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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Earl Grey Bella Luna @adagioteas #teaadventcalendar #adventcalendar2021

Today’s tea from my Tea Advent Calendar is Earl Grey Bella Luna. This is a really special tea because Adagio only sells this on the day of a full moon, which is today!

The tea contains black tea, coconut, blue cornflowers, natural coconut flavor, natural bergamot flavor, and natural creme flavor. When I opened the packet, I could immediately smell the bergamot, and secondary I thought I smelled the creme flavor with only a hint of coconut.

I steeped it for 3 minutes in 8 ounces of 212ºF hot water.

When I tasted it unsweetened, all I could taste was the bergamot and the astringent tea flavor, so I added almond milk and sugar. I have to admit I didn’t quite taste the coconut flavor. It just tasted like a nice Earl Grey tea with a smooth cream/vanilla flavor that made it very nice.
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