Random Roses & Ranting & The Great Big Decision
Random: I bought Hugo some roses for his room a few weeks ago from Food Lion. They must have been 1. ultra fresh and 2. ultra local. Hugo had been keeping the water changed about every other day and they were sitting near a window that doesn’t get a whole lot of sun, but keeps the room bright for a good part of the day. I went to check on them today because they FINALLY started to wilt and i wanted to hang them up and dry them before they got all icky.
They are SPROUTING! I’m totally stoked. I’m going to go buy a big plastic pot (seriously big, there are a lot of sprouts), some sand, and potting soil. Hopefully, if I put them in the soil about an inch under they’ll take root in a month or so. If I’m reading my books right, they should be ready to plant by next autumn(ish).
Random: Had a good holiday yesterday. I made a big ole pot of chili in the crock pot which simmered for about 9 hours. MmMmMm good. Gave Hugo all his presents that had come in so far. Used book sellers on Amazon are slooooow and messing up my festivities!
Random: Tonight I went to see my mom and dad. Played with the Energizer Power Ranger for an hour or two then took he and his daddy home. Was met at home by Hugo and a chicken philly cheese sandwich from Lenny’s. I shall probably miss it more than hot dogs.
Rant: In the 70s Hugo adopted a Hindu based spirituality and lifestyle. Vegetarian. In the 80s he lived in Germany while he was with the Army. Still a vegetarian. Early 90s he became an ultra sexy body builder and started eating chicken to keep from turning his body inside out. Not so vegetarian, but not about to order the meat lovers from Pizza Hut. Present day, we eat chicken breasts and ground turkey.
When I was in the 7th grade I read a book that detailed the journey of sausage from cute little oink to shiny plastic wrapped tube in the grocery store. Not only was I insanely grossed out, I was morally shaken. Not only did the ethics of the meat industry strike me as seriously bad news, the environmental repercussions made my head swim as well.
7th grade, I told my family I wanted to be a vegetarian. You’d have thought I told them I wanted a penis grafted onto my forehead. Seriously. (I also wanted to study Wicca…good thing I kept that to myself until I was 20.)
7th graders, apparenly, don’t get to make such decisions. They made fun of me and would make animal noises whenever they were cutting their food. They got angry when I didn’t eat the food that was put in front of me. They refused to make “special” meals for me or buy any fancy food. Really grumpy bitches. There were a few out there that were supportive of me. Hoo-rah to you cats.
Anyway, my home life wasn’t stellar so I decided to make it easier on myself and just go with it until I could move out.
So, why am I still eating animals? o_O
I suppose it stems from the fact that I have had three people in my life say things to the effect of, “Well good for you” or “What a big decision for you, good luck!” or “Thank god you’re thinking for yourself”. Something positive, without jugement. 2 of them were aunts (in-laws, of course) and Hugo.
“I couldn’t live without meat. I need meat. People Eating Tasty Animals. I get sick if I don’t eat steak once a month. If we’re not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat? You’ll get sick. Hippy!”
People suck. You don’t like asparagus. I don’t like meat. Why can’t we get along!? This is not a big deal…
So, umm, why am I still eating animals?
Hell if i know. No better time than RIGHT NOW to make some changes, so I sat down at my computer this morning and decided that I want a meat free home. I’m not going to throw away what we have (some turkey chili and chicken slices for sammiches), but I’ve bought my last corpse in plastic wrap.
This includes dub too…and yes, I’ll wait for you to finish rolling your eyes. I found an ultra high quality vegetarian dog food in Knoxville that is CHEAPER than the high-grade dog food I have been buying whose main protein is from animal sources. I SAVE MONEY. Ding for me. Also, vegetarian dog foods seem to be higher in balanced amino acids and beneficial fat sources for their skin and coat. Ding for dub.
So I told Hugo tonight and he says, “It’s harder than you think.” Ok, I know. I love hot dogs. I love chicken sammiches from Lenny’s but, I’ll give it up because it’s what I want. I can’t do vegan just yet cause I *love* honey. And cheese. Maybe I’ll find a substitute and go all out. Until then baby steps.
(if you’re pissy cause I didn’t cut, then you suck)