Raccoons as Totems and Tricksters
Bright, curious, persistent, and endlessly resourceful, raccoons embody qualities valued by Indigenous cultures that lived closely with the land. As a totem, the raccoon is believed to grant the gifts of touch, ingenuity, and the ability to see through deception—literally and metaphorically.

In many legends, raccoons appear as tricksters. But their mischief is rarely meaningless. Trickery often serves survival: securing food, avoiding danger, or unsettling unwelcome intruders. If raccoons harass humans in their homes, perhaps the lesson is simply that we wandered into the wrong house.

Raccoons Remember Kindness
A friend once told me about a pregnant raccoon she fed regularly, convinced the animal needed extra nourishment. The raccoon learned the routine quickly and came to her back door for food.

Then one day, she stopped coming. My friend worried briefly, then life moved on. Months later, in early spring, tapping sounds at the back door caught her attention. There stood the same raccoon—this time accompanied by her kits.

My friend was convinced the mother had come to introduce her family, a gesture of recognition if not gratitude. Sadly, my friend moved soon after and never saw the kits grow up, but raccoons have held a special place in her heart ever since. Given their intelligence and strong memory, such recognition doesn’t seem far-fetched.

Raccoons Test Your Patience
That affection is often tested. In urban areas, raccoons can cause serious damage—raiding attics, destroying insulation, or turning garages into maternity wards. I recently read a news story from Ottawa about a man facing charges for cruelty toward raccoons. What a doofus. All he really needed was a stereo in the attic blasting Twisted Sister or ZZ Top at full volume. Raccoons may be fearless, but they do have standards.

At the cottage, Grumpy once tried a more creative solution: Vaseline on the feeder pole. That night, we watched from behind the glass as a raccoon confidently climbed the pole—only to slide down in slow, undignified defeat. She tried again, shifting strategy, engaging her back legs with more determination. Same result. From inside, it was comedy gold.

Eventually, she turned around and glared at us. The next morning, we found several neat piles of raccoon droppings placed directly on our flower pot by the door. Territorial marking? Or revenge? Either way, the message was clear.

Survival vs. Sentiment
When I get angry about their antics, Grumpy reminds me that for raccoons, this isn’t mischief—it’s survival. My feeders are irresistible: sugar-rich hummingbird nectar, fatty seeds, easy calories. I’m still upset about the night they shattered my new hummingbird feeder. But the mental image of raccoons riding it from the tree to the ground like a carnival attraction almost makes up for it. Almost.

Raccoons Opening Refrigerators
I had read that raccoons could open refrigerators. I believed it in theory—until it happened to us. Last summer, they finally broke into the boathouse fridge we’d foolishly left unsecured. Fortunately, the only casualty was a loaf of bread and a few drinks. Since then, we barricade the fridge like it contains state secrets.

At breakfast today, I found myself telling this same story differently. My sister suggested I find out who among my friends had birthdays this month so they could celebrate together. My immediate reaction was, there's no way I would do that as I might end up being the one to pay for it. My sister said I should suggest they treat us, but I kept repeating my story with incidents to support my ending up paying for the party. My sister kept telling me this was their chance to treat you, but I was adamant, so that ended our conversation.

After reflecting on what happened and seeing the disappointment on my sister's face, I started to reflect on my story, one I tell myself, others, and anyone ready to listen. It is now my running complaint. Nothing could change my account. Subsequent events continue to reinforce this narrative.

New Year is a new opportunity. I have stopped making my New Year resolutions which I found to be a useless exercise. But this time, it came to me. My way may need to be corrected. I need a change—a new story. I have repeatedly recounted the old one, and people are tired of hearing it.

Something more inspiring, more uplifting to those who listen when I tell it. I started my reflection. I dropped the old one, not even revisiting it. I felt free once I made that decision. New accounts came to mind. I am in abundance and have been looking elsewhere all these years, looking at the lack my generosity may create in my life. It was heavy, more so for me, embarrassing for my family, and insulting to my friends.

All these years, my response to abundance has been negative, making people uneasy and myself miserable. This year, I want to create joy and more of it. When before, I'll tell myself I'll do this when I have tremendous resources. This time, I will not wait for that. I will do it with whatever I have. It is not what you give that matters to people but how you do it.

The truth is, I feel uneasy receiving, so I create circumstances when I am the giver. However, I was not happy giving. Inside, I grumble and tell myself I will avoid these events in the future. I already told myself not to be around next year and look for a place where I can be alone. I am creating the circumstances based on my old story, the story I kept telling myself of how it always played out.

Upon reflection, I started to write a new story. It's no use looking at the old one. It has determined my life for many years. It's enough. What story would I want to tell? I am this story's writer and creator, and this is how I intend to live this new year.
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I intend to live my life more positively. I need to appreciate myself and others, too. I have always lived up to the expectations of others. The other day, my former classmate introduced me to her neighbour as someone who most probably memorized the books. That caught my attention. Is that the story I want people to tell about me?

I want a different story, different from the past one. I want a positive one, not based on past experiences I chose myself but grumbled when I did it. I want to look at it positively. I need to see my current reality again and become aware of its beauty. I need to imagine a future full of joy and abundance.

Here is my first attempt at composing a story: I am a competent person with many gifts, talents, and resources. I enjoy being with people, sharing myself with them, and allowing them to share their resources with me. I am good at encouraging people to reach their full potential and try to do the same.

I look forward to a world where everyone feels they are fully loved and supported by our universe, which we help to take care of and develop.
I will take the steps necessary to live this story, taking it firmly each day and going back on the path when I fail or stray. I encourage everyone to create a new story and move forward to a new world starting in 2026. Happy New Year!

2021 is here. I am not going to make any new year resolution this year though I have to admit, I have had a good track record of fulfilling my resolutions. However, I want to make this year special. I want to focus on one thing: Oneness. 

​I am not only referring to the Oneness that is needed in our society today as the divisiveness continues to stretch even further. I am highlighting an oneness that we can do something about, taking place in our selves. 

This January, I focused on myself and how I can make myself a better person. I started by giving myself more attention and care. From my physical appearance to the food I feed it, I made some changes. They are not changes requiring much effort but tiny ones towards improving my health. By health, I included not only my physical health but also mental and spiritual. 

I started to eat healthily. First, I only bought food that's healthy after gorging on fat and sugar last Christmas. I bought nuts, seeds, dried berries, fresh berries, avocados and salmon. I read from the book of Jim Kwik, Limitless, the food that feeds the brain and I focus on this. 

I also did regular exercise. I chose the joint exercise I learned before, and I didn't mind doing it. The key is I do it regularly in the morning. So, here is my morning regimen. I wake up and immediately make my bed. This act of making my bed gives me one success to start the day. Then, I do meditation: just a short one, about 20 minutes. 

After my meditation, I eat something fresh like an avocado or a bowl of blueberries, so my stomach doesn't get the surprise of the coffee that follows. Yes, I enjoy my morning coffee despite many health buffs' suggestion that I should give it up. Other studies have shown that a cup or two of coffee in the morning is right for you so, I keep enjoying my cup or two. I don't think being hard with yourself is a good idea, at least not for me.

Once I have had my coffee, I feed my mind by reading a book or listening to podcasts to help myself become a better person. This activity can take 30 minutes. I think it is important to feed one's self with useful information regularly. Our thoughts are critical to our growth, so providing it with the right information makes it much better. 

I realized that working towards Oneness requires consistency and constancy in one's effort. There's also another thing I now begin to value, and that is Focus. I used to multi-task all the time until I find it is making me tired. I started to focus on one thing at a time, and I find that I get better results, and I find that as I focus my energy, I don't get tired. Again, another aspect of Oneness. To be fully present to what one is doing makes better understanding and finishing the task in less time.

I have followed this morning regime for some time now, and I feel its positive effects. Such effects continue to encourage me to keep at it. My body feels lighter and better coordinated. I feel lighter, and my mood has improved tremendously. I have not felt bored or lonely or down. 

​Slowly, I feel that my mind and my body are one. I know that when I keep doing this, I make myself more whole. When I grow towards wholeness, I can contribute to the fullness, the Oneness in our world. 

All these years, I have scattered my attention by multi-tasking. I have tried so many things to improve myself. I have read so many books and listened to many gurus about working on my inner self and becoming whole. I have had enough. 

I leave these all to 2020. 2021 will be uniquely special. It will focus more on doing the simple steps consistently and constantly to bring myself to wholeness, becoming One inside, the first step to wholeness in our world.

​What is your focus for 2021? I wish you all the success.

​Some of us have only a very faint knowledge of what is inside of us. We are not in touch with what we truly feel inside. We often ignore this feeling that they tend to be hazy if not hidden altogether.

For others, we do not want people to know how we feel because it makes us vulnerable. We think people can take advantage of us when they know what is deep down inside of us. Cultures have frowned upon showing vulnerability, especially when you are male. We are not allowed to cry as that is a sign of weakness, so we learned how to put on a brave face from an early age. We carry it as we grow up until we have a well-developed public persona that the world associates with who we are. 

We think people around us expect us to do this. This stance is alright when we need to encourage others to go on bravely amid crisis. Yet, have we ever tried showing the vulnerable self inside us, the true feelings we have even if this means crying, breaking down in front of others, and crumpling down when faced with an unfortunate event?

Vulnerability takes courage. It is opening the wound that is within us. It enables others to hurt us. The Oxford Dictionary gives this definition of vulnerability: the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. Who wants to do this? This definition is contra what we know growing up, which is to be strong and ensure that others see our strengths. What if we change this framework? What if we look at vulnerability as power?

Here's a start to do that change. Below is Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability. 

Brene Brown, in this video, tells us to move towards connection. She contends this is why we're here. But for her, this connection is the result of authenticity. It is the realization that what made us vulnerable is what makes us beautiful.

​Yes, it is crucial to go into our inner selves and listen to how we feel. Slowly, we need to accept that it is so much a part of us. We don't numb it and go off shopping or binge eat. No, we face it. We ask ourselves, Where is this coming from? Whatever it is, digging further will only make us feel miserable. What helped me more is to accept the hurt, feel it and know it is part of me. I need to tend to it, not allow it to overwhelm me, but look into it and find out how to remedy it. Of course, the prerequisite is to accept and not deny it. Convincing ourselves that it is not something to be ashamed of, a part of us who has not grown with the rest of us is difficult but necessary.

You'll be surprised as I was that it no longer has power over me when I started sharing it with friends. I wrote about my experience, and when we were talking one time as a group, I shared that I write. My friends inquired further and asked if I could share some of my articles with them. I did, and I was surprised at their reaction. One friend told me she was on the two occasions I described there and never noticed how I felt. Since then, we became even closer as we shared our vulnerabilities and cared for each other more. There was greater authenticity in the caring.

It's time to open ourselves, be more faithful to how we feel and not be afraid or ashamed to share whoever we indeed are with our friends. 

That was my experience the other day. Yes, lucky me. It was a sunny Monday morning, and our Monday travel club of two invited ourselves to a friend's sunflower patch. Little did I know that other than the sunflowers, there were many more surprises in store for me. The whole day, I was like a child in a candy factory. 

A few days in our lives, with no planning on our part, everything around us converges to bring about utter joy and contentment.  True, there are a few, but the impact of these like these remain etched forever. ​

As I said earlier, it was a sunny Monday in August. Our Monday travel club drove from Toronto towards the north of the city. We avoided the highway and instead took the road that took us to some tiny villages. For me, these are hidden gems revealing their beauty after an hour's drive from downtown Toronto. Caledon's rolling hills unfolded in its almost exhilarating majesty peppered with horses exercising in fields filled with hay rolls. It reminded me of the pastoral paintings of Costable. 

When we reached our destination, frolicking white and brown poodles met us in the garden of sunflowers, herbs, garlic, zinnias, and gladioli in purple, red, and white. Our host is a tall, slim, stylish lady who grew up in Montreal and brought flair to this rural Ontario outpost. ​

When we entered the house, everything in it attracted me from the table ready for lunch fashionably arranged, almost like in a home and country magazine. The well-chosen antiques tastefully displayed gives a lover of what's old stare in appreciation. The paintings, all family heirlooms, decorated the walls. Everything in the house contributed to its overall beauty. 

We toured the property with the two dogs in tow. I almost did not leave the big barns as inside are treasures to connoisseurs of antique cars. Jags and MGs, beautifully restored in its elegant hues, are on display, reminding me of old TV programs like Inspector Morse. ​

​Life is a fantastic voyage: adventure, excitement, love, learning, travel, surprise. 

WOW! This trip has everything. Everything! Hey, and we know the destination, right! So we don't want the fastest means of travel. We want a long slow trip with time to savor, rest a bit, take time in the right places, and move on quickly when another stop disappoints. So this is all about the trip. 

Of course, some in your office call life a struggle! They live by the famous bumper stickers, "Life is hard, and then you die." "The best thing about each day is that it ends." It's up to you: Misery or adventure? What will your voyage be? 

Here are some simple things to remember, something we often take for granted in our pursuit of better travel tools, navigation aids, tips, new courses, new transport, exotic places.

The market is so full of products and services to help us out in our journey, that often these things are just put aside for more colorful and attractive options. 

​1. Make a Travel Map
With a map, you have the best chance of passing through the places that will interest you. You can't buy the plan. 

No one has ever had your journey before, so you have to draw your own. It will end up as a reverse diary, looking at what will happen tomorrow, not what happened today. 
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There is nothing you can do about the history and everything you can do about what lies ahead.

2. ​Get a Primary Navigation System
Nothing too complicated. First, get a notebook, so you don't lose this. Forget the jargon, the intricate frameworks, and programs. Just sit down and make your own.

You know how to create lines and shapes and write. Let your imagination go. What you can imagine, you can do. Go to the start point for this new voyage.

Now, think for a minute. This journey is not a powerboat trip. You are in a sailboat, winds change, and you have to go with them. Tides, currents, and rogue waves. You have to adjust for them all, but if you know very generally the experiences you want to have and the people and places you want to see, you will accommodate the rudder to keep you moving in the direction you want.

What are these experiences you want?
What environments do you want to experience?
What adventures seem interesting?
​Write them all down. See the links. Are there clusters?

3. Adjust the Rudder
Is your flopping around now going to give you these things? If not, how can you adjust the rudder, given the wind, the waves, and your navigation aids? Hey, talk to the other passengers. Speak to your family. They might be amazed!

4. Give Yourself a Break
Often, we forget the essential part of living is doing the map for ourselves and our families. Stop. Look up. Look around. Where are you? In what country (real or imaginary) are you?

Enjoy the moment. Sit down and be aware and conscious of what is going on within you and in the world. In our hurry, we miss so much. We get into such a frenzy that we can't even enjoy the very people we want to make happy.

​We don't listen to the sound of silence. Instead, we fill our lives with noise.

5. Welcome the New and the Unexpected
Often, we protect ourselves from any of these. We want our lives undisturbed.

​We insulate ourselves from what is unique because it threatens us. So the break gives us some time to prepare ourselves to encounter the new, conquer our fears, and provide space for the new experience.

6. Pack Light!
Many times, we take a new route, but we bring all the luggage. Just in case something happens. Something will happen now that you are ready and open, and your baggage in your mind will get in the way.

​Keep your experience, but abandon most baggage.

7. Listen to Your Restlessness
It is another word for awareness and readiness for change. Look in the paper for short seminars or courses on things that interest you.

Get a book that talks to you about change and moving in life. Look at stages.

​Read about others that have thrived on life as a travel experience.

8. Enjoy the Scenery
Some people spend so much time planning the next trip that they never do see the joy of the one they are taking now.

Suddenly, the journey is over, and they never visited anything. They just got to the destination.

​As you journey,

9. Share the Road
Help those who need your help on the way.

Respect the things you see around you.

The more you give away, the more will come back to you. I am not a flower child -- this works.

10. Enjoy the Company
Share and celebrate life with the people you meet on the road. You might never see them again as they are on a journey, too.

​Connect with those you meet on the way. More and more, you will see how interconnected we all are.

And remember, there is a world of difference between being alone and being lonely.

​Don't ever let the movement of the mob be confused as part of your life's journey.

Start now! Get the notebook. Live the adventure. You get one go around!

Do you ever wish you are a different person? Nobody wants to be in a being who is suffering, feeling victimized and unworthy, insecure, and unhappy. 

In the past, each time I get an invitation, the first reaction is to find reasons not to go. I get panicky about what to wear. I start wondering what to say in a conversation or how we're going to handle the payment.

The other day I got a call from my late husband's cousin inviting me to a dinner in their golf club. My anxiety went up as I feel awkward to be in these places. I couldn't say no, but my mind rushed to thinking of reasons to get out of this engagement. I am not sure if I will feel at ease with them. I never worried about this before because my husband would always carry the conversation. I never had to say anything unless directly asked, and as the conversation flows smoothly with him around, I had never worried.

I probably tried on so many dresses to make sure I dressed appropriately, not embarrass my adopted cousins. We have not seen each other since the COVID lockdown, so I was a bit apprehensive.

The day came, and the weather was terrible. Possibly, I could convince them to cancel. I tried, but they responded that they had called the club and they're fine. So, I prepared myself for the pick-up. When I entered the car, I saw that my cousin's husband was in shorts. My cousin, who casually dressed,  assured me that everything goes. I saw when I came in that people there wore whatever was comfortable. It was their second home. That made me feel at ease.

As we're still maintaining social distancing, we wore masks in the car and ate in the outdoors. The dining room is very spacious that even with many people there, we had enough space away from other diners, which made for a more lively conversation. 

Being my first time to be with these cousins on my own, I worried earlier what to say, but as the dinner progressed, the conversation became smooth and enjoyable. I entered fully into it, expressing my views freely. For them, this must have been the first time they have heard much from me. The conversation was so compelling that we ended with a greater desire to see each other more.

Reflecting on this experience, I saw how much I have changed as a person. I seem comfortable with everyone, happy to engage with them, and valued my contribution. I started to feel my worth as a person. What changes have I recently made to my life that brought about this new being I love?

Here is the most crucial step I took. A friend of mine recommended that I check out the workshop on transforming yourself. This friend told me that with the new science of epigenetics, I could even change my genes. So, I went to YouTube and looked at some of the videos on epigenetics. I started educating myself on the more effective personal transformation. My friend also suggested I check out the workshop of Dr. Joe Dispenza. 

After watching several videos on meditation, I saw how crucial this practice is to the change I want. So, I started meditating, and the changes I experienced encouraged me to go on. I did this for about two weeks until my friend convinced me to take Dr. Dispenza's workshop. 

Thanks for the time COVID has given us, I ventured into the workshop. I have meditated before, but this workshop led me to the most intense experience in my life. I found myself tuning in to the unknown, the place of possibilities where I find my new potential. 

​I don't get any commission from this website, but the transformation I see in myself pushes me to share this program. I feel so happy about my new self, the new person I created in this workshop.  

What is important is that you seek your inner transformation. Once you start, the forces around will help you.  

Does this butterfly look back to its past? 
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Most of us direct our attention to what we had in the past. Some of us even live in the past. Why do we do this? Because we know it for sure. We don't have to struggle to accept it. We have embraced it, and it comforts us. It is familiar, yet cozy. 

The Future, on the other hand, is unknown. It is uncertain. It is something we do not know, and so do not trust at all. Most of us would not even think about it. We will deal with it when it comes. At the moment, we want nothing to do with it.

But do you know that where we focus our attention is where we direct our energy? Therefore, when we focus on the past, we give it power. History now influences how we live our present life. It dictates how we behave and how we respond to the new realities in our current moment. When we continue to do this, the more the Future becomes unknown to us, unexplored and distrusted. What's worse is nothing will change in our lives because we live the same reality we did before. We are only repeating what happened before. Is this what we want?

What if we challenge ourselves to imagine our Future and avoid looking back to the past. If we do this successfully, we train ourselves to look towards the Future, go for what is in front of us, and stop looking back. How we respond to the events in our present moment will be directed by this new image. Wouldn't that be more exciting? More exhilarating? Only then will we see changes in our lives.

Maybe some of you will ask, "Why do we have to do this when we are happy talking about the past, reminiscing the significant memories we enjoyed and shared?" While this has its advantage, it stops us from growing, from moving onward and transforming our lives. We are satisfied with what we have had and are happy to stay in it. 

From now on, only focus on the image of your Future Self. Many of us don't have a vision of how we want to see ourselves in the Future. So, I invite you to do this.  Upon waking up every morning, picture the Self you wish to be in the Future. Picture your joy as you live this new reality. Feel the emotion of enjoying this new life. 

​As your day unfolds, watch your thoughts. Each time the past takes its hold on your mind, refocus on the picture of your new Self. Keep doing this until the past has lost its grip on your thought. 

Before you sleep, picture once more the image of your new Self. Keep doing this until the vision is clear in your mind. Remember to feel the emotions that go with the fulfillment of this image. 

As you do this every day, you then live your life based no longer on the past but the vision of your Future Self. Transform like this butterfly.

When Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to sign up for taxes, the town had a lot more action than just a stable. All of the trades that were alive and active in the community like Bethlehem would easily have been seen and heard and provided life to the community. 

This was just not just a country of shepherds. There were stonemasons and carpenters, fishers, roofers and makers of cooking utensils. Perhaps, metalsmith and certainly blacksmiths. 

​The Basilica of Santiago de Compostela tried to display the Nativity in the total context of Bethlehem. Even better, the beautifully crafted figures move and give a sense of the world going on in the Holy Land in the year 0. Fishers fish. Woodcutters cut wood. There's real action going on and when you walk around the entire miniature world, you get a sense of how it must have felt to live there at the time. 

Of course, there are the shepherds watching their sheeps and there's the wise man checking the skies, the assorted animals that live in the manger swing their heads and complain about losing sleep. So, in this great grey, somewhat foreboding Basilica is a small world of humanity living out their lives in what historically is one of the most important moments in history.

​Many Western Europeans grew up with a multi-generational Christmas holy family scene that was rolled out on to the mantelpiece in mid-December every year.

This varied from stick creatures made by the children to high quality porcelain. The main interest was in protecting them from indifferent cats, ignorant tennis balls, and over cooking by the fireplace below. They were a tradition, little else.

But some cities in Europe have quite a different understanding of the holy family display. As an example in Zaragoza, a major portion of the central town square is filled with every character, animal and tree that could possibly be included in the Nativity scene. They're all life-size.

​Walking around the 50 meter by 20 meter installation is an interesting experience as you feel you're peeking into history. The images avoid the soporific looks of the traditional Nativity with smiles and happy glances. The entire presentation has an upbeat feel that brings back some of the non-mercantile joy generations once had in Christmas. 

​There are many reasons to visit Zaragoza but if time permits at Christmas, visiting to see this life-size Nativity along with the market that springs up around it and the wonderful mix of architecture, modern and vintage that surround it, is really worth the effort.

We have been coming back to Hanoi for years now but this is the first time we have seen this type of Ceramics.

Said to have travelled along the silk road to some of the finest homes in many countries all over the world, these ceramics  now reside in 46 museums of 32 countries and territories.

​​These ceramics as the name suggests originated in the village of Chu Dau in the province of Hai Duong in Vietnam around the 13th century under the Tran dynasty.

But it was only in the 14th to the 17th centuries when the ceramics gained prominence. Unhappily, the civil war between the Trinh and Mac dynasties stopped the production of these well appreciated treasures.

The Chu Dau ceramics were of 3 types: those for the ordinary people, ones for high ranking officials and the ones for royalty. 

Interest in these ceramics came back when in 1980, Mr. Makoto Anabuki, First Secretary in the Japanese Embassy asked if he could find out more about the antique ceramic vase, Hoa Lam-Blue Flower, he saw exhibited in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul. This vase was autographed by the artist, Bui Thi Hy. This started the research into this antique ceramic.

​Excavations were undertaken in the northern Vietnamese village of Chu Dau and they found thousands of ceramics  and old kilns signifying that this place was engaged in pottery long before it was a busy trading hub.

​The ceramics in spite of having been buried for long, still retained its distinctive colour and design. So, today studies are made in view of bringing back the authentic patterns, materials and ornaments used by the early potters.

My husband and I just happened to see the display in Hanoi, 2 Le Thai To, of Chu Dau ceramics. We were on our Sunday walk looking for a coffee place when the display caught our attention. Intrigued, we went in the store and got out with this, a memento of something we've come to appreciate. 

Today, the village of Chu Dau can be visited from Hanoi. A day tour will take you to the village where you can see the old kilns and the excavated site. 

If you love pottery, here's another popular village for this craft in Vietnam:

• ​Bat Trang: Pottery Village in Vietnam

Come to rural Asia and running on the road under your wheels in full play with village children is the historic chicken that we knew in North America at the turn of the 20th. Entury.

They are not pretty. They're of the small size. They are the ultimate definition of free range if you can call village housing a range. But, they have a unique advantage. They actually have taste. They are the living memory of why many great culinary dishes of the 19th century had chicken at their core. What they lack in size, they make up for in a gusto of flavour that can make a soup or dumplings a living walk down your great grandmas cookbook.

Below is Speedy Recipe's youtube video of Tinolang Manok, Chicken, a traditional Filipino Chicken Soup recipe.

Working a team pulling logs or a plow or a wagon was tough dangerous work. Preparing food from absolute scratch everyday was a total commitment.

Almost any household chore with no electricity was consummately demanding but people had a relationship with the animals and the trees and crops and rivers with whom they shared their lives. There was no race through life to an old people’s home. 

There was a family that started working as soon as they could walk and cared for their old folks until they cross the rainbow bridge.

Each generation had to find tasks and were respected for contributing within those expectations. So, a rural vacation is not only a chance to participate in some of the old farming chores but a chance to put yourself into the history you’ve grown from. 

Remember those days when, with basket in one hand and your Mother in the other, you went off to your local market? Of course, for many of us, the supermarket has taken the place of these local markets. ​

From there, I decided to get some vegetables I have tried but not cooked and here are my purchases: squash leaves, squash flowers, and greens.

It was quite exhilirating for me having had, as a child, fun memories of trips to our market. It was exactly like this. Phnom Penh, though, is a much bigger city now but here in the local market you still see people engaging with each other, just being part of a community and going there often makes them take you in as one of them.

Thanks for your visit. Before you go, share this in you favourite social media.

​Also, if you want more on Phnom Penh makrkets, click this link: Phnom Penh's Traditional Markets.