Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Knee Cap Dislocation for Bounce, Boba Ice Cream Bars, and Book Cartoon

 

Ha ha, whoever created this cartoon above must know me. I even use Little Free Libraries to give away and receive more books in addition to buying.

Above is a painting of Bounce, my darling companion. A few days ago he was peacefully standing at the patio door looking outside when he shrieked in pain. I was standing right next to him at that time. That was at 10:30 a.m.. Then at 1:30 he was standing still and again yelped with pain. I called the vet and they said bring him in in two days to our next available appointment. I said two days is a long time when he is is pain. The receptionist was kind and talked to the staff and they said I could bring in Bounce at 3:30 that day. At 3:00 he again yelped in pain. 

[Jennifer asked how old is Bounce, he is 10 so that is considered a senior dog. I adopted him, or he chose me, at a shelter 5 years ago and vets estimated he was five then. Bounce has plenty of pep for walks and he is feeling good now after several days of rest and meds.] It turns out many small senior dogs and large dogs too can have a knee cap dislocation. It is caused by genetics or injury. He was put on anti-inflammatory meds, and must rest for about a week. Rather boring, no two times a day walks. Below is Bounce in a box before the knee problem.

Here is a fun new ice cream bar I discovered at Safeway. The box says Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bar and Made in Taiwan. Most of the box including company name is in Chinese. This is a yummy treat with the Boba in it. Three other tasty Boba flavors are Matcha, Pudding and Oolong Tea. A nice way to cool down on a summer day.





Sunday, July 10, 2022

Brew Ice Tea With Cold Water, Cheap and Delicious

 

 



Above is a photo of the ice tea I am making using cold water, this is how it looks after about two hours.

I make ice tea in a pitcher and it is so easy. I put 4 tablespoons of loose leaf tea in a tea infuser in a pitcher of cold water. I think mine is a quart size so this gives 4 eight ounce glasses. I use some black tea and some with a flavor like Earl Grey. Wait 10 hours, remove the tea infuser and voila. Put it in the refrigerator and then enjoy your tea. This is very inexpensive, perhaps 30 cents for 16 ounces versus $1.50 or more for a 16 oz. bottle. Plus you can do any flavors you like including decaff and herbal.

Also in the photo is the new pottery vase I bought at my neighbor's pottery sale, It is cream color with a marbling effect of pale blue. The flowers are godetias from my garden. If you buy a six pack of godetias to plant, you will likely get a lot of flowers. Godetias are not the most common of plants and I remember the plant name because it starts with god. 

Above is one of the many teas from Plum Deluxe tea company that I use to make iced tea, and hot tea too. The tea scoop spoon is cute with its heart shape bowl and I bought that from Plum Deluxe too. The most recent tea I bought from them is Grantham Tea created in honor of Downton Abbey.

I planted a small gardenia bush on my patio in a huge pot, and here is the first flower it produced. The color of gardenias draws me in as it is a pure creamy white, and wow, the scent is dreamy. This next photo I included a teaspoon so you can see the size of the gardenia flower.


 

Happy ice tea drinking and gardening, to all of us who love those activities.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Happy 4th of July

 

Here are some of the lyrics to the song America the Beautiful. 

America! America!
God mend thine every flaw. 
Confirm thy soul in self-control, 
Thy liberty in law. 
 
 Lift high the cross, unfurl the flag.
May they forever stand
 United in our hearts and hopes: 
God and our native land! 
 
America! America! 
May God thy love increase 
Till wars are past, and earth at last 
May follow Christ in peace.
I hope all of you, my dear followers, in lands near and far, enjoy a happy and free July.
 

Friday, July 1, 2022

Movie "Impromptu" about George Sand and Frederic Chopin

 

 This week I enjoyed watching the movie "Impromptu" about George Sand, the French novelist. She is a fascinating woman and earlier this year I read Elizabeth Berg's historical fiction "The Dream Lover" about Sand.  


The cast of "Impromptu" is stellar with Judy Davis playing Sand and Hugh Grant as the young and innocent Frederic Chopin, the man Sand wants and chases. She tells Chopin that he is not a man, his hands, his halo, his wings, he is an angel. She worships the man and his extreme talent. 

The movie is filmed entirely in France  in 1991 by an American company and with British actors. Julian Sands plays Franz Liszt. Sand was known for her scandalous behavior, separated from her husband and having romances with famous men, wearing men's clothes, smoking cigars, and breaking many rules. The costumes, the settings and the many famous people she knows add to the pleasure of watching the movie. Below is the cemetery sculpture of George Sand.



I have not read any of her novels, even though she was the most poplar novelist in France during her life time. Have you read her novels?