Observations from my trip to Vegetarian Hell, known otherwise as the Deep South:
The entire country has gone to the dogs. Honestly, what is with the designer dog clothes at Target and elsewhere? I can get both casual wear and formal wear for my dog, jewelry, gourmet dog treats, designer label pet carriers, and Shabby Chic chew toys if I were the type of person to spoil my dog. Alright, I am the type of person to spoil my dog but the day I start dressing her is the day you should put me in a long-term care facility.
The Dallas airport has no vegetarian food. I finally found a veggie burger at Bennigans, of all places. Normally I don't eat in airports, but I was there for 5 hours. Someone should open a healthy restaurant in Terminal D.
On the other hand, the veggie meals on American are very good. I even asked for a recipe.
I ate three spinach salads while I was gone, which usually was the closest thing to vegan on the menu. And when I say "leave off the cheese" I am talking about mozzarella, which is still classified as "cheese" despite the presence of god-knows-what.
The electricity went out at my in-laws' house, after a massive storm system moved through. When it rains in Louisiana, it really pours.
It was colder in the Deep South than it was here, which is really weird. I like to've froze.
Southern grammar has a way of sneaking up on you, but I have not yet uttered the phrase "she don't want no fried chicken" although it is tempting.
Nursing homes are dominated by females. Almost all the patients are women, and all but a couple of employees are female too. When a man walks in all eyes turn toward him. He's usually carrying a Bible.
Women traveling alone are ignored by female flight attendants, and doted on by male flight attendants. (But I don't normally answer to "sweetie". Trust me.) Airport lounges are also the province of men, and when I walked in the attendant assumed I was with the man ahead of me.
It took three Target employees to find the DVD "An Inconvenient Truth" which the first two had not heard of. Now I know why they call it an "inconvenient" truth.
Target also has vegan boots for $24. That's only £12! I quickly tossed a pair of size 8s into my shopping cart in case someone else had their eye on them, but I bet I needn't have worried. Probably no one else knows how much vegan boots cost at Vegan Essentials or at Stella McCartney's shop in Mayfair.
There is just way too much stuff available in American shops, in addition to designer doggie wear. But I didn't see a whole lot of people out buying it. Which was fine with me, cause I needed to shop for certain things I can't get here, or can't get economically here, including a hair cut. My daughter says it looks very "L.A." but I think she meant "Louisiana".
My brother recently moved back to Louisiana, where he is getting into the organic farming business. I had no idea farming was in his skill set, but he can pretty much do anything he puts his mind to.
My mom's new nursing home (which was also her old one, from before she came to live with me) has worked out very well. Everyone seems to love her, and I don't think they're pretending for my sake. She is, however, mere skin and bones at this point. We have placed photos of her when she was young and beautiful in her room, which is a great idea if you have a loved one in a nursing home.
I only drove on the wrong side of the road once, on a stretch of deserted highway near St Francisville, when I backtracked to take a photo of a cow.
Cows in Louisiana are not as friendly. I'm sure that's related to the fact that there is a scarcity of vegetarian meals.
