To Many Books!

Dear Reader;

 I've always had a love affair with books. Strangely this love was not encouraged in my youth. I grew up in a very small hamlet and the only library that I ever saw was at school. I did check out books but none of them grabbed my soul...they all just kind of fell flat. It wasn't until I was  fourteen years old that I bought my first two books with my own money. One was Autobiography Of A Yogi and the other one was of a Commune. I don't remember the title but what I do remember was how pissed off my foster mother was after she had flipped through a few pages! "These people are nothing but a bunch of animals!" she said as she threw the book down in front of me. I didn't care for her opinion or anyone else s for that matter because I wanted to live in a commune...just like that!

 After that I was seldom without a book or two in my hand. I wanted to know about life...a richer life...a spiritual world...and books were the doorway to those worlds for me. I began to collect hundreds of books. Those books moved around with me everywhere and during my married life we have moved over 18 times!

 Something changed for me three years ago.....I stopped trying to "fix" myself. I decided that I was alright ...just the way I was. I no longer had to surround myself with books to make me look intelligent. I wanted to share the knowledge ....so I donated most of my library to the first English Library in Panama. I truly enjoyed seeing the guys' face light up when he looked at my collection. His mother had passed away and had also donated her extensive library so between the two of us...he was on his way to a great start.

 I just removed another twelve books that I no longer need from my small library and my goal is to get down to perhaps twenty five books. I do have the condensed Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhagavad Gita, Krsna Book and now I require a new set of..original Srimad Bhagavatams.

Until next time.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Simplify The Kitchen

Dear Reader;

 I believe that I'm starting to get a hang of  simplifying my life. This week I decided that I would not do any grocery shopping until  the produce in the fridge was used. Most of my married life I've had a fridge full of anonymous bottles and covered bowls full of left-overs. I don't like to eat left overs! I find that the food has lost it's nutrition and basically useless but I felt guilty about throwing it out so I just left it in the fridge to mold away from sometimes weeks!

 Another bad habit that I have been working on is to only cook enough for that very day. I have to understand that all of my children are gone from home and they won't be here for breakfast,lunch of supper....no matter how much food I cook. With those ideas firmly in place I'm now cooking very little and only for two. My fridge is now clean and free of left-overs! If I do happen to have extras then I just feed it to the cows. I'm sure they call me..."The Green Bucket Lady" because when they see that bucket they all come running.

  I only have what I actually use on my kitchen shelves and that makes it so much easier to keep clean. If I have any duplicates...such as Natural sugar then I just store those in the pantry. Bulk items such as rice and flour are stored in an old freezer. The freezer isn't plugged in...we just use it to keep the mice away. These old houses have hundreds of holes where mice can find their way in...but...we are slowly finding those holes and blocking them...so we are finding fewer mice.

 What I'm seeing is that I'm always looking for ways to simplify the task at hand...for instance...while I was waiting for my husband to buy dry wall for the upstairs bathroom I took all the contents out of my bag and started consolidating the items. I don't need 4 pens when one black one will do. I don't require two notepads when my Daytimer has everything that I need. I only require my red lip pencil and Rice paper skin blotters...everything else can be left at home. My one item that I won't leave home without is my Swiss Army knife!

 See...it has everything but the kitchen sink:)
I've got to get to the library before it closes. Until next time.

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Lost Camera

Dear Reader;

 Simplifying my life has become a joy. Every day I'm starting to examine my daily activities more closely and I'm always asking myself,"How can I made this easier....more streamlined...more compact...fewer steps?"

 My homes have always been quite simple but now I feel the urge to let even more things go and only live with what I truly value...yet not be crazy attached to. When I say those words in my mind I am seeing and hearing the heartbroken cries of a permaculture teacher who had stayed with us for a few weeks while we were living in Panama. She was really cool...very nice..knowledgeable about the permaculture course that she was giving and excellent with her students. One morning I heard this terrible crying coming from her upstairs bedroom so I rushed to see what had happened. She was sobbing hysterically and during lulls of her outburst ...she told me that she just found out that her digital camera had been stolen out of her bag..probably when she got out of the water taxi. I sympathized at the loss...gave her a hot cup of tea but that did not help. She cried...and cried...and cried...for the entire day! Frankly after about an hour I just wanted to smack her......and shout...."IT'S A CAMERA FOR GODS SAKE....SO SHUT THE HELL UP!!!"

 Instead I just waited it out and she was fine by the next day. If I remember correctly  the only time that I was truly upset about losing something was when I asked my then 13 year old daughter to trim my hair...just cut off an inch or so from the bottom. I did trust her judgement because she was good at makeup..hair...and fashion. Instead of starting with a little snip..she cut a chunk of hair off around ear level! Of course she had to finish the job and when I went to tie my hair up...it was to short! You have to understand that my hair is super fine and if it gets into my face it tickles and is just plain annoying plus I just had a baby...so I will blame it all on those crazy..unpredictable female hormones. Of course I started to cry and then my husband came in to see what was going on and scolded her for the bad haircut....then she cried....:) Drama...drama..drama...

  Anyhow ...where was I? Oh yes....so this week I was trying to solve the problem of a cold bathroom floor. This was the journey....cold floor...move rug from front because not using front door in winter....put rug in bathroom....good...but buckets of water are filled in the bathroom laundry tub three times a day for the cows....hay and straw all over the rug....sweep rug...vacuum rug...still dirty looking....alright move wooden floor mat to bathroom from shower but then feet are still cold....so buy bathroom slippers....hate bathroom slippers... wood chips and hay get stuck all over them....buy another pair of slippers...hate slippers...they shlop...shlop...around the house....finally I put my favorite velvet outdoor flats on and just wear them everywhere! Now not only do I love my indoor shoes but I also did away with the bathroom mat and two pairs of slippers. I know that the energy should not be transferred from the bathroom but at this point ...I don't care.

 The reason all this minimizing stuff is important is to make room for discovering how you really want to spend your time. I discovered that I require a space to put all of my books and art supplies. I've now spent a few days getting my writing/art/entertainment studio together. I would like to spend more time writing and also adding a more personal touch to this blog by incorporating my art.

 Just try it...look around right now and get rid of those papers....or books..or magazines that you no longer use. It feels great to start simplifying your life. Simplifying isn't actually a destination but a way of life.

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Millions of Diamonds

Dear Reader;

 Today we are digging ourselves out of the snow!

 The most amazing sight to see when that sun finally shone was that it looked as though our entire world had been blanketed by millions of sparking diamonds. That sight was the silver lining in an other wise very difficult two days.

 Here are some pictures where you can see the height of some of the snow drifts. Sticking with our minimalist lifestyle G parked the truck as close the road as possible so that the digging out would be much simpler. We also dug out just enough snow for a narrow pathway to the house from the truck.  We  learnt that it is better to remove the snow as quickly as possible after the snowfall while it is still light and fluffy.

 G spent the past few days working on plumbing the upstairs bathroom and I have been analyzing and removing all the things around the house that are not being used on a daily basis. Stripping the house down to get to the essence. Every item that I remove I feel so much lighter. I even found $40 in a pocket of a shirt.

 That reminds me of a story that my friend told me. Michelle told me how annoyed she would get when her twin sister would regularly find forgotten money in a purse,trouser or jacket pocket. Her sister would always be so pleased at this unexpected surprise so feeling a little envious Michelle would purposely hide money in various clothing pockets. The plan always failed because she would remember exactly where she had hidden it.

 I tend to be a little bit like her sister...kind of scatty about money. Good thing that I have it but .."Oh..well!" if I don't. I swear if it wasn't for my husband who takes such good care of me I would simply be wafting around the planet like a dandelion puff.

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

All women are angels ..if you break our wings...we fly on broomsticks...we're flexible like that!

Blizzard 2013 (Video)

Dear Reader;

 Wow....it's is wild out there! Winds...snow....snowdrifts....makes you feel..alive!

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Hunkering Down and Making Kajal

Dear Reader;

 Canada is not called a deep freezer for nothing. This past week has been cold...windy but the sun still comes to make the misery just a little bit more tolerable. Today it is still very cold but sunny. We have had a warning to expect a terrible blizzard and perhaps 2 feet of snow!!! So in preparation Gaura Nitai is making sure that we have a large stock of wood and we have done our grocery shopping so we are prepared. My only fear is if the electricity goes off then getting water to the herd will be difficult.

 I grew up in a small village in Saskachewan,Canada and I remember that in the winter time on Saturday my foster mother would get large blocks of snow and melt them in a large tub on the woodstove. When the water was hot then she would give me my sponge bath by the stove. Scrub...scrub...scrub....rinse...rinse...baby power...flannel pyjamas...hot water bottle in my bed and zzzzzzz.

 That is my plan if the power goes off to melt snow on the stove and carry it to the cows.

 What I did do yesterday to continue to simplify my lifestyle was make my own kajal....eye makeup. I took a small 4" by 4" cotton cloth...rolled it up and then soaked it in ghee...put it in a frying pan...lit it up and then placed a wok over the flame so that the soot could collect. When the flame died down I simply mixed a 1/4 teaspoon of ghee with the soot and placed it into a small metal container. I would have liked to add a pinch of edible camphor to the kajal but I simply can't find any around here. The camphor helps to cool the eyes and the kajal not only looks beautiful but it is very healthy for the eyes.

 Stay warm:)
Hare Krsna
Kokum Lal

Simple Living.... (also means to know how to defend)

Dear Readers;

 I have decided that on this path of simplifying and minimizing I am spending to much time on the computer. Although it looks like a quick write up and short video ..it often takes  up to 2 hours and a lot of thought. Therefore I have decided to post a new article only once or twice a week.

 Most of us would like to think that we live in a warm and fuzzy world but the fact is ...we don't. In my experience it is vitally important to know how to defend yourself against attacks of all types. Those attacks may come in either a verbal or physical nature. It is best to be prepared.

 In my lifetime I have personally been physically attacked on more than one occasional and because I know a little bit of self-defense....the attacker had to be hospitalized. I may share more stories about that in the future but today I will post a video on how to escape a forward choke hold. The front choke hold is often a man's favorite hold because he can hold you by the neck with one hand while he rapes you.
 Practice makes perfect ladies and gents.

Empower yourselves.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

How Small Is Just Right?

Dear Reader;

 It was bread day Friday and all went well. The monks have their breakfast bread for tomorrow morning and we have ours for the next week.

The weather has been so brutally cold that we have had to close 6 rooms of the house. We moved into the room just above the kitchen stove and we are warm and cosy. Although I love lots of room to dance in I don't like lots of stuff to fill it up with. So my question is how much room is just enough?

 I came across these Youtube videos on small apartments and thought that I would share with you...if you haven't already seen them. Here are two of many.

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal