Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 11 May 2016

tarablog may2016

By Tara Lissner, Swiss Gardening School

With the garden centres and DIY shops heaving with beautiful summer annual flowers, salad plug plants and vegetable plants it is understandable that you could be fooled into thinking that it is time to plant up the garden. But no, as the weather over the past few days has confirmed there is still time for snow and late frosts. When temperatures drop overnight to around zero significant damage may be done to immature and tender plants. Local advice dictates that nothing tender should be planted outside unprotected until after the days of the “ice saints”. These ice saints, Saint Mamertus, Saint Pancras and Saint Servatius, celebrate their feast days on 11, 12 and 13 May each year. Each year of course differs from the last and often temperatures are accommodating and we have no issues with chilly nights but when we do we really do. With temperatures due to stay low cover your veggie beds with horticultural fleece and move your pots next to the house for a little protection.

I am frequently asked what do with bulbs when the flowering has finished. Firstly and most importantly enjoy the flowers, whether you leave them in the garden or cut them for the house. The next tip is to dead head all the daffodils, only trim the flowering stem, this prevents the plant from producing seed. Allow the leaves to turn yellow, and I’m afraid this is where patience is necessary, the longer you wait the greater the show next year. When the leaves are limp and yellowed only then it is time to cut them back. Daffodils do very well when left in beds or naturalized in the lawn, tulips are a little more temperamental. In public spaces the tulips are always dug up, and new ones planted later in the year, this is not terribly practical or economic in a private garden. To get the best repeat show with tulips make sure they are well planted by December, three times the depth of the bulb, make a note in your garden notebook as to where they are (you will forget); there is nothing worse than digging up bulbs inadvertently when they are dormant in order to plant something else. Ensure the area does not dry out over the summer and don’t forget to fertilize the space with a general purpose fertilizer later in the year when all signs of the tulips have disappeared.

: Published: 04 May 2016

byronkatie5
©René Martin

By Sunita Sehmi, Walk The Talk

Byron Katie has been bringing The Work to millions of people for more than twenty-five years. Her six books include the bestselling Loving What Is, I Need Your Love—Is That True? and A Thousand Names for Joy. The Work of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the fear and suffering in the world. In this one-day workshop, Katie’s hope is that you experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through inquiry and allow your mind to return to its awakened, peaceful, creative nature. The Work consists of four questions and the turnarounds, which are a way of experiencing the opposite of what you believe. When you question a thought, you see around it to the choices beyond suffering.

“Katie’s events are riveting,” says The Times of London. Her laser-like tough love burns away all illusions.” Eckhart Tolle says, “Byron Katie's Work is a great blessing for our planet.” Time magazine calls Katie “a spiritual innovator for the new millennium.”

Enjoy!

: Published: 14 April 2016

GPC blog which fin camera
By Oguzhan (Osan) Altun, Geneva Photo Club

The most frequent question that we receive from our students is : “I’m new to photography, which camera / lens should I buy”?

Buying a camera and photography equipment as a beginner is a difficult task – with so many offers and information, it can be really confusing. So we have prepared the following buying guide for the beginners, with prices that you can find in Geneva and Switzerland.

In this guide, we will suggest a complete kit for three different budgets for beginners. The prices are based on toppreise.ch current prices for Switzerland and can change over time. The same equipment will probably be more expensive in big retail stores like FNAC or Mediamarkt or InterDiscount – however you might get even better deals if you follow their promotions.

Of course buying a better camera / lens does NOT make you a better photographer:) Make sure to check our photography courses to learn how to use you camera and take better photos.

: Published: 05 April 2016

hiba coffeecup 500

By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

There are few foods or drinks more imbued with memories and sensuality than coffee.

Which often brings up this question: Is coffee healthy?

As a Food Coach, my usual response to that question with any food or drink is: It depends - and it is no different with coffee.

Coffee is a great illustration of how nutritional research reveals both sides of a food or drink.

On the plus side…
Coffee has been shown to increase alertness, improve mood and energy, concentration and even athletic performance. It is also a great source of antioxidants and has even been shown to help prevent disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

On the not so sunny side…
Coffee has been shown to increase blood pressure, increases stress response in the body, spike blood sugar levels, can exacerbate gastro-intestinal problems, inhibits the absorption of nutrients, increases the risk of urinary and prostate problems in men and hormone-related problems with women such as PMS.

: Published: 09 March 2016

sweetpotatostirfry

By Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

This is a simple, tasty recipe that you can serve either warm or cold.

The combination of tastes and textures in this recipe is incredibly interesting to the tastebuds, particularly due to the umami (http://www.healthwise.ch/umami-or-how-to-make-more-satisfying-meals/) combo of garlic / onion / Feta / olives. If you lightly toast the pumpkin seeds, this also makes them more umami and lends a more enticing texture.

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes – medium sized (about 500g)
1 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves minced garlic
2 onions or scallions, chopped
200g Feta cheese, diced AND/OR olives
About 2 tablespoons parsley or coriander, chopped
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Green vegetable of your choice – here I added some steamed broccoli as a side to make a more complete meal but you can also add a handful of spinach leaves or chopped kale at the end and simply stir through to wilt the leaves slightly.