22k Gold Musical anklet

Gold musical anklet. Subtle beauty

22k Gold musical anklet. Subtle beauty
 Fit for a queen. The musical anklet is a simple anklet accented with dangling beads which makes a melodious jingling sound with the movement of the feet, a pleasure beyond words can describe.

Balcony with wood carving

Minute hand carving on the wood

Gold: Hedge against Fear

For a long time Gold has been a hedge against inflation or an alternative hard currency.
But lately Gold is betting on fear. Meaning when there is fear in the market, Gold goes up. When the fear subsides, the Gold goes down.

Presently there is a strong fear that the Federal Reserve will start tapering and that will affect global growth. So since December 2013 Gold has risen about 11%.

However there is a big consumer demand for Gold in China and India, where economic worries have risen. Swiss refineries are working overtime to produce smaller denomination Gold bars as preferred in Asia.

Recipe for Bourbon Balls

Bourbon Balls
1 1/2 cups crushed ginger snap or vanilla wafer cookies (tip: use Mi-Del ginger snaps to make it gluten free)
 1 cup pecans (or walnuts)
 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for dusting
 1/4 cup bourbon (or rum)
 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
 2 tablespoons honey

Pulse the pecans in the bowl of a food processor until they are coarsely ground.
Add the crushed ginger snaps, along with the confectioner’s sugar, bourbon, cocoa powder and honey. Pulse until the ingredients are combined. Place in a bowl.
Chill until thoroughly cooled in the refrigerator, about two hours. (You can expedite this by chilling in the freezer for about 45 minutes.)
Remove the dough from the fridge.
Using a teaspoon as a measure, roll out small balls with your hands, about one inch in size.
Toss to coat in a bowl of powdered sugar.
Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Church in Lyon France

Dome

Sharing by Mother Teresa

God gives us things to share, God does not give us things to hold.

 

Need by Swami Vivekananda

White Chocolate fudge

White Chocolate fudge

 

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time : 7 minutes

Makes about 50 chocolates

 

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup sugar	2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt to taste	1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 vanilla bean	10 oz white chocolate chopped
1/2 cup shelled, peeled pistachio nuts	1/2 cup sliced almonds

 

Grease a 7 or 8 inch square cake pan.

Mix sugar, butter, salt and evaporated milk in a large saucepan

Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the small black seeds into the sauce pan.

(You can substitute vanilla bean with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Add the bean to the saucepan and boil it over medium heat, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.

Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, still continue to stir.

 

Remove the saucepan from the heat and lift out the vanilla bean with a fork.

Stir in the chopped chocolate until the mixture has melted with a smooth consistency.

Add almonds and pistachios and stir in the pan.

Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.

 

Cut into small squares and serve in confectionery wrappers.

 

You can store the fudge upto one week in a refrigerator.

Celestial music

Celestial music
Artist Sue Helms used glass, mirror, brass, foil and broken jewelry to create this piece of art.

18K Gold bangle studded with diamonds

18K Gold bangle studded with diamonds

Care for your Sweaters

Care for your Sweaters
Storage:
Always fold sweaters and store on a shelf. Heavy knitwear should not go in the hanger, the weight of the garment will change the shape around the shoulders.
Clean sweaters before storing, because food stains, perfume and body oils attract moths.
Fold with sleeves on the inside to maintain shape. Fasten zippers and buttons to avoid snagging.
Store sweaters in a cool dry place to avoid mildew.
Maintenance:
Try to leave 24 hours before wearing the sweater again, so the fibers that have stretched can contract back in shape.

Manual pour over coffee

Manual pour over coffee brewing is in fashion. Gourmet coffee shops all over the USA and Canada offer manual pour over coffee, where every cup of coffee is individually brewed. This gives the customer the ability to pick the beans they want brewed instead of having to take whatever is in the airpot. The trade off is that instead of a $1.50 cup of coffee, each cup now costs $5.00 and higher for example Starbucks in Manhattan, NY charges $7.00 per cup and this is no latte or mocha, just a cup of black coffee, thereafter you pour the milk to taste.

Here are the basic steps to a manual pour over cup of coffee.
1.Find a filter cone. You can use an old cup with a hole in the bottom but a coffee filter cone is better.

2.Find a filter. There are metal, cloth and paper filters. Each one provides a different brew.
Metal filters let though more oils and solids.
Paper filters absorb the oils and block more solids.
Put the cone and filter on top of a coffee cup.

3.Heat water. An electric tea kettle is the easiest. Let it boil and then wait 30 seconds for the water temperature to drop to
between 195° F and 205° F. (88°C and 96° C)

4.Grind coffee. Grind two tablespoons of coffee for each five ounces that you intend to brew. Use a medium fine grind.

5.Rinse Filter  Before putting the grounds into the filter pour hot water into the filter. The hot water will wash out the filter and
will heat the cone and coffee cup. Dump the water out of the cup. Put grounds into filter.

6.Pour Water   Coffee professionals use a pour over kettle. They cost about $50. You don't have to use one but you need to pour
slowly and not dump the water into the filter. For the first pour, just cover the coffee grounds with water. If the coffee is freshly roasted, it will bloom and give off carbon dioxide from the roasting.
Wait 30 seconds and then slowly pour more water into the filter.
Wait and then pour more water.
You need to stretch out the pour to around 3 minutes to get the full flavor of the coffee.