After spending most of my day laboriously trying to get my watercolour flowers to pop, thought Id take a photo and make it my photo of the day.` It is definitely consuming my thoughts today and therefore going outside to look for a photo seemed distracting.
The background seems to be competing with the flowers for mainstage and while I realize it is a fundamental flaw in this painting, as far as I can see, it can`t be remedied at this point. However, this has been a great learning experience for me and I am looking forward to my next flower painting, feeling confident that I`ll be able to master the process next time.
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Friday, 13 March 2015
72. Dressed Salmon
As I was about to post another "purple photo", I was interrupted by the call to dinner. When my dinner was served, I was so happy to see the colours, the salmon and the plating with the asparagus placed just so, I decided that this would be my photo of the day.
No editing, just a border was needed to complete this cool photo. By the way, the dinner was delish!
Thursday, 12 March 2015
71. Purple Hyacinth
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
70. Purple Quilt
Not predominantly purple, but enough to satisfy my desire for purple this week in photo of the day. Our library, and I say our because I feel entitled after living in White Rock for almost 5 months now, a very warm and welcoming place, so much so, that they hang quilts up to make it feel more homey. It doesn't appear to be an installation that has an expiry date as these have been on display since my first visit to this library. Along with the quilts, there is an ever changing display of local artist’s work.
What is noteworthy is that this library seems to take an active role in encouraging artists. A role that most of White Rock has taken on.
No one seemed to mind when I took the photo of the quilts as it is in the open for all the public to see. A wee bit of cropping helped take out the partial quilt hanging on the adjacent wall which distracted from my purple theme. What purple objet d’art will I find tomorrow?
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
69. Purple Tulip
Setting out to find my photo of the day, I didn't have to go very far and found this unusual purple tulip amid a sea of red tulips. This garden is actually called the Rose Garden and it sits on the grounds of White Rock City Hall, however, it’s too early for roses. Even without the roses this garden is uplifting. Hence my photo of the day.
Monday, 9 March 2015
68. Whaling Wall
Sunday, 8 March 2015
67. Elder Moon
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| Elder Moon by Leslie and Leonard Wells |
A photo of the Elder Moon at the entrance to the South Surrey Recreation Centre on 20th Avenue in South Surrey. Famed Haida Gwaii artist, Robert Davidson trained two carvers, Leslie and Leonard Wells. In July 2009, at a traffic circle at South Surrey rec centre, the carvings of brothers, Leslie and Leonard Wells were unveiled. Their overall circular designs allude to traditional Coast Salish spindle whorls and speak to a history of art-making distinctive to the region. Rich with symbolic meaning, the disks are installed on the traffic roundabout at the South Surrey Recreation Centre, near the Semiahmoo First Nation community. Elder Moon alludes to the Coast Salish “13 Moons” yearly cycle, which provides guiding principles for social and ceremonial life. Each of the moons symbolically represented in the outer rings is associated with a story and a time of year.
I have walked by this a few times and on a sunny day, the turquoise of the Elder Moon is quite brilliant against the background of trees. Busy with traffic, this makes for a very inviting entrance into this well used recreation area.
Saturday, 7 March 2015
66. Blossoming Cherry Trees
White Rock is missing something that it could have quite easily. Boulevards lined with blossoming cherry trees. In Vancouver, at this time of year, some of the streets are lined with these beautiful trees and on a windy day it literally rains blossoms. It’s a wonderful experience, not to be missed.
Walking along Prospect Road after trying to get a photo of the day, I saw this line up of blossoming cherry trees and decided to see if I could capture the riot of pink. It’s an interesting view of perspective from this angle, with the fence and the sidewalk disappearing in the distance. Unfortunately, you can’t see the ocean off in the distance, but it is there!.
Friday, 6 March 2015
65. Outside Window Dressing
Off for a jaunt around Granville Island, stopping at Maiwa to look at gorgeous hand painted fabric:
The art of handweaving in Bengal is ancient. Cotton fabrics were exported to Roman and Chinese empires and Ptolemy mentions the region in his writings. The hot, humid climate of the Ganges delta inspired artisans to produce the most diaphanous fabrics possible. These would be worn in layers and were capable of catching even the slightest breeze.
Maiwa also has a shop full of hand dyed wools, books on wool and fabric dyes. We spent a fair bit of time going through the books, looking at the items that could be knit from these amazing wools.
From there we walked through the Granville Island Market, taking in the sites of food and more crafts, people eating, children crying, and as we left there, seagulls screaming for crumbs of food.
Then, on to visit BC Potters Guild and Crafthouse. BC Potters Guild, having a background in pottery it is one of my “go to” stores, I can’t resist.. A small heart shaped bowl, seemed over priced and I asked the clerk if this was a pricing error, she indicated no, the potters price the items themselves.
For such a plain item, the amount seemed out of sync with the rest of the pottery. Maybe I was comparing it to the prices I charged, which are now outdated.
Leaving there, we went to Crafthouse which is a shop/gallery that sells fine crafts, and as we hadn't been in there for a while we were intrigued by the Japanese style purses and bags, bejewelled mirrors and unusual pottery that reminded one of things that live in the ocean!
As my friend had an item to pick up at Just in Stitches, we decided to visit Ten Thousand Villages afterward, which has items crafted in third world countries, such as pottery that was well priced and my friend bought a jar of organic decaf coffee.
Before leaving, I took a few photos of Granville Island and the Ten Thousand Villages window with the ivy crawling up and around it. This turned out to be my Photo of the Day. And the end of our journey to Granville Island.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
64. Mt. Begbie
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
63. Flowering Fence
Looking for the photo of the day and almost missed it! Flowers on the school fence! Lots of them! All different sizes and shapes, all wood and in a riot of colours and styles.
Not sure if this was a project by the whole school or only certain grades, but by the “2009” insignia on one of the flowers, this looks like the year they were done. If so, they have held up nicely and must have been varnished as well. The styles range from dainty, well thought out patterns to aggressive punk rock style.
All are captivating for my viewing pleasure and I heartily endorse projects such as these. It must be fun for these teens now, to venture back and see their flower still there.
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
62. Not a Gaggle
Surprised that this Canada Goose posed for his photo, on the other hand, his mate, was too busy munching down grubs. To be an official gaggle of geese, there must be a minimum of 5 geese, so says the definition and in order to comply with the definition, the gaggle must not be flying as the flock would then turn into a skein. Interesting, I've heard of a skein of wool, but never a skein of geese.
This winsome fellow peered over at me, perhaps wondering if I was just another tourist or with any luck, I had some bread crumbs to throw his way. Just a blogger looking for a photo, I told him. Thanked him for his patience and I went on my way.
Monday, 2 March 2015
61. Stairway to heaven
A short walk down Pacific Avenue, so appropriately named with views of the ocean at every cross road, turn right on Dolphin Street, and the stairway to heaven awaits. To get to Dolphin Street, one passes by Fir and Centre Street and on the other side is Balsam and Ash Street. Why and who picked Dolphin Street. The street names read like a map to the ocean.
This is not the first time I took this route, but the first time I realized how significant the street names are!
During the photo session, my camera battery ran dead. It probably wouldn't make any difference. However, I did take a car out of the photo and it can probably be noticed quite easily, as my photoshopping skills need work.
All in all, it is a favourite stairway of mine, because there’s such a great reward at the bottom. Today, if my battery hadn’t died, I would have added another photo of the tide coming in and the sun glinting off the water.
Sunday, 1 March 2015
60. Lone Seagull
A while ago, I heard anecdotally that seagulls are starving. The storyteller said they just didn't have enough food. Today in the news, I noted an article giving weight to that story. A new study finds that "Lack of marine food cuts the seagull population in half." This article doesn’t provide the needed information on why the seagull population started declining after 1980. It suggests that the lack of seafood forced seagulls to start foraging through garbage and eating earthworms. Is it easier for seagulls to pick through garbage than dive for seafood? When trains hauled garbage in open containers, did seagulls find it easier to sit on the side of a train and dig in? Not having access to the study, leaves one wondering.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
59. Magnolias
As I walked along early in the morning, I noticed these magnolias just starting to bud. The deep blue sky for a background enhanced their delicate colour.
There were other photos I took, one of the skateboard park in South Surrey, another one of pigeons on the boardwalk, but this one appealed to me the most.
Friday, 27 February 2015
58. Zippers
Thursday, 26 February 2015
57. Yellow Daffodil
Over 150 species of daffodils exist and this popular flower dates back to ancient Greece.
Of all the flowering plants, the bulbous have been the most popular for cultivation. Narcissi are one of the most important spring flowering bulb plants in the world.
If bulb extracts come into contact with wounds, both central nervous system and cardiac symptoms may result.Despite the lethal potential of Narcissus alkaloids, they have been used for centuries as traditional medicines for a variety of complaints, including cancer. In China N. tazetta var. chinensis was grown as an ornamental plant but the bulbs were applied topically to tumors in traditional folk medicine. These bulbs contain pretazettine, an active antitumor compound.
Generally daffodils bloom in early March, this year they are even earlier with our spring like weather.
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
56. Xylophone
Not sure that I’m up to making my own xylophone, because I hadn't realized that it’s possible to whip up a homemade one. Although I think that finding Honduran Rosewood might be difficult and having never heard of heartwood or cardinal hardwood, which could also be used, finding that could also be a problem as they sound very exotic.
Xylophones seem to come in all different sizes, starting very small for toddlers and working their way up to symphony or tribal size. The multi-coloured ones, I reckon, are for children to entice them to play.
During my travels, there were no xylophones sitting in parks, along trails or in store windows today. In order to get a picture of one, without taking a photo off the internet, I decided to paint my rough version of one, shown here.
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
55. White Rock
How many times has this scene been photographed? My guess would be a generous gazillion times. Today, the tide is low when I take this photo at 1:30 pm. Low tide is at 4:03 pm at 1.52 meters. In the foreground, sits the painted "White Rock", a tourist magnet. Not sure who paints it, or whether they nip in, in the middle of the night for touch ups. Zooming in on this picture, you can see towards the top left hand side, the semi-circle line denoting the water's edge.
The difficulty taking this picture is with the reflection off the notepad, rendering it almost impossible to clearly see what is in the frame. Not sure how to get around that problem other than lining the photo up by site and then clicking away.
Monday, 23 February 2015
54. View of World's Largest Cross Country Skis
Founded in 1862, with a population of close to 2,000 making their home in the Southern Cariboo, 100 Mile House is home to the World's Largest Cross Country Skis. In the 70's and 80's the Cariboo cross country ski marathon was a popular event, however lack of volunteers and snow has forced cancelation of the marathon again this year.The Cariboo ski marathon attracts a large and international field of Nordic skiers. Their trails are maintained by the 100 Mile House Nordic Ski Society and by the report on their website, skiing has been sporadic with rain and snowing changing their weekly trail report.
My last photo before I head home on the Greyhound bound for Vancouver.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
53. Until tomorrow
As the sun set slowly over Horse Lake, I snapped off 8 or 9 shots hoping that one would pop out more than the rest.
When I explained to my grandson that I need to photograph something starting with U, he suggested unibrow! Hilarious, but where to find one. My Uncle Russell would have fit the bill, but he's long gone.
Today my trip into 100 Mile House was vetoed, dashing my plan to get a U Haul photo, she said jokingly. After a busy day, I realized that "tick tock" my blog hasn't been done yet! It's disappointing that I wasn't able to get the deep color of the sunset, maybe V will give me a victory in the photo department.
Saturday, 21 February 2015
52. Trampoline Time
A very short post today. Thought it was trampoline time, but apparently the cold weather destroyed the safety net. No net! No trampoline for me!
Beauty of a day though, I could jump up and down with glee if only I had a safety net.
Friday, 20 February 2015
51. Snow at the Cemetery
After climbing up the butte in Lone Butte, we decided to stop in at the Lone Butte Cemetery. My young grandsons found it quite interesting and walked around uncovering gravestones covered with snow so they could read them.
It was when we came to the cemetery that I realized snow would be the subject of my photo today. The sun just disappeared as we entered the cemetery making for a more somber photo with Lone Butte as a backdrop. A cairn at the entrance lists the names along with their birth and year of death. The oldest going back to 1850.
All I needed was a few tumbleweeds to make the picture complete.Thursday, 19 February 2015
50. Rink at the Lake
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
49. Quorum
I realized a book on the Parliamentary Alphabet was sitting on the counter just as I was thinking Q had done me in! Thanks to my grandson who brought it out to do his homework, my alphabet photo of the day was saved when I saw the Q page. The homework is to make a board game out of the glossary terms which turns out to be a great way to remember the words. The pictures in the book are a bit too young for a 9 year old, but the glossary of terms is excellent.
Trying to reduce glare was the only difficulty snapping this photo, as there's presently no access to paint.net. It would be quite easy to use this little book for the next few days, but think I should find R easier than Q.
Trying to reduce glare was the only difficulty snapping this photo, as there's presently no access to paint.net. It would be quite easy to use this little book for the next few days, but think I should find R easier than Q.
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
48. Plants, lots of them
Plants, plants, plants! Walked in to Home Depot and found my P photo of the day. No one in the store seemed to notice that I am taking lots of photos. Although a lady looking at the plants could certainly have been a security guard, but seemed to be ignoring me. I imagine they might think I’m an avid horticulturist, looking to add to my collection. It is tempting to see all those plants and want to bring a few home.
The braided money trees drew my attention and I find them quite attractive. The blue orchids are unusual and seeing them bunched together provides a lovely sea of blue.
These photos were taken far too quickly. It seems more difficult to set up a photo when using the Nexus as opposed to my Nikon. Although it’s easier to see the photo with the Nexus because of the big screen, it doesn't have as many options as the Nikon. Both have their bonus features and I am grateful to have them. The ease of slipping the Nikon in my pocket is why it often accompanies me on my walks. But the option of emailing a photo off from the Nexus is it's bonus feature! They both have great features and it’s hard to pick one over the other.
I’m on the road tomorrow and wonder where I will find Q for photo of the day! Stay tuned!Monday, 16 February 2015
47. Oak Trees from England
An oak tree is the subject of my photo today. It was quite interesting to find that along the King George Boulevard, heritage oak trees were planted many years ago.
King George VI Highway opened in October 1940 to honour the reigning monarch. Oak tree seedlings from Great Windsor Park in England were sent to members of the Commonwealth throughout the world, to commemorate the coronation of King George VI that took place in 1937. Most of the surviving trees are located along the King George Boulevard between the Nicomekl River and the Highway 99 junction at 8 Avenue.
Driving along King George Boulevard, (the name was changed from King George VI Highway to King George Boulevard in 2009) I hoped that I would spot on oak tree. As I drove, I thought “there is no way I will be able to figure out which ones are oak trees”. But I was wrong! There’s a path that runs adjacent to the highway and I spotted green markers in front of what looked like oak trees. After pulling the car over, I ran over to the tree and sure enough, the plaque in the photo below sits in front of each one of the oak trees. And, there’s a lot of them! A learning moment and another reason that I am so happy to do the Photo a Day. This photo would be so much better in the spring or summer, but will suffice for now.
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| Quercus robur |
Sunday, 15 February 2015
46. Native Art
This lonely totem pole sits on the edge of a playground at White Rock Elementary behind a chain link fence, not surrounded, but facing this fence. Walking along Johnston Road, you can see the totem pole but need to walk through an entrance to the school yard if you wish to get a closer look. There are no plaques in view to shed light on its origin or when this was installed.
My research discovered that on April 16, 1998, a solemn totem pole raising was conducted by Kwakwaka’wakw Hereditary Chief, Henry Seaweed. To cleanse and protect the totem pole, so that no harm or danger will come upon it, Chief, Henry Seaweed blew eagle down across its surface. It is Kwakwaka'wakw custom to cleanse and protect an artifact such as this, when it is moved from its place of origin. It is tradition for the carver, in this case John Walkus Green to perform the last dance.
Standing very close to the totem pole was the only way I could get a full picture without the fence. Using my Nexus 7, I took a side view shot as the sun came out and was able to get a photo with the sun shining on the totem Thunderbird.
Saturday, 14 February 2015
45. Mutts? I don’t think so!
Couldn't find a milkman, a magnolia or a map! M seemed like an easy find for a photo and probably by tomorrow I will think of a whole host of other things that would fit. White Rock City has a list of trees that they planted in 2014 and one them was a Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ on Merklin Street, which was perfect. However, when I went and found the tree, it didn’t have even one bud showing and I’m not sure it will survive to bring forth buds. Another one is on Roper Street, a Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ tree and was quite small and hardly worthy of a photo at this point.
As I headed back home, I came across two dogs, which I thought would fit into the “mutt” category. After asking if I could take a photo of the dogs, the dog sitter explained that these dogs are rare "Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen’s", very hoity toity sounding pedigree dogs, so no mutts here. I'm including them now, as I doubt I will run across them three days from now, my P day!
For a worthy M, I’ll include a photo of one of my many racing medals that one receives when they finish a race. As long as you cross the finish line you receive a medal. This last medal I received was one of the most difficult races I participated in; the Vancouver BMO Half Marathon, May 2014. I could say it was the worst weather I've ever encountered, pouring rain and cold, and I could also say it challenged me as no other race has. It also resulted in one of the nicest medals I've received, giving me something to smile about and relieve some of the discomfort of the race.
Friday, 13 February 2015
44. Lavandula
For a long time, lavandula or English Lavender has been part of my night time ritual. It’s soothing scent helps lull one fall asleep at night. This is my collection of lavender scented items along with a small pouch of lavender which is used to infuse my clothes with a lavender scent.
The most common form is English Lavender which flourishes in dry, well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils in full sun. It is grown commercially for it’s essential oil because it has anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties and often used as bath products.
A study in 2010 investigated the effects of lavender on sleep disturbances and found it relieved anxiety and sleep disturbances.
Here is a photo of my lavender cache, which seems to be growing in diversity over the years. What started out as a bottle of lavender lotion, has now morphed into oils, soap, lavender butter! and a lavender sachet. One can’t have enough lavender, one of my favourite scents!
Thursday, 12 February 2015
43. Knight in Shining Armour
Many times I have walked past this knight in armour and decided it must be someone’s dream of living in a castle on the top of the mountain. The house has turrets, knights and coat of arms. One of the things I haven’t noticed before is that the knight seems to be guarding a hot tub that sits on the balcony above. If one zooms in, a knight’s head can be seen next to the hot tub. The balcony provides a view of Semiahmoo Bay and on a sunny day, a pretty spectacular view.
It’s a very dull, rainy day and the grey sky in the photos doesn't allow the shininess of the knight’s armour to come alive. My paint.net skills are few and I haven't figured out how to change the colour of the sky easily as this one really would have benefited from some editing. A skill I'll educate myself on for the next time it's needed.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any information or helpful facts that I could find that might make this subject more interesting, like when it was built, who built it, did they have a reason for building this and the significance of the knight. Also, where did the knight come from? However, it fits quite nicely under my K category for the day and an easy walk to take the photo.
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
42. Juggling!!
While taken three days ago, this photo was given the stamp of approval to use on my “J” day. On Sunday, while trying to get a photo of graffiti on a passing train, we came upon two jugglers in the small park opposite the West beach. My husband urged me to go over and speak to them, and I'm very glad he did. The jugglers were open to questions and asked if I would like to juggle.
“Yes, of course I would like to”, and as I juggled she said,
“First of all, you need Higgins juggling balls, they're the best”,
I noted that she is using Higgins, which are smaller than the ones I use. While watching me closely she said,
“You’re throwing two balls at once! You should be working in a frame.”
She drew a large picture in the air of a square that started above my head and extended down to just above my knees.
“Stay within this frame and you’ll find the juggling will be more fluid and graceful”.
Manna from heaven for an aspiring juggler, like myself. While waiting for my photo of the train, she started juggling and I was able to capture this picture of her.
Since the encounter, I can see where I need to make changes with my juggling style and am relearning the moves to become more fluid and graceful.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
41. Ice Skating
Today, a visit to the rink provided my photo of the day. On Drop-in Tuesday from 9:15-10:30AM the small group of skaters pay $7.25 and have the rink to themselves.
I chuckle, because for only $3.75 for the Senior rate you can pop over to the Centennial Ice Skating rink in White Rock and sprain your wrists and ankles to your hearts content. While the Senior rate seems pretty reasonable it may not be in the long run. Plenty of time is set aside tho for 50+ skaters to use the rink all on their own without some young whippersnapper scaring the bejesus out of them.
At the rink, I try taking a photo with my Nikon S210 but for some reason keep getting the red box in the middle of the viewer signalling that it isn't a good time to take a photo. Took a couple of photos anyway then switched to my Nexus 7. The Nexus will take photos of anything.
None of the skaters were doing any single or triple axels today or maybe they would once they're warmed up a little more. Like all rinks in BC and across Canada, this one looks like it’s used continually during the day.
Monday, 9 February 2015
40. Hobbit House
Walking along, thinking that I might have to find a holly bush for my photo of the day, the "h" word suddenly changed to two totally different subjects within a 15 meter span.
Apparently a vortex was crossed and we entered Middle Earth, where I spied a small hobbit house. It’s fun to imagine that Bilbo Baggins is inside looking out, wondering why a giant is taking a picture of his home. The small construction is used as a mailbox and a house number I presume, but looks like it could be inhabited by little people. I’m sure that kids would love to look inside, however, it is on the side of the road with no sidewalk, so probably most kids would have to look from afar.
After the photo, we continued on towards the East Beach in White Rock when a woman and three Huskies out for a walk passed by us. I didn't want to ask her to stop for a photo, so I took a shot of her and the dogs walking away. Not bad, I thought. Two “h” subjects within a few meters.
Arriving home, decided that the hobbit house was the better of the two photos. Next time I’m out for a photo walk, I’ll have my camera at the ready for those unexpected encounters.
Sunday, 8 February 2015
39. Granola not Graffiti!
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| Fresh homemade Granola |
What can you say about homemade granola, when the photo of the day was slated to be graffiti! Didn't take long to find out there isn't any graffiti in White Rock. That will be a fascinating story for another day, once the alphabet theme ends.
The granola is a worthy subject and I shall tell you a little bit about it. Eaten in many parts of the world makes it “global cuisine” and it is easy to carry along on a hike or camping.
| Wikipedia 1893 advertisement for Kellogg's Granola |
They claimed that it was thoroughly cooked and “partially digested” by whom I’m not sure! Plus, one pound equals more than three pounds of best beef. Vegetarians would be delighted reading that! Their version contained wheat and oats, but it doesn't look like they added nuts, raisins, or other dried fruits.
The thing most appreciated about granola, other than the versatility of eating it for breakfast is that it can be added to oatmeal or cereal, sprinkled on fruit and yogourt or eaten for dessert with ice cream. Each time an ingredient is changed, the complexity of the granola changes with it. Dried apricots, dried dates or dried figs can also be added or substituted. It's fun to make and have included my recipe:
Homemade Granola
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 4 c. rolled oats
- 1/2 c. almonds, I like them left whole
- 1/2 c. chopped in half or whole pecans
- 1/2 c. coarsely chopped dried cranberries
- 1 c. raisins
- 3 tbsp. ground flax
- 1/2 c. unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 c. unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 c. large coconut flakes
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, pecans, cranberries, raisins, flax, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle syrup over oat mixture; toss with a wooden spoon. Pour granola onto baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Let granola cool completely on a wire rack. Break into chunks and store in an airtight container.
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| Jan's Granola |
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