Election Celebrations

As well as electing a new president of the United States a couple of propositions were passed that are worth celebrating. November 4th not only heralded in a new political party but a better existence for animals in certain states.

Proposition 2 in California was passed allowing the phasing out of gestation crates, battery cages and veal crates. In Masachusetts the Greyhound Protection Act will phase out commercial racing by 2010. To read more of this good news visit WSPA or the blog of Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

I personally would like to see an end to all factory farming. I am not against people eating meat but there is a better way of animal husbandry. No animal should be confined its whole life in a crate/iron pen with no room to turn around. Animals should not be so closely enclosed like an engine in a car thats only function is to work until expiration. Farm animals are sentient beings. For us to treat them otherwise de-humanizes us.

President-elect Barack Obama previously announced they would adopt the puppy they promised their daughters. A Big Thank You to Obama for highlighting all the deserving pets in need of a new home. I would ask you all to think of your local shelters when looking to buy a pet. Please don't buy from pet stores that get their animals from puppy mills, let's put them out of business and end the misery.

I have always bought my dogs from reputable breeders or an animal shelter. I have had "Heinz 57" or mongrel dogs too. One we rescued off the streets where I lived in a particular rough area of Liverpool. We named him Fred, a great character loved by everyone and he lived to the ripe old age of sixteen - plus!

Our beloved German Shepherd Charlie, who came with us from England, we had bought from the Liverpool branch of the RSPCA a few years before. He had been abandoned and tied up at the side of the road. It took a long while to win his trust. He had obviously been badly beaten by his previous owner(s), he cringed every time someone raised their arm. Plus other types of behaviour that pointed to that fact. Despite his shaky start in life he has turned out to be one of the best shepherds ever. A real family dog, so loving - and lovable! Sadly for us, he is near the end of his life. We have had the privilege of his companionship for over twelve years, a good age for a shepherd. He is definitely very wobbly on his pins now, due to a lifetime of severe hip dysplacia. We are preparing ourselves to say goodbye when we cannot ensure his comfort any longer. Something that is never easy, but necessary for Charlie's sake.

My cat Willow, we brought over with Charlie, is at least thirteen years old and definitely a Moggy (not pedigree). I bought him from a cat rescue in N. Wales. He had been thrown from a moving car driven through a busy town in N.Wales. Fortunately the driver in the car behind saw what happened, stopped and picked up Willow from the road. My previous cat was also from a cat shelter.

Hope you have a great week and go celebrate for our fur and feathered friends!

Kathy

One of those days

Ever had one of those days when plans go awry? Turn out a little disappointing or we don't find what we expect or are looking for? Well Saturday was a little like that for me.

It started with a trip downtown with my daughter just checking out small, local businesses. One store selling home decor gifts and furnishings did at one time have more of those items. But now has clothing at the back of the store. More candles and decorative notebooks and not much of anything that you could say was the focus or point for visiting.

A stop at a new store in the adjoining town looked more promising. It had a name and exterior that shouted craft or "prim craft" store. This home decor store too, had more of the same as seen at numerous department stores. All the ornaments and the storage tins printed with "old label" designs, that I picked up, were made in China, mass produced.

I was a little disappointed nothing seemed to stand out from any other large store home decor department. I would have thought that small business people would promote other small businesses. These days most big stores are within easy travel distance and have more choice. Stocking one of a kind collections by local crafters/artists/artisans, etc., would make more sense I would have thought. Giving out of town customers a reason to visit smaller towns, as that is surely necessary for small town commerce to flourish.

Maybe it's naive of me to ignore the bigger profit margin to be had with mass produced goods. But in the long term encouragement and co-operation between local businesses can only be a positive force for the economy. In these bad economic times I would rather buy from "home grown" businesses if I can.

Certainly, there are plenty of small business people out there trying to make a living that offer one of a kind or customized items competitively priced. I am sure there are some in the phone book but the internet has enabled many small business people the chance to work from home when the overheads for a "bricks and mortar store" would cripple them. One online network Qflea.com promotes such small businesses.

I am a member of Qflea and if you are looking for a "web mall" to promote a small business I can recommend it. Qflea is the brainchild of Charley who works hard on our behalf - no charge. Yes you read that right! It is also a superb support group for business owners, everyone giving help and advice through the Qflea Yahoo group. Definitely a quality group of vendors. So I think I will be looking there for gift ideas this season - and you can too.

Well, this post didn't start off to promote Qflea but I am happy to do so! After failing to find any gifts to buy, I looked forward to an evening with my husband. With the children entertained elsewhere, I suggested a dinner date. After dismissing a forty minute drive, to a brew pub not previously visited, on the search for cask conditioned ale with our dinner (can't you tell we're Brits!) we decided to go local. A bit like my earlier shopping trip it seemed - doomed to failure.

Our first stop was the local Indian restaurant only to find it closed for a private banquet! So we set off through a couple more townships looking for a likely place. The problem being Michigan is big on meat, I mean huntin', shootin' and fishin' big. OK for my better half but I am a vegetarian. Most restaurants offer a very limited non-meat menu. I tend to go Mexican - lots of beans for protein, or Indian as they offer a better selection. Or Chinese of course, though as a tofu hating vegetarian there isn't much down for me!

Our next stop was the local brew pub (not cask conditioned, but decent ale never the less!) to pick up a growler of IPA. After getting lost, cutting through a not so great area, trying to find it from the towns we had been cruising, guess what? They had run out of growlers - to the uninitiated they're flasks/jars to take home ale from the pump. Well! Off we set again searching for a take out pizza place or the like, resigned to a night in after all.

Then driving along the last road before turning for home we came across a Chinese/Thai restaurant we hadn't seen before. So we went in and yes! a few vegetarian dishes to choose from. Humm, the obligatory tofu but some dishes without. The waiter also suggested a particular mixed vegetable dish that had tofu, but it would be swapped for mushrooms. Both our meals veggie and meat lover's were great. So maybe if our other usual watering holes had been open we wouldn't have found an alternative. There you go - not such a bad day after all!

Kathy