Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Fog and Contests and Tea and Stuff

Got up today to find the world blanketed with a thick layer of fog. While this might not be a strange occurrence in the coastal areas of the country, in western Kansas, it's pretty odd. I like it, though. Makes it seem as if I'm living on a little island, just my house and yard, and nothing beyond that. Cool. Reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode...

Contests: I'm judging again this year in the EPPIEs. I've judged in numerous contests over the years. Each one has different scoring systems, different ways of giving feedback to entrants (or some have no feedback), etc. If you're a writer, have you entered contests? If so, why, and what did you get out of them? If not, why not? Readers, does a line on a book or website stating the book won a contest mean anything to you when you choose what to read?

I always look forward to my cup of tea every afternoon. Not herbal, not green: black tea. Usually a flavored variety--I'm partial to French Vanilla right now. I think it's the English in me, from my maternal grandmother. I've always known that tea was soothing and calming. But more and more it seems, the medical world is discovering tea has wonderful healthy qualities--antioxidants, and what's that other fancy big name--bioflavonoids? And tea is a good source of fluoride! Anyway, the latest discovery: drinking tea (green OR black) may stave off the symptoms of Alzheimers. (Sorry, coffee-drinkers--coffee doesn't have the same effect.) So I'll continue drinking my tea and thank my ancestors for being smart enough to get tea-drinking into my genes. :-)

For more info on tea's healthy benefits, check out these websites:
http://www.teahealth.co.uk/th/newth/research/index.htm
http://www.adagio.com/info/health_benefits.html
http://www.eufic.org/gb/food/pag/food16/food161.htm


Happy tea drinking!

Liz

No comments: