Alcoholic drinks definitely taste better with friends. We like beer during barbecues with the family, and we drink wine with our friends on holiday. After all, holidays are not only for children. After a day full of sightseeing and sunbathing, we usually drink local wine or we prepare holiday drinks.

In Italy we prepared drinks with our beloved Aperol. It could be classical Aperol Spritz, but you can also add it to other fruit drinks. Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a light holiday drink. I made it up as I went along, so I will just give you the ingredients without ratios. Add as many ingredients as you need for it to be as strong and sweet as you like. I usually add very cold watermelon to this drink. I don't like ice cubes because they thin the drink. You can add frozen pieces of orange or frozen grapes to cool down your drink.

Ingredients:
watermelon (without the skin and stones)
Aperol
lemon juice
orange juice
sparkling water (or other drink with gas)

I usually don't idealise women, praising them as stronger, cleverer and more empathetic – put simply: the best. I often think about implementing equality in every part of life. In my opinion, regardless of our gender, we should find our place. Preparing lists in which half of the population must be considered the weaker sex, regardless of wishes, qualifications or abilities is a mistake. We can find careers or fields of life where women are better and others where men are better. Of course, I'm an oponent of discrimination; I disagree that women in the same positions should earn less money than men just because of their gender. I don't like it when employers look at young female candidates through the prism of setting up a family and motherhood.

But the truth is that social conditions mean that many women perceive themselves as weaker and worse at coping in difficult situations. Nevertheless, it is the 21st century; we have space technology and we use mobile phones to do things that a few years ago we didn't even dream of. Many woman need to be convinced that we are capable, we can do anything. In every person there is power, we just need to extract it.

That's why I read the book "The Gutsy Girl. Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure" by Carolina Paul. You can find there a life full of adventures and stories to freeze the blood in your veins, but also inspiration, challenges and a load of information about remarkable women. This book teaches us to overcome our own weaknesses and fears, taking on challenges and building confidence – even though some of the stories are in my opinion a bit controversial. The main character and also the author of this book was shy and apprehensive as a child, and it was very difficult to convince her to accept many challenges. Now as an adult woman she wants to make up for the shortcomings of her childhood, so she flies a plane, becomes a firefighter, flies a paraglider and climbs mountains. She achieved it all by breaking her own barriers, taming her fears, learning new things, fostering self-confidence and self-esteem.

When I was a child around my home there were a lot of red currant and gooseberry bushes. I never liked fresh fruit. I didn't like eating it and picking it was even worse. Now the bushes are only memories and I buy fruit at the market.

Currants are a rich source of ascorbic acid, and they enhance the immune system and blood system. Not too many people know that red currants increase the appetite, which makes them a good option for parents of fussy eaters. Red currants used as a mask are recommended for people with oily skin and acne problems.

I usually use currants for cakes. Today, however, I was reminded of a simple dessert from my childhood, which my mum often prepared. I made kissel with red currants and gooseberries for my children.

Ingredients:
700g of red currants and gooseberries
6-8 tablespoons of sugar

Caprese salad is one of the most popular dishes in the south of Europe. In Italy, where it comes from, it consists of slices of tomato interleaved with slices of mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, sprinkled olive oil and black pepper. The dish is supposed to resemble the Italian flag. Depending on the country, you can also find olives, red pepper or cucumber in it. Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a dinner version of caprese salad. It looks beautiful and tastes excellent. It is a suggestion for dinner on a hot day.

Ingredients (for 2 people)
100g of wholemeal macaroni
150g of mozzarella mini
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes (red and yellow)
a handful of black olives
a handful of pistachios
leaves of basil
4 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper

Have you come across such well-written books which completely pull you in, which you can't tear yourself away from, and if you somehow manage to put them down, they draw you back like a magnet? They tell you about some mystery, which invades our thoughts, not allowing us to concentrate. We have to turn the next page, even though another night hour has passed.

My daughter definitely reads the most in our family and her bookcase, especially on holiday, is the best stocked. Sometimes I borrow the most interesting books from her, and sometimes I buy books which I will gladly read myself on the pretext of providing my daughter with books. This time my daughter borrowed quite a lot of books from our friendly library. Among the many interesting choices I found the book "Lumber room, in the middle of nowhere" by Agata Mańczyk. I began to read and I lost myself completely.

Though it is a novel for young people, I found in it everything that I like in novels: well defined, colourful characters, fast-flowing action and an engaging mystery. It is good that the book is a little over 500 pages long, because otherwise there would be so many more stolen moments.

We meet the main character at a disruptive moment of her life. Her parents' divorce turns the well-organised world of sixteen-year-old Maryla upside down. She must move from Warsaw to the tiny town of Tomaszów, leaving behind what is important for her: friends, love and school. Hope for a positive beginning in the new place bursts like a soap bubble after a meeting with her grandmother and great-grandmother. It turns out that even though they don't know Maryla, they truly hate her. For a teenager, who never liked to stand out, starting a new school isn't easy. But the most irritating thing is it seems that everybody in the town knows the dark mystery of the teenager's family.