Holiday Time

You ready for Christmas? Can’t believe it’s here and my posting schedule is a little off and will be until next year. I am taking time off work until next year and I’m thrilled! No actual plans yet, just some down time to recoup from the holidays, work on projects, and have a little fun. Also check off items from our to do list such as annual vet check ups, fence repairs, and de-cluttering.

We have a Christmas Eve gathering to at my sister’s tonight and we’re hosting Christmas Day at our house so I’m sure I will need downtime after that! We’ve been spending the last few days cleaning, shopping, and preparing for that. Already had to deviate from our meal plans since it was impossible to find a nut-free vegan roast, so we’re making lasagna instead.

It’s also been overcast, rainy, and chilly here which is perfect for Christmas, except the pups would rather keep warm inside.

Leela is hanging in there, but seems more disoriented lately being blind and mostly deaf. We’re having to keep her in her play pen more to prevent accidents in the house which she seems okay with since she’s getting lost wandering around the house more. Walks have been a challenge because she does not seem to like being carried as much or walking, so Miko and I have been going for more longer walks which I feel guilty about not bringing her. Watching her deal with old age is tough.

I have been running and got to the gym again today. It was more crowded Saturday like more people getting in that last workout before Christmas.

I missed a couple of machines because some, uh, unfocused people were parked on them and I gave up waiting. I guess I will need to be more aggressive about that with the New Year crowds coming!

Yesterday’s run was perfect, a little cool, overcast. But no wind and great for cruising to a podcast.

And I saw an otter playing in the water.

Again this is a really tough time for eating with so much stress and treats around and I have been struggling a bit to stay on track with dishes like simple roasted acorn squash and curry sauteed veggies.

But cooking at home hasn’t been appealing with so much extra cooking and food prep going on and trying to keep the kitchen clean. So we’ve been going out more too with this great lunch from Pho Vegan Asian Cuisine.

And we supported another new local restaurant, Vegan Plate, to try more menu items.

Japchae with tofu, crispy veggie dumplings, and vegan “fish” and chips. All delicious and we’ll have tried everything on the menu soon at this rate.

Okay, to the list!

• Are these the essential tools for a vegan kitchen?
• Top vegan recipes of 2018.
• 7 must have vegan cookbooks for new vegans.
• I’m looking forward to the live action Aladdin more now.
• Here’s what a vegan Christmas dinner looks like.
• Veganuary is almost here.
• Turkey dinners have a serious carbon footprint.
• No animal foods needed to build muscle.
• Vegan diet most effective for preventing heart disease.
• Top vegan fashion and beauty trends for 2019.
• This is sad news, but 104 is impressive.
• Stop trying for the perfect running form.
• Veganism is the key to success for this athlete.
• This is a bold and awesome move on the Avatar set.