a Farewell and a Legend

From my 2009 diary.


As soon as my family found out that I was about leaving for Kabardino-Balkaria district, they freaked out. They warned me about locals who were capable of kidnapping a girl in order to marry, that they were hot tempered and I’d better never leave the territory of the hotel on my own.

They even told me a legend about a dzhigit* who once kidnapped a girl and galloped her up into the mountains. There he threw a yak-fell on stones, raped the girl and said that it would be her home from then on. The girl submited.

The story impressed me, of course, however I thought that if I had been that girl, I would have knocked down the guy, jumped onto his horse and galloped back to my parents.

What a romantic experience could it have been!

There were more stories about the habits of locals, but none of them would persuade me to travel there. That’s why I packed up my skiing gear and got on the first train to the Caucasus Mountains.

—
*dzhigit – an inhabitant of Kabardino-Balkaria district, the Caucasus Mountains; a very talented horse rider

What every student needs to know – in pictures

The slideshow from Advice To Sink Slowly is for students. However everyone should follow it.

Enjoy the project. "It Will Be Worth it":

... and "Be Yourself":

Winter clean-up

New year has arrived and it's time to clean up last year's stuff and remove 5 extra kilos I've gained during the festive season.

First of all I took down decorations. The house instantly turned empty and gloomy. Then I sorted out Christmas kitsch gifts and carton bags to forward them as presents recycle. Miss Christmas already.

Furthermore I donated XXL and pregnancy outfits to charity shops, made L clothes ready to wear and put M's on higher shelves of the wardrobe in hope to wear them again one day... Dream on, girl.

Finally, greeting cards from the last decade and old diaries went to the bin.

I'm very proud of myself now :)

I also flicked through those diaries. Found all kinds of entries from super embarrassing to cute. I'll probably post some entries here. Ah, good ol' days.

...Meanwhile have to work on those extra kilos.

Where real happiness is

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are."

by Osho

pic from deviantart.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day".
~ Robert Caspar Lintner

This is Finland

For the record: the tempretare in Finland can be higher than +30C. It is not the country that is covered with snow all year round.

Source

+15°C / 59°F
This is as warm as it gets in Finland, so we'll start here.
People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves.
The Finns are out in the sun, getting a tan.

+10°C / 50°F
The French are trying in vain to start their central heating.
The Finns plant flowers in their gardens.

+5°C / 41°F
Italian cars won't start,
The Finns are cruising in cabriolets.

0°C / 32°F
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Vantaa river (in Finland) gets a little thicker.

-5°C / 23°F
People in California almost freeze to death.
The Finns have their final barbecue before winter.

-10°C / 14°F
The Brits start the heat in their houses.
The Finns start using long sleeves.

-20°C / -4°F
The Aussies flee from Mallorca.
The Finns end their Midsummer celebrations.
Autumn is here.

-30°C / -22°F
People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth.
The Finns start drying their laundry indoors.

-40°C / -40°F
Paris start cracking in the cold.
The Finns stand in line at the hotdog stands.

-50°C / -58°F
Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole.
The Finnish army postpones their winter survival training awaiting real winter weather.

-60°C / -76°F
Korvatunturi (the home for Santa Claus) freezes.
The Finns rent a movie and stay indoors.

-70°C / -94°F
The false Santa moves south.
The Finns get frustrated since they can't store Koskenkorva vodka outdoors.
The Finnish army goes out on winter survival training.

-183°C / -297.4°F
Microbes in food don't survive.
The Finnish cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.

-273°C / -459.4°F
ALL atom-based movent halts.
The Finns start saying "Perkele (=damn), it's cold outside today."

-300°C / -508°F
Hell freezes over, Finland wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

Red Velvet Cake

Ten years ago I would say cooking was not my cup of tea. Ten years later half of my web bookmarks are recipes.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 sticks
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons red gel food coloring plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup buttermilk - HELP! What is this thing?
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Cooked Frosting
1 cup milk
1/3 all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk or cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease and flour 3 8-inch round layer cake pans or 2 9-inch cake pans.

Cake: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat 1 minute longer. Beat in vanilla until blended. Combine cocoa, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons water; beat into the egg creamed mixture. Combine flour and salt. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter, beating on low to medium speed. Combine soda and vinegar in cup and add to cake batter. Spoon batter evenly into the 3 cake pans; bake at 350° for 22 to 28 minutes. Cool on cake racks. Remove from pans and frost tops and sides.

Frosting: In a saucepan, whisk together the 1/3 cup flour and milk and cook, stirring, until thickened; cool in the refrigerator. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with mixer. Add flour and milk mixture a little at a time (make ahead of cake so that it has plenty of time to cool). Beat well, adding milk or cream as needed. Frost layers, sides, and top of cake.

from About.com