Look What I Found!

A really cute pic of my sister with the boys, September 2013:

From the same weekend:

Hope to get some new pics of everyone in March!

A Magical Encounter

A graceful child steps into my vision in the darkness of early morning. I stop, lights shining on the magical creature. Why are you standing in the middle of the street looking straight into my eyes? Please go back into the velvety shadows, into the trees that have kept you safe. The seconds tick as we study each other, she still and elegant, me awed and shamed. My kind cut down her trees. My kind put this concrete on her land. My kind built a brick box where she used to sleep. My kind kill her kind with guns and larger bullets named Ford and Toyota. Tears prickle my eyes. Does she sense my emotions flowing over the land like a vapor of compassion? Does she understand that my heart aches with the knowledge of our selfish crimes? Perhaps so, because as I hold my breath I then see an even smaller child step out of the shadows and carefully follow her into the darkness on the other side. Stay safe dear ones. You have nothing to fear from me.

First Visit To The Newlyweds

We went to Charleston this weekend to spend some time with the newlyweds. We had a GREAT time.

They're a little bit happy.

The weather was really nice and it would've been a shame to stay inside so they took us on a tour of the College of Charleston, where Tita and Daniel's dad works. You get a real sense of history when looking at the buildings, I guess this is why:

Our tour guides and tour dog. (click on pictures to enlarge)

This beautiful building is where some of Tita's meetings are.

Legend has it, that some of the doors were made intentionally narrow to keep out the women. Back in the day, women's wide hooped skirts would never have allowed them to pass through.

Tita's office. She needs to hang some pictures on the wall!

This Jewish Studies Center is Daniel's dad's labor of love. When he retires this will be his legacy. Behind this building will be the vegetarian/vegan cafeteria, super convenient for the Jewish students trying to stay kosher. Also super convenient for the vegans and vegetarians on campus. :-)

This is the plaque they're reading in the pic above.

And across the street? An Episcopal church. Let freedom (of religion) ring.

This is a typical C of Charleston courtyard. It's a very attractive campus.

Then Daniel asked, "Do you want to see a tree?" Sure! I had no idea what was up.

WOW. The Angel Oak Tree was truly unbelievable. 

(don't forget to click on the picture to see it enlarged)

I felt like I was in Rivendell.

Tita touches the old tree, said to be 400 to 500 years old. 

Happy tourists. I want to go back here again.

The weekend was full of good food, good times, and a really nice visit with Daniel's family on Sunday for brunch with the bunch!

Best Pillow Ever

 Only Chappu can get away with this.

Banu's Irresistable Tummy

Not all kitties want their tummies kissed. In fact you may lose your face if you try to kiss Chappu or Frosty Paws' tummies. Banu LOVES to have her tummy kissed. It is SO soft and precious; it doesn't matter what I'm doing or carrying. I have to stop and do as she commands.

This is her "come hither and schmoozle my belly" posture.

Athens October 2013

A few nice pics from one of our visits to Athens.

Kai learning how to do work books. Which does not belong?

Earl, Satin and Atticus performing "Neighborhood Watch" service.

I get Kai's posture but is Cyrus suggesting that Spiderman is unsure?

Even Superheros like to read a Halloween books.

Saved By A Loss

I do pull for the Panthers but I'm not super attached to their successes. No doubt I'd be more interested if they went to the Superbowl but that is not the definition of a true fan. At work we've been asked to wear Panthers shirts on Fridays during the playoffs (it's not mandatory.) I don't have any Panthers stuff; I have a Chicago Bears shirt and some from universities. I've been seriously considering purchasing a Panthers shirt but really can't justify the cost to wear it only a couple of times a year, not to mention that I don't think it looks very professional in the medical setting. Thankfully I've been spared this year since they got their clocks cleaned by Seattle yesterday. I'll worry about it again next year.

Vegan Trending

It's hard to follow but watch how the map changes from March 2008 to February 2013. The more vegans the bluer the state. (Gotta love Oregon!) States come and go but by February 2013 the country is definitely bluer. Google data shows that there is a steady increase in the volume of searches nationwide for vegan-related terms. An article in The Guardian asks if meat-eating in the US is falling out of style.

According to a Harris Interactive study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, approximately five percent of the U.S. is vegetarian (close to 16 million people) and about half of these vegetarians are vegan. While this may sound like a small number, what’s amazing is that the number of vegans in the U.S. has doubled since 2009 from 2.5 percent of the population. This means that 7.5 million people in the U.S. now eat diets that do not include any animal products. The study also revealed that 33 percent of Americans are eating vegan/vegetarian meals more often, though they are not vegan or vegetarian. That is over 100 million people, or one third of the country consciously choosing more plant-based foods! With mounting evidence that abstaining from animal products may be a key ingredient to good health, this number can only be expected to grow.

Choosing A Name

Like teachers, I have a lot of contact with people and therefore with names. I feel that for the most part parents have the right to name their kids anything they choose. We choose our children's religion, eating habits, entertainment and clothing. All of these things can be rejected once the kid grows up and can choose for themselves. They can't change their name, though, not without going through a lot of red tape. Seems to me this decision ought to be made responsibly, kindly.

We have a patient with the first name VA-Gina. She goes by Gina of course. WTF? What kind of seriously twisted parents does she have?

On a less serious note we also have a patient with the last name Trench-Gak. Now that's just plain funny to me. "Gak" is the perfect onomatopoeia for a cat bringing up a fur ball. And a trench is another word for ditch, so of course every time I hear her name I have this visual image of a cat throwing up a fur ball in a ditch. When Mr. Gak and Miss Trench got married they should have just picked another random last name, don't you think?

Not really a blog worthy topic but I had to get it off my chest, especially that first one.

Our Last Visit To Athens May 2014

It's fun to post old pictures and relive the memories, especially since these pictures were pre-wedding and the boys (and we) were getting to know their to-be Uncle Daniel.

Baba gave and taught the boys "No Stress Chess." It's been a great success.

We were treated to a leg-wrestling twin off. 

This was the weekend I brought the girls their portion of my mom (and dad's, really) will.


The emotional event was relieved by a bout of thumb wrestling.


Kai needs a lesson about passing the baton in a relay. (And Daniel needs a bigger bike.)


If Cyrus only knew who he was racing against!



Bye bye Athens. I have only fond memories of you.

My Two Little Helpers Make A Boring Job Fun

These are old pics (it feels strange to see the old kitchen floor) but I wanted to share one of Tippy and Chappu's favorite activities - the pouring of dry food from the large bag to the more manageable plastic containers. All it takes is for them to hear the crinkle of the bag (and me thumping the bottom of the empty containers to remove the previous bits of food) to coming running into the kitchen at top speed. Their joy comes from me spilling a few pieces in the process. Those stolen bits on the floor must taste more delicious or something.

Here you see Chappu yelling at me to spill more and get less in the containers.

I missed Tippy doing it, but she got around the problem by standing on her hind legs and eating directly out of the containers.

These cuties make what would otherwise be a boring job an enjoyable one.

Our Dinner At Fern

In my previous post I mentioned winning a dinner for two at Fern, a vegetarian restaurant in Charlotte. I always get silly happy when I know I'm about to enter an establishment in which anything I order will be safe from meat and has vegan options labeled. It's even better when the meal is free (especially to my better half.)

Fern is located in a part of Charlotte that has other veggie friendly, artsy, specialized businesses. The front leaves little space for anything other than parking, but they've managed to squeeze in a little vegetable patch that produces fresh yummies from Mother Nature for our meals.

The wall has an artistic hanging of fabric with cleverly tucked live ferns growing in separate pockets. This is a very cute idea but somewhat neglected looking. We arrived early and the only other customer was this family of four. I wondered if they were vegetarian or just veggie-friendly foodies?

Makes me silly happy.

 While we waited for our appetizer I admired the "ferny" silverware.

 We started with the bruschetta. I don't know what they did to make it taste so good but it tasted sooo good. 

 I got the smoked barley risotto and...

...Saeed got the crispy tofu pad Thai. I wished I'd gotten this once I saw it, not that mine was bad... it was just heavier.

I hope I don't have to wait for and win another raffle to come back here. I liked it a lot!!

Charlotte VegFest 2014

We went to the Charlotte VegFest this year. I think it was the third annual festival for all things vegetarian, vegan, and animal friendly. There were vendors, speakers, food, and music. The weather was fantastic and we met up with our neighbors Kelly and Mark. They are not vegetarian (though she has expressed a wish to) be but they are definitely veggie friendly.

The highlight for me was meeting Gene Baur, President and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. I've posted videos of the animals at Farm Sanctuary before so you may recognize him when you see his picture:

He spoke at length about the problems associated with raising, killing and eating animals primarily from the ethical viewpoint of animal suffering yet also touched on the nutritional and environmental impact of this industry. I'm always awed when someone can speak passionately and eloquently for an hour without notes or props. He only had 10 minutes after his talk before having to leave for another engagement in LA, but I scooted to the front of the table to speak to him and have him sign my copy of his book, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food.

I mentioned that we'd seen his debate on Intelligence Squared and he pumped his fist with joy and exclaimed, "And the vegans won!"

Saeed and I really enjoyed the debate and I would love it if you'd watch it:
 

Another celebrity in attendance was Leilani Münter, one of the few successful female race car drivers. Her phrase is, "Never underestimate a vegetarian hippie chick with a race car." Discovery named her the "#1 Eco Athlete in the world." Her website is carbonfreegirl.com.

I did a poor job snapping pics. When I'm enjoying something I pretty much forget to take pictures. I got none of the food vendors but found this cute lady who runs a chicken sanctuary in NC.

I won the raffle (thanks to Saeed's suggestion to put all three tickets in the same jar) and we got a free dinner for two at Fern, a vegetarian restaurant in Charlotte. The lottery tickets I bought were 'delivered' inside this cute bag:

I hope to attend next year and will do a better job with my pic snapping. :-)