Are You FOR the Animals?

 

Hi again.

There is a lot I’d like to share with you this week, so there have been many posts.

I am going to get straight to it then.

Over the past week or so Irwins Animal Rescue Centre has been in the news. i don’t particularly want to get into the arguments going on between those in welfare as i believe that what people feel and think is irrelevant, unless what they are saying is shed in a positive light for the animals concerned.

That being said i would like to get you informed on the task at hand.

I received this email last night from someone who had been to the centre herself.

Please read it with an open heart with the animals in mind, and then I will tell you a little bit more about how you can help.

Dear All,
There has been a lot of publicity lately regarding the Irwins Animal Rescue Centre.  I was there yesterday, after receiving an email advising that the centre was opening their gates to the public as part of a rehoming campaign undertaken by a group of volunteers.

 

As I understand the situation, they have a deadline pending the outcome of a court case against the owner, to drastically reduce the number of animals at the shelter by 10 March 2012.  Should the case be finalised, the relevant authorities will decide on the fate of the remaining animals which is unlikely to be positive.

The volunteers that I met are a wonderful group of dedicated people, with the animals' best interests at heart.  I know there has been much negativity, but I would like to appeal to all animal lovers not to criticise what may have happened in the past - whatever has taken place, no matter whether we agree or disagree - it is the PAST.  We need to focus now on trying to get as many animals rehomed as possible by the deadline.
It is not all doom and gloom when you visit the centre - I would say comfortably that around 95% of all the dogs were interested in the people who came to see them and freely came up to the cages to be petted and enjoy the attention.

Although the enclosures are not fancy, they were neat and clean with shade cloth and kennels in each of them providing good shelter.  There was food in the bowls (I was there at feeding time), and as can be seen from the pictures, the water bowls were clean and full.  None of the dogs were thin, in fact some were a bit chubby!  There is such a variety of dogs available that there would be a dog to suit anyone's needs and lifestyle.

Please open your heart and send this appeal to anyone whom you know will not mind receiving this email.  Strict adoption procedures will be followed with home checks being carried out by people with relevant experience.  All animals leaving the shelter will be sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed and treated for ticks and fleas.  An adoption fee will also apply to cover these costs.  If you or someone you trust, can offer a loving, forever home to these very special dogs, please contact Allison on 083 269 9102 for further information. 

They will be hosting adoption days every Sunday from 10h00 to around 16h00 - come and visit the animals, and offer your support.  They are also in need of additional shadecloth, and labour to clear some stony areas.  Any other donations whether food, cash, collars, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Helen Taylor

As you can see in Helen’s letter, there is an open day every Sunday at the rescue centre.

Besides that there is a Facebook page set up called “Irwins Angels”. The main function of this page is to show case the adoptable animals at the centre. Adoption forms will be available at the centre on Sunday open days. The amazing Emma O Brien has been round to the centre and has taken some photos of the doggies which are now posted on the page.
A group of volunteers have organised some shampoo and sponges to be collected and they will be bathing and dipping the doggies on Sunday. This will all be happening on Sunday 26 February from 10h00-16h00.

NOTE: The Address for Irwins is Plot 25,... 7th road, Walkers Fruit Farms, Walkerville. There aren't any signs except for a rock with IRWINS painted on it in white. Turn left into South and then take the second dirt road on your right - which is 7th road. Irwins is right at the top of the road, on the left! 

There is also a food drive on the go, organised by Linsey. This drive has been organised to keep the flow of food for the doggies coming in.
it is unfortunate but sponsors usually pull out when negative publicity surrounds a centre and the ones who end up suffering are the animals.
If you would like to contribute to helping the Irwins animals this is how you can do it:

You can either donate to linsey’s food drive:

please put the ref as IRWINS
L Rautenbach, FNB, ACC NO: 62066091556 BRANCH: SELCOURT

or you can take some food and treats, toys, collars, hoofs etc through to the centre on Sunday.

If you have any bright ideas on how to help this Rescue centre or help one in your area, comment here.
(the simplest way of commenting is by clicking anonymous but you can use one of the various profiles suggested)

I would love to hear from you.

Have a super day further.

Di

xx

Friday Thought…

 

I have had some really awesome messages in my inbox. Your messages keep me going. I love to hear your ideas and actually get to implement some of them.

Thanks also to those of you who messaged me on Facebook and told me about the latest addition to your family. I love to hear your stories.
If you would like to post a little something here to tell everyone about your awesome decision send a photo or two and a little story and I will let you know when your story will be posted. Maybe your story could inspire someone to save another furry child.
Send your requests to stuffdidoodles@gmail.com

Next on the list is a little or BIG request – it depends on how you see it.
Its only the beginning of winter and many Shelters, welfares and Charities like CROW, PETS, and various SPCA’s around the country are already requesting donations of pet food because their stocks are low. So here’s my favour – I would like to appeal to each and every one of you to do something to help them.
There are many ways in which you can do this.

• · You can tweet the SA radio DJ’s or celebs you follow and ask them to simply RT your message or go even bigger and ask their followers to donate.
• · You could update your Facebook Status and ask your friends to donate as little as a tin of pet food to their nearest animal shelter.
• · If you work in an office with a large amount of staff why not ask each of your colleagues to bring one tin to work and donate all the tins you collected. (If you are a teacher or principal at a school this concept could work for you too. Why not ask each child to bring one tin to school) We all could learn a little more about giving to the voiceless.

It’s simple if you think about it – typing a request never killed anyone…

If you have some simple ideas to help these shelters, charities and welfares in need; type it in the comment box.
Let us all try to make a difference…

I hope that all of you have a pawsome weekend. Keep yourselves and your pets warm…
Hugs
Di

Mom’s Mac n Cheese Is Always Best

I had weird tastes as a kid. I will explain more when I write a tribute to my Gramps on his Birthday in May.

I love cheese, as a kid I was introduced to “smelly sock cheese”, which I have grown to love even more as I’ve got older.
On Twitter you could call me a #cheeseslut.

Recently I’ve seen so many yummy cheese recipes on Foodies Blog’s like this Cheesy Spinach Gnudi on The Creative Pot Blog. If you watch Pasella on SABC 2 you would have seen Marisa strutting-her-stuff on the show.
Also on the show you would have seen Thuli, who writes the Mzansi Style Cuisine Blog. She made a Umxhaxha / Mealie and Pumpkin Dish. I love mealies too. My mom always said that while she was pregnant with me, she craved them; so that kind of makes sense to me.

Monday nights at our house is “macaroni cheese night”. It’s the perfect way to start the week. I make variations of the dish, so on nights that I’m busy, or my son makes dinner we have the easier version. (My son has told me that he cant wait to kick me out the kitchen – chef to be perhaps?)
I don’t make a regular mac-n-cheese although it has similar qualities to my grans original recipe. It’s one of the recipes that I have been perfecting since a teenager. It has manifested from a plain dish with the usual macaroni, cheese, and tomato to my latest variations.

The full recipe is as follows.

Ingredients:

1 packet of Macaroni / pasta shells
Cheddar Cheese (my mom always used Gouda or sweetmilk in hers)
1 pack of streaky Bacon (chopped)(for my Jewish family who don’t eat bacon I’d use a cold meat or salami – I have also left this out and made a vegetarian dish)
1 tin of Onion and Tomato mix (the flavour of the tomatoes is far better in a tin)
1 tin of cream style sweetcorn.
5 /6 large leaves Spinach (chopped)

White sauce

Margerine (about 2 tblsp)
Flour (I put in enough flour to soak up the marg)
1 cup milk
Cheddar Cheese.
dried sweet basil

Method:

1. Cook the macaroni in the usual way by boiling the water with a little salt.

2. Grate the cheese.(this is my daughters job)

3. In a separate greased pan fry the bacon and tin of tomato and onion and set it aside

White Sauce:

4. Melt the margarine;

5. add enough flour to the margarine so that the mixture resembles biscuit dough.

6. Add the milk while stirring continuously,

7. Add about ½ to 1 cup of cheese, and continue to stir until the cheese is melted. The mixture should now have a thick saucy consistency.

8. You can now add some of your favourite Italian herbs. I use Sweet basil for this particular dish.

Layering:

9. I layer my macaroni in a large oven dish.

fried tomato mixture,

strained macaroni

sweetcorn

strips of spinach

Pour white sauce

Cheese.

(I manage to fit two of each layer in my dish.)

10. Bake for about 15 minutes. Until the cheese is golden brown.

enjoy.