Monday Mood Board
Posted by baahar | Filed under Uncategorized
As you can guess from the board, I’ve got a cold. This year I got ill rather often .. signs of aging? .. could be : ) Thankfully it is nothing serious. It only deprived me of last nights sleep.
Having spent a significant amount of time in the hospital lately ( because of my friend ) I realised once more how precious our health is. I’m very thankful for every single illness I saw there and don’t have.
My prayers go out to all seriously ill ones ( http://spiritjump.blogspot.com/ ) and also to the earthquake affected people in Haiti and Chile.
The items in the mood board are from these very talented European Street Team members:
1- Juicy Orange – Ring Set from PetitPlat
2- Get well soon – greeting card from ArtMind
3- Lavender Chamomile herbal pillows from BlueTerracotta
4- Colorful Afghan blanket from AtelierAfra
More mood boards can be found on fleurfatale’s blog.
“GIVE HOPE” … a giveaway for Haiti
Posted by baahar | Filed under etsy, handmade
Since last week, after the earthquake hit Haiti and the terrible news about it hit our screens, we are moved to help in any way we can … no matter how small the amount. I have seen many initiatives on Etsy alone to support our brothers and sisters in need. Seeing all this effort strengthens my belief in humanity and that we still have it in ourselves.
Even though I would wish to be able to do a lot more, I want to do a little give-away to raise money for Architecture for Humanity’s plan to rebuild Haiti.
For that purpose I made a wristlet with the message “GIVE HOPE” and am giving a total of 5 items away.
Update: I’m finally announcing the winners of this give-away I held to raise money for Architecture for Humanity’s program to rebuild Haiti.
We were able to raise 100 $ … not as much as we would wish, but more than most of us would have been able to donate individually.
Lesson learned: first build a large network of people / friends / followers and then organise such things : )
Special thanks to Minnie from MoaningMinnie, Maisy from MissMaisy, Tessa from ColoursAndTextures, Ophelia from opheliasapothecary, and Julie from stitchesbyjulie for donating their beautiful handmade items.
To participate:
- simply make a donation of at least 5 USD to Architecture for Humanity’s “Haiti Earthquake Support Plan” via this link. Each 5 USD gets you an entry in the list
To increase your chances:
- after donating, tweet about it to get an additional entry (tell me about it in the comments section)
- after donating, publish this link in your facebook page to get an additional entry (tell me about it in the comments section)
The winners will be selected by a random number generator and announced on 14.02.2010
And here are the items you can win:
1- Give Hope wristlet – Winner= Ira G. (random number 18 )
2 – Sleevy for the Amazon Kindle – Winner = Inger M. (random number 16 )
3 – Sleevy for the iPod Touch – Winner= Joanne Z. (random number 11 )
4 – Sleevy for the iPod Touch – Winner= Pinar S. (random number 13 )
5 – Crochet headband for girls / women – Winner= Derya D. (random number 15 )
6 – Cloche hat from MoaningMinnie – Winner= Thongbai T. (random number 5 )
7- Earrings from MissMaisy – Winner= Julie G. (random number 12 )
8 – Greeting card set from ColoursAndTextures – Winner= Ferda E. (random number 20 )
9 – Lip tint from Ophelia - Winner = Swee L.Y. (random number 7 )
10 – One bar of handmade soap from Julie -Winner= Tessa S. (random number 8 )
Vienna meeting
Posted by baahar | Filed under Uncategorized
Here is the report of our meeting with Swee and Vadjutka upon request from several EST members:
A while ago Swee informed me that she was planning to come to Vienna for her 23th ( !! ) birthday. As KreativLink is living nearby and I’m already here, we thought a meeting would be lovely. Vadjutka was going to join the party from Budapest (3 hours by train). Unfortunately KreativLink got a cold the day before and couldn’t come.
On that day it was cold … VERY cold. I picked up Swee from her hotel and we headed to the Mariahilferstrasse (major shopping street), which we had to walk all the way up to the train station to meet Vadjutka.
As the train rolled into the platform, I was concerned whether I would be able to recognise her or not. Then the train stopped and lo and behold, in the wagon that stopped right in front of us, a girl … waving and smiling … with a camera hanging from her neck =) She started to take photos right away, giving me an excuse not to take many pictures and leave that to the professionals =)
From the day it was certain that Swee would come, I wanted to take her to Bortolotti. My favourite ice cream parlor on the planet. So I made a reservation for the first time in my life. When we settled on our reserved places, it was pressies time. Vad and I brought along some birthday presents for Swee and she surprised us with Christmas presents =) Her workmanship and eye for detail is just amazing.
My presents from Swee ... she spoiled us rotten indeed =)
Vad's presents from Swee
Swee with her rings from Vadjutka
After those lovely moments we ate sandwiches with Italian names …
but in reality I wanted to skip that part to order ice cream … asap. I showed the girls the pics in the menu card to get them drooling. But in the end they said that they are full !! Unbelievable but true … I mean there must be always space for some ice cream, right? I was feeling that this moment was a significant one with regard to the way I see the world.
Apparently the world was divided into two sets of people: those who have space for ice cream … and those who have not.
My ice-cream cup captured by the talented Vadjutka :)
I ended up being the only one eating ice cream, while the others waited for me to finish. Hopefully I can go back with KreativLink one day to enjoy a large cup … TOGETHER … not alone … not all by myself *no pun intended whatsoever* =)
After that it was time for me to go, because the time for midday prayer was about to run out and I had to reach home before that. Then I thought I could stay a little longer and guide them at least to the Naschmarkt, if only I could go to a clothing shop with changing rooms to pray there … secretly =)
Unfortunately there are not that many shops at this end of the Mariahilferstrasse and Vadjutka wanted to go get some beer for someone as a present, from a special brewery nearby. She didn’t know the exact address, so we didn’t know how long that would take. We had to make decisions =)
She, a Jew, said “first the prayer, it is important”.
Me, a Muslim, said “let’s go get the beer”, because I didn’t want her to get lost. I think that was the first time ever I said that … probably the last time too =)
Finally we decided to split up. She went by herself and we went to find a suitable shop with a changing room. The first one we found was for men clothing only … so no chance for me to pretend trying out something. The next one was ok, we went in, I picked up a cardigan, said “oh that’s nice, let’s try that out” and headed right to the changing room. Relief !!
We met Vadjutka again at the Museumsquartier and went to a small shop with very diverse items. Among other things the “giant microbes” . After that I lead them to the Naschmarkt and left them with a hand drawn map of the places they had to go next … I hope it was helpful =)
To sum it all up: it was a lovely day. I hope we can meet again some time, some place …
Calzone Recipe
Posted by baahar | Filed under food, handmade
Here comes my beloved calzone recipe. I just made a new batch and my folks aaah’d and hmmm’d a lot … so, here you go =)
Ingredients
… for the dough
1 kg flour
350 ml warm milk (= 1.8 cup)
200 ml warm water (= 1 cup)
2 teaspoons (1 package) dry yeast
9 tablespoons olive oil
5-6 teaspoons of salt
4 teaspoons of sugar
… for the filling
You are actually free to put whatever you want in it. Your favourite pizza topping will do.
Procedure
Put some of the water in a cup and slightly mix in the yeast. Add a teaspoon of sugar and let it wait for 5 minutes.
Put the flour, milk, rest of the water, oil, salt, rest of the sugar, and the yeast+water mixture into a bowl and knead well. Put a cloth on top of the bowl and let it rest for about an hour.
After the dough has grown to approximately twice its size, make little balls (a little larger than a walnut) out of it and put aside.
Roll out each ball to approximately 14 cm in diameter (= 5.5 inch). Put 1,5 tablespoons of the filling on one half of the dough, fold over the other half and tightly secure the borders =)
Bake at 200 C (= 390 F) for about half an hour or till they look brown and crisp.
Update on THE “EST Granny Square Blanket”
Posted by baahar | Filed under misc
Since the announcement of this project one month ago, many packages poured into my home from all over Europe … Latvia, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Austria, Norway, France, … all of them containing colorful granny squares like these:
I know of a few that are still on their way, so we have 54 of them now and counting. Thanks to this project I realised once more, how people everywhere in the world are willing to participate in projects to do something ‘good’, in however small way that may be.
I also realised that 7×7 cm is not equal everywhere :)
As I will not be able to put together the blanket until new year anyway, I want to extend the time EST members can participate in this project for one month. So the new extended deadline is 31.12.2009.
As for the charity organisation I would want to donate the money that we will hopefully raise by selling the finished blanket: one organisation close to my heart is Architecture for Humanity. I love their way of bringing together local architects with communities in need and provide open designs to build sustainable homes and other types of buildings. Sustainable is the keyword for me here, because even though I love many organisations for their charitable work, I would love to see more sustainable projects that are of benefit for the people in need for a longer period of time.
My favorite charity organisation is the IHH with their projects like “They Need You To See – brighten the eye of one of 100.000 Africans“. However, for this blanket project, I would love to donate the raised money to Architecture for Humanity. If this is ok with the participating EST members, of course.
Tags: architecture for humanity, blanket, charity, crochet, est, etsy, granny square, handmade
Project “EST Granny Square Blanket”
Posted by baahar | Filed under etsy
Some time ago, ArtMind from the European Street Team (EST) on Etsy blogged about her dream in progress, referring to a granny square blanket she was working on.
Back then I mentioned the idea that we, as the EST members, could make a collaborative granny square blanket for the team, where all participating members would send a square or two for me to put together as a blanket. The response from many a EST member was convincing enough to announce this project now.
How to participate:
- send me a convo over my Etsy shop
- with your participation you will commit yourself to send me at least one granny square by the end of November 2009
- it would be highly appreciated if the squares would be 7 cm x 7 cm, made out of mercerized cotton yarn.
- as for the yarn: I’m using regular crafty yarn with which 26 stitches amount to 10 cm. Washable at 40 degrees (see picture below)
- 3 sized crochet hook should be ideal for the yarn
- You can use this tutorial to make your squares.
Pending decisions:
- What should we do with the finished blanket ?
- Should we agree on a color scheme ?
Idea => Put the blanket on Etsy for sale to benefit some charity organisation with the raised money. If it shouldn’t sell within 3 months, to randomly select a winner from among all participants (each participating square = one entry).
I would appreciate all ideas or critiques in the comment section or via convo. All updates regarding the rules will be announced here !! Any update regarding the progress will also be announced here and more often over Twitter.
As you can see, I already started by crcoheting two squares :)
Happy crocheting !! :)
Tags: blanket, crochet, granny square, handmade
Walnut-Apple Dessert
Posted by baahar | Filed under food
Every time I make this dessert I decide to make it more often. Much, much more often. But then something happens and I wait till the next time when I expect guests.
This recipe will serve 8-10 people.
Ingredients:
… for the apple layer
2 ground apples
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
100 gr ground walnuts
… for the biscuit layer
50 gr ground petit beur biscuits
… for the pudding layer
1 lt milk
50 gr cornstarch
7 tablespoons sugar
Procedure
… the apple layer
Put the ground apples in a pan and let it cook over a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Add the sugar and cook till the mixture gets dry. Add cinnamon powder and walnuts. Mix well and remove from heat.
… the pudding
Mix cornstarch and 100 ml of the milk in a separate cup and set aside. Mix the sugar with the rest of the milk in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add the milk+cornstarch mixture and stir well till the mixture thickens (appr. 3 minutes). Remove from heat.
Now put a layer of pudding in your serving cup.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of the ground biscuits.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of the apple mixture.
Add another layer of pudding.
Done !!
Let it cool in the fridge and serve with cinnamon on top. Bon appetite !!
Tags: apple, milk, recipe, walnut
Bugs in Writing
Posted by baahar | Filed under misc
So, you finished your masters … you feel smart and are proud of yourself for having had the determination and will power to do it? Well, enjoy the feeling while it lasts !! If you are going to write a dissertation as well, you will feel otherwise … soon !!
All will start with the endless amount of books and papers you have to read. The more you read the more you will wonder if there is maybe one major publication you missed that could turn out to report the exact thing you are working on … making your work redundant and useless.
Soon after, you will start asking yourself questions like: why am I doing this? what if somebody else already did this ? Am I wasting my time ? Will my dissertation be even worth reading, let alone contribute to the field ?
But most of all you will ask yourself: now, what was I doing ?
If a fairy would come to you at this phase to grant you a wish, you would most likely wish for a life in a small village, far far away to herd sheep !! What a beautiful, calm, relaxed way of life that would be …
Wake up ! The fairy does not come … believe me, I’m talking out of experience.
You have to shake off those bad feelings and carry on .. to get it over with will be your main motivation.
To ease the whole process of writing your dissertation you will need the following:
- A ‘good’ supervisor: S/he should be good as a person in general and also good in the field you are working on. You need someone you can trust, someone you can be sure that s/he will not let you down if some conflict of interest arise, someone who knows what is going on in the field in order to prevent you from doing redundant work, someone you cannot fool even if you managed to fool yourself (which is veeeeery easy) …
- A documentation policy: Make notes during every meeting with your supervisor and send them as an email afterwards to her/him. This will make sure that both of you were talking about the same thing and understood each other correctly. It will prevent misunderstandings regarding the content of the meetings, deadlines, scope of the work, etc …
- At least one person who can listen to your ‘ occasional ‘ speeches about the thesis, your self pity and skepticism without smacking you on the head -> best is an anti-social brother who doesn’t talk much and can look at you as if he listens, even though he is somewhere else with his thoughts saving the world or something.
- A book like ‘Bugs in Writing’ by Lyn Dupre: This book can guide you through the whole writing process, giving you strength during tough times with priceless advices like: “tell yourself that nobody ever reads dissertations anyway, that the dissertation requirement is just an archaic form of torture, a rite of passage”.
Best of luck mate !!
Tags: advise, bug, dissertation, lyn dupre, thesis, writing
For the language lovers out there …
Posted by baahar | Filed under misc
Nowadays I’m following Tim Ferriss on Twitter ( I still think that ‘following’ is a creepy word for that, though ). He mostly gives useful links, but doesn’t tweet as much so that you can go to sleep without worries that the next day your tweetlist will be full with links.
Though I’m more interested in his language learning related posts, his blog is informative in many ways. Even more so because he tries everything out himself and reports the results, saving you and me a lot of energy and time.
He recently tweeted about a site ( Etymologically Speaking ) with a list of some curious word origins. Here are some of my favourites that I found very interesting:
Quintessential
From the medieval Latin, “Quinta Essentia,” or “the Fifth Essence” — what we would now call, “The Fifth Element.” That which is quintessential is of the fifth element that would come after the four classical elements (earth, wind, rain, fire). The OED summarizes this original sense best, “The `fifth essence’ of ancient and medieval philosophy, supposed to be the substance of which the heavenly bodies were composed, and to be actually latent in all things, the extraction of it by distillation or other methods being one of the great objects of alchemy.”
“Quintessential” began life as an alchemical term, the Quinta Essentia, the fifth that arises from the four elements you mention in your etymology. The Fifth was thought to be the fabled Philosopher’s Stone which the alchemists sought, a Stone that could cure illness, extend life, and turn base metals into gold and silver. How to combine the four elements to make the Fifth was the great problem of alchemy (from the Arabic “al-kimiya”).
Robot
Robot comes from the Czech word “robot,” which means “worker.” In 1923, Karl Capek, a well-known, Czech, science-fiction writer at the time, wrote a futuristic thriller about a nightmarish scenario in which the machines have taken over (a la, the “Terminator”) and implanted circuitry in humans to make them into mindless zombies willing to serve them as workers or “robots.”
Schlaf (German) Sleep
Originally meant, “the process of becoming tired”
Suede
Gants de Suede is French for “gloves of Sweden.” It was in Sweden that the first leather was buffed to a fine softness, and the French bought the gants de Suede. Suede now refers to the buffing process–not to any particular kind of leather.
Tags: language, learning, tim ferriss
Cabbage Stew
Posted by baahar | Filed under food
My mom didn’t cook cabbage stew as we were children and I discovered it only a few months back myself. I loved it and keep making it since.
As Renate from kreativlink just asked for an easy recipe for cabbage, I thought it is a good time to put my recipe online.
So, here it is to serve 4-5 people
- 500 gr cabbage
- 100 gr minced meat (optional if you are a vegetarian / vegan)
- 100 gr rice
- 1 carrot
- 2 tablespoons of paprika or tomato paste
- salt
Cut the cabbage into slices and the carrot into cubes. Put everything together in a pan and cover with water. Let it come to a boil, add salt. Reduce the heat and cook … well … till it is cooked.
Serve with yoghurt and chilli on top. Bon appetite !!
baahar on Etsy
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