A Letter Written by a Squirrel for Humans

My name is Nutsie.  The bald vegan named me that, because I love nuts.  I really do.  He tried to feed me a piece of carrot.  After sniffing at it for one second, I knew I didn't want it.  Fortunately, he also had a whole walnut for me too.  He gave it to me.  But that silly bald vegan kept trying.  He tossed a piece of broccoli to me.  This time, it took a few seconds of sniffing for me to decide I didn't want it.  Then he tossed a whole almond to me.  Next time, he gave me a slice of cucumber.  Once again, one sniff, and I was done.  He gave another almond to me.  He's silly, but he tries.
Other people aren't as nice as the bald vegan.  I heard they had something in Holley, NY called a "squirrel shoot."  That wasn't nice.  They had all kinds of people shooting at, and killing, squirrels.  I don't understand this.  What did we ever do to you?  We're all so afraid of you.  We know it's your world, and we're just squirrels trying to get a nut.  Some people eat us.  But is it really worth it to kill us for food?  We're so small.  And so many of you are so fat.  The meat of one squirrel can't make much of a dent in those super-sized bellies I've seen.
And please be careful when driving your cars.  So many squirrels have been run over by cars.  If you can avoid us, please do so.  The bald vegan saw someone run right over a squirrel with his or her car.  He or she killed her.  The driver made no attempt whatsoever to avoid running over the squirrel.  There were no pedestrians or other cars around, so the bald vegan thinks the driver should have tried to avoid the squirrel.  People need to be attentive when they're driving.  This person killed the squirrel, kept driving like nothing happened, and parked at a nearby restaurant.  The bald vegan thought about confronting the driver, but he was too sad to do it.  He was more sad than mad.  But if he had been more mad than sad, he might have at least yelled at the driver.  And if the driver messed with him, he might have gotten physical.  You should keep that in your mind.  There are people who are willing to fight for animals.            

Making Your Own Hummus Is a Reason to Live

I love it.

 I'm serious.  I made hummus today.  In addition to standard ingredients like chick peas, olive oil, and salt, I added plum tomatoes, garlic, and hot sauce.  It is red, and it is very good.  Why would anyone kill themselves when they can make any kind of hummus they want?  It just doesn't make sense.  These are some of the ingredients I plan to use in hummuses of the future: spinach, kale, parsley (Yes, the next batch might be green.), onion, leeks, mushrooms, and spicy peppers.  And there will be more.  Making a green one with veggies like kale, parsley, and spinach will be key.  I tend to get stuck in ruts.  I'm in one now.  Even though I've been doing well eliminating refined sugar and processed foods from my diet, I've really only consistently been eating carrots, split pea soup, hummus, and corn.  So, technically, pretty much the only veggie I've been eating are carrots.  The hummus is a great opportunity to break out of that rut.  I love hummus.  I know I like it with spinach in it, because I've bought the spinach and artichoke variety of it several times.  I'll just have to make sure to buy organic spinach, because spinach is one of the dirty dozen.
Everyone who cares about their health and that of others should know about the dirty dozen.  They are the fruits and veggies that tend to soak up the most pesticides.  It is recommended that, if you eat any of them, you should only choose organic varieties.  According to PBS' website, this is the dirty dozen:      

• celery
• peaches
• strawberries
• apples
• domestic blueberries
• nectarines
• sweet bell peppers
• spinach, kale and collard greens
• cherries
• potatoes
• imported grapes
• lettuce

Still Going Strong

One of my favorite albums of all time: Heartwork by Carcass

Our minds can be amazing.  It's funny how people can have so much discipline in one area, and next to zero in another.  Many times, I've heard that this or that is "90% mental."  I think there's a lot of truth to that.  If you're mentally motivated to do something, then you will.  If not, then you won't.  The brain commands the body.
I'm surprised, but I'm doing very well eliminating processed foods and refined sugars from my diet.  I said to myself, at first, this is crazy, it's unrealistic, but I'll give it a try.  It helps that I bought a food processor: a ninja.  I've made my own hummus twice now.  It's come out pretty well.  I ate some today with carrot sticks, which is how I always eat it.  I can buy a pound of chick peas for $1.37.  The cheapest I can buy hummus for around here is $3 a pound.  But then I'm limited to 3 flavors.  I can now make any flavor I want.  The last batch I made was garlic.  I don't care if it gives me bad breath.  I can't help thinking I'd be better off with a cat or dog than a girlfriend.  Now I want to add a hot pepper or 2 and make spicy hummus.   
I can't help plugging the book I wrote, so here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO
I haven't seen many squirrels around here lately.  The last time I went to the store, I bought some more whole walnuts for them, which they love.  It's been bitterly cold around here, and I worry about all the animals who live outside wherever it has been very cold. 

Split Pea Soup

Do yourself a favor and make some split pea soup from scratch.  It's very easy and inexpensive: even when you make it with organic celery and carrots, like I do.  Buy a 1-lb package of dried split peas and dump them in a pot.  Put enough water in (It's easy to find out exactly how much online, etc., but I never measure.), and put the burner on high to boil.  Then chop up 3 stalks of celery and 3 carrots while waiting for the water to boil.  Put them in with the peas.  Once they boil, turn them down to a simmer, and put a lid on the pot, and leave it ajar so steam can escape.  Simmer it for at least an hour.  I have never overcooked it, and I have cooked it for 3 or more hours.  After all, you probably want the peas to disintegrate and turn into mush, I know I do.  Anyway, it's cheap, filling, great to eat during winter, and, most importantly, it is comprised of  healthy whole foods.
I can't help thinking about my book, so I can't help blogging about it either.  I think it is good.  Go ahead and buy it for 5 American dollars and read it on Kindle, a smartphone, or tablet.  Here, again, is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO There's a lot of interesting stuff in the book.  It's funny, entertaining, yet it also deals with the recession and how I've had a hard time since then: as have a lot of people.
I continue to feed whole walnuts to my squirrel neighbors.  At least one of them recognizes me and pretty much chases me.  I believe she sees me as a walnut dispenser, but that's fine with me.  It's great to see a squirrel hopping toward me. 

Poor Cat

It's a cold world for stray cats

She's homeless.  She seems to not trust people; maybe she's been abused.  She's a stray cat who lives around here.  Last night, the temperature here hit a record low of 6 degrees below zero.   I've seen her trotting around in the snow.  I've seen her tracks, and I know she's been around.  It breaks my heart to think of all the stray cats out there.  They have to deal with horrible, sometimes deadly, weather.  There are people out there who would torture and kill them.  Please spay and neuter your pets.  There are so many unwanted dogs and cats.  They're either homeless, or they're languishing in cages at shelters.  If you want to make a commitment to a dog or cat for the rest of your (or their) life, and you're committed to treating the pet well, then please adopt.  Breeders piss me off because they play God and bring dogs into a world in which there are already more than people want.  
My diet is going well.  I've recently gotten into soups big time.  For a while, I considered myself to be the sort of person that doesn't like soup.  Now that I'm trying to not eat any processed foods, I've rethought that position.  I've been eating split pea and lentil soups.  A one-pound bag of them costs a little over a dollar.  I cook it with carrots and celery.  I've really been enjoying it: especially since it's been so cold.  I think of veggie soup as a hot winter salad.  Instead of eating a bunch of cold vegetables, it makes sense to throw them into a soup and heat them up.  I'm not much of a cook, but it's very easy to make, doesn't require much effort at all, and it's done pretty quickly.  It's very filling too.    

Blackfish

The way they should be: free

I love hummus.  I'm eating so much of it, that I think I need to start making my own.  The main ingredients are garbanzo beans, olive oil, and lemon.  Currently, the best price I can buy it for is $3 a pound.  It would be cheaper for me to make it.  I need a food processor.
My new diet is going well.  My favorite thing to eat now is carrot sticks dipped in hummus.  That's why I like hummus so much.  I doubt I'd be eating carrots without it.  I've even dipped cabbage into it.  I don't like many veggies, but when they've been dipped into hummus, it's a different story.  Also, once I start making  my own, I can put very healthy veggies into it like celery and parsley.
I've fed some more whole walnuts to my squirrel neighbors.  I love them.  I really enjoy feeding them completely natural food.
I saw the movie Blackfish.  It was very interesting and disturbing.  SPOILER ALERT!  It certainly reinforced my belief that animals should not be confined in zoos, aquariums, and places like Sea World.  It seems like one of the killer whales at the Orlando, FL Sea World has had a hand in killing 3 people.  Obviously, it's not the whale's fault.  There have been plenty of incidents in which orcas have injured people in captivity, but, apparently, a killer whale has never attacked a human in the wild.  They can swim hundreds of miles a day when they're free, but in places like Sea World, they are confined to small tanks.  Killer whales in captivity have been seen to float in the same position for hours at a time.  They should be free.  But I think that every animal deserves to be free.  Of course, I realize that's pretty much an impossibility.  But I will not participate in anything that takes away animals' freedom.  I'm a vegan, so I don't support the confinement of animals like cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys.  I wouldn't go to a zoo either.  The last time I went to one, it was very depressing.  I saw a leopard that paced back and forth from the exact same spots over and over again.  The leopard didn't have much room.  I saw a rhino who was behaving very oddly.  It seemed like she was moving in a very obsessive way that likely had something to do with her unnatural confinement.  It's a bunch of crap when people say that the animals are in the zoo for their own protection.  I have an offer for anyone who would say something like that.  Hey, since you believe in confinement for protection, I'll put you in a cage for the rest of your life where you'll be safe.  You'll have no freedom, you'll be a prisoner, but you'll be safe in your cage.      

I Saw a Skunk

playful pup

The skunk was not dead, and of course I'm not referring to seeing one on TV or in a photo.  It was nighttime.  I looked out my window and saw an animal walking around.  At first, I was thinking cat.  Then I took a closer look.  She was a skunk!  It was the first time I had seen a live skunk in the flesh.  It was exciting, but the skunk didn't do the moonwalk or anything; she was just foraging like all the other animals around here do.
Darn that Adam Sandler!  A few weeks ago, I watched You Don't Mess with the Zohan.  I enjoyed it; it was pretty funny.  The problem is that there is so much hummus in the freaking movie.  It obviously is in there as some kind of joke.  His character even puts out a fire by attaching a hose to a giant tank of hummus.  I was liking the movie, but I was thinking that it would probably lead to me buying hummus, and it did.  I love hummus, and I hadn't had it in a while.  Sure enough, because of Adam Sandler, I've eaten pounds of it since watching that movie.  I've been eating it every day.  It does make such a great chip dip.  Now I'm trying to turn it into a positive situation.  I bought a package of carrots; even though I don't like carrots by themselves.  The plan is to use the hummus as a veggie dip: instead of a chip dip.  I plan to try dipping cucumber slices into hummus too. 
I discovered another great product: Bird's Eye (frozen) oriental stir fry.  It is so good.  It contains broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, and other (oriental) veggies.  It comes with a delicious sauce to put on it.  I rarely go to restaurants.  The first time I had it, I thought it was as good as something I'd get in a Chinese restaurant.  I've been eating it almost every day.  Life is short.  We must treat ourselves well: especially when we're talking about a food that is vegan and healthy.
Today and yesterday were pretty good days.  My car died recently.  That has been difficult to deal with.  Who looks forward to buying a car?  I can only think of rich people, and I am not rich.  So it's been a tough time for me; that's why I posted those song lyrics last week.  Life can be hard, but we must press on and try to improve things.