Who / What Am I? 03/10

Good afternoon everyone!

How are we all today? It is lovely and sunny here so we are enjoying the weather as who knows when we will see the sun next.

Thank you for playing my “Who / What Am I?” game last week. Quite few of you were right. The mystery picture was in fact a leaf.

It is not an autumn leaf; it is from one of my house plants – Medinilla magnifica. It is a truly magnificent plant. I have had it for three or even four years now. It’s in bloom twice a year and it keeps its flowers for months. It is easy to care for and it looks stunning, even between flowerings. It’s quite a funny plant as it sheds old large leaves in order to grow the new ones. If you are into house plants check your garden centre for it as it is really beautiful!

This week I have a slightly different task for you.

I will show you a picture and I would love for you to tell me what this is. That might not sound unusual however the key difference is, I have no idea what this item is! It was given to us as a present, but we both have no idea what to use it for. It is made from plastic, and to be honest it looks like a dog toy to me, but… it has food safety marks, which dog toys wouldn’t have… It is a mystery and I would like for you to help me solve it please. So there is no right or wrong answer… ok, I guess technically there is but not in my eyes as my usual photo puzzle.

So please help us get to the bottom of this conundrum and help us decide what to do with this weird looking object.

Who / What Am I?

Have a great weekend everyone and if you are in UK enjoy the warm weather before it turns (which apparently will be happening any day now).

Take care.

Who / What Am I? 26/09

Today was a strange day for me. It was filled with very mixed emotions ranging from huge sadness to pure joy. I had no idea that such an emotional rollercoaster could be so exhausting. Thus we had a need to turn on some comfort TV, just so we could stare at something. Do you know what we picked? We chose to watch “West Wing”. It might sound like a weird choice for some of you but if you have ever watched the series you will know why we picked it. It is packed with people you care about and despite the fact that it is about US politics we find it very comforting.

I have an extremely exciting project “brewing” in the near future, but I am quite unsure at this point if I can talk about it, so I will have to wait few a few more weeks before I can start blabbing all about it.

By the way before I forget I won that breakfast challenge, so a huge, huge “Thank You” to anyone who voted for my breakfast pancake recipe.

Oh, and you know what… my crisp sarnie won a Seabrook crisps’ competition and we are going to be on a billboard 🙂 How cool is that!

In regards to last week’s picture you guys had some awesome guesses. I must agree it does look a bit like a sweetie but of course it isn’t one. Have a look now at what the full shot looks like:

And now if you still don’t know what this is I will explain.

It was actually a little daft of me just to take a close up shot without using any wide view but now it is too late to fix it. The picture is of a spring onion in bloom. We had some onions which had started to grow green bits in our pantry so we decided to plant them… then left for too long in the plant pot they had now developed a flower, which looks just like the picture above.

This week I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for you something special, so I will share what I have and let’s hope it will give you something to think about, after all the ones I spend hours deliberating over you sometimes guess immediately, so let us see how you handle a snap decision…

Who / What Am I?

Have a great weekend everyone.

Who / What Am I? 19/09

Evening guys,

We had quite a break with Who / What Am I?; didn’t we?

I personally blame the holiday laziness. I really had all the best intentions of at least keeping up with my Friday post but there was just so much stuff to do…

First we drove for a loong, loong looong time, how long exactly you may ask, you can check with my Alphabet Project entry. If you are wondering why we did more miles going out than coming back the answer is simple… going out there the navigator was asleep so Mark took a more scenic route, on the way back she wasn’t so he didn’t… not that it mattered very much as we couldn’t see a lot anyways as it was a night time but still…

Then there was a lot of relaxing, walking and just general chilling, oh and some fantastic mushrooming trips into the woodland – check out our forest treasures on my Instagram 🙂

But all good things have to come to an end, so the holiday is over (which is good as there is no place like home) and there is no excuse now not to write again.

My last Who / What Am I? The picture received some fabulous answers:

A koala – not exactly but a lot of people have called him a bear before

A rug – no, not yet though Mark keeps threatening him! Even though he is not actually a rug he sure can act like one, in fact come to think about it he acts like one most of the time, especially when we talk about picking up and holding onto all the dirt and his sudden albeit temporary total inability to move.

A wolf – Hmm sort of wolf like especially when his girly friends are in season… then he can howl like a wolf all night long… and I am really not joking here… he howls a lot when he is horny.

A horse – again, he is not a horse but some people think he could pretend to be one looking at his size, Mark has measured him up for a cart so he can “earn his keep”.

Ladies and gentlemen’s welcome to our one and only Bunk!

I had no idea that this would prove to be so hard… but I must admit I totally love reading your comments. Obviously I love all comments on my blog but the ones under my Fridays posts usually give me the most pleasure and always seem to put a smile on my face, so thank you!

For this week I have for you something with a bit more of a colour splash. It is quite small but I just can’t make it any bigger… you will see why next week… promise… the holiday is over…sniff…

So here it comes… this week’s Who / What Am I?

Have a guess, and remember to have fun and fantastic weekend!

Oh, and one more thing.

Do you remember my Apple & Cinnamon Pancake recipe? It is up for a public vote against a few other bloggers. We are “fighting” for a surprise prize from JML. I would really love it if you could pop over to Facebook and like my recipe please… pretty please… please, please with a cherry on the top! Oh and please before 9:00am Monday 22nd… /end_grovel

Thank you.

Take care and speak soon.

Who / What Am I? 29/08

Good Evening,

If you are reading this, it means that the following are true:

1. The WordPress scheduler works

2. I am still stuck somewhere in Europe on my way home… let’s hope it is in Germany.

Lots and lots of correct answer to last week picture! You are right, it was a cat and to be precise it was a kitten 🙂

Have a look at him.

Did you know that on average, cats spend 2/3rds of every day sleeping? That means a nine-year-old cat has been awake for only three years of its life.*

I knew that they sleep a lot but I didn’t really know that they sleep that long! There must be a reason for it. I will have to research it a bit further.

This week I have for you something black, just to nicely balance the white shot we had last week.

Who / What Am I?

Have a fantastic Friday guys and enjoy your weekend!

Once we get to Poland we will sleep, sleep and then probably sleep some more… just to make up for the 18h car drive 😉

Will post something when we eventually come too… and have a coffee…

Who / What Am I? 22/08

Evening,

I must admit I didn’t see it coming. Really, I was sure that last weeks’ picture would remain an uncovered mystery till the very end, but boy was I wrong. Melissa got it right! “This week is tricky though, but my gut instinct says seaweed.” It shows that we really should trust our instincts. The correct answer was seconded by Virtually Teacher. She wasn’t sure about her guess but she was also right. Have a look at the full picture.

Every time we have a Chinese meal I will have some seaweed on the side – lovely and crisp, sweet tasting, so when I spotted a packet of seaweed in Costco I just had to try it. It doesn’t taste anything like the one I am used to eating. Its taste is much more algae like, much stronger and defined, but it is still pleasant and quite enjoyable.

According to a Huffington Post article: Seaweed’s best-known benefit is that it is an extraordinary source of a nutrient missing in almost every other food: iodine. Consuming healthy levels of iodine is critically important to maintaining a healthy thyroid, a gland in your neck which helps produce and regulate hormones. A malfunctioning thyroid can result in a wide range of symptoms such as fatigue, muscle weakness and high cholesterol (to name a few). In severe or untreated cases, it can lead to serious medical conditions like goiters (a swelling of the thyroid gland), heart palpitations and impaired memory.

But if you read the whole article you will discover that it isn’t all that good (just ten grams of Dulse, a type of red seaweed, has 34 times more potassium when comparing it to the same size serving of banana, which in turn can cause heart palpitations if someone has a kidney problem) or actually it is good but in moderation… like everything else I guess, including moderation.

But enough about seaweed for now; let’s move on into this week picture which is a bit different…

Who / What Am I?

Have a great evening and enjoy your weekend!

Who / What Am I? 15/08

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I would like to start with a special question for you.

When sharing isn’t a good idea?

You might think that sharing is a positive thing, it is sign of kindness and love and good behaviour, but believe me sharing isn’t all that good!

Mark likes to share; he is not a greedy person and if he could he would really give away all he has. I love this about him but come on there has to be some boundaries.

He is off sick. He has flu, at first I thought that he has a case of man flu; you know the one which you can cure with some good TV shows and lots of Hot Toddies but no… He has a real flu and Mark being Mark has decided to share!

For this moment I am still up and running but I can feel this pending doom encroaching and there is no stopping it.

So, you see sharing isn’t all that brilliant in some situations.

😦

Moving on…

Melissa was right last week! Blackberries won the day! Have a look…

This was actually taken during the dog walk. There are so many blackberry plants around the field where we go for walks, it’s wonderful. All I need to do is take a plastic container with me and whilst the dogs run around doing doggie stuff I can pick a box full.

I really like this time of the year when “food” can be just picked from the bushes, shrubs or trees. There are some lovely plums growing close by too 😉

According to Huffington Post the leaves and barks of the blackberries can be also consumed. Apparently they are good for treating mild inflammation of the gums or even a sore throat. I had no idea about it, did you?

Now it is time for a new picture puzzle.

Who / What Am I?

Stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

Who / What Am I? 08/08

Happy Friday everyone!

What a lazy day! I blame the weather for this total lack of energy today, and not the fact I only had 4 hours sleep last night. Big rain brought to us by your loving local low pressure or maybe the warm weather took all my mojo away, but definitely not the 4 hours sleep. So as I sit here now typing away I am feeling sleepy and yet another cup of coffee just isn’t cutting it at all. Hey ho, soon it will be evening and bed time. I am actually looking forward to it 🙂

I hope that you are feeling much more energetic than I am today. I really caught a bad case of lazy and I hope it will be gone soon.

Last week my shot of a green something ended up being a right puzzle for you. I bet most of you have had it in your homes and have eaten it on many occasions. Behold the humble leek!

Ok, so my “explanation picture” is a bit off comparing to what I normally do but I am sure you can clearly see the leek pieces in their full glory.

Did you know that leeks have been cultivated since the time of Ancient Egyptians? Apparently Hippocrates prescribed the leek as a cure for a nosebleed.* Not sure how this would work… do you eat it to stop the bleeding or just stick it up your nose?

Leeks have a lot of health benefits, which I actually didn’t even know about and contain a lot of vitamins and minerals. I found this interesting table which shows leeks nutrient value**; I hope it will be of interest to you too.

Do you remember my post about The Most Avoided Foods? Leeks have the honoured 38^th place… that’s a lot of people who are avoiding leeks out there ;-(

This week we are moving into something darker… no more green and happy colours…

Who / What Am I?

Have a great Friday everyone and enjoy your weekend!

And eat some leeks… and apples too!

Do you know that Putin put a ban on Polish fruit and veggies including apples? Apparently for a “sanitary reasons” (yeap… right!) Polish farmers need you – #JedzJabłka #EatApples and join the Polish campaign by liking Eat Apples to Annoy Putin Facebook page!

Who / What Am I? 01/08

Good Friday everyone!

What a fabulous day! Yesterday I overcome with a huge craving for some smoked salmon, so today I left the cave in order to procure some. I bought a beautiful Lapsang Souchong Tea Smoked Salmon by Heston and some rustic bread, try saying that three times quickly. Immediately upon arriving home, I added double butter to the ripped apart bread, carefully arranged a piece of my smoked salmon and set about devouring my dream food. Oh my, do I feel so much better now and the best part was that it was delicious. I don’t get cravings like this very often and even if I do, I do not act on them most of the time, but I must admit this small self indulgence felt really good and put me in a brilliant happy mood!

Oh, and I also bought a bathroom light for our on-suite so we will finally be able to finish it… unless of course someone tells us yet again that that is the wrong type of light. I have already bought a light but according to an electrician it is not suitable for this small bathroom, which will get really steamy once the power-shower is on. So keep your fingers crossed for me and hope that the second time round I will have made a good choice.

Now let’s get back to the important part… mystery picture from last week… hmmm as it ended up it wasn’t such a mystery after all… I blame the Kiwi Fruit for being so boring looking 🙂

Well done to everyone who guessed kiwi.

Kiwi fruit is actually a really amazing little fruit. It is rich in magnesium, it is a great source of folic acid, it contains a lot of vitamin C and fiber (apparently its amount is as high as in many whole grain cereals) and to add to this it is rich in potassium, which is great for lowering a blood pressure. *

That’s it for all things kiwi related…

This weeks’ shot is greener, actually it is very green, full stop. And no, it is not the inside of a kiwi fruit ;-), or is it?

Have a great weekend everyone and if you get a chance to do something nice for yourself – do it! It feels amazing.

Who / What Am I? 25/07

Evening,

It is still hot here but you can almost smell the rain approaching. I am so looking forward to the moment when the air will clear a bit. This stuffy weather makes me very sleepy all the time.

Last week I asked for your help.

Not all of you wanted to play ball but that’s ok.

Bottom line is I got some ideas 🙂 which were very helpful and I want to thank you for them.

So… Thank You! Yes, you! You know who you are…

It is strange… sometimes you are so focused on finding something weird and unusual that you actually miss a lot of stuff which is just on your door step… am I right? I know I do it. I did it with my Friday pictures… looking through hundreds and hundreds of old travel pictures in order to find something interesting for you, when instead I should just take a camera and go shot something new, right there on the spot…

I think the break last week was good for me, and ultimately you.

I had time to think and reflect on the shots which might be good for Who / What am I? Now, I have some new ideas and let’s hope I can put them to good use.

So without further a do…

Who / What Am I?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Who / What Am I? 18/07

Hello everyone,

It is HOT! It is so hot, that I am melting here. Are you hot too or are you loving the heat wave?

It is funny how the British talk (and moan) about the weather all the time. When I was growing up I had this vision of a Brit in my head – a man with an umbrella talking about the weather. I never understood why you would talk about the weather so much and then… I moved to UK. The weather is so crazy here that it would be bizarre not to talk about it, am I right? Anyway apparently I am picking up a lot of typical English behaviours so therefore it is only normal that weather talk is one of them.

Oh my goodness it’s hot or did I mention that already?

Normally at this point I would be giving you the answer to last weeks’ picture then hit you with something new but not today… today it is too hot to sit down and rummage through the pictures in search of something new and exciting (this is reason number one) but (reason number two) I am also running out of ideas. So today’s Who What Am I will be a bit different.

I will of course tell you about last week shot.

All of you in favour of the elephant were right. Have a look…

Did you know that female elephants are called cows? They start to have calves when they are about 12 years old and they are pregnant for 22 months, wow!

And something else, which is shocking – an adult elephant needs to drink around 210 litres of water a day – A DAY! Shocking isn’t it? A shortage of water in some parts of the world, I think we may have found the culprit.

And one more thing, which is very interesting – elephants are herbivores and can spend up to 16 hours a day collecting leaves, twigs, bamboo and roots.*

And now for the twist…

No new picture today; instead I would like to ask for your help to give me some new ideas. Please tell me about the most weird, bizarre picture you have ever seen. Maybe it was a close up of something ordinary or maybe something totally unique in its nature. I would really appreciate your help.

Stay cool and have fun over the weekend!