Monday 26 January 2004

Culture Shocks

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Hello ^fname^,


This is Nucha Aquino from Thailand/Philippines.  
Welcome to our Small World. We are sending this 
ezine to 2900 readers today.


We publish weekdays. The schedule is roughly like this:
 > Monday - Culture Shock
 > Tuesday - Traveller's Insights
 > Wednesday - International Recipes
 > Thursday - Q&A and Miscellaneous Talks
 > Friday/Saturday - Paid Solo Ads 

Any comment is welcome. Please write to me

Last week we went to the beautiful city of Tagaytay 
(pronounced ta - gai - tai... with a hard "g" and a hard 
"t"). If you missed the issue, you can now see it at
http://small-world.eLaguna.net/articles/tagaytay.htm

(I forgot to put some photos last time... Just added one 
today.) 


Thank you Diane Fabian from Wisconsin who reply to our 
Tagaytay story...

"Here, it has been snowing since morning. After work, I had 
to get some groceries, and the roads are very slippery.  
There are a lot of patches of ice under the snow, which 
makes walking pretty treacherous! The wind is howling, and 
I sure was glad to get back home, get a hot cup of coffee 
and relax at the computer.  Looking at the beautiful 
pictures of Tagatay helped me warm up! ...

"I live in Wisconsin. We have warm days when the ice melts, 
but we also have periods each winter that make St. 
Petersburg, Russia's average winter temperatures look 
almost tropical! Then, winter weather warnings are issued 
by television and radio, warning people not to be outside 
for long.  It sounds odd that people should need to be told 
to go indoors, but an odd thing about extreme cold weather 
is that if you're out in it for too long, you actually start 
feeling almost warm and very sleepy; that's when you are in 
danger, and if you don't get indoors, you could die.  
Fortunately, there are only a few days each year that are 
that dangerously cold."

... which reminds me that when it is hot like hell here, 
people in the other side of the world is endangered by the 
cold weather...

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"Learning from the Russians How to Make Your House
Cozy and Warm for the Winter,"

by Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach



This summer, I sat in a restored wood cabin on 
Kizhi Island in Russia, where the winters are
WINTERS and contemplated what it would be
like to spend months and months in tiny quarters
with your loved ones when it was freezing cold
outside, and a matter of survival. One large
room, with a very low ceiling, and something very
special in one corner. The corner opposite the
hearth was considered sacred, and held an icon. 
(See photo here:
http://www.zinos.com/authors/1/AU01703/AR008456_img )

Color is very important to warmth. The natural
wood on the inside - walls, floor and ceiling
alike - was warm, and I could imagine the glow from
the flicker of the fireplace. 

The homes in the Russian villages are all brightly
painted on the outside, something you never seem
to see in the photos. (See photo here:
http://www.webstrategies.cc/nancy_and_babushka.jpg ) 
We were surprised at the continual "fairyland,"
a term the guides had learned to use because I'm
sure they heard it often. 

They also spend a lot of time on their windows,
which are not standardized and seem to be the
"brand" of the family. Different sizes, ornately
carved, painted in accent colors. Truly a
fairytale. I was there in the summer, but could
just picture what it would all look like in the
winter. We do not want to camouflage
ourselves in the snow. We want to shout out "I'm
here, I'm alive, I'm warm, I'm thriving!" Consider 
putting something very bright on the outside of your
home - door mat, door decoration, wall mounting to
signal your haven from the cold.

When we entered the cabin (living history) there
was a young village woman in costume seated by the
window to grab the light, and to be immortalized
in it - like a Vermeer, And she was doing
beadwork. 

Winter cheer!

KEEPING THE HOME FIRES BURNING

I've always referred to certain tasks as "keeping
the home fires burning." Why did I decorate for
Christmas? Why did I send cards on everyone's
birthday and anniversary? Why the weekly phone
calls to distant relatives, and the extra effort
put into food presentation? Even my Camp Fire
Girl chosen Indian name was something about
"hearth."

Sitting there in Kizhi, I imagined Neanderthals
huddled around the fire, getting as close to each
other and their animals as they could, to stay
warm. And yes, in the Kidzhi larger cabins, one
of the rooms was a winter barn for the livestock
where the animals spent the winter. 

I thought of "3 dog nights," nights so cold the
eskimos bedded down with 3 dogs, instead of 2, or
1, or none.

I always start "nesting" in the fall. I want to
stay home more, and start doing handwork again -
sometimes knitting sweaters, sometimes needlepoint
pillow or pictures. I bake more, fix hearty stews
and steamy chilis and homemade bread, the staff of
life.

What can you do to make your home "warmer" in the
winter? Work with that primitive scene - the
furs, the closeness, the color of fire, the need
to hunker down.

15 TIPS FOR TAKING IT UP A NOTCH

1. Change to the winter slip covers, in warm
fabrics such as velvet or corduroy, in deep colors
of the fire. Remember it goes to "blue" when it's
hottest. Deep jewel tones, dark golds, rich 
magentas and burnt oranges, a splash of ultraviolet 
blue.

2. Bring out the accent pieces - some pillows with
handwork you've bought or made, the winter afghan
draped casually over the sofa.

3. Rearrange the furniture just a little, bringing
things in closer, and closer to the fireplace, so 
people can figuratively "huddle." 

4. Throw down some throw rugs. (You can always
find some super deals on carpet-remnant area rugs
if you look around.) I live in South Texas where
I enjoy the tile floors for the 8 months it's over
90 degrees, but they are sooo cold looking and
feeling in the winter, so I bring out the area
rugs.

5. Buy a Lab and put him on his bed in front of
the fireplace. j.k. about buying one for the
occasion, but is there anything like watching your
animal companion nestled in his bed by the hearth? 
Buy him a special winter bed; it's very much a part
of the scene, isn't it?

6. Change out the bedspreads and duvets to the
winter fabrics and color scheme, and bring out the
flannel sheets. 

7. Start a collection of 'winter' pictures you
build over the years. I've framed different
photos of the kids skiing, in their snowsuits, and
trying to catch snowflakes with their tongues. 
They peek out at me at different ages, bringing 
back warm winter memories. 

8. Change a few photo frames seasonally. 
Pictures I have in the guest bath, I change
according to season. The color scheme is neutral,
and I have a winter set of towels, soaps, dishes,
and frames.

9. Work with the lighting if you can, especially
if you work at home. It's the season for SAD
(seasonal affective disorder) and we need as much
light as we can get. If you have a home office,
try some of those health lamps.

10. Change lamp shades in the living areas so
they "glow".

11. If you have an especially cold room - in
temperature and/or in decor - buy one of those
wood stoves.

12. Make it smell warm and cozy. Do some real
cooking on the weekends when everyone's home. Few
of us get to walk in the door at night and smell
the pot roast cooking or the wonderful odor of
stew simmering on the back burner, but you can do
this on the weekend. Special breads as well. If
you're not allergic to candle aromas, work with
those.

Even a touch or two can make a difference. On the
North Shore of Chicago where I lived as a teen, in
the windy city where it was always "colder by the
Lake," the sign that winter was coming was the
funkia blooming, and that's when my mother changed
out the slipcovers and coal was dumped down the
chute into the basement. I always got that
excited twinge - ah ... winter was coming. 

13. This year why not redo the fireplace
accessories? They're often the focal point of the
great room. Spruce up the screen and hardware,
and perhaps find an exceptional new container for
some logs Invest in a set of sumptuous brass 
andirons like these: http://tinyurl.com/y84s . 
Brass and pewter are great for "warming up" a 
room. You "sink into them," not "bounce off."

14. Stay warm AND SAFE - Get the carbon monoxide
detectors, escape ladders, smoke alarms, smoke
guards, creosote removers, stove boards and hearth
extenders that are critical products to improve 
the safety of your home and family from fires. 
Here is a source: 
http://fireplaceoutfitters.com/safetyessentials.htm .
Choose a hearth rug for ambiance but safety as well.

15. Put a bird feeder at at least one window
where you can always see it. There's nothing like
watching a cardinal hop around on the window sill
to cheer.


----------------

(c)Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach(tm), www.susandunn.cc . 
Want to be an EQ coach? Get in early; it's growing 
fast because of its exceptional value to ALL clients
and businesses. We train and certify EQ Coaches -
http://www.eqcoach.net - and offer the products you
need to start your EQ practice. Rigorous, rapid, 
affordable, no residency requirement. All DL, 
featuring two courses on the Internet. 
Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE EQ eZine.

            

 

 

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I guess this is it for today. Tell me if you like the ezine
or what else you'd like to read about. 


See you again in our next issue, ^fname^.

It's nice to have you along.

Nucha Aquino

Editor/Publisher

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