Back in April of this year, Amazon announced they would be partnering with OverDrive to bring Kindle Library lending to 11,000 libraries across the U.S.

Can’t wait to look into this option when it’s available later this year for Kindle and free Kindle app users. At the moment I am using Google’s eBook. And it makes reading so much more neater!

A note from Amazon:

- With Kindle Library Lending, customers can take advantage of all of the unique features of Kindle and Kindle books, including:

- Read everywhere with free Kindle apps for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry and Windows Phone

- Whispersync technology wirelessly sync your books, notes, highlights, and last page read across Kindle and free Kindle reading apps”

Read more at TechCrunch.

UPDATE: October 4, 2011

I have been using OverDrive app on my iPod Touch. Some things to know to make it run smoothly. The EPUB books have to read with Adobe and requires free registration.

Must set your Touch to military time, 24 hours mode. And make sure your time zone is correct.

Some things I didn’t like about the lending library. The selection is limited, buy hey it’s FREE. You can only check out 8 books and you set the loan limit starting at 1 week to 3 weeks.

Once you’ve check them out, there doesn’t seem to be an option to delete these books on the list.

Many interesting books are checked out and there’s a waiting period. You would think with E-books they shouldn’t have a waiting list. So anyway it’s OK so far, but can be better.

I got this little Tiffin as a gift and am loving it!  It’s made of stainless steel, very cute and eco-friendly.  No need to use plastic sandwich bags anymore.

Pretty small and compact that would be enough food for one. I’ve got stuff to make a turkey sandwich here. Only thing missing is fruits for dessert.

And if you want just one container you can take the one with the self-latching top.   I also like the extra little tin that’s great for sauces and other extras.

Of course tiffin has many other purpose besides a lunch canister, you can also use it to bring food to a party or picnic.

Excerpts from Thali Cafe UK:

“The word ‘tiffin’ is taken from the Victorian term for any container for food, but the concept of using Tiffins for lunch box deliveries was originally developed in India, where ‘dabbawallahs’ deliver home cooked lunches direct to workers from the kitchens of their wives and mothers at home. The system has been going for over a century and in Mumbai alone they deliver over 300,000 per day!”

It must be interesting to see how they deliver so many lunches.  Now that is what I call “fresh delivery”.

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I used to eat lots of yogurt, especially those with fruit on the bottom. I liked the variety of fruits they used, but it was always too sweet. And the fact that is was loaded with sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup made me stop eating them.

Then I discovered Greek yogurt which is not as sweet and much thicker in consistency. And it fills me up for a long time too. That’s because it has more protein then regular yogurt.

It seems I’m not the only one that prefers Greek yogurt over regular yogurt. Sales of Greek yogurt has been doing very well, even when it’s twice as expensive as regular yogurt.

Yoplait Greek yogurt with blueberries on the bottom. It’s very thick!

The Altantic reports, “Just five years ago, Greek yogurt was a $60 million market in the U.S. (Too sour! Too thick!) But sales have increased 2500%, accelerating through the Great Recession despite the fact that the “Greek” stuff (it’s actually more Lebanese, but anyway) tends to be twice as expensive as normal yogurt.”

Yogurt is consider one of the world’s healthiest food. It’s health benefits includes building stronger bones, enhances immunity, lowers blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. Also improves lactose intolerance and provide probiotics for healthy digestion.

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This is the first time I’ve tried Black Velvet apricot. They were very ripe so the produce market reduced the price to 99 cents per package. So it was definitely worth a try!

It’s a variety of aprium, which is a cross between an apricot and plum. But of course Black Velvet apricot sounds much more appealing to the marketing people.

They are very juicy and tasty. It’s more like a sweet plum than apricot. And the inside is very much plum, especially with flesh sticking to the stone (pit) where in apricot the stone is loose.

The only thing that reminds me of apricot is the slightly fuzzy skin. It’s good that the skin isn’t so bitter like that of plums.

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I went to visit a friend’s garden and I noticed this interesting plant growing along the fence. What got my attention was the purple flower and fruit looked very much like eggplants.

It turns out these are from the nightshade family which includes eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes and chili peppers (amongst many other plants too).

These are commonly known as Kangaroo apple (Solanum aviculare), but are are sometimes called Devil’s Apple. As the unripe green fruit is poisonous.

The fruits were eaten by Aboriginal people, but only when very ripe. But some say it doesn’t taste that good. It just makes a great ornamental plant with it’s purple flower and ripe orange fruit.

Common in moist regions of eastern and southern Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. It can grow into a big bush and would be a great privacy shrub.

It’s also easy to propagate via cuttings or seeds. I came home with a cutting and hope to grow it soon.

Other names: Lanceleaf Nightshade, Kangaroo Apple, Orange-berry Nightshade Solanum lanceolatum, Poroporo, Bullibul, Bullibulli.

One of my favorite songs from the 80’s. I remember listening to this as a kid and even to this day it makes me smile. Also love this Youtube video - it looks really beautiful out there in Wild Africa.

The Sotho people use the words ‘Khotso Pula Nala’ meaning peace, rain and abundance as their traditional greeting.

Partial lyrics of Rain in Africa by Toto

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Note: For the longest time I thought he said, There’s nothing that a hundred men on Mars can ever do. I guess that wasn’t it.

I love drinking cold peppermint tea in the summer. Especially after being in the hot sun. I also love using peppermint handmade soap made with peppermint essential oil.  It’s a very cooling and refreshing scent!

These poppy peppermint guest soaps are ready to use. Actually I made it with the hot process method so it’s perfectly fine to us within a couple of days. But it didn’t turn out so nice early on - the bar was too soft.

But after a few more weeks they have harden up and make great guest or travel soap. Perfect as face soap too. The poppy seeds is good for exfoliation.

After I removed it from the heart shaped mold, it was still rough around the edges. Definitely not as smooth looking as cold process soap. Yet it’s still good soap made with all good stuff.

Ingredients: Oils of coconut, palm, soybean, rice bran, grape seed, and wheat germ. Distilled water, sodium hydroxide, French green clay, Peppermint essential oils, poppy seeds.

For my summer soap shop special, I’ll be adding 2 FREE poppy peppermint guest soap with each order. Something nice to stay extra COOL this summer!

Note: I got bite by the soapmaking bug this month… and have more new soaps on the curing rack. So stay tuned!

It was sad to see Borders declaring bankruptcy this summer. They really couldn’t compete in today’s changing market. Not that I have anything against online bookstore like Amazon, I actually love Amazon. But sometimes it’s also nice to visit a bookstore.

For those living in Oregon, they have Powell’s, which is an independent bookstore. I’ve never been to one and would love to visit if I’m ever in Oregon.   They have a huge selection of new and used books.  Flate rate shipping is only $3.99

Here is a little more info about Powell’s Books:

“From humble storefront beginnings in 1971 on a derelict corner of northwest Portland, Oregon, Powell’s Books has grown into one of the world’s great bookstores, with five locations in the Portland metropolitan area, and one of the book world’s most successful dot-coms (www.powells.com), serving customers worldwide.”

This month Powell’s is listing 20 ebooks for 99 cents each. Since I barely read much fiction, I found this title that sound interesting: Diary of a Very Bad Year: Confessions of an Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager by Keith Gessen.

A little summary:

“This book is a series of interviews with an anonymous hedge-fund manager (HFM) by the co-editor of a literary magazine (who admits to being ill-informed on finance); he sets out to understand what is happening on Wall Street.

The HFM offers a brilliant financial professional’s view of the economic situation in real time, from September 2007, when problems in financial markets began to surface, until late summer 2009, when the financial meltdown generally subsided and the financial community went back, in HFM’s view, to business as usual.

The interviews are edited in a readily understandable manner and will provide a thoughtful perspective for a wide range of library patrons who want to learn about the recent financial debacle.”

The book covers fall of 2007 to late summer of 2009 and I think it would still be interesting to read. Especially with all the financial situation we’ve been facing in the U.S.A.

Book review from Good Reads.

I just got news that Aunt L’s Yorkshire Terrier just passed away. I wish I had spent more time with him.

Here’s a photo of Ferdie and friends. He is in the blue sweater, then there’s sweet Chloe in the middle, and the late Yogi in red. Aunt L gives them plenty of love and attention. Possibly the most pampered pets I’ve ever met!

Notes from Dogbreedinfo.com:

“Yorkshire Terriers seem oblivious of their small size. They are very eager for adventure. This little dog is highly energetic, brave, loyal and clever. With owners who take the time to understand how to treat a small dog, the Yorkie is a wonderful companion!

Affectionate with their master, but if humans are not this dog’s pack leader, they can become suspicious of strangers and aggressive to strange dogs and small animals. They can also become yappy, as the dog does their best to tell you what THEY want YOU to do.”

Ferdie was always full of energy and lots of love. He was really one of a kind and will be truly missed.

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I am not a fan of spiders.  But the more I looked at this guy the more I am intrigued by it.  Actually it was the smiley face on the back that made my day. And check out the glowing green eyes!

Phidippus audax, commonly called the Bold Jumper.

This spider just heard a funny joke.

Now the spider is ROFL. 

I found the spider in the backyard climbing along the wall very fast. I put him in a plastic carton for a photo shoot. Then he was released into the backyard garden. Out there the spider can jump on their prey such as flies and other insects.

Reminds me of Confucius.

Hartman Prehistoric Garden in Austin, TX notes;

“This largest of all jumping spiders found in Austin easily warrants the name Bold Jumping Spider. Although it is only about ½ inch long when mature, it is quite startling for people used to seeing jumping spiders less than half that size. The bold jumper is quite common, and frequently enters homes in search of insects.

The photos here show females, but the males are quite similar, being just a bit smaller and having a little more white coloration.”

Happy face spider… much more colorful than my Bold Jumper spider.