Chai Tea Experiments

Recipe #1

Instant Chai Tea Mix recipe

Makes 16 servings.

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai Tea Mix into a mug of hot water.

NOTE: You may choose to omit the French vanilla creamer, and use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract instead. To do so, mix the vanilla into the sugar, let it dry, then break the sugar into small lumps. Follow the same procedure as above.

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Calculations: With the sugar, the mixture has about 3125 calories and 48 g of fat - for 16 servings this is 195 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving - this works out to about 4 WW points per. Without the sugar (using Splenda) the calories drop to 1200 or 75 per serving for 2 WW points. With Slenda the volume measure may be a little different. With vanilla extract (haven't tried) the results might be better (fewer points), but calculations need to be done.

Concert

Lissette Acosta

In concert at my church this Saturday

The service

The Funeral Home was about a block off the main highway through Sebring (US 27, I think). George's service was the only one in the building at this time. I was surprised that my hands were shaking as I used my cell phone to call V and tell her I was turning the phone off. When I signed the register, my hands were still shaking. Inside the room were many chairs set up auditorium style. At the front (left) of the room was a podium set up for the pastor, in the center were flowers, roses, a box (which I assume was George's ashes since it had his name and his dates on it), a folded American flag, and at the right front was an easel with a board with photos of George on it. The top left photo was of my Dad (our Dad) and was actually the one I had scanned from Dad's P&WA badge.

People: Ronnie, Clif, Peg, Kip, Sandy, Glenn, Pastor George, Ronnie's daughters Karen, Gwen, and Clara (not sure of the name - was from NJ and with her own daughter), Frank Sargent and two of his sons and one of his daughters-in-law, Ronnie's brother from NJ and some of his family, some other people I did not meet. Ronnie's brother works for Public Service at one of the Cogen plants along the NJ turnpike and he talked with me about the GE products they have.

Pastor George from Sunridge Baptist came up and introduced himself to me - he and I had emailed 2-3 times prior to my leaving home on Friday. His sermon and message included two songs on CD from Selah - Amazing Grace and Great Is Thy Faithfulness. He had two prayers, and talked about music and fishing and golf as some of George's loves in life. He also read from Psalm 23 and I Cor 15 and talked about resurrection and the need to trust Jesus Christ.

I spoke with Ronnie when I first came into the room and she remembered me. She also remembered the cups we had given to her and George when we visited in August 1995; I had forgotten these. They were gifts we had purchased at Disney World in Char's last days as an intern there. It was nice to be remembered.

I spent a lot of time talking with Glenn whom I had not seen since he was 4 or 5 years old. He may be moving from Michigan to Atlanta next year. He has worked on GE turbines and had recently completed some work for BMW in Spartanburg.

I recognized Sandy almost immediately from her pictures; I think the last time I saw and spoke with her she must have been under 5. Peggy and I talked and hugged many times, and I was by Clif's side every chance I could get. I was very glad I made the trip - I think my presence there was helpful to some, and it was very good for me.

I hope Glenn or Ronnie can fill in the details of the people who were there.

This is a work in progress - I will publish it in its rough state and edit it as I have time. But I wanted to get much of the information down before I forgot. My camera was broken, but I did have a borrowed camera - could only get three pictures of two subjects. Two were of a board of photos that Ronnie had prepared, and the last was a candid shot of Glenn and Sandy standing outside.

George's Guest Book

http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?ID=GB19793225

George L. Symonds

George Lewis Symonds

March 14, 1934 - October 28, 2006

George's Obituary

from webpages of Sebring News-Sun, Higland Times, and Tampa Tribune:

George L. Symonds, 72, of Sebring, died Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006, in Lake Placid.Born in Springfield, Mass., he moved to Sebring in 1986, from Mount Bellview, Texas. He was an engineer for the Sprint Phone Company and worked in business systems. He served in the United States Air Force and the United States Navy Reserve. He was a member of the Sunridge Baptist Church in Sebring.Survivors include his wife, Veronica E. "Ronnie;" father, Frank Sargent of Naples; daughters, Carole Quitoriano of Rosemond, Calif., Cindy Podmore of Canoga, Calif., Clara Kolesar of New Brunswick, N.J., Barbara Freeman of Bradenton, Karen Coburn of Lake Placid, Gwen Granzin of New Braunfels, Texas, June Loftis of Seabrook, Texas; sons, Glenn of Orion, Mich. and David of Lakewood, Colo.; brothers, Clifton Symonds and Bud Sargent, both of Naples, Ron Sargent of Fort Myers and David Sargent of Queen Creek, Ariz.; 16 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. Sunday at Dowden Funeral Home Chapel, Sebring. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m., with the Rev. George R. Lockhart officiating. Burial will be in Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell.Memorial donations may be made to American Cancer Society.

There are items that could be clearer: His parents were Clifton Allen Symonds and Vivian Urban, both deceased. He had four children: Glenn, Carole, Cindy and David, as described above. I think the other children are Ronnie's, his second wife. Frank Sargent was the last husband of his mother, and the other Sargent's listed are Frank's sons, not related to George.

Brief Update

I have just been so busy - coming back from trip to TX - then back to work - then finding there will be a service for G. I'll stick his obituary in here somewhere and the link to the guest book, also. Currently am in Orlando and will travel to Sebring for the service tomorrow.