mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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#TeaTuesday White Blueberry
August 29, 2017
— 1 Comment
white blueberry tea
I am saying good bye to summer by enjoying berries, plums, nectarines, and all the seasonal fruit that is about to be out of season. To bring the flavors together I am drinking a delightful white blueberry tea from Adagio. I like all the fruit flavored white teas, but this one is a big favorite. The white tea is a natural unprocessed tea, and the blueberries are a perfect compliment to the high notes of the tea. I brew it in the sun, summer or winter, and drink it cold. The caffeine is low, and the flavor intoxicating, but not overwhelming. The ingredients are pure and simple: white tea, blueberries, natural blueberry flavor. It is superior as a thirst quencher and refresher.
white blueberry tea
blueberries
We drink tea every day all day, so variety as well as quality and freshness count in our household. I order form Adagio because they offer a wide variety, including sample packs to introduce new teas. I first bought the white blueberry in a white sampler pack, and it is now the one I like best. White strawberry is a close second in my iced tea book. I recommend the company to anyone who already loves to drink tea, or to those looking to expand knowledge of tea. One of the fun aspects of this company is the option for tea fans to create fan blends, which then become available to all the customers. Try your hand at blending, and taste the mixtures your fellow tea fans lay down. They do a good job of serving the customer community.
Join me in a glass of white blueberry tea and start building your knowledge of tea.
white blueberry tea
The Eclipse From Outer Space
August 21, 2017
— 4 Comments
As millions of Americans look up to the sky to catch the total solar eclipse on Monday, or watch TIME’s live broadcast, astronauts on the International Space Station are gearing up for multiple views of the phenomenon. The crew on the Expedition 52 will not be in the eclipse’s path of totality, but will see…
via How Astronauts on the International Space Station Are Watching the Solar Eclipse — TIME
Beautiful Rustic Food
August 19, 2017
“We find inspiration for photos and recipes all over the world. . . . Breathing the air on a different continent, our hands intertwined.” Susann and Yannic bring ideas home, then share beautifully styled vegetarian recipes from their Berlin kitchen. (In English and German.)
Take Care Of Yourself
August 16, 2017
— 3 Comments
Compassion fatigue is the stress of caring too much… The post Are You Suffering From Compassion Fatigue? Here’s What You Should Do About It appeared first on BayArt.
via Are You Suffering From Compassion Fatigue? Here’s What You Should Do About It — BayArt
#WeekendCoffeeShare Fall Semester
August 12, 2017
— 4 Comments
fall
If we were having coffee this weekend in Tucson I would invite you to relax with an iced tea. I am enjoying a white strawberry tea that refreshes me in this muggy weather. Please help yourself to apricots while we kiss this summer good bye. The stone fruits (peaches, plums, apricots, etc) are a symbol of summer. Along with berries they have the lively colors and flavors that remind us of outdoor dining in the warm season. At this time of year I buy the best looking stone fruits at the market and savor the last of the crop from this year. These apricots are luscious.
If we were relaxing with tea I would tell you my week went well. I fit in dermatology as well as dental appointments and continued trimming down and organizing my possessions. I excavated loads of paper files to destroy, and a few to save. I can’t believe how much useless paper I have stuffed into the spaces in my house. This is all changing, and making me very happy. I listed the real estate, so vacating the barn and dealing with anything stored over there is a signal I am really ready to sell. I found the appraisal on the land I had done when I inherited it in 2008. I have lost a huge amount of imaginary money on this property, and payed Pima County about $15,000 in taxes over the time I have owned it. I will be pleased to give up the tax burden and end the madness. It probably will not sell overnight, but I am ready if it does.
Again this week I trended more into poetry and fiction. I enjoy the more creative forms. I think all of my writing needs practice, in every form. As long as I continue to work on it I am satisfied. I have started to dream up fiction scenarios in my spare time, which is new for me. Usually I am all about finding more facts. I have been invited to a mermaid parade next week in downtown Tucson. I do have an outfit I could wear. It has made me think about getting some photos and covering it as a real news story, and then writing some poetry or fiction using the images. That could be fun. I have done little photography lately, and the event promises to be a visual delight.
Parent, student, teacher, or not, the whole world feels the back to school season. Here in my neighborhood we welcome back the U of A students and faculty along with many other locals who leave in the summer because the can. School and university traffic is noticeable on the roads, but then again so is the economic impact it represents. I don’t mind the students, but I saw my first set of ceramic pumpkins in a grocery store display this week. Hold on with the pumpkin spice and the Halloween gear until at least September. Let’s enjoy some Indian summer before you start playing Christmas music. How is back to school season for you, gentle reader? Do your local merchants jump the gun on holidays like ours do?
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Join the digital beverage party every weekend at Diana’s parttimemoster blog. Catch up with news from writers around the world over your beverage of choice. Read, write, comment, or check #weekendcoffeeshare on twitter
#WeekendCoffeeShare Lazy Muse Edition
July 30, 2017
— 6 Comments
reflection in my pool
If we were having coffee this weekend I would invite you to sip a long glass of iced tea or coffee. The weather is muggy and the ground is muddy. My ambition is active in starts and fits. Last weekend was extremely successful in the possession purge department. I unloaded a big car, loads of fabric, twofold funky floor cleaning machines, and about 300 pounds of glassware. We went to the used book store with our DVD’s, but only a small portion were accepted for trade. The initial phase was exciting because as items left the house, more was revealed that needs to go. I did uncover space in the garage and in some cabinets in the house, but I am not even 10% into the work that I need to do. It is exhilarating to see the empty space appear. It will be even more exciting to clear out the barn and sell the lot across the street. The financial reward will be more than worth the effort. I will perceiver.
With all the extra emphasis on physical things, my muse decided to be lazy and fickle. I wrote very little this week while I settle into my work and commute schedule. I made some excuses about all the “work” I have to do. I admit that this is pure malarkey. My commute is an easy 20 minute straight shot, and my work is fun. Plenty of people go to school full-time and work full-time and get graduate degrees. Surely I can work a tiny part-time job while purging my possessions and still find time to write. I am putting this muse’s nose to the grindstone in the coming weeks. It is better to write something, even if it is not my best work, than to skip too many days. How do you handle your productivity issues? Does your muse just lounge around and refuse to work? Today I am working a shift on Sunday so I can take a full day off for my facial tomorrow. Ms Muse should realize she is living in a very privileged and pampered being, and be more grateful. If I discipline her she just leaves. I can usually squeeze a poem out of her as she exits, but there is no telling when she plans to return. She is a lot like me.
While I fill your iced tea glass, tell me how your life and writing are going. I hope you are feeling more productive than I am now. Are you looking forward to the next season (back to school for some) or treading water? I love summer because I spend so much time in the pool. I don’t really mind the heat because I have a pool at my condo village I can use 24 hours a day. I am very fond of moonlight dips. The water cools off in the middle of September, ending the nighttime enjoyment. Until then I can be found in the deep end, thinking deep thoughts, teaching the muse to swim.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Please join us each week for #WeekendCoffeeShare, hosted by Diana at Parttimemonsterblog.com. Share your news and catch up with the gang on the weekends here. The feast is moveable and the drinks are all digital and calorie free.
#WritePhoto Last Windmill
July 27, 2017
— 9 Comments
the last windmill
The pump beneath the windmill brings water to the fields
Narrow streams flow gently between the grain and weeds
Sustaining this small patch of land was easier in the past
Today we watch industry sprawl then collapse just as fast
In our youth we did not imagine this could happen here
That the last windmill in service would be held so dear
Ceremonies and pageantry now commemorate the times
When Mother Nature spoke to us in stories and in rhymes
#writephoto
Join writers from around the world each Thursday to respond to the photo prompt generously provided by Sue Vincent on her Echo blog. Read, write, and comment here on last week’e entries.
Terror Trap
July 25, 2017
— 3 Comments
symbolic
When the center of town exploded we checked the sky
Nobody could see the cause of the blaze or find out why
Our news was jammed and twitter was disabled tonight
We are not sure if this is an invasion, a prank, or a fight
If our communications are stopped we will quiver in fear
It will be of no use to have all the latest of apps and gear
Please send us a signal, a message, a hint or a sign
Are we surrounded by zombies, or enemies of some kind?
We have become hyper-vigilant, paranoid, and obsessed
Is this one road we have traveled doomed or blessed?
symbolic
#WritePhoto Melting Mask
July 20, 2017
— 11 Comments
mask
The door was blocked by a large figure standing next to the fire
His face obscured by smoke, his identity concealed from us,
He moved with deliberate intent so swift and sure he seemed a ghost,
A phantom memory of the times when this place served as the center
Of a large and looming ogre with scary tendrils reaching into every nook
We were not sure if he entered the flames on purpose or was pulled
By fate or backdraft into the inferno that had started so suddenly
The night exploded as the bright red fire consumed the mask of power
Some rejoiced as the melting symbol of the past became a molten puddle
Most of us wondered how long it would be before the area would be safe
We all believed the melting mask was telling us to take great precaution
#writephoto
This poem is a response to this week’s photo prompt from Sue Vincent’s Echo. Each Thursday she posts a photo. She is a very good sport to post for us this week since her own computer exploded and has made access to her photo collection tedious. Thank you Sue. We appreciate your generosity. Please join other writers here to read, write, comment on last week’s prompt.
#MemoirMonday My First #MeatlessMonday, 1970
July 17, 2017
— 1 Comment
1970
When I was 19 years old I lived in the suburbs of Durham, North Carolina. I shared a large house on 200 acres with two other women. We split the rent of $80 a month. Part of the house was built before the Civil War. It had been a grand estate, but was slated for development, so the owners did not want to do any repairs. It had been left empty for a few years. We found the estate agent, Dallas Branch, in Durham and convinced him to rent it to us. He had a thick southern accent and at first was opposed to three women living in the woods without a chaperone. He warned us that the owner might sell at any time, so there was a month to month agreement. That was the best rental deal I ever had in my life. We had wonderful parties with our friends there that created epic memories.
The house had a fireplace in the downstairs living room, in which we burned coal. There was no insulation, so this fireplace was not adequate to heat the house. We each had kerosene heaters in our bedrooms to stay warm at night. Our expenses were low, and one of the women had a mother who sent us all kinds of fabulous canned goods from her garden in South Carolina. Two of us worked at a small publishing company downtown Durham (I got a ride to work with my roommate since I owned no vehicle) and the other was in drama school in Chapel Hill at UNC. I can’t remember how she got to school. She did not have a car either.
At the publishing company I met a group of friends who attended Duke and lived in Durham. They invited me to go to the Union Grove Fiddler’s Convention on Easter. A caravan of cars full of sleeping gear and tons of food traveled from Durham to the campground that surrounded the big performance tent. We pitched our tents and spent the weekend immersed in Bluegrass, beer, and food. I took an entire country ham and a lot of bread I had baked, including hot crossed buns. Everyone ate way too much, myself included.
On 29 March, 1970 I made a decision to be a vegetarian. I did not have a reason. I just did it because I was 19 years old and I ate too much ham on my weekend trip. There was no moral or health code attached to the decision. Many Mondays later I am still a vegetarian. It is much easier now to find products. Today vegan diets are promoted to save the planet as well as cure common ailments. I agree with that point of view, but do not push it on my friends. Sometimes PETA can be a little overkill (pun intended) with the methods they use to sell the idea to non believers.
Have you tried to cut down on meat, gentle reader? We have come a long way since 1970. If you are looking for ideas they are abundant, especially on Mondays. Follow the hashtag #MeatlessMonday any day for recipes and helpful hints.
Lettuce not forget
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