Lazy Weekend, Snowy Weekend
I didn’t spend my weekend quite how I wanted to – we were going to go for a work visit at Cedar Row on Saturday morning, but as we looked out the window, and checked road conditions we ended up staying home because of heavy and projected snowfall. I’m not sure if we were over cautious, but I hope to attend a future one sometime. The night before I picked up a long pair of purple galoshes, hoping they’d be perfect for digging around in the mud. I guess I’ll have to wait to find out.
If you’re not sure what happens at a work visit, there are a variety of tasks to do, cleaning the sheds, the goat barn, getting rid of some of the poop and shovelling it into a wheelbarrow, taking it to a pile at the side of the house, and doing it over and over again. It’s hard work, but it feels meaningful, helpful, and the time passes quickly because while you’re scooping shovelfuls of shit, you are also talking to people and laughing and just generally having a good time. Occasionally one of the animals comes up and wants to know what you are up to in their house. It’s definitely worth going to one of the work visit/potluck combos if you’re able to.
At the moment, the next work visit is not yet posted – but you can check out the Cedar Row website for their work visit calendar.
Mid afternoon I realized I had been sneezing and coughing a lot, and started to feel a little run down. The next morning, on Sunday, it was clear I probably was getting a cold when that tell tale sign of scratchy throat appeared and suddenly I was tempted to just wrap myself in a blanket, and do nothing all day.
Not that I could – since I was looking forward to our monthly Toronto Animal Book Club meeting. This time we were meeting at Bampot Bohemian House of Tea’s and Board Games – with an incredible science fiction book called “Under the Skin.” I’m debating whether to write up a review of the book within an animal rights/liberation context, but until then – it was surprisingly relevant – and incase you’re wondering, I’ve been told that the movie has remarkably little to do with the book.
On the bright side however – Bampot has a tea for sicko jerks like me, called Throat Coat, with warming spices, and slippery elm bark, which was cozy and comforting for me when I needed it the most. The other nice thing that besides a bunch of non-vegan options, Bampot has stuff clearly marked with a V – so usually both their daily entree and daily soup are vegan (though in spite of this they may or may not butter the bread with the soup if you don’t give them a heads up on the vegan thing.) There are a few menu items, snacks and desserts that are also plant-based.
We had a good meet up, and I’m looking forward the next book we end up tackling – we’re just voting on a new one. So if you’re in Toronto, and want to join us, welcome! Just ask to join the facebook group!