Yes, It's Tuesday......

.....and I am having tea (Twinings Lady Gray) Seems apropos, since it is a dreary, stormy, and VERY gray day today......


Since my computer service is spotty - the "power tower" is shrouded in clouds, I will just briefly post this contest link, just discovered on Facebook this morning.

Hope it's not raining where you are, but, if it is, get out your favorite Twinings, and post about it!!!!

 WIN - 6 Twinings History Mugs and a years supply of your favourite Twinings tea.

TELL US: Which is your favourite Twinings tea and why?

We will announce the winner this Friday at 4pm here on Facebook.

If you would like to see these mugs close up, visit: http://bit.ly/FannyShorter

Tea on Tuesday

                    'Tis the season to be jolly..............

                                                                      or

                                                          stressed

                      by all the last minute things you feel you must do for the holiday!!!!!

So, it is always a good time to have a nice cup of tea, sit back, take a deep breath, and think about the real reason for the season..............

This morning's tea is a mug of chamomile- because I am hoping to go back to  bed after writing this post - it is wa-a-a-ay too early!!!!!! Words were struggling to get out of my head, so.......

My favorite tea of late has been loose leaf Provence Rooisbos- I just love the scent and the flavor- and it is caffeine free! From South Africa, it contains rooisbos, rosehip, lavender, raisins, black currants, blueberries, and rose petals. 

Yesterday, a friend gave me some Twinings Winter Spice to taste test. It passed the test!! It is a "camomile tea flavoured with cinnamon, cardomom and cloves".

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past Friday was Julieanna's 2nd Annual Holiday Dessert Tea and Teacup Exchange.

I designed and made the 43 ornaments, with some additional embellishment by Julie.

 

One of the teacup exchange attendees made a gorgeous pineapple centerpiece

 

The dessert included chai mousse, a peppermint scone, and another tasty treat with pecans-pecan puff, maybe?

 

The mystery teacups lined up for the exchange

Tea mistress Susan getting ready to read her traditional tea story

Some of the lovely tea cups that were exchanged

I LOVE this blue one, received by my friend, Judy. It is a pottery mug/teacup, created by one of the guest's mom. The potter goes by the name Hot Flash Pottery!!!! Gotta love it!!!

I received a lovely, delicate, vintage Noritake demitasse set- coincidentally, from the same lady who gave me a wonderful Shelley set last year!

The rest......

A lovely time was had by all - Susan and Julie outdid themselves, as usual!!

Today, after I get more sleep - I will be off to a cookie exchange. D/H and I spent several hours night before last, making 9 dozen pizzelles. Next week, we should be making another 9 or 10 dozen. The holiday is not complete without pizzelles- we have been making them together, for over 20 years....

One of my daughter's fondest memories, is pulling a chair up to get at the container of pizzelle "trimmings", that I would "hide" on top of the refrigerator.

Trimmings are just as delicious as the cookie, by the handful or, as she would do - in a bowl of milk!!

Please be sure to drop by Kim and Patty, for links to other tea fanciers.

(Lucky) Tea on Tuesday

On this rainy, thundering Tuesday, I am looking over my cache of teas, trying to decide which to have.

My daughter just came back from spending her birthday with our cousin, and brought me several boxes of Twinings and Celestial Seasons teas! Woohoo!! Our cousin lives near a tea outlet - wouldn't I love that!!!

I was trying to think of an interesting theme for today's tea, so I thought LUCK might be it, since we just passed thru Friday the 13th, traditionally considered an unlucky day and number!

Altho I am not a particularly superstitious person, I don't consider my self lucky as far as getting a winning lottery ticket goes!!! Altho my husband always plays the same numbers - just in case!!LOL

I am lucky in my family, lucky to have the husband and kids that I do, and lucky to be relatively healthy.

       Since it was Friday the 13th when Katie was in NJ, I now consider that a lucky day!!!

              I won an apron that day, from Arrow Sewing Cabinets! I can't wait to receive that!!!

     Katie got me a new supply of tea (if the world ends anytime soon, I will NOT run out of tea!)                                                 


                                              AND, she saw a BEAR!!!

Actually, she saw a mama bear and her 3 cubs!! Altho we live in bear country in Va, the bears stay up in the forest. At my cousin's in NJ, they wander thru the back yard, on a regular basis!

 

She was viewing them from the screened in porch - and mama bear was taking her cubs safely in the opposite direction!

Keeping with the theme of luck, yesterday I was gathering my collection of vintage horseshoes together for a photo on my tumblr

I save most of the shoes from my own horses - great garden ornaments, barn wall decorations, etc. Some even end up in my Etsy shop! Horseshoes are supposed to bring luck .

When hung over a doorway, or on the wall, they should be hung open side up - to catch the luck! Whenever I find an old horseshoe in the thrift store, I buy it, and then save it til my farrier comes, so he can tell me the history.

You wouldn't think there could be a history behind a simple metal horseshoe - but there always is!

While in NJ, my daughter got some body art - some lucky horseshoes on her foot..............

                         It's very pretty, but I prefer the actual horseshoe, not inked on my body!!!

 

In case you're interested (if you're not, just skip over to the end!LOL) I'll tell you a little of what I know about these vintage shoes.

*Left row top to bottom are mule shoes. The very old rusty one in the middle left, is a working mule shoe- he was probably pulling heavy loads or a plow. Notice they are more elongated than a traditional horse shoe.

*Center row, starting from the top - vintage metal stirrups, one a child's.

Oxen shoe - a great find-in two pieces for their split hoof- saw one in a museum shortly after I found this in the thrift store!Until then, I wasn't sure what I had!

2nd from the bottom, center row, is a handmade Finnish shoe, sold as a good luck charm, and souvenir - never worn.

Center row, thin shoe on bottom, is a lightweight racehorse shoe.

*Row on right -very vintage  heavy top shoe, is hand hewn for a working horse, the silver one below it is from one of my horses, the two circular ones below that are corrective bar shoes, made to help support the heel. I found both of those in a field at different times, neither are old.

 I had a previous farrier bend the pieces on the back of the bottom bar shoe, so I can have a photo or a mirror put in it.

That ends today's "lesson" on luck and horseshoes!!!

Enjoy your tea, and be sure to drop in on Patty and Kimmie for a list of other tea lovers! Feel free to join us any time!!!

Tea on Tuesday

JANUARY IS
HOT TEA MONTH!

"The Tea Association of the USA spearheaded national Hot Tea Month in the early 90's. It is an effort to celebrate tea and promote the health benefits of this wonderful beverage.

January is the height of the dreaded "cold and flu season". Published research from the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University indicates that theanine, an ingredient found naturally in tea, supports the immune system. A cup of tea contains an average of 20-25 mg of theanine. Drinking tea throughout the day may strengthen the immune system which is something important to do during the cold and flu season. Drinking five cups of black tea a day for two to four weeks boosted the body's immune defense system by four times, according to the results of a human clinical trial. According to this study, the data suggests that drinking black tea boosts the body's natural resistance to infection.* While drinking tea may not keep you from getting sick this season, it can help your odds of staying healthy. So why not do something good for your body while having a hot beverage...help stay healthy this cold and flu season and drink your tea every day! www.TeaUSA.org "


The above excerpt was forwarded to me in an email. I wasn't aware that January was National Tea Month!! Susan from Over a Cup of Tea, is also holding a class later in the month, in Broadway,Va, discussing and tasting the 4 teas from the plant camellia sinensis: white, green, oolong, and black. I signed up - and will report back what I learn!! If you live in the area, and want to join, the class is limited to 12 participants.

Right now, to celebrate National Tea Month, I am warming myself over a fragrant cup of Twinings African Rooibos red tea. I always pronounced it 'rooey-boe'- Twinings informs me that it is pronounced 'roy-boss'!

This red tea comes from the Cedarberg Mts in central S. Africa. The rooibos plant leaves are harvested in the summer, fermented, and dried in the sun, til the leaves turn a deep mahogany red. Very yummy, and caffeine free too!!

Today's photo is a thrift shop trash rescue- a beautiful vintage eggshell porcelain teacup was tossed due to hairline cracks. I brought it home, amazed that it survived the donation box, the trash, and the ride home to my house, with no new chips or cracks!!! The hairline cracks are old and on the inside, rendering the cup useless for tea, but no ruining its appearance from the outside.

My friend Teresa, sent me some lovely cherry blossom fabric from Japan, which was perfect for this cup. I took a curtain tie back (purchased from the thrift store), cut it, and superglued it around the edge of the cup, sewed the fabric around some polyfil, and VOILA!-the teacup is resurrected as a pin cushion!! This one of a kind pin cushion will be in my Etsy store tomorrow!

Be sure to visit Patty and Kimmie for more participants of Tea on Tuesday! And, please, join us again!!!!!

Oh, and a PS - Be still my heart- I just found out that Waterford Crystal makes a crystal teapot with infuser!!! That will DEFINITELY be on my Christmas list for next year!!!!!!