Spiced Tea that Keeps Forever (low calorie)

Edible gifts are usually appreciated, and it is always a good idea to keep a bit back for your own survival purposes.  More jarred mixes were previous posted here for cocoa, risotto rice and peanut butter cookies.

This is a recipe I found on the internet at the Cook Site that calls for:

2 c. Tang
2/3 cup instant tea
2 (3 oz.) pkgs. lemonade mix
2 1/2 c. sugar

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. cloves

The "old recipes" that I had from back in the day called for Tang (not an easy product to find these days on grocery shelves...and expensive!) and presweetened Kool-Aid, also not available at the three major grocery chains in our neighborhood.  The old recipes also called for lots of sugar.

This as about the closest I could come up with for a general mix to use for gifts to give our produce laden neighbors who were generous to share with us their summer squashes and tomatoes. In rough proportions, this will yield a spiced tea mix for about 8 cups of dry spiced tea, using aspertain sweetened products:

1 can of pre-sweetend instant tea with lemon flavor
2 small cans of Tang ( you really have to look for this product at your local grocery)
1/2 can of pre-sweetened lemonade (or several little packs of Crystal Lite lemonade)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon (no cloves for me)

Add about two tsp. of the mix to a cup of hot water, and the taste of fall is on your tastebuds!

Always Go to the Funeral

Dierdre Sullivan wrote the following which was read on This I Believe on August 8, 2005:

I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that.

The first time he said it directly to me, I was 16 and trying to get out of going to calling hours for Miss Emerson, my old fifth grade math teacher. I did not want to go. My father was unequivocal. “Dee,” he said, “you’re going. Always go to the funeral. Do it for the family.”

So my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse than I thought it would be: I was the only kid there. When the condolence line deposited me in front of Miss Emerson’s shell-shocked parents, I stammered out, “Sorry about all this,” and stalked away. But, for that deeply weird expression of sympathy delivered 20 years ago, Miss Emerson’s mother still remembers my name and always says hello with tearing eyes.

That was the first time I went un-chaperoned, but my parents had been taking us kids to funerals and calling hours as a matter of course for years. By the time I was 16, I had been to five or six funerals. I remember two things from the funeral circuit: bottomless dishes of free mints and my father saying on the ride home, “You can’t come in without going out, kids. Always go to the funeral.”

Sounds simple — when someone dies, get in your car and go to calling hours or the funeral. That, I can do. But I think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means more than that.

“Always go to the funeral” means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don’t feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don’t really have to and I definitely don’t want to. I’m talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex’s uncles. In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.

In going to funerals, I’ve come to believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life’s inevitable, occasional calamity.

On a cold April night three years ago, my father died a quiet death from cancer. His funeral was on a Wednesday, middle of the workweek. I had been numb for days when, for some reason, during the funeral, I turned and looked back at the folks in the church. The memory of it still takes my breath away. The most human, powerful and humbling thing I’ve ever seen was a church at 3:00 on a Wednesday full of inconvenienced people who believe in going to the funeral.

.......As a child Deirdre Sullivan’s father told her to always pay her respects at funerals. Now, the Brooklyn attorney believes those simple acts of human kindness are as important as the grand heroic gestures....

Eye Staining on White Dogs: Using Systane Eye Drops

In conversation with a patient at our local hospital with therapy dog Libby Sweetpea, the gentleman we spoke with gave me a great tip. Surprising what great ideas crop up in conversations with new people in different situations! This patient had formerly bred Pomeranian puppies and was familiar with eye staining problems, especially on dogs with white fur.

He suggested that I buy an over-the-counter lubricating eye drop called Systane and place a few drops of this product into the corners of Libby's eyes. His ophthalmologist had recommended it for humans with dry eyes AND for dogs. (I bought a two pack, one for my dry eyes and one for Libby's stained eyes.)

Well, it works! I have tried using baking soda mixed with water for a paste and Angel Eyes, but this solution seems an easier tact to follow to keep the pup's eyes clear of stain. Just saying...