February was a good month!

3/2/10 Blast off!

Grapefruit and orange juice with a GlassDharma straw.















It was a great month, February. I won a couple of contests so that was fun.

I just heard that I won a Bob's Red Mill contest.
I won a Glass Dharma contest. I got four reusable glass straws out of that one. Beautiful, functional and reusable. I got blue, green, red and amber 12mm straight straws. Perfect for a smoothie. The boy drank his apple juice with one but he said it's too big. Fun, though. I don't have to worry about him breaking it because they are made of thick, heat tempered glass. I was actually thinking if anything, the straw might crack the juice glass! If you are a big straw user these are perfect for reducing your waste output with style. They are guaranteed for life so if you do break one, send it back and they will replace it FOR LIFE!

















Two Murano glass bracelets at GW, 99c each.

















I also found these kick ass slippers at GW for 99c.














They have non-skid spots on the bottom, heh.


Anyway it's been a nice month.

We registered a business name and we'll start working hard on that soon. I'll let you know when we unveil. Exciting stuff.

Oh, and Grant Butler is staying vegan. Yes.

Brussels Sprouts for dinner tonight :)

Young Thai Coconut

We went to SF to pick up the boy from his month long stay at his mother's.














I love Golden Gate Park. Hippie Hill Rocks.



Shopping in San Francisco is so much better. We stayed at the boy's mom's apartment in the Tenderloin. Half a block from her place is a Viet Namese market that I used to frequent when I lived in that neighborhood years ago. I don't miss the sirens at 2am or the steaming puddles of human excreta, but I do miss the produce and spice markets. You just can't get this stuff in Kfalls.

Among other things, we got a flat of 9 young Thai coconuts for about $12
















We got a bunch of lychee fruit, about a dollar a pound

















Sesame oil which is for drizzling, not for frying. Vegetarian shrimp which are made from yam flour and are surprisingly shrimp-like. Preserved orange peel which is salty AND sour. Seaweed strips which can be snacked out of the bag, soaked and used like noodles or cut up in stir-fry. These were between 50c and $1.79 each.
















Coconut and banana raw picnic at a rest stop in California.




That's MIL, the boy and the man.








The man is an expert coconut opener.


Vegetarian shrimp, carrots, onion, garlic, sea vegetables (dulse and nori) and rice
















Carrots, seaweed, dandelion leaves, potatoes and rice.














Both of the above "stir-fried" dishes were prepared with vegetable broth in place of the oil.

It's good to be home. I wish I could go once a month to SF for shopping.

Shopping, the Dinner that Wasn't and Skirts

Went grocery shopping today.















I love my cart all full of veges and nothing else.















I saw this horrible item at the goodwill. I almost bought it but settled for a photo.















it's a cow in a jar with a sign that says "farm fresh milk".
















I didn't eat dinner again. This time i was pissed about something the boy did and didn't want to have to sit at a table and eat food when I was angry. . A good excuse as any not to eat cooked food. I had some leftover smoothie in the fridge so I drank that for dinner and now I am having a glass of water with ACV. I was offered a beer and it's sitting here next to me getting warm but I just don't want it.
I suppose I will drink it eventually.

We went to goodwill today and donated a bunch of old clothes. All my fat clothes, skirts, tops, pants, underwear, all of it gone. I bought two cute skirts for this summer.















eeew, see the scar from my staph infection below my left knee















We went to the new grange co-op. It's a much bigger store than the old one and it just opened this week. We got a bird feeder and a super strength tennis ball, just for the dog. She loves tennis balls and usually has one in her mouth. It's like a habit with this dog and she goes through a number of them every week.

I saw this shirt. It says Cruel Girl and has an image of a person riding a bucking horse on it. Not exactly Suicide Food, but you get the picture. I hate hate hate rodeo.














There was also a coffee mug that said "I'd rather be dumped by a horse than a man". That one is just confusing and depressing.

There were baby chicks for sale and I wanted to buy them all and let them live free and not be confined, tortured and killed, but I don't have a place for them. Little peepers. They still had little knobs on their beaks but were just getting their wing feathers and were playing and flying at each other. I put my finger in the box and they all nipped at me. I love the way baby chicks smell. Little poopie peepers.

Supreme!

It's a happy Saturday morning. My kitchen is a disaster and I need to go food shopping but for now I present to you the...

Acme Supreme Juicerator













I have a juicer. Yay. No more blender juicing.





I found this at goodwill. I don't know how much it cost. It was at the As-Is store and they just look at your pile and give you a number. I got out for $13 with the juicerator, a full body massage pad, the kind you lay on, and a bunch of other junk.
















I managed to keep it raw all day except a sampling of the melon jelly on some toast. the man's father came over last night, Dil. He is eating all raw too, so I was able to feed him and it was nice to have someone raw around. The guys ate leftovers, there was plenty of falafel and quinoa left from last night.
Red leaf lettuce made a great wrapper for some raw tahini, tomato, cucumber, sauerkraut and raw vegan sprinkle.

Wrap, eat, repeat!













I got my herb garden planted, all the starts are in.
Sage, basil, chives, parsley.














All my starts are in pots now. Rainbow blend cherry tomatoes and yellow & green squash. I'm waiting for the bumper crop. I put them out on the screened in porch, my garden porch.














It's not much but it's my first attempt at growing anything edible aside from sprouts and I am hopeful.

There is mint and other edibles growing out in the yard, I think I will forage today when it gets a little warmer outside. The other day I made a smoothie from the meat and juice of one young coconut, banana, red lettuce and mint I picked from the yard. It was fantastic.

This thing



















Sorry for the blurry photo. It's a shower caddy shaped like a cat. I think I paid more for this than the juicer and massage mat combined. But, my man had to have it and what Baby wants, Baby gets :) Anyway, you can see, there is no shampoo in there. There is a bottle of oil, a bottle of homemade shampoo/body wash, a bar of E3Live soap, a scrubby mitt, a comb and a brush with pumice stone. Why we needed a bigger shower caddy that, I don't know, but it is a cat and that's pretty cool.

Minnie is doing just fine. She ate a little more than a teaspoon of food and took her pill and now she is sleeping under the bed. I was holding her on my lap after the pill giving, petting her and telling her how wonderful she is and she climbed up and sat on my shoulder. AWWWW!! She stayed there for a couple of minutes and then went under the bed for her mid morning nap.

Oh, I was just reminded of what else we bought yesterday. A microphone. It plugs into the amp and makes your voice very loud. The boy is beat boxing on it right now. We need a drumset and the drive and we could start our own band. Talent is optional, right?

I had a dream about making raw beer. I will wait and see how the batch I put up the other day comes out and I think the next one I will try to make raw. We'll see.

A long ramble about a bunch of different things

Mickey loves the new screened in porch he can play outside and still be safe.














Did I tell you that I am making beer? I am. I got some hops on sale at Nightfire, boiled them up added some nutritional yeast and a couple of tbs of sugar and put it in an old wine bottle with the cap loose. That was a few days ago. I'm not sure when it will be ready but I will let you know.

2 liters to freedom














I have been trying to get photos of my hair for the No Poo entry but I can't get them by myself, no timer on my camera. I keep forgetting to ask the man to take some.

my ugly mug with freshly rinsed hair. No 'poo since Aug 2008













wow, there is a lot of grey in there.

Me in a pretty dress.





I got this at Community Thrift in San Francisco last year. It's a size 20 which fit me perfectly when I bought it. It has a tie so I can make it tight at the waist and it has a lot of skirt. I will shorten up the straps and it then the bust will fit perfectly. I don't know what dress size I wear now but a junior 13 pants fits me perfect at this point. Sometimes a 10 will fit but it's snug. I wore a size 20 and was considering a size 22 this time last year.






I got up this morning, did 30 minutes of yoga, stretching mostly and some balance poses. Then I blended the seeds and strings of the melon that the boy ate last night. I blended it with some water, seeds and all and then strained it. Poured it in a glass and drank it up. Cantaloupe is such a treat. Creamy and yummy, but I have to take melon all alone or not at all. I get serious gastrointestinal difficulties if I try to eat melon with anything.

it's the seeds I'm after













Last night I made jelly with some of the melon. Just a half a mason jar full. I boiled the melon with water, sugar and some agar flakes, reduced it by about a half, until it started to get that melted candy feeling. I don't know how to describe it. Then I poured that in a clean mason jar, let it cool on the counter and then put it in the fridge. It's jelled up real good. It should be eaten soon, I don't know how long it will keep.

I got new rubber boots. Big black ones like Christopher Robin. Mine are the same breand as those but only $12 at Ross. Totally Ross-some!!
I wore them to the bus stop every day this week. We have been bringing the umbrella every day but only used it on Monday. Tues, Weds and Thurs, it has only started pouring after it warms up a little. Just like I remember when I was a kid, it would start to pour as soon as I got to school.

It's definitely spring, even if it was snowing this morning.

















Minnie is doing much better.














I got the pills down her real easy, two at a time, she didn't fight at all. Then just held her for about 30 minutes. She laid in my arms purring while I tried to think healing thoughts. Then I brushed her and petted her for a while. She doesn't clean herself anymore so she has some matting. I try to brush her out every day but those mattes sneak in. She also played with her toy, a couple of twisty ties. My cats love them. If there is a twisty on the floor, look out, claws will be flying.
I gave her 1 tbs of the new Vet food and she ate














This much. Maybe half.














I am going to leave the rest out for her, she might eat later. I left some out last night and she ate it. Around 4AM I heard licking. I thought, who is licking what? Then I remembered, Minnie! She's eating! I turned on the light which made the man scream AAAHH! but Minnie kept eating and I turned the light back off. Yay for nocturnal feeding patterns!
I'm still waiting for poop. The kittehs, that is. I don't want to think about it too much. It's sort of dread and anticipation all at the same time. I'm just really glad that she is eating and playing. She is still very yellow. I can't believe I didn't notice it until Vet pointed it out. She's bright yellow.


In other news, Victoria's Secret sent me an online coupon for $20. So I bought 5/$25 panties. That's $5 for 5 pair of Victoria's Secret Pink® Cotton Hipsters in various colors. Woot, I say. Woot! Ahem. Ok, sorry. I also got two Body by Victoria® racerback bras, with Infintiy Edge, they were on sale 2/$40. None of my old bras fit anymore. I literally swim in them. It's like church bells in my shirt. I've been wearing sports bras that I bought at the goodwill. But now, I will have bras.
I can go without shampoo, but I am still heavily addicted to Victoria's Secret racerback bras. Hey, I quit coffee 2008, heroin 2001, cigarettes May 2008, almost a year! AND lip balm!

That's right. I have been without lip balm since I don't even know when. December, I think. It's nice. It was the last cosmetic to go. Now it's just oil. Coconut, olive and jojoba.
Sometimes my shins get ashy and I like to grease up my face, neck and chest once in a while. I like to rub coconut oil on my stretch marks. It makes me feel all tropical.
I use some olive oil that is scented with orange oil in the shower and sometimes on my hair, but thats it. Oh, I still use toothpaste and on special occasions I will use some Tom's of Maine calendula scent deodorant. Roll on or stick, I have both. Both have propolyne glycol and I try to use them as little as possible.
I guess I'm lucky, the man doesn't use deodorant or cologne of any kind. I made him some shampoo/body wash out of castile soap, witch hazel, jojoba oil, a tsp of salt and rosemary oil and now he smells wonderful all the time. He was using a shampoo with a heavy perfume before. I am slightly allergic to perfume. It gives me a headache, feels like my throat is closing, sometimes I will start coughing or sneezing. It's hard to go out in public sometimes because of people's perfumes. I can't go to the boys karate dojo because of the air freshener they use.

Ok, I am done rambling, loading photos and editing. I have to get some tomato plants repotted and I don't think its going to get any sunnier than it is, which isn't very. I'm glad it's not raining.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments, they mean a lot to me. Have a happy, healthy Friday, one and all!

Vegan Eggplant Noodle Casserole

Yet again, I have made dinner.













The casserole is elbow macaroni, dried eggplant slices, a lovely tomato sauce I made, ground vegan seitan sausage and bread crumbs on top. Bake two hours at 350F, covered, take the lid off and let it brown up then serve immediately.
The salad is red lettuce and spinach with some sesame dressing I threw together. sesame, olive oil, water, ACV and oregano.
The things that look like Dolmas are actually collard leaves* I put about a tablespoon of seitan sausage in each one, rolled them up and baked with a table spoon of water in a small covered casserole at 350 for about half an hour. Very simple and very impressive, IMO. I would serve these at a party as an appetizer. I would. You can't prove that I wouldn't :)

I bought this book at Goodwill and have been brushing up my non-existent yoga skills.





























I had the boy take a photo but it came out blurry. That is the fish pose, Matsyasana.
From the book:

Benefits of Matsyasana: The fish stretches the spine and at the same time expands and opens the chest. It helps to regulate the four parathyroid glands in the neck. These endocrine glands control the levels of calcium in the blood. Calcium strengthens bones and teeth. It is also important for the contraction of muscles and the clotting of blood. Matsyasana corrects rounded shoulders, increases lung capacity and helps with breathing problems, relieves stress and regulates moods, increases prana** in the neck, shoulders, lungs stomach and spleen and energizes the parathyroid glands and tones the pituitary.


I find that yoga really does regulate my mood. Since I released all that weight, I have noticed that my periods affect me more than they used to. Or at least I notice it more. I gain 5 lbs every month for a week. WTF is that about. Anyway. If I am in a pissy mood, doing some poses can really change my attitude.

You might also notice I cleaned up my sidebar. I had some affiliate links but since they have been there I haven't made a dime so, bye bye useless clutter!



Footnotes:

* collard leaves are a FANTASTIC substitute for grape leaves. I got four rolls out of one large leaf. Go Collard Greens! Speaking of collard greens and greens in general. I was in line at the supermarket last Thursday, with my usual cart full of nothing but veges. The cashiers LOVE me! (not) I actually had one goth looking chick cashier say, "Oh, no! You again!" hehe. I still get a thrill out of striking dread and terror in the hearts of people. I don't think that will ever fade. Anyway there was a weird lady in front of me in line. She was buying washcloths and sweatpants and wearing very red lipstick and very blue eyeshadow. Sort of your teapot type, ya know, short and stout. She turned back to me and asked me something about some fast food restaurant in the area. I smiled and said that I hadn't the slightest idea about any fast food restaurants. I didn't go on after that, just "Sorry, I really don't know." She then started gazing into my cart. Pointing at the huge bundle of collard greens she said (wrinkle nose) "What is THAT?" Again, I smiled and said, "That is collard." She said "COLLARD? I never heard of THAT!" I said, smiling, of course, "Well, it's a leafy green. You can eat it in salad like lettuce or steam it and eat it like you would spinach." Then it was her turn at the reg and she didn't like the price on any of the stuff she chose so she left with nothing. Strange lady. Then the cashier. They dread me because nothing I buy has a barcode and they have to either know the code or look it up or CALL SOMEONE in the produce department. Fun. The young cashier was a tall blond, corn-fed type looking boy about 18 years old. He did not know what a daikon, a rutabaga, a parsnip or a turnip was. His explanation "My parents just don't buy these kinds of vegetables!" I smiled and didn't say anything to that. And this is the extent of my contact with people outside of my family here is Klamath Falls, Oregon. It ain't easy being green in Klamtucky, I tell you.

**Prana is a Sanskrit word literally meaning 'life-force' the invisible bio-energy or vital energy that keeps the body alive and maintains a state of good health. It's all about creating balance to open psychic awareness, and the nature of reality and one's place in it.

Went to Goodwill. Bought Some Glass

Some of this stuff was bought today, some in the past couple of weeks...

Two silicone baking pans and a silicone spatula and two glass baking pans, one Anchor Hocking and one Corning (the small one).
















This is a photo of my dishes. All those plates and bowls are Corelle except the big bowls are Pyrex and some of the smaller ramekins are Fire King.
















Some new cups. Corelle Old Town Blue that matches the plates, whee! A nice green ivy and Sunflower that matches some other plates we have.














Two silicone baking dishes and a two sided rubber spatula, bought at the buy 2 get 1 free sale. Yay... I got two bread pans!















A large storage jar. I will put oatmeal in it. The rubber seal is in good condition.
















Salt shaker and pepper mill. The pattern is Carefree Nordic from Syracuse.
















Another storage jar and a cheese plate with glass top.















Two cup and saucer sets. I think these are promos from the 1950s. Both are Anchor Hocking, the one on the left is Bonnie Blue, I don't know the name of the other. Orange and yellow poppies with green leaves.

We bought an ugly truck :) YAY!

The car we were driving wasn't safe and scared the hell out of me every time I got in it. To the point of panic attack.

Yesterday we bought this:
















1985 Ford F350 with a full back seat and it's a dually.

It has been sitting for a long time but there was nothing wrong with it when it was parked. They freshened it all up but it needs a few minor tweaks still. Windshield wipers, stuff like that.



This End. Needs a good bath and a new coat of paint. It has tinted windows














and That End. It also needs some seals around the windows, there is a minor leak around the newly replaced windshield.














The Loading End. You can see the seat covers are just rotted from sitting in the sun. Other than that the upholstery is old and ugly but usable and not half bad.













Missing tail gate. This is an old, ugly truck.

The Front Tire















Some folks think one gas tank is enough.















We play it safe with two.















Fake wood panel and a bright red interior

















An ashtray that came with complimentary cigarette butts and novelty lighter















A cassette deck that doesn't work but comes with a Journey tape.














It's not even one of the "good" ones.

Seats 6!















Say it with me... "Wing window". I bet some of you don't know what one of those is














Who can tell me what that peg on the floor is for?

















Yeah. A pick up truck. I feel like I really belong here now.

Dammit. But at least we can haul stuff now. I can't wait to get a dining room table... :)