Cast iron pot with a spoon

 

In the Ancient Russia usually lunch was served on the table in the common dish - in poorer families were simple clay pots or cast iron boilers, and in the noble houses - beautiful clay and metal dishes. The peasant huts during dinner the whole family gathered around a large pot of porridge or soup. Serve each separate bowl was not accepted.

 

Russian culture is very rich in various traditional crafts. Many of them are associated with the production of an unusual and very beautiful dishes. For example, for many centuries throughout Russia is famous for the famous Khokhloma painting. This dish is made of wood, and then painted with four colors: black, red, yellow and green. Skilled craftsmen bring to the bowls, cups, spoons, and other products of the finest designs. From under their brushes out unusual flowers, red berries, unusual birds.

  

Many thanks to my friend Inna :)

Shalom

Shalom is a common Jewish word. This greeting and literally means peace for you. The word can be used to mean hello and goodbye.

Israel is a sovereign state in Western Asia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel

 Many thanks to my friend Hazel :)

A gift for my birthday from a friend :)

Ålesund,Norway.

Ålesund  is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture.
Legend has it that Gangerolf (outside of Norway better known as Rollo), the 10th century founder of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy, hailed from the community of Giske, north-west of Ålesund. At least three statues of Rolle exist: in the town park in Ålesund, in the city of Rouen, France, and in Fargo, North Dakota, United States.
In the night of 23 January 1904, the town was the scene of the Ålesund Fire, one of the most terrible of the many conflagrations to which Norwegian towns, once built largely of wood, have been subjected. Practically the entire town was destroyed during the night, a gale aiding the flames, and the population had to leave the town in the middle of the night with only a few minutes' notice. Only one person died in the fire, the 76-year-old Ane Heen, but more than 10,000 people were left without shelter.
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany had often been on vacation to Sunnmøre. After the fire, he sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and barracks. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), the architectural style of the time. The structures were designed by approximately 20 master builders and 30 Norwegian architects, most of them educated in Trondheim and Charlottenburg, Berlin, drawing inspiration from all over Europe. To honor Wilhelm, one of the most frequented streets of the town is named after him.
Jugendstilsenteret - The Art Nouveau Centre of Norway. More...

View of Geiranger from Dalsnibba.

Dalsnibba is a mountain in Stranda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Geiranger valley, about 21 kilometres (13 mi) south of the village of Geiranger and the Geirangerfjorden. The 2-square-kilometre (0.77 sq mi) lake Djupvatnet lies directly to the southeast of the mountain. The mountain is located very near the county border with both Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane counties, in the southeastern part of Møre og Romsdal county.
Dalsnibba offers a very good view and is therefore a very popular tourist destination. Dalsnibba is often covered by snow even in the summer. The Norwegian County Road 63 passes along the south side of the mountain, and from that road, there is a private toll road that goes up to the summit of Dalsnibba.
The Geiranger – From Fjord to Summit running and cycling race begins in the village of Geiranger and ends on top of Dalsnibba. More...

View of Geiranger from Dalsnibba. Photos from my trip to Geiranger :)

Geiranger,Norway

Geiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal county in the western part of Norway. It lies in Stranda Municipality at the head of the Geirangerfjorden, which is a branch of the large Storfjorden. The nearest city is Ålesund. Geiranger is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, and has been named the best travel destination in Scandinavia by Lonely Planet. Since 2005, the Geirangerfjord area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Seven Sisters waterfall is located just west of Geiranger.^[2] Norwegian County Road 63 passes through the village. Geiranger Church is the main church for the village and surrounding area.
Geiranger is under constant threat from the mountain Åkerneset which could erode into the fjord. A collapse could cause a tsunami that could destroy downtown Geiranger. More...

Handmade from Costa Rica

It's all handmade Mileny from Costa Rica. Thank you very much, Mileny :)

Norway

Thistles

The bookmark  is finely embroider with a design of thistles,which are the national emblem of Scotland.
The thistle legend
But why is it that such a proud people as the Scots should choose a humble weed as its national symbol? In truth, no-one knows. There is a legend which relates how a sleeping party of Scots warriors were almost set upon by an invading band of Vikings and were only saved when one of the attackers trod on a wild thistle with his bare feet. His cries raised the alarm and the roused Scots duly defeated the Danes. In gratitude, the plant became known as the Guardian Thistle and was adopted as the symbol of Scotland.

Thanks,R. :)

St. Cross with St.Faith

The History of St Cross

Legend has it that the Hospital’s foundation originated in a walk that Henry de Blois, a grandson of William the Conqueror, took in the Itchen Meadows. He was supposedly stopped by a young peasant girl who begged de Blois to help her people, who were starving because of the civil war. The parallel with the Virgin Mary was not lost on de Blois, who was so moved by the girl’s plight that when, a little further along the river, he discovered the ruins of a religious house, he resolved to use the site to establish a new community to help the poor. How much of this is fact is unclear, but we do know that Henry de Blois was young, wealthy and powerful: a monk, knight and politician in one. Appointed Bishop of Winchester in 1129 at the age of 28, he founded the Hospital of St Cross between 1132 and 1136, creating what has become England’s oldest charitable institution.

The Hospital was founded to support thirteen poor men, so frail that they were unable to work, and to feed one hundred men at the gates each day. The thirteen men became the Brothers of St Cross. Then, as now, they were not monks. St Cross is not a monastery but a secular foundation. Medieval St Cross was endowed with land, mills and farms, providing food and drink for a large number of people – don’t forget the water was unfit for drinking so copious amounts of ale and beer were needed!

In the fifteenth century, Cardinal Beaufort added to the St Cross buildings and is widely regarded as giving St Cross the look it has today.

Thank you,Rick :)

Owl

It is a souvenir from Thorpeness, an English town.
Thorpeness is a village in the county of Suffolk, England. It is part of the parish of Aldringham cum Thorpe and is within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. More...

Thank you very much,Rick :) I like it :)

Embroidered of Kashmir

This handmade leather bookmark is embroidered by Khanyar Leather Co-operative, Kashmir, in the style of traditional embroidery first introduced in the vale of Kashmir by Persian craftsman in the 15th Century. Both men and women still practise the crafts of Kashmir Embroidery.
Kashmir  is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. More...

Thank you very much for this wonderful gift,Rick :) The is very soft leather or suede. I very like it  :)

Disabled children handmade art

Norway

I really like it :)

Flowers

This bookmark I brought from Göteborg :)
Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg; ) is the second-largest city in Sweden (after Stockholm) and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 512,754, with 510,491 in the urban area and total of 926,654 inhabitants in the metropolitan area.
The City of Gothenburg was founded in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. It lies by the sea at the mouth of Göta Älv—the river running through the city—and is the largest seaport in the Nordic countries.
More...

And there are some photos from my trip to Göteborg :)

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserved the Union, and ended slavery. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, he was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives, but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. He was an affectionate, though often absent, husband, and father of four children.More...


 Sincerely thank you for this bookmark, Renolada :)