Happy Michaelmas!

Catholics and some other Christian churches are celebrating the feast of St Michael and All Angels today. The tradition has it that Archangel Michael is the chief of all Archangels who has defeated Satan during the war in Heaven. Celebrated after autumnal equinox, when the nights get longer and the proper autumn begins, it invokes angelic protection against the forces of darkness.

This site describes UK traditions in celebrating Michaelmas (you can also read about it on Wikipedia). Of course, according to the old Celtic calendar, the equinox marks mid-autumn and not it's beginning. While I'm not a Catholic myself, I think there is no harm in remembering an old European traditional feast. I found some inspirational sayings online. 

Here is one of them:

  We are lucky to be surrounded with angels sent by God who are always there to keep us safe and happy….. Sending my best wishes on Michaelmas!!

Do you celebrate Michaelmas? 

How Not To Turn Into A Hag

Or, as they used to say, handsome is as handsome does.

P.S.I first saw it on twitter. As far as I understand, it's not copyrighted. I''m not sure of the original source it came from.(Mine comes from this article).

I'm Back!

Hi! I'm back and comments setting is back to normal. Will posts again as soon as possible:)

Greetings everyone

A Personal Note

I'll be away from computer till Friday. Comments will go into moderation. They have been slow lately, but I'm still getting spam.

Have a nice week, everyone!

The Didn't Need A Mortgage

These folks were like some real-life hobbits. In fact, people pointed out in comments that J. Tolkien was probably inspired by them. An interesting thing is that families kept living like that till about mid-1960s, when the government started encouraging them to move to "nice modern houses" which nowadays nearly always means taking a mortgage or being dependent on the rental company. It's like being plugged into a matrix vs being independent.

Are banks really behind the majority of modernity's troubles??? Who knows...

Another Daycare Horror

"A 52-year-old day care worker is accused of stabbing five people...Police say they recovered a butcher knife and a meat cleaver at the scene, reports NBC New York....


"Seven infants were inside the facility when the woman attacked a female co-worker and the children just before 4 a.m., according to an official. 

A 3-day-old girl and a 1-month-old girl were stabbed in the stomach; a 20-day-old girl had a laceration to her ear, chin and lip. All are in critical but stable condition, authorities said. Two other people, a father of a child at the day care and another woman who worked there, were also stabbed at the Flushing center just before 4 a.m. Friday. The woman was stabbed eight times in the torso. -NBC New York"

A 3-day-old girl in a daycare setting, in the middle of the night, stabbed in the stomach??? What the heck is a short-term residential care facility ? Is that a daycare in an apartment complex? Words fail me...

Read the whole article over here. 

Everything You Know About Anything Is Wrong

Do you remember how we were all told about the danger of eating eggs? They would raise your cholesterol and cause heart attack and dementia. Well, not according to the new research, which claims that it's actually vice versa, eating eggs will improve your brain function and lower stroke risk:

Having eggs for breakfast does not increase the risk of dementia, a new study has found.

In fact, eating them may actually help to boost brain functions, scientists now claim...

 Study author, Professor Jyrki Virtanen, from the University of Eastern Finland, said: 'Neither cholesterol nor egg intake was associated with a higher risk of incident dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

'However, egg intake was associated with better performance on neuro-psychological tests of the frontal lobe and executive functioning.

'The findings suggest a high-cholesterol diet or frequent consumption of eggs do not increase the risk of memory disorders even in persons who are genetically predisposed.' 

In fact, eggs contain the essential vitamins E, D and A and

...research in November found consuming just one egg a day reduces the risk of stroke by 12 per cent.

And it's not only Finland, but the US scientists also start questioning the conventional dietary guidelines:

US scientists also found that consuming eggs had no association with coronary heart disease - the leading cause of death worldwide. 

Read the whole article over here: Want a healthy brain? Have eggs for breakfast


In other news, antidepressants may be the cause behind antibiotic resistance:

A key ingredient in common antidepressants such as Prozac could be causing antibiotic resistance according to new University of Queensland research

 A study led by Dr Jianhua Guo from UQ’s Advanced Water Management Centre focused on fluoxetine, a prescription drug used to help people recover from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or eating disorders...

 “This discovery provides strong evidence that fluoxetine directly causes multi-antibiotic resistance via genetic mutation...”

Antimicrobial resistance has become a major threat to public health globally with approximately 700,000 people a year dying from antimicrobial-resistant infections.
This is predicted to reach 10 million people by 2050 unless global action is taken now.

But at least, we'll have our Prozac!

Doing Something Nice For Your Husband

Why not pampering your husband this weekend? After all, the guy's been working hard since Monday to provide for his family. Mine wanted a breakfast in bed today so that's what he got:

Tea with honey, a cup of milk (full fat, of course), blueberries, cheese made from unpasteurised milk, two breakfast rolls (baked at home!) with butter and grapes jelly (again, self-made). The roll recipe is a modification of the one from the Nordic Cookbook, mentioned in one of the previous posts.

I used 2c mixed flour (buckwheat, whole grain, whole grain spelt, white), 1 1/2 tsp yeast, 100 ml (lukewarm) milk, 50g butter, 2 tbsp raw brown sugar, 2 eggs (large), cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt.

To make the dough I warmed the milk with butter in it, dissolved the yeast then added sugar, eggs, salt and cinnamon. Then you add flour in portions, and mix everything thoroughly. The dough is supposed to be kneaded with a hand mixer, for ab. 6 min. I used the lowest setting. Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hour.

Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a couple of minutes, not too hard (it's supposed to be on a sticky side). Form a long roll and cut into 12 pieces. Place on the paper-lined baking tray, cover and let rise for another 1 1/2 hour. Bake at 200*C for 15 till 17 min. Serve cooled.

Women Aren't That Great

One of the biggest problems of a modern woman, especially (I'm sorry to say) an American one, is an absolutely unearned sense of entitlement. When I was growing up, I wasn't taught by everybody around me that I was God's greatest gift to men, a goddess or even a Daddy's Little Princess for which I'm entirely grateful to my parents and caregivers.

Lest you think it comes chiefly from "libruls" "progs" and "feminazi" think twice. It will more often than not come from "conservatives" (some call them "Churchians" nowadays). Take this article, for example. The author apparently means well, yet what is the end result? Let's find out!

The article deals with the inability of modern career girls to find a husband and build a family yet it's called The Problem With Men... To quote: The problem with the guys they come across is the exact opposite. They don’t approach with any intentions.

Well, I have some news for you, maybe men don't approach you because they don't find you attractive? Could it be that you are a problem? Why is the onus always on men? In the times past girls from the young age were taught how to "catch" a husband, which included training in domestic skills, btw.  If a modern "cubicle" girl doesn't inspire any tender emotions in her male colleagues, whose fault it is? (And speaking about the office setting, with modern harassment laws, why should a guy risk his career? There are other places to meet the opposite sex, outside of the work setting, but I guess, "cubicle" girls have never heard of it?)

But no, says the esteemed author, the problem doesn't lie with women, how could it be? It's...(suspence intensifies) internet porn! He then goes on to state that The social opportunities open to women today are making them better catches... Better catches, really? Who decides? Certainly not the men who refuse to approach these "better catches".

He then presents this demeaning caricature of a young man: They live underground in the dark, seldom experiencing fresh air and actual sunshine upon their faces, and scrounge for anything close by that they can eat. (And many young women get wasted at parties, engage in all sorts of risky behaviours, and spend time attention-whoring on social media but these facts never get mentioned by any "conservative columnist". And if you say Not All Women Are Like That - it's true, and neither all men are primitive cave-dwellers).

The following example is truly bizarre:

Ask any young woman how she vets all the nice young men who approach to decide who will advance to the bonus round of an actual date. She will ask if you rewind your VHS tapes before returning them to Blockbuster, or just pay the fee.

Is it even a modern article? I don't know anyone, much less a young person, using a VHS tape - they all stream Netflix through their smartphones. The author then makes a truly amazing statement (at least, amazing for a supposed conservative since that's what liberals have been claiming since forever), that masculinity isn't biological, but a social construct which "males" have to learn. No wonder "conservatives" weren't even able to conserve girl bathrooms.He also gives us some examples of manliness: Margaret Thatcher.

Here I pause to wonder. If males should learn manliness (from women apparently) shouldn't women learn femininity (from men? Mind-boggling). Not according to the author. A woman can be a "warrior" and still perfectly feminine. Unlike masculinity, femininity does not require demonstration. It exists most strongly in a woman’s essence. He essentially says that women are created perfect and never need to learn anything (just not being "butch'" whatever it means - obviously being a general in the army is OK). Why trying to make yourself attractive to men? It's them who have a problem!

Next the author spends several paragraphs waxing poetic about masculinity, and teaching boys masculinity while not forgetting to remind us about the matchless power of the feminine. And in case you still had some doubt, it's up to men AND women to teach masculinity to boys: Men teach and call younger boys up into it, and women set before the young male what he must do if he wants a shot at them. 

It all boils down to this: men are supposed to learn virtue but women ARE already inherently virtuous. Women should have high standards for men, but men should be just happy with any goddess woman giving them attention. No wonder that a certain article on male preferences in dating caused so much shrieking by supposedly Christian women some time ago. Lots of them actually believe that they are the greatest thing existing since the Virgin Birth.

He ends up with this statement: We need to be men, all of us, to hitch up our collective trousers and teach our boys what manliness is and what it is not and demand they act on it. If nothing else, there’s a whole generation of young women hoping someone will step up and do so.

It's some serious reversal of help meet doctrine: men exist to cater to women. My conclusion after reading this: I don't know about "toxic" masculinity (it isn't something they are talking much about in my country, thank goodness) but I do know what is toxic - constantly bashing men while not enforcing any standards on women. It's about as much conservative as supporting big corporations and cheap labour at the expense of the existing communities. Also, if a woman desires to marry, she should be proactive about it, which includes learning about what men actually value in women and excludes *itching complaining about where have all the good men gone.

Self-Made Muesli

Inspired by this book

by Gisli Egill Hrafnsson and Inga Elsa Bergthorsdottir

It was actually very easy to make. I used 2c rolled oats, 1 pkg dried cranberries (could be substituted with raisins or something else) and 1 pkg walnuts which I broke into smaller pieces. You need to combine oatmeal and nuts and roast the mixture in the oven for ab. 15 minutes (mine got rather dark, I must say, may be because I roasted them at 190) at 180*C, stirring regularly. Let cool and add the berries, mix again and transfer to a container of your choice:

As I have mentioned, mine turned out rather dark-roasted and dry, and it took the oats some time to absorb milk but it did taste delicious, probably because of the cranberries. Anyway, it was fun to make, I think I'll do it again!

Dresses For The Coming Season

I thought it was time for some pictures:) Last week I bought several dresses online which were in clearance department.

I don't usually wear pink, but liked this one for some reason. It's woven, not knitted, it's from a famous brand and it was really cheap, like 20 euro and available in my size.

The next one is probably more in my style though on a longish side. I've been hesitating about it since the colours appeared rather drab on the website, but it is actually a nice dress.

The last one is the most boring and it could be a size smaller I guess (my size was sold out). it was only 10 euros though and I think it's good enough for every day jobs like scrubbing toilets and vacuuming:)


In the end I should mention that all the pictures were taken by my dear husband who is currently in bed with flu (that's why the bed looks so messy), the fact which he specifically asked me to mention, to garner sympathy, I guess:)

I post more pics tomorrow, but not of myself this time...

Fertility And Career

don't always go hand-in-hand:

When you're a woman in your mid-30s, fertility is not a given. If you're working 80 hours a week and are exhausted, conceiving a child doesn't necessarily happen as easily as you might think. I know, and I am not the only one to have this problem. For women in finance, the heavy workload, the high stress and the lack of sleep not only make it difficult to find a partner, but are a recipe for hormonal imbalance and infertility. The longer I work in banking, the more that I feel that I'm being made to make a choice: the ability to conceive, or the opportunity to become an MD.

As one could have expected, she blames the human biology  patriarchy:


My male colleagues don't have this dilemma. Not only are they able to have children easily (often with women who work outside banking) but their ability to start families is making it even harder for female bankers like me to do the same.

The comments are hilarious. Read the whole story over here:

I'm a female banker. My male colleagues are making me infertile.

Yes, you can do it!

 If I hear one more person telling me how they'd love to be a one-income family but they really do need this huge house, I think I'm going to scream:) In my time, working mothers at least had some decency to pretend they loved their jobs, nowadays they openly state it's all about money ( I actually read a discussion where a woman was asked why she worked and she answered with I really love the money, no kidding!)

I have always been puzzled by the fact that so many folks insist they need a bigger house with a garden when

a) they have the maximum of 2 kids
b) their house is always messy because they don't have time to clean it due to the working schedules
c) the only thing they do with their garden is to pave it with tiles (which, in my opinion, should be forbidden by law:)

So here I found a video which once again proves, that it's quite possible to raise a family in an average size house and be happy. It features a Danish couple who live with their 4 kids in a house of 93 m2 (which not so long ago, used to be a normal size Euro town house). The mom chose to be a homemaker which means they have to save and be inventive with the space they have.  Their living room is 20 m2, and their two older children (daughters) share a bedroom of 6 m2. And you know what? They are doing fine!

It probably helps that this is a Christian family, yet in my observation, many Christians nowadays appear just as much (if not more) obsessed with money and status as their unbelieving counterparts.Yet this family, apart from not inhabiting a 5 bedroom semi-detached, don't appear to be lacking much, which proves another of my points. If you choose to live on one income, you won't be really "poor" in Western Europe, you'll just have a bit less luxury in your life. You'll still be able to drive a car and go on vacation, but of a budget sort.

So yes, you can be a housewife, even in Denmark, if you choose to. Here is the link to the video.