These are some images from the last Dubai Fashion Week
Images Courtesy/Dubai Fashion Week Press Room
  Vietnam is a country on the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia. It shares its land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. Vietnam has maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, through the South China Sea. It's capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City, often called Saigon- its former name. During the Paleolithic age, Vietnam was inhabited with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red Delta River - modern day, northern Vietnam. Under Chinese rule, The Han annexed Northern and Central Vietnam from 111 BC until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Many monarchical dynasties with Chinese influence were players in Vietnam's journey. Some of these include: Confucianism and Buddhism. The Nguyen, the last dynasty was conquered by France in 1883. In the 20th century, Vietnam endured prolonged warfare. France returned to reclaim colonial power after the Ho Chi Minh's August of 1945 Revolution had cemented its power in the country. The French lost and a treatise was signed between the two countries.The last major conflict in Vietnam was in the 1950s through to the 1970s between North Vietnam -supported by the Soviet Union (Russia) and China, and South Vietnam supported by The United States and other anti-communist allies. This conflict lasted for 20 years with the US ending their involvement in 1973. Today Vietnam is a developing country with a unitary Marxist -Leninist one party republic. It has a general secretary, a president, prime minister, and a national assembly chairman. Its official language is Vietnamese with 85.32% of the population being Kinh Vietnamese and 14.68 % as others. More than 86% of Vietnamese identify as having no religion, while 6.01% are Catholics, 4.7% Buddhism, 1.02% Hoahaoism, 1% Protestantism, 0.58% Caodaism, 0.07% Islam, and 0.12% others. Vietnam is a major exporter of agricultural products. It the world's largest producer of cashew nuts, the largest producer of black pepper, and the second largest exporter of rice, after Thailand. The Vietnamese are also the second largest exporter of coffee. Other primary exports include: tea, rubber, and fishery products. Its current GDP stands at 1.434 trillion USD. Have Lush Healthy Plants All Season  What can be more thrilling than to plant tiny seeds and to see them germinate and pop out of the soil as small seedlings in a matter of days? Nothing so beautiful. All you need is potting soil, a vessel, or the ground, water and seeds. It's relatively inexpensive. You're on your way!  Adding a thick layer of mulch around your garden plants, landscaping shrubs and trees, will cut weeding time to almost nil. Whatever type of mulch you use is usually readily available at gardening outlets -- shredded cedar bark, grass clipping, pine needles, gravel or stone. Mulches made from plant material ( needles, bark, clippings) will break down overtime. Refresh them with a top layer every couple of years.  Here's a smart and sweet gardening decision. Plant fragrant flowers and herbs and you'll be greeted with sweet perfume when you garden. The most fragrant are: roses, peonies, and lilacs. You can also add perfume annuals in containers; heliotrope, petunia, and alyssum add scents. Complete that with tropical vines such as jasmines and your porch or patio is lit up. Ummm!   Another way of beautifying your garden is to add tropicals in a room in your house. They are quite adaptable.The average room temperature and relative humidity of at least 40 percent is usually sufficient. For those of you who like the exotic tropicals, your options are: large-leaved philodendron like , prince of orange, gloriosum, congo rojo, and pink princess.    It would be wise to plant native perennials since they are already adapted to the climate, rainfall, and soil in your region. These plants require less care than other perennials because they evolved in the area where you are planting them.    Suppose you have an unsightly fence or a blank garage side and you need some privacy? Then you can remedy that with planting some vines, Yes vines! What about a trellis? That can be a good starter. It creates a good screen or cover-up. You can opt for some fast- growing perennials like, morning glory, sweet peas, and cup-and-saucer vine.
Happy gardening  What Your Blood Type Says About You In the medical field there is a belief that your blood group can be a determinant in the likelihood of you being affected by certain illnesses. This does not apply to everyone but can serve as a guide in helping us become cognizant of the possibilities. 1.Heart Disease  There's good news for O blood types. Research shows your risk of coronary heart disease tends to be lower. Experts aren't sure why. Some think it might be because other types are more likely to have higher cholesterol and higher amounts of a protein that's linked to clotting. 2. Stomach Cancer  3.A, AB, and B, blood types are more at risk than type Os. Specifically, people with type A blood are more likely to get stomach cancer. Researchers think that this might be because H. pylori infection is more common with people with type A blood. That's a bacteria that is usually found in the stomach. It can cause inflammation and ulcers. 3. Memory  A small study shows that people with memory problems had type AB blood more than any other. 4. Pancreatic Cancer  Your risk is higher if you're a type A, AB, or B. Molecules in Type A and B red blood cells help certain bacteria H. Pylori to grow in your gut. It can make you more likely to get pancreatic cancer. This type of cancer is one of the hardest to treat. 5. Stress  Stress boosts your body's level of cortisol, the stress hormone. People with type A blood tend to have more cortisol, anyway. So you may have a harder time dealing with stressful situations. 6. Malaria  Type O blood may help ward off this disease. You can get malaria when an infected mosquito bites you. The parasite that causes it has a harder time attaching itself to type O blood cells. 7. Ulcers  Peptic ulcers- painful open sores that crop up in the lining of your stomach or upper intestine -- seem to happen more with blood type O. 8. Blood Clots  Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is when your blood clots in a deep vein, like the ones in your legs. These clots sometimes move to your lungs. Research shows shows that people with type A, B or AB blood, are at a higher risk of VTE. 9. Life Span  Chances are higher you'll live longer if you have type O blood. Experts think your lower risk of disease in the heart, and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease), may be one reason for this. 10. Stroke  Your risk of a stroke goes up if you have blood AB. Doctors think that it's more likely to clot than others.
Credit: WebMD  "The Garden of Gethsemane." by Giorgio Vasari. 1570. (Oil on canvas) 143.5 x 127 cm. Italian Renaissance and Mannerist   Mother to her sister: I'm worried about Junior He's been hanging around those no-good rabbit and now he's got a full body of tattoos. (Painted Easter egg)
  In the Philippines, there is pageantry for Easter. People dress up as Roman guards and various Biblical characters. It' primarily about hard penance. Penitents walk barefoot or crawl through the streets, some self-flagellating with bamboo and sticks until their backs are raw with scarlet and blood. This all happens on the way to a makeshift Calvary, where the special participants are hammered to a wooden cross with thick nails that have been soaked in alcohol and left to hang there for spectators for around ten minutes. The catholic discourages the practice.  Perhaps, no one is as passionate as the Spanish for the Easter parade and pageantry. From the largest cities to the smallest villages, semana santa, is a big deal. Catholic confraternities engage in multi-day parades through the streets wearing painted-hood cloaks . They also carry floats heaving with a baroque assemblage of flowers, efigies, candles and statues, of Mary and Jesus.  Many Christians take a trip to Jerusalem to visit the site where the Biblical events around the Easter celebrations is framed. On Holy Thursday many visit Mount Zion, where the Last Supper is said to have taken place
 1. " Suffering is a gift; in its hidden mercy." Rumi
2. " You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?" Rumi 3. " When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." Coelho Paulo 4. " Everything in your life is a consequence of a choice you've made. If you want a different result, make a different choice." Coelho Paulo. Short Story
Papers were strewn all over her bedroom. The windows were wide open at the two-room cabin in the countryside. Her parents had rented this location resort for the summer. Each cabin stood almost a half a mile apart. A current of cold air howled through, powered by the squall outside. She clung tightly to her pillow as the cloudburst finally threw buckets of its precipitation on the roof. She was too weak to do anything. Her small body was no match for the terror she was enduring. Rain finally launched a brutal attack on her. It raged, and seemed to meander through the unprotected opening in her bedroom. She made no sound through all this but squeezed her eyes shut. One hour passed and no respite. Then suddenly, as if she awoke from a dream, the rain subsided. The tall trees outside, swayed with the wind and at times seem to make strange sounds. Sometimes they whistled, sometimes they whispered, sometimes they swished. She paid rapt attention to all. One hissing sound continued. She opened one eyes. A snake slithered through the window. It reached her bedside. The serpent lifted its hood. She shut her eyes tighter. The creature moved around her room but retreated and made its exit from the same window. A few minutes later, she opened her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief. A tumbling sound suddenly alerted her. Her eyes darted to the window again. A black shadowy image stood tall at the rectangular opening. She was aghast. She pulled her pillow over her head. Her mind screamed but her voice was silent. The rumbling at the window grew louder. She managed to peek from one side of her pillow. Still she was unclear about who or what the image was. In a brief moment of clarity she surmised it was a ghost or some forest creature. The chilly wind compounded the same emotion she was feeling. Her mind raced feverishly to control the spasms that had taken her body. She was about to pass out. The sky quaked. The thundershower raged. Boom! The cabin wall crashed. Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang out. Her body stiffened. She was awake again. There was an eerie silence. The squall abated. She slowly removed the pillow from her face. The wall on one side of the cabin had collapsed. But there was a strange impression of the creature she saw at the window. The girl jumped out of her bed and gazed from the damaged wall as far as her eyes could see. In a distance a tall figure wearing a ranger's hat move hurriedly in her direction. She waited patiently. The warden gently lifted the five-year girl and united her with her parents. They explained to her that when the storm started they banged on her room door but it was locked from her side. And the ranger explained to them that he was just in time to scare away a bear that was trying to enter her room. © Wallace Paul . March 2024.  Here we go again with Gene McDaniels. This week's selection is Spanish Lace
Spanish Lace She was standing there, so beyond compare, in Spanish lace My heart touched the sky, captivated by her angel face Dancing 'neath the moon I soon discovered the new world that lovers always Find when I saw her there, so beyond compare, in Spanish lace We danced away the night, until the morning light said time to go I knew we'd have to part but sadness filed my heart, I loved her so and Now that love has flown, alone, I think of the heartaches that I will have To face, dreaming of the night, the stars that shone so bright and Spanish lace. And now that love has flown , alone I think of the heartaches that I will Have to face dreaming of the night, and stars that shone so bright and, Spanish lace. Writers: Doc Pomus/ Mort Shuman ©Liberty Records 1962   "Love will lead you back. Someday I just know that love will lead you back to my arms." Oh boy, let me recover. Yes March 7 was your special day Taylor(Dayne) You're now 62. I'm still hearing you sing those lines. Belated birthday greetings to you super singer.  "It's My Life", we know brother, but you have been so good by sharing it with us that we are celebrating with you on your 62nd birthday, Mr Jon Bon Jovi.  Hi Jasmine (Guy), don't think for one minute we have forgotten that March 10 was your birthday and you turned 62. We tried calling you but you were so taken up with your celebrations. We love you anyway, belated birthday greetings to you.  "Strolling along country road with my baby, it starts to rain, it begins to pour." Not to worry, Neil (Sedaka) we're pouring out our love to you as you celebrate your , yes your 84th birthday. Thanks for the music you've given us over the years. Love you Neil.
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