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Walking… No more tulips, now ROSES!

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Just as soon as the tulips came and we were in awe of them, now they are gone. As I walked yesterday, I noticed that roses are blooming. Pink is my favorite color, so I loved this.

At this time of year, I always think of St Therese of Lisieux who on her deathbed said she would “shower us with roses from Heaven.” They say if you pray a novena to St Therese, you will know she heard your prayer, because she’ll deliver a rose to you. WELL, not hand delivered, but you will find or see a rose and instinctively KNOW it’s from her, she has heard your prayer.

This happened to me! Years ago, I had been laid off my job. It was Spring, I saw roses and thought of her, so prayed for guidance. I waited, looked, hoped — nothing!

Until one day, I was at a coffee shop. I finished my coffee, went to throw my cup away outside and there was a bouquet of roses in a glass vase sitting by the garbage area. WHAT?? How strange and MIRACULOUS at the same time. Not one rose, but many. Now, granted, they were by the trash on their last leg, but to me, who had prayed – I KNEW they were my sign. Something “good” would happen. Yes, a job soon came!

So, on this bright sunny Wednesday, I wish you ALL a special day full of roses!! Look for your sign!

Coincidences… The Universe KNOWS what we want!

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The other day, I had to run errands. Get my new crown put in. My gosh, it’s so expensive, I do feel it’s like a piece of jewelry in my mouth, I need to treat it with care. Then the DMV sent me a notice, go for Emissions Check on the car. That’s always stressful. If the car doesn’t pass, go to repair shop. Luckily, my car passed.

I was so busy that it was 3 pm and I had not eaten anything. It was a hot day, in the high 80s, so I wasn’t hungry, but I was really really thirsty. I had a vision of a Starbuck’s Mocha Frappuccino. That’s what I wanted. However, no Starbucks close by.

I decided to stop at Barnes & Noble. I always enjoy browsing the books, puzzles, journals, and magazines. I must have been there about an hour, time flies when we look at books. Suddenly, a lady came by with drink samples from the cafe. GUESS WHAT – she said they were Mocha Frappuccino samples.

I’m still laughing at the coincidence of this encounter. I was lost in a book, minding my business when the cafe lady approached. Of course, I took a sample. Then I smiled and thought, how nice of my Guardian Angel to surprise me like this. Team work. Sometimes a small sample is all we need.

The authors from the book, “The Secret,” would say I perfectly manifested my drink.

You know what, I would agree with them. Now, if I could just manifest winning the lottery.

“Cicada Parade-A 2024” / Sponsor, then decorate your own Cicada!

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What an amazing find! I was on a walk with a friend. She had to tie her shoe. While I was waiting, I looked up and I saw this Cicada art piece. I was intrigued, it had #481 on the sign, which meant there were more to see.

The Insect Asylum (taxidermist & insect museum) and Formstone Castle Art (create art for festivals & events) are promoting this Cicada Parade-A project to anyone who wants to participate. You sponsor a cicada by paying a fee, then you can decorate your cicada and it is put up somewhere in IL. Although, I saw a video that mentioned someone out of state bought a cicada to bring to their home town. So, everyone can participate.

Such a great idea. The artist who created #481 did an amazing job.

Go to The Insect Asylum website, you can see a map of where the cicadas are.

You can still buy one. It’s FUN!

Salmon… Do I need to eat it?

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Recently, I had my annual check up. I heard the dreaded words, “Your cholesterol is high.” I’ve had this situation in the past, so I started researching online how to change my diet.

Salmon always comes up, so beneficial for our health in so many ways. BUT, I don’t like the fishy taste.

So, feeling like a little kid, I thought about how I could change the flavor. I decided to cut the salmon up in cubes, then marinated it in Teriyaki sauce. I’ve always cooked salmon with a little bit of garlic salt on it. Why not try something different. The result is in the photo.

Is the flavor better? Ah, a little, but still very fishy tasting, but more tolerable.

I always find it interesting when going out for dinner with people and they BRAG that salmon is on the menu as if it is the greatest thing to man kind. I tend to prefer white fish or shell fish. I feel like an outsider when they all order salmon and I say, “I don’t really like it.” You should see the horror on their faces!

Then, I remember years ago when I was used to eating white bread. That’s all we had as children. Slowly, I moved to eating healthier breads. First wheat bread, then multi-grain bread, etc. Now, I couldn’t even eat white bread unless it is sourdough bread.

So, won’t the same thing happen with salmon if I keep eating it? I’ll grow to like it???

Have a restful holiday weekend!!

Chicago’s BEST bagels – Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli

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This weekend after canoeing, I was hungry. I was thinking, “What do I want to eat?” Then I spotted this van marketing bagels. I have to say, the advertising worked, suddenly I wanted a bagel.

Imagine my happy surprise, when I went to their website, to find out they are Chicago based. Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli was established by Corey & Laurie Kaplan (husband/wife team) in 2000.

From their site, I see they make great bagel sandwiches.

Looks like Marcus Lemonis from “The Profit” visited Corey/Laurie to see their business and offer advice/a deal for moving forward. Here’s a clip from the show.

Recently, they lost business as a few stores they supplied bagels/cream cheese to closed down. So, after canoeing I have a new place to visit. They need community support.

By the way, fellow Blogger, “Yeah, Another Blogger,” wrote a post about art on wheels. He found some interesting companies advertising in Philadelphia, PA. I loved the “Tea Around Town” bus.

So, when you walk, don’t look down/text on your phone, you might miss a great advertising van!

Happy Mother’s Day!! Time for Dragon Boat Racing Practice…

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Today is Mother’s Day. My daughters had asked me earlier in the week, “What do you want to do for Mother’s Day!”

I chuckled… They were thinking breakfast, coffee, etc. I had another idea. For years, I’ve been talking to my daughters about Dragon Boat Racing. I was on a team in Seattle and also rowed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Teams are all over the world! It’s a lot of fun. Anyone can join. Yes, the teams want to win, but they also like to have fun. It’s similar to Ultimate Frisbee, the more the merrier. So, I told them I’d love for them to come to a new beginner practice.

Good news, they were on board. We’ve never been in a canoe together, so this should be a fun outing.

Oh, in the photo, you see that coyote on the dock?! He was added there to stop the birds from pooping. I’m told he does a very good job.

Have fun, make it a great day! Happy Mother’s Day!

Brownie Recipe – the “healthy” way…

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Lately, so many social media posts feature “healthy” alternatives to our beloved favorites, ie brownies! As I watched the videos, the recipes looked easy, few ingredients and final product looked delicious. I felt compelled to give it a try. We’re all trying to find healthier alternatives to old recipes, right?!

Drum roll please…

Have you ever thought of making brownies with three ingredients, ie no eggs, no flour, no oil or butter, just bananas, almond or peanut butter and cocoa powder? I would never have thought this possible. You can see from the end result, they “look” delicious and like normal brownies. So, visually, they are appealing.

Now, for the taste. HUM…

No question about it, they were definitely extremely chocolatey. I liked that.

However, the texture was a bit strange. As there is no flour, they were a bit gooey. I know, you can argue that there are normal brownies with a gooey texture, but these just seemed different.

I needed some outside food critics. My daughters were happy to be taste testers. The brownies looked good, why wouldn’t they try them! You KNOW it’s not perfect, when they say, “ W E L L… they have a very strong banana taste and the texture is different.”

Of course, at first I defended my brownies as perfect, selling them on how chocolatey they were. At some point, I had to concede. YES, they had a strong banana taste, nothing wrong with that if you like bananas. However, we were expecting the old fashioned “brownie” taste in a healthy form.

So, would I make them again? I don’t think so. I’d rather make the real deal and plan for those extra calories.

A brownie should be ENJOYED, not re-invented! Laughing…

Breakfast – What would you do? Pigeons versus Gull…

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I was in Chicago last week for an appointment. As I was walking down the street, I heard so much noice, bird noise. I’ve always seen pigeons around town on the streets, but never by a dumpster. I was curious.

I quickly pulled out my camera and took these shots. Here’s what I saw:

  • #1 Gull watching pigeons.
  • #2 Closeup, we see there is a bakery item there.
  • #3 Gull makes his move…
  • #4 Gull is triumphant! He now has breakfast.

Sometimes we get the FINAL photo just right!! The Gull was determined.

Enjoy your breakfast, while watching out for the Gull!

Chicago – Tulips are everywhere…

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This year there are so many tulips around Chicago.

Here are two photos of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile (North Michigan Ave). On one side of the street, there were red/yellow colored tulips. When I walked to the other side, they favored multiple colored tulips.

I didn’t realize that tulips are perennials, so they come back again and again. Of course, this depends on the soil, how much water they’ve had during the year, etc. So, sometimes all of the tulips might not come back. For example, you might just see a lone tulip in someone’s yard, like this yellow one. Although, there seem to be some other sprouts that are coming to the surface.

Here are beautiful pink tulips. Such a fabulous color. This was in the evening. Were they going to sleep?

Tulips will only be in bloom until mid-May, so enjoy them while you can.

Happy Spring!

Manufacturing gone wrong…

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Here’s something funny for a Friday. Recently, I’ve had two situations of mistakes in the manufacturing process. No kidding, I scratched my head.

First, there is the paper situation. Is one pad for right handed, the other for left handed?

Second, toilet paper, the one on the right wasn’t crushed, the cardboard inside was mangled.

What do you make of this in a short period of time? I guess I’m supposed to get a good chuckle? Like that hidden camera show where they say, “You’ve been Punk’d.” We need to laugh a little, right.

Actually, my twin brother was good at pulling pranks like this. Maybe I was meant to THINK of him!

Happy Friday!