52Frames Minimalist Weekly Photo Challenge

Last week my husband and I were still in recovery mode after testing positive for Covid over two weeks ago. We were just starting to resume our morning walk schedule in the neighborhood park starting with a half mile, then a mile, and finally at the end of the week getting back to two miles. So we weren’t in the mood to drive in to town for the 52Frames photo challenge. That left me with trying to get creative for the subject “minimalism.”  I had been drinking a hot tea every afternoon to up my water intake and it struck me that I should do something with the teacup. So I spent a bit of time just taking photos from above the teacup - with the teabag - on the glass top dining room table and on the kitchen peninsula. After editing the cup out of the background and creating a plain background I thought I was done. But later in the week I decided to make more of an effort. Since the background was so plain the idea to add some water vapor/smoke might bring it alive. So I painted that in the composite image. It still didn’t do much. Then I played around with the background color. A much darker color was used that matched the color of the teabag and the teacup finally came to life. Both my husband and I liked the contrast more than the original milk toast. The cup was also moved to the left and enlarged so you could see the bubbles and the teabag texture. Sometimes you need to put something away and look at it again later. It definitely helped this time. 

Decaf Lipton Tea

Every evening after dinner my husband and I have a dessert/snack. I always have a piece of angel food cake and a decaf tea. He always has a variety of cookies, a tiny slice of angel food cake, and a piece of candy. He used to have tea as well but is avoiding anything that affects his current medical condition - and that includes both tea and coffee. We always got Lipton decaf tea and for whatever reason it hasn’t been on the shelves at Giant for a few months. So we asked someone about the reason and they said they aren’t able to get it due to availability. So I’ve tried other decaf brands but they just don’t taste good. Finally I gave up waiting for Giant to get the tea in and ordered it on Amazon. The price was no different and there wasn’t any back order so I’m not sure what the fuss is all about. So last night was the first time I’ve had Lipton decaf tea in quite some time. I like it because it is essentially tasteless, but that’s what I’m used to. Hopefully the tea will eventually get restocked at the local grocery store. It’s just a lot easier to get it there. 

C&H Sugar Cubes

Some things are not easy to come by these days. When you have a cookie, candy, and sweets monster in the house the supplies must be maintained. My husband has a big sweet tooth. He loves chocolate, candy and sugar. He drinks coffee in the morning and tea after dinner. With his drinks he always has sugar cubes. It’s a cultural thing. He doesn’t use the type of sugar that is dissolved in the drink, but sugar cubes that you put in your mouth and soak them up with the tea or coffee. Since we have been ordering our groceries on line since March, it’s been more and more difficult to find sugar cubes. I’m not sure what the big deal is. The only time we were in the grocery store was to get flu shots. Even then when we checked the aisle for cubes they weren’t there. In the meantime I got a box of individual packs of sugar like you find in the restaurant. It’s a last resort. So I searched amazon to find something before the cube supply ran out. It wasn’t cheap, but I decided to get six boxes of C&H sugar cubes as a surprise package delivery. It was like Christmas when they arrived. So we can breathe a sigh of relief for awhile - until the next time. 

Keurig Single Serve Coffee Maker

It happened last Thanksgiving too. When it came time for coffee after dinner, our Keurig coffee maker decided to stop working. My husband was able to get it going again last year, but not this time. So we looked for a replacement. We rarely use it to make coffee; rather, we use it to make hot water for tea bags. So we searched around for a replacement and found the Keurig one cup coffee maker in a seafoam color. We moved to a new condo in northern Virginia nine months ago from Capitol Hill and a pop of color would go along with the new kitchen and overall color scheme in the house. The old Keurig sat on a platform that contained K cups, but it was larger and looked right. The new “skinny” one cup appliance didn’t. So we moved the platform that contains the k cups - and rolls - under the kitchen counter and put the coffee pot on that along with the cookie jars. So the new Keurig stands alone on the island and looks and works just fine. In the end my husband was disappointed with the color (too dark) but has since gotten used to it. He really wanted a larger device, but we don’t need a larger one. Hopefully this one will last as long as the last one - especially whenever we have guests for dinner. 

 

Reko Pizelle Vanilla Cookies and Tea

Given the choice, I will take cake over cookies any time. That’s one of the reasons I have a slice of angel food cake every evening. For my husband, he much prefers cookies and is the Cookie Monster’s best friend. He loves chocolate covered just about anything, and a whole host of things in between. Someone gave us a pack of Reko Pizelle Vanilla cookies a few months ago and he fell in love with them. They are very light and crisp and taste like an ice cream cone. But we haven’t been able to find them anywhere. We no longer have a Costco membership and looked around at a few other places, including Italian grocery markets, with no luck. So I searched for Pizelle on Amazon and found a few offerings. One of them included ten dollars for shipping! But I found a Prime offer for free shipping for a smaller amount, so I ordered two boxes. They arrived the next day and my husband was thrilled to have them once again in the nightly dessert mix. Even without the tea they are tasty! At least now I have access to another one of his favorites. So I can add them to the cabinet that is stacked with cookies. We can’t ever run out of the supply. 

Tea and Cookies - and Lemon

If sugar is bad for you, my husband should be a diabetic. He eats candy all day long. He keeps it in his pockets, in the car, and all over the house. Nips and Bali's Best are his favorites and we order it by the case from Amazon. Every night after dinner we have another routine. After washing dishes, he settles in to watch the political news of the day, and I take my cue. I put the Keurig tea pot on hot water, throw in a tea bag, and wait for the brew. Sometimes I use the Keurig tea k cups, but teabags work just as well. While the tea is brewing, I put three different types of cookies on a plate, and put them next to the sugar cubes. When it's about time to deliver the tea to the designated place, I always have to add in a squirt or two of lemon juice. It's all gone within a few minutes. After the news, we play a bit of a Big Fish game on the iPad, and then watch our favorite queued up shows. You could say it's a bit of a routine, but I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Cuisinart K Cup Keurig Replacement Via UPS

I can't remember exactly when we got the Cuisinart K cup single tea and coffee maker, but it is not more than two years. A couple days ago we noticed the lights blinking on the front of the panel. We turned it on and off, then unplugged it and left it overnight. When we replugged it, the lights were still blinking. It didn't affect the ability of the machine to make tea or coffee,  but we didn't want the thing starting a fire if we forgot to unplug it. So my husband called the support line.  I had registered the thing so they had all our information. Without any issue, they said they would send a replacement, and we should pack ours in to the same box and return it to Arizona. They guy didn't seem surprised about the problem, so it must not be unusual. Within a couple days the new coffee maker arrived from New Jersey. We followed the directions, put the packing slip inside the box, and wrote the notification number both inside and outside the box. It is kind of a hassle- especially when you need to spend $22.00 at the UPS store to send the thing back. Is it worth it? I'm not so sure. Do you think they should have paid for postage? Aside from that, we have a regular old Braun coffee maker that has worked every day for many years without a hitch, although I have to say we had to replace the carafe after it broke. It makes you wonder if it is worth the convenience of the single K cup and individual choice about what to drink from a variety of options, or forcing everyone to drink whatever you happen to be making with one big pot of coffee. But it doesn't make tea. Plus, we have to order K cup decaf tea because we can't find it in any store. Is this really the best way to go? I suppose it depends who wants the tea or coffee. 

Mother's Day Cupcakes

You would never know it by looking outside today that Sunday was a gorgeous blue sky with wonderful temps. Although I missed our grandson's visit to drop off cupcakes for Mother's Day, my husband was all too eager to accept the treats on my behalf. They came from Curbside Cupcakes. Whenever the food truck is in the neighborhood there is always a long line clamoring for the dessert - or maybe lunch? So we made some tea, cut two of the cupcakes in half so we could each try a chocolate and a yellow, and headed to the patio to not only enjoy the wonderful evening after dinner, but to eat some good stuff. Need I say more?