Mattie's in da house

"ALOHA!" from me, Mattie.
It's been a busy week for mom, she just wanted to me to pop in and say hello! HELLO! and ask how you are HOW ARE YOU? and let you know she will be visiting blogs in person as soon as she's done with a bunch o'deadline-heavy work-related stuff that's due early this week...


Random veg sign.

It's a pig's world.

Catastrophe!? Meowza!

This photo captures the glee (?) of a post-5K race last weekend at which Heidi's dad, Peter, finished second overall (he's super-fast), and mom... uh... well, let's just say she was waaaaaaaay behind, but she was third in her age group. Not sure how many others were in her age group though! HA! Heidi and i were there scopin' things out for snacks 'n' stuff at the post-race festivities. Lotsa goodies...

Where's Mommy?

P.S.

If you have some spare change, there're some groovy auctions goin' on right now to help abandoned cocker spaniels (like i once was!):

http://www.jamdweck.com/phpauction/adsearch.php

P.S. 2

Got teens?

http://www.vegetarianteen.com/

P.S. 3

HUGS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD WEEKEND AND WEEK!

Au revoir, Canada

<----- This is the CN Tower (http://www.cntower.ca/portal/) in Toronto. I didn't take this photo but it's better than the ones i have. It was blustery and overcast when i was in Toronto so this photo taken in better weather does this edifice better justice...
84.1 for a gallon o'gas? Wow! Wait a minute now... Gas isn't cheaper; it's in litres!


This gull was hangin' out at Niagara Falls in New York. And here i thought these guys were only found hangin' out at the beach in Southern California!






















Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls. From the Canadian side. Oh. My. Gosh. Lookit the peeps on the overlook! That must be quite a place to gawk. As my dad drove and my mom did her best to navigate us out of Canada en route to the airport in Buffalo, N.Y., I was hangin' out of the rental car to get this photo as we didn't have time to stop. Incredible.


Had to grab a shot of this snack stand at the airport in Buffalo... (let's hope that's a Smart Dog there!) It would only be a few hours (well, more like 7 or 8) until i saw the *real* Mattie!! My oldest sister & her two kids dog-sat the Matster while i was away.



I had a great time away but i was really glad to get back home!

The weeding... (2nd of 2 posts 2night)

I'm so cynical... of course, it's wedding, not weeding! My oldest nephew (age 23) got married to a nice young lady he met in Canada... that's why my mom and dad and i trekked to the beautiful city of Toronto to be a part of the festivities. Below are photos from the wedding (and some from before the wedding) of my sister Sheryl and her family (rabbi husband and their 10 children) as well as my mom and my dad and me! It was great to see all of the little ones... you can see Chaya, who was here a month ago, with the rest of her four sisters and five brothers. I don't know how my sis has done it... all the kids are truly smart, funny and nice! Her youngest is 2 1/2 years old. I love the last photo. I hadn't seen this London-living sister of mine in about 3 years.

And i'm really *not* a sports fan!

One of the trip highlights was meeting fellow veg blogger and friend, Carrie ( http://thehouseofsimon.blogspot.com/ )! She is absolutely a gem. I love her! I had a blast the night she and her sweet hubby, Jim, took me pretty much all over Toronto! At left and elsewhere on this post, you can see we are at the front of the insanely packed with rabid fans Air Canada Centre ( http://www.theaircanadacentre.com/ ) where their beloved Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League play home games. Below is the happy couple at one of the subway stations in Toronto. We "Rode the Rocket" to a superb vegan restaurant called "Vegetarian Haven," which Carrie recently blogged about. It was in a word: Awesome. The food, the ambiance, the warmth. SO GOOD!

Carrie and Jim and i hung out for a little at a hotel adjacent to the Rogers Centre ( http://www.rogerscentre.com/ ) where the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball play their home games but the field was set up for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. As a longtime sports writer/editor, it was a blast for me to check these venues out. And with Carrie and Jim, it was extra special. It was my last night in Canada... what a way to end things! Superb!!

Trippin'

<----- New York State of Mind... and below, the Rainbow Bridge really exists, and it's in CANADA!

This reminded me of the funny sign photos Candi has taken on her hikes around Washington state...

Niagara Falls from the U.S. side. Awesome, but even better to see from Canada!

Niagara Falls in New York.

Water heading toward the Falls.

Foliage nearby. Loved the colours!

More foliage as the water heads to the Falls.

My dad walked down a path as we left the actual Falls.

My dad poses on a bridge near the Falls.

The Niagara Falls Park in New York.

Something i'd never seen before and which i saw a lot of in Canada... a black squirrel. I'd only seen gray ones. Very spry, these ebony guys!

Tuning in and toon-ing out (last link, so cute!)

Hello!
How are YOU!?
I hope the week's been good to you and your loved ones.
I've been preoccupied as tour guide, writing some last-minute stories, and busy preparing for the trip to Canada. But i am curious how you (and you know who you are!) are, and i plan to visit everyone i can in blogland this weekend during down time at work!


My co-worker made this cake for her daughter's birthday this past week and though i know it's not vegetarian (she used marshmallows & Twinkies... gelatin & beef fat, yuck!!), it's still cute...

My niece and i way up high at Cabrillo National Monument. Thanks to my friend Vince ( http://hikeofyourlife.com/ ) for the National Parks Pass that got us in free! YAY! The view of the water (San Diego Bay, which empties out into the Pacific Ocean) and downtown San Diego behind us was spectacular! I'm wearing a t-shirt my mom bought me earlier this year at the vegetarian and vegan-friendly Blind Faith Cafe in suburban Chicago.

My dad and niece at a Kosher (and vegetarian and vegan-friendly) pizza restaurant where some of my family went earlier in the week for dinner.

My mom and niece at Cabrillo. We had a great afternoon up there, it was a sunny day with stunning views!

The view from one of the bathrooms at Cabrillo is insane, a million-dollar view if ever there was one, looking out over the ocean... I was in the next stall over when my niece was checking things out so i grabbed the photo before anyone else came in the bathroom and wondered "What in the world?!"

It's been a fun week showing her around, i forgot how nice some of these places are around San Diego County. I still have places to take her before we head East.

How's the weather out that way? I'm almost afraid to find out because i think i threw out my winter coat and hat and gloves years ago... i'm ill-prepared, so what else is new?

ZOINKS!

I don't know this guy but i like him: J.D. Fortune!

http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2006/oct06/20061012_inxs.html

Not likin' this... giving vegetarians a bad name...
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Oct/20061013Life003.asp

Vegan cyclists, here's a NOISY site for us:

http://cycling.thenoisies.com/

Some deals to be had at Vegan Unlimited:

http://www.veganunlimited.com/specials.html

Get in touch with your scribblin' inner child! It's totally fun:

http://www.zefrank.com/scribbler/

Awesome bumper sticker & it's free!

I already ordered mine - your turn now:

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/choose-veg-bumper-sticker.asp

And... without further ado... a cute little cartoon to (i hope!) get the weekend off to a fun start!

http://www.timetogoveggie.com/ttgv/index.html

Tour guide

The second of five girls and the fourth of 10 children, this is my middle sister's daughter, Chaya. She's been on holiday visiting my family until some of us go to her oldest brother's wedding later this month in Canada.
























Mattie & i (and Heidi one day as well) have been pleasantly occupied taking her around San Diego County. The top two photos were taken in Coronado, the bottom one in La Jolla.


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Attention all athletes!

A wonderful booklet about sports nutrition that you can read online or as a PDF from those great folks at OrganicAthlete:
http://www.organicathlete.org/civicspace/node/6

and as well, from the U.K., a fab read:
http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/guides/foodofchamps.html

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Hope everyone had a safe, sane, superb weekend and may your week ahead be healthy and upbeat. Planning to surf 'n' hop around blogland sometime Monday... i'm so lookin' forward to seeing how everybody's "bean." Thank you for all the support and kindness through your words i've been reading in response to my last post (and previous ones as well).

Life is good, 'tis.

I really appreciate the thoughtfulness and i do feel the love.

Still puzzled & some puzzling

HELLO THERE!


This photo of Mattie (small... i'm puzzled... guess i'm just havin' Blogger issues this a.m.) reminds me of an old fave site of mine that is no longer out there, dognoses.com... it had in-your-face photographs of dog noses. Just too cute! I wish it was still in Web-land so you all could see it...

Hey, i want to tell you how much i appreciate the kind comments re: my previous post. Another friend of mine, a young woman, passed away Sunday after a 1 1/2-year battle with breast cancer, so it's been like... i dunno... overwhelming, to say the least! I had a lot to think about praying in synagogue - and away from it as well - on Monday, to be sure.

But, like the TV show i used to watch & love, and the Beatles (go Paul McCartney!) tune it took its title from... "(O-Bla-Di, O-Bla-Da) Life Goes On" ... it has to, ya know?

I finished "Marley & Me" over the weekend and highly recommend it. Poignant & funny, it's little wonder this book's been on the NY Times best-seller list for so long a time. A well-written story by a journalist about a very mischievous but lovable Labrador and the family who shares his wild & crazy life, this is definitely a must-read for dog aficionados as well as those who enjoy taking a peek into other peeps' home lives! And as i am one of those who prefers non-fiction (although i have a soft spot for John Steinbeck), this was right up my proverbial alley.

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An interesting, relate-able, to-the-point story by a vegan writer in Olympia, Wash.:
http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061001/LIVING/610010326

Pretty inspiring stuff there, Gigi!

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It's almost time for the Vegetarian Film Festival
http://www.vegetarianfilmfest.org.nz/films.htm
in New Zealand. Wow, would i love to go to NZ!
And not just to see "Harvie Krumpet" either...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0610/S00011.htm

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This is a good place to voice your opinions (easy, too!)
http://www.theactionblog.com/

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What a good sport she is:

MAT IN SOX!

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i am too weak and emotionally vulnerable to watch, but if you can/want to... ANIMAL Liberation NSW has launched a graphic television advertising campaign, targeting Australia's battery hen industry:
http://www.nocagedeggs.com/
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20517430-1702,00.html?from=public_rss

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And on a happier note... any jigsaw puzzle fans out there?
http://www.redjellyfish.com/fun/puzzles.html

My mom's such a nerd...
puzzles! I am so sure!



Mat, here in Peter's parents' garage, wishes you all a colourful week!

Happy World Vegetarian Day!! (1 Oct.)

Pea-lease, kick up yer heels!


Wanna make sumfin' of it?! :o)





From Friends of Animals...
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/

<--Direct action!



(and of course tomorrow, 2 Oct.,
is World Farm Animals Day...)
World Vegetarian Day's own site:
http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/


Ya know what? I'm puzzled, too!













<--From North American Vegetarian Society:
http://www.navs-online.org/

Sundown Sunday also marks the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and for anyone who wants to know why this is the most important holiday on the calendar for Jews: http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/

Suffice it to say Yom Kippur is considered by all Jews as the most solemn day of the year. We stand before G-d all day long in prayer; we appeal for forgiveness for our errors and plan to improve ourselves in the coming year.

It's been a rough end of the Jewish year/a rough month of September for me, with my friend Emilie's death which was preceded by my friend David going through quintuple bypass surgery. Then a week ago, my friend Steve was flipped and flung from his bicycle going 15 mph by someone carelessly opening up their car door causing him fractures and broken bones - but fortunately he was wearing a helmet!

I'm so grateful for a new month secular-speaking and for a new year ahead - 5767, i do believe.

I'll be away from the computer until well after sundown Monday and hope all of you enjoy World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day and for all those who are fasting to commemorate Yom Kippur, i wish you an easy fast!!

And if there are any pineapple fans out there, this is pretty cool:

http://www.tinypineapple.com/gallery/

Have a great weekend & week ahead!