And Then There Were None...

Agatha Christie...Talanted and, definitely, not an average person.

I can honestly say that Lady Agatha is my all-time favourite writer for sure.

I found out about her and her works when I was pretty young, I think I was still going to the kindergarten. I was watching the movies based on her novels with my BIG BIG family not quite understanding what's going on there. When I grew a bit I became interested in different kind of puzzles, secrets, detective stories...One world: quests. That was the time when I got back to Agatha Christie's bibliography.

The first novel by "The Queen of Detectives" that I read was The Mysterious Affair at Styles

and than the "obsession" started.

I love most of her works, I have some that I single out...But my most favourite novel is, definitely, "And Than There Were None" (Ten Little Niggers).

I read it when I was 13. I still remember the process. I was home alone, laying on the sofa, the weather outside was severe. I was really scared, I had the feeling that something horrible is happening behind my back, goosebumps all over my body...Yeah, although I was at home, the atmosphere was creepy. But all this feelings didn't prevent me from reading the book. Maybe they even made me finish it as soon as possible:  it was too interesting to pause.

I find "And Than There Were None..." genius and I don't pitch it strong. 

First of all, I love the "Locked room" detective stories. There is always an opportunity for the reader to pursue his own investigation (I mean this is why I love reading that kind of stories) . The plot is simple and extraordinary in the same time. The characters are so different. I feel like they're alive...I feel their fear, confusion, suspicion. But I don't like them as people...Who would like cruel people or murderers? 

Lady Agatha loved using the nursery rhymes in her stories. This one is no exception. And the way she used the "Ten Little Soldiers" makes the novel even more interesting and exciting. Killing the way it's said in the rhyme was the most shocking part.

Did I have my own suspect? Yes. I think all the characters where my suspects through the story. Several times I even thought that there is a stranger on the island. In the end when there were 3 people left I thought "Where all this murders supernatural?! No way, it's Agatha Christie! I'm sure she has and explanation!" When there was only Vera left...well, all I can say it was a massive brain attack! :D I was super confused, I couldn't understand what just happend...I thought that maybe I've omited some very important details! But the letter in the end made everything clear...At the begining everything seemed impossible, in the end - extreamly simple! That's what I call genius! Show me one person who would tell you that the "serial killer" was Justice Lawrence John Wargrave, especially after he died in the middle of the novel...So...

The ending was super unexpected, mind-blowing, ingenious...And really creepy (Walking Dead,huh?).

And special "Bravo!" for the details. 

Bon Appétit

On 15th August Julia Child, a famous American chef who brang French cuisine to American public, had a birthday. Thank you, Mr Google for telling me this fact. :)
That's why I decided to view some of her recepies and even try them in my free time.

But before that I remembered one nice period of my life.

It was last year, I think in August,  when there we REALLY BIG fires in Russia. Because of the smoke me and one of my best friends were stuck at home (well, noone would like to go out, right?). We were sooo bored because, basicly, what can you do in summer AT HOME? Right.
So one day, my friend (that ADORES cooking sweet things but never it them) offered me a cooking session - one week cooking something new everyday! That was a great idea and was pretty original as I've never had something like this.

So here are some photos (don't have all the week-photos):

1) Pie with cherry jam

After that my friend got a proposal for marriege. That means the pie was delicious!

2) Banitsa - traditional Bulgarian food!

Wup, now I'm a proud Bulgarian woman because I know how to cook this one! :)

3) Russian Honey cake "Medovik"

4) HOME-MADE pasta 

So proud of it!

Had to use my dad's white wine..oops.

My dad didn't even understand it was home-made. He thought we bought it. I guess, it means "nice work, girls!".

P.S If you really want to cook your home-made pasta...

...but it doesn't dry quickly...

...you can always try some wonderful equipment...like hair dryer!

It worked great for me :)

And I will always love you...

Good movie night + good music..What can be better? 

Enchanted by the movie, Whitney Houston's voice (again) and Kevin Costner.

Song of the day\night\week\month\year - obvioulsy "I will always love you" by Whitney Houston.

There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Few weeks ago I was spending my weekend with all my relatives in our "dacha" (Russian countryside house). The weather was amazing - sunny, not hot but warm enough, with just few clouds in the blue sky. That's why we decided to spend our evening outside, on our green field between the apple trees. As real Russians we have our own tea drinking ceremony (I even made a big biscuit cake :) ). When we got out m grandfather decided finally to teach me the art of making a tea in Samovar.

So basicly, Samovar (Rus: самовар) is a Russian traditional metal container that is used for boiling water and making tea. The samovar is, in some way, a symbol of Russian traditional life. First historical record about Samovar was in 1778 when Lisitsyn brothers registrated the first Samovar-making factory.

A traditional samovar consists of a large metal container with a faucet near the bottom and a metal pipe running vertically through the middle. 

Now there are new types of samovars like electric or kerosine samovars but we like the traditional ones like the one we have.

So, what new did I learn and what facts did the lesson recall about samovars that day...

1) Always put pipe so the output doesn't face the wind...Pretty logical, huh?

2) First you start the fire by burning old newspapers (Yes! Real Samovars work ONLY with old newspapers :D...Ok, ok, you can use any paper thet burns well). And don't put anything before the fire is steady!

3) After that you throw  lots cones in the pipe and run far away beacuse fast and dense smoke starts running out from the pipe. Or just place a chair behind the pipe, sit there and hope that the wind won't bother you. :) 

4) When the water is boiled, put your favourite tea herbes (mine is jasmine with mint) in the cup, cover them with hot water. 

5) Better to drink the tea from the sauser (Granny's method, as I call it) A) it cools faster B) It's much more delicious! :)

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Author Unknown

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life"

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" - Berthold Auerbach

So here are some pieces of music that are part of my "track list", if I can call it this way.

1) Aram Khachaturyan - Waltz from " Masquerade" based on the drama by M. Lermontov

2) Ed Sheeran - Give me love

P.S. This two works are not compared!

Did you know....

Did you know, that in our Solar System there is a space "object" similar to our planet Earth? Oh yes. It's Titan (or Saturn VI) - the largest moon of Saturn. It's the only natural satellite know to have a dense atmosphere AND, what is more importand, is that there is a clear evidence that proves the presence of liquid on its surface. Pretty much in common, huh?

But the most interesting fact is the nature of the liquid. It's definitely not aqua as the temperature on Titan is 94 K (−179 °C, or −290 °F). Then what can it be? The extensive lakes, long rivers and deep sees are filled with liquid methane! There is a whole methane cucle in nature as we have a water on on the Earth. Could you just imagine that? Big clouds of methane frome which methane dropes fall down slowly as some little snowflakes, than they form big water basins that fter time become clouds again.

There are so many thing about our world that we don't know and when whe discover them it's always something surprising. It's something never seen before but it always obeys the laws of our nature.

So I guess, Titan is the place where the smoking must definitely be banned. :)

Nowadays...

"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."

"The Picture of Dorian Gray", Oscar Wilde 

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

Few weeks ago I was in Cyprus as a volunteer there helping with a big English camp. I didn't have much time for doing something I enjoy as I was always running in front of the crowd trying to stop the car or convince the kids to speak English. In the middle of the second week I finally got some time for myself. I was too exhausted to go to the beach so I decided to relax while reading a book. When I turned on my E-book, my first thought was that I should finally end "Jane Eyre" that I started while preparing for my exams last month...Well, I can't say that I read much so you may consider that I started reading it from the very beginning. And that experience was extraordinary. I remember going to the local college with a big bunch of children and reading this book while walking. Thank God some of “my students” were nice enough to warn me before I bump into a lantern of a tree. Some of them were very curious why am I so absent-minded that started walking and reading next to me.


The point in this whole preface is to tell you my thought about “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë as I was impressed. I won’t try to make a literary analysis…Just few words about the book.


First of all, I was really surprised and happy in the same time that this work written in the Era of Romanticism actually has a happy end. As a lot of people compare Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina I had the impression the Madam Brontë’s heroine will have the same tragic destiny. But unlike Anna Karenina, miss Eyre has this strong struggle spirit that helped her to overcome the difficulties. I respect (if you can say that about a book character) Jane Eyre, really. It would seem that an inconspicuous girl or woman without family, money or relations can’t make it in this world, especially if we are talking about 19th century. But Jane Eyre did it. And she did it without giving up her believes. Jane Eyre is a clever, good and extremely generous woman. She was aspiring to happiness although all the bad thing in this world. She forgave her offenders, helped the lost people, equalled to worthy ones. Even when her dream was so close to her, Jane Eyre didn’t give up herself because it was wrong and she knew that. But in the end all her sufferings led her to the perfect ending. I think Fyodor Dostoevsky said his famous words “Beauty will save the world” for such women like miss Eyre. It’s a pity that nowadays people consider “beauty” as 90-60-90 and don’t see the inside potential of a woman or man. I think that Jane Eyre’s inside beauty costs much more than some models’ perfect look.




I think that after reading “Jane Eyre” you will learn some simple but very important things about life, about yourself. I don’t want to reveal all the interesting parts as it’s much more fun having you own “life investigation” through the pages of the phenomenal book by Charlotte Brontë. So find some free time, a nice comfortable armchair, a book and get lost in the world of classical literature.