Autumn still-life

This night over the tiled roofs
Singing songs in the waterpipes
Autumn spirits will be rattling
Rain fingers will knock

Walking in December

Happiness is dissolved in time and settles down in simple things. I can't promise you anything or should I? Look, the morning starts with snowfall, the evening ends with rain. You are still alive, you are near me, and we wait for nothing at all. If somebody continues to calculate, heaven help them with patience and mercy. As for us, who leave darkness to itself, walking in December, help us never remember what I'm not speaking about. To warm up, you need first of all to get cold. Thoughts are like some other outfit, festive, clean. Every little thing is meaningful, every body part and word. If you are looking for happiness, learn to notice things. Notice how your name sounds gentler, how the city becomes joyful, getting ready for another Christmas. If you want to make sense, never look for it. Happiness is dissolved in time, and every experienced watchmaker knows that.

Босиком по городу

Босиком по городу

How we met: A Dream

Last night, in my dreams, I saw you on the pier. The wind was blowing through your hair, and your eyes held the fading sunlight. I was speechless as I watched you leaning against the rail. You are was been so beautiful, I thought as I saw you, a vision that I could never find in anyone else.I slowly began to walk toward you, and when you finally turned to me, I noticed that others had been watching you as well. "Do you know her?" they asked me in jealous whispers, and as you smiled at me I simply answered with the truth, "Better than I know myself."

5-minute healing massage

This little video of mine shows a simple healing massage technique and it is on a contest on citizen.tv. You can do this massage every day for 5 minutes to relieve a headache, fatigue of the eyes, or if you have colds. It fortifies the immune system and improves general health. You may use it alone or with medications. Please vote for me - rate me stars on the site citizen.tv! You fill find them just under the video. Registration is required, but citizen.tv is a fun site and it would be cool to receive their email once in a while, as a reminder. Thank you! Here is the link to follow.

Tell-Tale Tulips

This March, it's snowy here. On March the 8th, here, in Russia, it's an official holiday. And it's like Mother's Day in the USA or Great Britain. Tradition goes that women are offered tulips. They sell them in every flower shop and kiosk. Red, white, pink, yellow... Mimosa and roses can hardly beat tulips this day. Tulips are really the celebrity.  
This year, they are very much in the spirit of Sylvia Plath. Tulips are like wild tigers in their cages. Staring from inside into the snowy street. Any flower would look exotic in the land of snow. It's like the black tulip of Alexandre Dumas among other tulips. It's outstanding. Somewhat challenging. 

The only day when flower shops are crowded by men. Then crispy snow under their feet like a crispy tulip wrapper. 
For one day maybe, Russia looks like Holland - the tulip land.Tulips in the land of snow are as exotic as snow in the land of tulips... I imagine Dutch fields of blossoming tulips covered with snow... Taken unawares, suddenly in the middle of the spring, tulips look like delicious desserts in a white cold glaze that would melt on your tongue and lips. But it rarely snows there when they blossom. 

The Spirit of Anna Karenina in the Air

We might ask ourselves, whether Anna Karenina was a concrete person or whether Leo Tolstoi recollected her from several women he knew... We could also suppose that she is a female archetype, inhabiting our psyche. 
There is much more truth on a personal level than on a social one. 
Was there any way for a woman to reconcile these two realities - personal and social? Could Anna give up her real love-life for the sake of social "well-being"? What she did instead was try to make her dream come true, and die when it didn't work...
That's the dilemma: what do you prefer? To stay true to yourself and break the limits or stay true to the limits and - constantly - break yourself. What a sacrifice to make either way...
Women like that are a real challenge for the society. What can society offer Anna Karenina to make her happy, satisfied, fulfilled, actualized? So far, only trials, and those are traumatizing.

Anna Karenina, 2012

A Dream Come True

We are occasional visitors - tourists - spending a night in a hotel. I wake up in the morning, go to the door and sneak peek in the corridor. I see you there, suddenly, you are walking so slow. You look into my eyes. I know - it's a signal. I follow you... I am in your room already... You want a kiss.. I bend over you as if to kiss you, but turn you around, and put a scarf over your eyes, kiss your beautiful neck, make you wear jewelry. You sigh, you breathe deeper - I know why...

Morning Love

Waking up next to your beloved princess wearing nothing but jewelry would be a dream come true!

Valentine's Inspiration

Her Lover's Diary

I remember that day with sharp clearness. It was September. The weather was cool. Not really autumn-cold, wet or uncomfortable, but Indian-summer cool, with a shade of falling leaves. It was morning, everybody was hurrying to work. The first thing I saw was your hand. It found itself next to mine when we stood near a pedestrian crossing. We both wanted to press the button to light the green colour. Yes, our hands met, and you were the first to press that button. I touched your hand slightly, then looked at you. And you looked at me. I smiled at you, and you smiled looking away. I remember walking on the pedestrian crossing. I was listening to your steps, the sound of your heels on the road. I was looking ahead of me, and you did, too. On the other side of the road you looked back at me. I looked at you.  Then somebody called you. I stood there without moving, watching you. You looked back again, twice. Your eyes seemed to call me, appealing me, and repulsing me, at the same time. And then you disappeared in the crowd...

Killing Me Softly

You don't love me and don't feel compassion

You don"t love me and don"t feel compassion 
Don"t you think that now I look my best?
Though you look aside you"re thrilled with passion 
As you put your arms upon my chest.
You are young , so sensitive and zealous, 
I am neither bad nor very good to you.
Tell me, did you pet a lot of fellows? 
You remember many arms and lips? You do?
They are gone and haven't touched you any, 
Gone like shadows, leaving you aflame.
You have sat upon the laps of many, 
You are sitting now on mine, without shame.
Though your eyes are closed, and you are rather 
Thinking of some one you really trust,
After all, I do not love you either, 
I am lost in thought about my dear past.
Don"t you call this zeal predestination, 
Hasty tie is thoughtless and no good,
Like I set up this unplanned connection, 
I will smile when leaving you for good.
You will go the pathway of your own 
Just to have your days unwisely spent,
Don"t approach the ones not fully grown, 
Don"t entice the ones that never burnt.
When you walk with someone down the alley 
Chatting merrily about love and all
Maybe, I"ll be out, walking round shyly, 
And again, by chance, I"ll meet you, poor soul.
Squaring shoulders, ravishing and winning, 
Bending slightly forward, with an air kiss,
You will utter quietly: Good evening! 
And I will reply: Good evening, miss.
Nothing will disturb my heart and spirit, 
Nothing will perturb me giving pain,
He who"s been in love will not retrieve it, 
He who"s burnt will not be lit again.
1925

Sergey Esenin

Russian Christmas Inspiration

The Winter Road

Through the dim and through the clouds

Moon is crowling in the night,

To the fields and to the grounds

Sending its wistful Light.

No home, no fire ,

No something bright and gay,

Only strippen milestones are arising

On the way.

Dullish roads ! In the morning

I’ll look at dear face,

Happy, joyful on returning

After this eternal pace.

Softly clock-spring will be moving

Its untired time-hand.

I’ll forget at fire looking

All this way, this dark and trend.

Alexander Poushkin

Winter Looks

Do you like snow? When it snows, the world suddenly becomes silent, have you noticed? As you walk outside on a snowy day, you can feel how your quiet steps break the silence and suddenly you feel like a fox in the forest as you move through the city...

The Last Way

I was arranging things in the wardrobe of my wife and took a small box that I found there. When I opened it, I pulled out beautiful lingerie. It was amazing! Thin silk of a delicate pink colour and white lace! I looked at this lingerie and remembered how we traveled after the wedding, eight years ago. I remembered how I bought it in one very expensive shop because she liked it. And I liked it also. 

The lingerie was still absolutely new, never worn. My wife took it out often, admired it but she never put it on.  She put it back into the box saying that she was waiting for a special occasion...

And now, the special occasion has come!

Today, my dear, I will put it on you, before I put a dress on you and say "farewell"...

How to Start With Essential Oils

Fragrances: Magic at Your Hand

The legendary fragrances of Cleopatra, ancient recipes of Arabian beauties, subtle and delicate or saturated aromas of healing plants, have they been object of your curiosity? Yet, they are so close: you only need to stretch your hand and get a bottle of scent, and the door to a wonderful world will open for you. This will give you health, beauty to your body, veil you with seductive scents, give peace to your mind or make you braced and confident. Essential oils can work a lot of wonders. Let's see what is behind this name - essential oil.

What Essential Oil Is

The essential oil is the soul of the plant, the most precious thing that it can offer to you. Essential oils are produced by distilling different parts of a plant, not necessarily flowers, these can be leaves or the bark, while the aromas that are extracted from these parts can be very different from one another and sometimes seem even unfamiliar. To obtain one milliliter of an oil it is often necessary to distill several kilos of petals. Truly, this is not only the soul of a plant but also the scented jewel.

Lavender Oil

The Quality of Essential Oils

What shall you start with? How can you penetrate this world of aromatherapy without any problems? Let's see what we have to deal with when we decide to have a collection of essential oils and start making healing balms, mixtures and creams for ourselves and our family.

First of all you need to check carefully the quality of oils, especially those that you plan to take internally, which is also possible. You can hardly find good essential oils in a drugstore. The thing is, the price is important when it comes to the quality of an oil. Exracting and distilling essential oils is a very time-consuming complicated process, so there is a certain price level below which you cannot go.

The best place to buy essential oils is an online store that has worked for several years. The online stores would order oils from well-reputated producers, so their quality can be guaranteed.

The first requirement is the price. Usually essential oils aren't cheap. The cheapest of them are citrus and conifer ones while the most expensive are rose, neroli and sandal oils. But your expenses are compensated quickly, and it's not only the matter of your health improvement and better looks. Essential oils are very economical. Only several drops must be added to a balm or any other substance. Because ou can also mix them with each other, essential oils last really long. They may serve you from one year to several years.

The second requirement is the packing. It is better when the essential oils are poured inside the glass bottles of a dark color. In fact, essential oils react with plastic and change their qualities when exposed to the daylight. They don't tolerate temperature change, so avoid taking them with you anywhere in your handbag for a long time.

Another requirement is the botanical name mentioned on the etiquette. This can be, for example, rosadamascena (Rose Damask) or canangaodorata (Yilang Yilang). This indicates good quality of the oil as well as good reputation of its producer.

Oil Burner

Your Kit of Essential Oils

What is the minimum set of essential oils like?

In the first place, it is worthwhile buying tea tree oil also known asMelaleucaalternifolia. It is an ideal antiseptic and is very effective! If you need to disinfect a cut, cure acne, clear all kinds of inflammations on your skin, remove irritation, scurf, tea tree oil will help. Any kinds of virus and bacterial infections, mouth inflammations, insect bites, eczema, dermatitis, periodontitis, cystitis, fungous desease, including genitals' infections and their prevention are the domains where tea tree oil can serve good purpose. It is also vital during flu epidemies, when you can inhale it, apply a compress and use it for a massage in case of a cold. It is not only good to apply this oil to your skin but also burn it in an oil burner. You can mix 3-4 drops of this oil with a spoon of salt, and add it to the water for washing the floor or rinsing your clothes, too.

The action of the tea tree oil is intensified by lavender. On the whole, if the smell of tea tree appears too strong to you, lavender can replace it in most situations. Its aroma is much more pleasant. This very essential oil will help you deal with burns, especially after a bad day on the beach. It will help calm down your child and relax. You only need to put a couple of drops in an oil burner, mix them with any kind of vegetable oil and do a massage, take a bath with "lavender" salt or simply put a couple of drops on your pillow before going to bed.

Lavender oil facial mixtures or creams have a beautiful aroma. They have a soothing effect on the skin, regenerate tired skin and heal cuts and inflammations that occur after razing. They moisturize dry skin, refresh swollen eyes, diminish skin peeling. However, avoid mixing lavender oil to industrial creams.

When it comes to hair care, lavender is irreplaceable. You can do oil masks for your hair, add lavender oil to neutral shampoos and rinse your hair with a mixture of water, lemon juice and lavender oil.

By mixing lavender oil with citrus essential oils like bergamot or grapefruit you get a very exotic mixture that fills your room with an unusual tropical summer fragrance.

In fact, citrus essential oils are the third must-have for your kit. They are cheap, deliciously smelling and you can use them for anything. For example, lemonessential oil can be used as an antibacterial, antipyretic remedy, as well as fat skin cleanser, teeth whitener, chemical waste clearer for your body. It also helps those who are sea sick. Lemon essential oil is helpful for diets. Just smelling it regularly helps reduce appetite. In the evening, take a bath with citrus essential oils. This will make you slimmer.

If you need to get up early and feel braced, put a drop of a lemon essential oil in your hand and rub your hands. Better concentration, energy and absence of fatigue are guaranteed.

Tea tree, lavender and lemon are universal essential oils. They will become your helpers at home, at work, during a walk or in the countryside. They will also become your first steps in the world of aromatherapy, starting your collection of essential oils.

Essential Oils

Love story

I remember the day when I saw her for the first time. She entered the drugstore. I was buying some candy for the sore throat. At that moment, she came in. I sensed immediately her perfume - it was "Poison" by Dior. But beyond this smell there was another aroma - her own, the core, attractive, addictive and memorable. For a single instant I was granted the intoxicating, teasing sensation. I was allowed to visit heaven... Then I was bumped down back on earth. "Your change, sir." I let her come to the counter. She ordered some pills against insomnia. I did not leave the drugstore at once, though. Staring at some shampoo tubs on the display I kept spying her with the corner of my eye. She was amazingly elegant. Black hat, black belted coat and high heels. Her hair was hidden under the hat. Her eyes were green like those of a cat. As she stepped outside she left a trail of aroma that hung in the middle of the store. For that moment I realised one thing. If she asked me for anything, I would do it. I would do anything she asked me for. She only had to say. Such was the power that this woman captured over me with her only presence. A question then raised sharply in my mind: "What if?" "What if this relationship could be started?" "What if it could be continued?" I rushed outside... "Excuse me, ma'am, I saw you buying insomnia pills. See, I have been insomniac for a while and I still cannot find good pills. I was wondering if these ones were of any help." "Yes, they are good, especially at the beginning. Then you get used to them, and they are less effective, yet, quite helpful." I think she sensed the hidden intention behind my words. Still, she kept on playing her role observing me with some kind of irony. 

Hypnotic Poison

Speaking silence

Every person, at a certain moment of their life, comes to the point when they lose something, be it money, work, friends, parents, beloved ones. 

In this picture that I found on the Web, I discovered the speaking silence. It could very well speak for the loss. How can you tell a loss? You cannot tell it, you can only experience it. 

Overcoming loss

What is left after the loss

What you have is much bigger than what you have lost.

moments of zen

I'm Your Man

If you want a lover

I'll do anything you ask me to

And if you want another kind of love

I'll wear a mask for you

If you want a partner

Take my hand

Or if you want to strike me down in anger

Here I stand

I'm your man

If you want a boxer

I will step into the ring for you

And if you want a doctor

I'll examine every inch of you

If you want a driver

Climb inside

Or if you want to take me for a ride

You know you can

I'm your man

Ah, the moon's too bright

The chain's too tight

The beast won't go to sleep

I've been running through these promises to you

That I made and I could not keep

Ah but a man never got a woman back

Not by begging on his knees

Or I'd crawl to you baby

And I'd fall at your feet

And I'd howl at your beauty

Like a dog in heat

And I'd claw at your heart

And I'd tear at your sheet

I'd say please, please

I'm your man

And if you've got to sleep

A moment on the road

I will steer for you

And if you want to work the street alone

I'll disappear for you

If you want a father for your child

Or only want to walk with me a while

Across the sand

I'm your man

If you want a lover

I'll do anything you ask me to

And if you want another kind of love

I'll wear a mask for you

                                  Leonard Cohen

Batman forever

Colorful benefit of vegetables and fruits

The color of fruit and vegetables is indeed very much related to our health. Each color contributes to certain activity in our body that helps us stay healthier in many different ways!

Actually the color of food has been a subject for disputes among dietitians! Is it really true that the food of different colors influences our body in different ways? And the answer is - yes! The nature leaves nothing to a chance... Eating five different fruit and vegetables a day (not just an apple a day - we've made some progress since this English proverb was invented!) can help improve our health and make us resistant to illnesses.

Defining the color...

To keep up with the proper eating habits during the day we need to consume vegetables and fruits of different colors. For example, a tomato, an eggplant, a lettuce, mushrooms and an orange - red, violet, green, white and orange. Or, let us take another example: a plum, a kiwi, a strawberry, a carrot, a squash. In fact, any number of combinations can be proposed - the nature gives us an endless freedom of fantasy.

What do the colorful components apport us?

Blue and violate products are important because they contain anthocyanidins - natural antioxidants that prevent swelling. Besides, these products are rich in polyphenols that contribute to a better memory work. In this category there are eggplants, plums, blueberry, beetroot, dates.

As for the green products, we have a very wide choice here: kiwi, broccoli, spinach, different kinds of green salad and greens.

These products contain lutein which is inside chlorophyll and is an important antioxidant for our eyes. Besides, in green vegetables we can find magnum, carotenoids and poly-phenols - they are necessary for the health of our bones, blood vessels and teeth.

Among white products there are potatoes, bananas, cauliflower, garlic, onions and mushrooms. They all contain antoxantin - the substance that prevents tumour.

As for the red color, it has a lot of representatives: strawberry, tomatoes, watermelons, raspberry, sweet red pepper, cherry, red currents - here is a shortened list of products colored in red. The substances that give red color to the vegetables and fruit defend our cells from free radicals and help to prevent cancer and diminish the risk of heart diseases.

To finish, we stop by yellow and orange colors. Ebony and apricot, peaches and oranges, carrots and all the yellow juices can boast of this shade. They are all rich in vitamins A, B and C, flavonoids, carotenoids, which on the whole contribute to the improvement of the immune system.

As you can see from the description above, the products of each color have their specificity as far as different aspects of our health are concerned, and all together they help us stay healthy and not to fall ill. Also, it's quite engaging to form a colorful ratio for the whole day. Another advantage of fruit and vegetables is that they are low in calories and thus can help us stay slim.

Stay healthy, full of energy and happy!