Lemon-Aide...

Photo of Meyer lemon courtesy 123rf.com

My favorite lemon is the Meyer lemon, almost edible right off the tree, more lemon flavor than pucker.  I was first introduced to the Meyer lemon when I lived in San Jose, California, where more houses have citrus trees in their back yards than don't.  Indeed, I had a Meyer lemon tree in my yard, frozen lemon juice in my freezer, and more lemon pies, cakes, bars, butters, sauces, and lemonade than I and my friends could keep in our iceboxes, so most of those spent a lot of time in our freezers, too.

Very often I enjoy what the French call lemon presse or citron presse (click here for the recipe; I make mine with delicious Kal Pure Stevia Extract, not that bad junk sold in grocery stores).  I drink it especially when I've had a heavy meal or my stomach just isn't feeling quite right.  Being in a small city in East Texas right now, I don't have regular access to Meyer lemons except when I travel, so I often substitute limes in this hot drink.

Some doctors have been touting the health benefits of lemons, and I remember reading somewhere a couple of years ago that some doctor said if everyone drank a lemon presse without the sugar every day we could virtually wipe out inflammation and illness.  Click here for more ideas about the curative powers of lemons.

So, what didn't I know about lemons:  the native home of lemons is unknown, but many suspect that it is India.  By 200 A.D. lemon trees were introduced in Italy, and by 1300 they were cultivated widely throughout the Mediterranean region and Asian countries.  The oldest city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida, had lemon trees producing fruit by its founding in 1565.

Click here for more information about lemons.  By the way, click here for the best recipes using Kal Pure Stevia Extract.  What did you learn today?

Fable Facts

Photo of Greek stamp depicting the Aesop's fable of the The Ass in The Lion's Skin and The Fox courtesy 123rf.com

Today's topic was requested by Isobel Keogh of Perth Scotland, @scots_perth on Twitter.

Fables are short stories that teach a lesson using animals or mythical creatures as the characters in the stories.  Aesop's Fables are arguably the best known fables in the western world, and have been translated into nearly every language.  Fables are found in nearly every culture inside and outside the western world, including Africa, Asia, Sumaria, India, and other countries.

What I didn't know about Aesop, the Ancient Greek writer of the eponymous fables, is that he was born into slavery and later granted freedom, most likely was of African decent, was said to have a speech impediment that was miraculously healed by a deity, was written about by Plato and Aristotle, and many people deny that he was an actual person.

There are many wonderful websites about fables.  Click here for an Aesop's Fables website that includes over 650 fables that are indexed and cross-referenced.  Click here for a website geared toward children that also includes fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Thanks to Isobel Keogh of Perth Scotland, @scots_perth on Twitter, for today's topic!  What did you learn today?

Thanksgiving in India

Photo courtesy FreeImagesLive.co.uk

Thanksgiving celebration in India is called Ladin or Ladainha, and is celebrated primarily in the Indian state of Goa.  Ladin is a Christian celebration held on August 15, and hymns and prayers are sung.  People celebrate with special candles and wine, and decorate altars with flowers and vines.

For more information see the Food.Gather.com and Thanksgiving-Day.org websites.

Bark Cloth

Photo courtesy National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka

For centuries cloth has been made out of tree bark by people in parts of Africa, India, Polynesia, Hawaii, Fiji, Malay Peninsula, Samoa, and Central America.  The outer tree bark is stripped away, then the inner bark is cut or stripped from trees such as fig, paper mulberry, and breadfruit.  The soft inner-bark of these trees is flexible to begin with, then it is soaked and beaten until it's very flexible, then decorated and used as clothing, house decoration, and in religious ceremonies.

For more information see the article on Questia.com.

The World's Best Diamonds Are...

Photo of the Hope Diamond courtesy of the Smithsonian

Most people in the U.S. know that the largest deep blue diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond, is housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.  What you may not know--I did not know--is that it is believed to have been mined from the legendary and now depleted Golconda diamond mine in India.  The diamonds that came from the Golconda mine are identified by a complete lack of nitrogen, making them the most beautiful diamonds in existence, with their own special classification of IIa.  Only 2% of all diamonds qualify for this classification.  Golconda diamonds are some of the largest diamonds in the world, and are also characterized by their unique "old-world" cuts.

The Golconda mines were opened in about the 4th century B.C., and were depleted by the mid-1800's.  Some of the most famous diamonds in the world come from the mine, including the pink Darya-i-Nur (Sea of Light) that is set in a brooch, and the pink Noor-ol-Ain that is set in a tiara, both of which are in the collection of the Iranian Crown Jewels; and the Orlov that is set in the sceptre of Catherine the Great.

For more information, see the DiamondVues website, and the AllAboutGemstones website.

Hindu Doctrine: Music is Origin of Life

"Music was linked with the origin of life itself in some traditions, notably in India where sound is regarded in Hindu doctrine as the primordial vibration of divine energy.  From this comes the legend of Krishna's flute, which brought the world into existence."  Dictionary of Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Traditional Images, Icons, and Emblems, by Jack Tresidder, published by Chronicle Books.