Thank you, updates and food.

Thanks to everyone for your condolences and support. While I knew we were attached to her, I didn't really realize how hard it truly was going to be. Moussa passed away while we were at work on Friday. We had known that this was going to happen for awhile now, but it was still a surprise, in a way. We felt happy that she was able to live with us in our home, so that we could bury her here. A few weeks ago, when she first started acting elderly, we went out and bought a little wooden box, figuring it was best to be prepared. Friday night Jim and I both wrote her a little note to tuck into the box and Jim took care of situating her in the box with some cotton fluff. It was dark and raining, so we left it in the cage. That night I woke up to see Linus staring into her cage, waiting for her to come out and play. It was utterly heart-breaking and I went and brought him into bed with us.

We weren't able to bury her until Sunday. It's amazing how once someone is a part of your life, it can be so hard to let go of old habits. I still keeping going up to the bedroom as soon as I come home to make sure the temperature is alright. I woke up last night because of the heat vent squeaking, thinking that it was her wheel and wondering if it needed to be adjusted. The spot where her cage was is not just a gaping hole on our dressers, but in our lives. I think what makes it so hard is that it's difficult to get closure from a relationship like that. We were infatuated with her and she was barely aware of us. There was no real way to say goodbye.

The passing is hard and then having to actually deal with it is its own thing. Jim, I know, is dealing with this much harder than he'd imagined. But he has had to actually deal with it, so that makes sense. He was the bearer of bad news to me, he took care of the coffin, he dug the grave, he cleaned the cage. I don't know what I would do without his strength because I'm a blubbering mess. So thank you all. Moussa really was a loved and special part of our lives and I'm glad that I was able to share her light with all of you.

Now, for all of our sake's, let's turn to less-serious matters: food.

Saturday was the Vegan Holiday Festival here in Portland. This was the first year of it and judging by the turn out and response, there will be many more to come. Jim came to help set up and ended up staying the whole day to check out the speakers who included Brendan Brazier, a vegan triathalon winner, and the famous Howard Lyman. Jim really liked Brendan's presentation and he adored Howard Lyman.

There was food, food and more food to be found! Samples out the wa-zoo, I tell you! I am curious to know what other attendees ate, though, because I got kind of sick that night and I heard a few other people did too. Jim and I ate most of the same things, though, and he was fine. It may have just been that I ate some junk, but I really didn't eat that much. Anyway, not to put a bad spin on it, because it was a really fun day.

I was super busy working at the Herbivore tables, so naturally I forgot to take pictures. Purely Decadent was there giving out 1/2 cup mini-pints of ice cream all day long. I thought for sure they would run out, but they didn't. I had a pecan praline one that was heavenly. Toby's was there with tofu pate samples, Tofurky was there, a hemp company called Living Harvest, giving out samples of their soon-to-be-released hemp milk! It was wonderful. There were tangible, non-digestible goods as well, but there was a lot of food. The only picture I did take was a festive cupcake from Sweetpea Bakery:

I didn't eat it, I just took the picture before it was consumed. All in all, it was a good and eventful day. Plus I met Jess and Erica which was very cool.

This isn't a terribly exciting picture, but it was a departure from my normal breakfast, so I found it photoworthy.

I usually eat oatmeal with fruit or fruit with soy yogurt, but last week, as I was about to thaw some frozen berries, I thought about making a smoothie. I hadn't even unpacked my blender from move up here, so finding it was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to dig it out and I made this smoothie with some frozen berries, some peaches, almond milk, pomegranate juice and some ground flaxseeds. It was a delicious and filling treat, along with a thawed orange poppyseed muffin that I baked the week before, with a little bit of Earth Balance melting inside.

Yesterday night, the night after the festival, I woke up feeling not-so-good, so I had to call in to work on Sunday, which I spent getting pampered on the couch by Jim. I spent most of the day eating bland food and drinking ginger tea, but later that evening I wanted something more substantial, so Jim made some brown rice and thawed out some chili that was living in our freezer.

Not a terribly eventful picture, but more interesting than a stockpot of soup, like I've been doing so much of lately! Topped with a spoonful of salsa and a dollop of Toffuti sour cream.


Tonight I made a veggie burger that I got at Trader Joe's. The brand is Dr. Praegger and they were California burgers.

They are truly veggie burgers, as was evidenced by the bright green block I pulled out of the box. The ingredients read like the contents of a vegetable crisper. I cooked it in a splash of canola oil and ate it bare-bones on part of a Dave's Killer Bread Peace Bomb, along with some chips and salsa. The burger was good, if a bit flavorless. At least it's full of good stuff!

For those of you who didn't know this, I recently found out about a policy that Trader Joe's has that will most likely be of interest to you. TJ's will not carry foods that contain GMO's. This is a relief as someone who normally avoids anything that contains soy or corn ingredients unless it's organic. While I still prefer organics over anything else, it's nice to know that if I want to get something there, I at least don't need to worry about Frankenfoods.

And, in case you've never seen this, this video is a must-see for all vegans and vegetarians alike and is sure to put a smile on your face: