AN ODE TO COFFEE: WITHOUT YOU, WE ARE NOTHING / HAPPY 10TH BLOG ANNIVERSARY TO MY BLOG

Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand 

The fresh smell of coffee soon wafted through the apartment, the smell that separates night from day.
- Haruki Murakami

Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried up piece of roast goat.
- Johann Sebastian Bach

Coffee, a marvelously fragrant, suavely bitter, darkly intense and dreamily frothy brew that has the power to instantly uplift your mood and make you see things from a different perspective. A devilishly magical potion that immediately confers happiness, helps us wake up from the deepest of slumbers and stay active all day long. A social and ritualistic drink that brings people together around a table, seals friendships and creates warm memories. A romantic beverage that inflames baristas and java aficionados from all the corners of the world. A unique decoction from Ethiopia without which we pathetic humans cannot survive. An elusive glimpse at paradise. A confidant and a muse. A delight to the senses. A crutch on which to rely. Cement that keeps our lives together. An euphoric stimulant. High octane. Fuel for the body. Muddy water. An ink black drug for the soul. Nectar of the gods; sacred, bewitching, psychedelic, ethereal and therapeutic. Pure gold.

Enthrallingly powerful like God, yet sinfully sweet as the Devil himself. Both a poison and a medicine. Pleasure and pain. Heaven and hell contained in a simple vessel of porcelain.

We all know how it went when Europe changed from a culture addicted to depressants to one high on stimulants [...] Within two hundred years of Europe's first cup, famine and the plague were historical footnotes. Governments became more democratic, slavery vanished, and the standards of living and literacy went through the roof. War became less frequent and more horrible.
- Stewart Lee Allen

No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
- Sheik Abd-al-Kadir

What would our mornings be like if we couldn't rely on a strong cup of joe? Would we be able to get rid of our head fog and start work normally? Would we still be enchanted at the prospect of "going out for a coffee" if we would be deprived of our espressos, lattes or cappuccinos? How would we feel if meals ended with an uninspiring glass of orange juice or water? Would we enjoy Tiramisù or moka cake as much if they were deprived of their star ingredient? Probably not!

Coffee rules our existence. Whether we want it or not, it is omnipresent in daily life (at home, at the office, at the restaurant, on the train, etc...) and is part of our culture (most countries nowadays have a deeply rooted relationship with it). We are addicted to this precious liquid and there's no way of escaping its seductive grip or subjugating call.

So why fight back? Sooner or later, you will give in and capitulate to the Grandmaster of cosmic foam and diabolical murkiness. Resistance is futile and you know it.

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Today my humble blog turns 10. Yes, you read it correctly. Ten!!!

It really feels surreal to think that I first hit the publish button a decade ago, when I was considerably younger (in my late twenties), naiver and the whole blogging universe was a great deal more laid-back, uncomplicated and friendlier than nowadays.*

Anyway, I can't believe that I have made it so far, even if this activity has cost me a lot of blood, sweat and tears! It would be a lie if I told you that I hadn't had restless nights because of my blog and that Rosa's Yummy Yums has only made me happy. All the contrary. There were/are times when it seems that all my efforts are in vain and I want to throw it all away, and hide in a corner and cry. But thanks to my readership whose faithful and encouraging support means the world to me, and despite my meltdowns, ups and downs and vacillating commitment, I have persevered. Every follower's kind word, sincere compliment and visit gives me the energy to continue putting one foot in front of the other and makes me want to try to push beyond my boundaries. 

Each little encouragement fuels my hope and prevents me from capitulating, so I wish to thank you all for being around, regularly checking on my posts and always finding the right way to motivate me. I owe it all to you!

* Money, stardom, superficiality and over-sized egos had not yet corrupted the small community of enthusiasts that we were and transformed that seemingly simple milieu into an absolute jungle... I'm not saying it is all bad, but a bit of the authenticity and honesty of the blogosphere has died the day foodism became hugely (and unreasonably, might I add - in 2015 it appears that everybody's a gourmet) fashionable and big corporations have discovered that they could benefit from bloggers (we all know how profit and trends can kill things).

LET US REJOICE! OSTARA IS UPON US AND SPRING IS UNFOLDING...

Winter is already a lost shape, forgottenin the ground. Instead, here is Springwith all the grace of a woman smoothing out her apron.
- Cecilia Llompart

Every time a season comes to an end, I enthusiastically greet the next one with open arms. After three months of the same regime, it always feels good to see nature promptly metamorphose itself again and offer us a completely different experience. A real breath of fresh air.

I'm pretty sure, we would go bonkers if we were stuck in the same boring rut day in and day out. Routine kills us at a slow pace. On the other hand, change is positive, inevitable, primordial and constant. It infuses our existence with vivid colours and gives us perspective as well as hope. Transition is life and and life is all about transition.

This is the reason why climatic standstill isn't my cup of tea and why I am particularly fond of roller coaster weather. As a matter of fact, I am very happy to live in a moderate climate country. To have the opportunity to enjoy four distinct periods of the year is a blessing and each of them fills my heart with pleasure.

So as you can imagine, it is a delight for me to make the leap from winter to spring. And even though February and March have been quite mild and vernal, I am really looking forward to Earth's magical rebirth and the powerful cosmic stirring inside of me.

And the Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

April's air stirs in
Willow-leaves...a butterfly
Floats and balances.
- Matsuo Bashō 

Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.
- John Muir

Like an enthusiastic child beginning to discover the world surrounding him, I am bubbling with exhilaration and trepidating with anticipation, and I get excited about anything and everything. The late afternoon song of blackbirds sends tears to my eyes, crows tearing off branches in order to build their nests bring a large smile to my face, primroses blooming crazily pour joy into my soul, the sweet caress of the warm west wind delights me intensely and longer daylight hours motivate me in my daily chores. Oh, what a glorious feeling!

However, while the flora and fauna are brashly awakening and general frenzy is palpable everywhere, we humans are still sluggishly emerging from slumber. The endless weeks of darkness and bone-chilling cold have taken a toll on us and all the slothing around has transformed us into rusty and pasty caricatures of ourselves. But with the sunshine hitting hard on our skin and the loud chirping of birds, our torpor is fastly chased away and new energy starts to flow in our body once more. Slowly yet surely, at our own pace, we join the celebration of renewal, embarking on this wonderful adventure that is called spring.

Get your t-shirts out, let your hair down and merrily dance in circles for euphoria is prevalent !

GENEVA WINTER BLUES

The brown waves of fog toss up to me
Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
And vanishes along the level of the roofs.
- T.S. Eliot

So dull and dark are the November days.
The lazy mist high up the evening curled,
And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;
The place we occupy seems all the world.
- John Clare

What a fog! Plane been buzzin' around overhead for the last half hour. Must be like trying to find your way through the inside of a cow. I never did see such a country. Even the birds are walkin'.
- Dalton Trumbo

Residing in the Geneva area or in a Swiss valley isn't always fun and can have its downside. As a matter of fact, winters in Calvin's city are mostly known for being gruesomely bland, appallingly dark and hideously characterless. So if you are a person who loves light and azure firmaments, and if winter blues are your nemesis, then you'd better not stay there during the cold season, otherwise chances are high that you’ll go loopy and depression will creep on you frequently.

You see, this small canton at the end of Lac Léman is embedded among mountains (the Jura in the north, the Salève in the south, the Vuache in the northwest, the Mont-de-Sion in the southwest, and the Voirons in the southeast) and it is literally situated in a basin ("La Cuvette Genevoise" as we call it in French), hence a dull, dense, murky and damp sea of high-altitude fog regularly covers this particular region of good old Switzerland and night tends to fall very early when sunlight is scarce.

Day after day, and sometimes week after week, we are deprived of luminosity. This situation can be outright unnerving, testing and oppressing as it feels as though we would be living in a closed box or in a kind of jail. This makes us prone to cabin fever symptoms such as mood swings, restlessness, tiredness, lack of motivation, lethargy, discontent and general discomfort.

Even for someone like me who adores Jack Frost's chilly embrace and enjoys heavy mist, it is unbearable in the long term and although I am quite an optimistic person by nature, I often suffer from low spirits. Boringly glum weather transforms me into an apathetic, grumpy, anxious and miserable lump of flesh.

In my opinion, there's nothing really comparable to bright hazy November days, radiant December afternoons, jovial January mornings and fiery February sunsets! This period of the year can be so joyful provided that our brightest star blesses us with its reddish rays, vivifying power and soothing warmth which's impact on our mental wellbeing is far superior to that of any drug and a hundred times more healing than any chemical medicine. The perfect cure for a numb and bruised soul!

But what do we do when the heavens above refuse to open up and we are stuck under a persistently funereal blanket of clouds? Well, there are many ways to fight against the negative side effects of this irritating nebula. For example, you can listen to pleasant music, have a relaxing bubble bath, read a book, cook a uplifting meal or bake a comforting treat, dance madly to your favorite song, light scented candles and meditate, meet friends, go out for a reinvigorating walk, break out of a rut, cozy up your home, wear bright colours, take up a project, host a movie night or visit museums. The options are endless.

On the condition that you keep busy and peel your limp body off the sofa, things can only get better in the little head of yours. Physical and intellectual activity will reduce your receptivity to the greyness outside and will push the gloomy thoughts out of your mind. And remember to smile (think positive) and eat lots of healthy vitamin-laden foods as both impact on your overall welfare and help you cope with melancholy. In this manner, time will pass a lot faster and the vernal equinox will be at your doorstep before you know it.

Hello March! Spring is almost here and my little heart is bursting with anticipation...