood because I work at All Vegan on Wednesdays and pop over to the Water Lady. This alley cottage was a few streets behind that, in the neighborhoods that we used to walk, but I just don't remember it.

I remember seeing pictures and gardening shows of small backyard and vertical gardens and being really impressed. They were city gardens in areas like San Francisco. There's just lots of little detail to appreciate in a small space. We'll be replanting our front yard with more drought tolerant plants and I'm overwhelmed by the size of the area. Maybe I should approach it like several little gardens. There are sections divided by driveway or sidewalk. One patch is in the shape of the state of Utah: maybe I'll fashion a Moab sandstone arch for the little succulents in that bed. Larry suggested that where we plant some "hens & chicks", we can put some rooster statues there too. How do you like that, dad?!

I'm checking out xeriscape and water-wise gardening books from the library. I'm compiling lists of plants. You have to keep it interesting by keeping in mind verticality, blooming times, and compatibility. We'll probably just end up going to a garden center and get what's available; just because it's in a book or on my list doesn't mean I'll be able to find it. I have great appreciations for the nice gardens we see on our walks through our neighborhoods.

Beauty and the Beast at Spa MD

On Sunday, Spa MD in La Jolla held a fund raiser for the Greyhound Connection and other dog rescue organizations. One of the events was a doggy fashion show where Doctor Dylan here won first place. Patti, helping with his scrubs, works at the spa as a massage therapist.

We don't get out to the beaches and La Jolla as much, even though it's a pretty easy ride along the 52 for about 25 miles each way. It was nice to take a stroll down to the cove and around. Not much has changed, but it is disconcerting to see people down in the children's pool area where seals once pupped. I recently read in a children's book of all things that people are everyone's enemy. It's certainly true for these seals being forced out. But I digress.

It was a big day out for the dogs. Benny was dog-tired by the end of the day and slept for most of the next day.

Rolling along with the earthquake

By the time that you recognize that it's an earthquake, it's over. With today's technology, you can turn on the television and the local news station is already covering the event. They were able to report on size (5.6 downgraded to 5.4), the location (Chino Hills outskirts of LA, 110 miles N of San Diego) and any damage (little, water mains mostly.)

At the time (11:42am Tues), I was at work on the computer at an elevated desk on a questionable Ikea stool. By the time you've acknowledged that the screws aren't coming out, a big truck is not driving by, you have a few split seconds to enjoy the rolling sensation of this earthquake. It's not like being in a car on an overpass. Well, they could be like that, but with this it was more of a rolling, undulating feeling, not so bouncy.

I've experienced a few quakes since moving to San Diego and they've all had their slight quirks. Driving on the 163, it felt like you were a little disconnected from the road for an instant. "I feel the earth, move, under my feet . . ." Sitting on the futon in a second floor condo, it seemed like I could see a wave of vibration making it's way around the walls of the living room. It was the middle of the day and I was completely lucid and sober!

Larry said the cats were not phased in the least. They just continued on with their naps. Cappuccino is very handsome and you can't photograph an earthquake. So here you are.

Visit from Oregon

Reba's nieces, Halley & Natalie are down from Oregon spending a whopping 17 days with their auntie. They came over for a swim on Sunday and had so much fun. They were laughing and swimming and playing and splashing. By the time they got out, it hit them; they were tired. They do hope to have time for another visit before they leave at the end of the month.

20 Years

Larry says he can't imagine doing anything for 20 years. Hard to believe that much time has gone by since we said "I do." But then I love Larry more and more each day, so I'm bursting with happiness.

The most important thing is to be kind. I have not found an occasion or situation where the Golden Rule doesn't apply. Want someone to respect you? Respect them.

We didn't do any big traditional thing like take a trip or even go out to eat (two things Larry is not very fond of and I can respect that) because we just bought a house. Living in southern California is permanent vacation. We like to celebrate on the eve of holidays, so we ordered take-out. We eat salads most nights and our heirloom tomato provided us with a heart-shaped fruit for the occasion. This particular variety is named "Mortgage Buster". Maybe as we improve the soil, it will bear an abundance of fruit, similar to 20 years of marriage. Awww!

Happy 4th of July

OMG! This is the best picture of Larry ever!
Can I have some of your eye-openness?

At 6pm, we walked over to Lake Murray for their July 4th Music Fest and Fireworks. We met Cynthia & Patti with Angel & Dylan and walked around the lake to get to the community park where they had a big sound stage set up. We caught the last band, Liquid Blue, who performed a wide variety of covers from Madonna to Led Zeppelin. Toward the end of the concert, we started walking back to catch the fireworks and have a shorter walk home. The dogs weren't too bothered by the fireworks. Angel is so old she's probably a little hard of hearing. Dylan was nervous at first, but then he settled down and watched the show.

Bamboo Power

You've got to love pure random chance. I was in Hillcrest and thought I'd swing into the Trader Joe's nearby. Half of the parking lot was being repaved, so I took a different route out and passed by this van.

This traveling billboard for bamboo brings me back to macaroni mosaics and wanting to decorate my own cars and bicycles. I want to know if it whistles while traveling down the 805? Visit his website for factoids on bamboo.

Under Sixty Saves

Pictures taken from a car never come out well, but you get the idea. This picture was taken two weeks ago at the height of the current fuel prices. At the beginning of this year, I was paying $3.539 for a gallon of diesel. That's an increase of 146%. Still, I'm not complaining.

Remember back to the 1970's: Long gas lines, "Out of Gas" signs. I wasn't driving then, but I got the message: conserve. Back then, I remember slogans like "55 Saves Lives". Well, it turns out that it also saves fives too ($$$).

On May 28, 2008, the Wall Street Journal published a little column, Me & My Car, where columnist Jonathan Welsh answers readers' questions about automobiles:

Q: To obtain the best gas mileage, what is the optimum speed one should maintain on an open highway? I've heard all sorts of answers.

A: While each vehicle performs differently, a rule of thumb for maximizing fuel economy is to keep highway speed to 60 mph or less. According to the EPA, exceeding 60 mph severely hurts the fuel economy of most vehicles. The Agency says "each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas." Several tips on saving fuels appear at fueleconomy.gov.

Speed limits, actually Speed MAXIMUMs, posted on San Diego freeways are 55 for trucks and trailers, 65 for all other vehicles. My commute to work is only three exits on the 8 freeway. I set the cruise control for 60 and keep to the right lane. Many people are speeding past me. It's also amusing to see commercial trucks passing me when their maximum speed should be 5 mph less.

I waited to write this post until I went a full tank with this experiment, testing my fuel economy when I kept my highway speed at a maximum of 60 mph. It improved from 40 mpg to 46 mpg. I got 15% better gas mileage. My diesel VW Beetle is rated 42/49 mpg.

My first car, a 1986 Subaru hatchback, got 35 mpg and there hasn't been much improvement in the two decades since. Americans have started to conserve which can help stabilize prices. They aren't doing all they can. It would be premature to start drilling in protected areas. Would that be the last frontier? And then what happens when those supplies are exhausted? Permanent "Out of Gas" signs with new technologies lagging behind once again.

Compass Lake Block Party

This is the second year that the neighborhood signed a permit to close off the street for the day. They set up grills, canopies, chairs and tables in front of 3 or 4 houses for the block party. Their kids have a lot of energy or the sight of a bouncy house brings it out. We had rain the day before and even sprinkles this morning, but the day warmed up and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was another beautiful day in San Diego.

They arranged for our local fire station to make a visit. This is the 1,925th fire engine that the city has purchased (I asked about "1925" on the back; the department was established in 1889.) This truck is outfitted for home and brush fires as well as emergency and rescue at Cowles Mountain. There are two engines at our "34" station. After getting the tour and hefting one of the fire hose nozzles, I am very impressed with their knowledge and strength.

Beautiful Day

Wow-wee! We had three days of 90+ degree heat. Sure, it's dry heat, so it REALLY feels like an oven. The kitties managed to find cool spots, but they were still instinctively drawn to the sun and the slider. At least Ccino had the good sense to lie in the shade under his canape.

One day later and the temperature was PERFECT. I had the car window down and realized how really beautiful it was. The temperature read 72 degrees. It was perfect! Our backyard is loving it too. The star jasmine is flowering and permeating the air with a sticky-sweet flowery scent. The nasturtiums from seed have a yellow and a red-pink flowers. The bird of paradise put up a flower. Tropical scents, colors, and shapes!

Happy Father's day

Happy Mother's Day! But I didn't get a mother's day photo. No mouse clutching a violet left on my back stoop. No other cat presents found in the house. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing day of little work. Eat, Nap, Play (or take a few walks, as we did.)

We've made up the word "Napazol" which is the spinal fluid in a cat which causes them to sleep 18 hours a day. When there are a few cats around us, we often succumb to the ambient Napazol.

Mother's Day update: Later in the day I did find a present on the bed. Wooster carries this fluffy tufted toy around in his mouth and makes that "mewling" sound. Usually it just makes it to the bedroom and each day I take it back out to the living room container of cat toys. Today it made it up on the bed. Sweethearts.

Early Squash in the Mist

When we see tomato plants in the garden centers we get excited. While we may not fully understand the growing seasons here in San Diego, if it's in the garden center it must be okay, right? That day in April we bought some tomato plant seedlings and some packets of seeds.

I planted two hills of squash but didn't label them. One hill has three plants the other has only one. Larry was wondering which was which (summer squash or zucchini) and I said we'll just have to wait and see. Here it is the beginning of May the the three-plant hill has the yellow summer squash. We got some rain last night and it is misty this morning. Still, it's been very dry here for the past month and we collect the shower water to water the plants.

Spring Volunteers

My friend Cherie composes wonderful stories about her yard with the Kodak photo album. Inspired by her, I thought I'd share what's popping up in our yard.

A neighbor gave Larry a small Bird of Paradise. He planted it in one of the many terracotta pots left by the previous owner. I saw some sprouts starting and rather than assume they were weeds and pluck them out, I let them mature to see what they were. Apparently, at one time, the soil must have had some annuals. Here's some sweet Alyssum and some other sweet plant with a red violet flower.

We're keeping the squash hills watered because they dry out quickly. The tomatoes are in little wells, so they hold the water better. The tomatoes have flowers; we'll see if it's not too soon for them to develop into something. Maybe we'll have a little tomato before June, when we'd be thinking about planting that more tropical plant in Connecticut.

I'll couch for that

Cappuccino approved of the "new" couch our friend gave us. His look seems to say "I own this couch." It's a sleeper couch which my friend says we can use for when guests come (chuckle). It's micro suede which is a very durable fabric against cat scratching. Oh, there will be and has been cat scratching, Mr. Ccino. I bought a new cardboard scratcher and primed it with catnip and brought it out the day the couch arrived. It was sort of a distraction. Another deterrent against scratching is to attach double-stick tape. Cats don't like the sticky feeling on their paws. Cappuccino, however, loves tape. We have to hide the packing tape, gnaw, gnaw, gnaw. Quite an amusing cat.

Vegan Shrimp Helix

At the 2007 Natural Products Expo in Los Angeles, VegeUSA had a large booth with samples of their product. We sampled all their products and I liked a few even though I don't crave meat analogs and certainly don't crave any animal flesh.

Our local market, Windmill Farms, had these products on sale and I picked up a few packages. I made a cajun rice dish last night which calls for soysage. I substituted the vegan shrimp. It was interesting and fine in the dish. There is a firm texture to the product, somewhat how I remember shrimp to feel in your mouth.

I thought I'd look up the main ingredient after water, Curdlan Gum. Chemistry-wise, "Curdlan gum is a microbial fermentation extracellular polymer prepared commercially from a mutant strain of Alcaligenes faecalis var. myxogenes." If you then look up Alcaligenes faecalis, it's a mutant of soil bacteria and produced some inhibitory activity against Sarcoma and carcinoma in a cancer study in 1978.

Still, I think I'll stick to whole foods that I can pronounce and not the highly-processed glucans. Many studies have also linked the vegetarian and vegan diets to health benefits. [smile]

Make the best of it

Here's a picture of my parents when I last went back to visit 2 years ago. They're going through a difficult time right now with my dad's health failing and my mom as caregiver. It's a very difficult time as you can imagine, both physically and emotionally. I thank my aunt for being there to relieve my mom (for grocery shopping) and I thank both her and Allen for visiting with my dad. Thank you.

"Make the best of it. When you make the best of whatever you're focused upon, your future will be better than your now. If each moment you're making the best of what-is, no matter what it is, you make the best of it; make the best of it; make the best of it—your future just gets better and better and better, and better. "

Excerpted from a workshop in Boulder, CO on Saturday, June 7th, 2003
©1997-2007 Abraham-Hicks Publications.

Pick a peck of paintings

I met Kathryn through Organic Athlete. When I was shopping at People's Coop, I went upstairs to the deli and noticed that her paintings were on display! She paints sweet still lifes, lives? {smile} Here's a note from her:


Thanks for taking a look at my artwork! There's still time, the exhibit is up until May 9, so there are still more than 6 weeks left. So definitely do spread the word to anyone you think might be interested. I've sold a lot of work there, and as it sells, I replace it. I'm really enjoying it, getting all that great feedback.

Plus, a Writer's Collective from a local college was having a meeting there about a book that they're publishing, an anthology called "Hunger and Thirst". They saw my work there and contacted me, wondering if they could use my work on the book cover and within the text. So I said absolutely, and it's in the works now! Will be published in the fall. You can see a preliminary mock-up and links to more info about the book here: http://kathrynlaw.blogspot.com/2008/03/book-cover-mock-up.html

And, I just had another painting--a plein air landscape in Balboa Park-- accepted into a juried show in Fallbrook, opening this Friday. So things are going really well with the painting.

Day off in Poppy Land

Last Thursday I had a day off. I ran errands in the morning then Larry came home for lunch. We hiked just half a mile up Cowles Mountain in the San Carlos section of San Diego. Larry's been up it a few times on his lunch break. I came up on a cluster of California Poppies and said, "Ooooo." No, just you wait! he said.

At about the half mile point are little fields of the yellow poppy. I took pictures facing the mountain and then turning around to overlook Lake Murray. Our house is a little bit more left of the red dot. We walk to and partly around the Lake, but it's more of a hike to the mountain before you even start your climb, so sadly we drive there. An oxymoron, as I see it.

Succulents explode

Succulents are interesting enough on their own, but this time of year they are exploding with color. With the rainfall the Southern California has received this winter, it is predicted to be a nice year for wildflowers. This is a yard in the El Cerrito community of San Diego.

Duck, duck,

We're less than a mile from Lake Murray reservoir in the San Carlos area of San Diego with approximately 170 surface acres of water, but these two water fowl chose to land on our pool on Wednesday morning. They took a few laps, hopped up on the side to check out the grass, then took off.

Lake Murray has many types of birds along its shore. Larry says he saw a swan last week.

Oh, and we had the juniper taken out. Where you see the dirt line along the back is where a serpentine of juniper bushes grew. Before, it was like walking a tightrope around the far side of the pool. Just one step at a time; not sure how we'll landscape it. More fruit trees are certainly an option.

Now is the time to ask yourself

Why do you eat meat? The Humane Society of the United States investigated a Southern California slaughtering plant and documented many unfit cows being tortured and abused. Dr. Michael Greger explains in this video how these practices can contaminate a large quantity of meat. He even wrote in 2003 how USDA regulations do not go far enough.

While you many be outraged, disgusted, saddened by these practices, this is business and there is a demand for the product. By simply asking yourself at every meal: Do I need to eat this piece of meat? you are making a conscious decision to continue or to end these practices.

"Veganism in a nutshell" explains the top five reasons people go vegan (abstain from meat and animal products). What we choose to eat has an impact on human rights, animal rights & abuse, the environment, and our health. I first went vegetarian for the selfish reason of health. I choose to be vegan for the far-reaching impact it has on many facets of our lives.

You already don't eat much if any beef? Congratulations! So you know that you may lose your taste for a food after cutting it out for two weeks. Now how about showing some respect for chickens and fish, the "Rodney Dangerfields" of the animal world. Dr. Neal Barnard of PCRM discusses the benefits of a vegan diet on a variety of health issues, most recently diabetes.

You may choose to close your eyes, but please don't close your mind.

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Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 Wall Street Journal article on page B1 ("Oversite 'Flaw' Led to Meat Recall") explains factory farming as a business with suppliers and quotas: "The plant for years was a major buyer of older, spent dairy cows from the many dairy farms in the Inland Valley, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles." and "In a statement he gave to Chino police before he was arrested, Mr. Navarro said he felt pressure to ensure that 500 cows were slaughtered each day. If he didn't meet that quota, he said, Mr. Salas would get angry."

Thank You Percy

Percy passed away peacefully in his sleep at 4:30 this morning, Sunday February 3rd. Percy had his routines and he was in his favorite sleeping spot at the top of the bed. I've never had a cat pass away naturally and it's very beautiful, at least I hope it was for him.

Percy was 6 years old when we adopted him from the Connecticut Humane Society on April 14th, 1999. The form from the society placed him at 5 years old but our wonderful vet changed it to 6 years. So Percy graced us with his presence for 9 years and lived for about 15 years.

In 2003, he made the trip cross-country on the back seat of the mini van. He took the trip the best. Toward the end of the trip we were all getting a little bratty. In Arizona, we had to move the bed to extract all the cats, including Percy.

Percy was getting around well, but walked with a hitch because of his arthritis and "shot" knees (he kept his back legs straight most of the time.) I'll miss his squeaking at 6:37am (a very good little alarm clock) for morning feeding. Aww, last night I needed to blend up Cappuccino's food so I made a smoothie for all the cats. Percy did love smoothie day.

My friend Cherie reminded me of a game we used to play in the younger years: "I'm gonna getcha little Percy!" I'd say that line and he'd squeak and race off like a bunny rabbit until he stopped/I caught up with him and pet-pet-petted him. He did love a good game of string too, although it was mostly an upper body workout in the later years. Thank you all for the heart-felt condolences and for sharing your own experiences of your furry companions.

I'll miss seeing Percy in his favorite spots, his favorite routine. After eating, making his way to the living room and then to the futon for a morning snooze. I didn't see his daily routine, but would come home early some days to see him snoozing in a sun spot in Larry's sunny office. The days I was later, he would be waiting by the food bowls and greeting me with a squeak. Or he would already be on the futon again because I was really late and Larry had fed the kitties. Evening hours he would make at least one trip back to the kitchen for crunchies, then back up the stepped containers to the top of the bed, down to the litter boxes and water in the master bath, back up again, not always a restful night.

Percy didn't have much that was "his". We just all lived together and made accomodations for each other. He was a definite presence who is missed. Thank you, Percy.

Here's some links to some Percy stories:

Smoothie Day

Percy by the Pool

Percy loves to be vacuumed

Teeth cleaning

Cirque de Soleil in Del Mar

I had the priviledge of attending the "Corteo" performance by the Cirque de Soleil troupe in Del Mar last Tuesday. It is performed under le grand chapiteau with two entrances to house the circular stage. The stage is divided in half by curtains which also allow scenes to be performed in a dream-like state. The stage itself has a trap door in the center for appearing/disappearing acts. Concentric circles of the stage rotate to give the audience a full view of this performance in the round.

No photography is allowed; see the NY Times review for photos of the acrobatics. I was gasping and dropping my jaw at some of the surprising performances. The supported cartwheels in the giant hula-hoop were more amazing than my simplified naming. Acrobatics, juggling, high-wire walking, tumbling, musical performance, a great treat for the eyes and ears and all the more appreciated by me from attending yoga and stretch classes.

Haven't you always wanted a monkey?

Seeing the tree trimmer work, I'm reminded of lyrics from "If I had a million dollars" by BNL. Well, he did have climbing boots and was strapped in good, but he also looked like a monkey up in these palm trees. He climbed two trees and swung or rapelled to the other three. The front palm tree was trimmed by a man in a bucket truck. Hey! That's cheating! I was more impressed with this man's climbing talents, but the owner says because the other guy can operate the machinery, he gets more money.

We had the trees trimmed just in time as that following weekend was a monsoon of a rainstorm for San Diego. Rinsed things off nicely. The neighbor said it was good timing too. The fruits on the palm would have rained down like hail.

New Years Day Spa

Happy New Year! The filter was running. It was a sunny day and fairly mild in San diego. I thought I'd see how long it would take to heat up the spa. It started at 55 degrees. I turned on the heater to high. I waited. some more. Actually, people are surprised to hear that it heated up to 90 degrees in about an hour. We'll be looking into a solar cover for the pool which will extending the swimming season from March to November, our pool man estimates. That, and it helps with evaporation, preventing it.

We took down the fencing that was around the patio. You see just the poles here. It really opens up the backyard. There's lots to do if we want to and a little bit each weekend makes it managable.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I managed to forget my camera as we were on our way to the San Diego Zoo. Larry said he didn't get any good still pictures but did get this video of the new panda cub, Zhen Zhen. She's almost 5 weeks old now and weighs 18 pounds. Hmm, she looked a little bigger than our 20-pound petite baby Puffin. Must be all that fur that the keeper says is 20-times more wiry than sheep wool and 50-times more smelly.


San Diego Zoo Panda Cub Zhen Zhen

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