Monday, September 8, 2014

Sunflowers for Tina, Interview, Dinner.

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Last weekend we bloggers lost a beloved friend, Tina Downey. Tina loved sunflowers and today everyone is covering the web in sunflower yellow to celebrate her life. People were requested to plant sunflowers if they could. Having only a balcony I couldn’t do that, the next best thing was a vase of sunflowers. However, another blogger, Maurice Mitchell, said he was going to draw attention to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association on Tina’s behalf, which I think is a wonderful idea. This is a link to their website. www.phassociation.org/ I just wish we could all have sent Tina these sunflowers when she was still with us. I didn’t even know how much she liked sunflowers until after she died.

What can I say about Tina that hasn’t already been said by other people – I keep thinking of her as a Blithe Spirit. She was a wonderful person, always so upbeat, despite her ill health, lots of fun and very helpful. Her blog was called Life Is Good and she really subscribed to that idea. A wonderful woman. My heart goes out to her family. The world is poorer for her passing.

The family has set up the Downey Education Fund,which will go toward college tuition for Tina’s two boys. You can donate via PayPal by clicking on the button at the side.

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Along with the celebration of Tina’s life, I am also being interviewed today by Alex J. Cavenaugh at the A to Z challenge blog site.

Saturday we went to a friend’s for supper. Had a delightful afternoon/evening. Sat outside for a little while although it was a tad chilly so we went indoors to eat. One thing we were served I particularly enjoyed was a different way of cooking beets.

Alice’s beets.

Peel raw beets. Grate them.
Peel and grate the onions.
Shaved Beets
Cook in water (bit of butter added) Until soft.(about an hour)
Add a little vinegar, sugar, salt to taste. Serve warm
These are really delicious and will certainly be on our table in the near future.

Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

52 comments:

  1. There is something really special about your sunflowers in the vase. Nice tribute to Tina. As for the rest, I am not a fan of beets, no matter how you cook them. Although I smiled at your recipe as it reminds me of making them for my daughter when she was really little and she ate with her hands staining them and her face.

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    1. Thanks Rhonda, appreciate your visit. Pity you don't like them as these beets were delicious.

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  2. Hi Jo - thanks for the extra info re Tina's illness .. I'll certainly be over to look out the site. She will be missed and I love your mass of sunflowers ... but I love beetroot and have it quite often ... raw beet is very good for you too ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Yes, it's something we need to be aware of. I was never that struck with sunflowers, but I am beginning to change my mind.

      I have tried raw beets, they are good, but this recipe is cooked and still very good.

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  3. My heart goes out to her family too. Lovely pictures of your sunflowers, I'm glad so many people are posting today to honor Tina's memory. Also, thank you for adding the information on the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, it does need to be addressed.

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    1. Thank you Elise. It was not something I was really aware of before. Maybe we need an iced water craze LOL

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  4. A lovely tribute to Tina Jo. Good beet recipe too.

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  5. Wonderful flowers for Tina and cool of Maurice to do that.
    Your interview is now up! Sorry, someone added a note about Tina at the bottom and it reverted back to draft. Fixed it.

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    1. I thought so. It is important.

      Wondered what happened to it.

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  6. I had not noticed how beautiful sunflowers are until now. Beautiful indeed.

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    1. Me neither Al, but they are bright and colourful just like Tina.

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  7. I miss her so much. :'(

    Never been a fan of beets but my friend gave me some golden beets from her garden and those were quite yummy!

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    1. Me too.

      I love beets. You could probably make this with golden beets too.

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  8. Aloha Jo,

    Yeah, thanks for sharing the Pulmonary Hypertension Association info.. that is a great idea.

    And, as Al said when it comes to doing simple stuff like sending flowers to our friends/loved ones...

    "While alive, brother, while alive..."

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    1. Thanks and aloha to you Mark. Nice of you to drop by. You are so right, while alive, brother.

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  9. Tina had spunk, loving nature and will be missed! THANK YOU!

    Jeremy

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    1. She certainly did Jeremy. Glad to see you around. Hope all going well for you.

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  10. Lovely to meet you, Jo! I wandered over from the interview on the A-Z Challenge site. This is a gorgeous tribute to Tina. Thanks for a wonderful post and interview!
    ~Jen

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    1. Thanks Jennifer. I will return the visit later, just off out bowling.

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  11. Lovely tribute. Maurice had a good idea.

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  12. A wonderful tribute, and so very true - for all I knew about Tina, I didn't even know she liked sunflowers until after she passed. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to learn as much about your friends as you can before it's too late.

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    1. This is a new motto for some of us, while alive. I didn't know about the sunflowers either and I thought we were pretty close. You just never learn everything about a person.

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  13. This is a wonderful, beautiful tribute in Tina's memory. I think it would have really touched her. Life is Good.

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    1. Thanks so much. I think the internet reaction ever since she died would have delighted her. Such outpourings of love and affection.

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  14. Good post. :)
    Interesting recipe at the end.

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  15. A wonderful tribute.
    I really, really like the idea of Tina as a Blithe Spirit... it's the perfect word to capture the essence of her bubbly, charming and carefree spirit... really fitting...
    Thanks for the link too.
    Writer In Transit

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    1. Thanks Michelle. Blithe Spirit fits her doesn't it?

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  16. I love the bouquet. Your words are touching too. The world is poorer since Tina's passing. Thank you for pointing out the ways in which we can help out, Jo.

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  17. Lovely tribute to Tina.

    My family are beet crazy. I can never grow enough to satisfy them.

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    1. Thanks.

      Grow - I have no garden, I have to buy.

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    1. Thank you Lee, she was such a wonderful woman.

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  19. Well done. Tina would love this post.
    Thank you,
    Heather

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    1. I wish she was still here and then I wouldn't be writing it.

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  20. A beautiful tribute. Tina was very cheery. She'll be missed by many.

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    1. She certainly will Rusty. The A to Z team in particular.

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  21. That was beautiful, Jo....

    Tina sees all the flowers, don't you worry about that. Her spirit lives, and now she is free from the burdens of ill health.

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  22. A heartfelt tribute Jo. I'm sure Tina can feel the love. I'll pop over to read your interview :)

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    1. Thanks Pinky. Hope you enjoy the interview

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