Rose with Rose Hips, Botanical Garden, San Francisco - August 31, 2014

My dear friend, Joanne Olivieri, blogger, writer, poet and photographer, among her

many talents, introduced me to the San Francisco Botanical Garden.  I had lived in

close proximity for over 20 years without having visited.  Now, far away in India, I

often look back at my pictures since, in this hot, humid climate, I, sometimes, long

for the flowers, foliage, and trees of the Bay area.  The Garden, however, hosts

beautiful specimens from all over the world.

For the Our Beautiful World theme this week, "Seeds," I chose this rose photo

I took at the Botanical Garden, complete with rose hips.  

According to Wikipedia, the rose hip, which is the fruit of the rose plant, begins

to form after successful pollination in spring or early summer and continues to

ripen through autumn.  You can see here that this flower is still being visited by

bees and the hips have grown quite large.

Rose hips are the seed pods of roses.  Roses can be propagated by removing

the seeds and sowing just under the surface of the soil.  They are slow to germinate

and this may take months.  They usually require a period of chilling.

Rose hips have many uses.  They are one of the richest sources of vitamin C.  

They are often used for teas, jams and jellies, other beverages.  Current trials are

being run for their use in treating various medical conditions.

Rose hips are best harvested after the first frost and, because the seeds have

hairy coverings, it is best that they be removed.

Because of their high vitamin C content, rose hips are often used in the treatment

of colds and flu.  They are often used in the treatment of stomach disorder, diarrhea,

constipation, ulcers and like conditions.  Much of the vitamin C content of rose hips

is lost during drying, processing and storage.

For more information on rose hips, refer to the links below.  Web MD, especially,

has good information on medications, including vitamins and supplements.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip

http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/f/RoseHips.htm

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-839-ROSE%20HIP.aspx?activeIngredientId=839&activeIngredientName=ROSE%20HIP

I am participating in 

Our Beautiful World, Week 62, Seeds

Show us what makes your world beautiful.

Theme Thursday - Fragrance - Ah, Roses - March 21, 2013

I think this is my first time to take part in "Theme Thursday."  This week's topic is
"fragrance" & I went back to some photos from the past & found this lovely rose.
There is a beautiful home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights that is planted with
the most incredible flowers &, if I'm around when they are in bloom, I am back
there many times, with my camera.  It's a "must see" when friends visit & my
dear forensic nurse friend, Merle Endo, from Hawaii just happened to be here
once when everything was blooming.  We had a wonderful time, snapping away.

I am participating in

Theme Thursday - Fragrance!

Join us.

A Great 68th Birthday in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - October 3, 2012

I just spent two hours at the computer and had this post all but completed.  Somehow, 
it disappeared.  I cannot believe it.  All that work for nothing.  I just hate being at
the mercy of the gods of the internet!  Oh, well, here we go again though I'm a bit
tired of looking at my wrinkled birthday face!

I got up at my usual 6AM on the 3rd of October, all my joints and muscles aching to
remind me that I am no sweet, young thing.  I've been having massage alternate 
days almost since arriving in Jaipur and, for about six weeks, I've also been having
accupressure.  I really do think that has helped tremendously.  At 7AM, my lovely
landlady, Madhulika arrived with a beautiful bouquet of red roses and I had my
morning chai.  

After breakfast and my massage, I headed to Dr. Galundia's office.
He welcomed the "birthday girl" and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and, 
at my reminder that "this is India," I got a second kiss.  Come to think of it, NONE 
of my U. S. doctors has ever kissed me.  After the kiss, he left his office and, though 
he's told me I need to lose more weight, he came back, bearing a candy bar - "only 
because it's your birthday."

From Dr. Galundia's office, my driver took me to the Holiday Inn for lunch with my
friend, Food and Beverage Manager, Surendra Dhabai, formerly of Royal 
Caribbean Cruise Line.  The hotel has a lovely buffet with a large selection of 
both continental and Indian food and a nice dessert spread.  I was able to limit
myself to only five jalabees, a sweet Indian concoction that has become a favorite
of mine.  It's almost like flat swirls of a batter, fried in ghee, then soaked in a 
sugar syrup.

Many Indian hotels have handsome doormen like this, sporting turbans and these

large moustaches!

Lobby of the Holiday Inn, Jaipur

Definitely NOT a place for the weight watcher

The Holiday Inn dining room

Lovely salads

A delicious meal, every bite

My friend, Surendra Dhabai

Chef Roushan

I love it!  I got a rare positive comment from my youngest son, Jeremy ( soon 

to be 28 ):  "Damn, looking all skinny.  Keep up the good work."

Surendra and me - he needs roller skates to keep up with all his work!

Here are all those handsome Indian fellows - they remind me of the Royal 

Caribbean wait staff - I lovingly called them my "Bollywood boys."

About 4P, as I was leaving the Holiday Inn, Ajay Singh Shekhawat, manager

of the beautiful heritage hotel, the Umaid Mahal where I stayed three days in

January and two days this past June, called and told me to be on the Umaid

Mahal rooftop at 5PM.  "Good grief," I thought, "I can barely waddle to the 

taxi."  I could hardly disobey my Jaipur hero and I even arrived early.  

Precisely at 5PM, he escorted me to the rooftop restaurant where a lovely

bouquet awaited me, along with a chocolate cake, and Spanish, "Sangre de

Toro" wine.  Of course, there were also Bollywood boys present.

Ajay is amazing.  He has always remembered that yellow roses are my favorites.

Cake number 2 - I shared it...but the wine was all mine.

Chicken pakoras with my favorite spicy green mint sauce.

 y

My Umaid Mahal Bollywood boys

With Ajay Singh Shekhawat

Now, one would think that would be enough birthday celebration for a vintage

American in India but, oh, no, more was yet to come.  My landlady had arranged

dinner at our residence.  We had a pre-dinner birthday cake out in the garden

with her daughter, Geetanjali and son-in-law, Karan Rathore, and her two 

grandsons, Vishu and Arjun, and my friend, Ajay Shekhawat.  

Cake number three, a glorious fruit and whipped cream concoction

Vishu helped me blow out candles.

Nani Madhulika and Arjun 

Ajay, in non Umaid Mahal clothes, for a change!

My beautiful Indian purse from the Rathores

A wonderful birthday dinner

Beautiful Geetanjali Rathore and Vishu

Madhulika and her grandsons, Arjun and Vishu

Bindi ( okra ) - a favorite of mine

Wonderful spicy red beans...as good as New Orleans, but minus ham or andouille

A delicious meat ( not beef, of course ) dish

Well, that was my 68th birthday - the first one I've celebrated in India.  I felt so

pampered and indulged, with birthday phone calls from "family" all over India

and so much special treatment by my Jaipur "relatives."  I can't even begin to

thank everyone enough.

Macro Flowers Saturday - Red Roses - October 29, 2011

Now that autumn is definitely here, with the leaves displaying their brilliant

colors and temperatures plummeting downward, florist bouquets and

photographs are the only way we'll be seeing many of our favorite flowers for

a few months!

Of course, we could always board an airplane and head to tropical climes for
a floral fix - or we can enjoy Macro Flowers Saturday from the comfort of home!

I am participating in Macro Flowers Saturday -

add your flower photographs to brighten up our autumn day!



Ruby Tuesday - Red Rose - October 12, 2011

I am participating in Ruby Tuesday - check out the site and

join in the fun!

Friday Flash 55 - He Love Me, He Loves Me Not - June 17, 2011

 

She had begun to doubt his love,

He often was away,

But, imagine her surprise today,

When she received a huge bouquet!

The fragrance of the roses,

Spread throughout the room,

But when her finger touched a thorn,

That's when she met her doom!

Her last thought was that her love was a forensic toxicologist.

I am participating in that wonderful meme, Friday Flash 55,
hosted by non other than the charming, debonair Mr. Know It All.
Check out the site and join in the fun!

Friday Flash 55 - The Rose of Love - May 20, 2011

Her eyes were full of tears today,

Fifty years ago he'd passed away,

But her love continued eternally true,

For none but Billy would ever do.

The rose they planted together,

Each spring,continued to bloom,

In front of their tiny cottage,

Fifty years of fragrant perfume.

A scent surely scattered on loving angel wings!

I am taking part in that devlish Mr. G's Friday Flash 55 - you must

check out the site or you will miss something truly interesting!!  As your own 55!



Alphabe Thursday - "B" is for Beautiful - April 28, 2011

Tuesday, I almost had to be in two places at once.  At 9AM, I went for my third
appointment at the UCSF Mohs Surgery Center for the second post operative
follow up for the excision of the basal cell carcinoma on the right side of my nose.
Dr. Yu just laughed when I complained about the scar on my nose.  She is very
pleased with the way things are progressing, telling me to be patient.  "It's only
been a month, Carmen."  She says we can talk in six months!

I raced from Mt. Zion over to my urology appointment with Dr. Kahn in the
medical building at the California Pacific Medical Center, arriving about two
minutes before my 10AM appointment.  I'd gone to radiology the day before to
get the kidney/ureter/bladder x-ray ( I have multiple stones in both kidneys, some
far too large to ever pass normally ).  Dr. Kahn just wanted to check on their
progress in case an intervention needed to be done.  No, everything is status
quo so we'll leave things as they are.

From there, I decided to drive around Pacific Heights for a little while before
heading home.  I always enjoy seeing the beautiful Victorians in that area and I
was rewarded with a magnificent Spring display of flowers in bloom.  It just
reinforced my feelings that man can do little to improve on the glory of nature
in terms of real beauty .  Along one street, I photographed all the beautiful
flowers shown here.

 

 

 

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday!

Check out the site and add your own "B" post to the others!