Avocado

         I love eating avocados. They are tasty and go well with salads, sushi and sandwiches.

        They are also very nice looking fruits (can be easily confused with pears).

        I wanted to see how the plant which bears avocados looks. I was not sure wether it grows on trees or bushes. One time when I eate and avocado I sliced the pit in half and put it into the water. After some time a little sprout appeared and so I put the pit into a pot (later I read that it was not a good idea to start my new plant growing). The sprout grew very rapidly and very long. After some time I noticed a next one coming out of the pot.

        Even if I will never have any fruits I really like my little tree :)

Hoping for the best

Abraham Van Helsing

                Sometimes a book is written :). Well, maybe more than sometimes. But sometimes there is a character in one book which later appears in other books and films. Its starts a life on his/her own. One of such character is Abraham Van Helsing.

He came to life in 1897 in a Gothic book written by Bram Stoker entitled Dracula. He was asked for help by his friend Dr. John Seward and he came to England to assist him. He recognized Lucy's "illness" immediately and was the one who explained to the others about vampires. He also takes part in the chase where Dracula is finally defeated. He is skilled, knowledgable and a very brave man. Despite being a doctor he believes in supernatural world.

From there on he became a symbol of fight with evil. And as such he appeared in many movies, book and even comic books.

Some of the more famous Van Helsings:

Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing

Anthony Hopkins in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Mel Brooks in Dracula: Dead and Lovig It

Rutger Hauer in Dracula 3D

Laurence Olivier in Dracula

Sense and Sensibility

           When I read books about life abroad I'm always curious about descriptions of this life. I want to know how people behave, what they like, how their lives look like. Even more exciting are books which describe long passed times. For example life two hundred years ago. One of such writers, who would describe her times and the society in great details, was Jane Austen. And one of her best books is "Sense and Sensibility".

The book was published by Austen in 1811 under a pseudonym "The Lady" and it is her first ever published romantic novel. It follows life of the Dashwood family and especially of two sisters - Elinor and Marianne. The older Elinor seems to be the responsible one. She always knows how to behave in society, she chooses her words very carefully and appears to be cool and reserved. Marianne is a romantic soul. She is sometimes rush and too exuberant. Those two sisters will have to face big difficulties throughout the book. They will fall in love, have their hearts broken, loose their home, find a new place and new friends, and change a lot. In the end it is the reader's job to decide which sister was the sensible and which was the romantic one.

I like the book for many reasons. Firstly, the girls transformations. It's fascinating to read about their change, development and growth while encountering new situations in life. For me it's "comming of age" tale. Secondly, I like to observe life during that period. The action of the book takes place between 1792 and 1797. The story is a mine of information about the behavior, dress code, parties, women's position in society, family life and many, many more. Third, I like the twist at the end of the book. It teaches us a lesson I guess, that it's not only the outside that matters but we should make an effort to get to know somebody before we judge them. And that people can change due to circumstances they meet along their life path.

The book cover

Hurray for Sherlock Holmes!

         Sherlock Holmes is without a doubt the best detective in the world. At least for me. I like Hercule Poirot as well and there are certain similarities between the two gentleman. For one: they have style and nicety :)

But comming back to Sherlock. He is not the nicest guy you can imagine. He is very self-confident and sometimes arogant. He likes to show off at times proving that he has an exeptional mind power and unique skills. That's particulary visible when he deals with the police. However, he allows the police to take credit for his work and does not want to be famous. Only thanks to Watson's articles he becomes a well known private detective.

He doesn't have many friends but he also doesn't seek them. He values Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson and it seems that they are the two people who can actually put up with him and his difficult character.

I like him because he doesn't take NO for an answer and he doesn't suffer fools gladly. He thinks and says what he wants and makes his own mind about many things. He is rarely influenced by others and although he is not a people's person he will do anything for those he respects. He is bold and impertinent at times but somehow charming as well. And when you see his work and his techniques you cannot help but think that he is a genious. So maybe he has every right to be arogant :)

Brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch!

New Year 2015

         The New Year is here again - as every year :). At least for those who are lucky and make it to celebrate it.  Life is short and it's imporrtant to make the best of it.

New ideas of mine:

ACTIVITIES

1. use the bow start in April 2015

2. learn to shoot a gun done 2010

3. play tennis

4. learn Japanese

5. to fish

6. surf

7. collect grapes

8. milk a cow

9. try golf

10. zorbing

11. write a book

12. cooking classes

13. fly a kite

14. give blood done first time 24.08.2013

15. write my favorite author done 20.09.2013

16. learn pottery started 16.09.2013 and still on it

17. read all books from my list 83/204

18. de-clatter my life :) start January 2014 and all done :)


COOKING

1. american pancakes done 31.12.2013

2. polish pancakes

3. chilli done 31.12.2013

4. lasagne done 30.08.2013

5. bake muffins done 29.05.2013

6. make a cake


TRAVEL

1. Kambodża

2. Dubai

3. Paris planning in June 2015

4. Rome done first time 1998 - October two weekds in Italy (Bergamo, Verona, Venice, Bolognia,                                                                                                                                      Florance)
5. Safari

6. Helsinki

7. U.S.A. done 2002 (1 year)

8. Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia

9. Visit 7 continets

10. India done 2012 (4 months)

11. Hong Kong

12. England done 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012

13. Road trip

14. Japan done 2009 (1 month)


BODY

1. Become slim starting - 02.01.2015 - at lesat 10 kg to go

2. Try exercise ever day - enrolling for the fitness club in January


OTHER

1. own a coffee shop

2. ride in a helikopter

3. touch a shark

4. touch a tiger/lion

5. have a house on a beach

6. plant z tree

7. send a letter in a bottle

8. get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it, instead of just thinking about it started - August 2013

9. pat a snake

...

and more to come :)