Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Some Buzz About Bees

Posted by terrepruitt on October 3, 2018

I recently received a gift of honey. Not honey honey, but honey spread. The box sported many bee facts and I didn’t want them to go to waste so I thought I would share. According to the Bumbleberry Farms Honey Cream Spread box:

Questions and answers:

—How fast does a bee fly?
——————————-About 15 miles per hour

—How many flowers does a honeybee visit during one collection trip?
——————————-A worker bee visits about 50-100 flowers during each trip

—How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
——————————-More than 55,000 miles

—How much honey does the average worker honeybee make in her lifetime?
——————————-About 1/12 of a teaspoon

—How many wings does a honeybee have?
——————————-Each honeybee has 4 wings

—How much honey would it take to fuel a bee’s flight around the world?
——————————-About one ounce, or 2 tablespoons

—How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
——————————-Each cell is a six-sided hexagon

—What is mead?
——————————-Mead is wine made from honey

—Which state is known as the Beehive State?
——————————-Utah

—How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States?
——————————-The USDA estimates that there are about 2.68 million honey-producing colonies in the United States.

—What does “super” mean to a beekeeper?
——————————-Supers are the hive boxes in which honey is stored, usually places above the deeper box called the “hive body”, where brood (developing bees) is reared.

—How do honeybees communicate with one another?
——————————-They communicate by dancing. Honeybees do a dance which alerts the other bees where nectar and pollen are located. The dance explains direction and distance. Bees also communicate with pheromones, a unique odor common to the particular beehive.

Just laying out the facts:

—The keeping of bees is known as Apiculture
—An apiary is where several bee colonies, or hives, are kept in one place
—There are over 200,000 beekeepers in the United States
—Honey is the only food that won’t spoil
—1 in 3 bites of food is pollinated by an insect.
—Honeybee mating takes place in flight, account for the drone’s need for better vision
—A male bee or drone has eyes twice the size of a worker or queen bee
—A healthy queen can lay up to 30,000 eggs a day
—A queen lays her own weight in eggs every couple of hours
—Contrary to what the name implies, a queen does not actually control a hive, and her sole job is to be an egg-laying machine

Wow! Did you know that? So interesting. Bees are pretty amazing. Do you know any bee facts you would like to share?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: apiary, Apiculture, bee colonies, bee facts, bee queen, Bumbleberry Farms, honey spread | 2 Comments »

Polished Fluorite

Posted by terrepruitt on October 1, 2018

I order a lot of stuff from Amazon. Most of the time it goes pretty well, but sometimes it does not. But I try to pay attention and only order certain things (like clothes) that have free returns. Well, sometimes when they ship the wrong thing is really doesn’t matter if the return was stated as free because when they send you the wrong thing it is up to them/the seller to fix it. A couple of months ago I ordered a stone and they shipped the wrong one. At first when I opened the package I was very disappointed because it was not the color that I was hoping for. When you order things like natural stones they warn you that the color will not be what you see in the picture, but what I received was way off. It took me a moment to realize that this was not the stone I ordered. I didn’t order another one right away. But I finally did and now I have some fluorite.

According to Wiki:

“Fluorite comes in a wide range of colors and has consequently been dubbed “the most colorful mineral in the world”. Every color of the rainbow in various shades are represented by fluorite samples, along with white, black, and clear crystals. The most common colors are purple, blue, green, yellow, or colorless. Less common are pink, red, white, brown, and black. Color zoning or banding is commonly present. The color of the fluorite is determined by factors including impurities, exposure to radiation, and the absence or voids of the color centers.”

I am used to the multi-colored polished stones. With light hues of pink-purple, green-blue, pinks, purples, greens, and blues in it. I have seen some dark ones, but I have not gotten one. The ones I got were light.

Wiki also states that fluorite is a source of a common chemical used to make a number of things, that is has ornamental uses, and even optical uses.

If you believe in the healing properties of crystals and stones then fluorite can help clear your mind. It can help get rid of negativity. It helps clear the way to joy. It helps bring order to chaos. It helps you focus. It can be used when you need to concentrate or get rid of a mental block. For some, this clearing of the mind can help with relaxation. Help with relaxation might translate into help in sleeping. Fluorite is often used to promote the positive energy while removing the negative energies. It is thought to help relieve the electromagnetic stress we are under every day with the use of everything electronic.

Do you have a stone/crystal collection? Do you have fluorite in you stone/crystal collection?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Amazon, energy cleansing stone, fluorite, healing properties, Healing stones, polished stones, pretty stone | 8 Comments »

Birthday Roses

Posted by terrepruitt on September 28, 2018

I should have taken a picture of them the day after I received them, but I didn’t. I set them on the table next to my place in the living room and just enjoyed them. I think I caught them while they still are beautiful. I could easily make my Friday Photos just flowers. Well, maybe flowers and cats.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: birthday flowers, cats and flowers, red flowers, red roses, Roses | 2 Comments »

Who Gave Me That?

Posted by terrepruitt on September 24, 2018

I recently received a lot of wine and/or champagne, as it was my birthday. I have a birthday every year (funny how that is, huh?) but I don’t normally let everyone know about it, however this year it was a significant birthday so I insisted on a bit of hoopla. Usually I will get a bottle of wine or two so I have no problem remembering who gave me what. But this year I received quite a few bottles. I think wine is a great gift to receive. I have a problem giving it as I am not a fancy wine buyer/drinker so I never know what to give. But that makes me a great wine receiver as anything that tastes good works for me regardless. Well, while writing all my thank you notes I realized I would not be able to remember who gave me what and down the line while my hubby and I are enjoying the wine I would like to know who gave me what. There are a lot of ways to label a bottle and at first I just wrote on the label, but some labels are black so a blue pen would not show up, plus writing on the label mars the label. So I decided to use that roll on white out tape.

I just rolled a line of the correction tape on the bottle and wrote the name on it. Now I know who gave me what, but I can also easily remove the information if the need arises. I don’t necessarily want have the gift givers names on the bottles if I have company over and I want to share a bottle with them. With this method I don’t have bottles with notes taped to them and I don’t have names written on the labels, but the bottles ARE labeled. The white out tape can be easily scraped off. If you decided to use any tape . . . like masking or scotch tape, that would even be easier because it would just pull off – no scraping necessary! Scotch tape might be hard to read.

Might sound odd, but I thought it the correction tape was somewhat cleaver. I like to give a “cheers” to the gift giver while enjoying a glass, plus if I really enjoy it I would like to let them know. There are so many ways people gift wine. A lot of people share their favorite and they like to know if the receiver enjoyed it, too. So now I will know who gave me what when we are drinking it months later.

What do you think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: 50th birthday, birthday hoopla, champagne, gives to remember, white-out tape, wine | 2 Comments »

Flamingo Friday

Posted by terrepruitt on September 21, 2018

The community center where I teach yoga at on Thursday evenings has watercolors hanging on the walls in the hallway. They are all very good, but this one caught my eye. I wanted to share it with you.

A watercolor flamingo for today’s Friday Photo.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: flamingo, gorgeous art, watercolor, yoga class location | Leave a Comment »

Cooking Corn On The Cob

Posted by terrepruitt on September 19, 2018

Not too long ago I posted a question on Facebook. I asked how people cooked corn on the cob. I shuck mine then roll them in aluminum foil and cook them in the oven.

____________________

Corn On The Cob

two cobs of corn
aluminum foil
butter

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Peel the husk off of each corn cob, also, try to remove all of the silk. Then wash the corn. Place the corn in a piece of aluminum foil with some butter. Roll the cob up in the foil. Put the corn in the middle of the rack with the rack set to the middle of the oven. Cook for about 60 minutes.

Take the corn out of the oven and let cool at least 20 minutes. Butter and salt, then serve.

____________________

I don’t like to have the silk in my teach so I try to remove it all before I cook it. I also rinse the corn off because often times the husk is dirty and I sometimes get dirt on my hands and then handle the corn. I also rinse it off because I like to have a little bit of moisture in the foil wrapping when it is cooking. My husband prefers his corn is cooked in the butter, whereas I like to put the butter on mine after it is cooked. So with his piece I put in a tablespoon or two of butter and with mine I kind of just rub some butter on. Just enough to give it a little fat to cook with.

I know this is a long time to cook, but we like it. It just take planning. I have to remember to put it on at least an hour before we want to eat it. It has worked out good the last two times that I cooked it, I cooked it an hour and a half before we wanted to eat so it was able to cook and cool before we ate.

I planned on posting about it, so I took pictures of the prep, but by the time it was cooked I had forgotten and didn’t take any more pictures. But I am sure you know what cooked corn on the cob looks like.

How do you cook your corn on the cob?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: buttered corn, corn on the cob, oven cooked corn | Leave a Comment »

Watermelon

Posted by terrepruitt on September 17, 2018

In this past organic produce delivery there was a little watermelon. They call them personal watermelons. They are so cute. I decided to slice it open, cut it up, and put it in the fridge. Wow. It is a very good melon. Since watermelons have so much water in them I don’t think of them as having much nutritional value, but a quick internet search shows that they aren’t just water.

Red and pink fruits and veggies contain lycopene which is an antioxidant. Studies suggest it can help reduce the risks of getting asthma and cancer. Antioxidants help fight the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer. Watermelon may help protect against heart disease, while a study showed a supplement of watermelon extract helped with high blood pressure. Lycopene is also thought to help act as a sunscreen. With watermelon being over 90% water, it can help keep things moving in the digestive system.

Vitamin A contained in watermelon can help your skin and eyes. While Choline, an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods, helps with metabolism, among other things, and may help with chronic inflammation. And beta-cryptoxanthin may help protect against inflammation.

According to the International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences watermelon is high in protein, magnesium, and vitamin B.

Nutrition facts

Serving size: 2 cups diced (10 oz / 280 g)
Calories: 80 (Calories from Fat 0)

Total Fat: 0g

Total Carbohydrate: 21g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 20g

Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 0mg
Potassium: 270mg
Protein: 1g

Vitamin A: 30%
Vitamin C: 25%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 4%

Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

I have a post where I suggest adding watermelon to you salad greens, specifically, arugula

Information also says that while watermelon might seem high in carbohydrates, is has a glycemic index (GI) value of 80 and its glycemic load is a 5. So it is not a bad sweet.

I know two people who don’t like watermelon and I find that very odd. I pretty much think EVERYONE likes watermelon. These benefits seem to make it a good snack.

What do you think? Do you like watermelon? Do you cook with it? How do you eat it?

Posted in Food, Fruit | Tagged: antioxidants, glycemic load, Inflammation, lycopene, metabolism, watermelon | Leave a Comment »

A Flowered Path To Wedding Bliss

Posted by terrepruitt on September 14, 2018

Last weekend my husband and I went to a wedding. It was so fun and so beautiful. I didn’t have a moment to check in with the bride regarding how it went (as in were there any “issues”), but to me, a guest, it was perfect. The time leading up to the wedding she had the “Oh no, what ifs . . . ” but I tried to remind her that most of the time guests don’t have any idea about all of the little things that can go “wrong” and do go “wrong” at a wedding. It is up to the bride to just take it in stride as the thing that really matters is the marriage. So, if anything went wrong, I didn’t see it. The venue was gorgeous, she was gorgeous, it was just a great event. I loved this runner that they had. Interesting, yes?

A flowered runner for this 100th Friday Photo.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: flowered runner, Friday Photo, gorgeous wedding, wedding | Leave a Comment »

Knee Helper

Posted by terrepruitt on September 12, 2018

There are standing yoga poses, there are sitting yoga poses, there are reclined yoga poses, there are prone yoga poses, and there are some yoga poses that require the person to be on their knees. There are a lot of reasons being on one’s knees might be uncomfortable. Sometimes people just fold up their yoga mat to give them extra cushion under their knees. Some people have opted to bring in additional cushions and pads to put under their knees. Recently one of my students discovered this gardener’s knee cushion. She purchased it on sale at Orchard’s Supply. She bought it but wasn’t sure it would work, but then after she tried it, she told everyone else about it and they all came back the next week with one.

If not being comfortable on your knees keeps you from doing yoga, perhaps getting a gardener’s cushion could help. Now there is a different between “being uncomfortable” on your knees and “not be able to be” on your knees. I know there are knees out there that people are just not able to be on. If that is the case then a cushion is not going to help. This post and suggestion is just for the people with basically healthy knees that need a little cushion.

This cushion is a Laura Ashley cushion but I don’t see it on her website, but I bet there are other ones out there that are like this one. It is covered in neoprene (the stuff wetsuits are made with) or something like it and it feels more comparable to a memory foam cushion then just foam or rubber. Some pads are made of form or cushion-y rubber, but this is different. So, if you are in the market for a cushion for your knees to use in yoga you might want to look into gardeners’ knee pad/cushion. Then you can do yoga and your knees will thank you along with the rest of your body.

Do you like cushion under your knees during yoga?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: gardener's knee pad, gardening knee cushion, kind to your knees, Laura Ashley, yoga mat, yoga poses | 2 Comments »

Beautiful Mosaics

Posted by terrepruitt on September 10, 2018

Over the Labor Day Weekend we went to the Greek Festival in Belmont. The festival is held at The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross. I wrote post about some soap that we get at the festival. We get the soap every year. We’ve only been going the past three or four years. This was the first year we went into the church. I think it was the first year that they were doing tours in the church, but I am not sure. I was so amazed at the inside of the church. If I am reading the website correctly, the “church” basically started in 1955 with twelve people. The church buildings were not built until 1964. My cousin who attends the church was reminiscing about how the church didn’t always have all of the mosaics pictured. The website says that the dome and the pendentive arches had the mosaics installed in 2004. I noticed a year on one of the walls. It was 2014. So it seems that the mosaics were installed over time.

Sirio Tonelli is the artist behind the art. According to his/their/that website they do mosaics for a lot of different churches. The size of the tiles in each of these mosaics was about a half of inch square. Yes, these murals are made from thousands of 1/2 inch square pieces of glass. It is amazing! This site has some better pictures of the inside of the church.

My pictures do not capture well, the beauty of the mosaics. They were very bright and very shiny. There were so many people trying to take pictures I was just doing so in a rush. Plus I was rather enjoying just looking at them and trying to take it all in and didn’t think to take a well planned out series of photos, I just started snapping as we were starting to walk out.

It is a very gorgeous church. I was amazed. I loved it so much primarily because it was so blue.

What do you think?