Vegan MoFo = Vegan Month of Food!

I've signed up for Vegan Mofo - or Vegan Month of Food - for this year since I now have a Vegan blog of my own (called Where The Veggies Are)!  It runs for the entire month of October and right now, I've been blogging about the theme of baking vegan desserts or transforming my old favorite non-vegan desserts into vegan desserts.  That means blogging everyday about Vegan desserts and baking a whole lot of desserts!  It will also be quite the challenge for me as my day job has picked up quite a bit and I haven't been around the house very much lately. 

Hundreds of Vegan blogs participate in Vegan Mofo, so it has been amazing to read some new blogs based on a whole variety of topics!  It is interesting to see the different takes on this challenge and how creative some people can get.  I'm also excited to be a part of something amazing online, a whole network of like-minded people coming together to celebrate Veganism!

So far, I've blogged about Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Blueberry Muffins, Strawberry Lavender Muffins, Peanut Butter Cookies, and Banana Everything Cookies - all with recipes so you can make them for yourself at home.  Check out my blog, Where The Veggies Are for a new recipe everyday!

New Blog & Changes

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the direction of this blog, which was originally intended to be my crafty creations / daily life blog.  I've been finding that while I still do love to knit and make things, I also love to cook and make recipes.  I have switched from vegetarianism to veganism in the past little while so I have decided to chronicle this journey on a brand new blog!  This blog is called Where The Veggies Are and it will be full of vegan recipes, all about my veggie garden, trips to animal sanctuaries, reviews of cookbooks and books about vegetarianism, helping the environment, and living in a mindful & healthy way! 

If you enjoy my blog posts about the things I cook & bake, you are looking for some great new recipes to try, or you'd just like to follow another one of my blogs, please visit Where The Veggies Are - be sure to "Follow" the site while you are there! 

If you enjoy reading about my knitting, crafts, geeky stuff like video games, and things of that nature, stay right where you are - I will still be posting all of that good stuff here!  I have a ton of knitting that I've been accumulating without pictures over the past couple of months....so lots of good stuff to come, promise!

Oh - and I can't forget to mention my third blog, my travel blog!  The Adventures of Poolie and Loolie - aren't I a busy bee blogger!

Thanks so much for reading my blogs!

Walk For Farm Animals

After visiting Farm Sanctuary, I've been reading online and visiting their website to see if there are any ways I can assist with their fundraising efforts.  Right now, Farm Sanctuary is preparing one of their big fundraising initiatives, the Walk For Farm Animals!  Not only that, but Canadians are also pitching in with a walk taking place right here in Toronto!  I signed myself right up for this one as I would love to do some fundraising for this wonderful charitable organization.

I will be walking as a "Virtual Walker" which means that I will not be attending the official Toronto event as the date clashes with my work schedule.  I will still be doing a walk here at a local park in Mississauga on a date close to the actual event on September 24th.  I'll write all about it when I'm finished!  The walk in Toronto is 1.75 miles but I'm going to make this walk a full 5km (3.10 miles)!

I would really appreciate any donations if you would like to sponsor me in this event.  By clicking the above button, you will be taking directly to my fundraising page, where your donations will go directly to Farm Sanctuary.  Any donations are appreciated and the rescued farm animals will be thankful for your support!

It would also be fantastic if you wanted to participate in the event and raise some money as well for this worthwhile cause!  You can sign up as a participant in a city close to you, become a Virtual Walker in your city like I did, or "Sleep In For Farm Animals" where you'd like to raise money but might be a bit too busy to take part in a walk. 

Thank you so much for your support!

Recent Travels Around New York & Pennsylvania

Paul and I recently took a three day road trip to parts of New York and Pennsylvania!  We had so much fun and got to visit a lot of places we really wanted to see for a long while.  We went to Watkins Glen, NY to see the gorge and Farm Sanctuary; Corning, NY to see the Corning Museum of Glass; Centralia, PA to visit a true ghost town, a town with a fire that continues to burn beneath it; Tannersville, PA for the outlet mall, and Scranton, PA for some waffles!  It was an extremely memorable vacation and I blogged all about it over at my Travel Blog, The Adventures of Poolie and Loolie.

Please check it out if you're interested in taking a look!  Here is a sneak peak:

Visiting Sudbury Part 2 - Science North

On the first day of our girls trip, we visited the Big Nickel & Dynamic Earth.  On the second day, we visited Science North, an interactive science centre in Sudbury, Ontario.

Science North had many educational and informative exhibits and theatres for kids and adults of all ages to enjoy.  We watched Born to Be Wild 3D at the IMAX Theatre, which was a fascinating look into two different wildlife rescue centres and the women who started the incredible rehabilitation centres to faciliatate the return of these creatures to the wild.  One story takes place in Kenya where abandoned and orphaned baby elephants are rescued, and the other takes place in the rainforests of Borneo where orphaned chimps are rescued.  The reasons why these animals are in such dire need is due completely to the reckless actions of humans - the elephant poachers and the destruction of the rainforests.  This movie provides a look into those who devote their lives to reversing these savage acts.

We saw some forms of wildlife at Science North, including a small butterfly room where the butterflies were able to fly freely all around a tropical climate.

We also met the darling Quillan, a porcupine who lives at Science North.  Quillan is unable to live in the wild so he makes his home at the science centre.  He has a space to run around, twigs to chew, and a huge tree to climb up into.  Quillan is a very sweet and much loved porcupine at Science North!

We also met Drifter, the beaver.  Drifter is also rescued and lives at Science North as he is missing part of his tail and is unable to live in the wild.  He has a big area to swim in and was sleeping happily in his habitat when we visited him.  What a cutie!

We saw many more exhibits that related to nature, outer space, the environment, the human body, and many more.  There was this bed of nails that you could lay on, which I tried out!  Of course, this did not hurt at all because the nails were not up when you got onto the apparatus, and then you pushed a button and the nails raised up.  Since your weight was distributed evenly across the bed, it didn't hurt one bit!

There was also a fantastic show at the Planetarium that we watched, followed up by a brief explanation of the stars that you can currently see in the Ontario night sky.

We walked outside on the property of Science North to the boardwalk that extends around Ramsay Lake.  Just outside of the building, there were many Canada geese enjoying a swim around the lake.  It was a beautiful day outside and a great day for watching the geese swim around.

Sudbury is a very interesting place to visit if you'd like to explore the Canadian Shield, the history of nickel mining and enjoy the science centre.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent here!