Petra Petrosky

I think this will be a forever goal—just make sure I knit it all up before I die. I like the last issue of knitty.com where one of the articles counsels that we have pride in our stash. It is lovely.
My major progress has been putting up all my stash and projects, as well as planned projects, into ravelry.com. Love that website!

I got accepted into a program through the law school to study in Rome for 5 weeks in August-September & can even bring my hubby! We just bought the plane tix: ouch! $1600 each!!—but at least the rest of the trip will hopefully compensate despite the crummy exchange rate because I’ll be getting school credit for less than its normal cost here.

We’re only going to take the Rome Moleskine and the Rome City Walks cards so we won’t have lots of guidebooks and look like tourists. We’ll probably get lost despite the maps, but that’s part of the fun. It has already been fun setting up our Moleskine and looking on internet for what we want to do while there.

Also saw Fellini’s “Roma”: essential preparation! :-)

First I was vegetarian for about 7 years and looked with a wary eye on those radical vegans. I thought I could never give up on real butter, whipped cream, etc. Then I came across the PETA pamphlets and realized that the small pleasures were really, really small compared to the great suffering of the animals. I decided I would do this diet even if it harmed my health. I was surprised when my health actually improved: I no longer get refused for low iron when I go to donate blood, and I have plenty of energy. Cooking vegan is exciting, and I love sharing food with nonbelievers so they can see that being vegan is not a sacrifice. I was vegan for four years in Venezuela and know that it can be done even without all the fancy analogs we have here.

Humans have always tried to put a finger on what it is that distinguishes us from the other animals, but those efforts have never been completely successful: we cannot say they have no language; we cannot say they have no tool-making abilities; we cannot say that they have no capacity to refer to objects not present; we cannot say they have no emotions. As science advances, animal behaviorists admit time and again that animals, from crows to gorillas, have these abilities. Even if I were not sure that an animal had all of these abilities, I must admit that even the simplest organisms have the desire to live. As a society, we have gotten to the point where we do not have to kill animals to survive—nor even to enjoy life. Quite the opposite: I enjoy life partly because I have no blood on my hands (directly or indirectly).

I recommend The Vegan Sourcebook by Joanne Stepaniak for those starting out on this journey. It is a wonderful resource for learning about all the aspects of this lifestyle (being vegan is not just a diet). And my very best wishes to those embarking for the first time!