Victoria, casa em Cape Town

Victoria 73 é uma casa contemporânea à beira-mar, na villa em Cape Town, África do Sul, desenhado por SAOTA (Stefan Antoni Arquitetos Olmesdahl Truen). Um conjunto que fica entre Bantry Bay e Clifton, a casa simboliza luxo, elegância e vida ao ar livre. O terraço tem as partes cobertas e descobertas que são as áreas mais bonitas da casa, perfeito, um sonho!!!

Trick Or Treating in England + Post Of The Month Club

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

In Ireland and Britain
during the Middle Ages on Hallowmas { November 1 }
 people went door-to-door in costume
receiving food in return for prayers for the dead

Fast-forward to 1895
for the first record of 'guising' in Scotland,
where children in disguise visited neighbors

performing a poem, song, or joke
to receive cake, fruit or money for their efforts
{ practiced later in Ireland too }

They carried lanterns made of scooped-out turnips
{ which was on the menu the following day }

First record of guising in North America was in
1911

Some point before 1940, guising evolved to 'trick-or-treating'
on Halloween night in the western US and Canada

Although this annual US event of
asking for candy without a performance was stalled
by sugar rationing from 1942-1947 due to World War II,

trick-or-treating picked up steam
with the mass production of costumes
and attention given to it in children's magazines and radio shows

firmly establishing it in American pop culture by 1952

Carving pumpkins is an American tradition, as pumpkins are native to America

{ and bigger than turnips }

'Trick-or-treating' in England is viewed as an American export
and not necessarily a welcome one

In 2007 the BBC News wrote
the 'authentically ancient festival' of Halloween
'has been hijacked by trick or treating' 
and cited

the 1986 House of Lords debate about
 trick-or-treating being not a tradition, 
but American for begging
{ Yikes! }

Do you know how many houses I've seen decorated for Halloween in England this year?

Zero

I believe Halloween is more of a dark occasion here,

which makes the older generations nervous about bad behavior
in a society that closely guards its privacy

Last year I saw 'No Trick Or Treaters Here' fliers distributed for posting on doors
{ but none this year }

To indicate trick-or-treaters are welcome at a home,

a pumpkin or lit candle will be outside the front door

I have to say, just since last year there seems to be
increased lightening and acceptance of this event

evidenced by more Halloween displays in store windows
and a whole half-aisle dedicated to bagged candy, costumes, and knickknacks

Although most English parents never trick-or-treated as children,
it seems to be catching on and their children are enthusiastic about it

Children's costumes are scary or gory

- skeletons, witches, ghouls -

nothing 'cute' like a puppy dog
and no Disney characters

Many houses have spooky 'fog machines'
{ well, ventilation for boilers, actually }

And I noticed their trick-or-treat bags are quite small,
humbly not expecting much
{ some Americans bring pillowcases to fill in the US }

English neighbors typically give one piece of candy or one coin

This year a few trick-or-treaters rang our doorbell Saturday
and a few more will tonight { Monday }

I expect only one-eighth of the houses on our street will participate
when we trick-or-treat tonight with friends

American readers are probably thinking
how nice it must be to avoid the heavy commercialization of Halloween,

but with no Thanksgiving in England
you can bet Christmas paraphernalia has been for sale since the beginning of October!

Happy Halloween, y'all :)

- all photos by me -

Source: Wikipedia 1, 2, 3. BBC, Rampants Scotland

Linking to: MissElaineOusLife 

* Postscript: I want to mention that in the US, this holiday has nothing to do with remembering loved ones that have passed. Halloween is almost synonymous with trick-or-treating, which commonly is a festive community affair of seeing your neighbors :) Teenagers will go with friends to haunted houses for a giggly scare; adults may attend parties. Halloween has a really fun vibe to it and generally loved by everyone. Unfortunately the innocent gaiety of trick-or-treating may not have been exported with this American tradition...

***

Welcome to October's Post Of The Month Club!

I am pleased as Halloween punch you are here :)

Time for our meet & greet

* Bloggers, link up your best post of the month *

And see, you've already done the work

* Share the love by dropping by a few other blogs and say 'hi',

if you can *

* Would you mind adding my button to your lovely sidebar or post
so more can join the fun next month? *

Yep, we'll do this the last day of each month

* Don't forget to become a follower here too *

Happy November blogging, you warm autumn ray of sunshine, you

P.S. You can click here to see my current giveaway :)

Linking to: Sweet Shot Tuesday

 

Almofadas

A maneira mais fácil de decorar e de mudar a decoração de um ambiente, são as almofadas. A variedade de tecidos, formas, texturas, desenhos e cores, é infinita. A sala pode mudar de estilo com forme as estações, no verão as mais leves e coloridas e no inverno, as com tecidos mais pesados e escuros.

Cinza e Branco

O branco e o cinza é uma combinação perfeita, pelo seu contraste e por serem de tons neutros. O cinza é fácil de combinar com qualquer outra cor, além disso, os ambientes ficam super elegantes e muito aconchegantes, desde o tom de cinza mais claro até o mais escuro.

Mesclando com objetos e móveis coloridos, a decoração fica mais contemporânea e moderna.

Esse sofá é tudo!!!

Listy Loo Strikes Again

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Let's take something you are totally not interested in - say, The Dictionary

But did you know that before dictionaries were in the hands of most,
people in England wrote phonetically?

You can see how this would be problematic
when pronunciation of words varied so much within the country,

even within London

(and explains why I have trouble reading old English literary works)

in Wiltshire

Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) 

is hailed as the first modern English dictionary, 

written with reliable text references and arranged alphabetically, 

instead of by topic as organized previously

It was the standard dictionary for 150 years 

until the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1928

Taking nearly 50 years to complete,
the OED is the most trusted English language dictionary today, 

revised and updated every three months

In the US, most Americans are familiar with Noah Webster, 

the father of the American Dictionary
{ think Webster Dictionary }

After twenty seven years of writing 
and learning twenty-six languages to evaluate the etymology of words,

Webster published An American Dictionary Of The American Language in 1828

Winston Churchill indulged his passion for writing and painting here at his home, Chartwell

Previously a teacher, Webster found English spelling rules 

unnecessarily complex, too aristocratically British, and with the need to be controlled by the people

Therefore, he intentionally accentuated differences in meaning and pronunciations of some words

One hallmark was altering the spelling of words such as 'colour' with 'color', 'centre' with 'center'

Webster added American words such as 'skunk' and 'squash' not found in English dictionaries

And interestingly, Webster included technical terms from the arts and sciences 

rather than just literary words

Truly transforming American English

At the time, Webster's dictionary was seen as radical and political 

during a time of national identity crisis and instability 

after American independence in 1776

Today, Webster dictionaries sit on the shelves in countless US homes and schools


Who could say the history of the dictionary was dull?

aka English Oak with its lobed (not sharp) leaves

I mention this because my 'Listy Loo' today is filled with
interesting words that hurled me to the nearest dictionary


Let's start with the adorable word, Wendy house

It is a general term for a playhouse, 

named after the house Peter Pan builds for Wendy in J. Barrie's Peter Pan
Love it!

Available from Blue Forest

Wattle and daub is the interweaving of twigs 
plastered with a mixture of clay, lime, water { and sometimes straw } 
to form a wall of a building


England's period timber framed houses were often made of wattle and daub

It became less popular by the 17th and 18th centuries due to 
the popularity of brick and stone construction
the risk of fire
and the problem of criminals breaking through a wall
{ yikes! }

It remains architecturally charming to me

'Wattle and daub' likely used in this timber framed home

Fairy cakes are similar to the American cupcake

often with flat hard icing

by Jessica's Cupcakes in Oxford

I was surprised how the European Robin looks so different from the American one,
so small & dainty and much revered in English folklore

via Wikipedia

The Common Blackbird is unrelated to the obnoxious New World blackbirds


These lackluster birds shine with their absolutely beautiful melodic song in early spring mornings
- a great way to start the day -

via Wikipedia

Not winning any health awards,
I need to try a Chip Butty - a sandwich of french fries
common in Birmingham and northward

via wikiHow

This interesting 'hatted' building is an oast house, designed for drying hops
Not in use anymore, but really picturesque in the Kentish countryside

Oast House at Sissinghurst Castle

During the summer riots in London, I heard the troublemakers referred to as YOBs


You may have noticed this is 'Boy' spelled backward, 
to indicate the antithesis of what a good boy should be
-rude, obnoxious, violent, and stupid -


Apparently it was coined in England in the 18th century 
when it was popular among the upperclass to speak backward 


Yob is still a word used today


I love the idea of speaking backward to indicate an opposite meaning, don't you?
Perhaps my gibberish really means something?


And last, this unusual conifer originates from Chile
 and first planted in England during Victorian times


Its common name, the Monkey Puzzle Tree, 
was given by a group of friends in Cornwall in 1850 
figuring it would be a puzzle for a monkey to climb


{ although I'm pretty confident monkeys don't live in Chile }

Monkey Puzzle Tree at Leith Hill

I have many many more words on my list, 
but I will stop here
leaving you wondering the meanings of 
haw-haw (ha-ha), cordwainer, and twee


- probably all known by my British readers - 
:)


all photos by me unless otherwise stated

Sources: Oz Ideas, Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary, Tony Graham, Wikipedia

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See you Monday for Post Of The Month Club

And click here to see my current giveaway  :)

Have an awesome day!

P.S. Excuse the inconsistent spacing between lines - I've been unable to fix it


Linking to: Monday Rewind