Lensography of JPTanabe

Some of my Favorite Teas 

These are in no particular order, since I have no control over the order anyway! For me each kind of tea has its place, its time in the flow of life when it fits best. While one can never have too much tea, some varieties are better appreciated when taken in moderation.

Earl Grey Teas

Earl Grey teas are classic "scented" teas, not your usual, some might say boring, black teas. Clearly a British favorite, the name "Earl Grey" conjures up the sense of British upper classes. It's also well known to Star Trek f...

Masala Chai Tea

Masala chai is an Indian spiced tea. It consists of black tea, spices, sweetener and milk, brewed together and strained. The tea is usually Assam, a strong tea that is not easily overpowered by the spices and sweeteners. The spices, traditional whole...

White Teas

White teas are made from the same plant, camellia sinensis, as black, green and oolong teas. White teas are special though, not only are they the least processed form of tea and so retain the highest concentration of antioxidant flavonoids, they come...

Turkish Rize Tea

So, you've probably heard of Turkish coffee right? That strong coffee served in little cups? What's this Turkish tea or Rize tea then? Well, it's black tea from the Rize region, and it's made in special teapots that are in some way s...

Lapsang Souchong Tea

Lapsang souchong tea is "smoky tea" which means it is a tea that tastes strongly of smoke! It was actually created by accident, an accident that turned out to be very fortuitous. It's actually quite delicious, and very unique. Can be d...

Tea Related Lenses 

Mugicha Barley Tea

Roasted barley tea is a tisane made from roasted barley, rather than a true tea. It is very popular in Asia, where it is called Mugicha in Japan and Bori Cha in Korea. Barley teas or beverages of some sort, some hot some cold, are popular all over t...

Why I Love Tea

I love tea! Probably because I'm British I can't imagine life without tea. Coffee is important, but somehow life without tea is not something I want to imagine. So here I'm going to reveal many of the reasons I love tea; the ways that I t...

Samovars

Samovars are heated metal containers used to boil water for tea, particularly in Russia; the word samovar meaning "self-boiler" in Russian. Samovars are so famous, they really symbolize Russian culture having been a familiar sight in every...

Yerba Mate Tea

Yerba Mate is an infusion, made from the dried leaves of the yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) plant. Because it does not use the leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis it is not a true tea, but rather a tea-like beverage. It does, however, contain...

Tea houses

Tea houses and tea rooms, even tea gardens, have existed all around the world where people drink tea. Because drinking tea is a perfect way to socialize, to enjoy spending time with people you know, or those you don't know yet. Tea houses provide the...

The Gift of a Traveler - Book Review

This original and beautifully illustrated story, "The Gift of a Traveler," is a fascinating Christmas tale. Written in a way that older children can appreciate, it is the kind of story that can be enjoyed every year by all ages. The wonderf...

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

Scarlet Feather is one of Maeve Binchy's many novels, and I can honestly say that it is every bit as enjoyable, and in some places more so, than all her other novels. Maeve Binchy writes about people in her native Ireland, about their every day l...

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

If you're a "baby boomer" you probably remember Jonathan Livingston Seagull very well! This book appeared in the early 1970s when so many of us were searching for inspiration. Loving the uplifting message but without even understanding...

Redwall by Brian Jacques

This is the first book written in the series which also has the name Redwall. The author, Brian Jacques, is from Liverpool, England and the story is set in a rather English type of countryside. There is one important difference, however, the characte...

Favorite Books to Reread

I love to read, especially while drinking a cup of tea! And there are several books on my shelf that I really enjoy re-reading. Of course, it's always good to read new books, but there's a different experience to be had reading a book that yo...

Saint Francis - Book Review

Saint Francis of Assisi is well-known and much loved. This book contains wonderful art that brings his love of animals and God to life, as well as text that challenges us to consider our own lives in relation to the faith and work of this saint. Alth...

Legendary creatures of this world and beyond

I have always been fascinated by legendary creatures. They appear in tales of wonder, fantasy, legends and mythologies of all cultures. Some appear in the tales of many cultures, others are specific, peculiar even, to a particular culture. Some are b...

Mythical Creature Figurines

If someone you know loves mythical creatures - dragons, unicorns, and the like - why not buy them a beautiful figurine that captures the magic of these wondrous beings? I'm a lover of these amazing creatures and nothing makes me happier than a l...

Dragons and Dragon Mythology

The dragon is my favorite mythical creature, probably because I was born in the year of the dragon! Also they are typically portrayed as having supernatural or spiritual qualities - nothing mundane about your average dragon! The Western version usual...

Plush Mythical Creatures

I love mythical creatures, those wondrous beasts that appear in tales of fantasy, legends, and mythologies. Now they exist in plush toys! Some of these creatures are beautiful, bringers of good fortune and happiness; others are dangerous, evil, and h...

Dragon Puppets from Folkmanis

If you are a dragon lover, and you love puppets too, these dragon puppets made by Folkmanis are for you! They are exquisitely made in the Folkmanis tradition, and there are so many of them. There are dragons I didn't even know existed in this col...

Some Favorite Mythical Creatures 

Loch Ness Monsters

Loch Ness Monsters, or perhaps just the one known as "Nessie," are reputed to live in Loch Ness in Scotland. The loch, or lake, is a large, deep body of water, that is very dark in color. There have been numerous sightings of Nessie, who is...

Baba Yaga - Who Is She?

Baba Yaga, does that sound familiar? Maybe not. She's an Eastern European, particularly Russian, legendary or mythical creature, a wild old woman, a hag, a witch, who lives in the forest in a cabin built on chicken legs. Baba Yaga is rather frigh...

Basilisks and Cockatrices

So, basilisks and cockatrices, creatures of myth and legend, what are they? Not the most well known of the mythical creatures, a basilisk does have its 15 minutes of fame in the Harry Potter book "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." B...

Unicorns and Unicorn Mythology

Unicorns are one of my favorite legendary creatures. They are basically white horses with a single horn. But they also have some special, supernatural abilities. Unicorns are always portrayed as good, unlike most of the mythical creatures of legend a...

Feng Huang - Chinese Phoenix

The Feng Huang is a legendary or mythical creature, in some ways the Chinese version of the Western phoenix. Actually, though, it has many differences. First off, the Feng Huang is actually a composite of two birds, the male Feng and the female Huan...

Centaurs and Centaur Mythology

Centaurs first appeared In Greek mythology as barbaric, dangerous creatures. They were part man, part horse. In this way, the centaur brings together human beings, able to talk, think, and reason, with the strength and speed of a strong, swift animal...

Griffins and Griffin Mythology

The Griffin (also spelled gryphon or griffon) is a chimera or hybrid mythical creature. It has the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. It may also have the legs and talons of an eagle, often only the front legs. Griffins are often port...

Chimeras and Chimera Mythology

The Chimera appears in Greek mythology as a monstrous creature, apparently a combination of several different animals. While the chimera, or hybrid, creature, may exist only in legend and myth, the creatures from which it is composed are real. Some c...

Fairies and Fairy Lore

Fairies (also written faeries) are "little folk" or "wee folk," mystical beings, humanoid in appearance but usually able to fly. Sometimes fairies are portrayed with wings; other times they just fly "magically." Fairies...

The Mythical Phoenix Bird

The mythical phoenix bird has captured our imagination from ancient times. It is the most beautiful bird in the world, it brings good fortune, and it lives forever - what more could you want! The phoenix has featured in mythologies of cultures around...

Mysterious Monuments and who Built Them 

These mysterious monuments are so cool I made a whole lens about them and their builders! Some are just enormous and it must have taken so much effort to create them, it's really a mystery how people from so long ago in the past could have done it, and why. So I also made a "caption challenge" lens on them too!

Machu Picchu Ruins

The ruined Inca city of Machu Picchu is located northwest of Cusco, Peru, on two peaks in the Andes Mountains: Machu Picchu ("Old Peak") and Huayna Picchu ("Young Peak"). Known as the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu was uninhabited and forgott...

Mysterious Monuments and Who Built Them

There are megalithic stone monuments found all over the world, built over the millennia by cultures with very little in common, other than which is common to all humanity. (Although, for various reasons, some have suggested that it must be aliens fro...

What Were They Thinking?

I already have a lens on mysterious monuments which was a (relatively) serious attempt to look at the amazing structures that were created by ancient cultures all over the world. This is a more lighthearted look at some of them, yeah really for fun,...

Terracotta Army of Chinese Warriors

Discovered in 1974 by chance, the Terracotta Army is a massive collection of life-sized terracotta warrior figures buried near the tomb of the Emperor Qin, first emperor of unified China. The site was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as a World Cultural Her...

Favorite Mysterious Monuments 

Moai Stone Statues

The Moai statues were created by Polynesian inhabitants of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. The name Easter Island was adopted by outsiders since the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen encountered it on Easter Sunday in 1722. Also known as Isla de Pascua in...

Nazca Lines - What's their Secret?

Nazca Lines are found in Peru, in the desert near the town of Nazca. They are huge geoglyphs, the largest of which are nearly 270 meters (890 ft) long, covering an area nearly 500 square kilometers (193 square miles). Due to the dry desert conditions...

Stonehenge Pictures

Stonehenge is one of the most magnificent and mysterious megalithic monuments in the world. Built over a period that may have been as long as two thousand years, beginning as much as five thousand years ago, these incredible stones standing in the En...

Avebury Stone Circle

The Avebury Stone Circle is located by the village of Avebury in Wiltshire county, England, close to the more famous Stonehenge. Built as much as 5,000 years ago, it is one of the finest Neolithic monuments in Europe. It also includes a large henge,...

Olmec Colossal Heads

So, the Olmec had colossal heads? (Who are the Olmec anyway!) The Olmecs lived along the Gulf of Mexico more than 3000 years ago. One of the things they are most famous for is their colossal heads. No, it's not the Olmec who had enormous heads!...

Guess What!  

You can even buy replicas of some of them

Unique Gifts - Moai Statues

If you're looking for a unique gift, they don't come much more unique than the Moai! These amazing and mysterious monuments are found on Easter Island, and the originals are a bit too big to give as a gift. So it's a replica you really n...

Unique Gifts - Terracotta Chinese Warriors

The Chinese Terracotta Army has eight thousand warriors, and they are all unique! So, if you are looking for a unique gift why not go for one of these soldiers. They come in a variety of sizes, and of course styles, and there are even horses to...

Unique Gifts - Olmec Colossal Heads

If you're looking for a unique gift, these amazing Olmec Colossal heads fit the bill! The Olmec made huge heads out of rock, each with distinct features and wearing a unique helmet. They transported them from the stone quarries over long distanc...

Pyramids are Amazing! 

I always thought the Ancient Egyptian Great Pyramids of Giza (and their Great Sphinx) were fascinating, but there's a whole other world of pyramids in the Americas too! So here are the Egyptian pyramids and Sphinx. And from the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica come three more pyramid sites. Enjoy!

Great Pyramid of Cholula

The Great Pyramid of Cholula is located ten minutes outside of Puebla in Mexico. It has the largest volume of the pre-Columbian pyramids and is the largest stone monument in the world. Today only part of the staircase on one side of this immense step...

Teotihuacan and its Pyramids

Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods" in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs is today a huge archaeological site in Mexico. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means that it's open to tourists and is preserved as well as somewhat reco...

Chichen Itza Pyramid

Chichen Itza was built by the Mayan civilization in the northern center of the Yucatan state of Mexico. Dominating the center of Chichen Itza is the pyramid commonly known as "El Castillo" (the castle). This step pyramid (yes it has lots...

Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a large stone statue in Egypt on the Giza Plateau near Cairo, one of the largest single-stone statues in existence. Located right beside the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx is often viewed as "guarding"...

Great Pyramids of Giza

The Giza complex is designated as a World Heritage Site, and the Great Pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remains standing. These Great Pyramids truly qualify as amazing and mysterious monuments from ancient times....

Prehistoric Cave Art 

Prehistoric cave paintings and rock art have been discovered on every continent. Some of it is incredibly beautiful, rivaling the artwork of many contemporary artists! Other examples are just fascinating in the way they reveal to us secrets of the culture of those artists who lived so long ago.

Prehistoric Cave Paintings

Prehistoric cave paintings have been discovered in caves around the world, such as the Chauvet cave and Lascaux cave paintings in France, the Altamira cave in Spain, the Cueva de las Manos in Argentina, Aboriginal Rock Art in Australia and the Drak...

Altamira Cave

The Altamira cave, like the Lascaux caves in France, is famous for the numerous prehistoric cave paintings that adorn its walls and ceiling. In particular, Altamira is known for its "Polychrome Ceiling" which features a herd of bison in dif...

Aboriginal Rock Art

All over Australia are sites where wonderful examples of aboriginal rock art and prehistoric cave paintings in a range of styles can be found. One particularly interesting style is the cross-hatch or "X-ray" art found in the Arnhem Land an...

Drakensberg Rock Art

The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, and some 20,000 rock paintings have been found in its numerous caves and overhangs. These were made by the Bushmen (also known as San), indigenous hunter-gatherers who have inhabited t...

Chauvet Cave

The Chauvet Cave, located in Southern France, was first explored in 1994 by a team of archaeologists. The leader was Jean-Marie Chauvet, after whom the cave is named. The cave had been sealed for thousands of years and so remained undisturbed and the...

Lascaux Cave Paintings

The Lascaux caves in France, near the village of Montignac in the Vezere Valley, became famous for the numerous Paleolithic cave paintings that were discovered adorning their walls. These paintings, realistic portrayals of a variety of large animals,...

Cueva de las Manos

Cueva de las Manos, in English "Cave of the Hands," so called because of the numerous painted hands found there, is located in the Patagonian region within Argentina. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1999 based on its outst...

Cosmic Art Lenses 

Misticmedia's Zazzle Gallery Showcase

Featuring Cosmic Art by Yuichi Tanabe If you're looking for something "out of this world" check out the cosmic art products by Misticmedia at Zazzle! The artist, Yuichi Tanabe, is my husband so I'm quite familiar with them. I'm...

Cosmic Art

Cosmic Art may not be the most common term around, but it makes sense to me. Cosmic art is often that which is classified as science fiction or fantasy. But science fiction seems to imply something scientific, like robots or traveling in space. And f...

Cosmic Art of Yuichi Tanabe

This lens is unabashedly promotion, not exactly self-promotion, but promotion of my husband's cosmic art. And I think that's a good thing because his art is amazing! So hope you enjoy. Cosmic art is related to science fiction and fantasy, b...

Amazing People! 

There are people that influence our lives, and some of those that have been important in my life are featured here.

Oh, and it was Sun Myung Moon in the introduction to his Divine Principle who said that "Everyone, without exception, is struggling to gain happiness." So here's my lens on Sun Myung Moon!

Jeanne d'Arc French Heroine

Jeanne d'Arc, or Joan of Arc, was born in France in 1412 and died in 1431, burned at the stake as a heretic. Her crime? Listening to voices which she claimed were from heaven, and successfully fulfilling what they asked her to do - drive the Engl...

Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon was born in 1920 in what is now part of North Korea. He became an extremely controversial figure in the twentieth century with his claims of being the returned Christ, his mass weddings, and the way many young people flocked to join hi...

Sinterklaas in Rhinebeck

The Sinterklaas festival is held every year in Rhinebeck, a small town on the Hudson River in New York State. The tradition of Sinterklaas comes all the way from the Netherlands, brought by Dutch settlers who arrived in Rhinebeck over 300 years ago. ...

James Galway

From Belfast, Northern Ireland, James Galway is one of the best known, if not the best known, flute players of all time. And yes, the "golden flute" refers to his flute which is actually made of gold, not just to its golden sound! Galway p...

Lenses on Cosmic Stuff 

So this is kind of the "miscellaneous" group, those that don't fit in my other categories! Well, maybe some of them will multiply and produce whole new offspring that rate a group of their own soon. Meanwhile, here's the current collection of other topics that fascinate me and that I've made lenses on.

Aliens and Crop Circles

Crop circles are another of these mysterious phenomena that intrigue scientists, mystics, and the general public alike because their appearance is unexplained. Image from Wikimedia Commons. Crop circles have been around for a while, but became most...

Recipe for a Happy Cat

Well this is a "recipe" for a happy cat, but there's no "one size fits all" in this case! What makes one cat happy may be the worst thing for another. I have three cats and I can say they are very different in their likes and...

Avocado and Tomato Salad

I don't consider myself a great cook and I used to hate potluck events because I never knew what to bring. But friends who had eaten at my house always asked me to bring my salad with avocado and tomatoes - they thought it was delicious! It's...

Flute Accessories for Aspiring Flute Players

I love the flute! My husband and daughter both play flute so I get to hear quite a lot of flute music. Of course some of it is rather less than melodious, but fortunately much of it is delightful. Although our cats absolutely hate it! I've lear...

Tomato and Onion Salad

If you love tomatoes and onions like I do, you must enjoy them as salad! It's so easy to make a salad with only two ingredients, plus dressing, you just can't go wrong. Since my husband is Japanese we eat a lot of Japanese-style food. So I us...

Special places

Trip to Scotland

I was born and raised in Scotland and still have family there. In the summer of 2008 we took a trip "across the pond" to visit them in Montrose. Despite a lot of the usual Scottish "summer" weather, a good time was had by all. And...

Back to School - Back to Maine

My daughter is a student at the University of Maine at Orono and so back to school these days means back to Maine. Orono is a lovely little college town, one of those places that would hardly exist if the university hadn't taken up residence ther...

Quiz: Hudson River Valley Facts and Fiction

The Hudson River is a beautiful river, over 300 miles long. When Europeans arrived in the area at the beginning of the seventeenth century the river received its English name, after one of the explorers. Prior to that time, the Hudson Valley was...

Penguins at Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is one of my favorite places to visit, and the penguins are surely my most favorite inhabitants! Not only are they fascinating to watch in their enclosure, which is pretty big and of course has a large area of water that they jump into...

Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses

Located on Route 9W in Ulster Park, New York in the Mid Hudson Valley this is a great place for a spectacular Halloween attraction! The famous tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman took place in Sleepy Hollow, just the other side of the Hu...

Are We There Yet?

A family vacation is lots of fun, isn't it? Especially when you travel by car. You can bring all that you need to keep children happy - games, toys, snacks, drinks, and there's lots to see out the window. And don't children fall asleep on...

Mansions of the Hudson Valley

The Hudson River runs through New York State for over 300 miles, meeting the ocean where New York City is located. While the whole river is beautiful, an especially delightful area is the Hudson Valley between northern Westchester county in the south...

Christmas

Christmas Train Set

I'm not quite sure where the idea came from that Santa drives a train full of Christmas gifts - I always thought he flew around on a sleigh pulled by reindeer! Regardless though, the idea of a Christmas train is just delightful. Our local hardw...

Christmas Train Ornaments

Christmas trains have somehow become an important part of Christmas. They appear in displays at stores and other public places; and model train sets are often placed around the tree in homes for the holidays. If you don't have room for a model tr...

Best "Nutcracker" Movie of all Time

"The Nutcracker" is one of the most beloved ballets of all time. This is partly because of its Christmas setting, so it's guaranteed an audience every year, but mostly because of the amazing music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The fact t...

Chocolate Christmas Ornaments

Right, so it's time to decorate for the holidays! I have a "Christmas" box with decorations - lights, tree stand, garlands, ornaments, and stuff. It waits in the basement for most of the year and faithfully produces its festive treasure...

Christopher Radko Christmas Ornaments

So what are you going to put on your Christmas tree this year? If you want the best, brightest, most amazing glass ornaments, Christopher Radko is the way to go. These are made with care by European artisans whose skill brings to life the gorgeous an...

Gifts

Related to Christmas, but not only to that holiday, is gift giving. Here I have some exciting gifts that would be wonderful for many people, including me! I always think it's better to give people things you actually like. So these are things I would love to have myself, or already have!

The Lady and the Unicorn Wall Tapestries

When I saw these wall tapestries with the lady and the unicorn I was just thrilled! I love mythical creatures, and unicorns are one of my favorites. These tapestries are so glorious in their deep, strong colors. Not only the lady looks very noble, re...

Wonder of the World Hamper

In these times of economic difficulty and uncertainty, it is hard to imagine spending large sums of money on extravagant luxury items that might not even be appreciated. So, what would I most definitely appreciate? Food! This is no joke. When times a...

Folkmanis Finger Puppets

Finger puppets are so much fun! They're cute and really encourage imaginative play in youngsters. The Folkmanis puppet company makes finger puppets that are so realistic, as well as cute, they can even count as educational! They're so adorabl...

Top Ten Winter Skincare Products from Mary Kay

Happy healthy skin is surely a good thing, and the harsh winter winds and raw cold outside is challenging even for the healthiest of skin. Not to mention that when you go inside, or stay inside for prolonged periods, having the heat on makes the air...

Lladro Dragon Figurine

I just love mythical creatures and the dragon is my favorite. This incredible oriental dragon from the Lladró porcelain company in Valencia, Spain totally amazes me! I've never seen such a glorious figurine. For anyone who loves...

Folkmanis Stage Puppets

Who doesn't remember putting on a puppet show in their childhood? My family must have watched hours of puppet shows, some better than others. So, I think puppets are the best toys ever! These Folkmanis puppets are so well made and authentic in th...

Folkmanis WebWilds Puppets

WebWilds puppets are as amazing in their detail and craftsmanship as all the Folkmanis puppets. But that's not all. In partnership with Globio, each WebWilds puppet comes with a special access to a child-safe and kid-specific online habitat based...

Folkmanis Hand Puppets

The Folkmanis puppet company is special - they just make the best puppets ever! If you love hand puppets these are the ones to get. They have a great selection of all kinds of animals, including mythical ones like my favorite, the dragon. Puppets are...