Fergus takes a dive...

Fergus has really come a long way since we first moved in here and he had separation issues, remember The Howling video?? Just about broke my heart. Since then he's really settled down and is fine if we leave him alone for a few hours.

To make sure he's ok when I leave, I like to occasionally set up the video camera and see what he does while we're gone. He wanders around a little, sniffs the air occasionally but mostly he sleeps by the front door until I come home.

Normally the camera is on the floor by the front door... but this time I set up the camera on the couch instead of the floor so I could see more of him as he wanders around...

This is "The Fergus" couch... a small vintage couch that needs to be re-covered... but until then Fergus has re-claimed it as his couch to snuffle, sleep, roll around on, rub himself and wipe his face on when he's feeling frisky.

Everyone is a fracking tattoo artist now...

I saw this advertised on tv a while back and I knew immediately I HAD to have it. So ridiculous and so fracking awesome all at the same time.
I ran out and purchased 2. One for me (Weeeeeeeeeeeee!) and one for my niece and nephew so they can play "Uncle" together.

I just got some photos from my sister in law and let me tell you ... we like to start them early in the Kramer family. First my brother (who has no formal tattoo training) sat down and started on the youngest. The eldest stood near by in case she had to hold him down. Tattoos are painful and kids squirm.


I think my bro did pretty good for a newbie ... and by the end of the night both kids were fully sleeved.
It will be interesting to see how their tattoos stretch as they get older.
xoxo
SARAH

p.s. these tattoos are not real... the tattoo machine is a toy. I'm only kidding. I'm a kidder.

Frack!

So during the holiday weekend Gerry, Fergus and I holed ourselves up in our apartment and watched the ENTIRE first season of the new Battlestar Galactica. All 13 hour long episodes plus the 3 hour mini-series. It was the best x-mas ever!!

I wasn't sure I would like it... because I LOVED the original when I was a kid, but within the first 10 minutes of the show I was soooo into it. The casting is fantastic. Gaius Baltar is my favourite character and the actor who plays him is perfect. The best part is that they film the show in Vancouver, so there are a bunch of Vancouver actors in the show and a lot of the locations are familiar. They even use a BC ferry as a set for part of the space-ship. Pretty funny.

I'm such a sci-fi geek.

They don't swear on the show, but they use FRACK instead of F**K and now I can't stop saying frack. I'm so fracking happy. Frack you! What the frack are you talking about? I bet you could even say "frack" in front of your Gramma and not get in trouble.

Try it and lemme know if you get smacked or not. :)

Baby it's cold outside...

Whatever...

Ho ho ho... whatever.

Have a good one to all of you who celebrate. For those of you who don't... enjoy your time off. I know Fergus, Gerry and I already have our plans as to what to do x-mas day.

1. Sleep in
2. Lounge around the house in our pajamas
3. Waffles & soy sausages for breaky
4. Take Fergus for a long lovely walk
5. Hit Silver City for a matinée. I'm pushing for Rocky Balboa and I think Gerry is pushing for The Good Shepard (yawn). We'll see who wins.
6. Come home, lounge some more
7. Eat dinner
8. Watch movies
9. Go to bed early
10. Nookie

Jake

Hey Guys
Just got a letter from my pal Jake and I wanted to share a little of what he said about the letters he's received so far.

"I sat down and read them all. It took a little over 3 hours, but afterwards I got up and stepped out of my cell - it was weird. I had forgotten I was here - being caught up in the letters, stories and other peoples lives. It's nice to get a short escape every day."

Thank you to all of you who have taken time to write to Jake and the rest of The Shac 7.

If you haven't had a chance, please take a few moments today to write a quick postcard or a long letter to each of the Shac 7. If you're not sure what to write about... even just a short note introducing yourself and saying hello is a nice start.

Thank you. :)
xoxo
SARAH


JACOB CONROY, # 93501-011
FCI VICTORVILLE MEDIUM I
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 5300
ADELANTO, CA 92301

DARIUS FULMER # 26397-050
FCI FORT DIX
P.O. BOX 2000
FORT DIX, NJ 08640

LAUREN GAZZOLA # 93497-011
FCI DANBURY
ROUTE #37
33 1/2 PEMBROKE ROAD
DANBURY, CT 06811

JOSHUA HARPER # 29429-086
FCI SHERIDAN
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 5000
SHERIDAN, OR 97378

KEVIN KJONAAS # 93502-011
FCI SANDSTONE
P.O. BOX 1000
SANDSTONE, MN 55072

ANDY STEPANIAN # 26399-050
FCI BUTNER MEDIUM II
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 1500
BUTNER, NC 27509

SET YOUR VCR'S!!

My Dad filmed an episode of The Dead Zone called The Inside Man a while back and it's finally going to air tonight on The Space Channel.
Check the Space Channel website for what time in your area.

Yay Dad!

Shared-Vision

Wrote an article for the Dialogue for Change column in Shared-Vision magazine. You can read it HERE.

I had a limited amount words to get my point across... it was a tough one to write. :) I'm used to writing books. *laugh*

Long live United Cheesecake Holiday!

My friend Siue Moffat who wrote the fabu dessert cookbook Lickin' The Beaters sent me a important letter that I think you all should read.
xoxo
SARAH

It's that time of the year again...
Time to give a big FU to exmass in all it's sickening glory.

Please join me for United Cheesecake Holiday - the time of year where vegan and nonvegan cheesecakes come together and are honored by you and yours. UCH denotes no gifts, unless they are food or handmade, with focus on eating cheesecake. It is a simple time of year...

To get you in the mood, here is a recipe that will be in my new cookbook, which is all vegan chocolate and candy and out by summer.


Double Decker Chocolate Mint Cheesecake
1/2 c chocolate chips
1 8oz tub vegan cream cheese
3/4 c soy yogurt
1 c firm tofu
3/4 c sugar
egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
1/4 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
2 tb crushed candy cane
1/4 tsp mint extract
chocolate cookie crust (**see below**)

1. Preheat oven to 325 d.  Melt chocolate.
2. Blend all ingredients except candy cane, mint extract and chocolate.
3. Take out 1/3 of this mix. For the 2/3 still in the blender add the melted chocolate and blend well.
4. Pour the chocolate into the pie crust. Mix the candy cane and mint extract into the remaining 1/3 mixture and pour this on top of the chocolate. Bake for 50 min.

**chocolate cookie crust
1 1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tb oil
Press ingredients into a pie pan.

Tough as Nails

YAY!
Tough As Nails new cd came out today!! I'm super stoked that they used some of my photos in the insert of the cd. :)

If you'd like to get a copy of the cd ($8 includes shipping) then send me an e-mail and we'll go from there.

If you'd like to get a little taste of what they sound like...go HERE.

SSOV

I got a FANTASTIC package from The Secret Society of Vegans which included this swanky new shirt that you can purchase over at SSOV headquarters.There was also some amazing Vegan cheese for me to try. It is VERY cheesy... at least from what I can remember. I think the last time I ate real cheese it was the early 90's and Kurt Cobain was still alive so who knows what it really tastes like. *laugh* Also included in the package was some vegan condoms. Gerry was snippy snipped a year ago so we have no need for them... Congrats to Karen & Ms.Pants (both from Edmonton for some reason) for winning the condoms. If you get preggers SSOV and GoVegan.net are not libel. :)

Remember kids... no glove. no love.

How?

How can I sleep through a crazy windstorm but not through my neighbours hi-jinx?

Dear Neighbours

Dear Neighbours
While we appreciate a good party … we are writing to say that you seem to be having a little bit too much fun.

What we would like to remind you is that you are living in a condominium complex. What that means is that you are surrounded by neighbors on all three sides of your place.

We’re not saying don’t have your friends over, but please keep the hooting and hollering down after 11pm. We are having a really hard time sleeping through all your noise and some of us have to work the next day and are not getting enough REM.

Your yelling, hooting, running up and down the stairs and Pearl Jam sing-a-longs at 4am is a little much to handle, so please try and keep it down.

And don’t forget to shhhhhhhhhh when you’re in the hallway. Voices really carry in our little courtyard and it wakes the entire building up.

Cheers.

Mailbox

Received a couple of magazines called Transitions which is the official magazine for The Ontario Association of Triathletes. They sent me 3 copies of their FOOD ISSUE because they used the Sweet Potato Corn Bread recipe from HIAV.

So if you are interested in all things Triathlete and Ontario... the first 2 people to e-mail me their mailing address will get a copy.

Laying low...

Gerry tattoo'd me today. Nothing new, just some touch-ups on my "Sue" arm. When did I become such a tattoo baby? I was whining through the entire tattoo... Gerry says I'm always a tattoo baby but today I just wasn't in the mood. I was ready to kill him by the time he was done.

I've been laying low lately cause this weather is KILLING ME! The rain the rain the rain the rain the rain. I'm sick of wet socks and damp parka's. Enough already.

I've been sooo busy working on my computer since I got back from Vancouver for the burlesque festival. I have been going through and editing some of the 2000+ photos I took during the weekend. It's exhausting but fun work. I've put a few photos up at SarahKramerPhotography.com and my new photo myspace page. I'm hoping I'll have the rest of my shots edited and up by the end of the week. Lemme know what you think.

I also did a fun shoot with Miss Bunny Ruffles last Saturday and I'm so pleased with how they came out. She was a doll to work with.

Jessicurl

OK ladies and gents!
Those of you with curly hair need to pay attention.

For the last month I've been using Jessicurl products and I FREAKING LOVE THEM!! The products are 100% Vegan and my curly hair has never been happier. Confident Coils keeps my hair in check but it's still soft to the touch.

Check out her website for curly hair tips and for a peek at her wide range of products. I don't mean to sound like a commercial *laugh* but I love these products!!

Through the darkest days...

Isn't it amazing how the lyrics to song can say everything you're feeling and lift you up in your hour of need?



Through The Darkest Days
I remember a time when I could count on your words
I never had to think about empty promises
I was so sure that I could turn my back on you
With no thought of what I'd find
When I turned around to face you once again
Where did that go?
Because now it all seems to have changed
I know where to turn
There's no one left so I rely on myself
I can count my true friends on the fingers of one fuc*ing hand
And through the darkest days I will always have my faith
And though you tried so hard to bring me down
There's no way you could take that faith away from me
I was strangled by your lies
But they only held me back for as long as I remained
Consumed by what I despised
The price of my devotion will never be my soul
And all that remains is to let go of the memories
Of what we could have had
Because now it all seems to have changed
I know where to turn
There's no one left so I rely on myself
I can count my true friends on the fingers of one fuc*ing hand
And through the darkest days I will always have my faith
You couldn't touch that part of me
There's no way you could ever change the way that I live
All I need...
The only thing I'll ever need is the truth
The truth and what it means to me
The only source of strength I'll ever need

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda has a new album hitting the shelves in Feb and the entire record is in FRENCH! I haven't always been a fan of her solo stuff but I've heard the album and I think it's fantastic.

You can download 2 different songs off her new album Voila HERE and HERE.

There is no offical Belinda site up yet... but I'll let you know when it is.

Collector Cards

Check out the new trading cards over at The Capital City Cheesecake website.

Congrats to everyone who won a card!

I am also selling packs of 4 on my website: SarahKramerPhotography.com just go to the "for sale" section to purchase.

Yay

Got a wonderful little e-mail from my buddy Leigh. Thought I'd share...

I just had to tell you that i made the Groovy Garden
Vegetable Casserole from LDV, thinking i would make it
for myself and have the rest for leftovers. My mom
came into the kitchen and asked to try it, and she
LOVED it. This is the woman who is terrified of tofu
or anything vegan. I don't have a food processor
anymore, so the topping was sorta chunky bread and
tofu, but still really good. My mom wants me to make
it as the stuffing for Thanskgiving next year. Too
funny!

I thought you'd enjoy this little tidbit about a
meat-eater who loved a LDV recipe :)

Love, leigh!

Photo Contest

Well...
I had 2 photo entries. *laugh*
You people are so lazy.

So Sudzgirl & Kristy's entries are the winners!

Photo byDavid Ibrahim

Steve from Left Feet was kind enough to give me 2 Left Feet t-shirts and 2 beautiful scarfs that his Mum knit, so ladies send me your mailing address and I'll send you your prizes!
xoxo
SARAH

me so tired...

I am in love with all my Capital City Cheesecake girls!! I just walked in the door from a weekend of burlesque, boobs and debauchery. PHEW! I am so freaking tired you have no idea. Went to sleep at 4am on Friday and 5:30am on Sat... I feel drunk I'm so tried. *laugh*

So while I recover from this crazy fun filled weekend why not head over to SheBytches website and read an interview I just did. The SheBytches website is a lot of fun... troll around a little. :)

Left Feet in Vancouver tomorrow.

I had a wonderful time tonight hanging out with my buddy Steve of Left Feet. He'll be in Vancouver tomorrow night and is moving his way across Canada showing off his shoes, so check his website for details, he may be coming to a town near you. I have to say it's pretty great to actually see and touch the shoes, rather then just look at photos on the internet. You realize what great quality they are.

Left Feet's on-line store will be up and running very soon. Are you excited my Canadian friends? Think about it... no more duty or broker fees. OH! I'm so excited to get my hands on those red wonder woman boots!

I'm be in Van this weekend for the Burlesque Goes North festival. I'm taking photos for The Capital City Cheesecake Girls so if I push you out of the way so I can stand at the front of the stage, don't get mad. I'm wee. I don't take up much room at all, in fact you'll probably be able to see right over me, if my afro doesn't get in the way. :)

See you there?

There's been a venue change for opening night. Details here: Due to capacity restrictions, we are changing venues for our BURLESQUE GOES NORTH Opening Bash!

Friday December 1st
ROYALE BANQUET HALL
2122 Kingsway @ Victoria
(1 block East of Victoria)
$15 Cover, Doors @ 8pm, 9:30pm Showtime

Oh yeah. I forgot to say that Steve gave me some stuff to give-a-way so when I get back on Monday we'll have a contest of some kind. :)

Have a nice weekend!!
I'll miss you.

The Pontani Sisters

Got a funny little note today from Angie Pontani of The Pontani Sisters.

Hi Sarah!
So I'm sitting in a diner in Vermont and the woman at the table next to me says, "Excuse me, but are you Sarah Kramer, the fabulous Vegan Cook Book Queen"!

I said no, and she said, "Well you sure look alike!"

I love it!! I wish I looked as good in leopard as she does. ROAR!

Tofu Roast just keeps on giving...

Got a great e-mail today! :)
For those of you who don't know... the Tofu Roast recipe is in La Dolce Vegan.
xoxo
SARAH

Hi Sarah,
I was inspired by the girl who posted pictures of
the tofu roast a few weeks ago, and decided to make it
for Thanksgiving. It was sooooooo good, and not nearly
as difficult as I thought it would be. I just had to
send some pictures too (no real close-ups, sorry)
surrounded with roasted pumpkin. Even though no-one
else in my family is vegan, they all loved everything
I made, including roasted root vegetables, mashed
potatoes, gravy, haricorts vert with almonds, extra
stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie,
apple-cranberry crisp and ginger cookies - all vegan,
all yum. Vegan food is something to be thankful for!
Jennifer





I also did a quick google for tofu roast posts and found THIS and THIS ... I LOVE IT!

What is wrong with my dog?

I have never met a dog who liked snow more than Fergus. He won't walk on the path, but insists on walking through the snow bluffs. He never wants to come inside. He is LOVING the snow.




Then we have to come home and spend 20 minutes rinsing off the "snow balls" in the tub. *laugh*

Holy Crap!

Wowzers.
Woke up to this...

Victoria does not do well under snow pressure. *laugh* The buses are not running and the schools are closed and they are advising everyone to stay home because people drive like such maniacs here when it snows. SLOW DOWN! Speeding up only makes things worse!!

I'm thinking I should probably go get some groceries.

It sure is a nice change from the rain, let me tell you. Reminds me of when I lived in Saskatchewan... almost makes me miss it.

In other news. I won a Veg News Veggie Award for Favorite Column for I Can't Believe It's Vegan! So thank you so much to all of you who voted.

I have 2 copies of Veg News. Congrats to Ariane and Amberly for winning the magazines!

I'm off to forage for food.
Wish me luck.

snow day

White out!

Woke up this morning to a blanket of snow!!
I know ... I know... it's just snow for most of you but for us in Victoria, snow doesn't happen very often in this part of the woods.
Needless to say Fergus is VERY stoked.He loves to eat, snuffle, run, roll and get crazy in it. We had a very wet, very snowy, very cold time at the park today.

If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of me falling on my ass... I only own rubber boots, and let me tell you they are slippery in the snow. :)

The Hundreds and Thousands

My buddy Maury (the busiest musician in the Toronto) of The Monkey Bunch and The Supers fame and who also plays with K-os and Jann Arden is in another band called The Hundreds and Thousands. You can check them out at myspace...

Love it!! I hope they put up some more songs soon!

They are playing a gig at The Horseshoe on Friday Nov 24th. They go on at 9:45. If you're in Toronto (you lucky bastards) then go check them out and tell Maury I sent you!

Nothing much going on with me. I've been keeping a low profile and working on a writing project that I've been working on for the last 6-7 years. Ugh. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day.

I also have been helping the girls at the Capital City Cheescake Burlesque Review get ready for their show in Vancouver in Dec. Should be a lot of fun.

I hope all you American readers have a lovely and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

The Victoria Vegan

My buddy Dave at Friends of Animals has started newsletter called The Victoria Vegan focusing on and celebrating veganism and vegan living with tips and tricks about living in Victoria and the surrounding area.

The first 4 people to e-mail me their mailing address will get one in the mail!! Or you can download the newsletter HERE or get a subscription HERE.

In other news... one of my photos was used for an article in Discorder Magazine for an article about Margaret Thrasher (who doesn't seem to have a website).

My cooking demo at Canzine was also covered and there is mention of me and a terribly funny fuzzy photo of me doing the demo. So get a copy and point and laugh at it for me.

K-os

Went and saw K-os play last night. My friend Maury of The Supers and The Monkey Bunch fame plays bass in his band.
What a fantastic show. K-os is a national treasure. :)

Random myspace picture

I said I'd never myspace but now I love myspace. Lord help me. Are you my friend yet?

I love random myspace pictures like this. :)
This has inspired me to have a contest!! I want you to send in a creative, silly, naked or hilarious photo of you and the cookbooks. I'll post them in the blog and a panel of expert judges (me, Gerry & Fergus) will pick our favourite photo and they'll win a cute little prize (to be announced later). Send LOW RES pictures here: sarah@govegan.net

Photos must be in by Nov 30th and a winner will be announced soon after.

ok ok wait

Ok
I've had some time to think about things and I think I need to move Stranger Than Fiction into a different catagory.

Perfect movies that I only want to see once because if I see it again it might remove some of the magic I felt when I saw it the first time.

Other movies that are in that list are:
Adaptation
Magnolia
Punch Drunk Love

Stranger than Fiction

Went and saw Stranger Than Fiction last night. Don't let the trailers fool you into thinking it's a Will Ferrell goofy comedy. It's a lovely, smart, funny, touching movie. The attention to detail. The story. The cast. The acting. The scenery out the window. Everything. Perfect.

I'm going to go out on a limb and put it on my list of perfect movies. There's not many movies I think of as perfect:

Amelie. Perfect.
Raging Bull. Perfect.
Wizard of Oz. Perfect.
Corrina, Corrina. Might sound crazy... but it's perfect.

What's your perfect movie?

Tofu Roast

My buddy Kim alerted me to her Live Journal post about the La Dolce Vegan Tofu Roast she made.

I'm so proud of her for trying such a daunting recipe. :)

Hi hi hi

CHEEMO!
How are you?
First off... someone sent a LARGE file to sarah@govegan.net and it ****ed up my inbox so I had to delete my entire inbox and start again. If it was you... don't send me large ass files. :) And by the way. I have no idea what you sent because I had to delete the file because my inbox was ****ed up. Don't re-send it. Just e-mail me and "use your words" to describe what it was you were sending me. :)

Anyhoo.
It's wet here. SO WET! Winter is officially here and it is WET! All the blinds are open and every single light is on and it still feels dark in here. Fergus won't get out of bed and the wind last night was so crazy it woke me up. I thought for sure a window was going to smash. Yikes. LOOK at how gloomy it is.

Whoops. I lied.
As I was writing this post, the sun popped out and Fergus and I ran to the park to get some exercise. I could see another rain cloud looming so we managed to get about 40 minutes of sunshine before it started pouring again. Ugh. The rain is killing me!!

Gerry and I watched a fantastic movie the other night called Souvenir of Canada and it is loosely based on Douglas Coupland's Canada books. Not only is it a fun look at what makes Canada Canadian but it also is a little peek into Douglas Coupland's amazing brain. He is my hero!!

I highly recommend renting/buying this dvd. Run. Now! Before it starts raining again.

sniffles

I'd just like you to know - that by not posting for two days - you've completely thrown my world off-kilter.
Just so you know.


Sorry kids.
I have the sniffles so I've been snoozing on the couch trying to chase it away... so while I'm recovering why not "get fit" by watching this video.

Attack of the killer Parkas!

Dark...

It's so dark here in Victoria. Our glorious fall is over and we have moved into the dark gray clouds of winter and non-stop rain. I have all the blinds open. Every single light on in the house... and it still feels dark. If this is an indication of what winter is going to be like this year. I want to leave.
Fergus loves his new parka... keeps most of him dry. If he'd only wear the hood then his face wouldn't get so wet. I don't think he likes to have his ears covered. We went to the lake the other day for a walk... got some nice shots. The only time I enjoy the rain is walking through the woods...

This soup makes me feel cozy and hopeful on cold damp days like today.
Enjoy.
xoxo
SARAH

Raunch Red Lentil Soup
This warm thick soup should be served over a scoop of basmati rice.

1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup dried red lentils
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, saute the onions in oil until translucent. Add the garlic and jalapeño and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add the stock, lentils, turmeric, cumin, salt and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes or until the lentils are tender. With a hand blender or food processor blend half or all of the soup until smooth (be careful when blending hot liquids); return to the pot and stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Cover with lid, remove from heat, and let stand for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

Taken from LA DOLCE VEGAN (GoVegan.net)