Weekly Photo Challenge: Family

Holidays are an excellent time to take a break of the everyday worries and spend some time with our love ones and think about life.

To me, one of the most wonderful things about human beings is their amazing capacity to relate to each other, so that the memebers that conform your family go beyond your own relatives as really often friends become an important part of your life. That’s why I like a lot a essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in which talks about friendship as “The masterpiece of Nature” http://wp.me/p10iHd-6J

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If wishes came true…

Text and Photo by Nora Vasconcelos

To live forever.

Reading today’s question from the Daily Post that says; Would you rather read minds or live forever?, a story I read a long long time ago cmae to my mind.

This story talked about a king of a far away country who in his yong years was handsome and succesuful. He was so pleased with his life that he wished one day he could live forever.

As it happens in the tales, the king’s wish was granted and he felt really satify when he find it out. The years passed by and he started to feel old, but still he felt happy about his eternal life.

More years passed by and one by one all his love ones died until the day came one he was all alone.

By then he was old and sad, his kingdom was nothing amazing as it had been once and he hed no more people or goals to live for. But still, he was to live forever.
Then he wished he could die. And as it happens in the tales, his wish was granted…

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The wonders of chocolate

By Nora Vasconcelos

And then Chocolate came to the kitchen...

This week I’ve been thinking about how wonderful chocolate is. This product has been present in the world for a very long time, ever since it was prepared by the ancient Mexicans peoples, when they used to grind the cacao (cocoa) beans to make a watery preparation with different flavors that were used as tonics either for the soul or for the body, to the time when the cacao beans became an important part of the international trade between the new and the old continents during the XVI and XVIII centuries, until this product was processed and perfectioned by European companies such as Nestle and Lindt.
Most of these stories have become part of several novels that talk about the ancient Aztects and Mayans, or about those times when the Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean to come to America amazed by all the different products that were found in the new land.
Some other stories have been captured in books that talk about the history of the companies and their recipes such as The Ghirardelli Original Chocolate cookbook, or The Hershey, Pennsilvanya Cookbook.
A recent novel published that talks about the wonders of this delicious product and its amazing properties to cure a hurting soul, is the one called Chocolate Chocolate, by Frances and Gine Park.
For the children there are some books, such as Curious George goes to the Chocolate Factory by Margaret and H. A. Rey
Of course there have been some movies where chocolate’s the main theme, such as Chocolat which is based on the book by Joanne Harris, published in 2000.

And now, after this culinary and historical tour, the first question that comes to my mind is… fancy a chocolate?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Breakfast

Hungry, by any chance?

This is definitely a yummy topic. Breakfast is something really delicious when you have time to sit down and enjoy it. Just like this, some hot chocolate and a good slice of sweet bread! Bon apetit!

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A different point of view

New ways to see things.

I recently watch the movie The Help, which is based on the book with the same title, written by Kathryn Stockett.
Although the story is set in an specific time and place, very well pictured by the way, what I like the most is the way it manages to connect to the viewer. The characters pop up and seem to get around as close to the place as if they were actually there, telling the stories of their difficult lives themselves.
I’ve also like the sense of compasion, courage and equity that is transmited during the whole movie. And, even though, injustice and discrimination are the key elements of the story, I liked how the piece keep sharing with the public that even through difficult times it’s possible to keep values such as pride, companionship, an open mind, and a certain sense of achievement and well being.
In the end, the characters are able to change some of the bad things that affect their lives and gain a new strenght and perspective of life that makes them look at the future with a much more confident heart.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder

The wonders of a peaceful time.

I couldn’t think about something more wonderful than this amazing landscape where everything seems to be in its right place, calm, full of natural elements and colors.

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