Racket
Today’s inspiration comes all the way from Australia! ”Paul Mosig and Rachel Peachey are accomplished photographers and multimedia artists, with interests in sustainable practice, community engagement & cultural development.”
I particularly loved this post they wrote about triangles ”Our love of basic geometrical shapes is being renewed as Sascha learns to draw them and triangles are the favourite of the day.”
Isn’t the triangle on his back fantastic! This couple and their son are a true inspiration of doing good work, work you believe in and work that feeds your soul. Check out their site it’s beautiful. photos: Racket
Fog Float
Source: loveatfirstblush.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest
Hi guys I had 11 vials of blood taken this morning and I’m feeling a bit foggy but I’ll be back tomorrow with something inspiring, I promise!
The Perfect Sandwich
I will forever be on the search for the perfect vegan sandwich. Sandwich choices in Sacramento seem to be fairly limited and one has to get very creative when ordering. I can’t believe that the old standby vegetarian sandwich which consists of sprouts, apples and cream cheese still exists but it does. Really?! CREAM CHEESE on a sandwich! It seems ridiculous but maybe that’s just me. Where is the creativity people?
There are maybe two or three places in town you can get a sloppy good vegan meal but sometimes they’re too loaded up with a bunch of extra stuff. I just want something easy. Not to toot my own horn but I’m a damn good sandwich maker just ask Mr. Lovie! My mouth waters just thinking about them; toasted whole grain bread, homemade vegan pesto, veganaise, a bit of yellow mustard, spinach, red onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper and a slap of soy turkey. Put a few corn chips and pickles on the side and you’ve got yourself a very simple masterpiece.
Maybe my calling is a vegan sandwich shop? Hmm ….
We’re “Juicing”
We’re juicing! Mr. Lovie thinks the term “juicing” is funny so for him I’ll say we’re making juice. It all started a couple of weeks ago when I began reading loads of information about the health benefits of making fresh juice. From what I’ve read it’s optimum to drink the green goods no later than 20 minutes within making it so that’s what we’ve been doing. We’re using a 3 to 1 ratio of veggies to fruit and it’s all 97% organic and what’s not organic we’ll peel and give a super scrub. Mr. Lovie has been getting experimental and after we make the green goods he’ll throw in a beet and some oranges. I have to say I was a bit worried about how it would all taste but I really love it so far. I encourage everyone to give it a “shot!”
This is the juicer we bought from zappos.
WHAT A WEEKEND!!
Ok, I know there are a ton of photos here but there was so much going on this weekend that I couldn’t leave any of it out! Let’s start from the beginning shall we?
Friday afternoon the doorbell rang and there were two packages delivered for Mr. Lovie, one small one huge. I knew the huge one was my new bike basket but I had no idea what the small one was I figured it was more car parts. It turned out to be a tiny Anglia model just like our car but rallyed out -super cute!
Saturday morning we fixed a delicious breakfast consisting of a new tofu mixture courtesy of Mr. Lovie to be used as an “egg” for my veggie potato scramble Mr. L used an real egg. Then we headed over to Dave and Teresas for our flight lessons! Teresa was busy frosting some super cute plane sugar cookies and she even made me some mini vegan chocolate cupcakes. They were delicious -thanks Teresa! We brought freshly squeezed orange juice to the mix and some hummus and crackers. We arrived early and walked around checking out all of the planes in the hangers. There were also skydiving lessons taking place so every time you’d look at the sky you’d see little people floating down.
Our flight instructor Bill was so nice I was instantly put at ease. I had never been inside a two seater plane before so it was a new experience for me. We all agreed it was AMAZING! Don’t tell but I think Bill liked me best because he did some wild hard turns that tilted the plane on it’s side and when I looked down all I could see was the ground. I couldn’t even move my head due to the centrifugal force then we did a GRAVITY DROP and I thought my stomach had moved into my mouth I actually floated up out of my seat!!!! It was so cool to fly such an amazing plane I really loved it.
Sunday I headed up to El Dorado Hills to meet my Mama for a Mother’s Day wine tasting craft fair event. We had a wonderful day, good weather, great chats and lots of “finds” I bought two beautiful handmade pairs of earrings (one pair you can see in the third to last photo) and my Mama bought a handmade pendant. I also had henna done on my hand (hey, it was free). After that I headed home and Mr. Lovie showed me his hat after it had been washed (he wasn’t happy) but I made him some delicious tacos & tortilla chips and he cheered up! Hope you had a great weekend too!
Virginia
Today I’d like to honor a woman who changed all the lives around her, my Grandma Virgina. She was nothing but a bubble of love and laughter and smiles.
I remember so many moments; watching her dip her toast into black coffee, going into her pink bathroom and smelling all of her perfumes and powders and looking at all of her pretty things, taking baths in that pink bathtub, the pink slippers that she always wore, sleeping in the living room in sleeping bags with my brothers and cousins on that green shaggy carpet waiting for Christmas morning to arrive, evenings with all of my family squished into the living room playing games, watching t.v. and just being together, her blue/green lava lamp on the piano, the ticking of the clock in the living room, the breakfasts she would make every morning, the yellow butterscotch candy that she loved and always had a bag of in the cupboard, her beautiful skin which was creamy and soft she once told me that I had beautiful skin which I’ve never forgotten since my skin is a sore subject for me. She called me Tephie and it was so sweet and endearing.
When I think of her I feel warm and loved. She was that kind of Grammie the one you couldn’t wait to see.
My Mom wrote this:
Virginia – a gentle soul, a beautiful woman, whose greatest joy in life was her family
She was the youngest of six siblings. She told the story that because she was the baby of the family, she was never required to do any work growing up. (She also mentioned that the family had a two-seater outhouse, which apparently was a bit unique and allowed for “companionship”!) At a family reunion about 15 years ago in Montana, she showed us the little church that she attended in Rosebud as well as her high school. We were also thrilled to find the little abandoned motel where she and Norman honeymooned. After high school, she became a secretary/stenographer and worked in an office in Absorkee. When she first met Norman, she didn’t like him. She said that one day he rode his motorcycle a long distance in the cold Montana winter to ask her out, but she wouldn’t even let him in the house to warm up. However, he was persistent and very charming and soon they were dating. They loved to dance and once won a jitterbug contest. They were married on June 21, 1941. The family (with Reggy and Connie) moved to California after the war and then to Bieber in 1950 where Norman managed the Kurley ranch. On the ranch, Virginia cooked for hired hands, helped pull calves in the frigid winter months, gave CPR to a bunch of chicks that accidentally fell into a watering trough (they all survived!) and washed the family clothes and diapers for twins (Rocky and Cindy) on a wash board when the washing machine was broken. Norman was killed in a tragic logging accident in 1956, just before the twins turned two. When that happened, the Bieber community rallied together and made sure our family was taken care of. Sometime that following year, Bill Reagan came into Virginia’s life and he never hesitated in taking on the burden of raising her four children. They married on December 9, 1957 and they had a daughter (Denise) in 1958. Virginia loved country-western music as did Bill. He played guitar and Virginia, using her shorthand skills, would write the lyrics to songs out for him. In 1959, the new family moved to Burney where Bill worked in the logging industry. When Bill bought his own logging truck, and later started a saw sharpening business, she kept the books.
Virginia kept a beautiful home – not rich in possessions but rich in loving care. Her home was immaculate. She sent all of us off in the mornings with breakfast and a lunch packed. Coming home from school or work, there was always something freshly baked to snack on and dinner on the table. We were loved unconditionally. We were all that was important to her.
She was loved by all that knew her and will be greatly missed She will live forever in our hearts and memories
This is part of a video I made for her memorial service and it’s the only video we have of my Grandpa Norman. Most of the family had never seen it before.
Doughbot
For some unexplained reason I had an extra 10 minutes to spare this morning and I didn’t want to go into work early so I decided to check out this doughnut shop called Doughbot. I’m no expert on doughnuts but I have to say I just annihilated ate two of the best doughnuts (lemon lavender and maple) I’ve ever had and they just so happened to be vegan! They were warm, soft, sweet but not too sweet and perfectly balanced on the flavor. YUM.
It feels good supporting these entrepreneurs who are out there trying to make something happen in this town. Bravo Doughbot I’ll be back!
P.S. In case you think I’m a big old piggie eating 4 doughnuts for breakfast I bought two for Mr. Lovie to try as well! So when he reads this he’s gonna get a lil’ surprise!
P.P.S. How freaking cute is their stamp and the box?!
Orange You Glad You Live in California?!
This was the scene last night when I arrived home. Mr. Lovie was on the roof picking oranges from the tops of our orange trees!
These are the times I feel really lucky living in California.
I then made us two vegan pizzas with all the same ingredients except that one was with homemade vegan pesto (by Mr. Lovie) which is the MOST AMAZING PESTO I’ve ever had and one with regular tomato sauce. Both were quite tasty!
Gardening
Sure this may not look like much now but I assure you the garden is planted and ready to grow! Two weekends ago Mr. Lovie prepped all the soil for me with the mantis and this weekend we gave it a good soak before planting. We are trying something new this year in that half the bed is planted with seedlings and the other half is with seeds. We’ll just have to see how it goes, I’ve never had much luck with seeds. We also moved the tomatoes against the wall since you’re supposed to move them year to year it has full sun and good soil so I think they’ll like it there. So far we’ve planted; tomatoes, kale, swiss chard, green onions, red onions, basil, sweet basil, tarragon, cilantro (I’m trying to learn to like it) and sugar snap peas!
A Case of the Mondays!
This morning as I was driving to State Zero I decided that I’m done working and that I just want to stay at home and work in our yard full-time. I’m half joking/half serious. We had such a great weekend that it makes going to work on Mondays really tough. So I guess I have a case of the Mondays today.
Friday night started off with garage time working on the bikes, a little chat with Mkay and then some amazing piled high with good stuff dogs! Saturday we headed out to find some garage sales and came across an Estate Sale which caused us to vow never go to another one. It was very depressing going through someone’s stuff in their house after they had died —not to mention the fact that everything was completely overpriced at odd amounts like $18 or $38 … I mean who do they think they’re kidding? Just put $20 or $40!
Anyway, after that we headed to the bike shop to look at bike baskets and we found this crazy 4 person bike we were told we couldn’t ride because it’s “dangerous” BOO! Then we headed on over to the SACRAMENTO CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY that was happening at the Shepard Garden & Arts Center which is the coolest building EVER. I couldn’t believe we had never been inside it before. After the show we saw a “Greek Festival” going on down the street so we decided to take a chance and check it out despite the $6 entry per person. What a sad disappointment we basically paid $12 to taste 8 tiny cups of bean soup that was being judged. However we did get to see inside the Greek Orthodox church and it was really beautiful. Tomorrow I will tell you about Sunday so stay tuned!
Hiking, Backpacking and Camping
Today’s inspiration is about doing things that you love and filling up your soul’s gas tank. Something I used to do on a regular basis was hiking, backpacking and camping. I loved being outdoors in hard to reach places away from technology, I loved feeling the sun on my skin, I loved feeling the breeze and the fresh air, I loved being active and fit, I loved campfires and eating food that had been cooked outdoors, I loved it all.
Somehow over the years I just sort of got out of the habit of going and eventually I stopped going all together. I’ve now realized how much I miss it and just how important it is to me. So this spring and summer Mr. Lovie and I are determined to get out there and start exploring. I’m excited, I’M SUPER DUPER EXCITED and I hope you come join us!
Stepping it UP
Mr. Lovie’s experiment; cooking rice inside a veggie dish
I won’t lie, I slipped off the wagon and started eating cheese a few months back and I’m sure I’ve eaten a non-organic egg here and there too.
It all started during our trip to Boston when my food chooses were limited to fried foods, old produce and seafood so I decided to eat clam chowder and mussels. I basically lived on that the whole time we were there and well, it sort of knocked me off the ‘no dairy no seafood no meat’ wagon. Ever since that trip I’ve eaten cheese here and there and have said to myself “well it’s just on weekends” or “it’s just this one time.”
When I was eating a 100% plant based diet I felt better and I looked better which was a nice perk! I also felt in a very small way that I was taking a stand against farmed animals which is something I truly believe in.
So why am I writing about this here? Because I want to be held accountable by all of you. So if you ever see me slipping please gently remind me that eating a whole block of smoked gouda will not make me feel good the next morning. 
