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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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Maple Creme Oolong @adagioteas #teaadventcalendar #adventcalendar2021

Today’s tea from my Tea Advent Calendar is Maple Creme Oolong. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I wonder if it’ll taste like a maple cream filled cookie?

The tea contains oolong tea, cinnamon, apple pieces, cardamom, maple flavor, cloves, natural creme flavor, and safflower. When I opened the packet, it smelled like maple syrup, but with a hint of vanilla.

I steeped it for 5 minutes in 8 ounces of 212ºF hot water.

It tastes quite good unsweetened. The maple flavor gives the oolong a little sweetness, which makes for a really nice black tea flavor without astringency. Then I added almond milk and sugar, and it kicked it up a notch. The milk gave it a nice mouthfeel and the sugar brought out the maple flavor more, as well as just a hint of the cinnamon and cardamom. A great tea!
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