Wednesday, August 30, 2006

No no... thank you!

I got the cutest e-mail that totally made my day ... Here's an excerpt:

Thank you for:
Thank you for inspiring me to go to my local market instead of a corporate grocery
Thank you for saving me money by suggesting fresh and bulk
Thank you for proving to a carnivore that vegan food isn't all bad (Auntie Bonnie's Wacky Cake)
Thank you for teaching me how to cook
Thank you for the vegan whipped cream, it was deliciouson the cake
Thank you for proving to me that vegan food isn't all bad (I'm finally cutting out my dairy and eggs)
Thank you for throwing in those vinegar tips, they worked like a charm (although how to avoid residue?)
Thank you for the childcare tips too, I can see you know how they tick
Thank you for the soymilk recipe, but I bought soynuts instead of beans and fuckered it all up
Thank you for inventing a banana date shake that tastes just like cake batter.
And lastly, thank you for being alive, because I can see that you two are truly enlightened people.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Veg Fair

Hi Everyone
Just a quick note to let you know that I won’t be attending Veg Fair.

I am not feeling well and have had to cancel due to illness. It’s nothing dire... but I don’t feel well enough to fly.

I hope all you kids in Toronto aren’t too disappointed.
Thanks
xoxo
SARAH

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Let's count the rings around my eyes...

I got a really weird e-mail today:

"How old are you? I'm already vegan and I want to have a concrete, simple idea of how nutrition affects aging."

Am I now the litmus test for aging Vegans? *laugh*

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Remember...

Remember when I told you about that pup tent I wanted to buy for Fergus?At Pettents.com The Camelot is now ON SALE for half price!!! ooooooh... what's a girl with a spoiled dog to do?

The little house Fergus has now is so white trash... A puppy of his caliber deserves a much better doggie house. I wish the Viva Le Chocolate or the Scarlet Pimpernel were on sale. Don't worry folks... they're faux suede.

I love my post office box...

Looking for some new music to listen to while you're on your computer?? Check out CBC Radio 3. I'm obsessed with it. Maybe you'll fall in love with a Canadian band you've never heard of before... Right now I'm listening to local Victoria hero's Hot Hot Heat playing an acoustic thingy. It's amazing.

I LOVE my post office box this week... it was STUFFED full of excellent goodies. First was a little note from Brian who sent me a clipping from Vegetarian Times where readers answered "What's your favourite vegetarian cookbook and why?"

Well... Valerie Geist in Lancaster, PA wrote "HIAV It has easy-to-follow recipes that aren't too time-consuming or intimidating. It's fun and entertaining; it lists tips and animal ingredients to avoid. And the recipes are delicious." So a big thanks to Valerie Geist and thank you to Brian for sending me the magazine clipping.

By the way lovely readers... That's your 2nd mission, should you choose to accept it. Magazines and newspapers don't usually send me clippings when the books are mentioned so if you notice a clipping... rip it out and send it to me: Sarah Kramer P.O. Box 8727 Victoria BC V8W 3S3 You might just get a shout out. *laugh*

My shoes from Matt & Nat arrived as well. Did you know they're having a 50% of sale on their website??

Oh yes. I forgot to show you my tattoo all colored in... This is a terrible photo. It's really tough to take a picture of your own calf. Try it for yourself. You'll see...

Also in my mailbox was a lovely letter from Caroline who sent me 2 of these super cute little pink 100% compostable bags from Unicorn Grocery in the UK. Congrats to Katrina for winning the bag!!

I also wanted to tell you about what I saw in the mall yesterday. It was a GIANT dragon or dinosaur or something. But it was a slide/jumpy inside thing and the kids had to enter the slide by climbing through the mouth. It was sooo funny to watch these kids getting swallowed up.

Lastly... that Peta2 article totally bumped up my friends list. I woke up to 39 pages of new friend requests. Not 39 new friends... 39 NEW PAGES of new friend requests. My Myspace page is turning into a job. *laugh*

Friday, August 25, 2006

Dinner

Had a wonderful dinner with my family last night.Fergus very patiently waited for us to finish. Thanks Wolffie for the cheesecake!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Peta2.com

CHECK IT OUT!
I've been featured over at Peta2.com!

And not only that ... but you can enter to win a copy of LDV and a LDV Apron!

My buddy Char

My buddy Char (who took the photo for the cover of LDV) was walking through Save-On-Foods and saw LDV sitting on the shelf!

It's so weird to think my book is being sold in supermarket like that.

If any of you see my books displayed somewhere ... your mission...should you choose to accept it... is to make sure the book is "faced out". You can even put it in front of Martha or Rachel or Jamie. Ok?? :)

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Satya


Then kids at Satya sent me the new issue with Dan Piraro on the cover (and a recipe from me inside).

Congtats to Lori Ann and Tiffany for winning the mags!


In other news.
I love my new lens.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

what

What a handsome fella I have...

New Lens...

Bought a new lens for my camera today.

For those of you who might be interested it's a 100mm f/2.8. I'm not sure I like it yet... it's pretty heavy and not as versatile as I think I might need... might take it back for the 60mm f/2.8. Anyone have any thoughts on the difference between these two lenses?

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Weeds

Started watching the first season of Weeds last night.

Have you seen this show? So darkly funny and hilariously sad all at the same time. I love watching TV shows on DVD. No commercials and we watched 8 episodes in a row last night. *laugh* That's right. I said 8!

Mary-Louise Parker
and Elizabeth Perkins (who I used to confuse as the same person when I was a kid) have amazing chemistry when they're on screen together.

My new tv crush Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) plays another dead guy *laugh* Poor guy is going to get typecasted as dead guys... His few short moments in screen make me LOVE him even more. He's perfect casting as the dead father because he's one of those actors you fall in love with right away and wish they had more screen time, so you really feel for the family as they mourn his passing.

I totally related to the weird 8 year old kid who the school labels as a weirdo because his Dad died. I became the freak of the school when my Mum passed away... There is a scene with the kid and Elizabeth Perkins that was so real and raw for me I started to weep a little and then I laughed my ass off. Gotta love a show that can make you do that.

HEY! I'm not giving away any secrets here. I promise. It's all there for you in the pilot episode.

So what are you doing tonight? Are you going to rent Weeds?? :)

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Important message from Greg Bennick

Got a note from my friend Greg today... thought you would want to read about it. For those of you not in Portland you can still be involved by visiting and supporting The Shac 7.

On a personal note, Greg's movie Flight from Death was one of the most thought provoking and fascinating movies I've seen in a long time. You can purchase the DVD on their website or maybe ask your local independent video store to carry the movie so you can rent it.

FROM GREG BENNICK...
Tonight...Saturday the 19th, in Portland Oregon...a screening of the film "Flight From Death", to benefit the SHAC 7. Question and answer session with me to follow the film along with a band playing as well. Should be cool.

People always ask, when it comes to political issues and events, why they should care? I am tired of that question. Its boring and makes me want to eat glass. So instead, I will answer the far less popular question "Why should i NOT care about the SHAC 7?"

You should NOT care about the SHAC 7 if you...

1. ...hate freedom of speech. Do you often feel the need to punch people for saying things like "I don't like thai food", or "Snakes on a Plane was rad"? If so, then you should NOT come to this event.

2. ...think that government oppression of activists and open minded individuals is funny. Did you sit during the WTO, watching people get pummeled by cops and laugh like you were watching Arrested Development season 2 on DVD? If so, then you should NOT come to this event.

3. ...believe that animal torture for no reason is cool. Do you have a pet? Do you often throw it into traffic or sign it up to be an Al Qaeda suicide bomber? If so, then you should NOT come to this event.

4. ...like it when the criminal justice system fucks up beyond belief? For example, if you think Michael Jackson was innocent, you should NOT come to this event. I don't care how much you like "Beat It" or moonwalking, Michael Jackson needs to be impaled on a spike. Twice.

All that said, come to the screening event tonight. The SHAC 7 get sentenced in New Jersey next month on the 12th, and this is a case which affects us all.

Write me if you have questions...

yours,
greg
myspace.com/xjugglerx


What: "Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality" Screening and
Fractal Pattern (Canada)
When: Saturday, August 19th, 8pm
Where: The Artistery, 4315 SE Division, Portland OR
Cost: $6 (proceeds to benefit the SHAC7 legal appeals fund)

______________

Hailed by some viewers as a "life-transformational film," Flight from
Death uncovers fear of death as a possible root cause of much of our
everyday behaviors. Through stunning visuals and insightful
interviews, this multiple award-winning film ('Best Feature' NW Film
Forum; 'Audience Award for Best Documentary' 2004 Malibu Film
Festival; 'Audience Award for Best Documentary' 2004 Northern Lights
Documentary Film Festival; 'Grand Prize: Best Documentary' 2004 Rhode
Island International Film Festival; 'Best Documentary' 2003 Silver
Lake Film Festival; 'Best Documentary' 2003 Ohio Independent Film
Festival; and 'Audience Award for Best Documentary' 2003 Beverly
Hills Film Festival) explores human beings' innate and subconscious
fear of death and portrays the impacts of that fear on our behavior,
specifically in regard to violence.

Woody Allen once said, "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to
be there when it happens." This probing film explores the myriad ways
human beings have devised to do just that. A culmination of many
years of research and shooting in locations such as Egypt, Israel,
Guyana, Mexico, Greece, and China, Flight from Death provides a
definitive study of the ultimate question that each one of us must
face. Guided by the narration of Gabriel Byrne, this film poses the
big questions to an all-star cast of scholars, authors, philosophers,
and researchers. In the end, this film provides the most
comprehensive and mind-blowing investigation of humankind's
relationship with death ever captured on video.

In addition to the film, co-producer Greg Bennick will be on hand for
a question and answer period.

Also, Fractal Pattern (Alberta, Canada) will be performing after the
film.
"Fractal Pattern strives for artistic honesty and integrity both in
live performance and in the recording studio. The band has played
with bands on many ends of the musical spectrum from indie-supergroup
Weakerthans to technical metalcore band The End and the ecclectic
Aussies Clann Zu, never turning their nose on a chance to rock. The
band are highly devoted to their local music scene as well and have
worked with Black Dot Productions to put together Gigs in Weird
Places, a series of shows showcasing local talent in unconventional
venues such as the Edmonton Public Library and the Catalyst Theatre.
In addition, the band is involved with various political causes and
remains devoted to the dissemination of information valuing animal
and human rights."

All proceeds from the event will go to the SHAC7 appeals fund.
SHAC7.com for more details.

For further event information, please contact the event's sponsor
Food Fight Grocery, info@foodfightgrocery.com.

Also:
Flight from Death: http://flightfromdeath.com/
Fractal Pattern: http://www.fractalpattern.com/
SHAC7: www.shac7.com

Friday, August 18, 2006

I'm so bored...

I'm so bored.
Forgot to bring my book to work. Looked at EVERYTHING on the internet (and I mean everything). I'm dying. Someone bring me a magazine or something... anyone?? ANYONE?

Thursday, August 17, 2006

passed out

A dude passed out so hard that I thought we were having an earthquake... Hit the floor like a sack of cement and had quite a goose egg when he woke up.

Very exciting moment in a very boring day...

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Holy I have nothing to talk about....

I spent aaalllll day yesterday organizing closets and unpacking the last of our boxes. Whew! I finally feel like we live here... Now we have to have a housewarming party. :)

Today I spent my day inputting shop numbers into Quickbooks... oooh my life is so glamorous.

Ha ha ha. Sorry Bob! I have nothing to talk about.... so let's watch this instead.

Monday, August 7, 2006

Dear Canadian Tire

I shop at Canadian Tire because you are a Canadian company. I only go to other hardware stores if I can not find what I need at your store. Happily this doesn’t happen very often.

As a proud Canadian Tire customer I am writing to let you know how disappointed I am that you are now hiring children.

Recently I have noticed an influx of pubescent teenagers working in your store. Not only do they not care about customer service but they seem to have NO KNOWLEDGE AT ALL of the products in your store.

Where are the grown-ups?

Where are the men and woman who used to work in your store who knew your stores stock inside and out and would help you find what you needed?

STOP HIRING CHILDREN!!
I know they’re cheaper. I know you don’t have to pay them benefits. I know they work weekends. I know you can work them to death without them complaining... but I will stop shopping at your store if I don’t see a change in personnel soon.

Thank you.

Sunday, August 6, 2006

visitors

Had some sweet nice folks come visit me yesterday at the shop. :)
My fans are rad.
I need a haircut badly.
I am short.
Or maybe others are tall...

And if you look behind us you can see all the red walls I've painted.

Howler

So our new apartment is fantastic. It has everything we want... lots more space... great location... amazing view. Fergus on the other hand is having a problem - He doesn't like it when we leave.

We've never had this problem before... maybe this place is too big or the ceilings are too high... but he barks when we leave. Classic separation anxiety.

At our last 3 places we've lived at with Fergus our living room window looked out onto the street and he could watch us walk away. Over the years I've video taped him to see what he does when we leave... he would whine a little or bark at the occasional passer-by but never for very long. Mostly he just watched out the window or slept.

He's not a player of toys while we're not home. Even if we leave him a Kong with treats inside... he'll just wait till we get home and then attack it.

So when we first moved in we had a note tacked to our door telling us that Fergus had barked for most of the day while we were at work. YIKES! So we've been taking him to doggie daycare ever since. He loves it there... gets to hang out with other dogs and is so wiped out from playing that when we get home we don't have to run him very hard before we settle in for the night. But the downside is that it's very expensive and they're not open weekends (when I sometimes have to work)...

I ended up having to work this Sat, so we decided to try him at home alone. I set up the video camera by the door and left. I sat down in the lobby for 30 minutes listening to see if he'd bark and he didn't. We figured that he's settled into the new house now... he'll be cool.

I left a note on my door saying we were trying Fergus at home today and if he barked to please let us know (and I taped a pen to the paper).

We came home to silence (YAY) and a new note on the door (OH NO). It was from our very kind neighbor's (who also have a dog and a great sense of humour). The note was from their dog (hee hee) who told us Fergus barked intermittently during the day. They also left us a doggie cookie (cute).

We came home and watched the video and it wasn't good. Our neighbor's must have not been home all day because Fergus barked... a lot... There was barking, whining, pawing at the door (insert awwww sound here) and worst of all. Howling. Yes. I said howling. We've NEVER heard him howl EVER but at least 3 times during the day he tipped his head back, pursed his lips and howled up at the moon (in this case a lighting fixture).

I almost started crying. I feel soooooo bad. Poor little buddy.

So I guess it's back to doggie daycare on the days I have to work at the shop... but here's the thing. We don't want Fergus to not be ok with being alone. I think it's important for a dog to be ok with being alone sometimes... What if we want to go to a movie? Ya dig?

So if any of you have any tips for doggie separation anxiety I would love to hear them.

Here's a bad quality video of him howling... as sad as it made me... it's also really cute when dogs howl. :)

Saturday, August 5, 2006

I have Worry Warts!

For some reason I have worry warts today. I seem to be fretting about everything... And to make matters worse, tonight when Ger and I were walking the dog we walked by an old man who mumbled something to us.

I thought he was saying something about the dog (because people often make comments about how cute he is) so I said "pardon me?"

He yelled "I HOPE YOU DIE OF CANCER!"

Um...
Wow. What a way to end a night.

Friday, August 4, 2006

Morning Wood

Did I tell you about the Morningwood T-shirt I bought Gerry when I was in LA? I can't remember... Doesn't it look good on him?

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Dog day afternoon...

So I went to my lawyers the other day to discuss some stuff... and boy-howdy did Fergus ever have fun. You gotta love a lawyer who has a dog in the office.

In other dog news... You may remember my post a while back when Stefan Thompson came to the tattoo shop and we purchased some of his art. Well I commissioned him to do a drawing of Fergus and boy-howdy did he ever deliver.

He really captured the soul of Fergus. I think it's in the eyes... I love them. LOVE THEM!


Wednesday, August 2, 2006

My friend Laura...

My friend Laura wrote me about my rollercoaster arms ... She's amazing. Thanks Laura.

"In other news I keep waking up in the morning with my arms above my head like I'm riding a rollercoaster. IT HURTS!! What's wrong with me???"

Sarah,
I promise I'm not reading your mind :)

But here's a medical intuitive explanation: You have all these amazing things happening in your life right now, and you're being validated and supported in ways that on some level you never thought would actually happen. In the daytime, you manage to get through w/o paying a lot of attention to how overwhelming it can feel, but at night all those subconscious questions (is this really happening? Do I really deserve this? Can I trust that all these good things will continue to happen? etc., etc.) combine with all the fun you're having. You are literally riding a roller coaster in your sleep--throwing your arms in the air b/c you're having fun but also b/c part of you feels ungrounded and consequently, you're not fully grasping all the goodness that's flowing towards your heart.

Arms are part of the heart chakra, and when you sleep w/ them above your head, the blood goes out but it does not come back to the heart. That's why it hurts when you wake up! This is kind of a metaphor for how you live b/c even though you do take pretty good care of yourself, you are a very loving, generous person and right now you're giving out to your "fans" and the world more good and love and blessings than you're allowing yourself to receive.

My advice? Start consciously recognizing (while you're awake) that, yes, all of this is really happening. That yes, you've worked hard to get where you are, and also you've had some great breaks from the universe. There's nothing wrong with having received a few lucky breaks.You do good service for animals and people, and you're just an all around nice person. The universe wants to reward you, and it's OK (natural, even) for you to open your arms to receive instead of lifting them above your head. When you lift them above your head, it's like refusing to claim your prize. Claiming the prize doesn't mean you're getting a big head, or that if you trust it's there then it won't be--it just means that it's there for you to receive b/c you're you. Giving and receiving are ... a give and TAKE ... it's a natural flow. When you won't allow yourself to take all that's offered, your arms hurt--and it's not good for your physical or metaphysical heart to have that happen. :)

Anyway, this is what I do, so please consider this another gift from the universe just b/c you're you. :)
xoxo
Laura

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Veg Family

I have been asked by Veg Family to write a little something for their Expert Vegan Cooking Tips.

Give it a look and then visit the Veg Family site... they're lovely people.