A magazine request ... and more

This post is starting with the "...more" of the title and is another eclectic post.  Now that the Tour de France is over, life is returning to a normal routine.  I found some lovely apricots at the market, so I made some jam - spiced apricot.

Later I found some good looking raspberries - so made more jam.

My husband is with our daughter and her family, near Nashville, Tennessee, for a couple of weeks.  They traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to see his side of the family.  Our other daughter, who lived in Memphis, Tennessee, moved to Sacramento, California, last April.  Then, before we could go and visit her there, her company promoted her and she had to move again, back to Atlanta this time.  But wait - as soon as she arrived they sent her on business to Florida and Pennsylvania, even before the furniture had arrived in Georgia.  I have been feeding her cats.  Last week while driving on my way back from her town home I saw an "estate sale" sign.  I stopped to have a look.  It was a good sale, with a lot of stuff and inexpensive.  I know I should not look at books anymore because I have so many - but I did.  I only bought 3 books - a book by George Orwell on Dickens, Dali & Others, and another by Eudora Welty "The Golden Apples."

The third book is large.  It is called "Year: Mid-Century Edition, 1900-1950 - The Dramatic Story of 50 Turbulent Years in 2,000 Pictures, 100,000 words.  A Permanent Record of All the Important National and World Events."  I should learn a thing or two from it.  (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

I paid a total of $5 for these three books (or 3.72 Euros.)  I checked online to see if I made a good deal - the 1946 first edition of the Orwell book is valued at about $30.  The Year book at about $10 but the deal is the first edition Welty book.  In good condition with a dust jacket it starts at $50.  CDs were also for sale, two for $1.  I did get several in a variety of music styles.  So far I have only listened to the Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson Trio CD - it sounds very good.  I like the cut "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.)

Other purchases were a retro coffee pot - an advertisement for Sanka decaf coffee ($2) and a vintage ceramic salt cellar, made in Czechoslovakia ($2.)  I'm using the little coffee pot while I am alone (but dark roast coffee, not decaf.)  I'll use the salt cellar not for salt, as I don't use much, but to keep my little match boxes handy.

I could not resist that delicate bone china cup from England ($5.)  The lacy tablecloth was also a good deal at $4.

I was pleased with my purchases and then stopped at a new pizza restaurant.  It is called "Uncle Maddio's."  I had a thin crust, extra crispy, Portabella Pesto Pizza: herb pesto sauce, mozzarella, portabella and white mushrooms, feta cheese, Roma tomatoes and fresh basil.  It was tasty and filling - I took half of it home for my dinner.

I am missing watching the Tour de France.  I found out that next year it will start in the Netherlands, in Utrecht.

It's time for some of my observations.

Some of my blogging friends, last year and also this year, have commented that they do not watch the Tour de France anymore because some of the cyclists used drugs such as Lance Armstrong.  As a fan of Lance Armstrong, I was deeply disappointed with him.  It is disheartening to cheer an athlete and then find out that he did not win on his own merit but with the use of drugs or other external means.  There are close to 200 cyclists in the Tour de France each year and most of them are hard working professional who are tested very often.  The Tour de France association is at the forefront on the fight against doping and has made great efforts to eradicate it from the sport.  They perform numerous checks throughout the year and during the race which is the reason why the public has been made aware of the problem.  I enjoy watching the Tour and won't stop because some have been found to use drugs.  It has hurt them, their families and the sport.  For the same reason I keep watching the Olympic Games even though several athletes have tested positive for drugs.

I just checked to find a list of doping cases in professional sports, and there are so many names listed that they are in alphabetical order.  You can check it here on Wikipedia - List of doping cases in sport.  If you click on A for Armstrong, you will see that his name is there but also names of athletes convicted of doping in swimming, boxing, water polo, cricket, wrestling, weightlifting, drag racing, tennis, football (soccer,) shooting, rugby, volley ball, ski jumping, auto racing, American footbal, baseball, boccia, etc.  and this list is just for the athletes whose names start with the letter A!  Using this same logic as for the Tour de France then people should not be watching football, soccer, baseball and tennis anymore.  How about drugs used by musicians, writers, actors etc.?  Same logic applies - no more listening to music, reading books or going to the movies?  I don't think so but it's the same analogy, isn't it?  But there may be other views and opinions on this subject, and that is fine with me.

Some bloggers have beautiful gardens and I love looking at their photos.  Unfortunately, we have a mass of trees, much shade, hard Georgia clay and rocks.  This year again my husband planted some annuals and herbs in containers.

 The view above is of the back yard.  We are not in a subdivision or have neighbors close by so I can place my laundry on the line to dry.  The caladium grew very tall but the basil looks pitiful (on top in photo below.)  In the front yard however the basil is growing nicely (pictured at the bottom below.)  I don't know what happened - same basil.

In the front yard, just like the basil, the plants are growing strong and lush.  The Torenia plant (Torenia fournieri) is a profuse bloomer with a multitude of little upturned violet flowers (the plant is deer resistant as well.)  The green coleus almost looks artificial and the curly caladium has beautiful patterns.  The wild periwinkles are everywhere.  I like their name in French - "pervenche."

In the front yard is a horde of little crawling insects.  If you touch them, they curl up.  They are about 2 cms (1 inch) long and if by chance you step on one it sounds like you walked on a potato chip - a crusty sound.  Does anyone know what they are and if they are good or bad for plants?  They are at the top of the containers also but the plants look healthy.

Now about the magazine request: about a month or so ago I received an email from the photo editor of the magazine "Civil War Times."  They had planned a small story on Allatoona Pass in Georgia for their October issue and were asking if they could use my photograph.  You may remember my photo; it was at the top of my post of November 20, 2013 called "Hiking on historic Allatoona Pass Trail" - click here to see it.  They used my photo for their article.  My post on the pass trail was much longer (as usual) than their story.  A copy of the magazine was courteously sent to me so I could see my picture.

 Civil War Times magazine contains many period photos, eyewitness accounts, maps, travel guides, biographies and more.  For people interested in that historic time period, this magazine is a great source of fascinating stories.  I read only part of the magazine, so I'll go now and keep on reading.

Woman reading in a garden, by Peder Severin Kroyer, Danish, 1851-1909