The Springwood Inn, Anniston Alabama

I recently attended my niece’s wedding in Anniston Alabama. We normally take our 5th wheel camper and would stay at a nearby campground but this time we opted to stay at a local Bed & Breakfast more as a treat than anything since it has been an extremely long time going anywhere without RVing. One of the reasons that we camp is because I have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities). In our camper I can bring all of my fragrance free soaps and cleaners and we bring our two dogs too. It’s like home away from home.

That being said, before I actually made the B&B reservation, I called to acquire about their habits. I asked if they burned many fragranced candles or if they used air fresheners or fragranced plug-ins. I told the Inn keeper that even my clothes detergent was fragrance free. She assured me that she didn’t use fragrance and that the date we needed to book was the day after they were to return from their own vacation. I felt very comfortable booking a room for the night as she put me at ease.

We were a little early arriving so we decided to get our car washed. (Let me interject that this blogpost really is about my wonderful stay at the Inn, but before I get to that, the first part will concern MCS). We found a large drive-thru carwash that looked popular and there was a helpful attendant who offered to guide us. She offered us one of those tree-shaped air fresheners of which I emphatically declined of course! My husband decided to pay for the higher price wash and give my car ‘the works’. One thing I normally do is turn off my heat/air while driving through, but this time I forgot. By the time we finished our wash the chemical smells had already got into the car. The SECOND we were out I rolled down the windows to air it out. Chemicals are toxic. For me personally, I get nauseas, sometimes disoriented and confused, and later a killer migraine that normally lasts for two or three days. So I avoid fragrance as much as possible.

The photos I took at the Inn are in the order I started taking them. Our Inn keeper’s names are Bob and Carolyn Orchid. Mrs. Orchid showed us all around the Inn after we entered. The Orchid’s were most personable, kind, and friendly and their home most inviting. I’m a huge lover of the Lowcountry and discovered they they had moved to Alabama from the Lowcountry’s Daufuskie Island just ten years prior! Imagine my delight to see they had painted their porch ceilings Haunt Blue!

We spent the afternoon before the evening’s wedding just relaxing and settling in. Well deserved after traveling through the dreaded Atlanta Georgia traffic! I’m currently looking at future alternative routes as my nerves can’t take it…even though my husband drove. I took a little time to stroll around the Inn and grounds feeling as though I stepped back in time, feeling a bit like Scarlet O’Hara! Breathing in the South!

The history of the location of the Inn is most interesting. Built in 1882, but at that time it was in a different location. In 1967 they actually MOVED the house to where it is now because the Anniston City wanted the land where it previously sat to be used for it’s school. My sister-in-law who grew up in Anniston and my brother who is also familiar with Anniston said that they’d never heard of the Inn. I think my brother was skeptical of it being a legitimate place or perhaps he thought it might not be the caliper it should be, so he asked me for the address. Finding the address, I decided to keep it to myself, because he would have laughed me to scorn had I told him the address was 1301 Booger Hollow Lane!! AND that we were the only guests! LOL! So I opted to send him the link to their website. Even now, the short time I spent there makes me feel like it was a dream! Or feeling like ‘Was I really there?’ Or like, if I returned the home would not be there, like a scene you’d find in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I regret not getting a photo of my breakfast before we left. They went all out! Orange juice, grapefruit, blueberries, eggs, asparagus, potatoes, tomatoes and to top it off a buttery cinnamon roll! I’m a Vegetarian and was told that although my husband’s potatoes were cooked with bacon fat, mine were not. Now how thoughtful is that?! The Orchid’s both gave me a big hug as we left topping off an already beautiful and perfect stay, making me feel like family.

Now here’s the photos to bring to life what I’ve written:

Choose A Kind Spring

I learned that I can live without eating meat. Without killing, without harming. I’ve been a Vegetarian since the summer of 2000. I encourage people to at least try not eating as much meat or try one day a week without meat.

Happy Spring 2021!

Are You An Animal Lover?

I don’t eat any animal for the same reason that I don’t eat my dog. Here’s a quote from Jewish Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer: “To the animals, all people are Nazis. To the animals, life is an eternal Holocaust.”

Nine Months

It’s been nine months since the last time I wrote on my blogsite. Nine months….hmmm…sounds like the right time to give ‘birth’ to something a bit different. But for all the same reasons that I began the blog in the first place.

Animal advocacy really takes guts. A strong gut at times. I’m not one of those kinds of people. I have the big heart but I haven’t the stomach to watch videos of hurting animals. If you’re someone who has the heart AND the guts to see tortured souls and still fight for those precious animals, then you’re extra special. I appreciate you for all that you do, whether you’re an organization or an ordinary person. For the reason mentioned above, I’d like to take my blog to a new place. It’ll still be all about animal advocacy, but MY angle needs to be different. More animal-friendly recipes and rescue stories. Something that shows hope and progress for factory farm animals. If you’re a person who wants to help farm animals, there are many different ways. First, of course, is to go vegetarian or vegan. The animal friendliest is vegan. As far as advocacy, do your homework and find the way that fits you best. You know what you can and can’t handle more than anyone else. Do what feels right.

Thanks for sticking with me! I hope my future blogs will be a blessing to you, to others, and to our farm animal friends…

kind food, kind you

Consume Not

We have two choices: to care for beings or consume them. Consider showing them kindness. Animals as well as people just want to be loved. Try a vegetarian or vegan diet. Even reducing meat eating will save animals by reducing their production/slaughter. They’re precious!

So You Like The Taste Of Meat

So you like the taste of meat eh? Most people do. As a matter of fact there’s more Vegetarians and Vegans who would admit to that as well! So WHY did former meat eaters stop eating meat? Well, most people who stop eating meat do so either for their health or because they love animals or both. I would imagine that the majority of people who eat meat would rather an animal NOT have to be killed in order to do so. Yes, that package of meat was an animal who was killed. Most people LOVE animals. Especially kids. But kids eat what is placed before them. They have little to no choice. Their choice is what their parent’s choose. So, do you like the taste of meat, but wish there was another way, a better way? There is. Here are some things to ask yourself:

Can I not eat as much meat as I do?

Can I try one day a week to explore Vegetarian eating?

Can I try to mix meat eating WITH Vegetarian/Vegan options as a way to cut back on meat?

In this day and age of technology there must be all kinds of support groups for people trying to cut back on meat eating and explore other ways. Why not join one!? In the long run you’ll be healthier and so will the innocent animals. The less people buy meat the less they will breed animals for people to buy/eat. Yes, believe it or not, you CAN make a difference! Try…

And That’s Why

And that’s why I don’t eat them. Vegetarians and Vegans live without eating them. We took hens out of cages, now it’s time to focus on cows. Let’s put hell out of business. Raise a ruckus, eat beans not beings. 💔

I Used To

Try

Try a kind diet. Try Vegetarian or Vegan. Being kind to animals is more than not abusing them, it’s not eating them. To eat them they must be killed. Try a kinder diet.