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55 Comments

  1. Suzanne Forbes
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:17 am

    Thank you for the holiday accountability. I am committing right here to one day a week of vegan-only eating starting in 2017 (gotta start start slow when you don’t have many spoons!). Also, that is a fine little cat, with a delightfully avid way about him.

    Reply

  2. Lora Hart
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:20 am

    I have to say, there are things that happen in the world that I just don’t need to know about. The chicks is one of them. I may cry all day.

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    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      December 29, 2016 @ 11:24 am

      Ugh… part of me feels like I should apologize… I HATE being the person to ask people to confront the unpretty things. On the other hand, these things are WRONG and MUST CHANGE.

      I cannot hold these things in my heart alone anymore… I don’t know what the solution is.

      Reply

  3. Carla from Kansas
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:21 am

    A cat that fetches. Very cute.

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  4. PigtownDesign
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:22 am

    We have many, many stuffed hedgehogs in our house. From tiny little ones for my 13.5 lb dog to big ones which she can barely carry. We {heart} hedgehogs. (I am always tempted to leave the 2nd “e” out of hedghog, sort of like Wedgwood.)

    Reply

  5. gretchen stroh
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:27 am

    Agreed, so sad…..baby chicks……

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  6. Bonnie
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:30 am

    Adorable cat!!! My cat (no longer with us) also used to play fetch and just loved it! For some reason he liked to play fetch with those thick, coated elastic hair bands. I would shoot one across the room, he would dash after it and bring it back and drop it at my feet. We could go on for hours. Such fun!

    Reply

  7. Jennie Staub
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:34 am

    We have a cat, Romeo, that simply loves to play fetch. I discovered this in about the same way you did with your kitten. Romeo has a particular fondness for the mylar paper balls that come in multiple packs as cat toys. One day early on in his life with us I thought he might like to chase one so I picked it up and threw it. Not only did he chase it with wild abandon, batting it back and forth along the floor, but he picked it up and brought it back. Not really thinking about it, I picked up the little crinkly ball and threw it again. Back he came with it in his mouth and dropped it in my lap. Did I have a cat who played fetch like a dog? Oh boy did I. As it turns out, this amazing trick is not all it’s cracked up to be when the cat decides that mom needs to play fetch with him at 2am and lets you know this by crawling up on your chest while you sleep and dropping the mylar ball in your face…..repeatedly. After about 5 minutes of this kind of wee hours fun, I decided to put the ball in my bedside table drawer in order to get some sleep. Imagine my surprise to find that not only did my funny little cat play fetch, but he also knew how to open a drawer to retrieve his beloved mylar fetch ball. Romeo is 16 now and getting a bit feeble….but all you have to do is bring out a mylar ball and he’s right back to being a rowdy kitten again.

    Reply

    • fixitchick
      December 29, 2016 @ 4:03 pm

      I love this! Especially that at 16 Romeo is still so playful.

      Reply

  8. carol garcia
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:44 am

    my cat “steals”my daughter’s stuffed lemur and carries it around in her mouth like a kitten…even tho she is spayed, she still goes into heat a couple of times a year and gets maternal with the plushie…and growls if you try and take it away. Love the display cabinet and have reposted the tiger article… i have family in Houston. they had better participate. Auntie Carol is checking up on you!! Merry Christmas VEB and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you and your hubby.

    Reply

  9. Betsy
    December 29, 2016 @ 11:48 am

    My family is now 1 month into our new lifestyle…vegan! Never felt better physically and it feels so great emotionally, too!

    All the best to you in the New Year 🎉

    Reply

  10. isstoossay
    December 29, 2016 @ 12:05 pm

    My cat was 36 lbs (he had an un-diagnosed thyroid problem at the time) and we called him “The Swiffer Cat” because when he walked across the kitchen floor, his belly would “Swiffer” up the hair, crumbs, grasses as it swung back and forth. His idea of physical activity was to work his way over to the couch, settle in, then sprawl on his back with his legs sprawled out to the sides, pussy willows hanging out and all…

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  11. Lina
    December 29, 2016 @ 12:28 pm

    I have been Vegetarian for nearly 15 years and I cannot believe that I did not know about the connection between dairy and veal. Embarrassing since I have three kids and understand how lactation works, but I never even wondered what happened to the boy calves. Thank you for sharing this information with people like me! Love your blog!

    Reply

  12. NevadaNy
    December 29, 2016 @ 12:30 pm

    Have you thought of backyard chickens? They are great pets, make great chicken manure for your backyard organic garden and trees and eat bugs that would eat your garden, and provide eggs!
    There is no comparison to organic free range eggs from happy chickens.
    Well treated free chickens go on laying for years, and they get on fine with cats and dogs once they all realize they are all in the same family.
    Just three hens will give lots of eggs, they go on laying for years and years compared to ‘prison chickens’
    and old hens will babysit chicks and teach new mothers and still eat bugs and make manure too.

    Best way to stop the ‘Factory Farms’ of chicken abuse.
    And think of the lovely Victorian Chicken House you could design.

    Reply

  13. Abby Bean
    December 29, 2016 @ 12:34 pm

    Thank you for always being a voice for animals. I appreciate it as an integral part of your feline-loving, GFT acquiring, stylish Southern charm. You reach an audience that isn’t typically reached by the AR community. May the new year bring you joy and happiness behind your expectations.

    Reply

  14. judy
    December 29, 2016 @ 12:44 pm

    I absolutely know-beyond a shadow of a doubt -that most of Humanity’s problems,including cruelty to Animals in general is due to the concentration and consolidation of all forms of profit.

    Our human culture,originated with towns and villages where most items of utility or beauty were hand made and gave a sense of pride to the maker. Money looked at this system and saw the creator as a worker and the product as personal profit. The farmer of the past wouldn’t recognize farming and animal farming is filthy and sickening-animals jammed together in their own excrement, limbs broken why? to generate bigger profits.

    The Bible does not say the root of all Evil is Money-it says the LOVE of money is the root of all Evil and a small population,now in total charge of American power ,billionaires all will make our Laws and regulate all of systems. The mind reels in fearful anticipation.

    Today EVERYTHING has devolved into the corporate owned,managed profit machine and the bottom line is not the maker,not a sense of pride or accomplishment for everyone involved but simply profit,money-wealth, the bottom-and it is the bottom line is money for the already wildly wealthy.

    I have nothing against the wealthy 0r wealth…there are millions of people who deserve a generous return for their contributions. I rail against those who are wealthy solely through the effort and brilliance of others. They are the leeches of society and should be publicly named as such.

    Everything is too big and totally impersonal. A corporation may be a person…..? but it will never have a heart,a soul or Empathy. It worships Wealth, it lusts for dollars and when it gets them it hides them,in the darkness of tax havens where it’s green loveliness can never be reduced by any contribution to people or its country- it is the be all and end all of its intent its purpose and it has warped so much of our culture. Over sexulized,why does every model have her legs spread or resemble an anorexic heroin addict? Mad for stuff-non stop selling selling selling because who will love you if you lack the latest iphone? We need small shops,local manufacturing in smaller facilities-with local buyers and local employees. Stop making stuff all over the world with the resultant air and water pollution. People in China have to wear face masks and their children have a higher degree of asthma. Too much concentration of manufacturing in one area in huge factories. sorry to add another diatribe but Evil does triumph when the better voices are silent………?

    Reply

  15. Loran Watkins
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:13 pm

    If you ever want to discuss rescuing chickens and giving a few a good home I’m you’re girl 🙂 I have a tiny “farm” in my suburban back yard and most of my girls are rescues. I work with an AWESOME rescue here in California that will take any and all chickens that they can fit from egg-farmers who want to get rid of their ‘stock’. For a while I had two girls from the famous Turlock rescue. It breaks my heart to think of their living conditions for their first couple years of life but I gave them the best of the best for the rest of their life. Here’s a link to the documentary made about those girls:

    Reply

  16. Payton
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:22 pm

    Have you read anything by Wilkie Collins? I’m reading “the Moonstone” right now and it sounds very much like the type of book you would dig. Although it is an older novel (written in the 1870’s!), the language is simple and elegant rather than so flowery you get allergies.

    Poor Tigers!

    Reply

  17. Pat
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:23 pm

    I can’t follow you anymore. I so love your adventures with craigslist and house projects. However, while I agree with the problems with animals and animal products and pet rescue, the shock value you are using to get your point across is not for me. I have a vegan daughter who educated me on all treatment of animals without the pictures, etc. A decorating blog is not the place for this. I suggest you start a different blog for animal rights. Please no response required.

    Reply

    • Martha (not Stewart)
      December 29, 2016 @ 1:57 pm

      She writes a blog unlike any other and you smack it down as a “decorating blog.” I think a lot of her readers would disagree with your assessment.

      Reply

    • Caroline M.
      December 29, 2016 @ 2:19 pm

      Victoria, write what your soul tells you to. It’s why you are the only blog I read.

      Reply

    • Jennifer Marlowe
      December 29, 2016 @ 3:50 pm

      Pat, perhaps other readers of this glorious blog are not so fortunate as you to have a vegan daughter to educate them on the suffering of animals. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. It’s harder to ignore suffering when you see it with your own eyes, perhaps that is what makes you uncomfortable. There is no shock value in the pictures or videos – they’re just images of reality. The shock resides within ourselves when we bear witness to the horrors that exist in the world outside our own bubble. If you’re not strong enough to look cruelty in the face, so be it. We all have a limit to what we can bear. But do not chastise someone for championing a cause they believe in on their own blog. It’s akin to being a guest in someone’s house and asking them to stop ruining your good time. It’s bad form dear.

      Reply

      • Nikki Moshier
        January 1, 2017 @ 12:17 pm

        Loved your comment, Jennifer. Shall have to remember…..It’s bad form, dear.

        Reply

    • Yvonne Angus
      January 5, 2017 @ 3:28 pm

      I, personally, have never thought of VEB’s blog as merely a decorating blog. She shares all aspects of her life and beliefs, and as stated by others, hers is the only blog I take the time to read, nay, actually search for new entries.

      If you find it distasteful to see the terrible conditions living creatures are put through so that we humans can benefit, then, by all means, don’t read this blog. Just please don’t chastise or denigrate the author because you disagree with her means of educating the rest of us. I am grateful to VEB for doing the research, so I don’t have to.

      Reply

  18. Diane West
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:35 pm

    Keep the baby monkey pumpkin! Keep him!

    Reply

  19. Marta
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:37 pm

    Just in case you are in need of a road trip to the North Country in your quest for more GFTs.

    https://utica.craigslist.org/atq/5916571802.html

    Reply

    • fixitchick
      December 29, 2016 @ 4:21 pm

      so Jealous! There has been 1 really good GFT from CL in our new area since we moved here 2 years ago. 1. My hometown had so many treasures that I took for granted. So Many.

      Our long narrow [19 x 11] dining room needs a built in along the windowless doorless wall. It will provide much needed storage, as well as visual interest. I could build something functional. but I want/need something amazing. I have looked for book cases, armoires, entertainment centers, console record players until my fingers blister. nothing that will do, suffice, or be makeoverable. Zero, zip, zilch, nada, ningun, niente, bupkes. You get the picture. We did, however, manage to find some cane backed chairs. so we finally have somewhere comfortable to sit.

      My husband thinks we should just finish tiling. Tile the dining room before worrying about furnishings. Perhaps he has a point, but does he not remember how long I have been searching. without finding? does he not remember our budget? does he think the perfect thing will magically appear? A few more weeks and the tiny bedroom that we’re eventually turning into a dressing room will be done. I’m in no rush, because it is too small to use as the guest room and we’ve got people coming in February. and the office/guestroom will need to be decanted into the tiny room while it is being tiled. and only then will we get around to doing the dining room. and it is crucial that we manage to get a massive amount of storage into the dining room. Partially because our house is small, and has little storage. No attic, no basement. Not that we have a ton of stuff, but old tax returns and the like need to live somewhere. and partially because the kitchen is after that [so in a year if we’re lucky?] and if we have nowhere to put a temporary kitchen, the real one wont get done.

      Reply

  20. Tammy
    December 29, 2016 @ 1:43 pm

    Keep baby monkey pumpkin! Any cat that will fetch and not give you the “seriously?” look is worth his weight in fancy things.

    Reply

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