Cool, upcoming DC event on behalf of PIGS Sanctuary

I am so thankful for groups who set up places of refuge for abused, abandoned, rescued, and so forth animals. You may have heard of Farm Sanctuary, a fabulous organization which has safe havens in both New York and California. Closer to DC-area folks is Pigs Sanctuary, a West Virginia refuge which was founded to help pigs (pot-bellied, farm pigs, etc) but which has expanded to shelter other farm and domestic animals. On September 19, from 7-9pm, Pigs is hosting a cocktail party at The Darlington House on 20th St, NW. It's a 20th anniversary event that will highlight Pigs' successes and feature a book-signing by Victoria Moran, author of Main Street Vegan.

For more info, visit pigs.org or facebook.com/pigssanctuary.

Jack's questions during our brief morning commute to school

I thought I might share a sampling of questions Jack asked me during our 12 minute drive to school this morning. Multiply this by 12 hours, and you get a sense of why my brain is rattling by bedtime. ;) 1) "Mommy, William said Krypton and kryptonite are real but that Superman isn't real and so couldn't have died. Do you think that's true? Which parts? I don't think Superman was real so he couldn't die."

2) "Underpants? What about when you're wearing shorts? Why not undershorts?" Well, Jack, it's a general term for the garment you wear underneath your clothing. "But, maybe we should use all the words, underpants, undershorts... Maybe I'll use a Sharpie and label all my drawers: shorts, pants, socks, underpants, shirts, sweaters, bathing suits..." Jack, you don't have that many drawers. "...pajamas, vests..." as if he never heard a word I said.

3) "Mommy, why are some boogers wet? Some are dry. What if I drew a picture of a booger? I'm going to hide my picking behind a Kleenex."

4) "Why was Walt Disney's name, Walt Disney? Why Disney? How old was Walt Disney when he started Disney?"

Wow!

Blur

Not totally sure what I've done today such a blur has it been. I'll be glad when Oliver's school schedule is in full swing- yesterday was just 9-10a, today 9-10:30, and so on. I've not been sleeping well, and Ol was up at 5:45 this morning just singing away. Suffice it to say that I'm tired and feel slow. Fortunately, I have a sitter coming sometime soon and hope to find some energy for the gym or at least canning the brandied peaches I've been hoping to make. For lunch I enjoyed more of the burned eggplant I made last night- seriously, that stuff just pushes all the right buttons for me. Eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic, pomegranate molasses. It's the perfect combo of sweet, smoky, savory and hearty. Absolutely wonderful. I have no idea what our main dish will be tonight, but as a side I'm having a real yen for the Roasted Broccoli with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette and Marcona Almonds that I absolutely adore and wish I'd made up myself. However, happy to have found it and looking forward to it tonight!