The Tea Trolley: On to February

So it is the first of February! Michael must have changed the calendar because I saw a new picture on the fridge this evening and then thought about why it was there. There was rain pattering on the roof today. A welcome change from snow. It sounded refreshing and smelt of spring. But of course the predictions are for significant snowfall next week! What a winter!

Life continues in a pattern of days, well-marked by the lessons and classes that the children are enrolled in and of course the doctor appointments that fill the calendar (I'm a doctor-mom not a soccer-mom). Tonight we are all moping about like zombies, wondering why we are so dead tired and how soon we can go to bed. Except for Michael, he's tired too, but he says its because our day was full and the church bowling outing must have been physically challenging too! As soon as I can get the children through the bath I'm headed to bed myself!

I have to post this picture because that hyacinth has been making me happy all week long! It's perfume fills my bedroom and all through the day I smile because of its scent. When I wake up in the morning it is there and when I walk by it adds a bit of a spring to my step. Cheap therapy at $2.50!

Tea is pretty cheap therapy too.... Here's a picture of "his and her" teas. Michael's tray with the green mug and mine with the pink. We seldom manage to drink tea together so it was nice when this happened (maybe Sunday afternoon?).

When all else fails, toast with jam is such a delicious treat for tea -- this toast had homemade Quince jam from a friend!

I had tea with my neighbor and we tried Lemon Grey which I had brought back from Scotland. It was nice. I pretty much like any tea in the Grey family, even though it seems more China-based than Indian (Indian tea being by far my favorite). The lemon added a nice zip.

Since the fall my energy has been less than in recent years. Life just keeps coming and sometimes it is even hard to stop and take time to rest and revive. One day I spent a few minutes looking through my blogroll and found the inspiration from numerous blogs to take time out for a pot of tea. I found flowers, a candle, and some treats. Yes, the work was worth it and it did make a difference.

Last week I met a friend for tea/coffee over a book discussion. There is a place in Carmel that serves good tea and this time I ordered a White Peach (they save the leaves so you can have a free refill too!).

Last Saturday I made my favorite gluten free scones for a visit from an old friend who came to visit. We shared a pot of tea and caught up on years of life, including how God recently brought The One into her life after many years of waiting. Answered prayers like that are always cause for rejoicing!

Last Saturday was Burn's Night in Scotland. I thought it would be fun to make a sort of Burn's Supper with sausages instead of Haggis. Even though I was SO tired I went down and made the dinner.

Also because I'd promised James that he could make the dessert of his choice -- the Queen of Puddings. Oh my. Well, just as dinner was nearly ready to be served up Laura fell off a kitchen stool and gave herself a small concussion. Since she started vomiting that meant Michael needed to take her straight off to the ER, their second Saturday evening in three to spend at the ER. So much for our Burn's Supper. But, the kids and I ate and waited nervously to hear the results from Laura -- praise God there was no damage and she was sent home on anti-nausea meds and told to rest.

 James' pudding came out very nicely and it was a perfect bed-time snack.

Midweek found us sharing lunch with Auntie C and the cousins. The color of food never ceases to amaze me! And check out the matching flowers!

 Somewhat unrelated to tea, but important in our week, Rachel spent a day shadowing at a local high school. Yikes! Highschool is just around the corner! She loved her day and we shall see how things unfold for the fall.

Andrew kindly baked us a cake for company on Thursday night. Gluten free yellow cake with a cooked blueberry filling (which I added) and whipped cream on top. Delicious! Enjoyed with African Summer tea.

And yesterday I had the rare treat of visiting my mom at her snuggery (snuggery: a snug, cozy place; especially a small room). She had tea treats all ready for us.

There was a tray of real tea for her and a tray of decaf tea with rose for me.

And I was treated to a Bananas & Cream yogurt from Trader Joe's. Yum!!!!

And then we proceeded to have a painting lesson. Winter scenes are my favorite!!!!

I think it has been a full two weeks and now I better clean those babies and get us all to bed ASAP!