Phagwa without water

So I decided to get the "holi" experience for the first time.  I have always been fascinated by the burst of colour when seeing Holi celebrations in India.  In Trinidad, we don't have spring, but phagwa has traditionally been celebrated by the descendants of East Indian immigrants.  It consists of mixing the coloured powder with water and spraying gleefully to all who dare come near the celebrations.  So what is phagwa doing on this blog?  It became a topic of interest due to the prolonged water problems we have been experiencing.  There have actually been calls to spray the powder without water in an effort to minimise water use.  In my limited (okay one) experiance, I must say there seemed to be a 50% use of powder only.  I don't know how this compares to previous years but it does prove that some people are taking heed.  Of course, there was no notice about how to remove all the colour from your hair and clothes without water!

Rain Garden

Lately I have been thinking about stormwater run off. Which makes no sense as we have had NO rain for a long time. Indeed my drain looks barren and is now accumulating dirt, garbage etc (note to self - get drain cleaned). Anyway I encountered a great concept known as a rain garden. "A rain garden is a garden which takes advantage of rainfall and stormwater runoff in its design and plant selection. Usually, it is a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus, that are found in stormwater runoff. rain gardens are sited ideally close to the source of the runoff and serve to slow the stormwater as it travels downhill, giving the stormwater more time to infiltrate and less opportunity to gain momentum and erosive power." I think this is a great concept but making it a reality in a tropical climate might be a challenge. However I stand undaunted and have challenged my ecologist friend to come up with the right species that would work for the small area around my drain. I think it is workable and I plan to make this my 2010 project. With the right advice and hopefully not too much money I can activate my own "rain garden". Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime I battle the drought and the water company. So far I have refused to buy a tank. Let's see how long I last!

Mindful Eating

As someone who has been a yoga practitioner for a long time, one of the lessons I have been grappling with is mindfulness. How do I translate this to mindful eating? One of the major changes I have made is eating more local food. I have learnt to love going to the market and seeing what's in season, what's fresh. Meals are now planned based on what is available, not whatever tickles my fancy. And when eating, be mindful. Enjoy every mouthful. Eat just enough, be guided by your senses. If it does not look right or smell right, it probably is not right. Cook more, buy out less. Do not waste food. Mix-and-match. Buy a great, plate. Make sure it is small, small plates make you eat less (try it, it really works!). Get great, heavy cutlery. Have different crockery for different meals. Hey, why don't you have special Sunday cutlery and crockery?

And finally, breakfast is the most important meal. During the week, we tend to rush right past it. I am guilty of this as well. But make up for this during the weekend. Have fresh fruit, omelettes with fresh vegetables, home made bread, organic coffee. Bon Appetit!

Gently Used

So lately I have been toying and deliberating over purses/handbags etc. I do love my leather handbags but the act of tanning is so polluting (let's not even talk about the animals). Then there are those plastic ones (polyurethane) which try to look like leather but fail, and I just hate them. So what's a girl to do? Several options. How about a cloth bag? They can be quite attractive, funky and have a bohemian-hippie vibe. I own quite a few in a variety of colours and I find them quite exciting. But what about you corporate gals out there? I know you're thinking that you need a structured leather bag in a sane colour. So have you considered vintage? I went to a "gently used" shop in Manhattan New York this week and was pleasantly surprised by what was on offer. The biggest coup for me though was a pale pink Italian leather bag that was in the "Kelly" style. For you fashionistas out there, that style was named after the actress Grace Kelly and is a much sought after Hermes bag. So now I have a great leather bag, classic style and no-guilt. Try it. You may consider on-line sources. Or what about a purse swap? Most of tire of our leather bags long before their useful lives and then just keep them in storage. Think about it

Bucket Parade

We in the Caribbean are accustomed to the occasional "shower" with a bucket. It is a rite of passage as much as eating mangoes by peeling the skin with our teeth. Indeed, even with our multiple water-tanks perforating our backyards these days, I am sure we have a bucket tucked away somewhere for the express purpose of bathing. An interesting conversation with an American friend of mine today prompted my latest discussion. Despite our new-found extravagant ways, we inherently know many ways of conserving water. Now that the drought season is upon us, we take out our buckets, start filling up and count the number of days since we last washed our hair. No shame. My bucket is waiting for me

Natural Detergents

We have been suffering some serious water shortages and it can only get worse as the dry season wears on. There has been a lot of discussion about water conservation etc, which is the same old re-hash we get every season so I decided to take a different spin on this topic. Unless we all decide to go all caveman, it is very important that we continue doing our daily activities. One of these is laundry. Now, I have always been a strong advocate of hand washing. Not only from a water conservation point of view but because a lot of my clothes just cannot be washed in a machine without some form of damage. I also wear a wide variety of colours which makes it impossible to ever get a full load at the end of the week. I have been using soapnuts for my hand washing and so far I can tell you that it certainly uses a lot less water than any other detergents. Soap Nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes. I use them for most of my hand washing and so far nobody's complaining. Of course you can use other detergents that do not contain harmful chemicals but I don't know if they use less water and they are certainly a lot more expensive. It hurts me everytime I buy these detergents to know that I can pay up to five times for these detergents vs the usual chemical laden ones that are commonly used. But that is the price that I am willing to pay to ensure that I don't add to the burden of wastewater treatment in this country.