Arctic Circle Cartoons - Trying Out a Plant-Based Diet Though Not Being Proper Vegan

I'm trying out a plant-based diet this month for health as well as environmental reasons. I’d really like to cut my meat and dairy consumption drastically, but the boyf isn’t as keen…

That said, being the sweetie he is, he treated me to a vegan lunch at Grater Goods, a plant-based delicatessen and cafe.

We went for the “Reuben” sandwiches and I thought it was better than a regular Reuben. But I have always struggled a little with the texture of meat, as well as the idea of it.

Reuben sandwich at Grater Goods

I’m not going the whole hog (ha!) though - I am keen to emphasise plant-based diet over veganism, as I still love wearing wool and leather.

Update 3rd July 2019:

I went the entire month of June with a plant-based diet. Eating at home was okay, but it was really hard to eat out apart from when we went to the vegan deli (see above).I didn't miss meat at all, but boy, did I miss cheese … and yes, I did discover the delights of nutritional yeast and I made vegan parmesan. And that was okay. But the vegan cheese on pizza? Not the same…

I celebrated being off the cheese abstinence wagon with a cheese and sauerkraut toastie yesterday. Yum!

Living in New Zealand: The Lyttelton Timeball Drops Every Day at 1pm (Probably)

The timeball has been a landmark in Lyttelton for over 100 years. It was one of only two working timeballs in the world until the earthquakes destroyed it.

It was fantastic to see it restored and working again in 2018. Sensibly, only the tower was rebuilt. 

Lyttelton’s timeball in 2019 (Click to see options for using the image)

I have seen the timeball drop a couple of times, but just missed it dozens of times.

Lyttelton’s timeball station today

I'm glad that in 2006 it was one of the things I chose to draw as part of my Lyttel Lives series of line drawings (The Deluxe Cafe was erased by Coffee Culture, but the boyf's restaurant and St David’s Street steps’ benches were also victims of the earthquakes).

Reasons to Be Cheerful - Finding There Are a Lot of People Who Care

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The boyf and I went to our first climate change march when we were in Melbourne. I doubt it will be my last.

How to Reduce Anxiety - Hang Out With Friendly Dogs

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We're still missing our Jack Russell, Billie, nine months on, but now we're talking about getting another dog. If anyone knows of a good-natured Jack Russell in New Zealand that needs a good home, let us know. It turns out that this kind of Jack Russell is pretty hard to find.

In the meantime, we get our dose of dogs when we're out and about, including on our recent trip to Melbourne. We encountered this lovely Jack Russell in Prahran.

This one is the inspiration for the Oven Street bakery in Brunswick.

Unfortunately the bakery had sold out of bread, but at least the dog were still there.