Well, today I finally finished ALL my book proposals. The last proposal was for the Bhutan Travel Cookbook, which I decided to call “Walking in the Footprints of the Enlightened Ones”. This one was a challenge, including sample chapters and 75 MB of 90 pages in Word. I believe it will be a lovely book, like a multi-media portal into the Soul of Bhutan through memoir, stories, photos, and food flavors. All is well and I’m feeling a bit tired. Now I’m actively looking for an agent and publisher. All my book proposals are online here.
- Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master. 36 chapters of advice from the Buddha.
- Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children and Adults. 36 quotes direct from ancient writings.
- Buddha Speaks, Oracle cards. 54 cards or original quotes to uplift and guide Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
- Buddha Speaks, Weekly Oracle Planner. 52 weeks of inspiring quotes with Srijana’s original art images.
- Heal Your Past Lives, How to Dissolve Past Trauma that Conditions Your Life and Causes Unhappiness. 6-Steps to Mental and Physical Wellness, with a Journal of 54 Past Life Clearings.
- Walking in the Footprints of the Enlightened Ones, The Bhutan Travel Cookbook
I find Peace, Love and Radical Simplicity in the Kingdom of Happiness
Whew! I finally figured out how to do the laundry. The clothespins are the FUN part, because they are bright colors! See? Laundry can be fun!
We DO have a washing machine, however, it is not automatic. Two hours and 20 steps later, I have wet “clean” clothes and the bathroom floor is totally wet, as the drain is in the floor. Here’s a photo of the dry washing machine. The agitator is on the left, and the spinner on the right. The knob to turn it on is a cold water faucet on the wall. I’m so lucky. This is a very fancy set-up for Bhutan.
It was a happy day this week when my Mother-in-Law came for a visit. Her name is Zekom, meaning “Teapot holder”. She’s brilliant, wise, loving, and completely uneducated. We speak quite effectively in body language, and I’m learning Dzonkha. She brought me the most wonderful gift – fresh butter! I forgot to take a photo of our meeting – this is her a few months ago.
OMG! Zekom brought fresh butter from the family farm wrapped in palm leaves.
I promise you, this butter is to die for! You can’t buy it in stores anywhere. I treasure Zekom’s butter. She has 13 cows and takes great care of them. They live on the BEST cattle feed- which is red rice hulls, kitchen vegetable cuttings, and mountain greens. Zekom and I had fun together. I showed her my Bhutan cards and photos of her family and she laughed. I feel so lucky to have her for a mother.
News: My family has decided that I should move closer to town. They’re worried about me being alone so much. I decided it is a fine idea. I can do without the thousands of wasps, and this huge house is difficult to heat in winter. We’ve found a nice 3-bedroom house that’s half the price near my sister Thuji Zam. So we’ll move sometime in September. No washing machine – however, my sister Thuji Zam has her hotel nearby and her staff can do my laundry! Hooray! Also she has a few fine cooks who can come over to help me prepare recipes for the cookbook.
I’m feeling pretty tired right now, as ALL my energy went into finishing the proposals. To do that I had to learn the meanings of everybody’s name in my family. It’s pretty amazing so I’ll share it. Bhutanese do not use family surnames. When a child is born, one or two names are usually given by a Lama. Buddhist names are steeped in meaning with religious roots. The names may not indicate if the person is male or female, and since there are a limited number of names, many people share the exact same name. I have two cousins named Tshering (Long Life). I have four friends of both sexes named Dorji (Thunderbolt), and four people share the name Namgye (Victorious). The meanings of the two names are important good wishes for happy life toward freedom and enlightenment. For example, my sister, Ghalem is “Auspicious Sign” and my brother Phub Dorji is “Diamond Thunderbolt”. Here are the meanings of the names of everyone in my family:
- Rinchen Budha -grandmother (Precious Prize)
- Zekom -mother (Teapot holder)
- Sangye Budha -Aunt (Enlightened prize)
- Namgye Zam -Aunt (Victorious Goodness)
- Damchey -Husband (Pure Dharma)
- Tshering Yangdon -Daughter (Long life, Mega-lucky)
- Kunga Palden – Son (Loved by Everyone, Glorious)
- Kunga Norbu Son (Loved by Everyone, Treasure)
- Tshering Om – Sister (Long Life Blessings)
- Gha Lem -Sister (Auspicious Sign)
- Kyizom -Niece (Gathering of Stars)
- Thuji Zam Sister (Blessings of Goodness)
- Yeshe Dorji -Brother in law(Wisdom Thunderbolt)
- Phuba Dorji- Brother (Diamond Thunderbolt)
- Pema Lhamo Sister (Lotus Dakini)
- Cheoney -Nephew (Enlightenment)
- Jamyang (Goddess of Wisdom)
- Phuba Namgye – Cousin-Brother(Victorious Wisdom)
- Leki Khandu -Cousin-Brother(Serene Sky-Walker)
- Lhaki Dema ex-wife (Goddess of Nirvana)
- Tenzin -friend (Holder of the Sacred Teachings)
- Azha Rinzi Uncle (Guards the Family Root)
- His 2 sons: Wongchuk (Powerful)
- Sonam Topgye (Gifted, fortunate)
- Mito the baby Nephew (Flower)
- Jigme -Brother(Fearless)
- Phuba Namgye ((Dorji) (Victorious Thunderbolt)
- Thinley- Husband (Radiant Actions)
- Mito Selden – This is me! (Clear Flower)