Natureba

Natureba, for those of you that don't speak brazilian portuguese, is what you call someone who is into organic foods, who may or may not be vegetarian/vegan, who has a preference for earth-friendly products, who supports local businesses, who loves the beach and the mountains and who is a bit of a hippie at heart.

Today I had a significant natureba moment. I was at the indian grocery down the street when I saw a glorious new product on the shelf: organic, non-GMO soy milk! (not that we've previously had non-organic, GMO soy milk or anything...) It was so exciting. I bought a big carton and had some with a banana and cereal this afternoon.

I bet Ricardo is reading this and silently going, "Oh, damn. Now I'm going to have to drink soy milk when I go back to Mozambique." All I have to say is that you shouldn't knock it before you try it, Rico. :)

Anyhow, my other big natureba moment has to do with the boys, Pria and Parceiro. I think I mentioned at one point before on the ol' blog that the kittens were having some health problems, specifically mysterious runny poo. I've come to believe that the boys' intestinal troubles are 100% the result of the crap that gets passed off as cat food. I mean, do you know what goes into cat and dog food? Think beaks and claws and the ground up bodies of other dead cats and dogs (I'm serious), and other nice things like ash and "filler". No wonder the boys have been ill - no animal deserves to eat that waste!

So how did I come to this conclusion about the food? Well, when the boys first came home with us they were eating Iams food that our friends gave us as an adoption gift. All was well in the poo department, despite the fact that these guys were abandoned in a dumpster at the start of their little lives. As soon as the Iams ran out, the boys got the runs (and some really monster gas, too). Given that only the lowest quality brands of pet food are available in Mozambique, I had no choice but to switch the boys to whatever kibble I could find in the indian shops in a particular week.

Then, as if by a miracle, Pria and Parciero started popping out solid poo while I was on my trip to the US. I was very grateful the kittens were well, but for the life of me couldn't figure out what had happened in my absence for them to recuperate so quickly (I was gone 3 weeks). And then it hit me. The entire time they were at my friend's house they were eating decent cat chow. I brought some back home with me to transition them over to the crap food again, and sure enough - as soon as the boys were back on the old chow the runnies came right back.

So what was my natureba solution in all of this? As of today, I am feeding the boys homemade cat chow! I got a recipe from a holistic vet online and it consists of the following:

700g ground muscle meat (don't mix meats from different animals)
300g ground organ meat (from the same animal as above)
2 eggs
250g ground vegetables (carrots, squash or pumpkin)
1 sheet clear gelatin
1 cup white rice
250ml hot water

Basically you cook it all up, the set it with the gelatin and hot water. Pria and Parceiro, who are normally very reluctant to eat their regular old cat chow, gobbled this stuff up as if they hadn't been fed all year. The result out the other end has yet to be confirmed, but I am hopeful it will be nice and solid.

I was feeling quite pleased with myself after the soy milk and the home made cat chow, so I decided to take some photos of my new favorite earrings. I made them on my last night in Albuquerque to coordinate with a carnelian and turquoise necklace I received as a graduation present a few years ago.

What started out as a simple photo of my ear turned into a full-fledged photo shoot! The light on the verandah was great, I was feeling pretty (you know those days where you just feel like you look good? aren't they lovely?), and also looking for a good excuse to procrastinate a bit from my suitcase unpacking. It all started out a bit practical and serious, and ended up with me laughing out loud at myself and my glamorous. In keeping with the natureba theme, I am without a spot of makeup. The results are below. Enjoy!

Ha ha. I crack myself up sometimes.