From the Deep Quiet

Thanksgiving and Turkeys

A and I have a tradition (are traditions made in three years?) of spending the Saturday before Thanksgiving at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for their annual event, Thanksgiving with the Turkeys. There is something really wonderful about spending a day with a couple hundred people who come together to celebrate the wonder of animals and to eat amazing vegan food together.

Simon is a particularly cuddly chicken who prefers laps to the ground. I held him last year, and this year I noticed that he was purring (in a chicken sort of way) while I was holding him.

Yes, folks, it was cold today. Yesterday I bought long underwear just to make sure I'd be okay. I didn't want to miss this just because it was going to be cold.

He fell asleep in A's arms:

You can't see that his eyes are closed in this picture, but they are. He was purring for her, too.

and here he is in all of his regal beauty:

He's a lap chicken! What can I say? Chickens are really wonderful when you get to know them. As are all animals.

Ah... but here come the guests of honor:

They are all rescue turkeys. Three of them were rescued by the Humane Society when they were found outside a restaurant being fattened up for dinner. Fortunately for the turkeys, as we were told today, it's illegal to have live poultry in the city of Washington, D.C. They now live free of fear of being someone's idea of thankfulness, lying dead and cooked on someone's table.

Here they are, having their own feast:


After everyone watched them eat for awhile, we enjoyed an amazing vegan potluck. Afterwards, the pumpkins that were placed by each table became dessert for the pigs.

We decided to begin sponsoring one of the pigs. Pigs are amazing. I don't know how people eat them.

A great day.

And so it begins...

The conference starts today. It should be interesting. I'm sorry, now, that I didn't sign up for the pre-conference that's happening right now. When I registered, there wasn't much information up about that and none of the options seemed relevant, but now it looks like there's a really great one happening that would have been very relevant. Oh well. There really wasn't much communication sent to participants after registration and I kind of forgot about the website. Last time I looked, they didn't even have the part that starts tonight listed, so I thought I was going to have another free night. Glad I checked to see what time things start tomorrow morning! As a former conference planner, the lack of communication is a bit bothersome. I'll go tonight and it'll be fun and I'll learn a lot.

I saw a couple of librarians walking back to their hotel (the crazy-expensive one across the street) from Trader Joe's with a six-pack of beer and stuff in a bag. How did I know they were librarians? I just knew. That's not always possible, but sometimes it is. You know it's true.

She's been upgraded!

Wow! I have the original Library Action Figure, but I didn't know she'd been upgraded to a deluxe model! Now she has a bookcart full of books, a computer, and a reference desk! And she's changed her clothes. I might have to have this.

I discovered this while I was wandering around the best feminist bookstore in the country, Antigone Books, here in Tucson, AZ. I was relieved to find that it is thriving, while so many independent bookstores have closed their doors. I did my part to keep them in business today but I left Nancy Pearl on the shelf for someone else to discover her. I already had enough stuff in my basket.

I've Gone and Done It

Well, I've done it. I joined Twitter. I swore I wouldn't do it, but here I am. It feels kind of weird, but if I'm going to keep up with this stuff, I need to just do it. Ever since I heard about it I thought of it as nothing more than another social networking time-sucker. Something's shifted in me, though. Not sure what. Maybe it's because A has been away for the last few days and the apartment is way too quiet. Dunno.

Either way, here's the latest Benny photo:

He likes his new home just fine.

Cohabiting Just Fine... Mostly

It didn't take Benny long at all to figure out that this is a pretty great gig, compared to what he was used to. And LC is going to lose weight, I'm sure. He no longer spends his days sleeping in his favorite chair because he has a younger brother chasing him around. To be fair to Benny, LC does his fair share of chasing.

Ah... all is well.

Welcome Home, Benny!

Meet Benny, the newest member of our family. We adopted him from the Humane Society and brought him home this evening. He's hiding right now, but I'm sure that won't last for long. He's very friendly. When we took him out of his cage on Saturday, he immediately started purring and snuggling.

This is his "adopt me" portrait. I wish I knew who took such great pictures.

He'll have his own room for the first week or so until he adjusts to his new surroundings. He's been in a cage for several months. Thank you, Humane Society, for giving him such a long time to be adopted. He was just waiting for us to come along!

LC desperately wants to come in this room but Benny is too scared right now. It's stressful going from a little cage to a big ol' room with people you've only met once before!

Happy New Year!

I guess it's a little late to be wishing folks a Happy New Year! But since this is my first post of 2008 I think I can get away with it.

As I was waiting to meet with my rabbi recently, I found the following poem in the back of our siddur:

New Year's Day, by Kenneth L. Patton
Each year should be the best year we have yet lived.
Each year we are more learned in the ways of life.
Each year we are wiser than the year before.
Each year our eyes know better the sights to seek.
Each year our ears listen with a finer tuning.
Every happening is a jewel, wrought about the fancy of time.
All that we understand of the universe is the setting for each sight and sound of day.
The child looks with gladness each year to be one year older.
Should not this welcome pursue us all our years?
The piling of the years is a richness like the piling of gold.
Our years are coins with which we can purchase more wisely at the bazaars of each new season.
Our love is more pliant and patient having been taught by time.
The New Year is one year older than the last.
The earth is more abounding in its growth.
The creatures have moved another step in their unfolding.
Humankind has left us one more year of art for our contemplation.
History is one year more resonant with lessons.
The sunrises are one year more familiar and promising.
The sunsets are one year less fearful, and the peace of the night is one year closer.

from Kol Haneshmamah: Limot Hol/Daily Prayer Book, p. 478.

I appreciate this poem. It says what I mostly feel. I want to start my year looking at the world in this way. I want to get back to feeling the "deep quiet" that was me at one time in my life. Last year I kept finding myself feeling as if I was always behind. Too much work, not enough time to be quiet. I took the first week of this year off from work and have vowed to take more vacation time. It does no one any good sitting in a pot waiting to be appreciated.

A and I joined the Y and we're both loving going to the gym several times each week. Our Y is a beautiful new facility that has tons of machines, a pool, even a climbing wall (oh, man, how I wish I could play with THAT thing!) Though I pushed myself a little too hard yesterday and am paying for it today with sore muscles, I'm happy. I have more energy. I'm going to lose weight and get back in shape! I'm sure it will also help me to, more easily, get to that deep quiet place on a regular basis.

LC wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

Third Place Winners!

No, we don't live in a dorm. We do, however, live in an apartment building where the staff is trying to get some home-team spirit going in a place where few people know their neighbors. Seems like a nice idea. So we decided to play along, even though the Holiday Door Decorating Contest didn't begin until Chanukah was ending. What the hell. It was fun. And it was worth money taken off of next month's rent.

Did you know that there's a LOT of tacky Chanukah stuff out there? We might have found most of it this year. We're hoping there's more next year because this could become a "thing."

Here's the winning door:

And my favorite part: Yes, Menorah Man on the left plays a recording of children singing The Dreidel Song as it sways to and fro. Is it trying to daven? I hope not. Menorah Man on the right lights up and plays an elegant instrumental rendition of "Rock of Ages." The poor little Menorah on the far left just blinks and looks pretty. I'll bet everyone on our floor wants one of each!

Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys!

The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary has a fundraising event every year called Thanksgiving With the Turkeys. Abby and I went last year for the first time. I think we've been looking forward to doing it again (today) ever since.

Imagine this: four separate folding tables with tablecloths but with the legs folded up, covered with corn, grapes, cantelope, bread and other assorted turkey snacks. The tables are spread out among the turkeys and chickens so that they can have a wonderful feast. And they are served first. It makes me cry. Hundreds of people (approx. 4-500 this year) are milling around watching them.

After the turkeys have eaten for awhile, the humans get into line for the biggest vegan potluck one will ever see. Even though we were at the back of the line, there was plenty of food. The next time someone says, "so, if you're vegan, what DO you eat?" I'll describe that line.

The potluck is great, but my favorite part is the time we spend with the animals. All of them have been rescued from places where they were being abused or from their eventual death by slaughterhouse. One goat (I think her name is Jasmine), was rescued from a property where the humans left and left her behind. She was there by herself for approximately nine months before someone found her and brought her to Poplar Spring. As a result, she's crippled. She has a hard time walking on her front feet and will immediately get down on the elbows (knees?) when she gets to where she is going. She was all by herself in the goat/sheep area today.  Rudy, a goat I held in my lap when he was just a baby, was butting heads with another goat today. He has his horns now. Last time I saw him, he just had little buds.

The pigs were excited to receive the pumpkins that had been scattered around the table while the humans were eating. Some of the visitors brought their pumpkins from Halloween to share with the pigs. Every time I visit the pigs, I'm reminded of when I was a little girl and I held my uncle's piglets in my arms. I'll never forget how horrified I was to find out that they would become pork for someone when they grew up. No, I was a LOT older when the disconnect was finally reconnected. The pigs at Poplar Spring will never find their way to anyone's table. Thank God.

This time I held Simon, a chicken who has a cold. He wanted to be held the whole time, so I was happy to help with that. As I held him in my arms, there were moments where he seemed to be looking into my eyes. Chickens are really amazing. They love attention.

When watching the turkeys, one of the things that is truly sad is watching what a hard time they have walking around. They've been bred to be nice, fat, Thanksgiving turkeys. Lots of white meat. But if they turkeys live past the FOUR MONTHS they are supposed to live before being made into someone's feast, they can hardly walk. Their beaks and toes have been cut to make them easier to be compacted into a too-small space. It makes me angry.

The only turkey who will be on our Thanksgiving table this Thursday is a paper one. For me, it's an acknowledgment that NO animal will be harmed for our dinner. Turkeys are much smarter than they are given credit for being. And they are really beautiful.

Salad with Dinner

Have you ever had a cat who begged for salad? LCs particular favorite is baby romaine, but he'll take anything with green leaves. He enjoyed the cat grass we grew for him, but he REALLY loves salad. He cries for it!

Here ya go, kitty! Dinnertime!