Sunday, 31 May 2015

10 Things You Need to Stop Doing Today to be Happier.

Via Robert Piperon Jun 28, 2012

We tend to be unconscious of behaviors that are causing pain and unnecessary suffering in our lives.

If we could just become more conscious of behaviors that are leading to the pain in our lives, we would be a lot happier. Today we can start giving up some of the things in our life that are causing this conflict.

1. Stop complaining.

Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.
~ Henry Ford

Nobody wants to be around someone who complains all the time. Yet we all do it. Instead of finding a reason to complain, look for the solution if you’re facing a problem. Look for something positive in your life. There’s always something positive to find in our life if we shift our focus.

2. Stop Judging.

We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.
~ Paulo Coelho

Stop judging other peoples lives and focus on perfecting your own life. We spend so much time gossiping rather than working on perfecting ourselves. Focus on your own life, and how you’re going to perfect it.

3. Stop avoiding your fear.

Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
~ Rumi

Fear is an obnoxious thing—it slows you down from finding a career you love, a romantic relationship and pursing your dreams. Do something that makes you uncomfortable every day, in small steps, and it will dramatically alter the course of your life.

4. Stop being so hard on yourself.

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.
~ African Proverb

The biggest enemy that you face is the one inside you—this enemy criticizes, condemns, and complains. Don’t let these unconscious patterns run your life.

Come to terms with these patterns. The biggest enemy you ever have to face is the one inside of you.

5. Stop being negative.

Misery loves company.
~ Anonymous

If you focus on being negative it’s going to show up everywhere in your life. It will show up in your work, relations and everything else. Shift your focus away from being so negative all the time. Find things that make you come alive!

6. Stop caring about what other people think of you.

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.
~ Lao Tzu

Every great artist, musician, political leader, ignored what people thought of them. Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business. What people think of you should not drown out your own inner voice and inspirations.

7. Stop worrying about the small stuff.

When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.
~ Winston Churchill

Think about all the unnecessary worries that go through your mind all day. We worry about why someone is not returning our emails, texts, phone calls. We worry about everything and anything.

Focus on what you can do at the present moment and not about how you can worry about the outcome.

8. Stop needing to be right all the time.

The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas. It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
~ Edward De Bono

Stop needing to be right all the time, this can lead to so many unnecessary arguments. Instead of needing to be right, start working on being more open to other peoples opinions. Start asking more questions and become more interested in other people’s points of view. It may open a whole new dimension of life.

9. Stop blaming others.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.
~ George Bernard Shaw

We constantly blame everyone for all types of different things. Quit blaming other people for your circumstances. If you want to change something go out and do it! Don’t blame someone for your present day situations.

10. Stop living in the past or the future.

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
~ Henry David Thoreau

So much of our attention is on past experiences or on how we will be in the future. Focus your mind on the present moment. We would be so much happier if we placed our attention on the present.

Saturday, 30 May 2015

Lemon drizzle traybake

cipe4 min(s) Lemon drizzle traybake

From Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites

Vegetarian

Less than 30 minspreparation time

30 mins to 1 hourcooking time

Makes 16 slices

Ingredients

225g/8oz baking spread, straight from the fridge, or butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
225g/8oz caster sugar
275g/10oz self-raising flour
2 level tsp baking powder
4 free-range eggs
4 tbsp milk
2 lemons, zest only
1 heaped tbsp very finely chopped lemon verbena (optional)

For the glaze

175g/6oz granulated sugar
2 lemons, juice only

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease the tin with baking spread and line the base with baking paper.
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes, or until well blended. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top.
Bake for 35–40 minutes until the cake has shrunk a little from the sides of the tin and springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip in the centre of the cake.

Technique: Testing to see if a cake is cooked

Watch technique0:29 mins
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Mix the granulated sugar with the lemon juice and stir to a runny consistency.
Leave the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then lift out, with the lining paper still attached, and place on wire rack set over a tray.
Brush the glaze all over the surface of the warm cake and leave to set. Remove the lining paper and cut into slices to serve.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lemon_drizzle_traybake_01890

The Smart Witch

Herbs of the Zodiac

Aries: Garlic, Hemp, Marjoram, Mustard Seed and Angelical Root

Taurus: Colts Foot, Dandelion, Sage, Thyme, Patchouli and Cedar

Gemini: Caraway Seed, Lavender, Mandrake, Vervain, Mugwort and Wormwood

Cancer: Lemon Verbena, Marigold, Geranium, Apple and Catnip.

Leo: Anise, Bay Leaves, Dill, Mint, Oak, Clove and Chamomile

Virgo: Fennel Seed, Valerian, Skullcap and Cyprus

Libra: Penny Royal, Thyme and Lemon Verbena

Scorpio: Basil, Sasperilla, Horehound, Ash and Hops

Sagittarius: Red Clover, Burdock, St. John's Wort and Tobacco

Capricorn: Comfrey, Slippery Elm, Thyme and Jasmine

Aquarius: Frankincense, Myrrh, Valerian, Sandalwood and Peppermint

Pisces: Irish Moss, Seaspirit, Hyacinth, Lovage and Willow

http://www.thesmartwitch.com
http://www.tsu.co/BethWilliams

[Image: Herbs from the Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com.]

Friday, 29 May 2015

The Road to Cormac McCarthy

by Beth CarswellShare on facebook

Born Charles Joseph McCarthy in 1933 in Providence, RI, the novelist and playwright later changed his name to Cormac, meaning ‘son of Charles’ to honour his father.

McCarthy was one of six children. When he was four his family moved to Tennessee, where he grew up and attended the University of Tennessee, before joining the U.S. Air Force.

In his career, McCarthy has written 10 novels, as well as three screenplays (The Gardener's Son, The Sunset Limited and The Counselor) two plays (The Stonemason and The Sunset Limited) and some short fiction. Critics consistently list him as one of the top American novelists of our time.

While many call Blood Meridian (1985) or Suttree (1979) McCarthy′s finest works, his writing did not receive much attention until the publication of All The Pretty Horses in 1992. It made the New York Times bestseller list, sold nearly 200,000 copies during its first six months, and won the National Book Award. Previously, McCarthy had enjoyed and endured both acclaim and criticism, but not huge commercial success.

McCarthy is a bibliophile with a personal library of over 7,000 books. He has in the past cited Moby Dick as his favorite book, while eschewing the work of writers who avoid larger, darker themes like death, such as Henry James.

McCarthy′s own work tends to be virtually devoid of typical themes like romance and sex. Instead, the writing is spare, often violent and relentless, with no fear to explore the darkest, ugliest parts of humanity.

For example, The Road is a novel in which a father struggles desperately to keep his son and himself alive in the aftermath of a terrible disaster renderin the world a post-apocalyptic nightmare. Its writing is stunning, however, and earned the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. After Oprah Winfrey selected The Road for her Book Club, McCarthy appeared on her show, which is a rarity - while he's not quite up to JD Salinger′s standards of reclusiveness, McCarthy certainly values his privacy, agreeing to appearances very infrequently. As such, signed copies of Cormac McCarthy books are highly collectable and sure to appreciate in value. McCarthy is now in his seventies and lives in New Mexico with his wife Jennifer, and their son John.

Books by Cormac McCarthy

(1968)

(1974)

(1976)

(1979)

(1985)

All The Pretty Horses

(1992)

The Crossing

(1994)

The Stonemason

(1995)

Cities of the Plain

(1998)

No Country for Old Men

(2005)

The Road

(2006)

The Sunset Limited

(play 2006, screenplay 2011)

Thursday, 28 May 2015

White chocolate and raspberry pots

double cream 284ml

milk 150ml

white chocolate 450g, chopped

eggs 6, yolks only (freeze the whites to use later)

frozen raspberries 150g, defrosted

step 1

Heat the cream and milk together. Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour over the cream mixture. Stir until the chocolate is melted and then stir in the egg yolks.

step 2

Pour back into the clean saucepan and stir over a low heat, stirring all the time until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon (don’t boil or you’ll scramble the eggs), then strain into a jug.

step 3

Divide the raspberries between 8 small glasses. Divide the chocolate mixture between them, cover the glasses with clingfilm and chill overnight or until set.They should be just firm but not solid.

http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/white-chocolate-and-raspberry-pots/3431.html?ref=nf

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

10 Books That Will Change How You Think About Fairy Tales

12,096

Charlie Jane Anders

Filed to: SUPERLIST 5/26/15 10:00am

10 Books That Will Change How You Think About Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are everywhere these days. They rival superheroes at the movies and TV, and novelists rush to create their own darker, more relevant versions. But how well do you really know fairy tales? Here are 10 books that will change how you see the fairy tale.

Top image: Fairies by Arthur Rackham

1) Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale by Charles de Lint

As de Lint writes in The Onion Girl, “People who’ve never read fairy tales,the professor said, have a harder time coping in life than the people who have.” And de Lint has crafted many beautiful approaches to the fairy tale throughout his career — this most recent book sports a starred review from Kirkus, and it’s the tale of Sarah Jane, the middle of seven sisters, who goes to visit the 80-year-old “Aunt” Lillian, only to get caught up in the vendetta of some bee fairies. If you love this book,then de Lint’s back catalog offers plenty more to delve into. [Amazon| BN|Books Inc. | Powell’s]

2) Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen

The prolific Jane Yolen has been called America’s Hans Christian Andersen, and with this book she hunts down great folktales from around the world and presents them for young readers. The female heroes in these tales include a fierce Medieval knight named Bradamante, Li Chi, the Chinese girl who slays a serpent, and the Songhai hero Nana Miriam. [Amazon| BN|BooksInc. | Powell’s]

3) The Fairyland Series by Catherynne M. Valente

Starting with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, these books made a huge stir when Valente started posting them on the internet — and then became a publishing sensation, as well. A gentleman named the Green Wind summons the 12-year-old September from Omaha to Fairyland, where she must retrieve a magical talisman, a witch’s spoon. The art is gorgeous, but the storytelling is also endlessly inventive and entertaining. And if you want more grown-up stuff, Valente also reinvented the Russian fairy tale of Baba Yaga in her novel Deathless. [Amazon| BN| Books Inc. | Powell’s]

4) Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

Maguire is probably better known for giving the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. But here, he takes on the Cinderella story from the point of view of one of the stepsisters,and recasts it as a sympathetic tale about a stepsister who loses everything and is forced to live with a new family. And it turns into a somewhat realistic historical novel about the complicated relationship between stepsisters. [Amazon|BN | BooksInc. | Powell’s]

5) Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner

Marina Warner is one of the great experts on fairy tales, and in this book she sets out to create a simple map of the territory, ranging from the familiar to the unknown. Warner covers the diversity and strangeness of fairy tales, as well as explaining how they came to be sanitized and bowdlerized for young audiences. And she looks at how the same stories crossed borders and cultures, changing themselves to adapt to new contexts while proving robust and unkillable.The Guardian calls this book “wide-ranging and wonderful,” and “a winning exploration of the scope and power of fairy stories.” [Amazon| BN| Books Inc. | Powell’s]

6) Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

This book won the World Fantasy Award, and it also blew our minds. It’s a pretty simple story about a girl who reappears after having been missing for 20 years — and she seems not to have aged. We discover the dark underside of the fairy tale tropes about girls who go to live in fairyland, and see just how much Tara’s disappearance destroyed the lives of her family and loved ones. But then Tara faces a choice: return to fairyland again, or cause even more trouble? This book will make you think about the meaning of fairytales all over again. [Amazon| BN|Books Inc. | Powell’s]

7) The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairytales

This treasure trove of previously unknown fairy tales was translated into English by Maria Tatar,who came and answered your questions recently. As Tatar explained to us, Franz Xaver VonSchönwerth collected these stories in the 1800s, at the same time as the Grimmbrothers were working on their own collections. And as Tatar told us, “Schönwerth never refashioned his stories” to make them acceptable to mass audiences — leaving them just as intense as the original oral storytelling. [Amazon| BN| Books Inc. | Powell’s]

8) The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairytales by Bruno Bettelheim

This is the seminal work of Freudian analysis of fairy tales — Bettelheim digs into the underbelly of these tales and comes out with interpretations that seem startling and adult. Jack and the Beanstalk is a tale about masturbation, Snow White is about Oedipus and Electra complexes, and Cinderella is about penis envy and castration anxiety. Plenty of people have challenged Bettelheim’s conclusions, but his work still has a huge impact on how many people view these classic tales. [Amazon| BN| Powell’s]

9) The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Before Carter wrote this book of original short stories with fairytale themes, she had already translated the work of Charles Perrault from French into English. And she had compiled two collections of fairy tales from all over the world for Virago. And then she set to work creating her own. AsNeil Gaiman told the Telegraph:

The Bloody Chamber is such an important book to me. Angela Carter, for me, is still the one who said: ‘You see these fairy stories, these things that are sitting at the back of the nursery shelves? Actually, each one of them is a loaded gun.Each of them is a bomb. Watch: if you turn it right it will blow up.’ And we all went: ‘Oh my gosh, she’s right – you can blow things up with these!’

[Amazon| BN| Books Inc. | Powell’s]

10) The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition (Translated by Jack Zipes)

Zipes, a professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota, is one of the world’s leading fairytale experts. And with this recently published volume, he brings back the first edition of the Brothers Grimm, containing 157 stories. Some of these stories were sanitized for children in later editions, while others were removed altogether. As Zipes told the Guardian: “The original edition was not published for children or general readers. Nor were these tales told primarily for children. It was only after the Grimms published two editions primarily for adults that they changed their attitude and decided to produce a shorter edition for middle-class families.” (And if you want more startling retellings of the Grimm fairytales, check out a recent book of reimaginings by His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman.) [Amazon| BN| Books Inc. | Powell’s]

Sources:Needham MA Free PublicLibrary, TheTelegraph, BBC