Wilderness Wednesday: A Walk in the Park

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Fall, leaves, nature, photography, red, technology, Wilderness Wednesday

Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still
and watch the leaves turn. – Elizabeth Lawrence

In every walk in nature, one receives far more than he seeks. – John Muir

An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. – Henry David Thoreau

Happy Wednesday!

What’s In My Cup: Jumpy Monkey

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#whatsinmycup, bucket list, music, tea, technology, what's in my cup

This morning, my boys and I are feeling it! We attended a rock concert Saturday night to see our favourite band, Skillet. Little Guy also did a lot of roller coasters, including three plunges down the new Yukon Striker, the world’s longest, tallest and fastest dive coaster. (No thanks!)

Our throats are raw, our bodies are sore, and I feel just like I did after I ran in Mud Hero.

It was totally worth it!

So this morning I reached for an “energy boosting” – David’s Jumpy Monkey! It’s an Argentinian maté (yerba and green) that includes freshly roasted peaberry coffee beans, almonds, white chocolate, olive leaf, Brazil and Kenya green coffee, and chicory.

Did you know coffee is a fruit?  Fruit have flesh that normally protects seeds. In a coffee bean, there are 2 seeds compressed together, giving it flat sides.  Peaberries are a genetic mutation with only one seed which means the bean isn’t flat but rather round, like a pea. They cannot be forced to grow this way, so they have to be sorted. This of course, increases the costs to produce. Arguments about whether the quality or flavour warrants a greater cost, is both subjective and highly contentious.

All I know is that Jumpy Monkey is both sweet and nutty, and hopefully will help me get in gear, because it’s Monday, and I have to get back to reality. Still, I got to scratch this off my bucket list!

Light it up, light it up, now I’m burning
Feel the rush, feel the rush of adrenaline
We are young, we are strong, we will rise
‘Cause I’m back, back, back from the dead tonight – Skillet

Well…maybe after more tea! Rock on!

What’s in My Cup: Tulsi Tranquility

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#whatsinmycup, food, tea, tea cups, technology, what's in my cup

Merriam Webster defines tranquility as the state of freedom from disturbance, agitation or turmoil; steady or stable. And who couldn’t use a little tranquility from time to time?

When your day seems topsy turvy and as stormy as can be,
there’s nothing quite as tranquil as a hot cup of tea.

Over the last few weeks, I have felt like a hamster on a wheel, running until I’m exhausted, but never really getting anywhere! Or even catching up.

So, while David’s Tulsi Tranquility might not really live up to its name, I am looking forward to a time when I can pair it with a good book and my new recliner on the back porch!

This caffeine-free tea contains rosehip shells and seeds, apple, rose petals, hibiscus, red currants, raspberries, strawberries and tulsi, also known as holy basil. Tulsi is a sweet and aromatic herb thought to relieve anxiety, stress, acne, and respiratory issues such as the common cold. It may also reduce inflammation and pain, and boost the immune system.

Normally, tulsi is used as an oil in herbal medicines or steeped in boiling water, rather than for cooking because it has a bitter flavour. This tea reminds me of chamomile, but although you can taste the apple and berries, the tulsi adds a refreshing, peppery zing!

As for tranquility, well…maybe it’s time to rethink my approach to the wheel.

http://imglulz.com

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Lemon Pound Cake

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#whatsinmycup, food, lemon, photography, tea, tea cups, technology, what's in my cup

Mother Nature decided to play an early April Fool’s joke yesterday. I woke up to a world blanketed in thick snow. It covered every hollow and clung tightly to every branch. We thought it would be gone by noon. It was still clinging pretty good by the time I made afternoon tea, and snapped some pics outside. Even the birds weren’t impressed. At least snow covers up some of Spring’s early grunge…and the snow shovel is still parked by the front door!

Last winter, my boss shared his 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar with me. Who cares that it was post-Christmas. It provided a lovely distraction in the workplace, on some grim wintry days. I fell in love with Day 14: Lemon Pound Cake. What’s not to love? It has cake in its name, and this one doesn’t have tons of sugar!

Day 14 – Lemon Pound Cake. I want to bottle the smell! Typically, lemon teas can be overpowered by other flavours, or simply too weak. This oolong tea contained lemon grass, lemon peel, sunflower blossoms, white hibiscus blossoms, and artificial pound cake. While I would be tempted to add a dash of lemon juice to make it tarter, it had a pleasant lemon flavour and balanced the hint of grass and flower perfume. It is made in China and has a medium caffeine rating.

So why did it take me so long to buy some for myself? Partly because there are so many on my list of “must try”, but also because I just found out it is among a number of teas that are being “retired” by David’s Tea. So, if you’re interested…don’t waste time!

Life is short. It’s unpredictable. It throws lemons at you. Sometimes, it snows…even when you know it’s still technically possibly, but your heart says it’s time for sunshine and warmth.

All right, I’ve been thinking, when life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager!

Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man whose gonna burn your house down – with the lemons! – Cave Johnson, Portal 2

Have a happy Monday (but keep your snow shovel close)!

CFFC: Texture

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CFFC, nature, Photo Challenge, photography, technology, texture

Art is the color and texture of your imagination. -Meghan Trainor

 

This post is my response to Cee Neuner’s Black & White Photo Challenge : Texture

Happy Wednesday!

 

Merry Christmas!

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#whatsinmycup, Christmas, tea, technology

It’s Christmas Eve Day! Merry Christmas my family to yours!

May your teapot be filled for friends, and may your tea cup never be empty! 😉

Jenn

 

Wilderness Wednesday: Caption Chloe

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guinea pigs, humour, photography, technology

It’s Wednesday and we’re all a little stressed. The days are charging forward to Christmas faster than a Weight Watcher’s Group at a Lindt store sale. Two weeks from now it will be all over! So let’s have some fun before we break out our stretchy pants.

Caption this photo & share it below!

Happy Wednesday!

CFFC: Art

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#tomthomson, art, CFFC, Photo Challenge, photography, technology

Art is long. Life is short. A picture can become for us a highway between a particular thing and a universal feeling.- Lawren Harris

Lawren Harris was a Canadian artist with the Group of Seven. Last year, Little Guy wrote two research papers on Harris’ friend, Tom Thomson, and we visited a museum to see some of their work. Harris’ works were often abstract and stark landscapes of the Canadian north and Arctic. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1969.

THIS IS PART OF CEE’S FUN PHOTO CHALLENGE– Drawing inspiration from her photo of a workbench inside a auto painter/detailer’s garage.

Happy Wednesday!

Tea with Audrey

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#whatsinmycup, humour, tea, technology

I’ll be an honest. It’s been a long week. The irony is that Monday is barely started! It started with a road raging pedestrian and hurtled right into a dentist appointment. I’m still numb up to my eyebrows…but I have tea and Audrey, so maybe things will start to look up!

I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles – Audrey Hepburn

Happy Monday!

Feelin’ Old

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humour, technology

I discovered a new way to feel “old” – buy new technology!

This weekend, I finally broke down and purchased a new gaming system. Our Xbox 360 has been acting up…and we’ve lost multiple worlds. Including the one I featured in photos a few weeks ago!

Step 1: Purchase

We went to the store – you know the kind?! Colourful wall-to-wall displays with weird gadgets, geek wear, and video game cases. Large screens hung from the ceiling while distracting videos played in HD. A weird 30 year old man with a pasty white belly oozing from the gap between his tee and shorts, rifling through a rack of used games. And let’s not overlook the gangling 20 year old retailer in a bright Marvel t-shirt.

I took Big Guy with me because he speaks “geek” more fluently than I do, especially when it comes to tech. I vaguely remember starting the conversation and nodding intelligently while circus music piped in my head. By the middle of the transaction, the clerk asked questions, I turned and stared blankly at Big Guy (who answered with a monotone “yes” while texting someone else), and nodded “yes” to the clerk. By the end, I was numb and confused. I remember swiping my card and quietly following Big Guy from the store  with a big, heavy bag and a very light wallet. A few words have floated to the surface since then…Gears of War, Halo, terra-something, cloud. That’s about it!

Step 2: Set up the System

Big Guy started the set-up, and then he went out. He told me to “just text” if we ran into any problems. I’m sure he was less than 2 blocks away when we hit the first hiccup. There were more words, like passkey and lockdown. I had to set a password (which I wrote down as I went along) using a series of finger twerks with buttons, bumpers and triggers… and then my password locked me out. Five minutes later I discovered that while I wanted a “7”  (left bumper), I had tapped the right bumper, and finally, when I made the correction to my paper copy to accommodate my mistake, I wrote down the wrong number…again.

We struggled with buttons controls to register it. None of them seemed to work – so we tried them all. We did it eventually with the minimum use of colourful language explosions. At least in this area, I showed signs of aging gracefully. And then the power kicked off!

The t.v., the system, and the answering machine all went off…but not the controllers. They continued to wink at us smugly. By then over 16 texts had passed back and forth, and I rec’d the text “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” I had to answer truthfully – “I think we broke it”. He told me to try the touch sensor…it doesn’t have one!

When it regained consciousness, we continued to navigate down the rabbit hole. It made my profile pic a mafia panda wearing heavy bling. Hubby thought it was funny! I texted a photo of it to Big Guy who texted back “Ahahaha”! – I was not amused!

Fortunately it had saved my avatar from the old system and I could use it instead. My avatar is this cute girl in a plaid skirt, black boots and a red t-shirt that says “I love Minecraft”. I am also wearing a Halo helmet, which shall remain on forevermore. Let’s just say, my avatar’s appearance so startled Little Guy when I took the helmet off, he hollered for me to “put it back on…quick!”. My feelings were hurt. I think the Panda was better.

We added users. Little Guy became a cute hamburger. Hubby, a weird yellow 6-sided shape with a face. I got stuck in Edge. We had to update the controller (even though it is brand new)! After several hours, an extended break to clear our heads, and over 20 texts, the system was set up.

It was finally time to start uploading actual games. I was forewarned…this could days…