Archive for January, 2009
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
An Apple Juice A Day Keeps Alzheimer’s Away
(Last night I went to a birthday party and talked to Sanat Kumar for a while and promised to mention him in my blog so here it is. ) 
Last week I talked about why drinking soda’s is not so good. If someone is trying to give up sodas but still wants a sweet drink, […]
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Friday, January 30th, 2009
Old Age Has Benefits
Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop. We were only in there for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up […]
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Friday, January 30th, 2009
The Stepping Stones to Real Cow Protection (Part 2)
The Stepping Stones to Real Cow ProtectionSeparating the Rhetoric from the RealityAn Interview with Tapahpunjah Dasa of The Small Farm Training Centeras reported by Bhakta Chris FiciQ: What about privatization of the food supply? Why can’t householde…
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Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Speed Bumps in Life’s Journey
On January 13th about 6:30 PM, Lakshmi was walking over to her house after working at her computer doing some ISCOWP paper work. She was only about 100 yards from our house when she slipped on some ice and fell, breaking her wrist. Rudra, our farm dog, kept pulling her in the direction of our house as she was sobbing and in great pain. I still was not able to drive due to some medical difficulties you read about in previous updates, so I called the neighbor and he took Lakshmi and my wife Chayadevi to the ER at the hospital in Moundsville, about 10 miles away.
Not only were we concerned about the wrist, but Lakshmi was just going into her 5th month of pregnancy so we were worried about the baby.
The wrist was x-rayed and indeed it was broken. The doctor monitored the heart beat of the baby and the baby was alright. They didn’t return home until almost midnight.
Two days later Lakshmi was scheduled for a cast to be put on the broken wrist. Again my wife and Lakshmi were driven to the hospital only to find out that it is a very bad break and that she would need an operation to properly set the broken bone. The operation was set for the next day.
Because of Lakshmi being pregnant it was deemed too dangerous for her to receive general anesthesia as it would adversely affect the baby. The 2 hour operation was done with a local anesthesia and screws were set in her wrist and arm with metal rods holding the bones together above her arm….quite a site to see.
There is no cast, just a gauze dressing which is changed daily and her arm cleaned with Hydrogen Peroxide. Painful and no fun at all for Lakshmi. She is a tough young lady and toughing her way through everything.
Krsna Rupa comes everyday to cook for Lakshmi and do some cleaning for her. Thank you Krsna Rupa. Gintas is driving Lakshmi and myself to our Drs appointments and helps with some errands in town. Thank you Gintas. Chaitanya Bhagavat was driving us around and helping in the barn until he had a hernia operation. Thank you Chaitanya and we pray you recover well.
Laksmi will be out of commission for the next 6 to 8 weeks as that is when the hardware is scheduled to be removed. It is on the right arm and wrist. After that she will still not be able to do as she has before for awhile.
For many years Lakshmi has done our data base, monthly letter update, monthly gift preparation and packaging. Part of her service was to notify donors about their total yearly donations for tax purposes. Needless to say we are running behind on everything in the office. So we humbly ask that you be patient with us and we will get the imformation to you as soon as possible…….hopefully within the next week. Thank you very much.
So, Chayadevi is now taken care of the feed out for the cows and making sure the water troughs are de-iced. Ray, a local friend, comes up every other day to help with the cows as well. Chaydevi is still helping me as well as playing nurse to Lakshmi and trying to keep up with ISCOWP office work. She is definitely going full steam ahead.
I have been seeing an acupuncturist. Slowly but surely the pain in my leg is diminishing. This week I have been able to take short walks around the house without too much pain. Each day seems to be getting better and better, and I am actually doing a little bit around the house to help Chayadevi.
Today I actually drove from our house over to Lakshmi’s house and went into the little barn and saw the Brahmans for the 1st time in 2 months. Needless to say I was very excited. The babies were very glad to see me and started licking my hands and face.
The Acupuncturist feels that by mid March I will be able to do some work in the garden department. I have an appointment with the heart Dr. on February 3rd, so no new news on the heart now.
We would like to thank all of you for your kind words, letters, and prayers during these speed bumps in life’s journey. We couldn’t take care of the cows without your support on all levels
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Balabhadra das
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Winter Wonderland
This is one of those days I almost wish I had a really good quality camera because it is gorgeous outside, Krishna working as an artist has really done some stunning work.
Of course, one has to rise beyond the bad roads and power outages. Our power went out after Vidya had heard a report that […]
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Thursday, January 29th, 2009
All about MISCOWP
Vedic Village is an 80-acre educational farm community and community-supported-agriculture (CSA) farm located in Whitmore Lake, Michigan. Owned and operated by the Michigan Society for Cow Protection (MISCOWP), we are a non-profit charitable organizati…
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
MISCOWP is alive!
Dear Friends, 27 January 2009 We are writing to ask you to help us establish our first Krishna-conscious farm in Michigan. With great pleasure, we wish to inform…
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Compassionate Reflections #5
Inspired by my reading of “Vaisnava Compassion” by HH Satsvarupa Maharaja”If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”-Jesus Chr…
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
We Live In Illusion
Regular readers will know I am quite illusioned, ergo I like optical illusions and have a whole category dedicated to them. Here is one that is quite literally an “optical illusion”.
Of course the biggest illusion is that the material world is the only reality. To get beyond that we need to find a teacher […]
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Trails & TroublesWe began our journey from San Jose, bidding a fond farewell to our friends.Our friend and God-brother, Gauranga Kishore is an inspirational force in presenting Krsna Consciousness to the thoughtful and educated people at Stanford Unive…
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
“An Afternoon at the Beach” by Edgar Bowers
I’ll go among the dead to see my friend.
The place I leave is beautiful: the sea
Repeats the winds’ far swell in its long sound,
And, there beside it, houses solemnly
Shine with the modest courage of the land,
While swimmers try the verge of what they see.
I cannot go, although I should pretend
Some final self whose phantom eye […]
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
Mr. Handsome Moo-cow Coming To New Vrindaban
My wife informs me that yesterday was the Chinese New Year, the beginning of the Year of the Ox. We both happen to be ox in Chinese astrology so this is supposed to be our year. It seems to be getting off to a good start.
Last night I got a call from Dr Sastri who […]
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
The Stepping Stones to Real Cow Protection (Part 1)
The Stepping Stones to Real Cow ProtectionSeparating the Rhetoric from the RealityAn Interview with Tapahpunjah Dasa of The Small Farm Training Centeras reported by Bhakta Chris FiciEditor’s note: The Small Farm Training Center is a land based non-pr…
Comments Off - Posted in Contributors by Club 108
Monday, January 26th, 2009
The Big Apple
The sojourn of this spirit soul has made the most essential stop: camping down with the devotional all-stars at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in the hippest spot on the planet, The East Village on the island of Manhattan in New York City.Slinging books in t…
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Laptops and Land Rovers
Krishna Camp Road Trip: California to Florida.No adventure is complete without a good deal from REI.We staked out the once-a-month-all-returns-on-super-cheap-sale-especially-after-christmas event in Berkeley, CA. We stood in long lines awaiting our cha…