A Christmas Dinner!

                           Christmas Tree in San Francisco, Ca


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!. This year we ( me and my husband) had a different experience in the Christmas since we were invited for dinner from a family from Guatemala. well I was a bit grump about attending the dinner since I knew that we were the only outsider. But the thing is the person who invited  us to attend his family Christmas dinner was very persuasive. So I don't want to disappoint him and managed to motivate myself to visit his family. the family had a tragedy just three month ago before Christmas. They lost their youngest brother in an accident. That's another reason which motivates me to visit the family since I can at least support them in their terrible time.

The family have four sons and two daughters and their kids and the mom who is seventy-nine year old. Its a lovely family. All my hesitation disappears the moment I steeped in to the house and hugged by the mom. I fit right-in like her own daughter. My bad is I do not understand Spanish and obviously I should not expect mom to know English since she has been visited to her sons from Guatemala for 6 month. but Its seems like I got couple of volunteer translates right away (including kids). Each and every family member talked about the brother they lost. They show us his favorite place in his house, his passion...and almost everything about him they remember the exact time in last Christmas he got home from work. how he was a part of their heart. And now...he is not here.

The only thing after having dinner interests kids most is unwrapping their gifts. Usually they exchange gifts among all cousins. As, they are feeling the heavy atmosphere of the house and also have been noticing their uncle Rafael is crying whom they never saw crying, but still they are bringing the Christmas charm on their face.

Its Christmas! well, the singing, cooking, eating and crying like chorus or a bit like spices of life. I could not stop myself crying. next day morning I was bit down in my usual mood. I forced myself to plan for a visit to local Fry's store for a camera I was thinking to replace or even a visit to Lake Tahoe for New Year Eve.  But nothing seemed like working. Took a deep breadth and thought what is  life anyway? Its about living in the planet or living in the memories of loved one?.

Hope you all have a lovely New Year!

A warm smile!

                  A view from a ranch on mission blvd,  Ca

May be 10 smile (sometime more then that) I got everyday starts from sidewalks and sometime ends with the smile from the neighbors guest. All are strangers but anyway after all its just a smile. I could not remember one of them. I bet no one could.

But once in a while in a blue moon we get a warm smile.from a stranger.And want to remember.
            

Today it was a cloudy day. I was at the toll gate waiting to pay my toll fee. I slides the car window glass down and stretched my hand with five dollar while thinking something else, to the person standing at the tollgate. I stretched my hand again to get my one dollar return back before my eyes concentrate on the road. I noticed a smile on the face of the man while he was returning back my dollar bill.  Yeah a real warm smile which touched  my heart. The man was wearing a blue turban which was around 10 inch high. His long white beard was touching his belly. The only visible thing in his face was his long nose and eyes and a warm smile. I looked at his eyes and returned back another smile with warmth (I hope).

 The bottom line is, we are still getting pure sunshine, pure water (unless until we are making them impure). Our inner self can still recognize the difference between pure and impure. Then why pretend?

Green Gossip!

Gossip! Yes, I mean negative gossip. In some point we all do that. At work, at home, in phone...
We don't even care how much energy and time we are spending through gossiping.

For some folks, gossiping is a daily habit.They usually gossip about their co-worker, family members or neighbors.
Why they gossip?

To show (the entire planet if possible) that the person about whom they are talking (gossiping) is less then them in every aspect of life. Also to give a big picture about themselves.

The sad part is, some folks goes beyond by putting obstacle in the persons path. So, in simple word negative gossip is not a healthy practice for our environment. Its take time, energy and also pollute the positive vibe of the place and home.

Can we stop gossiping? There is no rule like gossiping is prohibited.

Can we make it green? Yes, Absolutely.

How?

When we  gossip (talk), we can talk about our next green project or how someone can help a needy person without their knowledge or at work lunch time we can spend it by volunteering in the nearest pet shelter....so on... by spending same amount of energy and time we spend in negative gossip.
 
Grown up hesitate to appreciate openly if they like something (may be they do not like anything). We analyze everything microscopically. Are not we?
Another green gossip practice is learn to appreciate openly and spread the Eco-friendly message through gossip.

Happy Green Gossiping!

Lipika


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Reduce plastic from your household

Plastic is harmful for everyone and for the Earth. Below there are some tips to reduce plastic from your household.

1- Reduce ballpoint plastic pen-

Keep one pen and pencil in every room where it would be very handy in stead of ten plastic pen in a pen holder.

2- Garbage Can- instead of plastic you can use one of the Cardboard box for dry garbage.

3- Use wood comb Instead of plastic.

4- Keep some canvas bags or cloth bags for grocery and vegetable shopping.

You can make a habit of not to bring even a single plastic or paper bag to your house hold.

5- Instead of plastic Soap Case re-use one of your glass jar or buy non-plastic case.

6- Avoid buying plastic hair clips.

About

Welcome to Corner Home! I hope to inspire you with fresh eco- ideas, information and my thoughts on anything I stumble upon in my everyday life. I am an IT professional trying to live a greener life one small step at a time.
I believe in love and learning.
Please share your comments with me as I love to read your thoughts too. If you have any question feel free to e-mail me at mohapatra74@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting.

Green Chaat!!!

Green Chaat

Chaat is an Indian snack and famous street food in all over India. Different verity of Chaat can be available and typically its a plate of snack made with potato's, fried dough and spices(cumin, chili, coriander powder ..). Each and every mouthful of chaat has surprising test (its test sweet, sour may be hot, crunchy, salty... ) because of its layer with different spices and ingredients.

Green Chaat is my version. I tried the recipe many times. Its healthy, fun to make. The most fun part is you can change the recipe and it can be your version. There is no strict rule. Fun, testy, healthy, quick and easy.. what more we want?.

Now the real part....

What we need:

Mung Bean

1) 1 cup of Sprouted Whole Mung (Green Gram)

3) 1 tsp of your choice of green olive or green mango
4) 1 small cucumber diced

5) Cilantro leaves (can be mint leaves, or basil leaves)

6) 1 tsp onion (thinly slice)
7) 1 tbsp Plain Yogurt
8) 1/2 tsp Chaat Masala or any seasoning you like
9) Salt, Pepper and lime juice for your taste.

*Chaat Masala can be available in any Indian grocery store.

Or

Fry the Cumin seeds and dry Red Chili then grind them together. The end result would be perfect seasoning for chaat and

 its also ideal for using the seasoning in other dishes

Cumin Seeds

<--Ground cumin and chili 

Add all the above ingredients from no. 1 to no. 9 one by one and......

Enjoy!!!

Lets everyone knows your version  of Green Chaat. ( All versions of green chaat recipes are welcome)

Maldives- Underwater Meeting...

... is a warning for all of us. I listened the BBC news on October 13^th about Maldive's president has told his cabinet members for an underwater cabinet meeting later this month. The main propose for this meeting is to show the world about the effect of global worming on low lying countries like Maldive. Maldive is 2 meters above sea level and it's the first country expected to go underwater first because of global warming and climate change.

The rising water level of Indian Ocean will first swallow Maldives. The bottom line, does not matter weather it's the first or last but the result is terrible and created by us. We all knows “percussion is better then cure”.

Maldives is a popular tourist destination. The air traffic would be much crowded and so as CO2. If they propose a rule about the number of flight per year, I hope that would be a small percussion for the Island.

Even though we are all trying to save our planet by contributing personally and also businesses and companies are going green but still it needs more effort and mindfulness.

The Packet

 Recently, I got a free sample from a natural skincare company in my mail box. I was happy for getting the sample but when I opened it I found a pencil slim 2 inch bottle in a safe packing with more then enough paper. The packet they send me is 6 x 4 x 1 inch. The packet is too big for such a small bottle. The recycle icon on the packet says this packet is made with 100% recycled paper. So, again even though we made something out of recycled material, should we be wasteful?

Power of consuming more and having everything, they say its called luxury or comfort. Right? But what is the cost? Maldives is the popular tourist destination for its rare underwater beauty. It is sad that our behavior of over consuming of everything and wastefulness leads us to a dead end road.

Consuming less is another way to prevent global warming.

Please consume less.

The Big Red Tomato

Weekend. Ah......Not really. Buying vegetable for the week, writing, studying........ all included with some extra sleep. Today morning I was on the fruits and vegetable farm where you can pick (u-pick) the vegetables by yourself. I was resting besides a small group of tomato plantation while observing others including my husband. The tomato plants were really big with yellow flower but no tomato had made their appearance yet.  

I heard a voice whispering "The Biig Red  Tomaatooo"

The voice was so crisp and motivating that it made my mind to think about eating big red tomato and also writing this post. I noticed a kid admiring the tomato plant in his way and he is the one who whispered.. the big red tomato.

However, by just watching the tomato "plant" with "flower" he imagines the Big red tomato's in the branch. How wonderful, hopeful, relevant and clear the imagination is?

Now my point is, there are countries where kids are learning how to use weapons instead of learning to read and write. Do they really need to use the weapons....for what propose...for whom? There are people who are programming kids mind in a negative way.

providing a hopeful environment they imagine better far better and I think by giving them the reverse of course,  the imagination would be opposite.

Have a great weekend!

Connection!

I always thought ,why I have to see the big Redwood tree on my way to work which is standing proudly before one block from my office?. The answer I found for myself, I am trying to describe here in this post.

I believe the only answer for it is Connection. And connection can be in any form. Its depends on “how we connect”,”what is it we connect to”. Please correct me if I am wrong. But its the basic need in life. In our subconscious mind we all knows this. But we never thought about it deeply.

Strawberry Farm on Hwy 84 (california)

Last week I saw a small bird through my window. The next day my eyes were searching for that bird. The very moment I discovered the bird, I felt relieved. Again next day same thing happened. Then I hanged a Bird Feeder in front of my windows. That bird came with bunch of birds. And all help themselves by eating the grains from the bird feeder. Again I felt more satisfied and relaxed.

I understood very clearly that I am now connected with that bird . What is a connection actually. When I searched answer from my immature philosophical mind I found this:

Connection is a bridge you build slowly with one subject or object without their knowledge and you feel satisfied.

People often connects to a city, their Hometown, can be a place holds their childhood memories, a tree in their backyard, a Coffee shop, mom's best apple pie may be Jiaozi may be curry. The moment they connect, they want to preserve it.

If we connect (in a positive way) with everything around us, in other word, I can say more sensitive towards our surroundings, I hope the world will be a better and safe place for generations to come.

Cheer!

Lipika

Organic toys a view!

The very moment I stepped in to the Junior Museum & Zoo, where they introduce alternative energy in to Kids toys in Palo Alto, California, my eyes were wide OPEN.

I could not believe how brilliant the Idea and the place is.

The place is around 1000 squire feet indoor setting. They made small green city with miniature houses and gardens. The city setting has connected with bicycle wheels with pedals. When kids were paddling the whole city, brighten up with light and small water fountains.

Green CityI noticed there were many organic playing devices for children. Kids were happy like any thing. I hope that one day we all have the houses with big wheel out side, for all of our energy need. I noticed a wall with color full paper note. What would been written on the note? Before asking question to my self, I found my self in front of the wall. I amazed by reading those small notes written by kids playing there. They had written all short of energy saving ideas. The plan and work they are doing to make the planet greener.

Kids from different ethnicity were so busy with discovering the alternative possibilities of their toys, forgetting their Video games and TV at home .The only expression in their face, I can read is” DO NOT DISTURB ME”

However, while I was trying to catch the warmth and vibe of the place by written words, unbelievable one small girl with little pink dress surprised me by asking” Can you read this book for me?” I replied,” This is my pleasure”. Now I am no more a stranger for her because I am belongs to HER GREEN PLANET.

Happy reading.

Friends of Earth!

Crackling noise of breaking a coke can make my eyes turn around the direction of the noise source. I was in the gas station putting fuel in my car. I found one old lady lost herself inside of a garbage container, searching for Aluminum cans and bottles,which are not welcome in our earth surface anymore. We (all of us right?)  have raise our voice for Global worming already. But again who are throwing those harmful plastics and metals (not me..not me too..then who?).

I wanted to show my admiration to the old lady for her work. After all she is the one who is collecting them and contributing towards making the Earth a safe place or in other word adding some more years to our Earth Life for future use. By the time I found myself in front of her,she was still busy in her work. Her white hair and wrinkled skin was quietly telling me her years of experience of recycling material from outside garbage, which is dangerous too.

I politely admire her by saying , Madam-you are doing a great job. She threw at me a blank look and did not say anything. It seems like she did not understand what I just said or she do not care. I said her again(this time I am conscious about to convey my feelings towards her) -"This is a good thing that you are recycling the cans and plastics". She simply replayed me back"I am getting money by selling them".
Now I could not stop myself from asking her again how much money she is making from one container?.
Its seems like she wanted to give me some of her real information,”she said more then Five Dollar from one garbage container”. Great! I said. But do you know you are a true friend of our planet earth?.

I don't know whether she took my appreciation for her or not but I do not like to disturb her any more. We can find these earth friendly people all most every Country. I simply admiring them by saying Thank you.

Feel free to write comments in this blog,If you know any one who is knowingly or unknowingly contributing to make the Earth live longer.

Handle with care!

Curly and wavy coils of root finding their way to breath in the mud slide of Lake Chabot reservation park, Hayward California. The deep reserved jungle with a lake is perfect mach for people who want to appreciate the PLANET GREEN. The curvy road in between the tall(determine to touch the sky) trees, welcome its guest with packages of surprise in its every corner. The surprise can be anything from a heavenly lake view to a mud slid where watching steps is important.   A view from Lake Chabot,Hayward(California)This is one of the gifts from our Earth to enjoy. The place is another canvas for earth, to show its creativity which beyond the imagination. Quiet just naked quiet. But sometime hearing the ducks communication and flurries of Bay leaves crunched underfoot like cornflakes is pleasant like..like seeing your pet after the whole day of work. The air field with the smell of dry bay leaves and eucalyptus.   Absent of plastic water bottles, garbage of any kind was an indication of a masterpiece is in a good hand.
Our whole planet supposed to be like the above description. I can say it was. Now what is wrong? We asked question like this before so many times, and love to blame others on this topic. In every family, we have some one to blame in the neighbor. For example-“their kids are throwing plastics in the neighborhood”. My Point is weather it is you or yours or theirs but the Earth has enough to hold. Now global worming is one of its indication of saying “you guys are misusing me”.


We are writing in our FedEx package “Glass-handle with care”. What about the package that is holding us? Should not we handle the Earth (package) with care?Our scientist has been searching our neighbors in entire Milky Way.
They are not able to find one like ours yet.


In my view, I believe Mars was like earth and the current Mars is a dead red planet. We can read all about MARS here

Our Earth has plenty of what we ‘need’, but it cannot support all our ‘wants’. What we want depends on us. In my view, we are slowly losing the resources to fulfill our basic needs due to the craving to fulfill our wants.

I hope we can recover our Earth one day if we can concentrate with our job of handling the earth with care.

We can all engage in the practical discussion here,about how to handle the Earth with care. Any suggestion welcome.


“All Rights Reserved @ Lipika Mohapatra-2010”