Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Peculiar Cars


This van has long mystified me. It's parked in a road not far from our house, and seems to be for a restaurant, based on the "mezze and grills" -- by why are we saying "bye bye" to London? And why is Big Ben running with shopping bags? (Delivering food, one assumes...?)

And above all, why can we also "find the right property" and apparently take a nap?

It's all very mysterious. But it is eye-catching.


And then, not far away, this parked taxi was advocating on behalf of a sanctuary for farmed animals. I am all for it -- goodness knows farmed catfish (or salmon, or whatever that is) don't get much respect as individuals.

Speaking of which, Dave's little experiment with being vegan has slid off the rails a bit. Yesterday morning he texted me: "I'm eating a f---ing hot dog! Tastes so good!" And last night he made chicken breasts for dinner. You may remember he was trying veganism as a way to soothe his Crohn's symptoms, but I think he found that it hasn't made much difference. I told him, let's be vegetarian most of the time, but allow ourselves a little meat now and then. (Sorry, farmed salmon. We're killing fewer of you, at least.)

It's all about balance, right?

We're having what could be the coldest week of the winter so far. With temperatures projected to dip into the 20s (Fahrenheit, obviously) tomorrow, I put the fig tree back in the shed. It's been out on the patio for the past few weeks with no ill effects, but I think that's a little too cold to risk it.

13 comments:

  1. Those ARE weird cars -- and you've written perfectly about them! I think I've said this before, but there are many people who are finding relief from Crohn's flares and symptoms by using cannabis. You should check out www.projectcbd.org -- they have incredible resources.

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  2. Here's another link:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24356243

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  3. We moved our fig tree inside as well. And the lemons and the agaphantus and more and it is totally crowded because there's the plumeria and the olives and it feels like a room full of rowdy teenagers.

    I have ulcerative colitis which is a bit like Crohn's and over the last 18 years have tried every fad or real diet in the book. I am mostly vegetarian and maybe 3 out of 7 days vegan and it makes NO difference at all.
    I think there are other factors at work here on another level (gut microbiota, nerves, innate bacterial response) and diet is just a minor player. Let Dave enjoy a stressfree meal of whatever is my advice.

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  4. You and Dave can be flexitarians! A flexitarian is someone who moves happily between vegan, vegetarian and fish or meat-based meals. Flexitarians should feel no guilt or regret in their eating.

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  5. Jessie went to some natural doctor who was all very scientific and did many blood tests (this for her auto-immune disorders including gastro ones) and was on a very, very strict diet which restricted many things and she was so miserable and it didn't help one damn bit and after it was all over she just wanted to eat every hamburger and french fry in the world.
    I agree with YP. Flexitarianism rocks!
    Those vans are awesome! And I have to say that using a fish in that illustration of a precious life instead of like...a calf... is a bit mysterious to me.

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  6. The van is a mystery and brings about lots of questions. Maybe that's what they wanted.

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  7. I think flexible diets make the most sense. I haven't eaten beef in almost 50 years, but I do eat a bit of free-range chicken once a week and some tuna about as often. The rest is vegetarian. I hope Dave finds a diet that soothes his gut. Interesting vans there!

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  8. all things in moderation, right? and it looks like the restaurant car sells ad space.

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  9. or maybe it's a private vehicle and the owner has figured out how to pay his car notes.

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  10. That van in the top photo is all over the place with the advertising. I'm not sure how anyone could tell what he's trying to convey.
    I have a hot dog about once a year and boy does it taste good when I have one.

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  11. Fascinating vehicles! I agree with Mary Moon - a calf or a pig would be more compelling to me.

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  12. I had the same thought as Ellen - maybe the owner of the car has sold advertising space on it. I've heard of that being done.

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  13. Elizabeth: Thanks for the links! We shall discuss!

    Sabine: Dave has ulcerative colitis in his family as well -- although he himself doesn't seem to have it. I do worry that he's restricting his diet so much that he's unable to enjoy his food, but hopefully he will eventually sort out what triggers his flares. As you point out, it may not be ANYTHING to do with diet. Who knows.

    YP: I guess most people are flexitarians, really! (Isn't that the same as an omnivore?) Anyway, I would agree that being guilt-free about eating is important.

    Ms Moon: Yeah, the fish was unexpected! But then again, maybe they deliberately went for a creature that often gets overlooked in favor of the furry, potentially cuddly ones.

    Red: Maybe! Just generating buzz!

    Robin: That's about how I eat, too. Mostly veg, occasionally chicken or fish. Dave sometimes cooks a pork chop or a steak, but that's a rarity.

    Ellen: Exactly! That's precisely what I say to Dave -- all things in moderation. Interesting theory about selling the ad space! You may be on to something!

    Sharon: Once a year is probably the healthy maximum. Ha!

    Bug: I'm thinking they deliberately want us to think about creatures we wouldn't otherwise consider.

    Jenny-O: That IS an interesting theory. Maybe if I read Arabic it would make more sense!

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