Art Show to Benefit the Wayne Animal Shelter

I'll be vending at this event to raise money for the
Wayne Animal Shelter

TOTALLY FREE!

This Sunday, May 2 from 2:30-6:30 come support the
Wayne Animal Shelter and local artists (like me)! 

The show is in the A-Z Furniture Gallery building...bring the kids!

675 Pompton Ave (Route 23), Cedar Grove, NJ 2.5 Miles South of Willowbrook Mall

Directions:

From the South:

Take the Garden State Pkwy N to exit 145 for I-280 toward Newark. Follow signs for I-280. Keep left at the fork to continue toward I-280 W and merge onto I-280 W. Take exit 8 B to merge onto Prospect Ave toward County Hwy-577/Cedar Grove. Continue on Mount Prospect Ave. Continue on NJ-23/Pompton Ave. A-Z Furniture will be on the right.

From the North:
Take the Garden State Pkwy S to exit 154 for US-46 toward Clifton. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for RT. 46 and merge onto US-46. Take the exit toward Cedar Grove. Merge onto Notch Rd. Turn left to stay on Notch Rd. Take the 1st left onto Long Hill Rd. Continue on Ridge Rd.Turn right at Cedar St. Take the 1st right onto Pompton Ave and continue to arrive at A-Z Furniture.
From the West:
Take I-80 E to exit 47B to merge onto US-46 toward Montclair. Slight right at Bloomfield Ave. Slight left at NJ-23/Pompton Ave to arrive at A-Z Furniture.

Campfire 'Taters!

We made a couple of campfires this weekend and experimented with cooking potoates on the burning ambers. We had a little metal slotted grill that we put on some stones, but I bet you can just place the prepared taters right in the fire. Here's what we did: (caution! addictive, yummy, hot hot hot taters!)

 Next time I'm going to experiment with dessert on the fire!  Yummo!

Cello Hello!

Just a quick note...more to come!
Back from an AMAZING weekend upstate. 
Thanks to Jenny for the pictures!

Thoughts for 37

I'm turning 37 this weekend! I really love the number 37.  I'm much more into numerology then I've ever been into astrology (though I am really very Taurusy).  The hottie hubby and 2 of our super fun friends are heading upstate.  I'm going to meet Francis the chicken we sponsor at Farm Sanctuary.  Isn't she lovely!

Some things I plan to accomplish in this coming "new year":

• Play cello well enough that a crowd doesn't want to throw tomatoes (I do love me some tomatoes though!)
• Turn more people on to veganism
• More tattoos! 
• Career update!
• Pink hair (goes along with the career update)
• Vegan boots!

I am a blessed blessed girl. I am thankful for all the wonderful people, animals and comforts in my life.  The future is bright and I welcome it!

What plans do you have for your "new year"?

Jane's Addiction Quote

I made up this little poster to hang in my cubey at work...thought I'd share!  Feel free to print and post and use and re-use :)

PVB

Luke's New Digs!

Look who moved into a deluxe apartment...so he can fly-eye-eye, yeah!

It's a lot bigger than his last cage and on wheels which makes it super easy to wheel him to where ever I'm at in the apartment.  He likes to stay close to "Mom" :)

The other birdies may be getting one too...shhhhhhh, don't tell 'em!

Rabbit Salt 'n Peppy!

OMRabbits!  I want THESE

Super Yum Dinner from Nothin'

Ok, so I really wanted to try a new recipe last night and looked through a bunch of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks.  I knew I wanted to use some sweet potatoes we had but couldn't find a recipe I liked or that I had all the ingredients for.  I ended up using a bunch of random pantry and 'fridge items to make this one pot wonder.  Here are the ingredients, and yes some are vague:

1 sweet potato (with the skin) nuked until medium/soft and then cubed
olive oil (of course)
some frozen chopped onion
some frozen corn
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
some sliced ginger
2 vegan Indian "burgers" cut up into chunks (the company is called Tandoori and I buy them at my local Indian grocer, how I love thee!)
a few dashes of cinnamon
salt & peppy
few handfuls of washed and torn up lettuce leaves (we had a mix)

In a large frying pan I cooked the onions in the oil until they had just browned, added everything except the lettuces. It got a bit dry so I added some more oil.

I tore the lettuce leaves up into a bowl and then piled on the hot stuff. 

We couldn't stop eating!  We ate the whole thing...so much for left overs hahaha!

LOVE this BLOG: Graphics Fairy

I'm in love with the blog THE GRAPHICS FAIRY full of FREE printables! 

Check 'em out!

Come Volunteer at Catskill Farm Sanctuary

This Saturday, April 10, 2010, we're heading up to the Catskill Farm Sanctuary to help out in "chore day".  The day starts at 10 am and will include vegan lunch! Yummo!  We'll be gardening, painting, making nice and getting dirty! RSVP at the MeetUp announcement HERE. It's about a 2 hour drive from NYC and should be a super fun day out with the animals.  Hope to see you there!

Ahhhhh. Back from Eden

So the hubby and I are back from a long weekend (3 sleeps!) at the cabin.  We saw no less than 4 cats, 7 dogs, a baby snake, tons of horses, baby goats, adult goats, sheep, a dozen or so black-capped chickadees, wood peckers, red winged black birds, a frog on a trip on a dirt road, salamanders...not to mention the chorus of frogs and crickets in our pond.  The chickadees are so relaxed around us that you can stand right under the bird feeder and they'll still hang out and snack.  Heaven!

I had the following discussion with a local small farm "meat" farmer
Me: "Oh!  Some day I want to own a few goats and some chickens...you know, to just have, not to..."{eat}
Farmer: "What are you going to do with the goats?"
Me: "I don't know...just let them eat the grass"
Farmer: "They'll eat your trees"
Me: "That's ok, we have a lot of trees"
Farmer: Head tilt, eye squint.

I asked him if he knew of a local vet that made house calls.  He told me it was too expensive to call the vet, best to just butcher the animal. (insert crazy head explosion here) I just smiled and changed the subject.
It's truly amazing how differently he and I see his flock.  I see them as beautiful and majestic.  He sees them as commodities.  I respect his right to make $ and feed his family. I feel extra blessed that I have been put on a different path...I can feed my family and at the same time (hopefully) do as little harm as possible.

Easter Reflections and My Mother’s Birthday

The hottie hubby and I are going “up country” for Easter this weekend. It also happens to be what would have been my Mum’s 63rd birthday. She died about 7 years ago from multiple cancers, some more preventable than others. She was addicted to cigarettes.

I’m not sure why exactly, but this year her passing is hitting me harder than it has in the past. Maybe it’s because I feel like I have grown so much and haven’t been able to share it with her…and because I have so many ambitious plans for the future that I can’t discuss with her. She would have LOVED our cabin in the woods and would have been full of so much helpful information about country living and such.

But this time of year is about moving forward. I am choosing to not wallow. Growth is apparent all around us! The birds and trees and flowers are forcing their way into the world! My bunnies are showing their new, just shed furry coats and it makes each of them look even more handsome.

My Mum and I had a tradition where we’d give each other 1 red rose on our b-days. The hubster and I are going to start a new tradition and plant something grand this year on her birthday.

Have a happy, restful or invigorating Easter…

PVB