Saturday, October 27, 2007

Moves Us All

Why people more relaxed in green rooms, while blue is most popular color being the least appetizing? Why red is often used in restaurants decorating schemes? What does it all mean? While most of us may not spend a lot of time thinking about color, it affects every day of our lives. Color can have an astounding effect on perceptions, feelings, mood, thoughts and interactions. Different colors evoke different memories and different ideas. The researches show that the effects of color on people for many years and different meanings in various cultures as it's individual and perceptual on persons mind. For an example, in China the color red tends to make people feel calm, while in America red tends to make people more aggressive.

When it's October, which color do you think to associate with it? If I'd be asked the same which month for which color, then my answer would be as follows:

Remember, color choice is a very personal matter. To my eye, Orange is the color of month October: combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It makes me also recalling about joy, dynamism, the tropics, the harvest and of course, fall. Orange represents enthusiasm, creativity, metal activity, success, strength, healthy food -orange, mandarin, pumpkin, carrot-, entertainment, encouragement and stimulation. In ancient cultures, orange was used to heal the lungs and increase the energy levels.

Orange is divided into 3-tones:

Dark-orange: Means deceit and distrust.
Red-orange: Means desire, aggression, passion, pleasure.
Gold: Evokes the feeling of prestige. Means illumination, wisdom and wealth. Often symbolizes high quality. And, my top favorite color and style in life:)

Orange has a very high visibility, that you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design, as it is not aggressive as much as red. Glimpse for the following orange stuff:


And the color of orange makes me think about the pumpkins as it's already october:) Learning more about pumpkins is a great way while ending up the current month: Pumpkin poems, songs, and traditional pumpkin carving are also on air nowadays.

Mr Pumpkin...
Where is thumpkin...

Mr Pumpkin, Mr Pumpkin,
Eyes so round, eyes so round

Halloween is coming,
Halloween is coming,

To my town, to my town.


Lets see fun facts about the Pumpkin:

* The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for ''large melon'' which is ''pepon''. ''Pepon'' was changed by the French into ''pompon''. The English changed ''pompon'' to ''Pumpion''. American colonists changed ''pumpion'' into ''pumpkin''.
* Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 7000 to 5500 B.C.
* Pumpkins contain potassium and vitamin A.
* Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
* The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
* The Connecticut field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.
* Native Americans called pumpkins ''isqoutm squash''.
* Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.
* The largest pumpkin ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds.
* Six of the seven continents can grow pumpkins including Alaska! Antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow.
* When the European settlers, particularly Irish, first came to America they were introduced to the native pumpkin by the American Indians: to be larger, easier to carve and seemed the perfect choice for jack-o-lanters.

Did you like the scary toys when you were a kid? Maybe you still love those things even today and find they make a great collectables. Ever since late 1800's, Halloween has been celebrated in many ways. It's said that the origin of Halloween dates back at least 3,000 years to the Celtic celebration of Samhain. Also in Istanbul there are always organisations and Halloween parties that's enough to scare off your pants by original costumes or dungeon decorations;)

You can create beatiful designs and dress up the entry way to your home with the special pumpkin carving patterns and stencils. Check this out for some nice carving and decorating ideas.


Besides scary toys, there's an old lovely Turkish saying advices one to ''eat sweetly and speak sweetly'':) Sweets and desserts have always been an important and distinctive element of Turkish cuisine with their visual impact and presentation. Turkish Pumpkin Dessert (Turkish: Kabak tatlisi), an unusual dessert made by cooking pieces of pumpkin in syrup. Pumpkin dessert is a very easy-to-make popular and traditional one, here its recipe:

~ Ingredients
Pumpkin, or butternut squash
Sugar

4-5 cloves
Crushed walnuts


The ratio of pumpkin to sugar is 1 to 1/2. I use 3 cups of squash and 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Peel the pumpkin, cut it into big chunks, and put it in a pot. Put sugar on and let it sit over night. It will release water, so you don't need to add water when you're cooking it. The next day, add 4-5 cloves in to the pot and cook on medium until the pumpkin is soft, appr 30 minutes. Let it cool and garnish with walnuts or grated coconut. For an Irish touch, serve with Guinness:) I love this way, so delicious so...


Not only dessert, but there's a collection with a large variety of plates using the pumpkin in Turkish cuisine that you can find many types such as baked goods, main meal dishes, pastries, pies, cold starters and dessert. They are ready, are you?


Have yourself a creepy little evening on Halloween night,
Oct 31st;)


6 comments:

  1. warm winter colors are definitely one of my favorites. the colors inside a room can be disturbing or peacefull. i prefer to be surrounded by neutrals.
    the pumpkin pastry looks great and inspires to move into the kitchen to bake!!

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  2. I am not an orange person. I love the colours blue and green and anything that is in between.
    Enjoy your weekend Nihal !!

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  3. Loved to read your last posts, but Orange? No Thanks...

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  4. Yes! Orange! I'm an orange person in autumn too, but, not only in autumn. Orange is the symbol of warm and friendship for me. I LOVE colors and I think that is a wonderful gift to be in the middle of so many shades.
    Thank you Nihal for your post and happy Halloween to you, with many ORANGE pumpkins:)
    Hugs, XX, Sma

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  5. Ciao Amica!!!!!!
    Orange is my favourite color!!!!!
    I'm scary???? :-)))))
    Come stai? GRAZIE PER IL RICAMO, e' molto bello. Smack!
    Aspetto tue news!!!!!!!!

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  6. ** How nice to read your comments that some of you being ''Orange Lover'', some of you ''Not''. Feel free of yourself to decide your own color, as I stated in the article that color choice is a very personal matter:)**

    @ Gil: Welcome to my journal:) Yours also interesting 'n fascinating one to follow-up.

    @ Sma: Tks dear, you too have a scary Halloween tomorrow nite;)

    @ Alessandra: Che felicita di sentire dal tuo parte. Mi piace anche di farlo per te. Con amicizia come sempre.

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