Bye Bye 2011 Hurricane Season! Hello Jingle Bells!

Today's the last day of November. Thanksgiving is behind us, and we're full throttle into the Christmas season.  My happiest note though is that today brings the "official" end to the 2011 hurricane season.  Buh-bye, so long, see ya!  We made it through another year without serious storms in this area.  Ahhh.... I am happy. Looking ahead, I still see palm trees and massive amounts of sunshine, but I also know tomorrow I turn the page on the calendar, it will be December.

 Although I don't celebrate Christmas, I do enjoy looking at the spruced up homes & businesses with wreaths and lights.  I always love stumbling upon the unexpected, like last year's drive across the 7 Mile Bridge and seeing lit Christmas lights strung on a tree growing out of the old bridge in the middle of the ocean.

I was out last night for a friend's birthday celebration.  We went to the Square Grouper on Cudjoe Key.   My meal was just wonderful, and the service was great, never a small feat when dealing with a large group of revelers.  On the way home I noticed that many businesses have already decorated for Christmas. There's trees decorated and lit, buildings all trimmed out, and even the business district light poles have decorations on them. When did this happen, I have no idea, but it seems quite a few elves have been hard at work.

This past weekend, I asked Mr. Happy Vegan for a favor.  I asked if he would string our solar powered LED lights onto the mangrove in front of our house.  In the Atlantic Ocean.  I love looking out upon the inky black ocean showered by a starry sky (and most nights the Milky Way thanks to the fantastic star gazing conditions here) to see those teeny tiny lights twinkling on the tree.  He was way ahead of me... when I asked him about the lights he told me that he already had them sitting in the sun to be charged, and planned on getting them on the tree that day.  Indeed, he did.

I never forgot a question/comment a guest said a few years ago, asking what's Christmas  like down here. He said something along the lines of "it's probably like it doesn't even happen, it just doesn't seem like a Christmas-y place." I think I understood that he probably meant it doesn't snow here, its not a Norman Rockwell kind of place when you think of Christmas.  But, indeed the majority of people here do embrace Christmas in many traditional ways, as well as the unexpected. Traditionally, there's places selling real Christmas trees, traditional Christmas music plays in the stores, churches have special things going on, and stores are decked out trying their best to entice us with their offerings. Unexpectedly, I've seen the Salvation Army bell ringers dressed like pirates & wenches instead of Santa, seen steel drum players wearing Santa hats playing Silent Night, and seen lit Christmas lights on a tree growing out of a bridge in the middle of the Ocean.

I've decided to take a little time this week and photograph some of our local holiday sights for you. I'll post them for you to enjoy.  As the season wears on, I'm sure I'll see lots of interesting things, so I'll do my best to keep the pics coming through the month. I shall have my camera at the ready, at least that's the plan.

Although my toes seem to curl every time I hear Christmas music (unless its played a la tropicale'), there's a lot for me to enjoy this time of year too. I hope you there is for you too.

I'm Fine, Thank You Very Much

I posted recently about my little struggles with the conventional food associated with the Thanksgiving holiday... about the cruelty issues, and lack of nutrition that is in so much of the "food" available.  Well, I'm feeling much better today, thank you very much.

I'm working out my issues by finding solace in my own kitchen, as well as with our wonderful our guests.  I like to write about how great our guests are overall, and they really are, but sometimes I find even more exceptional kindness and compassion.  It really is people like that who help me find balance.

So, I'm in the kitchen a lot lately.  I'm working on a few new things, and baking up some old standbys.  I've been practicing my cake decorating skills a little bit more, and have made 7 more cakes in the last few days (that's a lot of cake!)  I feel better doing this.  Sure it can be chaotic in the kitchen when I'm working on so many different things at once, but at the same time its very soothing and relaxing.  Mixing batters, creating frostings, baking all these donuts, cakes & cookies.  I'm reminded how good food really is, and what its purpose is.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not passing off my baking as health food, but it is pure food.  Ingredients you can pronounce and recognize, plus not an ounce of cruelty.  I also felt better after I made a delivery to the health food store, just the 15 minutes or so I spent in there was completely uplifting. It smelled good when I walked in, people were smiling and laughing, and there was music playing.  It was definitely a good thing.

Amidst all the nuttiness in the world, I'm regrouping and stopping the pity party. There's much work to be done.... cakes to bake, cookies to invent, chores to do, cats to visit with, and an ocean to gaze upon. Not to mention the fact that I'm always busy changing the world, one vegan bite at a time.

Happy Thanksgiving, A Day Late

The other happy vegan and I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving holiday.  We had a nice day here. We did our usual morning work & chores, plus some other work tossed in for good measure.  I played with the kitties, visited Peri, and did some paperwork.  The other happy vegan and I came to an agreement about dinner and dessert; he would actually help in the kitchen, we were going to cook together!  He made some stuff, and I made some stuff. I think the star of the show were the candied sweet potatoes. I scored a bunch of organic sweets at the Help Yourself farmer's  market in Key West on Monday, no special plans, I just happen to love them. But, on a whim I decided to make them candied, which I haven't had in decades.  They came out amazing, absolutely amazing.  I tossed in a few vegan marshmallows for good measure.  Tasty morsels.

The other happy vegan and I gave thanks yesterday for a very long list of things. As I've said, I live in gratitude every day (ok, I'm only human and do have my moments, just putting that down in case Mr. Happy Vegan reads this entry on a day I'm melting down about something......), but Thanksgiving is just another day to be thankful.

We're moving forward full steam to the jingle bell season.  I'm going to try my best and ignore all the hustle, all the bustle, and simply stare into the sea at night and find peace within.  For now, enjoy your tofurkey leftovers, and lots of that vegan pumpkin pie. For the record, my "turkey cake" was probably one of the tastiest cakes I've had in years, and I don't even really like vanilla cake. It was, as they say, amazaballs.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Peri, Peri, Our Sweet Peri

I don't have much imagination today of what to write as I stare at the blank screen.  I did lots of stuff today, and thought many thoughts.  I cooked, baked, cleaned, worked out, and so forth.  I played with the kitties, visited with some friends, and did the usual things with the usual suspects.  But, I think my favorite thing today was visiting with Peri.  I've given a couple stern of lectures his way since his return, but they've been balanced as I lavish him with love.  Peri seems a bit tired the last day or so, since his return from walkabout.  I wonder what he did during his time away (no tom catting around, that boy is properly fixed), but he just won't share where he went, or what he did.  He seems a bit more patient with me too, as I've frequently been picking him up and giving him all those extra hugs & kisses.  Peri hasn't really liked to be a snuggle bunny for the last few months.  I mostly chalk it up to the fact he's wearing a fur coat and its 80-90 degrees often, so why should he want to snuggle. My kitties inside seek the sunny patches, while Peri outside seeks the shade.  Things are cooling down a bit, mid-high 70s, along with the occasional low 80s. That seems to be enough for Peri to let me be his main squeeze every hour on the hour.

Peri. I love him so much.  I'm so happy he's back on patrol.  I keep running out the back door just to get a glimpse of him, he hasn't wandered far since his return. He's been here for snacks, naps, hugs, kisses, and of course to break new guests in upon arrival.  Our sweet Peri, on loan from the Universe (and our nearby neighbors).  He brings peace, he brings his own form of wisdom.  Sweet dreams little Peri, I'll be waiting for you when you awake...snacks and kisses are on the menu.

Vegan Thanksgiving

T-minus two days til Thanksgiving Day. Admittedly its not what it used to be for me anymore.  Mostly because I think I live with much more gratitude in my life than before, so I don't really need a special day to reflect and be thankful, I already am.  Yet, Thanksgiving brings other things to the forefront for me, mostly about violence and cruelty towards animals to satisfy the selfish wants of some.  This is a bad time of year to be a turkey.

I went to the supermarket today, had to get groceries for Pop, so I got my supplies for the next week or so.  People were in the store buzzing like bees.  Everyone blindly grabbing food and tossing it into carts with, in my opinion, not very much thought. No thought to the source of that food, no thought as to the likely genetic modifications the food was subjected to at some point, no thought as to the pesticides or herbicides sprayed on the food, and no thought to the suffering of the animals for the non-vegetarian choices. It became a bit overwhelming for me.  I did my shopping as quickly as I could, while proudly wearing the other happy vegan's Sea Shepherd sweatshirt.  I got a lot of looks, but no comments on it (this time).

While I was looking at baked goods (you know I don't buy the "store" goods, but I do like to keep current as to what is "out there") I found a cake in the shape of a turkey.  The ingredients were long, with many chemicals and preservatives I honestly could not pronounce.  It was also made with very cheap ingredients. The cake looked cute, but it was a horror show of things no one should eat.  But, I snapped a pic on my cell phone, came home, and made my version of the cake, which is pictured above.  I'm gonna give myself some props on this one.  This cake was made "on the fly" without a plan really.  It is entirely organic except for the non-aluminum baking powder. It is vegan. Even the food colorings are organic. So, maybe its not fluorescent orange and neon red like the one at the store, but I kinda wonder what MAKES that red so neon, that orange so fluorescent.  I didn't do much planning with the colors, I could do better, and will next time. But, its the point that this cake is one that is cruelty free, organic and actually will taste amazing.  There's way better choices in my cake with things like organic pure maple syrup for sweetener, and real organic fair trade vanilla beans for flavor.

Vegan Thanksgiving.  I'm frustrated because I'm tired of stuffing my thoughts and feelings when someone feels compelled to tell me how "wonderful" their cholesterol laden, unhealthy, cruel meal was. I don't want to re-live that meal of yours, trust me, I don't.  I work very hard to find balance with my personal beliefs and dealing with the public.  On this holiday I have no good thoughts about the food being offered up, and I have no small opinions about the horror show that is known as factory farming. It's absolutely despicable.

It doesn't have to be this way, it doesn't.  It shouldn't be this way.  Cruelty should not be on the menu.  I don't see this as something to celebrate, not at all.  Too many food conglomerates are passing off items that are called "food" but really don't fit the technical definition of food.  Food is supposed to nourish our bodies, it is not supposed to cause suffering; not supposed to cause disease, illness, or poor nutrition.  But, so much of what is offered up is doing exactly that.  Major boo hiss.

We are having a cruelty free vegan dinner on Thanksgiving, just me and the other happy vegan.  It will not be extravagant, nor elaborate, but it will be healthy, tasty, and pleasing to look at.  We will not be making too much food so that excess goes to waste.  Absolutely not. Instead, we will be picking up some groceries for the local food bank over the weekend, and donating them for distribution.  And, those groceries will be cruelty free, and healthy too.

I honestly feel like I'd like to just join Pink Moon and hide under the covers til its all over, but that's not an option. Instead, I'll just have to deal with all this, and you'll just have to deal with me til I get myself back on balance.  I do hope you'll find yourself making some compassionate choices with your food. A lot is at stake, and ignorance is NOT bliss.



He's Back!

Peri is back!  You say you didn't even know he was gone?  Well, that would be correct.  I didn't want to panic the planet.  He went on walkabout, but came home in the dark this morning.

Peri had gone walkabout one other time a few years ago.  I vaguely remember it, his trip lasted about 3 days give or take.  I say I vaguely remember mostly because I want to black it out, not remember a time that he wasn't here.

Peri is not our kitty.  He does have a very good home, food, love, shelter and medical care.  Peri is micro-chipped, tagged, collared and vaccinated. Yet, if you've been to Deer Run, you know he spends a large portion of his time here.  Sure, he's a child of the Universe, but he's still "my boy" and I love him dearly.  He is one of the most complicated, expressive, loving felines I have ever met.  I absolutely adore him, I don't remember life without him.

Two days ago Peri did not show up for dinner.  Unusual, yes, but he sometimes comes late after he's had about 6 other dinners, including at home. It wasn't until yesterday morning when he didn't show for breakfast that I began to panic.  His sister Elsa came, and seemed lonely. She ate, but not as well. I banged the dish but no response. I waited about 1/2 hour and sat to read the paper, but couldn't. I was too worried. I shot an email out to his main family to see if they'd seen them, and the other happy vegan phoned over there.  No, they hadn't seen him either.

I hoped on my bike and pedaled up and down the street calling for him. Looking for him. Listening for him.  No response.  I ditched my plans for the flower show.  I couldn't really do anything until I knew Peri was ok.

All day long yesterday I would walk the beach, the street, and through neighboring properties calling for Peri.  "Peri! Peri! Winkle, where ARE you?"  Nothing.  All day. All night again.  I woke up about 4am-ish, restless. I wanted to call for Peri, but its so darn quiet here I knew it would disturb sleeping guests and neighbors.  So, I tossed and turned fitfully until I got back into a light sleep.  Suddenly the other happy vegan burst into the bedroom, it was still dark out, before 6am "PERI'S BACK! HE'S HERE NOW!"  I dashed up and out of bed (I swear, a true miracle for a non-morning person) and bolted outside to the deck.  There he was in all his glory, chowing down on his first, second, third, or fourth breakfast of the morning.  Or, maybe not... maybe he hadn't eaten at all while on walkabout. He wouldn't say.

I lavished him with praise and words of love.  I petted him and cried while he ate. He didn't care about my joy, he cared about his food. I didn't disturb him too much, its never right to disturb an animal while eating (nor a happy vegan while she's eating, for the record). I just knew I had joy in my heart to touch his soft grey fur, to see his tiny little self.

While Peri was away, everything around here reminded me of him.  He has entrenched completely into Deer Run, this place breathes Peri.  My deck is his tanning bed.  The sea oats are his shady retreat.  My back walkway is his dining room, and the beach is his playground.  I see him everywhere, and that is why yesterday was so painful for me. I saw him everywhere, but he was not there.  It was difficult not to become overwhelmed with grief simply by his brief absence.  It was a very difficult day for me.

Peri is back. His parents are happy, we're happy, Elsa is happy and even the sun seems brighter this morning.  Welcome back Peri, and don't do that again!



Creature Comforts

I spent the better part of yesterday in bed reenacting Cameron's pseudo-death scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.   Unfortunately for me, The Cameron Scene means I was out of commission for a day. Boo hiss.

It was coming on for several days, this I knew.  I ramped my Vitamin C intake up to a level I won't confess to in these writings, and complimented it with Zinc.  Then I reduced my Zinc because a wise friend told me I was feeling foofey in the tummy because of too much Zinc.  Once I got that under control, there was a brief moment of stability, then it all went south.  That's where the Cameron pseudo-death scene came into play, and my day ended.

I watched about 11 episodes of Sex in the City, a couple hours of home shopping, a cupcake show, a few minutes of vintage "Pop Up Video" (who knew that was even still in rotation?!), an infomercial, as well as a laundry list of other shows on the idiot box.  I was miserable, and there wasn't much for consolation.  Until I realized I was surrounded by my cats.  Not even surrounded, I was actually enveloped by my cats.  They knew I was unwell, and offered me comfort.

I had 3 of the 4 cats with me all day yesterday.  Even Pink Moon, my "invisible kitty" who spends 95% of her waking daytime moments under the covers, was out offering me comfort.  She sat quietly on me for hours as I watched tv to a backdrop of palm fronds swaying outside in the sunshine.  Luciana and Lemon stayed for the day as well, but they did find the need to do more frequent "patrols" around the room than Pink.

Creature comforts were offered up in full effect yesterday.  I'm moving around today better than yesterday, and am considering a road trip down to the Key West Flower Show today, the one that Sue used to take me to.  Last year's efforts to find a proper planting in honor of Sue didn't go so well. The Key deer nudged the cages aside, and dined on the "Sue plants" as if they were baby greens mixed just for them.  I didn't have the heart to stop the deer, after all they were here first, and have more rights out there than I do.  So, maybe we'll head down to the show today after all.

I'm a bit of an optimist, and hoping that if any scene from Ferris Bueller is going to happen at my house today, its the "what AREN'T we going to do today" clip.