One Amazing Woman

Irena Sendler

1910-2008

A 98 year-old German woman named Irena Sendler recently died. During WWII, Irena worked in the Warsaw Ghetto as a plumbing/sewer specialist. Irena smuggled Jewish children out; infants in the bottom of the tool box she carried and older children in a burlap sack she carried in the back of her truck. She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids’ and infants’ noises. Irena managed to smuggle out and save 2500 children. She eventually was caught, and the Nazis broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar buried under a tree in her backyard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived and reunited some of the families. Most had been killed. She helped those children get placement into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won- for a slide show on Global Warming..

Words of Wisdom St. Teresa of Avila

Lord,
Thou knowest better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking
I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to
straighten out everybody's affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody;
helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom,
it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord,
that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person
is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen.

To Bake: Double Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Gorgeous gorgeous double chocolate raspberry pavlova (the name alone makes me swoon!) recipe from Katie - A must bake!

See for the recipe What Katie Ate

To Cook: Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

One of the great pleasures in life is vinegar. The smell alone makes me swoon and tingles my tongue in anticipation. Here's a recipe that's written 'for me'!

See for the recipe Umami Girl

Liesel's Reading Habits

Liesel's Reading Habits

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Depends what time of day it is! As soon as I wake up, and when I go to bed I will read for a while and obviously won't be eating anything then. But when I read during the day I do snack - right now it are raspberries Also Goij berries are quite addictive!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
It horrifies me! My books are sacred!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
My family and friends always give me bookmarks which I love, but I always lose them and up sticking any piece of paper I can find in the book to keep my place.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Mainly fiction, although I have been reading a lot of non-fiction books about cancer lately

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Text. I do have one audiobook which I love to listen to while travelling long distances.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I try NOT to read till the end of the chapter because the last paragraph of then end of the chapter always makes me want to read further! (does that make sense?) So I usually stop at the end of a paragraph. That is, if it's a fiction book. Non-fiction I will read till the end of the chapter.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Most of time, if I can't garther out of the sentence what they mean. If I don't look it up straight away it will bug me to no end!

What are you currently reading?
This is really bad but I'm reading three books right now!

Baby Love by Catherine Anderson, The Victoria Secret's Catalog Never Stops Coming by Jennie Nash and The Bad Beekeepers Club by Bill Turnball

What is the last book you bought?
The Seven Dials Mystery and Murder Is Easy, both by Agatha Christie

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
I can read more then one book at a time. One for every mood

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
When I wake up in the morning, before I go to sleep at night and outside in the garden when the weather is hot.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
Both. Most books I read are stand alone but sometimes I like it when a character turns up again in later books

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Being a detective fan I would recommened Agatha Christie! She is a master in creating murder mysteries where you can never guess 'who done it' and has some great and surprising twists!


How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
By colour and then by author! I love how a whole row of yellow/blue/pink book covers look nicely organised on my book shelves.

I know, I'm a geek

Love, Liesel

Marianne Faitful

Lately I've been rather addicted to Looklet where you can create and style fashion looks. It's right up my alley! A few days ago they asked me make a look inspired by Marianne Faithful because they loved my looks And now it's featured on the front page! Now I have to say it's not the best look I created (afterwards it looks rather boring, but I do think it captures the essence that is Marianne Faithfull - knee high boots, boa, mini dress). Anyway I guess I just wanted to show off

I really enjoyed this assignment and feel I now practically everything about Marianne now. Her biography is now on my To-Be-Read list and I love her song "As Tears Go By" ♥ (listen here)

The inspiration collage I made

(click on the picture to enlarge)

To me Marianne Faithfull is:

• Big floppy hats
• Knee height boots
• Fur coats and shawls
• Mini skirts & dresses
• Featherd boa's
• Huge sunglasses
• Dashing, Bohemian, Sensual, Florid, Stylish
  

My First Look: (the one they choose)

Maybe the most that you can expect from a relationship that goes bad
is to come out of it with a few good songs. - Marianne Faithfull

Look 2: (which I prefer!)


The article page: http://looklet.com/article/369

And for those interested in my other looks, here is my portfolio page:
http://looklet.com/user/259258

Does anyone else here have a Looklet account? I'd love to add you as a friend! And if you don't have one yet - join!

Love, Liesel

Monday's New Look: Sweetheart

Spring Song by Robert Browning
The Year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven --
All's right with the world!




Inspired by Cath Kidston's style. Styled by me =)

Love, Liesel