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Vegan Born and Bred [A Vegan Pledger Story]

Meredith Simonds — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:10:39 +0000

I’m the odd-(wo)man-out in my family when it comes to veg living, distant relatives included. There’s not another vegan (or vegetarian) in the bunch. So it’s super-inspiring for me to hear from Vegan Pledger Clare Haworth who was the catalyst for cementing veganism as a family-wide lifestyle:

I was inspired by Nick Twose from Torquay when I was 18 on an animal rights protest at Porton Down. Twose said, ‘Of course you can go vegan, it’s easy.’

I am now 49.

I brought up 5 children from birth as vegan and have a vegan born-and-bred beautiful and bright-as-a-button 20-month grandson.

My kids say they are so glad I brought them up vegan and cannot imagine why people want to eat other sentient creatures.

My brothers went veg and still are, and my auntie and her family followed suit and have been veg for years and years.

My best friend went vegan at 18 with me; she still is.

My husband is sill vegan after 31 years.

It is the only logical, rational conclusion to adopt a vegan lifestyle if you believe that causing unnecessary suffering to sentient creatures is unjustified and simply wrong. No drama, just wrong. Spread the love.

Fellow Vegan Pledger Abi Pring echoes the sentiments of Clare’s children:

My parents brought me up vegan and I will be eternally grateful that I can say I have never (and will never), ever eat an animal and therefore will never contribute towards the disgusting suffering and abuse animals endure at the hands of omnivores. I am bringing up my son vegan.

Were you raised vegan? Are you raising vegan children? Love to hear from you. Sign The Vegan Pledge and share your story!

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Happy New (Vegan) Year!

Meredith Simonds — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:30:44 +0000

Anyone’s first day living vegan is something to celebrate, but it is especially heartwarming to me personally that Sacha Brown took time today – her first day vegan – to sign The Vegan Pledge:

Today, 10th Jan 2012, was my 1st day as a vegan. I am finding it easy because I really want to but let’s see how the rest of my life goes, lol. I need recipes that are sweet and tasty! And quick and easy as I am a mum of 2!

I am doing it to improve health and to be at one with my environment. I use shea butter and black soap now and I even wear my hair natural (afro hair). I love my new life.

For a ton of great info on vegan living (including sweet and tasty recipes!), check out the Vegan Outreach Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating. I also highly recommend Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Life website, for recipes and more.

Of course, a thoughtful way of living is never confined to just one area of our lives. In addition to adopting a vegan lifestyle, Sacha Brown is also the founder of Brown Girl Promotion, “inspired by the lack of representation of women of African origin within business and entertainment within the UK.”

To Sacha, and to all you other pledgers, Happy New (Vegan) Year! There will be many more inspiring stories to share in 2012.

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Going Veg as a Family: Kristin Lajeunesse’s Vegan Pledger Story

Meredith Simonds — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:02:11 +0000

Kristin Lajeunesse, getting ready to embark on a year-long trek to eat at every 100 percent vegan restaurant in every major U.S. city!

Yesterday I heard news of Kristin Lajeunesse’s BRILLIANT idea: to spend a year traveling the country so as to eat at every 100 percent vegan restaurant in every major U.S. city…blogging about it as she goes!

I immediately supported the project via Kickstarter (you can too, here). She followed up with a lovely thank you and subsequently signed The Vegan Pledge.

Here Kristin’s story:

I was 16 years old when my parents told me that they wanted to become vegetarian as a family.

My brother, Josh is five years older than me and he introduced the idea of vegetarianism to my parents. When they found out that he had already become vegetarian they were immediately worried about his health, as they thought – at that time – that eating meat was necessary for optimal nutrition. But instead of telling him why he was wrong or shunning him entirely, they did what awesome parents do: they researched the heck out of vegetarianism. I think they were looking for a way to prove to him why this diet was bad, but instead they came to the undeniable conclusion that not eating meat is a much better way to live.

So, there we were in 1999 transitioning to vegetarianism as a family. I wasn’t particularly thrilled, but decided to give it a go. I went off to college and my parents kept up their research, joined a local vegetarian group and continued to learn about the influence that diet has on health, the environment, and animals. Every time I came home for a break or holiday there was something new and “healthy” in the refrigerator – or worse, something missing. I still remember coming home one summer to no more milk or cheese. It was gone and I was devastated: not the ice cream!

By the time I finished college my parents were full-on vegan and I was still chowing down my beloved dairy ice cream and cheese pizzas. Aside from the fact that I had maintained a vegetarian diet, was eating vegan meals when visiting home, and gifted vegan-labeled sweatshirts, stickers, and buttons whenever my parents were given the opportunity, I couldn’t fathom giving up dairy. And then, in the summer of 2006, at a veg event in upstate NY, the sea parted and in walked Registered Dietitian, George Eisman.

Despite the fact that my parents had at one time or another gently provided the same information that Mr. Eisman presented on this day, once I decided to listen and truly understand how very bad dairy was for my body and for animals, I was done with it. That very night I ate my last cheese pizza and never looked back.

Well, I might have looked back once, or five times, but never did go back. It took me a good year as a relatively unhealthy vegan to start doing even more research – like learning how to prepare meals instead of buying ready-made ones. But some new reading material (hello VegNews Magazine) and a change in my environment (hey there, Boston) soon helped me learn how to live a healthy vegan lifestyle.

In the fall of 2007 I moved to Boston for graduate school. I joined the Boston Vegan Association and started working part-time for the New England Anti-Vivisection Society. The friends that I made in these two organizations led me to so much support, inspiration, and so many new resources that being vegan became a cinch.

I love telling people who ask about my diet how much more I enjoy everything about food now; from shopping to cooking, prepping, and purchasing a ridiculous number of vegan cook books. It feels like it has so much more meaning now and I take pride in the meals I prepare. I never felt this way as a meat eater…not even as a vegetarian for that matter.

Today my parents help run the Albany Vegetarian Network and host an annual Vegetarian Expo (now in it’s fifth year!) in upstate New York. It all started with my brother, was followed by my parents’ amazing support, and then happily grew into an education, a group of friends, and a lifestyle that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Again, you can support Kristin’s “Will Travel For Vegan Food” project via Kickstarter. Then you can see your good dollars doing good work as Kristen blogs about the experience at WTFveganfood.com, which will include food reviews, interviews with restaurant owners, and volunteering at farm sanctuaries and other animal rescues. (Fingers crossed The Gentle Barn makes her list in L.A.)

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Vegan Diet May Help With Endometriosis [A Vegan Pledger Story]

Meredith Simonds — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:05:01 +0000

Second only to animal welfare, the most common reason I hear for choosing a vegan diet is for good health. As noted by Vegan Outreach, vegans (and vegetarians in general) tend to have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and lower incidence of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

But as one recent vegan pledger brought to my attention, a vegan diet may also help prevent or alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis.

Erin Snow writes:

I’ve been almost completely vegetarian for six years and have always contemplated going vegan. Afraid I wouldn’t do it correctly and end up deficient in some way, I have never taken the plunge.

First of all, this common concern is a legitimate one. Successful vegans who never turn back are those who do their research first, making sure they know what a healthy vegan diet really looks like.

After having some physical pain, I discovered this week that I have Endometriosis. Through personal research, I’ve determined that the key to relief lies in what I put in and on my body.

Endometriosis is a condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus wander into other parts of the body, particularly the ovaries, intestinal tract, bladder or elsewhere. The problem is that these cells continue behaving like the tissue in the uterus, swelling and bleeding during menstruation and causing pain in the process.

How may a vegan diet help?

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), endometriosis may be associated with frequent consumption of red meat and pork. On the flip side, frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables may be associated with prevention.

Though there has been no clinical study on the impact of veganism on endometriosis, PCRM cites a fascinating case.

A 24-year-old woman in Illinois suffered from endometriosis. Everything she tried – including two surgeries, birth control pills, hormone blocking medications and a progesterone derivative – either didn’t work, led to unwelcome side effects or came with the risk of infertility.

Instead, Dr. Ronald Burmeister recommended the woman try a hormone-balancing diet, as endometriosis is associated with high levels of estrogen. The diet he suggested was a vegetarian one: “Within three months she was noticeably better, and at six months, her pain was gone.”

Even more encouraging is that Dr. Burmeister repeated this success with three other women suffering from endometriosis symptoms.

Hopefully, Erin will find similar success.

Veganism aligns with my core beliefs about kindness, etc., anyway; so now it’s just a matter of doing my homework and making the right choices.

I’m so fortunate to have our dear and mutual friend, Rena Wren, as a vegan sister and willing guide on this important journey. Thank you for this site and all the work you do to light this planet. I look forward to learning even more from you =)

Thanks to Erin for sharing her story. If you haven’t already, please read our friend Rena’s inspiring story too.

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Ann Gentry’s Vegan Family Meals Make the Meatless Mouth Water [COOKBOOK]

Meredith Simonds — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:05:34 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of attending organic vegan chef Ann Gentry’s book launch party at her restaurant, Real Food Daily, in West Hollywood. Ann is the author of the new book, Vegan Family Meals: Real Food for Everyone, recipes from which were featured and served throughout the evening….

Sesame-hiziki croquettes with tahini vegetable spread and an unidentified garnish on top, though as I recall it was crunchy and good! (pages 134 and 48 in Vegan Family Meals)

Edamame and spinach hummus with endive spears (page 44 in Vegan Family Meals)

California-style gazpacho - yes, that's fresh avocado in there (page 97 in Vegan Family Meals)

Cool French lentil and fennel salad (page 190 in Vegan Family Meals)

The sesame-hiziki croquettes were my favorite with the edamame and spinach hummus a close second. For a sampling of other dishes to expect in Vegan Family Meals, how’s this for a teaser?

Maple tempeh bacon
Grilled cheese sandwich
Yucatan Yam Picante
Southern-style potato salad with tarragon-mustard dressing
Almond-jam thumbprint cookies
Chocolate silk pie with cashew crust

Yum!

Author Ann Gentry (left) with vegetarian and "Rules of Engagement" star Megyn Price.

Learn more about Ann, more about Real Food Daily or just cut to the chase and order your copy of Vegan Family Meals!

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Timing Always Right for Going Vegan [A Vegan Pledger Story]

Meredith Simonds — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:52:35 +0000

Beyond my decision to finally go vegan a few years back, my biggest challenge since has been finding a way to accept our society’s progress as it relates to bringing to light the truth about animal welfare issues.

In her Vegan Pledge story, life coach Cindi Saadi touches on this, suggesting that lack of information in the mainstream delays or prevents more widespread transitioning to a vegan lifestyle.

But although she wishes she had gone vegan sooner, Cindi sees it from the kind of perspective you might expect of a life coach:

I wish there was wider exposure to information about factory farming, what animals go through, how our environment and health are impacted by eating animal products, how unnecessary animal testing is, etc. I wish it had happened sooner, but I trust that the timing is somehow just as it should be.

Cindi’s story is shared in its entirety below, including some lovely insight into the importance of having a vegan mentor.

Like many people, I gave up different “foods” in stages. I was a vegetarian for years before going vegan. I gave up meats, including chicken, because I suddenly couldn’t stand the idea of eating someone’s flesh. Yes, I say “someone” because to me, animals were friends. It repulsed me and so I never ate it again. But the dairy, eggs and even some seafood stayed in my diet a bit longer. At last – all that was left was cheese.

I have a wonderful friend, Cam, who I consider to be my vegan mentor. I credit her for always being there with answers, but also being patient and gentle. She knew it would happen in time.

Oddly, I was reading Kathy Freston’s book, Quantum Wellness, that a friend had loaned me (not one of the animal rights books I have now!) and I think it was the presentation of certain facts about animals and our health, etc., that just clicked. I knew without a doubt that I was done. I went vegan. And I have never looked back.

Now, working for an animal rights organization and as a life coach and artist, I am amazed it took me so long to see the realities. I think that is my one regret – that it took me so long.

Once one becomes aware, I believe you are either an activist or an inactivist. I want to be actively working to educate and inform others and to connect them emotionally to the animals we share this planet with.

I wish there was wider exposure to information about factory farming, what animals go through, how our environment and health are impacted by eating animal products, how unnecessary animal testing is, etc. I wish it had happened sooner, but I trust that the timing is somehow just as it should be.

I look forward to doing everything I can to help people choose compassion for the animals, our planet, and for themselves.

For more inspiring perspectives on animal welfare, creativity and life in general, check out Cindi’s website at www.CindiSaadi.com.

If you haven’t already, please read my Vegan Pledge story and sign your own Vegan Pledge today.

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Why We Are Vegan

Meredith Simonds — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:28:40 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately about how best to spend the time I tend to spread too thin. This morning I meditated on it and in the stillness I felt the pull of this vegan pledge.

I started today by reading through the comments all you vegan pledgers have left over the past year and a half since I started this website. Some of you share at length why you went vegan, others with just a line or two. Some leave links to blogs and websites that tell your story on a daily basis. And many among you choose only to leave your name which is equally inspiring: Living your life vegan is testimony enough.

From this day forward I’ll be sharing your stories as they come in, but I have quite a backlog of them to catch up on too. I’d like to start with that of my friend, Rena Wren:

I’ve been a vegetarian for about 20 years and have been thinking about going Vegan for many years. I just got back from Cali where Vegan living looked so easy! My friend, Meredith [that's me ], who lives in Cali now, was a huge inspiration.

I have always thought being Vegan in a small Arkansas town would be kind of hard. After visiting Cali I realized that is the PRECISE reason to do it! To pave the way and make it easier for future Vegans! I used this concept with live original music in the town where I live now. When I moved here, NOBODY was doing it, so we (hubby and I) created a Songwriter Showcase and people have loved it and we’ve helped so many indie artists be heard! I am hoping to do the same with Vegan living.

xo and Namaste,

Rena Wren

It’s been just 9 months since Rena signed the pledge and left this testimonial, but it’s been enough time for her to make a big difference as a “Kind Ambassador.” Not only does she live vegan in her daily life, but she also launched We Are, a positivity project that started with a song she wrote about diversity, oneness, individuality, harmony, equality, love, peace, grace, and life:

When there is a ‘we,’ there is necessarily more than one person (or animal!) present. Now, have you ever felt completely alone in a room full of people, or even in a huge crowd like at a concert or festival? Stop. Think. You are never alone when another is present. So, just your mere presence with another person makes you a ‘we.’ When there is a ‘we,’ there is an opportunity for kindness and connectivity. Every kind connection you make has a vast impact on your world and their world!

Rena will be making all sorts of kind connections at a benefit concert this July 4th at The Gentle Barn, an amazing sanctuary for rescued farm animals in Santa Clarita, California. I’ll be blogging details about the event in hopes you can join us. What better way to celebrate independence day than among rescued farm animals finally free to just be?!

If you haven’t already, please read and sign the vegan pledge and/or pass it on to a friend.

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What Lines Do You Cross on an ETHICAL Vegan Diet?

Meredith Simonds — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:31:26 +0000

In July I had family, friends and neighbors over for a dinner and housewarming party on my birthday. Aside from me there was only one other vegan there. So as soon as she arrived I was careful to point out the vegan area on the serving table. (I had made only vegan food but my new well-meaning neighbors brought non-vegan dishes to share.)

As she was leaving, my vegan friend (who shall remain nameless) said what a wonderful time she’d had, and couldn’t believe how good the vegan dressing was that she’d been dipping her food in all night long.

Pretty sure my heart skipped a beat.

“What vegan dressing?”

You could have heard a pin drop.

“The creamy white dressing. It was in the area you pointed to, of all the vegan things I could eat.”

In all the activity of welcoming everyone I guess I overlooked the dressing my neighbor had placed in the vegan foods section. I apologized profusely but clearly she was devastated. She did her best to shrug it off and promised to come to the beach gathering I was having the next day but she never showed up.

I felt terrible and followed up with an email further apologizing. She said not to worry about it; these things happen. But aside from a couple of casual Facebook exchanges, we’ve had no contact since.

Personally, I don’t let it get to me when I accidentally eat foods with animal products. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve done it since going vegan years ago. I’ve gotten halfway through a bag of chips only to discover there’s whey in them. Same thing with bread. And I devoured Jack In the Box tacos for two years because a vegan acquaintance told me the “meat” was 100 percent soy.

I’m much more careful now, but still flexible when the situation calls for it.

Right now I’m freelance but recently worked in an office for two years. We often ordered out for company luncheons. The girls in charge of it did their best to order me vegan versions but they often arrived screwed up. Rather than having the girls run back up to the restuarant to fix the order every time, I found it easier and more considerate to just pick the cheese off my half of the pizza or the grilled chicken off my salad.

When family or friends go out of their way to prepare for me a nice “vegan” meal, I’ve been known to eat it suspecting they probably didn’t use the right kind of “butter” or egg replacer.

Once when my dog was on antibiotics, and was I feeding him yogurt for the acidophilus to help replace the good bacteria in his body, I was concerned the yogurt was bad so I tasted it just to be sure.

And many a time I’ve gotten a rogue bite of cheese or meat in the dishes I’ve ordered in non-vegan restuarants.

But not once in all these years have I intentionally “cheated” on my vegan diet. And that’s not to say it’s been easy, as I still crave meat – prime rib, pork chops, lobster, crab legs and scallops especially. Faux soy meats do a good job of curbing these cravings, but it’s not quite the same.

So what keeps me from giving in to temptation?

Principle.

One bite of my boyfriend’s steak isn’t going to kill me or the planet. But I’m not vegan for health or environmental reasons, but ethical ones. Yes, the cow has already lost its life and the meat will be eaten whether I eat it or not. But in my own head and heart, I’ve made a promise to the animals that I’m not going to eat them or the products they produce under unnatural, most-often abusive circumstances.

Bottom line for me, if you’re doing it for ethical reasons, cheating on a vegan diet is not like cheating on a regular diet. And though I have not read The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, the title alone suggests ethical reasons are her primary motivation. Her blog reflects the same.

So I was surprised and disappointed by the November 11 story in US Magazine in which Alicia Silverstone says she sometimes cheats:

“If I was at a party and there was a tray of cheese sitting there and I had had drinks, then I might have a bite.”

I’ve since learned from those who have read it that Alicia actually talks about these concessions in her book.

She goes on to tell Us Magazine, “It’s a really good reminder that sometimes you need to have what you remember is this good thing. Because then you have it, and you’re like, ‘Actually that wasn’t better than the recipes in my book.’ ”

I’m sorry, but it’s been many years since I’ve eaten a chunk of cheese and I remember EXACTLY what it tastes like.

Alicia goes on to further justify cheating on her vegan diet like this:

“Being flexible that way makes more people comfortable. If I’m rigid about it and I’m perfect, then no one is going to be able to be like me because I’ll be this icey, rigid thing.”

Icey and rigid? Actually, by not choosing to eat the cheese you’d simply be VEGAN, a lifestyle on which you are making a profit from book sales and blog ads (an important profit I imagine since Alicia Silverstone is known more for her veganism than her acting career these days. Harsh, I know, but true).

As soon as I read it, I shared my thoughts about the story on Twitter:

I'm surprised & disappointed by this. You? RT @ecorazzi Alicia Silverstone Admits She ‘Cheats’ Sometimes On #Vegan Diet http://ow.ly/38qTWNovember 11, 2010 9:58 PM via HootSuiteMeredithSimonds
Meredith Simonds

I wasn’t surprised at all by the responses sharing a similar sentiment:

@Ashli_Cooper: uh what? I didn’t know vegan was only when one was sober and cheese was not in plain sight

@TattooedTragedy: I’m definitely disappointed. “cheating” on veganism, shows lack of integrity in all aspects of her life

@TorrySmith: Re A Silverstone I’m disgusted by it. Being “flexible” makes other people comfortable? If that’s her goal why vegan at all?

But I was surprised (and inspired) by these:

@terorizt: Oh well, I guess that’s a lot better than eating meat all the time.

@TattooedTragedy: it is a real bummer to hear :-/ oh well, no one is perfect I guess… it could be worse I suppose.

@eMatt69: Disappointing, yes. But who actually cares about celebs? Good if we can use them but u can easily drop them again, too.

I say inspired because who am I to judge, and who really cares what Alicia Silverstone does? Celebrity or not, she’s just a person free to make whatever choices she likes…and I don’t have to like it.

You could be horrified by one or more of my own vegan imperfections shared at the beginning of this post. We all have lines we would never cross, and others we don’t mind stepping over now and then, not just as vegans but as human beings.

If you’re vegan for ethical reasons, what lines are okay to cross…and what’s not?

Note: Pics are from my visit to The Gentle Barn, a fabulous farm animal sanctuary in Santa Clarita, California. Check them out!

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The Gentle Barn’s Gentle Touch of Veganism

Meredith Simonds — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 18:57:13 +0000

Brushing the cows is a popular job when visitors are invited to stop by The Gentle Barn on Sundays, from 10 am to 2 pm. That's my friend Danny on the right, me on the left, loving our work.

I never thought I’d be the kind of vegan to bully others into this lifestyle. But when my boyfriend came to L.A. for a visit last month, I couldn’t seem to help myself.

To his credit, Patrick eats mostly vegan when he’s with me. (In fact, he cooks most of the meals.) But that lamb he threw on the grill one night was just too much for me to handle.

“How can you eat that knowing how these animals are treated?” And I wasn’t just talking about baby sheep, but cows, pigs and chickens too.

I still don’t know his answer. As I recall, my question was met with silence.

I’m not sharing this to further guilt Patrick into going vegan — just the opposite, in fact. I’m sharing this to highlight the significance of our visit to The Gentle Barn while he was here.

Patrick and I talk all the time about buying land some day where we can care for rescued animals, so we were really looking forward to our visit to The Gentle Barn, a sanctuary for rescued farm animals in Santa Clarita, California. We went with my friend Danny who also talks about buying land for rescued animals some day.

That's Patrick, my boyfriend. Whatever he's saying, the cow doesn't look convinced.

Aside from the obvious joy of seeing cows, pigs and chickens allowed to just be in their natural state, we had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Laks, the founder of The Gentle Barn. What started as a backyard endeavor back in 1999 has grown to the 6-acre property they have today for more than 120 animals.

When I met Ellie, I’d already spoken to a volunteer who said most everyone who works at The Gentle Barn is vegan or vegetarian. I assumed the same of Ellie but asked anyway. After she confirmed it, she asked if I was vegan too and we got to talking.

Since I hadn’t seen any evidence of it, I asked if The Gentle Barn includes veganism in any of its educational materials or presentations. And that’s when Ellie shared with me a philosophy I once practiced myself.

Pushing the vegan lifestyle on people only pushes them away. But introducing them to food animals — like they do at The Gentle Barn – lets people draw their own conclusions. Once you’ve hugged a cow, you might think twice where that faceless package of beef in the grocery store really comes from.

And that's Patrick prepping a vegan meal for grilling on the firepit he built for the patio. Carnivorous ways aside, he's a keeper.

I’ve been vegan a number of years now, priding myself on setting an example as opposed to preaching it as ”the right thing to do.” Surely seeing me live a happy, healthy vegan lifestyle without the consumption of animals will have some sort of influence on someone, someday. I guess I’ve gotten impatient though. And a little set in my ways. It’s not enough anymore to keep the meat off the wood cutting board and out of the iron skillet. On his visit here, I couldn’t stand Patrick having meat in the kitchen at all. (Though to be fair, I do cook chicken for my animals. However, that’s according to my strict, OCD standards, and I still have a hard time with it.)

Not one to let things go without some sort of resolution, I brought up the meat thing again once Patrick was back home. And that’s when he said something that proves The Gentle Barn’s approach is working:

“Last time I went to buy chicken, I thought about those chickens we met on the farm.”

Yes, he bought the chicken anyway, but the connection is strengthened between his food and the living, breathing, feeling qualities of its source.

"Last time I went to buy chicken, I thought about those chickens we met on the farm." ~Patrick, my sometimes vegan boyfriend

Will I learn to live with it if Patrick never goes vegan? Yes. Will I give up hope? No way, and with good reason. I was 20 years old when I was first exposed to the truth about factory farming. It took 10 years for my actions to follow my conscience.

I’m not holding my breath for Patrick though (a Southern boy set in his own meat-and-potatoes ways), and am fully prepared to take the necessary precautions. While the key to success of some relationships may be separate bathroooms, we’ve already decided the key to ours may be separate kitchens.

The Gentle Barn posts inspiring stories and updates to its Blog, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages. Please check them out and consider supporting this remarkable place.