Lady in White

She was sitting together with me in the waiting room, that lovely woman dressed in white. She had a cute skirt made of white st. Gallen embroidery with black flowery inserts, very nice, with a white st. Gallen top. The whole was accompained by exquisite details, dark red painted nails and a red little pendant, black purse and black shoes matching the skirt. She immediately caught my attention because I live in a country where, she later also admitted, feminine dresses aren't so popular. Femininity is not considered cool, instead is considered weak. This is a mistake, it is not necessarly true that if a woman likes to appear like a woman and likes to act like one it means she is weak. The lady in white started talking to me about something when I had to ask her where she was from and where she got her clothes from. She was dutch, but had bought those clothes in Spain. She told me how important it should be for all women to get in touch with their feminine side, without being scared of looking weak. In a way I am a kind of conservative-like woman, even if I believe of myself to be modern, open-minded and absolutely never thought of being politically or religiously conservative. It is a kind of preservation of the femal species, away from what modern society tells women what and how they should look like: always strong, never tired or emotional, always sexy and ready to enjoy every moment of their lives. I heard lately many guys being down with the "philosophy" of the so called dudeism. Well, my question to the dudes is: how does a feminine woman fit in a world of dudes? We are not genetically predisposed to think in certain ways men do, and this does not mean that women are racists against men-kind and want to feel and therefore be different. We are different. But different is good. Once we can appreciate each other differences, then there would be a better understanding. I say this to men, but could tell the same to women. Men are different from us, we should appreciate the differences, not blame them or expect them to become women. I feel, and the woman in white agreed, that in modern society the globalization effect is spreading also in direction it shouldn't. So that, we should not think of being all equal and the same, there are differences amongst individuals, genders, races, cultures, and so on. And we're trying to destroy them. Well women should be proud to be women. Women that have a passion for any type of science or profession should pursue it. Women who feel their best achievement would be having a family and live their life for it, should pursue their dreams too. No one should feel better than the other. Both entities are part of the same thing: being a woman-being. We're humans, so we have dreams we should try to pursue. For centuries women have been considered inferior and have been denied human rights. Now that we have those rights, we're forgetting about being women. Why? I am a woman. I do not feel ashame to be feminine and I actually like it very much. I like to treat my person and I learn how to do it in the most convenient way. I am learning how to cook, how to sew and how to make homemade things, because I think it is one interest of we women to make the world a better place, more welcoming and cute for everyone to live in. Besides that, I also study psychology and I have worked for many years as coordinator, so I have not been sitting at home sewing and scrapping, eating all day. I enjoy doing that though... I found it relaxing! I just say this to give an idea of who's writing what. Anyways, this "little post" was kind of a femininity call. I have wanted to do this since ages, wanted to put up a website for it, but I never get around doing it. The white lady today was a real inspiration, a reminder of who I am too inside.
In the name of it, I attach a picture of my latest homemade creations: felted soaps, body oils and a lip-butter.

Thanks to who ever gets to read this ~ it's the outpourings I needed to have ^__^

Economizer Kitty Lake

I have a very fussy and ingenious cat, Ozio. He gets bored with normal toys and usually needs me to play actively with him once a day, which is fine when possible, but sometimes it is not possible. I already bought him "intelligent" toys, that he gets still bored with, he has feathers, homemade catnip toys, pluches, a racing track with a hidden ball he needs to take out, balls, and so on... I am not very keen in buying him anymore toys because I know that if I don't actively play with him like if I am a cat he doesn't like them. His fav game is me running behind him so he can "escape" and jump everywhere.

However yesterday someone sent me the link for a smart toy, something that indeed cat should appreciate: the kitty lake. Look at those cats and how they seem happy fishing the toys... true, cats love fishing!
So I was asking myself if I should buy one for Ozio, when someone said: put some plastic toys into a bucket with water and you have managed the trick for much less money.
This morning I tried, and of course it works like the Kitty Lake...
Ozio was happy and playing with the balls I made him, and was happy that he could play with water without me being mad at him.

Look at his face.... at first he did not understand what was going on... few moments later he was fishing the balls. I then moved the bucket into the bathroom so he could splash water all around.. and so he did, as soon as he was alone I heard splash and saw him running away, he put his paw on the side of the bucket and being not too light he knocked it over and water splashed out and on him! LOL.... It was a very interesting game, and can be done in the warm weather. You may just need to dry your floor once your cat has finished splashing and fishing, but is fun-guaranteed even for the fussier cats!!

Cheap, eco, tasty remedies for quinsy

One evening was warm, the night was colder, I felt sick had high fever and a terrible throat ache, the next day I had quinsy. Bad for me because in Holland the doctors won't prescribe you anything more than ibuprofen. Not very helpful when you have quinsy. I have been a fan of herbal cures since ever, my mum used to cure me with homeopathy when I was little, so I know a few tricks on my own. Immediately start spraying and taking propolis (both in spray and tablets) that helps a lot with throat infections and is considered a natural antibiotic. Then I reccomend you doing throat wash with water and calendula tincture (20 drops in half glass water), also put some drops on a cotton swab and try touch your throat directly with calendula.. if you even manage to remove some pus with it then you're a winner (pardon for this gross description but it's really helpful!). I have now done propolis and calendula since it started and it is already better, 5 / 6 days max the big pain should be gone. Of course, I reccomend you seeing your doctor for any throat infection, but the above are always reccomended and don't hurt.
Now the other problem (for me at least) when having quinsy: how to eat properly without hurting your throat... I have made myself ice cubes in all flavors and ate ice-creams, but I am not a sweet tooth and I prefer savory food when I am hungry. Oh.. by the way, I have the "luck" to be allergic to red/orange fruit, so no fresh fruit possible for me :( that could save you some time reading on. So cold, tasty and liquid... what?!

• Gazpacho! That's a nice one, I made it today.. to my taste, awesome!

• Potato puree with melted cheese - you don't have to eat it super cold, but room temperature is still tasty.

• Pasta fredda - small pasta with meat sauce (or four cheeses sauce) and melted mozzarella, a bit cream. grill it in the oven. when cold it still tastes nice (if you like cold lasagna, you'll love this!)
• Tuna cream - blend tuna, mayo and some olives like to make a bread spread, refrigerate.
  

• Cesar salade or any salade containing meat, fish, or if your vegetarian some beans, lentils and granes. Also cold grilled veggies, like courgettes and peppers add a nice touch.
• Baby food or any veggie / fruit puree's.
• Mini-meatballs - prepare the minced meat with one egg, parmisan, parsley, bread crums, salt and the spices you like, make very small meatball and fry them in hot olive oil (not too much, 1mm), let them cool.. they'll be super tasty and you can use the oil for some rice or so (also nice at room temperature).
  

I should have mentioned that some of those cold recipes may not be to your taste, but the meaning of this post is: try out your fav food cold, it may not be sooo bad as you think. If you have quinsy you need to eat small, liquidish and cold. The main point is not to stress your throat. Eat in small doses and often. Use ice blocks instead of water in between meals. It will really easen up the pain. This of course when a doctor will only prescribe you paracetamol for the fever.....
Peace up ladies, I wish you a lovely night ♥

Mistakes Can Become Good Things

Yes... I will tell you soon all about it, first I'd like to say sorry for the long pauses between posts.

I have continued economizing my life style, it has actually become fun and source of new ideas. I've discovered many things, which I'll tell you in details later, and I am testing new economizing solutions for the beginners like me.

The first thing I'd like to talk about it's actually a cooking recipe. I really like brownies, I love chocolate and there is a bakery in Amsterdam that makes the most delicious ones. They're quite expensive though, and considering that I can eat two per evening when I have the cravings, I decided that they were too expensive and I had to find a solution to fix this.
I can't make normal brownies at home, because I don't have an oven, I only have a microwave combi, which can hardly cook a pizza. So I decided to look for "raw food" recipes and try to create something similar to hard(core) cold brownies.
I am generally not a sweet tooth so I hardly know any sweet/candy recipe. I had to look online to find what I thought could me the most suitable for me.. when I found two.
The first you can find here and the second here. The second was easy enough but I loved the crumb mixture idea of the first. So I decided to combine the two recipes. BIG mistake. Never combine two recipes when you're making something for the first time: I had no idea about what texture I had to achieve and using two different recipes didn't help. Story made short - the brownies did not come out, instead a super nice chocolate mousse did. It's an hyper-caloric sweet and I think each person should be allowed to eat only a small quantity of it. I will now give you my "altered recipe" and you can try make the super nice mousse at home!

Chocolate Dreams

• Cookies, chopped (any cookie is fine)

• Almonds and walnuts chopped
• 3/4 spoons cacao powder
• 4 spoon sugar
• 1/4 cup cashewpasta
• 1 tbs honey
• Pure chocolate nibs
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 .5 cup milk

Mix in a blender cookies, nuts, 1 spoon sugar, the cashewpasta, 1 spoon milk.
In a pan melt nibs, cacao powder, 1.5 cup milk, butter until a cream is made.
Pour some of the chocolate sauce in the mixer, add it to crumb mix, and mix together. If someone is allergic to nuts, use dry fruit instead.
I was trying to make brownies so I layed the crumb mix in a container and poured the chocolate over it, BUT as it became a mousse, I advice you to place a little bit of crumb mix in a little glass (for desserts) and cover it with the chocolate sauce. Put it in the freezer for a couple of hours then allow to unfreeze before serving. When serving you can then add some whipped cream or a strawberry to each individual glass. I guarantee you a super chocolate dream!!! I will try make the raw food brownies again, I need to get the right texture... I will succeed. But in the mean time this was a nice discovery and is cheap to make, I'll probably do it for my next birthday instead of buying the cake. With the indicated doses you serve about 8 people. Easy, quick, bio, effortless and cheap! Best combination ever!!

I am happy about my mistake, it was a delicious one, I will talk about other discoveries in a new post or this becomes too long.
Take care and stay good everyone ♥