If You Need It Try Making It:)

Dear Readers;

  My kids will tell you, that when they were growing up, they never knew what they would find me "brewing" up in the kitchen when they came home from school. Some weeks it would be make-up, made from dried beet powder or herbal cigarettes to treat my husbands bronchitis.(Hey...It worked!) other times I would be sewing up clothing for them. Sometimes I let my artistic creativity run a little to wild. I remember just before a school Halloween party my seven year old son was having trouble keeping his rubber devil horns stuck to his forehead. The horns had little suction cups but only remained "stuck" for 1 or 2 minutes at best. He had to get back to school and he was in a hurry ...so I got my hot glue gun and placed a dollop of glue on each suction cup ...waved them around...blew on them a couple times  and then told him to come over so that I could stick them onto his forehead. He always trusted me with his very life but this time he took one incredulous look at me...the rubber horns full of hot glue,the front door and  ...yelled..."Are you crazy????" and proceeded to run away.(Didn't see him for hours....)  

  I admit  sometimes I do go to far:)

 We needed a picture to cover a parking meter in front of our soap booth at the Farmers Market. I only had about an hour to come up with something colorful.

  I used my fingers instead of a paintbrush for this woman in a bathtub picture  and I was going to make her prettier but then I had just finished reading how the French call woman who may not be classically pretty but who are very chic...Jolie Laide or Belle Laide. I decided to keep her. I've changed my mind on displaying her at my booth though....I'm going to paint a Goddess instead. Now La Belle Laide is decorating our downstairs bathroom. She is about 32" by 24" rendered in acrylic paint.(My favorite medium...so easy to clean-up)

I knew that I would find a home for those cloth flowers that I upcycled out of my old sweaters from a few days back. This is what I did with the white ones. The solid brass lamp was bought for $4 at a Thrift store. I cut the top part of the sleeve and just slipped that over the top of the lamp shade to give it some texture and I think that it adds a little cosy feeling to winter decor. Have a nice day.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

150 Mile Wardrobe Video

Dear Readers;

I love this video...it really jives with me. I don't think that we can do this overnight but this is a direction that we are going. Right now we are upcycling clothing or trying to buy anything that we need second hand. I just finished making a bunch of angora wool flowers from a sweater that was old and itchy.I don't know what I'm going to do with them just yet but I'm sure that we will find the perfect place for them. We are also looking around to see what our local resources are to use them to make a little money. I was trying to figure out how to make soap dishes because when we are selling soap customers often ask if we also have a soap dish. I figured that we could just use the clam shells that we find on the beach.

 We are also trying to support our local crafters as much as possible. For instance if I need jam then I will buy it from my neighbor who makes it instead of from the local Super market.Oooooo...that reminds me of this great pair of hand knit mohair socks that I have my eye on:)

Last year I was successful in growing flax for linen. This year we had our 3 alpacas  sheared. Unfortunately we did not have the $700 dollars that it was going to cost for our local mill to transform the bags of fiber into skeins of wool. Instead I sold it to the mill and put that money back into developing the fledgling soap making business. Perhaps next year we will either be able to process the fiber ourselves or have the money to have it done.

  I would love to see us support one another. If I'm making soap and you are making something that we require..then we can trade. Let's keep making things and becoming free.

Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Go Puja at Govindas Farm(shortie video)

Dear Readers;

Yesterday we celebrated Govardhan Puja. Usually we make a hill of wonderful sweets...rice dahl,halava,puris,pakoras,laddus and subjis but seeing that there was only the two of us on the farm and we have so much work to do ....we made huge chapatis slathered in molasses for our cows. If the cows are happy...then all is auspicious.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal