Checking Our Small Garden
Hi! Back in April we cleaned up the gardens or beds around the house and planted some seeds. We ended the day with 7 pots to monitor. Well, the parsley and cilantro were taken out by a wind storm in April. The forget-me-nots looked good then faded before we could counteract the effects of a dry spell. The daisies never sprouted, but we have others already in the garden. The strawberries started with little green shoots, but a squirrel dug them out.
What Remains?
The pentunias are doing nicely.
You can see the empty daisy pot; very sad.
The tomatoes are doing well too! Looks like three tomato plants looming. And that's the empty strawberry pot next to it.
I saved the soil from the ones that didn't work.
Newsy Update
Guess what?! I've repotted the petunias and the tomatoes. They are doing even better, getting even bigger! In fact, they need to be repotted again! I'll have more photos for you soon!
See you again soon!
Two More 80s Movies
Grace and Lea's First Time
Grace, Haley, Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie, Lea, Melody, 2 or more
Preparations
Woo hoo! Movie Day at Lady Webby's!
Where?
Lady Webby's, Oh, that;s right you and Lea haven't been there yet.
You'll have a great time.
Wonderful food.
And Princess Bella is awesome.
Princess? Cool!
Grab your gear - we're headed out.
Arrival
We're here! Yay!
Okay, take off your shoes.
Why?
Standard operating procedure.
(giggles)
Got it!
Shoes off, check!
Let's head downstairs.
I'll lead the way!
Ooo! Neat place.
Will we all fit on the couch?
Hmmm, not sure.
That's okay, I'll sit on the floor.
Yeah, me too!
Hey, brunch is ready!
Grab me some quiche please!
Me too!
First Movie
This time we voted on which movie to watch first.
The vote landed on Brewster's Millions.
It was really interesting.
Montgomery Brewster inherits a LOT of money and has to spend all of it in 30 days without telling anyone why to inherit an even larger amount of money.
Neat idea.
There were rules to follow.
Really funny!
Loved it!
It's PG.
No adult situations. A little rough language, but not bad.
No gore. No real violence beyond the bar brawl at the beginning.
Second Movie
The adults got talking about the next movie and discussed a long list.
We changed up our seats after a stretch.
Then decided we should choose one starring David Bowie.
The choice was easy...
Labyrinth!
Even though we have a copy at home,
We were so entranced we forgot to get a photo for this one.
Great movie!
Neat combination of puppets and live actors.
I think they'd try to use too much CGI if they made it today.
It's PG because of the action and adventure and some slightly scary scenes.
Otherwise, no bad language, no adult situations, no gore.
GREAT music and songs!
Heading Home
Oh, man! Do we have to leave?
Yes, time to go home.
I love this couch. So comfy.
I know.
Lookout, Grace!
(giggles) Well, there you go. I'm good!
Let's get our shoes.
And don't forget the leftover strawberry pretzel yum rations!
(laughing)
Follow Up Photo
This is the second movie we watched. Yep, Xyra has it on VHS!
Best wishes,
A Revelation and Apology
Hi! By now you know we love to read and review books. You also know we are members of quite a few fandoms.
Last year a friend brought to our attention that we might be making a few people annoyed by referring to a book series by a shortened name. The main reason we do that is because we, personally, do not like our post titles to wrap. Plus the links get really long.
Today we were reading a New York Times article about JK Rowling. The journalist interviewed another author that Xyra has read and mentioned two of her book series. One was not right. We heard her mutter," It's The Wolves of Mercy Falls not just Shiver."
So now we completely understand how irritating it can be and are sorry we made this book reviewing faux pas; please forgive us.
Now we have a dilemma. We've finished The Titan's Curse recently and will be reviewing it soon. We'd like the post title to be obvious to all, but not annoying to others; and to connect easily when looking in the archive. What do we use when reviewing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan?
Please help. Leave your ideas in a comment.
Best wishes,
Thirsty Thursday #9
Earl Grey
Hi! If you are a regular follower, you know that we LOVE Earl Grey tea! I tried to search our site to let you know how many times we've reviewed an Earl Grey blend, and found around 40 mentions. Stash, Fashionista Tea, Two Leaves, and more. So I'll let you use the magic search box to find other posts. There is even a bit on the history of the blend way back in 2013.
Today I have a new brand of Earl Grey to share with you. This is Full Circle + Project 7 organic tea.
The strange thing about this organic tea is the bags are in plastic pouches. I would think the paper would be better. (giggles)
I like the paper and foil pouches better because sometimes these are hard to tear or to find the tear slit.
Mmmm, I love the smell of Earl Grey. It's so soothing but energizing at the same time.
The end of the box has the brewing instructions for both hot and iced tea.
We're making hot, so I'm setting the timer for 4 minutes.
(timer beeps)
Mmmm, smells wonderful. Warm and tangy.
The tang comes from the bergamot. Did you know bergamot is a type of citrus fruit? It can look like an orange on the outside and like a lemon on the inside. Some call them sour oranges or sweet lemons. They are very juicy. This blog talks about them a bit; and this wiki page or this one.
Look at the lovely dark amber color.
My three cups are ready for tasting.
One is tea plain, then next is sweetened with white sugar, the last has white sugar and milk...um, I think 1% or maybe 2%. (giggles)
This is the plain one.
It seems well balanced. You get a nice, smooth, tone from the black tea with the zip from the bergamot. Slightly acidic. Would be good cold and over ice.
Now with sugar. I used plain, granulated sugar this time.
The sweetness softens the flavors a little; not quite as acidic as plain. Honey would be good in this too. Plain sugar adds a sweetness; honey would also add another flavor note depending on the type like clover or wildflower or orange blossom.
With sugar and milk.
Velvety. The milk goes one step further than just the sugar and weaves all the flavors together. I'm not sure why milk works in a blend that incorporates a citrus note, but it does and does well.
Of course, if you are a long time follower, you also know that we like milk in our tea. Especially Earl Grey. However, we are not so strict that we can't drink tea in whatever form is available. If I were somewhere with hot water, but no sugar or milk I'd be happy drinking this plain.
There is an added bonus to buying this particular brand. They sponsor a program that donates a portion of the sales to feeding the hungry.
The site could use a bit of updating. There are more teas available now than just the English Breakfast...(whispers) another favorite blend. (giggles)
Do you have a favorite tea blend? If yes, please share it with us in a comment below. don't forget to tell us how you take it. :-D
Best wishes,
