Da Vinci da veggie :)

Today I made this picture because I wanted to share with you the words of wisdom of one of the greatest and most famous men in all of history... Leonardo da Vinci.

 

Yes, Leonardo da Vinci was a vegetarian. He did not want his life to depend upon the death of others.
He was not only an inventor, painter, sculptor, mathematician, architect, engineer, anatomist, cartographer, geologist, musician, botanist, and writer, he was also smart enough to think for himself and realize that eating meat is wrong.

This quote pretty much sums it up for me.
Have a nice Sunday everybody :)

Birthday

Hi guys and gals :)
On Saturday I turned fourteen. That is 5 113.3 days, or 7 363 282.73 minutes, or 441 796 964 seconds. Wow.
People have been asking me "how does it feel? Is it weird?" and the truth is I pretty much feel the same... I'm still trying to get used to saying "I'm 14". It feels so mature!
My thirteenth year just flew by. I feel like it was only yesterday that I was at my favorite cupcake shop celebrating with my friends. It's like I haven't had enough time being 13!  I guess it's a good sign I feel that way. It proves it's a good life.
And I'm totally looking forward to the 363 days of being fourteen ahead of me. I'm not sure what turning 14 means exactly but I promised myself one thing: I will fill my (free) time only with what makes me happy: yoga, books, friends, my family, running, dancing, guitar, baking, cooking, writing... There is so much to do all the time!
I am definitely not one of those people who doesn't know what to do with themselves and ends up being bored easily. This might sound narcissistic, but I think it's one of my best qualities.


Now enough about me. I'd like to make a BIG, FAT shout out to my dear, lovely mother. She is the one who went through all the suffering in that hospital fourteen years ago. She is the one who has always been my biggest supporter, helper, friend, and inspiration. She should be the one getting all the presents right now!
Mom, I feel so lucky to have YOU everyday by my side. I hope you know how much I admire you and to which point I think you are wonderful. Smart, strong, lively, beautiful, cheerful, groovy... the list goes on! I could not wish for a better mother. I love you!


This is us!

Okay, so I had no idea what I was talking about.

Last week I wrote a post on how I felt guilty about killing a mosquito. When my dad, the all-time-tropical-diseases-expert-epidemiologist read this, he came running to inform me that I was wrong about how mosquitoes function and that they are actually a danger to humans and have killed THOUSANDS of people. I also got several comments explaining why I was wrong for feeling guilty.
So I had no idea what I was talking about.
Mosquitoes actually need blood to PRODUCE eggs which they will then lay in water, NOT to FEED their babies. Once they lay their eggs, they never return, they just continue  their blood-sucking adventures.  There are TONS of mosquito eggs in pond waters and lake waters.
Mosquitoes transmit very serious diseases, like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, and much more.
Now that I know all of this, I feel much less guilty about killing that mosquito. I hate them more than ever. I guess my hatred for mosquitoes is what separates me from Jainism (Jainism is a Hindu religion where it is believed that no living being should be killed... jains go around with a brush in their hand to swipe away all insects from their passage that they might step on and kill otherwise).

Guilty of Murder

A few weeks ago, I was complaining about how disappointing and rainy this spring was. Now, summer is approaching, and the sun has finally caught up with the seasons. Which means I have something new to complain about! YAYYY!


Mosquitoes.
Hot weather brings mosquitoes. And I hate mosquitoes! I'm not going to lie to you here. When it comes to mosquitoes, I'm super whiny. I just can't get used to the idea that some little insect is making a microscopic hole in my skin through which he'll suck blood from MY body! It's just too horrifying.
And WHY, mosquito, WHY DO YOU DECIDE TO COME WHEN I FINALLY AM FALLING ASLEEP? WHY?!?!
It's definitely not like me to hate another creature, whether it's ugly, stinky, or annoying. I believe that no violence should be used against animals, that any creature with a brain deserves to keep living. I'll stand there yelling at somebody for ten minutes if I see them squish an ant.
Which is why I was quite surprised that I did what I did. What did I do? I killed a mosquito.
*head lowers in shame*
Now I know some of you kill all the mosquitoes you come upon and are thinking "this is what being vegetarian does to you, you see: she can't even kill a little mosquito. Oh, my God, she's such a freak!" but I just can't help feeling a little bit guilty. Have you thought about what it's like to be a mosquito? You're this tiny defenseless bug in a big, big world, and you need to feed your kids. So one night, you go on a mission to find the drop of blood which will nourish all of your kids. So you fly away, leaving your babies alone. Then you find a human. You approach, slowly, trying to make the least noise possible (that's not going very well) and you find a vein, let's say, on the shoulder of that person. You don't want to harm the person, you  just want a teeny tiny fraction of their blood. As discretely as possible, you lower down onto their skin. You're about to dive on in when you sense some sort of huge object hovering right over you. And then, it's all over. The worst has happened. The one thing you've always feared has taken place and now your babies are left to fend for themselves. And all you wanted was a small drop of blood.

In other words, it would pretty much suck having to live in fear like that all the time.
I am the person the mosquito targeted. I am the one who squished it. Did that little bug deserve to have it's life ended?
I am guilty of murder.

 

Olive's new style, bloglovin', and a special shout out

First off I'm gonna start my post with pictures of Olive, my female kitty, wearing her new accessory.

Ever since we adopted her and Gaspy, she's been going around collar-less, because the few times we tried (with great difficulty) putting one on her, it drove her crazy and she couldn't stop rolling around on the floor, madly batting at her neck. It was quite funny, actually. It looked like she was on drugs. But she definitely wasn't enjoying it.

Yesterday, though, my brother casually slipped it around her neck and she didn't seem to mind a bit! So we left her like that, and ever since then we can hear just where she is in the apartment, because the collar has a little bell that rings wherever she goes. No more sneaking around, Olive!

Just look at her! She is so cute! She's taken on a whole different appearance in my eyes.

 

On to the next subject.

For months now I've wanted to write a post about bloglovin', but every time I tried sitting down to write it I started writing about something else.

It's been a while that the sad and depressing news has been out that google friend connect is going to disappear after July 1st, but I've refused to face the fact and start building a community of readers on bloglovin' until recently. At first I couldn't believe GFC was leaving. What a loss of time and effort! I know I don't have that many followers, but nonetheless I've worked SO HARD to get them. And at last I started feeling that I have a base of followers worth writing for!

And then the news is out that I'm going to LOSE all these followers!

This is tragic, guys!

So if you have just a little mercy for me, could you take a few seconds to follow me on bloglovin'? It would make my day.

And if you don't already have a bloglovin' account, it's VERY SIMPLE to make one. It literally just takes one minute! And it's worth it. It makes reading through your favorite blogs very fast and easy!

And last but not least, I'd like to make a special shout out to my dear friend Matthew!

The 22nd of May was his birthday, and I failed to send him an email that same day... sorry again, Matt!

He has a YouTube channel where he posts funny videos, you can check them out here.

He's worked super hard on this channel, and his videos keep getting better and better! So if you would like to support another determined teen in succeeding in his project I'm sure he would be forever grateful to you for your subscription, likes, and comments!

Joyeux anniversaire, Mathieu!

Swan lake

Where I live, swans lurk around. You see, I live in the city but in a very ecological and green area, the windows of my apartment facing a marina of river water! When it is warm, boats are parked in it. When it is warm, people walk along the water having lighthearted conversations which put smiles on their faces. Kids zoom down the street in their roller blades or bikes while people sit in cafes, watching them while sipping their lemonade. And when there are people, there are swans. Often during the winter, when I woke up and looked out my window, I could spot two regular visitors glide down the marina. But now that Spring has come, they are around here everyday, night and morning. Sometimes people throw them crumbs, which is probably the main reason for their visits, but I think they also love the attention they are given. They must adore being admired and pointed at. They must know they are beautifully elegant creatures. How graceful they are when they lift their wings and dance about!
This morning I had a great surprise. Paddling behind those two familiar large white birds were four little cygnets. Oh how cute they are! Fluffy all around, little black beaks and teeny tiny black eyes to match their gray coats. Three are of a darker gray and the last one is more of a grayish-white. They are just adorable! I took hundreds of pictures.

This is honestly the sweetest thing I have ever seen. How loving towards their parents those little creatures are! They move as a truly unified family! I still can't take the smile off my face.

What Temple Grandin has taught me about cats

Gaspard

My aunt told me a few weeks ago about Temple Grandin, an author and animal scientist, because she thought I'd like her, being an animal rights activist. I took out a few of her books at the library, and she's a really interesting person. She is a profesor at Colorado State University, and what makes her especially interesting is that she is a woman with autism, and because of that, she has an "uncanny ability to understand animals". One of her books is Animals Make Us Human, and inside there is a chapter on cats... Being a cat lover, that is where I went straight to, obviously! ;)
I have been living with two little kitties for over a year, and after reading Grandin's words, I realized I've been observing them the wrong way. Turns out that what we thought was a regression to breast feeding (kneading their paws against certain woolly objects) was actually marking territory (their paws release little glands that only they can smell). How cute is that! :3
My female cat, Olive, a tortoiseshell, is way more sociable then my sweet male cat, Gaspard, an orange kitty. They love to snuggle and play together, but oh, are they different. Olive is like a dog. She always wants to play, and she'll come talk to us while we're at the dinner table, looking at us with her big eyes, and going "Meow." and we say "what is it, Olive?" and then she'll go "Meow;" and "Meow" again, until she gets what she wants, which is either what we are eating, to be petted or play time. When visitors come, Olive has to approve of them first, asking them lots of questions, staring at them quizzically from up on a shelf or sniffing their feet.
Gaspy, however, is another story. He can be very affectionnate when you are quiet, lying down in bed or reading a book. Eventually he'll creep on to the sofa while we watch a movie. But at any loud noise or clap of the hands he will sprint off to one of his various hiding spots, and we won't hear from him for another hour. When visitors come over, he does the opposite of what Olive does and he hides the whole time.
Turns out that tortoiseshells and black cats are the most sociable cats and orange cats tend to be shyer most of the time.
Grandin writes about how cats get intensely attached to their homes, and that they can get obsessive about their surroundings, like they will notice every little change that happens and freak out about it. She says that her aunts' cat had a very hard time adjusting to their new home when they moved, and tried running back to its first home several times. Does this mean we will have problems with our cats when WE move???? That would be awful!
I suggest you look up Temple Grandin, you'll be glad you did.

 

Olive

Il y a quelques semaines ma tante m'a parlé de Temple Grandin, auteur de plusieurs livres et scientifique des animaux, car elle pensait que je l'aimerais bien, étant activiste des droits des animaux. J'ai emprunté quelques uns de ses livres à la bibliothèque, et c'est une femme très intéressante. Elle est professeur au Colorado State University, et ce qui la rend intéressante surtout est qu'elle est autiste, ce qui lui donne une incroyable capacité à comprendre les animaux. Dans un de ses livres, qui s'appelle "Animals Make Us Human", il y a un chapitre sur les chats, et vu que je suis obsédée des chats,  c'est où je suis directement allée, évidemment! ;)
Je vis avec deux petites boules de poils, maintenant ça fait plus d'un an, et en lisant les mots de Grandin, je me suis rendue compte que je les observait de la mauvaise manière. Il se trouve que le pétrissage qu'ils faisaient sur des pulls ou couvertures que je pensais était une régression à l'allaitement maternelle est en fait un pétrissage pour marquer leur territoire (leurs pattes ont des petites glandes que libèrent une substance que seuls  les chats peuvent sentir).
Olive, ma chatte, une écaille de tortue, est beaucoup plus sociable que mon chat Gaspard, un tigré roux. Ils adorent se caliner et jouer ensemble, mais ils sont très différents. Olive est comme un chien. Elle veut toujours jouer, et elle vient nous parler quand on est à table, en nous regardant avec ses grands yeux. Elle dit "Miaou" et on dit "qu'est-ce-que t'as?" et elle répond "Miaou" et encore "Miaou", jusqu'a avoir ce qu'elle veut, c'est à dire ce qu'on mange, qu'on joue avec elle ou qu'on la caresse. Quand on a des visiteurs, Olive doit les approuver, en leur demandant plein de questions, en les observant d'un air interrogateur depuis une étagère, ou en reniflant leur pieds.
Gaspard, c'est une autre histoire. Il peux être très affectueux quand tu est calme, allongé ou lisant un livre. Eventuellement il vient nous caliner lorsqu'on regarde un film. Mais dès qu'on tape des mains ou qu'il y a un son fort, il court vers une de ses cachettes, et on n'entend plus de lui pour une heure. Quand on a des visiteurs, il fait le contraire d'Olive et se cache tout au long de la visite.
Apparemment les écailles de tortue et les chats noirs sont les plus sociables et les chats roux les plus timides.
Grandin parle de comment les chats s'attachent beaucoup à leur maison, et qu'ils deviennent obsessionnels de leur entourage, et qu'au moindre changement ils s'affolent. Elle dit que le chat de sa tante a eu beaucoup de mal à s'habituer à sa nouvelle maison quand ils ont déménagé, et a essayé de s'échapper plusieurs fois pour retrouver son ancienne maison. Est-ce qu'on va avoir des problèmes quand NOUS on déménagera???? Ce serait horrible!