CuppaTea

Day 7 Chevrons! And music! Rooibos and Vanilla Flavour, Nerada Organics (Australia) - plus a lolly! I do like rooibos! I never add milk to rooibos teas, though I often add honey (rather than sugar). But I don't think I've ever stumbled across flavoured rooibos before. It did have a vanilla influence to the smell of the tea, and the flavour was enough to be noticeable - in a good way! I tried it without honey, to start off with, but I added a little bit before long. I'm not sure how to describe the taste, other than to say it tasted red , but perhaps a bit creamy with the vanilla. It is a red colour, more red than the picture shows.  If you have read about days 4-6  you may remember that Thursday (day 6) reached 38 degrees Celsius. Friday (day 7) wasn't quite as hot, merely reaching 35. Thankfully a cool change came through and the slight breeze helped move cooler air into the house in the evening, so I had no hesitation over having a hot...

Day 4 A doubly appropriate phrase: Joy to the world. The Incarnation. And tea.  Pineapple and Coconut, Healtheries (made in New Zealand) Yellow! On steeping further, the colour deepened to something resembling honey. It didn't smell like honey though! A fruity scent, very pleasant. Ingredients include apple, rosehip, liquorice root, hibiscus, orange peel... Quite a list. Of course, pineapple and coconut are at the bottom of the list, 1% each of the total!  I am an entrenched black tea fan. Black tea is the best tea. I have heard some people (not me!) go so far as saying that herbal teas are not teas at all. Easily 90-95% of the tea I drink is black tea. But this AdvenTea experience is challenging my assumptions, even about my own taste!  Staying firm, I tasted this tea without adding sugar or honey. And it didn't need it. Refreshing, and a bit tropical. Again, I would be happy to drink this again. I have no idea where my friend fou...

Day 1 A neat little wrapped package to start the AdvenTea experience. Hibiscus & Lemongrass, Nerada An unexpected colour! As I poured boiled water into the cup, the tea bag released a purple colour at first! I was stunned! As the water level rose, the colour became more red, but I'm not sure the photos do the colour justice! Smell: more lemongrass than anything else, but softer, sweeter - presumably the floral impact of the hibiscus. I didn't add sugar or honey (I normally have black tea with half a teaspoon of sugar). Thought I'd taste it before adding anything, and I'm glad I did it that way. It didn't need the sugar. Quite a nice taste, almost sweet. Quite refreshing. I snacked on little pineapple jam filled biscuits I brought back from Thailand while drinking this tea. A nice accompaniment, which I will unfortunately not be able to repeat... I'd definitely drink it again! Day 2 Another delightful parcel! ...

A friend of mine gave me an advent calendar. Of tea! I am very much looking forward to this Advent experience! So, for her benefit, and mine, I will be relating my new tea experiences. I promise there will be photos! I'm not sure yet whether I will be posting daily, or grouping tea experiences, but I hope you will enjoy the vicarious experience, and perhaps be inspired to try some new tea experiences yourself! So here they all are! Aren't they pretty little packages? I can't wait to see what is inside each one. I plan to have my new tea in the afternoon or evening - when the house has settled down, and I can properly savour a special cup of tea. So, this is a new Advent experience for me. Do you do anything for Advent? I'd love to hear your Advent experiences too!

When something goes wrong when you're driving home, who do you call? If you're like me, you now have the Ghostbusters song in your head. I'm sorry/you're welcome!

When I get to the shops I will buy a litre of milk, a kilo of flour, half a dozen eggs, a tub of butter, a box of cocoa, a bag of sugar, and a punnet of strawberries, so I can bake a cake. A litre of milk, a kilo of flour, half a dozen eggs, a tub of butter, a box of cocoa, a bag of sugar, and a punnet of strawberries. I wonder if I will bump into anyone I know? Mum always bumps into someone - or half a dozen people - she knows, so shopping always takes longer, and she always forgets something. But I'm sure I won't forget anything. I will remember: a litre of milk, a kilo of flour, half a dozen eggs, a tub of butter, a box of cocoa, a bag of sugar, and a punnet of strawberries. After all, most of the ingredients will be in the same aisle, the baking aisle - flour, cocoa, and sugar - and most of the rest will be in the fridge section - milk, butter, and eggs. So there won't be any trouble remembering a litre of milk, a tub of butter, half a dozen eggs, a kilo of flour,...

I have always loved libraries, and I have always loved my local library. As a child, the school library held wonders beyond imagining. It seemed the biggest room in the world (perhaps except for the school hall) and it was full of books! A few snug corners to curl up in, and friendly staff who always helped you borrow what you wanted. I have revisited that school library as an adult, and I must say, there was less magic there. Perhaps the magic lurked at my knee level, or hid under the bookshelves, only within reach of the smallest students. Invisible to adults. It seemed so much smaller! And yet, still filled with books! Still a wonderful place for many other children, just as it once was for me.

Yesterday I buried a dream. The dream had died a few weeks ago, but it took time to sort out some details, get my head and my heart prepared, and plan the funeral. Had the dream begun four years ago, or twenty-three years ago? Perhaps it began at both times, for dreams don't obey linear time like other things. Twenty-three years ago the seed was planted, twenty years ago I started to water it, fifteen years ago it started to sprout, but four years ago it started to blossom. Four years ago I started showing it to others. And the dream became important to people other than me. We were excited with its continued growth. But last year it started to wilt, and we couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. So many conversations, so many fears and possible causes for the damage, but by the time we figured it out it was too late. The leaves fell, and the branches became brittle in the last few months. I watered it with tears, but nothing changed, not for the better. Finally,...

When I bought the pen, I had no idea how miserably it would fail me. It must have been a completely unremarkable day, the day I bought the pen of disappointment. On my list of errands buying a new pen may have been the highlight of the shopping trip. Few things have ever given me the same satisfaction as acquiring new stationery. Or it may have been the result of whim, or impulse, if the pen happened to be on special that day. Even through the pleasure of the moment, I would have considered the pen ordinary. I had no expectation of particular joy in using it, other than the short-term convenience of four colours in one casing, the convenience of flicking from one colour to the next to differentiate heading from subheading from notes and from quotes. A colour for each purpose, and a purpose for each colour. The pen may have sat on my bookshelf for a year or more before I finally used it. Such an innocuous item, the promised companion of future learning, of future thought. I had ...

Having set myself the challenge to read some books in various categories, and having shared that with you here , I thought updating you on my progress might be a good idea. I have kept up my reading record, which means I can review relatively easily what I've read this year so far. Once I put the information in an electronic file it will be even easier. But in terms of the three categories, I am not doing as well in keeping up to date.