Hey, to all my fellow Evergreen State friends!! Well, I'm not QUITE a Washingtonian, I think I'm what's called a "semi-native." I've lived here well over half my life (since I was almost 17), graduated high school here, birthed a son here (3rd gen Washingtonian), married a guy from here, so I think I'm almost a native. I consider Seattle my hometown now, when folks ask me, Where are you from?

I'm currently in the sticks of Pierce County, in the South Hill (Puyallup) area, without my own wheels, no routed bus service, so I'm pretty isolated. I'd love to meet other v*gans in the vicinity! I know this isn't a personals page, but a like-minded guy to hang with would be awesome, I've been single for so long!

I'm not QUITE vegan yet... I was going to go vegan when my job abruptly ended. My goal is to go vegan, quit smoking (well, cigarettes), quit caffeine, and begin a healthy (and free) exercise program (it's called WALKING!). I need to lose at least (ugh) 100 pounds. I am diabetic, depressed (due to my glucose not being controlled mostly), and overweight, but once I achieve my weight goal and get healthy in mind, body and spirit, I'm going to feel WONDERFUL!! I'm seeing all this as a lifestyle change, not a "diet"; I've always been very empathic, and I'm finally giving in to that and treating myself, and the world around me, with compassion. I became a health nut when I was pregnant, for the life of my baby, and realized I should also be doing it now, for my own life, so I can live to see my great grandkids.

My profile describes me pretty well. Folks are welcomed to add me to their Yahoo under kosmic_2005; just put a note in there about VB/v*gan and I'll accept (I have a very limited buddy list, I usually "deny", so be sure to add a note so I know it's you).

If you're new to the Tacoma/Puyallup area, and want great produce, I'd suggest Tacoma Boys (there's a store on the SW corner of South Hill Mall); I've only been in there a few times, but MAN they have an impressive selection! Great prices too!

Peace, y'all,
Light

(Sorry about all the rambling, I'm just excited about finding VB, and many fellow WA folks!!)

Well, hi! Welcome Light 99.

Can't remember if I've been to Big Boys before but I do remember they have a great reputation for good, copious produce and stuff for summer canning.

I hope you find a way to get around soon. I'm not familiar with Tacoma transit.

Blue Plastic Straw, so you must have peed at the Outlet's McDonalds? I live in the Outlet Glam neighborhood.

Light........ are you my next door neighbor? Or twin seperated at birth! Or maybe I posted that under an alternate identity... very very scarey!! I could post the exact same thing - oh, well, except I haven't been single in some years. :tired:
Oh, and don't smoke.
Oh, and am trying to quit caffieine - down to one cup a day - at the Star$$ on South Hill by Fred Meyers and 176th. How far are you from there?

Anyway - the rest of your post sounds so similar to me, we must chat!

I don't have yahoo messenger... I have MSN... and AOL...

email me at sablehawk at netzero dot net

So does anyone else share my love of our local fast food chain Taco Time? Quite honestly, it's the only fast food I buy.

Hmmm, I didn't know there was anything ok at Taco Time. I'm a big fan of Taco del Mar though. Huge, cheap vegan burritos, yummy!

Never stopped at Taco del Mar. I'll have to try that.

Heck yeah Taco Time has stuff that's okay. veggie wrap, veggie burrito, soft bean burrito, crisp bean burrito. Plus they're extremely good at making substitutions like rice & beans for any item that has meat and taking out the cheese & sour cream if you're vegan.

We LOVE Taco Time! My daughters get Tacos with "no meat" and Taco Time just PILES ON the beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatos and such for them. We're not vegan, but they are very willing to "hold the meat" on anything we request.

Taco del Mar is my favorite of the two, largely because it's much more fresh.

I used to like Taco Time but the last time I sampled their mexi-fries, my stomach didn't appreciate it. I don't want to go through that again. Gone is the steel stomach of my youth, I guess.

Cymbeline ~ Is the Country Cousin the restaurant with the rooster on the roof? We used to stop there frequently when dashing between Seattle and Portland to see the grandparents. We got to have pee breaks in Fife and Centralia and that was *it*.

Well, according to this website http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FastFoodRest.htm#tacotime neither the rice or probably the beans are even vegetarian because they are cooked with beef fat. :spew: Oh well, I like to be able to actually watch them make my food at Taco Del Mar. :)

Bleh! Years ago someone pointed out that the crisp burritos look like the other end of a cat, if you know what I mean. I had to agree somewhat.

Do any of you happen to know of any houses for rent within an hour or so of Ft Lewis that will allow several pets (6 dogs and 11 cats) and is on fenced property? Being within walking distance to public transportation is a huge plus too.
I know it's a long shot, but I thought I'd ask anyway.
Thanks!

(6 dogs and 11 cats)

WOW!!!

Thats QUITE a few!!

You should call a realtor in Yelm, or Roy, they often do rentals too - great little towns that are quite rural and might be tolerant of that sort of population...

Winking_Turtle, yes, in Centralia the rooster top place is Country Cousin. We avoid it like the plauge simply because an aunt eats many meals there and we don't want to run into her. It's a family feud!

I like to sit out on my porch with a shotgun in my lap, hound dogs on either side. We're sort of Deliverance country down here. So just pee and get out!

Erin, try Olympia! It's beautiful and you'll like it. There's lots going on. It's within range of Fort Lewis. Good transportation system. It's a great place.

Tofu-N-Sprouts, I'm not that familiar with Roy or Yelm. Good views of Mount Rainer. It's true they might be multiple animal friendly.

Yelm or Roy, good suggestions. Olympia is the best place south of Seattle (IMO), but with all those sweeties you'd need to try where you can.

winking_turtle, that's the Country Cousin restaurant, with the rooster on top. And this is Deliverance country. I'm sitting on my front porch with a rifle on my lap, so you better just pee and get back on that freeway.

LOL, I didn't mean it like we were scared of Centralia, just that if we kids didn't have the urge to go and we got the urge say, near Vader, we had to cross the legs and hope for the best. :)

But now that I know people are lookin' to shoot, I just might wait til Chehalis to stop.

Thanks for the suggestions :)

Erin, I've heard of a few places in Enumclaw and Buckly, but that's a bit far. I'll ask around, though. I know my land lord has a house somewhere around Oly, but he doesn't let me have pets in my apartment. I don't know if he'd approve of your large family. Tumwater has a house for $900/mo. I can check on that, if you like. I'll also ask my friends at the preserve, down there, if they've seen or heard of anything.

Thanks Cougar. No need to go out of your way though. I have someone there looking. :)

Erin, I enjoyed looking at your site last week. You are very talented. Good luck to you finding a home.

Erin, I enjoyed looking at your site last week. You are very talented. Good luck to you finding a home.
Thank You :)
If you ever wander back, please don't forget to sign the guestbook. It's pretty bare.

Erin, when are you moving up here? I'd like to get together for a drink or cup of coffee, if you don't mind. I never seem to have enough veggie friends.

I asked my landlord about your family. He said he'd rent to you, if you got rid of the animals. I tried to explain to him, for the twentieth time, that he would have far more tenets, if he lightened up on the "Pets are Dirty, Evil and Unwelcome" policy, but to no avail. He just wants his properties to sit vacant forever. Amazingly enough, he allows me to smoke like a chimney and yellow up the walls. What a dork!

Erin, when are you moving up here? I'd like to get together for a drink or cup of coffee, if you don't mind. I never seem to have enough veggie friends.
Everything depends on when I get housing. If something is found in Cali first, I probably won't even move to Washington. Everything depends.
If I do get there though, we can definitely meet up. :)

I asked my landlord about your family. He said he'd rent to you, if you got rid of the animals.
If I was willing to get rid of the animals, I'd have been out of here long ago, but I simply don't accept that as an option.
I do understand why landlords don't allow animals though.
Thanks for asking.

Well, according to this website http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FastFoodRest.htm#tacotime neither the rice or probably the beans are even vegetarian because they are cooked with beef fat. :spew: Oh well, I like to be able to actually watch them make my food at Taco Del Mar. :)

Well it appears that this website is junk. I just got back from Taco Time after having talked to the manager. She's worked there for 20 years. They get their rice raw, and they cook it up in Canola oil. She said that more than 10 years ago, they used to use lard, but not since then. Never beef fat. You scared the hell out of me. Taco Time is the bomb! :bobo:

Thats cool that your Taco Time is ok. I've read on several websites though that some franchisees go against company policy and use not vegan stuff, so its probably best to check at every location. Sorry to scare you! :)

If I was willing to get rid of the animals, I'd have been out of here long ago, but I simply don't accept that as an option.

Amen, Erin. Amen.