And Then

A month has passed since I’ve looked at this site.  Twitter and Apple News have stepped in.  I’ve set up both feeds to deliver items related to veganism and I am convinced the entire planet will soon be vegan.  I am enjoying this fantasy.

I continue to be bothered by close passes by bus drivers.  I’ve all but let go of bad behavior by other road users, but bus drivers are professional operators of large vehicles, which together prevent me from overlooking their uninvited snuggling.  The two drivers I’ve recently interviewed have excuses for their bad behavior.  The first driver thought I was too far from the curb.  The other had to pass close because there was a car in the lane to his left.  They seem to believe the close passing law contains exceptions (if they’ve even heard of it).  I am all but happy to let them know the close passing law exists and is 100% exception free–if you can’t leave three feet during a pass, wait to pass.  The CDTA employee that used to act as if he cared has left.  His replacement hasn’t responded to an email sent on January 27, 2016.  I’ll let a full month pass and then ping him again.

Frida is enjoying a run of stable health.  Still walking a mile and a half in an hour and a half, occasionally faster even.  She is sleeping through the night with the help of 1/2 a xanax (which she enjoys embedded in peanut butter between two sesame sticks).  Eye drops six times each day at three hour intervals.  She is eating most of her two daily meals but takes her time about it.  Thank you for the mild winter.  Just now she’s sunning herself on the patio.

I’ve recently enjoyed two free classes at the Honest Weight Food Coop.  The first was a vegan cooking class by Thee Vivacious Vegan.  TVV prepared a buckwheat pilaf with Mexican flavors and a matcha drink.  She was a knowledgable and entertaining teacher and her dish and drink were delicious.  The second class was an introduction to Reiki for animals delivered by Amy Adams.  Ms. Adams presentation was interesting and her rates are reasonable (she seems to be asking for roughly minimum wage when travel time, session time and follow up communications are accounted for).  At this point, I am neither sold on the practice nor adverse to it.  Zero expectations.  When practiced alongside good veterinary care, though, I am happy to give it a go.  Frida’s first session will take place on Sunday.

Bicycles?  I’ve had short roll abouts, roughly one per week, most of the winter.  Not enough to maintain any condition–my legs and lungs are hibernating deeply–but the time outside is refreshing.

Books!  I read Patti Smith’s M Train and loved it.  She recommended Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle–wow!  Next I read his Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage–again please!  Now I am one tenth of the way into his 1Q84.  In law school, after reading stacks of really dull materials during the day, I devoured fiction at night.  I sped through all the novels by John Irving, Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins.  Since then (during the last twenty five years), I have a book or two by the bedside, each read slowly, maybe over years, most eventually finished, but I was rewarded with little more than a hand over the bridge into the land of sweet, deep sleep.   I am remembering that it is better to read a novel all in a go.  Even so, I should take a break after 1Q84.  Maybe overhaul a bicycle or two for a change.

I am still cooking up a storm.  Also trying to get local stores to carry more fermented nut cheeses.  Emails and tweets to Honest Weight and the Cheese Traveler go unanswered.  These folks are missing the boat.  Have you tried Treeline or Miyoko’s Creamery?  Probably not.  I get it.  You’re 20 or 30 or 40 and new food is scary.  You’re not the only one that is scared.  Think about it.  K?