Feral, Farm, Stray, Outdoor... Who Knows? CATS

Tonight I am really really upset. As I have said a couple times before I live in an area where animals mean nothing to people. I live in Marion Co. West Virginia.
Our county has a No- Kill Humane Society that no longer excepts animals because they don't have any money and NO funding from the state, Animal Control who are supposed to wait 5 to 7 days to put animals down after they get them and they don't wait that long. The animals have 3 days there if they are lucky. Then we have a few people who do care that have small "Animal Sanctuary's" that don't work with the public. We have no feral cat spay neuter programs. We have nothing. O yeah, We do have a spay nuetrer vehicle ( from what I have heard) but no funding to use it. All the counties around use do but they won't help. What do you do when you are the only person in your county or even small town that cares? Where do you start? People in our county seriously think Animal Control is when you shot any animal you see! And I am not exaggerating. The reason I bring this up is. Just in my small town alone there is an over population of cats. In the last month 3 cats have been hit right in front of my house, and 2 of those cats in the last 2 days. Right now in just the 3 or 4 neighbors that live right around me they have 10 cats. Plus the farm house and a house that used to have around 30 cats. Out of the 30 that were around from that house most of them were shot and killed by there owner this summer. The farm house above us has alot of cats and they are healthy but not fixed. All the cats around here are not fixed! PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ANIMALS!!!! Don't be ignorant! I know this is just Blah Blah Blah.. But how can I help this situation? I need to know how to help. Someone please email me or send me info on how to get something started in counties or cities. And nothing stupid. Because I am done with ignorant people as well.

Shopping Finds #2

I shop alot. I go to around probably between 8 and 10 stores to try to find everything I am looking for. And guess what.. I still don't come close to finding everything and it takes alot of time and gas. Which isn't good. But around here thats what you have to do.

This weekend I went to Mountain peoples market for the first picture. They sell bulk dried beans, grain, seeds, nuts, flours, dried fruit, herbs, spices, vitamins, and other stuff like a small frozen section, and a small organic fruits & veggies section. This is a small store but there is alot there. O yeah they also have detergents, self care items, and some prepackaged foods. Here are my finds for the day.



This food is from a krogers that I don't visit often. This is the first time is ever a year probably. They have alot of new items and I was really surprised. But they also got rid of alot of items that was liked. All this is new and I have yet to try any of it. The No chik'n B. cubes that I thought people had made up. I found today and I was really excited. I have looked everywhere for these. I couldn't even find them online. But there they were!!! the Veggie patch hot dogs and the turk'y are sold no where else around here. So it is really nice to find new products. The Crystallized ginger is organic and was actually not as expensive as the regular. So that was a great find too. This is short and sweet but at least its an update.

Porch Update...

This is one of the first days the kitties were aloud out side onto the porch. Now a couple weeks later they claw at the animal door to go out there. It is screened in on this side and they love it. It is a big hit. Cooper stays out there almost 24/7. But a few hours a night I do close it and they all come in. But I let them go in and out to the porch when ever they please. So my totally in door kitties have grown to love the screened in porch. They are still a little skittish. If my neighbors go outside they fly back into the house.

I even have a new visitor. I don't know if she has a home but she come here to get fed. She was really really skinny when I first found her. But now she has gained a little weight. My neighbors was calling her one day but I know they are not supposed to have cats. So I don't know if they were just feeding her or if she is thiers. She does have kittens some where though. She is the sweetest girl.

Anyways the porch is almost finished. We have to fix a leaky spot on the roof and stain the floor and we will be done. "C" loves sitting out there. And we love it too.

Energy Smoothie..We will see....

Well I am really bad at finding smoothie recipes that satisfy me and my belly. Especially in the morning. Normally I drink it and my stomach is sick for next hour. Today I mixed up a simple smoothie. That had protein, fiber, Omega 3's. It didn't seem as heavy on my tummy as they normally do. Even though the cup felt like it weighed ten pound... It still went down smoothly. For the most part when I make smoothies at home I don't like the taste or texture. I am very picking. And smoothies should be a very easy thing to make. Anyways. Here is the recipe I used this morning: (Recipe to post soon)

And here is the end result....

The little bit of spinach I did put in turns the whole thing GREEN..... Yummy... But It really didn't change the flavor. It only took out some of the sweetness.

Cauliflower Sauce and Whole Wheat Pasta (NV)

Tonight I am finally taking the time to sit down and fill out some blog pages. So here is what we had for dinner on Thursday.

Sorry the pictures a little blurry..oops!

I watch a lot of cooking shows and when I'm not watching addictively I am on the web pages browsing for recipes. I ran across this one on Rachael Rays 30 min meals. I love to watch her even though she really doesn't cook that many veggie meals. But a lot of the stuff you can cut and replace to make it veggie friendly. At least thats what I do. Anyways on to the Goods...

1 Box Whole Wheat Pasta ( Try WW-pasta not the WW Mixed)
1/4 Cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
3 Gloves Garlic (Skin off/ Cracked)
1 Onion, Finely chopped
1 Head of Cauliflower, chopped(I used a good sized head)
1 Cup Veggie Stock or No- Chik Broth
4 Sprigs Rosemary (The only spice I don't own. Oops..)
3/4 Cup Romano
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Boil water. Add salt and pasta. Cook till al dente. Don't over cook. Drain and save 2 ladles of the starchy water.

While Cooking pasta make the sauce. Heat oil in skillet w/ oil throw in the garlic and let infuse for about 5 min. Chop onions and Cauliflower ( Take all greens and stems off the cauliflower). Then take out the garlic add the onions and cook them till they are translucent and soft. ( I cook mine a little longer. I don't like crunchy onions so I make sure they are really done.. lol) So cook onions for 5 to 10 min. Add cauliflower, stock/broth,& rosemary. Cover and cook for 15 min or until tender and ready to smash. Smash with a potato masher or blend up a little. ( Put in water if you want it. I didn't use the water) Mix in cheese if cheese is desired. Mix pasta & serve.
We also had glazed carrots as a side.
"J" and I enjoyed it. "C" helped me make it but the carrot went in her mouth and came right back out into my hand..... and the pasta she wouldn't even look at so...