Urban Critters

Is coming home to Toto after a trip - he always greets me at the door and I just love the solid feel of him when I pick him up and cuddle him... and he PURRS like mad and it makes me feel so GOOD to be home! Then we cuddle together on the couch that evening while I catch up on all my recorded TV - and he PURRS LIKE MAD the whole time! Ahhh, everybody should enjoy the unconditional love of a pet!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I love this holiday because, regardless of your religion or politics, it's about thinking of all the GOOD things in your life that you can be grateful for - it reminds us all that there is always something good in our lives in spite of all the cruelty and darkness out there, and that is a blessing in and of itself.

Some of the things I'm giving thanks for this holiday include (but are definitely not limited to):

• The unconditional love and companionship Toto gives me every day
• My family and friends all around the world, who have loved, supported and stood by me through good times and tough - and for the opportunity to love them back, which makes the world a better place
• All the fabulous, compassionate people out there in the world fighting injustice and cruelty in all forms, and who give up their time to help others - with a special call-out to the people in animal rescue and welfare!
• The fact that I have a job in these tough times - and even more that my job gives me the opportunity to work with smart and good people every day
• Being able to make more of a difference because my employer matches donations and volunteer hours
• The opportunity to have loved someone special - even if just for a while
• My health (it might not be the best, but it's better than a lot of people's)
• Enough personal liberty to be who I am without too much hassle, and to have the freedom to share my opinions and ideas
• My new car Rufus who might not be flashy or high-end but who makes me feel safe and happy on the road
• Everyone who reads this blog and, by extension, is part of my community!

I won't go on and on - because I could - but you get the picture! Life has really thrown me some curve balls the last 18 months but overall there's a lot to give thanks for, and dwelling on that instead of the bad stuff helps me keep sight of the sun.

May you all find at least one ray of sunshine to hold onto, and to feel grateful for, this Thanksgiving - have a safe and happy holiday!

Visiting family for Thanksgiving gets a whole lot more fun when someone just adopted a new furry family member! My Dad's new kitten is adorable and smart (which is why Dad called him Sir Isaac, for Sir Isaac Newton - I just call him Isaac).

Just one more thing to give thanks for this Thursday - isn't he just the CUTEST thing?! His tail is completely black; it looks like he got someone else's order!

Last year I started this blog with a rather surprised endorsement of the merits of a vegan Thanksgiving, thanks to my Dad - you can read the whole story here. Basically, that weekend was a catalyst for me - a challenge to stop paying lip service to the well being of animals, and to start putting my money where my mouth is. Since then, I have adopted a vegetarian lifestyle, leaning vegan. I've steeled myself to learn some unpleasant truths and have become more active about trying to make this world a better place for animals overall. So thanks, Dad - I know you made the vegan choice for health reasons but by doing so you're also having a positive effect on the planet as well as saving approximately 100 animals this year!

Anyway, this year i wanted to share a Thanksgiving feast with some friends so I invited a few of my neighbors and a couple of other close friends over for a Turkey-friendly meal. None of them are vegetarians, so I truly appreciated that they kept an open mind about the whole thing, and came over ready for anything (a little early because we all had plans for Thanksgiving day)!!

And.... THEY LOVED IT!!! I cooked stuffed tomatoes and peppers to start (stuffing was couscous with tomato pulp, pine nuts, mushrooms, grated carrot and zucchini, onion with garlic, rosemary and oregano seasoning) and main course was roast veggies (butternut squash, yams, carrots, potato), steamed greens (baby zucchini and Brussels sprouts) with a Tofurky Feast (stuffed Tofurky with gravy and dumplings). For dessert, Judy brought over a vegan chocolate cake from Whole Foods while Stephanie made an apple pie. YUM, what a feast!!! We were all stuffed to the gills and everyone was as pleasantly surprised about how GOOD the whole lot tasted as I was last year! None of them had had Tofurky before and they all said they really enjoyed it - in fact (and this is the kicker), they ASKED TO TAKE THE LEFTOVERS HOME!!

Naturally we did talk about why I chose a vegetarian lifestyle, and how heinous factory farming practices are for animals - most of them expressed surprise and felt that if only more people knew the facts, there would be a greater demand for humane practices. I totally agree, and gladly talked about Prop 2 and the availability of Certified Humane, Animal Compassionate and other programs that can at least give them less awful meat and dairy options.

To thank my friends for being so open-minded and as a reminder of how our choices impact others, I gave everyone a Humane Society "Be Kind" cause bracelet (for those of you with pooches, you can also get a "Be Kind" cause collar!), and was pleasantly surprised by their excitement.

This Thanksgiving, one thing I am definitely giving thanks for is my circle of amazing, open-minded, compassionate friends!!! Thanks to their willingness to try something new, we enjoyed a fabulous feast together without buying into the agribusiness-sponsored Turkey Day philosophy - and I can't give enough thanks for how my friends have been there for me through some very dark and trying times over the past 18 months.

THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS!!