More Photos

My photography gallery has been updated with some recent pictures as well as some older photos. You might be able to tell that I am really enjoying taking pictures of all the various birds returning to the area.

My Green Tea Recipe

I have been making my own tea for about one year now. I searched and searched for an alternative to our previous main beverage experience which was a national brand of green tea sold in gallon quantities using a cheap sweetener called high fructose corn syrup. I have worked hard to remove this ingredient from our diet which is not a really easy thing to do because it is in just about everything. This was the last product containing this ingredient on our weekly groceries list. Then I found agave syrup in our local health food store. This is a great alternative sweetener and just the thing I needed to begin making my own green tea.

The recipe I have come to make almost daily is as follows:

• 2 TBSP (heaping*) Bancha Green Tea Leaves
• 5/8 - 1 cup honey
• 3/8 cup agave syrup
• 2 capsules powdered ginseng or 20-30 drops of liquid ginseng
• water

Right now, I make tea using a 3 quart Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker however, I would love to acquire this teapot sometime in the future to heat the water and steep the tea. I measure the tea leaves and pour into the brew basket. Fill the machine full of water. Pour the honey and agave syrup into the bottom of the tea pitcher. I do not measure out the honey so the above amounts are estimated and will need to be adjusted based on your taste. Occasionally, if I run out of the agave syrup I find that just adding more honey makes the tea sweet enough to drink. I brew and steep the tea in the pitcher. When the tea leaves have cooled to a reasonable enough temperature to handle I squeeze the remaining tea out of the tea leaves and discard the leaves in my compost pile. Be careful not to let the brewed tea cool down too much. You want the brewed tea to still be warm so you can stir the honey at the bottom of the pitcher so it blends with the tea; the honey is easier to blend when the tea is still hot. Pour mixture into 1 gallon sized container or 2 half gallon containers (preferably glass or other pitcher made of inert materials). Fill pitcher full with ice cubes and/or cold water. Enjoy!

If this recipe doesn't make you want to drink some then here are 7 seven more reasons to enjoy a nice cup of green tea.

* I chose the amount of tea leaves to brew based on the fact that the tea syrup it brews can be mixed with enough water to make 1 gallon of very delicious "iced" or cold tea.

Doll Craft

Here is a baby doll that was a project commissioned by my mother in 1978. A co-worker of hers at the time made these baby dolls (the exact name or kind of craft I am not sure of) and my mother had her make them to announce to relatives she would soon give birth to me. She had a blue one made for my Grandmother Lucy and this purple one was made for my Grandmother O'Neal. When I became pregnant with my first child, I became the lucky recipient of this lovely doll. She has arms and legs that are attached with large buttons. Her clothes for the most part are all sewn on. She has an embroidered face. I feel very lucky to have received such a great family heirloom and am very proud to be able to pass this down to my daughter when her time comes to start a family.

Snow in Mid-April?

Well, it is sort of looking like spring up here in the mountains. The spring flowers have bloomed and the native birds are starting to return to the feeders more often. I caught some pics of some American Goldfinch that were tweeting up a storm in our backyard yesterday. However, these are the only pics I could get as they were staying mostly in the trees and underbrush, then periodically indulging in our neighbors' feeder. I would have loved to get a better/closer shot of them, unfortunately though, they didn't seem to want anything to do with our feeders. There are also many critters emerging from their winter slumber as well. However, our area is expecting some light snow today.