I Love Animals
I saw a headline today in the newspaper about elephants in circuses and how it’s going to court to keep them out of circuses. I didn’t click on the details of the article because I have such a hard time reading about cruelty to animals. I just can’t think about it. And it’s not even the main reason I became vegan in the first place! I have always loved animals and am constantly amazed by their beauty & their strength. I own a cat and I love how affectionate she is, how she asks me to hold her (by putting her paws on my knee), how she greets me at the door, and sleeps alongside my leg at night.
As a child, I hated circuses and zoos. I still remember going to the circus back in elementary school on a class trip and feeling sad and crying as I watched the bears and elephants being commanded to do things they were never meant to do. I thought there must be something wrong with me that I couldn’t enjoy watching this. I still feel this way. Even if a book has a storyline that involves cruelty to animals I can’t read it. In fact, I had started reading a mystery series a few years ago about a cat sitter but, in the beginning of the second or third book (I can’t remember now), the author described a kitten who had been killed in a particularly cruel way. That was it. I returned the book to the library and stopped reading that series. I’m really sensitive that way.
So I guess you can say my love of animals is my second reason for becoming vegan.
By the way, the icing I made for those vanilla cupcakes last night came out amazing! You blend 1/4 cup soy margarine (I like Shedd’s Willow Run), 2 tbsp soy milk, 2 tsp vanilla, & 1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar (I use Florida Crystals brand). I used my Sunbeam Mix Master & it came out so smooth, creamy, & sweet. I will definitely be making these again.
And for lunch today I made an impromptu stir fry with sliced carrots, onions, & celery, cooked in a little bit of peanut oil with garlic powder, sea salt, & pepper. I ate it with the last of the leftover brown rice, along with an orange, cafe latte, & my delicious vanilla cupcake!