ABC Wednesday: T for Tea

I’m a tea-lover. I never learned to like coffee; I always drink tea.

Did you know that…

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, second only to water.

The earliest records of usage of tea as a beverage go back to the 10th century BC in China.

There are four main types of tea: white, green, oolong, and black,
which all come from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The classification is based on how the tea is produced and processed.

In East Asian culture, the term "red tea" has always been used to represent what the West understands as "black tea". This can be confusing in the English speaking world because “red tea” is now also used for the drink made with the South African rooibos plant (which has nothing to do with the Camellia Sinensis plant).

An average serving of coffee contains 145 mg of caffeine, the same serving size of black tea provides 50-60 mg, and green tea 25 mg.

Both green and black tea infusions contain antioxidants.

Tea is good for the heart, and for the blood pressure.

Tea also helps regulate cholesterol and blood-glucose, is good in several ways for the intestinal system, boosts the immune system, has some anti-cancer properties, and helps fight cavities.

Recently a study also showed that people who consumed tea had significantly less cognitive decline than non-tea drinkers.

(Facts picked from various websites including Wikipedia)

Macro Monday: Your World for the Moment

When you take a flower in your hand and
really look at it, it's your world for the moment.
I want to give that world to someone else.
Most people in the city rush around so,
they have no time to look at a flower.
I want them to see it whether they want to or not.

~ Georgia O'Keeffe ~

- - -

Macro Monday / Lisa’s Chaos

Sunday Summary

▲ Straight Out Of the Camera Sunday ▼

Short summary of the week: I envy that gull his bendable neck!

Extended summary:
Weather-wise and otherwise it’s been a  rollercoaster ride of a week.

The “otherwise” has to do with mixed news about friends; and also what one blogging friend (Rae) calls “badiversaries” (more explicitly this week was two years since my mother’s sudden death).

“Weather-wise” we’ve had the kind of low pressure weather that seems to literally just knock me out flat these days. In some ways worse than the cold mid-winter (or maybe that’s just short memory on my part). Anyway my neck and shoulder have been in very uncooperative achy mood; to the point of nausea.

Yesterday as I walked into town (slowly, and carefully balancing my head), besides thinking I should have taken my winter coat out of the wardrobe again, I found myself seriously wishing (not for the first time!) for a way to leave my head and right arm back home in bed, and only take the rest of me to town. But then again… nah… I guess I’d probably need my head… But what if I could just carry it under my left arm instead?

This is not straight out of the camera!
(Found it on some website for kids, Halloween section.)

Hmm. I’m guessing such an arrangement might make it rather hard to handle the camera, though... Not to mention how many people I’d scare out of their wits, I suppose! ;)

For now I guess I’m stuck with the duller kind of compromises. 

Weekend Reflections: Ducklings

For some time now, I’ve only been seeing the male mallards swimming about in the river playing grass widowers. (Just for once, I wish I was writing this in Swedish, because the Swedish name for mallard translates “grass duck”.)

Yesterday, however, I noticed some females were back… With their babies! (Just in time for Mother’s Day here in Sweden.)

Not easy to catch with camera, though!  There were so many reflections in the water that they made themselves almost invisible. How many ducklings can you see in picture below?

There are five little ones + mummy

Photography lesson learned: Even though I now have a camera with more zoom capacity, before I have zoomed in, the birds have disappeared way out of my focus!
– LOL –

Booking Through Thursday

http://btt2.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/rut/

Do you ever feel like you’re in a reading rut? That you don’t read enough variety? That you need to branch out, spread your literary wings and explore other genres, flavors, styles?

I'd say my whole life tends to get into periodical ruts, which sometimes include reading habits as well. On the whole, though, I think I prefer to look at it more as going through different phases - in life, as well as reading. Sometimes I do get kind of absorbed by a certain genre or subject or author; but then, when I've had enough, I move on, or take a break. There are certain books and authors I keep returning to; but I read other things in between as well.

Over the last month I think my reading has been pretty varied:

The World According To Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith (4th in the 44 Scotland Street series), in English.

A novel by Anna Gavalda (French author) as audio book in Swedish. The English title is Hunting and gathering. "focus on the lives of four people living in an apartment house: a struggling young artist who works as an office cleaner at night, a young aristocrat misfit, a cook, and an elderly grandmother"

A novel by Swedish author P O Enquist, English title Lewi's Journey, (but I read it in Swedish of course), about the life of Lewi Pethrus: founder of, or at least very influential in, the Swedish Pentecostal movement back in the early 20th century.

The Zahir by Paolo Coelho (in Swedish; I have not finished it yet) "about pilgrimage. The book touches on themes of love, loss and obsession."

And parallel to these, I have also been re-listening to the last two books in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (read by Stephen Fry) (The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows)

I don't think this selection suggests exactly being in a reading rut - do you? Hmm. If these books have anything in common I suppose it might be a certain struggle with one's own true identity and goals in life. But then again - isn't that what most books are about?