Gratitude at Thanksgiving Time

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jyH0XFhg5Gpum_x-27bmrBrcAOigD9C622900

The above link has an article about gratitude that was good to read today. I think it is great if one can be grateful for all the good in their lives. Lots of times a person can begin to focus on things not going so great, but if instead we focus more on the good things, I know that helps our moods to be much better.

Today's Gratitude:
My life, my family, my friends, my cats, nature, kind people, healthy foods - and in moderate amounts - which is worth mentioning with Thanksgiving almost here, the town I live in, the home I live in, humor, music, interesting people, plays, poetry and the ability to be okay currently physically and emotionally. Lots to be grateful for. Grateful for the beliefs that I have, too.

Take care all and Happy Thanksgiving.

Grocery Store Shopping At Holiday Time

Where I live our stores are not usually crowded too much at all like in big cities. So it is fairly easy to get around in the stores. But today was an exception, being right before Thanksgiving. I felt like I was in a major city again at the grocery store. And that feeling helped me know that I was very happy for our small town atmosphere. So whenever it does get crowded in my town, I just am grateful for all the many other times it is not.

Way Off! Broadway Review in Fort Bragg, CA

I was one of the lucky ones to get invited to a dress rehearsal of this Gloriana Opera production last night called "Way Off! Broadway". What a great job! From the youngest performers to the oldest, they all had great singing voices and good acting skills as well as dancing skills. The costumes were great, too! They sang many famous Broadway Show tunes and Eagles Hall was decorated very nicely for the event, too. It did feel like you were in a little night club in a big city - right here in Fort Bragg. So if anyone runs across this little review and you will be in the area this is a great show to see in our little town. Here is a link to more about it:
http://www.gloriana.org/gloriana-tickets-wayoff.html

Happy Friday the 13th

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/blog/2008/06/09/13-ways-to-improve-your-luck-this-friday-the-13th/

I just read the above article and it had some neat things I didn't even know about yet. Maybe today would be a good day to buy a lottery ticket and win, just to disprove the 13th being unlucky. Do I want to go out in the cold to get the ticket? Hmm? What if a black cat crosses my path on the way? Anyway, Happy Friday the 13th. Maybe it is best to just lay low. :-)

Vegan Sandwich

 

Today's sandwich: Spread two pieces of Rye Toast with Avocado mixed with some lemon. Then put on some cucumber slices and some tomato slices. Then the Tofu Scramble. Serve with some green olives.

Also, if you want this a bit spicier, I was thinking you could have some cherry peppers with it or even perhaps put hot salsa in the place of the tomatoes. Or even a slice of a red onion.

The Tofu Scramble: Fry up some green peppers, onions and mushrooms and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, all seasonings mix. Then put aside. Then in same pan fry up some tofu cut in little squares. Season the tofu with all seasonings mix, cumin, curry powder and turmeric. You can actually fry the tofu with any spices you like. Actually, I have found that frying tofu up a bit and then adding some Tamari sauce tastes really good, too. Fun to experiment with making different foods. I would say today's sandwich was delicious except for needing a little more spice.

Becoming a Vegan After 10 years as a Vegetarian

I recently became a Vegan. So I am experimenting with cooking new ways. I look at lots of recipes, even meat ones, and see ways I can convert them over to being Vegan using tofu or other vegan protein products. It is fun experimenting with new recipes I just make up. Usually I just see what good things I have on hand and then experiment making things. It is fun doing this.

So far some things I have made were:
Spicy Lentils: Lentils, Onions, Tomatoes, Spices, Hot Sauce (Served over rice)
The same spicy lentils mixed with some pasta sauce with fried veggie ground round and onions and served over pasta

Tamari fried tofu served with a salad, tomatoes, green olives and nuts (your choice of dressing, but I use some rice vinegar and oil on mine)

Garlic Broiled Toasted Sub Roll: I then put on lettuce, Avocado, Tomatoes and Tofu.

Rye Toast Sandwich: Horseradish on the Rye toast and then some tofu and sliced tomatoes. Just a fast easy flavorful thing to have. Have to love Horseradish. (You could put more veggies on this, too.)

Stir fries of veggies and serve over rice

Oatmeal and raisins, nuts and banana with unsweetened almond milk (I put a little strawberry natural fruit jelly without sugar in there, too. It tastes yum!)

Salads: Lots of varieties of lettuces for salads. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, avocados, nuts, zucchini and you have a nice lunch.

Veggie Dinner: Microwave a yam, Microwave some asparagus, and just have some nuts with this and you have an easy dinner. Have a nice Fuji apple for dessert. Those kinds of apples taste great plain.

Other things one could make: Vegan Chili, Vegan Tacos or Burritos, Vegan Pasta Dishes, Vegan Rice Dishes, Vegan Soups. There are many recipes online or you could just make them up yourself. Make sure you have lots of condiments and spices as that helps vegan food taste even better.

Anyway, that is what I can think of for now. I know these are just some easy things I made recently. Hope to come up with some more ideas, too. If you have any good Vegan online sites, feel free to post in the comment section.

Here's to some great Fort Bragg Firemen!

There was a house this evening with smoke coming up from the rooftop which I presume was the attic area. I heard the sounds of firetrucks outside, so I took a look out to see what was going on. I saw at least 10 firemen on the scene, but I am sure there were more. The firemen were all working together and they got the fire out in no time flat and from what I saw it looked like no one was hurt. The firemen worked in an intelligent and precise manner. We can be very proud of all our Fort Bragg firemen. Thanks Fort Bragg firemen for all the hard work you do.

And a side note. When I first moved here I didn't know how to use the wood burning stove and didn't vent it properly. So my home filled up with smoke and I called the fire dept. They came to my home right away, showed me how to to vent the stove and even gave me some free smoke alarms. I was embarrassed about my mistake, but they reassured me I wasn't the "first" to make that mistake and I probably won't be the last. I didn't feel as bad after that.

And again, one more thing, at the holiday time, the firemen also walk around and give out candy canes all around streets in the Fort Bragg city area. It is very nice and they even have Santa waving hello from atop of a fire engine to all the excited kids and adults alike. The firemen walk along the truck and collect food cans from people for the Food Bank. (Also, when my kids were little, the schools took them for a nice tour of the fire station and learned lots about fire safety which was great, too.)

I am sure I could go on and on and others could add to the list their gratitude's for our firemen, but I just wanted to write this post in appreciation of our Fort Bragg Firemen.

And here is a poem I wrote that I posted a year ago at my blog, but thought I would post it again:

Pray For Firefighters

They are out fighting fires
That’s why they are not home
But please don’t worry
They are not alone.

There are many of them
Volunteering their time
To help save the forest
Your house or mine.

It could be your neighbor
A woman or a man
Who helps to protect us
Doing all that they can.

Let’s all help keep them safe
With prayers from our hearts
Asking for protection for them all
From each fire that starts.

Keep praying the firefighter
Comes back from each call
Unharmed and feeling proud
They protected us all.