Sunday in the English Countryside

Hi friends,

This is the scenery within a 5m radius of my cottage today.

The right side of my cottage.

And the left side.

Isn’t she lovely? 

This is the reason why I am truly happy here despite my itchy eyes and runny nose… 

Hay Max Organic Balm

Hi friends,

I found something at Morrison’s. It is somewhat cute, isn't it?  

This is the natural remedy for hay fever, organic drug-free balm. Only £1.99. 

Not sure how effective this can be. I will be a guinea pig for you.

Sunday Light-ish Lunch

Hi friends,

Sunday light-ish lunch.

The sad thing about living alone is, as I talked before, that I have to bear with all the expenses by myself. Although I am not so fussy (yeah yeah…), I don’t like prepared meals at all. It has to be freshly cooked. It is no wonder why I end up with the same ingredients for days.

At least, I try to change the looks of it, but it is still the same tofu burger!

I eat salad many times in a week with aged balsamic vinegar.

I cannot stand those bottled salad dressings with full of horrible things such as preservatives. If it is quality aged balsamic vinegar from Emilia Romagna in Italy, you don’t even need olive oil or anything at all.

My favourite product 2.

Hi friends,

If you have read my previous blog, you might remember this. I recommend anyone to use Avocado oil for high heat cooking. 

Flax oil and Olive oil are widely misunderstood to be healthy options. Ladies and gentlemen, always remember this if you don’t have sufficient life insurance coverage. They are NOT, if you use it for high heat cooking.

Anti-ageing is, predominantly about how we could adopt anti-oxidants in our lives. Oils tend to change their characteristics to oxidising substance if it is heated up to the certain temperature. This temperature is commonly known as smoke point and avocado oil’s smoke point temperature is 271 ̊Celsius whereas olive oil 191 ̊C.

This means, Olive oil is OK to use for medium heat cooking, say up to 180 ̊C but definitely not for high heat cooking such as deep frying. Flax seed is only 107 ̊C, don’t use it for cooking.

Also, for your reference, whatever the oil you choose to use, never re-use the heated oil or the oil which has been left for long time. It is not the same oil you believe it was. It has turned into the baddie called Trans Fat. It will not only damage your waist line and expedite unwanted aging speed in your body, but also it can be a common cause of arteriosclerosis. Always best to use the fresh oil and store the bottle in a dark cool place, definitely not a good idea to keep it by the cooker.

If you are not keen on avocados because of that unique greasiness, why not try it in oil? It contains wonderful vitamin E – the very anti-ageing stuff our skins need.

My favourite.

Country Saturday

Hi friends,

It was a beautiful sunny day today. Cannot waste a day like this.

Country walk from Charlecote to Hampton Lucy. 

They are typical villages in South Warwickshire. 

See? There is nothing in the village apart from a church and a pub…

Also, I made two hanging baskets today. Flowers become 70% off this time of the year.

This one is white Petunias.

This one is pale blue Robelias, pink Saffinias and purple Petunias.

They will look pretty in 2 weeks or so.

My eyes are now itchy and my nose is completely blocked. Hope my fellow hay fever sufferers will understand this feeling.  If my eyes and nose were detachable, I would take them out and rinse them very thoroughly in cold water…they are driving me insane! 

British Creativity Chocolates

Hi friends,

Curiosity kills the cat.

Yes, I did it again. How can I resist the temptation of these new-ish looking things?

Neither Peanut butter nor cappuccino with chocolate sounds innovative in these days, but they certainly look promising, don’t they?

British Creativity...whatever it is.

Breakfast and Dessert

Hi friends,

As usual, Juno’s big breakfast.

I like using tofu in burgers, This time, it is mixed with green peppers.

Then, it is very unusual of me, but I had a pudding after breakfast.

Apple Strudel and Coffee. Very nice indeed.

Right, time for me to do some housework to burn the calories and fat!

Faulty Print Dress

Hi friends,

I bought a print dress (again) on Amazon. It is a typical cheap and cheerful thing for summer.

Unfortunately, as a print dress queen, I cannot have this. Look at the pattern on the left shoulder to chest and the right side. Patterns are not matched up, are they?

I liked the shape and pattern and it goes well with my complexion but it has to be returned to the seller. Shame…

Environ Hydrating Exfoliant Masque

Hi friends,

Ladies, this is God-sent.

Environ Hydrating Exfoliant Masque. “A mask specially designed to help improve hydration and remove excess oil from skins surface”. And, that is exactly what it does.

I like anything versatile. As well as masque, this can be used as exfoliant as it says in the name. After cleansing, apply it evenly on the face. If you need a quick fix, it can be left over night. Good, isn’t it?

Or if you are using cleansing oil, you can put this masque on the top of the oil on the face, then, it acts as exfoliant.

It contains kaolin (white clay, excellent ingredient to cleanse your pores) and vitamin E.

Wonderful product for a person like me who doesn’t want to do much in the evening.  I shall leave it on the face over night, then, relax and enjoy my lazy long summer evening.  

Lasagne for breakfast !?

Hi friends,

Not many people believe what I eat from early morning….

Much to my family’s horror, I am one of those weird people who can eat lasagne from early morning. 

Ever since I was young, I never liked eating in the evening. Instead, I eat a lot in the morning and here are some photographic evidence. My breakfast from Monday till today... ;-p

Will be there

Hi All,

This is not only for my personal friends, but also for those who once lost their ways.

I love roses. They mean a lot to me. When they are fresh, I enjoy them in a vase. When they are coming close to their end, I cut their stems very short and put them in a coffee cup or a wine glass like this.

I like the way I live now. Arranging roses - little things like this make me happy and content. Although I am still not 100% of what I want to be or miles away from where I want to be, I don’t dislike my life.

I had been a very sad unhappy person for long time.

I hate my life and family, and I was jealous of everyone who was not myself.

Quite few times in the past, I nearly gave up, but I did not. Although I feel depressed or stressed from time to time, I am getting happier and quite content year after year.

Well, I was really happy this time of the last year but by mid July, I went back to where I was.

Never mind, I can start again. This time, I will go further and better. I will make sure that I won’t go back there ever again.

Friends, how do you fancy living life full? In a way we like.

Watch me.

I will be where I want to be and what I want to be.

  

Work Dress?

Hi friends,

I like browsing Amazon and I was looking for a dress for work this morning. I like wearing a simple dress with a colourful scarf. There are lots of dresses priced from £10 - £15, but when they are matched with good quality shoes, they will never look cheap. 

I typed “work dress” and clicked search. See what made me laugh.

....Why? 

Little Wedding Gift

Hi friends,

My loveliest colleague will get married in July. I got a card and a little gift for her.

I always take time to choose a card, as the choice of a card tells something about woman’s taste louder than her dress.

This cards says

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives us a fairy tale…

….and they were happy ever after. Congratulations on your Wedding Day!

Yes, bit cheesey, that's my taste, but we all need a fairy tale in our ordinary life, don’t we?

Very best wishes on your big day. Looking forward to seeing your beautiful photos. 

Be Happy!

Darling, it has to be 114.

Hi friends,

The day has come. The dreaded moment.

Ladies, my beloved Chanel Coco Shine (Boy No.54) has gone. I must have something to replace it immediately!

It has to be Rouge Allure No.114.

I went to John Lewis, but the lady at the counter said,

“Darling, you are too late to come here. We haven’t got it.”

OMG!!

“Darling, can you get it from different John Lewis stores?”

It is our little etiquette to call each other “Dhaaarrling” in nasal voice at the Chanel counter and if it is Solihull, a hint of Brummie accent has to go with it.

“Darling, 114 is a limited edition, you know. They went so quickly.”

Off course I know that, I have no will power when it comes to “new” and “limited edition”.

“I am gutted, Darling.”

“Oh sorry my darling. Why don’t you try House of Fraser? They might have it.”

“OK, thank you darling. I will try House of Fraser then.”

“Darling, is there anything else you need? Maybe, gloss?”

“Oh yes, darling. I will have 165 for a treat, please.”

“Very good choice, darling.”

Left: Rouge Allure 114 Précieuse, Right: Brilliant á Lèvres 165.

Off course I got them both, my darlings…. ;-) 

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” 

― Coco Chanel

Lunch and New Cushions

Hi friends,

Today’s lunch.

After lunch, I went to Solihull for shopping. The cushions I used for years became bit grabby. As summer sale has started, it looks like a good idea for me to replace them.

This is the old one.

And this is the new one.

Even the chair looks like new one.  It was 50% off. Hurrah! 

Bibimbap

Hi friends

What on earth are you having from early morning?

You might have wondered. Yes, this is my breakfast today. Korean Bibimbap, Edamame Omelette with Juno’s special Sweet & Sour Sauce and Miso soup with Tofu and Enoki Mushroom. (Authentic Korean Bibimbap is eaten with a raw egg, but I don’t recommend anyone with eggs in this country because of salmonella risk.) I don’t know Korean culture that well, but I don’t think Korean people eat Bibimbap for breakfast.

I eat a lot, really a lot from morning and keep snacking all day and stop at 18:00. It used to be 19:00, but as I hit big “four-oh!”, and my metabolism has slowed down, I have to stop eating earlier.

I am an easy going person who can be very happy with simple little things. Eat well, work hard, play sensibly, and laugh a lot. Then, my happy life is there.

Used to be play hard. When I was still a student, I kept drinking Chablis with my friends until dawn. All of my friends were in deep coma but I got up to attend the first lecture of the day at 7:45am. Before my professor started his lecture, he told me calmly, “I appreciate that you are a conscientious person, but come back when you get your normal elegance and some intelligence back.”

What a man! Some intelligence, thank you for expecting that from me, Professor.

Since then, play hard yet not to disgrace myself has become my motto. (Off course, after twenty odd  years from that day, even now, I often become silly and make some memories I want to wipe out from the system.)

Eat well and work hard bits are unchanged since my 20s and the old motto is still with me.

This is enoki mushroom I used for miso soup. 

They look weird but they are said to reduce the rate of cancer risk. I just like its texture when it is cooked in soup, or with pasta.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/mushrooms-health_b_3069976.html

It is also said it burns body fat effectively when it is dried once and then used in cooking. If weather stays dry for days, I should try to make dried enoki for my beauty bonkers experiment.

I made an omelette with edamame beans as well. 

Off course they also have great benefits for women’s health.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-edamame-1665.html

With my special sweet & sour sauce, they tasted rather nice….

My sweet & sour sauce is very simple, it is not even cooking. Ketchup, bit of brown sugar, vinegar and potato starch and water, mix them well and heat up in a microwave oven.

I cannot say that to my Chinese friends. If you are reading this blog, please excuse my disgraceful adaptation of your country’s cooking…

Ate rather well this morning.....

  

All's Well That Ends Well.

Hi friends,

This article is for those who are worried.

I can admit now that, since May, I had been worried like a mad about something very personal which I cannot share with you here. It was a thing from the past. I thought it was so unfair but I was almost giving up fighting back, as I was hoping a quick exit rather than prolonging the issue.

Because of that, I could not sleep well and kept waking up at night. Consequently, I was constantly tired and with hay fever, I felt so dull and heavy every day.

Some of you know that I am an angel card reader. I did not read a card at that time, but I asked angels to guide me. Then something came to my mind. There is a way to get out from this. If I could find “something”, I can put a full stop to this mess.  

If you want to find something, call Archangel Gabriel to help you. Then I used a dowsing crystal to search for it. It was an act out of desperation. I kept asking Archangel Gabriel to help me to find it. Then, the crystal reacted and I found “the thing” surprisingly easily.

Few days later, my car started making terrible noise. I was told that I need new break discs as well as pads, and possibly calliper (whatever it is) and the estimate was £325 to fix it.

Ouch!

You know, I got my car window fixed in May and now this. Had to go ahead, it is break after all, too dangerous to leave it.

Then, the morning I got an appointment with the garage, I got this card.

There is nothing to worry about, and guess what? The bill came as £150. The lady at the garage said, they could fix my car with cheaper discs. What honest people they are!

To celebrate my little luck, I got this for myself – a play at Royal Shakespeare Theatre! Look at the name of the play. This is exactly how I feel now. 

Phew! 

All is well, when you believe it.

Korean grocery shop, my weekly food budget and stress

Hi friends

I love the little Korean grocery shop in Cannon Park, Coventry. I go there once in a month and spend too much on those exotic foods and ingredients.

Yes, I did it again. 

It came as £28.52.Nearly my 1 week grocery budget.

Then, went to Waitrose as usual.

Oops, I have already exceeded the budget completely before I start the next week.

Never mind. I need some treat. It has been such a hectic week with lots of complex issues. The combination of hay fever and stress got me badly and I had asthmatic cough last night. Although the inhaler saved me this time, if I am not careful, I will end up in a hospital again like 2 years ago. 

It was this time of the year and was scary experience but the young doctor in Warwickshire Hospital A&E was good looking and such a gentleman. After he checked my DOB, he said “you are keeping yourself  remarkably well.” Wow, thanks Doc.

“But you are not good at breathing, are you?”

….Yeah, thank you, Doctor.

Not good at breathing? It is like telling fish that he is not good at swimming!!

Anyway, this is my supper this evening. It is rubbish and far from a treat, but I could not be bothered to cook anything proper today. (pathetically, behind the noodle bowl, I have got a glass of water with apple vinegar for PH balance.)

I really had enough this week.  All I want now is, going to bed, reading a book and catching up with beauty sleep . Then, I shall be OK and ready for a nice weekend.

Thanks for reading. I wish you a fabulous weekend. God bless you all.

Wonka Bar

Hi friends

Ta-dah! Look what I got. Wonka Bar!!

Although it reveals my age, I dare to say my Mr Wonka is Gene Wilder. Oompa-Loompas should be small orange people with green hair. Do you remember this scene from Charlie & Chocolate Factories?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_uSlEEPSk

Oh my God! Look, I won the golden ticket as well!!

And the invitation from Mr Willy Wonka!! Whoopee!! 

…..according to BBC, it is a fake Wonka Bar, as Nėstle who owns the name of Wonka have not produced any chocolate bars since 2010.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-22134617

I actually found this in the old fashioned sweet shop in Stratford-upon-Avon. I thought it would be rather amusing if I could wrap up the DVD and this chocolate together as a gift for the friend who loves Johnny Depp.

The chocolate itself is just an ordinary product which shouldn't cost you more than 99p. Yeah, OK, I admit I paid £3.99 for it. I also fond this being sold on e-bay for £5.95.

Well, some people certainly know how to make money, don’t they?