If you are tired of the dull grey-brown cushions that have been languishing on your sofa for years, I will tell and show you how to turn them into two cheerful, vibrant and cosy little cushions.
At first magnificent, overflowing with colour and form, breathtaking with the vastness of deserts and the grandeur of mountains. Full of life and movement. Pure and sacred. Then suddenly harsh, direct, showing the face of death, poverty and degradation. Like a magnificent mandala made by Buddhist monks - and like dust.
Multiplication is one of the basic mathematical operations, which today is mostly performed with a calculator. In times long past, when there were no counting devices and no paper either, people devised all manner of tricks for obtaining a result from two multiplicands. So, on a few of those tricks.
The less time given for risk assessment, the greater the risk. But also the greater the gain. If you go by the principle: "Free cheese... only for the second mouse", then in an age when information exchange and processing is measured in milli and nanoseconds, the second mouse may get nothing at all - or secure traps await it, because the first mouse will have calculated the possible risks and moved on to another piece of cheese...
A headline that warms the heart appeared in the media today - "Latvia's Most Popular Blog - iinuu.lv." We are delighted and gratified that our blog www.iinuu.lv has taken first place in the Gemius blog rankings by visits, based on unique Latvian user statistics for November 2012. 1.32% of all of Latvia's internet audience is not such an insignificant number.
I frequently use barradar.lv - both the web and mobile versions - and am eagerly awaiting the app, because it's a great tool for finding a suitable eating spot nearby to satisfy your appetite. For example, sitting in the office around lunchtime, you can check the barradar.lv map to see which cafés or eateries are within a couple of blocks and whether they have a set lunch deal for around Ls2. On a Friday late evening wandering around the Old Town with friends, barradar.lv is handy for checking which bars or cafés are currently open - just select the "open now" option. There was a time when we drove into Talsi in summer (a city I barely know, having been there maybe twice in my life), and I pulled out my smartphone to find somewhere to eat using barradar.lv. Since we most often go somewhere by car at weekends, an important sorting criterion is whether free parking is available near the eatery in question. I like that the search filters are updated seasonally - in summer you could find where to enjoy a Mojito or taste cold strawberry soup, and now in winter, where to have a mulled wine.
I first heard this song at Linda Leen's Valentine's Day concert last year. It spoke to me, and I think not only to me. So I decided to share the song lyrics for those singing along.
I've noticed that with every passing year we receive fewer and fewer handwritten greeting cards. And those we do receive are mostly sent by older people. But it is so warm and lovely when you receive a card in the post and realise that someone has thought of you, dedicated a few precious minutes of their modern-day time, found the most appealing little image, a colourful envelope, or hand-crafted a card. Even though I am a thoroughgoing web "worm", Christmas is the time when I want to invite everyone to forget about SMS, emails, e-cards, links and festive apps, and send or attach to a gift a personally written greeting that carries the warmth of your very own hands.
Different countries have each approached this important matter in their own way, according to their understanding of how the end of the world will actually unfold. For example, the Russian kit indirectly contains ingredients intended for "Plan B", the Mexican kit places the emphasis on a special knife, and by contrast, the Latvian kit is oriented towards eating and waiting.
Homemade fairy-light garlands like this are useful for creating a Christmas atmosphere, as well as for decorating a room and providing a gentle glow during twilight hours.