Sunday 23 August 2009

A Green Day

The UK is well known for it's rain. Luckily this year we have had a glimpse of sunshine in between the downpours. All this rain then sunshine makes for very lush green grass.
My local park is not very pretty, but if you can ignore the rubbish and vandalism, look beyond the graffiti, which by the way is NOT street art, not here anyway, step over the broken glass and empty beer cans, switch off to the sound of screeching cars and police sirens, there is green space which can be enjoyed.
Here, the girls stop for a pee.
We like to stroll around, and maybe sometimes see other dogs that we've got to know over time. The girls love it, and I do too. I can daydream of a better world of peace and harmony, a world without cruelty and oppression.
However chaotic it is all around, our little bit of green park bring us all a little bit of peace and sanity, and makes life just that little bit better. Feel the breeze in the air, enjoy the lush green colours, smile at the swallows (or are they swifts) as they go sweeping by, and enjoy.

Sunday 16 August 2009

I need your votes!!!!!!!!!!!!

My darling Ruby is in a Pet Photo contest :)
Please, please, please vote for her, by clicking on this link: http://dazzledbeaderpetphotocontmest.blogspot.co/ and selecting number 11.
All of the cats and dogs are very cute, and superstars.
The winners get a prize plus a donation to their favourite charity. If I win, I will choose
Dr Hadwen Trust for the donation. This is their statement of their cause:
'The Dr Hadwen Trust is the UK's leading medical research charity funding exclusively non-animal techniques to replace animal experiments, benefiting humans
and animals.'

Saturday 15 August 2009

Taking it Easy!

Having spent a good part of today shopping for groceries, amongst the busy crowds of stressed out shoppers, and angry motorists, and now the weather is not so bright, I can't help but feel just a little bit envious of my darling cats. I arrived home to find them stretched out, lazing around, and generally taking it easy. They looked up at me with a 'do not disturb' kind of look, and continued in their slumberly rest. Every now and again I'd love to change places with them, and have no worries, taking each day as it comes, eating in between snoozing, just lounging, resting and generally letting it all hang out! and just once in a while chase the other cats around to play. Ah, bliss..................................

Sunday 9 August 2009

A delightful vegan picnic.

We have had a lovely sunny Sunday. Early afternoon we took the dogs for a nice long walk, through woods, by the lake and parkland. A fabulous sunny day. We all appreciated getting out in the sun at last. so many people were out having their picnics, I thought it would be nice to have a picnic when we got home. of course we had to go shopping for the food, on the way home. luckily one of us had their purse on them (not me). It didn't take too long to prepare the picnic. many hands make light work, as the saying goes, or in this case - you stay over there and so your bit, and leave me to do the rest (I usually work better when I'm on my own in the kitchen.).
The result was a scrumptious, yummy vegan feast of a picnic, and there's lots left over for later, so we are certainly well fed today!!!!!!
Look at the fabulous, tasty food, and try not to let your mouth water! This is the picnic laid out, before we devoured it !

A close up of our delicious food, and now for some detailed close ups of some of the dishes:

This is a tofu dish, which tasted a bit like an egg mayo mix, it was made of Tofu, Gherkins, Paprika, and Vegan Mayo. I think that was all, but since I didn't make it there may be other ingredients added, hmmmm, I'll have to find out.
This is the beetroot salad I made from raw beet
root and red onion, chopped very small, with a little Good Oil and balsamic vinegar added.

This is a bowl of sauteed mushrooms, with a little salt and pepper added, and Grassington's chicken style nuggets
I also made this healthy basic salad - lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber and spring onions, with a light dressing of Good Oil and balsamic vinegar.

This is a close up of the hummus dip (bought),
and the salts I used - Herbemare and Jamie Olivers Pink Himalayan Salt, which I've wanted to try for a long time, I've only ever seen Himalayan salt in a big lump before, so it is handy to find these smaller granules in a grinder. I very rarely use Table salt, I prefer these kind of salts, they contain less sodium, and are much healthier.
After we let this yummy food go down for a while, I decided to make my version of a Strawberry Shakeaway. Even though i don't know exactly how they make theirs, they truly are delicious , and they do a good vegan variety. I used fresh strawberries, soya milk and vegan ice-cream by Swedish Glace. Blended them together, and 'voila' a scrumptious, Vegan Strawberry Shake. It was beyond delicious.
We also had some boiled potatoes, some bread, and some water. I think that is everything.
It stayed sunny, the food was all delicious, and nutritious, and it was a verrrry nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.


Sunday 2 August 2009

A Super Fabulous Vegan Sample Bag

I entered a contest recently, to name the new Vegan Sample Bag site, and I won. It's being called 'It's all In The Bag'.
My prize was a super fantastic Vegan Goodie Bag. It arrived last week. I had such a surprise. As it was a sample bag I didn't know what was in it, so each time I delved into the bag, it was like dipping into a christmas stocking! it was full of a wonderful assortment of vegan goodies, including, soaps, body scrub, bracelet, flower seeds, earrings, discount coupons,
a crocheted face cloth, a wonderful VeganEtsy patch, a print, and
more, so much more. All in a pretty tote.
Everything was handmade by wonderful Etsy crafters. It was very exciting, and I am thrilled to have received it. The organiser of these fabulous Vegan Sample Bags, Heather, works very hard to get them together, and all proceeds go to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary.
I have sent some of my own handmade samples to Heather, for the next Vegan Sample Bag Sale, which is due out very soon. To check out more info about the sample bags, such as latest contributors, and when they go on sale, click here.