Local Vegan band The Prids needs your help!!!

The Prids were in a horrible accident on their way down to tour in California. They are all alive, but most of them have sustained very serious injuries and only two of them have health insurance. They are a local, all vegan, post-punk awesome band who have donated a lot of their time and resources to benefit the local vegan and AR community. Can you help them out in their time of need? Please donate any amount that you are able to!

Here is some info from my friend Nona, who has talked to Mistina of The Prids:
"Everyone is discharged. Severe injuries as previously stated.


David with broken ribs, collar bone, and 6 staples in his head. The vomiting of blood this morning brought him back to the hospital for tests. No internal bleeding, but likely due to ingesting massive amounts of blood from his head wound, and possibly from his ribs. Not found to be life threatening at this time and he is with his wife and the rest of our friends at the hotel now.


Maile with a fractured vertebrae and toe, gashes to her knee and head, staples in her leg.


Chris with a broken arm. MRI showed no spinal injury as it was previously thought by the doctors.


Joey broken ribs. He's doing alright.


Mistina with a concussion and unbreakable pain. Badly banged up (busted window out with her head and shoulder!).


BUT no broken bones because she is a stud!
Kristen has a snapped joint in her collar bone.


Pretty much everyone has concussions from mild to more severe.


Last night Mistina's cell phone alarm went off every hour in the hotel so they could monitor each other!
They are fucking alive!
Something for all to consider.


6 people, EMERGENCY ROOM. One air flight to the hospital. Totaled van with 3 thousand dollars left on it, towed to an impound. Medical care in a situation such as this is going to total for all 6 pushing over thousands of dollars.


THINK: x rays, cat scans, MRI, blood draws, fracture care, hospital stays, life flight, ambulance, etc. The only two with insurance is Maile and Kristen, and we already know insurance doesn't cover 100 percent of bills.


On top of all of this is their stay at the motel. . It is unknown how much of their gear, if any, is salvageable.


Highway patrol kept calling hospital, because they had never seen an accident so bad with all people to survive!


Portland is an awesome community with people who want to help. There is a paypal account so we all can do this. Go to www. theprids. com and click on the NEWS link. There you will see a button to donate. Even 20 dollars will help.


The response of people wanting to contribute what they have from dollars to talent is remarkable and appreciated by all.


This is what makes our community one to be proud of!

Something Mistina wants me to pass along... a little short story:

Mistina walked into to see David after the accident yesterday, and said "this is the only way our band's going to be popular" and David began crying.... then they laughed.


Even in a tragic and frightful time, these troopers can find a reason to smile and laugh."

Thank you everyone!!!!!!!!

Friends with cars - gotta love 'em!

Yesterday I went out to dim sum with two of my good friends. I had never been before, but they assured me there would be something vegan. I think I was the only person in the crowded banquet hall of Legin not eating chicken feet, but I was quite happy with my turnip cakes and spinach and water chestnut dumplings! Afterward, we stopped at Boo Han Korean Market so that my friend could do a little comparison shopping (she owns an Asian grocery store in Hillsboro) and I had lots of fun shopping around. Here is all the stuff I got (for $22.33!):


2 cans of coconut milk, 2 packages of tofu, a huge package of fresh soba noodles, sesame oil, beans sprouts, bok choy, 2 packages of soft tofu (buy one get one free!), panfried tofu (18 large chunks), and nori furikake, a blend of sesame seeds, seaweed, salt, and sugar that you can sprinkle on anything and everything. I read ingredients on about 15 similar bottles before I finally found one that did not have fish sauce or anchovies in it, but it does exist! Woohoo, gimme more vitamin B12!

I have never seen soft tofu packaged this way:
You cut off the tip, and then squeeze out the amount of tofu you need. What a good idea! I plan on using this for smoothies and maybe some chocolate pudding. And who's that taking a bath in the background? Why, it's Zoey, my spoiled kitty cat! I know you want to see her taking a bath up close, right?


Sorry, I couldn't resist! Back to food...

Here's what I had for dinner last night:

It was a very simple meal - I just cooked some soba, tossed it with bean sprouts, sesame oil, a little soy sauce, and topped with the panfried tofu. I had it for lunch today, too! Oh, and berries, of course. :)

Another Farmer's Market post

I got to the Farmer's Market later than I planned on today, but luckily there was still lots of amazing produce and goodies! I left with marionberries, raspberries, blueberries, shiitakes, potatoes, basil, summer squash, heirloom tomatoes, and enjoyed a muffin from Blacksheep Bakery while I was there. It was tricky to lug all that home on the packed streetcar, but totally worth it :) .

Veggie close-up

Are you thinking, "Hey, those don't look like plastic bags!" Well, you're correct! At this year's VegFest, I bought a few produce bags from Elaine of Reusable Solutions. She reclaims old fabric that would go in the dumpster, and turns it into these fabulous bags! I never noticed before I bought these just how many plastic bags I was using for produce. Kinda silly to stuff your green bag full of veggies in plastic bags, right? These bags are only $3, and you can find her around town or buy from the website http://www.reusablesolutions.org .

The bags even include handy ties!

After I bought the bags, Elaine sent me a very sweet thank you note: "Dear Chelsea, thank you for buying my bags at Vegfest. By doing so, you are supporting recycling, reusing, local economy, and you helped to fund an environmental scholarship. I hope you enjoy your bags for many years to come. My best ~Elaine Loving".

Go buy some!

Marionberries!

Marionberries are finally ripe in Oregon!



I spend most of my Wednesday lunch breaks during the summer perusing the bounty of the farmer's market. It is a popular spot! There were beautiful berries, nectarines, summer squash, peppers, breads, pesto (Dave recently started making a vegan pesto and it is yummy!), and really anything you could want. I bought a pint of marionberries from one of my favorite farms, Kruger, a farm that is not certified organic but uses organic practices, which allows them to pass the savings onto the customer. My berries were only $2!



Walking back toward PSU from the Farmer's Market, I noticed someone familiar gracing the cover of the Willamette Week - Robert Cheeke, local Vegan Bodybuilding superhero! Robert organized the first ever Vegan Holiday Festival here in Portland, and in my opinion that alone is reason enough to love him! Here is a link to the article: http://wweek.com/editorial/3436/11241/ .

Here's the WW, berries, and a hummus veggie bagel. What a lovely lunch!

So what will this blog be about?

Whatever I feel like writing about at the moment! Hence the "ramblings" part of the title :).

Today I feel like writing about hair dye. I just dyed my hair yesterday, and it is beautiful! It had been getting a little too normal-looking for my tastes. Did you know that Special Effects dyes are vegan and cruelty-free? Years ago, I purchased this hair dye at local record shops, but none seem to carry the full line of colors anymore. VeganEssentials carries a few colors: http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/special-effects-punk-hair-dye--new-colors.htm , but my favorite place to order it online is: http://www.amphigory.com/special_effects_hairdye.html . Click on any of the colors to see lots of photos people have sent in of their hair after dying! How cool is that?

Here's my pretty hair (sorry for the crappy pics!).


I used Burgundy Wine in my bangs, leaving a few strands of blond in the front, as well.

Here you can see the back:


I mostly used Pimpin' Purple, but ran out towards the end and had to add a little Blue Velvet to cover the rest.

Inspired? Then go order some dye and support a vegan product while you're at it!