Wild, Wild Life

Mat and I were on a walk through this animal-filled (mice, coyotes, rabbits, snakes, squirrels, even an occasional big cat, from what I understand, etc.) hiking area near where we live this morning and as I was just absentmindedly thinking about all sorts of things (some might call it daydreaming), I happened to look down. Woah! I stopped in my tracks (as did Mat) when I spotted a wayward turtle meandering across the dirt road we were on. Turtles are not indigenous to that area, to be sure!

I picked the cutie up and took him home. I made some calls and ended up getting in touch with a rep from the local "Turtle and Tortoise Society" who advised me to put him in a box, even though he'd be mad about it (he was!) and take him to her. So I got Mat in the Scion and we took him up the coast to her house. (Her house, mind you, where there over 50 turtles and tortoises scattered about, as they get ready to be adopted out at some point.)

The turtle - a box turtle as I would find out - was a young male, and he was in pretty good shape, all things considered. I am just glad I was at the right place at the right time to get him to safety. Everything happens for a reason!

And yet I wonder: Why do people leave animals, especially domesticated ones, out to fend for themselves in the wild?! Hello, people! There are some things I shall never understand.

After that, I went to Ki's, which has some delectable vegan dishes, and brought lunch to Peter at a coastal-area Petco where he was photographing peeps and/with their pets. I am not a Petco fan. (Grrrrrrr! PetNO!) That store is so difficult for me to go into, for all the obvious reasons, though I was glad to see there was an adoption event of "small dogs" going on by a rescue group.
The group's liaison told me two of her seven found new homes. Yay! There was the cutest elderly cocker there and I so wanted to take her home, but I leave in less than 12 hours for Illinois... Mattie needs a buddy!

I was going to give some A+ at the local Blood Bank, but ran out of time. Anyone else donate blood?

Off to do some work for a spaniel rescue group. So nice to be off from work for a while!!! Gives me time to take care of OTHER things!!!

Hope everyone has a really wonderful weekend (and week ahead)!

peta2 goodies

Awwww! So cute!

I have always been a PeTA supporter. Not always able to help financially but have bought their goodies and have been able to contribute every so often. I wonder what some of the vegan (and vegetarian and any other non non-veg) folks who kindly visit my blog here make of PeTA. I always hope they have the animals' best interest at heart. But evidently, not all is well in PeTA-land... http://veganfreaks.org/index.php?id=132
(thanks to The Veg Blog for the head's up on this)

What do *you* think?

A to Z

I'm a huge music fan, always have been, always shall be. Played the flute and the piano and have tried the guitar many a-time.

Today I had the opportunity to interview a really, really cool and uber-talented guy - Aaron Zigman: www.aaronzigman.com - for a story I'm working on for a magazine.

I had no idea until *after* the interview that he wrote and composed some of my favorite, favorite tunes of all-time, from the soundtrack of my fave movie (c. 1986, yeah, yeah, i know! i'm OLD!) "Nothing in Common" to Boz Scaggs' sweet, soulful "Heart of Mine" to a song on my most beloved Carly Simon album, "Spoiled Girl" (the tune is "Come Back Home"). And now he's busy, busy, busy composing musical scores for big, big, big movies... serious orchestral pieces and the like. (The movie stuff I knew beforehand, the pop stuff I hadn't a clue. That'll teach me to do better research in the future. You'd've thought I flunked Journalism 101.)

He also wrote a classical 35 minute symphonic tone poem, "Rabin" (in response to the murder/in memory of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin) which was performed by the L.A. Jewish Symphony in 2000. Can we say: "Talent!" Oy. What an honor to interview a living genius.

Another mind-blowing day.


Life is good. Isn't it, Aaron?

Coincidence!?

Wow, talk about timely. I'm headed to Chicago this Sunday and just sat at Farm Sanctuary's booth at the Earth Day Fair last Sunday... I just received an e-mail from Farm Sanctuary, which read in part:

Today, in a historic move, the Chicago City Council banned the sale of cruel foie gras within city limits! The passing of this humane proposal, introduced by Alderman Joe Moore, makes Chicago the first city in America to enact such a measure. The vote relays the humane concerns of Illinois citizens who were recently polled by Zogby, revealing an overwhelming 79 percent of whom agree that foie gras production should be banned in the state. This legislation will have repercussions across the country.

HOW COOL IS THAT!!??

Wow. I'm kvelling.

Spaw Day

Mattie spent today at the local groomers (Tami's Tender Touch!). Previous cockers who lived with me never got washed 'n' cut by outside peeps, but Mat's gettin' the good treatment i wish i'd given the others... i don't have a digital camera but i'll post some pix of her nice 'n' clean and post-trim soon... This photo is about three years old. I'd only adopted Mat for about three weeks when we took off for a whirlwind two-week trip up the coast into Oregon and into Washington state. This captures a fur-trimmed Matster enjoying a tasty vegetarian snack in front of a "dog bakery" in Seattle... Good times!

THANK YOU to guinnah and kunsjoi for helpin' me figure out how to do links over <---- yonder. i am indebted and very appreciative for the assistance! *HUGS*

Sweet tooth

if i posted a secret to www.postsecret.com it would include a photo of these guys:

and the comment "i wish i wasn't addicted."

Earth Day Fair was fantastic! Met some great vegans and some future vegans while hangin' at the Farm Sanctuary table. Had some good tablemates with me passing on the "gospel" of kindness.

Mattie & I had such a happy day in sunny and breezy Balboa Park. Peter ran to the park and hung out for a while, too, which was a nice surprise.

I met some nice peeps from http://animalacres.org/ and Farm Sanctuary booth neighbors http://www.animalsasia.org/ and nearby http://labrescuers.org/ (where Peter and Heidi met!). Got some free shwag from http://www.kashi.com/index.aspx and http://www.nakedjuice.com/ too.

I reconnected with friends and bought a "Friend not Food" piggy shirt from http://aprl.org/ who were next door to a mini version of one of my fave eateries in SoCal: http://sipz.com/ where Peter and i chowed down on some amazing BBQ!

I also heard about this event http://www.worldfestevents.com/ which evidently was held Saturday in Los Angeles. Seems as though that was also quite the vegtastic scene... maybe i go next year!?

If I hadn't've bought the above marshmallows at http://www.allveganshopping.com/ the day before, i would've indulged yet again at their booth... Heh. OK, that's not entirely true. Actually, i was gonna buy another bag but they weren't sellin' 'em there!

EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY

Where I'll be tomorrow:
http://www.earthdayweb.org/
helping spread the word about:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/

Wishing you a wonderful weekend

Mishpacha madness

I have two fantastic older sisters. The middle one is married to a Chabad rabbi. They have 10 children. The oldest has two kids. I love 'em all!

Regrets...

Ahhh, yes, regrets, I have many... but I so wish I would be in San Diego for this event. I went last year and had SO MUCH FUN!

But it's on the day I leave for Chicago.
So bummed...

http://www.bowlingfortheanimals.org/

*sigh*

Even moreso, I wish there were more events like BFTA around the globe.
Someday there will be. I remain ever hopeful...

Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup

I found this on the 'net the other night and I like both the photo and the uplifting message. Nice.

Strange bedfellows

Mattie at the vet, pre-haircut, last year...

Got my mail from this past week today at my parents' house... a mass-mailed note from Tony LaRussa... I'm a long-time supporter of his Animal Rescue Foundation. On my friend Bruce Bochy's birthday. Oh the irony.

http://www.arf.net/

In a mostly unrelated note, I go on record here thanking G-d for my fantastic, freaky, fun, fabulous and very functional mishpacha. I am so fortunate to have a close and loving family.

Found keys

I found this typed on a piece of paper today:

15 Keys to a Happy Life

1. Compliment three people every day.
2. Watch a sunrise.
3. Be the first to say "Hello."
4. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
5. Never givve up on anybody - miracles happen.
6. Remember someone's name.
7. Pray not for things but for wisdom and courage.
8. Be tough minded but tender hearted.
9. Be kinder than you have to be.
10. Don't foget a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
11. Keep your promises.
12. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.
13. Leave everything better than you found it.
14. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.
15. Don't waste an opportunity to tell someone you love him/her.

Take me back...

... to Chicago. (this photo is of Mission Bay, by the way, far far away from the likes of Lake Michigan.)

Ah, there are peeps who've been in my life who might've made my life he** for using those five words, lyrics from a song by the group CHICAGO... any song by CHICAGO would have been a basic death sentence for me. Ah, being free is sooooooooo freakin amazing.

What a long, strange trip it's been, indeed.

I had a pretty close to idyllic childhood... what happened after that's been my own bloody fault!
*LAUGHS*

Is anyone out there into stereograms?
I dig 'em! But I dig a lot of odd things...

http://www.eyetricks.com/3dstereo.htm

Meanderings

Mattie lookin' like E.T.
Cute!

I am readying for a short trip to Chicago at the end of the month.
I hope to get to a Cubs game. I'm a Bleacher Bum!
But I'll miss San Diego (and some of the peeps) while I'm gone.
I feel so fortunate to live in SoCal.

Proverbial food for thought found at http://thegardenofeatin.blogspot.com/:

1. Five minutes to yourself: how would you spend them, ideally?
(Me: daydreaming)

2. Five bucks to spend right now: how would you spend it?
(Me: some snacks at GTM)

3. Five items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn't thought of already.
(Me: Some books, some clothes, recyclables, pens, old cellphone)

4. Five items you absolutely, positively could never part with in your house.
(Me: Dog, computer, cards from friends, Sky chair, some books)

5. Five words you love.
(Me: I Love You, Mensch, Spelunking)

i would love to see YOUR answers...

Bladesing Saddles

Awwwwwwwwww. This was SUCH a fun vacation for my b'day last year in Newport Beach. The best parts were being with my best friend and where he took me for dinner the night before in Costa Mesa:

NATIVE FOODS
www.nativefoods.com

Peter's blog:
http://petechenard.blogspot.com/

is this true?

Hate's a pretty strong word, but whenever someone tells me (and I hear it all the time), "I don't like (insert name of person) because (insert reason) bugs me" or something to that tune, the above comes to mind...

Carlsbad 5000 - Race day

http://www.eliteracing.com/carlsbad.html

My time was 25:50. Personal best! And fun.

Peter's time was 17:35.

FOCUS

Focusing on myself is hard to do. Well, it's not hard, but it's something I just don't do enough of. I'd rather focus on others. That way I avoid my own problems and desires and goals and dreams...

PARADISE FOUND

Me, my deaf cocker spaniel Mattie and my friend Peter's rescued Lab, Heidi at Mission Bay, San Diego. Just another day in paradise.

my doggie and me

http://dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=245629&j=t

Veggies Untie and then Unite!

Some of my fave veg web sites:

http://supervegan.com/
http://gooberificgoesvegan.blogspot.com/
http://outofmyveganmind.blogspot.com/
http://vegetariantovegan.blogspot.com/
http://vegetarianfamily.blogspot.com/
http://guinnah.blogspot.com/
http://thehouseofsimon.blogspot.com/
http://www.veganica.com/
http://demented-pixie.com/vegetarian_blog/
http://sudzgirl.blogspot.com/
http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/
http://www.vegsource.com/
http://meganthevegan.blogspot.com/
http://www.almostvegan.com/
http://veggieboards.blogspot.com/
http://crunchydomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/
http://todayfood.blogspot.com/
http://eatair.blogspot.com/
http://vegblog.veggiedude.com/
http://www.veganporn.com/
http://vegan-licious.blogspot.com/
http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/
http://thelazyvegetarian.blogspot.com/
http://www.veganfitness.net/
http://quarterlifecrisis.typepad.com/vegan_chai/
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/
http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/
http://vegancore.blogspot.com/
http://ananimalfriendlylife.com/
http://eatpeaceplease.blogspot.com/
http://veganfreaks.org/
http://veggiegeek.blogspot.com/
http://www.theppk.com/
http://kaivegan.blogspot.com/
http://www.delicioustv.com/
http://sarahstourdiary.blogspot.com/
http://www.vegcooking.com/
http://www.viva.org.uk/
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/
http://lovelifelivevegan.blogspot.com/
http://www.jewishveg.com/
http://tanyakristine.blogspot.com/
http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/
http://www.madcowboy.com/
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
http://speedvegan.com/
http://vegweb.com/coupons/
http://www.sweetbippy.blogspot.com/
http://www.suppersinglegirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.vegforlife.org/veg_ADs.htm
http://www.veggiechic.com/
http://www.veggieway.blogspot.com/
http://www.jtcwd.com/vegie/index.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/crdir.html
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/index.php
http://www.letsgetsconed.blogspot.com/
http://harmonia.blogsome.com/
http://www.vegan.org/
http://www.vegetarianwomen.com/
http://www.bunnyfoot.blogspot.com/


For more:
http://www.veganstreet.com/
http://www.vegparadise.com/


Fave veg restaurants:
http://www.nativefoods.com/
http://www.oreanshealthexpress.com/
http://www.jyotibihanga.com/
http://sipz.com
http://www.kung-food.com/
http://www.veggiediner.com/
http://www.amitabul.getwebnet.com/
http://www.veggiediner.com/
http://www.blindfaithcafe.com/
http://chefmoz.org/United_States/CA/Arcata/Wildflower_Cafe_&_Bakery1061788300.html
http://www.saturncafe.com/
http://www.tilliegortscafe.com/index.html

For more:
http://www.happycow.net/

Fave places to shop for vittles 'n' stuff:
http://obpeoplesfood.coop/
http://www.allveganshopping.com/
http://www.henrysmarkets.com/app/henrys/index.php
http://www.traderjoes.com/
http://www.jimbos.com/
http://www.wholefoods.com/
http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/
GTM (no web site, boo!)
Grossmont Nutrition (no web site, boo again!)




GO VEG!!