My Heart is Overflowing

This is a thing I rarely admit to anyone: I love people. Just like that, people in my everyday life or even people I read about. I so love people who are nice to others and to the world in general, who made a discovery benefiting to the humanity or who just help an old women cross the street, those who make us laugh I love dearly and those, men AND women, who are able to give an uplifting compliment to every women they know, hence to every human being they know - we all need it. I have this thing, this moment when I feel my heart overflowing with love and joy and in some of this situations I have to restrain myself from hugging people around me.

Now don't get me wrong, I've been hurt by people and I suffered but I forget easily and I simply am not able to hate - I'm so happy about it!

I too love doing nice things for people around me. Just last week I made some "faux" cupcakes for the birthday of a young girl I work with. I bought brownies but I decorated them with cheese frosting and colorful sugar sprinkles. Everybody loved them, but there was a young girl who is allergic to peanuts and she couldn't eat them, didn't want to take a chance with bought brownies. So I decided to make it up to her and I baked  cupcakes myself, decorated them exactly like those brownies before and brought them to her in the beginning of this week. She was flabbergasted! She couldn't believe I've made those especially for her. I got a big hug and she was so happy, she even called her mom and her friends to tell them about it.

But to tell you the truth, I'm the one who has gotten the most from it: one of those priceless moments that fill your hearth with joy...

My Heart is Overflowing

Down And Back Again

It feels almost weird to write a blog post again but I'm so glad I'm back. Last couple of months were a bit of a roller coaster. I was struggling to maintain my daily schedule and the little energy I had went to my job, after that I was like a balloon without air. I knew it must have been a matter of health but I couldn’t find the time to go see my family doctor - you know how it is with a new job. And usually when something goes wrong in life, it's an easy downward spiral from thereon. And I went on neglecting the warning signs my body sent me until I fell unconscious and ended being transported to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with anemia, the kind that develops when the body has had a low level of iron for a long time.Two blood transfusion later I was able to go home. It took me almost another week at home to start to function normally and to slowly go back to work. There is really nothing intelligent I can say about my self-neglecting (read: stupid) behavior. I can only hope that I learned my lesson.

Why is it that sometimes you have to loose something in order to learn to really appreciate it? Like your health...or other things money can't buy.

On a more cheerful note: am I the last one who learned about Pinterest? When I came back to the blogland, the buzz war all about pinning, everywhere! Learn more about it here.

Needless to say, to an image junkie like me this is the most needed source of daily dose of inspiration.

 Thanks for visiting and please stay healthy!

Down And Back Again

Salvation Art - part four

It's been quite a while since I last bragged about my little "Salvation Art" collection. So here it goes again!

This is an oil painting that I found about ten years ago in a little shop that doesn't exist any more. When I saw it I was immediately transported by it's atmosphere to the narrow streets of my beloved Istria and Dalmatia. I saw myself strolling slowly in the late afternoon sun, listening to the sounds and voices coming from open windows, being comforted by the sight of the clothes moving gracefully in the wind on the clotheslines suspended between the old stone houses...

I decided to buy it right away, I think I paid about 15$ for it - my second most expensive Salvation Art piece!   It's about 90 cm by 60 cm (3 ft x2 ft) and signed by "Etta". I couldn't find out  more about the artist, there is an American artist Etta Deikman but I haven't been able to establish the link between her and this painting.

I love to look at it and I'm still stunned by the calming effect it has on me. Can't change it, I'm a romantic, nostalgic fool... I'm already looking forward to show you my next piece of found art!

Salvation Art - part four

Quick & Simple Heart-Shaped Dessert Recipe For Valentine’s Day

Scratching your head in search of last minute idea for something simple and very quick to make for your loved ones? Me too! So it happened that I remembered a simple recipe for a very versatile dough I used to make long time ago. Added an apple, some brown sugar and cinnamon and here is the result:

I think it looks lovely and certainly handmade but it took me less than 1 hour, with baking time, to finish it. As for the dough recipe, you'll need the same amount in weight of cottage cheese, margarine and flour. Nothing else, no eggs, no salt, no sugar...

I made the dough with 250 g of each. If your cottage cheese is to grainy you'll need to make it smoother with a hand blender or in the food processor. Add the margarine and mix well - mixing thoroughly with a fork is OK. Add the flour and continue to blend the ingredients with a fork or with the wooden spoon. If your dough feels to wet add a bit of flour.

Roll  the dough out  on the floured surface approximately 0,5 cm thick (1/5 of an inch), cut the hearths with a cookie cutter and place them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle each heart with some brown sugar and cinnamon if you like. Cut a small apple into thin slices and place 2 of them on each heart. Bake them in the oven on 380° F/180° C for 25-30 minutes. I wanted to color some apple slices in red but didn't have any red  food coloring left so I mixed some strawberry jelly powder with water and brushed the apple slices. Let them cool a bit and dust with icing sugar. If you want to make something more fancy here is my Valentine's blog post from last year. Bon appetit!

Quick & Simple Heart-Shaped Dessert Recipe For Valentine’s Day

Building An Ice Palace

So I guess I WAS completely frozen in the end. Maybe not because of the freezing weather... I just read my last post and thought to myself that, in those almost two months since I didn't give a sign of  life, the situation didn't change much. I continued to struggle and to ask myself if I made the right decision. This really was a big change for me and it isn't over yet. What frightens me is that on the one side I appreciate the security and the stability of the job but on the other side I am overwhelmed by the desire to do something big and crazy. Like moving (again!) far away. Or creating my own company. Both of the ideas sound tempting and frightening at the same time. It's almost like a life decade thing. In my twenties I did the usual: studying, marrying and having kids. In mu thirties I started a new life and a new career in Germany. In my forties, I came to Canada and started another, completely new life and career. Well, okay, I didn't change my husband nor my kids, but everything else was new.

As I was taking a walk last week near my work place, I was passing by a construction site of the "Bonhomme  Carnaval" Ice Palace. It struck me that I was given the opportunity to build my life like the ice palace. I had to work hard and in difficult circumstances in order to build something strong and beautiful for my family. But unfortunately it couldn't last, so I had to do it all over again.

Sure It was different each time but beautiful non the less. I'm very proud actually of those palaces I had built even if they weren't meant to last. Am I ready to tackle a new one? I sure miss the excitement of it!

And as someone said it so wisely: change is the only constant thing in life... Thank you for being so patient with me!

Building An Ice Palace

Not Completely Frozen Yet

Since my last post the time has passed in a blink of an eye. I was hit by the train at full speed, or so it felt, and I'm still gasping for air. Everything happened so quickly and I found myself in a completely new work environment, with new people and new challenges. This was what I wanted for a long time but when I finally got there it was like I wasn't ready for it. I started to feel some kind of weird resistance in my gut and my whole body turned against this "newness". I'll be honest with you, I never ever felt something like this, I was always up for a challenge. In fact, earlier in my life, any challenge would give me strength and motivation to fight and to work hard in order to achieve my goal. This time was very different. It was almost like I had enough of challenges in my life, I couldn't take it any more. Completely new experience...

Four weeks later, things are going better but I still can't get rid of this weird feeling. It may sound weird to you, but I rarely did things for myself, because I wanted it for ME - it was usually for my family, for my children or for any other reason. This last decision was not different. And this is exactly the thing I have to change, the time has come. Happily, I'll have ten days off for Christmas. Enough time to think things through but also to enjoy beautiful white Christmas in the city of Quebec...

Not Completely Frozen Yet