Fiona & Przemek

One of the things that has increasingly interfered with my blogging is the little voice that worries that I'm repeating myself and looking senile.  Then I think I should probably search the blog to see if I've said this before, and that can be rather time consuming, and then I get frustrated--do I simply say it and risk repeating myself or spend time tracking everything down to check it out. Then it all seems to be too much effort, and I give up. I've reached an age where I do think I repeat myself sometimes. It makes me self-conscious, though I know it's typical. I talk to a lot of people, and it's hard to keep track of what I've said to whom.  My pride is often problematic for me, and I'm trying to commit myself to just blogging what I'm thinking at the time, repetition be dammed.  I have more thoughts and conversations than I am able to keep track of, and I'm a middle aged woman with too much on my mind most  of the time and far too little sleep. Repeating myself is inevitable. If you know me and catch me doing it in person, please stop me.  If I do it on the blog, just scroll. :)  I'm trying to let this go.

That said, I'm sure at least some of this is repetition. One of the most interesting things about living our very alternative lifestyle, with so many members of different species interacting as a big family, is the relationships that develop. I like to watch the relationships and track the ups, downs, and changes through the years. It is absolutely intriguing. In many cases I observe changes in relationships and am never able to figure out why the change occurred, in some cases, I can.  In all cases, they are mysteries for me to solve and ponder (when I'm not sleeping but trying), and keep life in our household very interesting.  I will forever wonder why certain cats go from being best friends for years to hostile enemies. I've clearly missed something monumental that happened between them, but WHAT?!

When we got Przemek, the little button quail, I assumed he would join the doves, as they are the closest to his species. One thing seems to hold true universally, regardless of species, gender, age, etc., we all like to be around those who are most similar to us.  There are those who exclusively prefer others of their own kind and those who are more adventurous, seeking out those who are very different and forming relationships (I call those the diplomats, more on that another time--very interesting phenomena I've observed!), but they still ultimately prefer those most similar. I found it surprising that Przemek, instead of the birds, formed his bonds with the rabbits and guinea pigs, almost completely ignoring the birds.

We have two rabbits (Fiona, female and Fergus, male) and two guinea pigs (Luna, female and Oreo, male). Przemek identifies as a member of that group, preferring to stay close to them and eat with them.  Przemek has extremely limited flight ability (similar to a chicken), unlike the other birds in the room, and I'm thinking that this is why he identifies as a furry, rather than a feathered creature. Though he spends time with his whole crew, he seems to be most strongly attached to Fiona, and then Oreo. He likes to be close to them, spending a great deal of time snuggled up with Fiona or Oreo (though Fiona seems to be his top choice, as he spend significantly more time with her).

I finally did get a picture of them together, but have high hopes for getting more.  He usually snuggles up in her neck, sometimes to her side, and sometime between her front paws, and that is absolutely adorable. She is aware that he's there and seems perfectly happy to have him around. I haven't observed her grooming him, though a) there are about 22 hours a day that I am not in there and may not catch it and b) she is a bit selfish about grooming--Fergus will groom her thoroughly for ages, while she relaxes with her eyes closed; she returns the favor with about two cursory licks back--poor Fergs!

I've spent 15 minutes thinking about a title and still have nothing.

I am happy to be married to my husband most of the time. I'm most grateful to be married, however, when it's snowy and gross and he's outside doing snow removal. I hate that job, and as much as I am not fond of all the time spent on meal prep and clean up every day, I would much rather do that every day than the winter snow duties my husband is taking care of right now!

This Sunday's meal prep was a little disappointing. I usually make at least one dessert/snack item, but I didn't get to it this week. It's probably a good thing, with Thanksgiving just around the corner.  My mom will be baking her traditional banana nut bread (YAY!) and probably some other sweets as well.  

I made another batch of dog food. They are loving it, and I will continue with this schedule--their morning meal is kibble and their evening meal is warm, yummy, and served on nice plates.  It's served on the dishes I usually only use for holidays, because they are very heavy and the washing/putting away is risky with my arthritic hands.  The home made food is easier for them to eat from a plate, rather than a bowl, and the plate needs to be heavy enough that it doesn't slide across the floor while they are eating.  I'm still working on finding efficient ways to store and serve. I don't like having to scoop out and measure the food then measure and add the supplements. There has to be a more efficient way, but I haven't found it yet. I'd love to store it all measured in the appropriate serving size for each dog, but that requires three small containers per day and 21 for a week's worth, and I don't have that many small containers.  I'll keep refining and tweaking and will eventually come up with a system that works well for all of us.

So besides the dog food (and packing lunches), I prepped/made:

• Pumpkin seeds (Still finishing up our garden pumpkins!)
• Dal (which we'll eat with Roti)
• Mac & Cheese (the Vega recipe--best ever!!)
• Tofurkey Roast w/ mashed potatoes & gravy (We'll have Thanksgiving with my parents, but Mark loves the Tofurkey loaves, and picked one up on a really good sale this week.)

My friend/office mate made and brought in two delicious-looking Indian dishes (Gobi and Chana (chole) Masala) for me today. I'm so excited!  We have a glut of food this week.  The Dal, Mac & Cheese, and Shepherd's Pie leave us with lots of leftovers. The Mac & Cheese is made in a 9x13" pan, and L doesn't like it, so only M & I eat it--leaving us with a ton of it. 

I didn't get to the dessert, and I still have to prepare the shepherd's pie and gravy that Mark requested for his birthday (Friday).  Instead, I installed some shelves in the kitchen and reorganized everything. I have so many spices and bulk foods, that I'm trying to come up with a more efficient way to store/organize everything.  I loaded, unloaded, and rearranged the shelves several times last night.  Right now they are functional--more efficient than what I had before, but I don't like the way it looks. Function trumps looks, so for now I will leave things as they are and live with this layout for a while until I come up with a better idea. I have tons of bulk items, but unlike the spices which are small and not that tough to find homes for, the bulk items take up a lot more space.  I need to keep these basics on hand all the time, as they are the staples of most of my meals, and then some additional items that I don't use as often (popcorn, couscous, millet, etc.):

• Black beans
• Kidney beans
• Chickpeas
• Adzuki beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Red lentils
• Green lentils
• Toor dal
• Chana dal
• Mung dal
• Urad dal
• Quinoa
• Brown rice
• Basmati rice
• Oats
• Barley
• Wild rice
• Raw cashews
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Peanuts
• Raw almonds
• Six different kinds of flour (for gluten-free cooking/baking)- I ran out of room for these on the new shelf, so they are still in a cupboard.

That makes for a lot of containers to store and organize. Someday, I will find the perfect system--one in which I find every item I need quickly and easily without having to move containers to get at it, and ideally, it will end up looking nicer than it does now.

A few bonus shots from this afternoon:  Jezebel is being perfect, as usual, looking out the window.  Damon is following me around, telling me he wants his walk RIGHT NOW.  

L-R: Grace Hopper, Hawking, PZ, Ada Lovelace, Hitchens, Hazel, Franklin, Poppy

 Same shot, different angle.  This time you can see Cypress (front left) and Valentina (front right). They are gathered over there eating their fresh produce (today: assorted mixed greens, parsley, and carrots). You can also see the splatters on the wall from where they shake their fruits and veggies while eating them (The berries are the worst!), leaving bits of them glued to the wall.  I have to occasionally steam clean the walls to get that stuff off.  They are very messy little creatures!  There's another produce plate on the other side of the room, too. Sometimes the thuggish little cockatiels like to fly down to the floor, eat the rabbits' and guinea pigs' produce, and then fly back up and eat their own. Smart, but naughty!

Przemek - He's very shy and very fast, so it's hard to get a picture in which he isn't just a blur!

Fergus and Fiona, snuggled up after finishing their afternoon produce

Przemek likes to eat his produce with the rabbits and guinea pigs. I started out putting his on his own food tray, but he prefers to hang with the others. When I adopted him, I assumed he would join with the doves, but instead he prefers the rabbits, particularly Fiona.  At least once a week I walk in to find him snuggled up in Fiona's neck. I NEVER have my camera with me when it happens, and as soon as he sees me, he runs under the big cages to his private space.  I need to make a point to carry my camera in more often, so I can try to catch this. It is one of the cutest things ever!

Damon, telling me it's time for his walk RIGHT NOW

Oliver, being dapper

Jezebel, being perfect

Dunkin' Damon

Winter arrived this week, bringing snow and my mild seasonal depression.  I am now pining for April and will be counting the days til nicer weather returns.  The daily dog walks are now an unpleasant chore, instead a nice way to unwind and chat with my husband after work.  Sunday night's walk (in the snow!) was quite tenuous, with each of us slipping and nearly falling on ice multiple times during the walk. We're taking bets on which of us gets a ice-related-dog-walk injury first (fingers crossed it's one of us and NOT one of the dogs!).

I will be scheduling another appointment for Damon to go swimming this week at Dunkin' Dawgs. He's gone once so far, and I've been short on time and unable to get him back.  Daisy likes swimming. Jezebel likes swimming but not in the doggy pool.  Damon--he lives to swim. On his first appointment, I had no idea how he would react to the pool. I had taken him swimming in the lake, but not in a pool. It became clear once we got into the facility, that he had been in a pool before. He charged right up the steps to the platform and leaped in, before I even made it up to the top. He spent the entire time fetching the squeaky toy I threw and bringing it back. We made him get out for a brief break, so his friend, Lily could take a turn without his giant self in the way, he whined and pulled, and it took two of us holding him with all our strength to keep him from jumping back in the pool.  He cried the whole time he was out. It's great for his arthritis, and he loves it so much, we will set up a regular appointment schedule for him. It was awesome to see him so happy!  His arthritis has improved quite a bit now that he's been on FlexPet for a couple of months. That has really made a difference in our dogs' health.

I've been feeling really guilty for quite some time now about the dogs' food. They get a high-quality vegan kibble, but it's always the same. Nobody likes to eat the same thing for every meal of their life--not any species, not any meal. I can tell by the quantities of salivation, that my dogs prefer some food over others, and almost any food over their standard kibble. I do try to mix it up a bit by adding different things in--a little veggie broth, a spoon of pumpkin, a little tomato sauce--anything to make it more interesting for them. I've wanted to make my own dog food for quite some time now but finally got around to it this weekend. I'm so happy I did it!  I am planning to feed them one meal of kibble (morning) and their evening meal of homemade "hot" food.  I followed this recipe:  Healthy, easy dog food recipe, and they loved it!  It was quick and simple.  I had some extra squash, green beans, and carrots I wanted to use up, so I threw those in as well.  All three dogs ate it with such vigor and obvious enjoyment, that we had a blast watching them.  It's fairly inexpensive, quick--just basically throw a bunch of ingredients in a big pot and stir from time to time, and I wish I hadn't put it off this long. I feel so much better giving my dogs a healthy meal that brings them so much joy and will continue to make it for them.

This week I didn't get as much done in the kitchen as I had hoped. I spent a good chunk of time cleaning the refrigerator. What started out as a five-minute clean up from a minor spill on a shelf of the fridge, turned into me taking everything out and wiping it all down. Glad it's done, but it really cut down my food production. Throwing the dog food prep in the mix also took up some of my cooking time, so I have to pull one of my pre-made freezer meals. This week's Sunday prep-meals:  

• Coconut curry red lentil soup
• Stir fry veggies (broc., cauli., carrots, water chestnuts, red peppers) & quinoa with peanut sauce (I made the sauce up last week and planned to have the meal on Friday, but we had so many leftovers I pushed it off to this week.)
• Lasagna
• Chocolate-peanut butter smoothies (from this vegan chocolate cookbook) -- They were so, so good!

Tica

Petey

I won this gorgeous cat bed (it could be a dog bed, but my dogs are too big for it) from the raffle at the AFAE Chili cookoff last month.  I was shocked, because I am incredibly unlucky and never win things. My husband is the opposite, and I was lamenting that I should have had him enter instead, when they called my name. It's such a pretty bed.  The cats love it, and it's frequently in use. Tica spends a lot of time on it, which is extra cute, because she's so tiny, and she looks even tinier in her palatial bed.  The bed was donated by MadCat, and they even threw in an extra cushion cover, which is great, since I've already cleaned several hairballs off the bed.  Mounds and MadCat are my favorite pet stores and the only ones I patronize.  Neither of them sells animals (disgusting!), and they both give/donate so much back to the animal community.

Treat Yo'self

I was thinking it had been about six weeks since my last post, but YIKES--more than two months. I really need to set aside a set time on at least a weekly basis, so I remember to blog. I'm still struggling with meeting my responsibilities in the too-short time I have each day, but additionally, I'm now out of the habit and simply forget to blog.

I got a very cool birthday gift this year.  (My birthday was last week.)  I don't generally like my birthday or like gifts/cards at all--for many, many reasons.  However, my friend, Julie (a smart and stubborn woman) was determined to get me a gift. She knows me well enough to know I am a nightmare to shop for. I don't like waste at all; I don't want stuff taking up space around my house and serving no purpose; I don't like my friends spending money on me (it could be donated to a better cause than me); I boycott the majority of companies/businesses for ethical/moral reasons, so finding vegan, fair-trade, ethically-sourced, high-quality products from a company with tolerable business practices is an epic endeavor. Other than wasting her time and a nominal amount of money, she got me a gift without throwing me into paroxysms of guilt.

First, the packaging: She used a wicker basket (we are rabbit people, so we buy those by the ton from thrift stores) from her rabbit supply.  The cool-looking bow was made with twine that held together the hay bales she buys for the rabbits.  The wicker basket, now that it's empty, will make a wonderful hay-holder/toy for the rabbits.  The twine is used by my birds, who love to separate the strands and build with them.

Then, the gift: She gathered one of each kind of organic root vegetable (garlic, onion, leek, each type of potato, each type of sweet potato/yam, celeriac, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, carrot, etc.) and a handful of other veggies.  It was fun, and pretty, and very useful.

The next day was my "kitchen day" (usually Sundays, when I make/prep the majority of the meals for the week), so I was anxious to make something delicious. I turned all of that into this root vegetable chili.  I followed this recipe loosely, but I obviously had different/additional ingredients and a ton of it, so I modified and tweaked until I was happy with it.  I ended up with an enormous quantity of soup--enough for a full family meal (with lunch leftovers) and a second full meal to freeze for later. It was absolutely wonderful.

My parents & parents-in-law also insist on giving me a little cash to treat myself with, and that is paying for another workout program. I was hoping Shaun T's T25 Delta would be out by now, but no sign of it yet. :(  I have spent the last two weeks evaluating programs and have settled on Body Beast.  I'm as excited as I can be for a workout that doesn't involve Shaun T!  :)  I like the promise that it will build ten pounds of lean muscle mass in 90 days. I'd be quite happy with five!

One of the most common questions I get from vegans and non-vegans is, "what do you eat?"  Let's see how well I do at sticking with this...I'm going to try to list out my Sunday meal prep results each week, to give an idea of what we eat.  I generally focus on getting the first part of the week's meals done. I don't so much worry about Fri-Sun., as I have more time and flexibility on non-work days and often have leftovers that I use to fill in some of those meals as well.  It won't be a full week's worth of meals, but at least a general idea.  This is somewhat complicated by the fact that I don't really have names for many of my meals (and many are simply thrown together with no recipe). Also, food photography isn't my forte, and I don't want to post pictures that make delicious food look ugly. I will provide recipes if they're available digitally.

Yesterday, I prepped the following meals

• "Mexican lasagna" (Spanish rice, seasoned black refried beans, tomatoes, Daiya;  topped with tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream)     
• Minestrone soup
• Red beans & rice
• Stir-fried veggies (broc., cauli., carrots, water chestnuts, peppers) in peanut sauce (I will serve over barley or quinoa):  The linked recipe includes the burgers that this peanut sauce was originally intended for. The burgers are delicious, and I make them often. The sauce is fantastic and very versatile, so I tend to make a big batch of it and use it as a marinade, topping for burgers, or mixed in with any pasta/grain/veggie combo. It's an easy way to make quick, amazing dishes with minimal effort.