Monday's Tea Quote

The Tea Party

I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
'Twas very small-
Three guests in all-
Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
'Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.

~Jessica Nelson North

Garden Delights

 The best gift to date for my grandson, D, has been a camera.

He loves looking through the lens and taking pictures.

So off we went a few days ago to explore a garden we hadn't seen before.

Well isn't that what you do with a camera in hand?

 My "live-in gardener" came along to educate the small photographer.

They found bees, sunflowers, and oh so much more.

In the distance I can still spot those pink shorts off on 

picture taking adventure.

The guardian scarecrow close at hand.

This particular day was hot and humid,

but what an amazing sky!

The rain did come for a little while

and then back to normal,

snapping pictures and savoring the day. 

Teach a child while they are young

and all kinds of adventures will be revealed.

I love being part of forming who he is and will become.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

AprTea Mall Tastings

 Aprtea contacted me not to long ago and asked if I would review some of their teas.

Most often I love doing it, but I had never heard of this company; so I asked.

Aprtea is located Anxi, China; the capital of the tea industry

where you can find high-quality Chinese tea with "professional tea knowledge".

The owners father had a history of tea and they decided to expand

to international trade in 2017.

I found it interesting that the name Aprtea is because April is the main

month of production for their tea.

Anxi tea is the origin of Oolong tea and Tieguanyin tea which is China's largest market.

The five teas arrived last week and the tasting began. 

1. Zhang Ping Shui Xizu Oolong Tea, Fragrant Orchid Grade One,

Zhangping Fugian, China, 2018 Spring Tea.

A compressed tea in sweet packaging smelled and tasted of flower

in springtime. Delicious flowery oolong. 

I shared this one with my tea group and they all loved it.

2. Keemun Mao Feng Black Tea Grade One, Qimen, Anxi, China, 2018.

Sometimes Keemun's are a little stringent and bitter to my taste,

but having steeped this in boiling water it was quite good.

It would make a lovely breakfast tea.

I also iced it, but liked it better hot.

3. Wuyi Jin Jun Mei Black Tea Honey, Incense Grade One,

Wuyishan, Fujian, China, 2018 Spring.

I have always like Wuyi Jin Jun Mei Black teas and this one didn't disappoint.

4. Yunnan Dianhong Tea Bending Gold Buds Special Grade One,

Fengging, Yunnan, China, 2018 Spring.

Now Dianhong teas are a favorite of mine, so I was looking forward to tasting.

Of the two here I liked this one the best, but it didn't have some of the 

background flavor which I have grown to love.

It was a beautiful tea in little spiral shapes and much care was taken in producing.

It did have a full bodied flavor that would work for a breakfast tea.

5. Yunnan Dianhong Tea Golden Needle Buds Special Grade,

Fengging, Yunnan, China, Spring 2018.

I was amazed when I opened this to see long brown needles of tea.

I had never seen a Dianhong in this shape, it was pretty.

It also was rather powdery, which I wasn't sure what that was.

I found with both Dianhongs I had to rinse well before steeping.

This tea was lighter in color and flavor and didn't have the familiar

Dianhong flavor I love.

In future ordering I can definitely recommend the first three,

but not sure about the last two.

The oolong was by far my favorite

and funny, but it wasn't one I asked for.

I guess Aprtea knew I would like it.

Thanks, Aprtea!

You can find them at
https://aprtea.com

picture: pink teacups from my shelf, rose from my garden.

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Creepy Feelings!

Recently I shared this picture.

I was sharing with Jeanie at The Marmalade Gypsy the background

and she recommended sharing it.

Now I don't often share negative feelings or things,

but it is good to be attentive to them at times.

On my way home from the beach a couple weeks ago

I decided to take a road less traveled to snap some pictures.

I was traveling alone, but pulled off at a small parking area

along the road. There were people in the distance, but no one nearby.

I set up my pictures and snapped away.

This was my last picture and I began loading up my props.

Yes, sometimes I set up tea pictures with props.

As I finished taking this picture another car pulled up next to my car.

It had two guys in the car with a skull painted on the hood.

I had that creepy feeling.

It's not one I have had often, but I have learned to pay attention.

I moved quickly, put my things in the car, and got in the car.

Once I got in the car, they left.

Now it may have been my imagination

and maybe I wasn't in harms way;

but I pay attention when a creepy feeling grabs hold.

One other time this happened when my daughter was in high school.

I had taken she and a friend to a place that happened to be rather

isolated. Same thing, two guys pulled up and I quickly ushered the girls

to the car.  It wasn't until many years later that my daughter said she

had the same feeling when that happened.

These stories I am sharing because I have found

the importance of "noticing what you notice", 

pay attention to how you feel in a situation

and act moving to safety.

May we as women travel always in safety

and pay attention to our gut feelings.

Monday's Tea Quote

The simple pleasure,

like a lump of sugar in your morning tea.

Sweetness to soften the day.

~Corey Amaro of Tongue in Cheek blog

Picture: My favorite English style teapots in a row.
Have a wonderful week.
Now I am off to the gym to make it a good start to my day.

Not My Garden Flowers

 No two gardens are the same.

No two days are the same in one garden.

~Hugh Johnson

 A garden is never as good as it will be next year.

~Thomas Cooper

 Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.

~Mrs. C.W. Earle

 All gardening is landscape painting.

~Horace Walpole

Oh and the fragrance in a garden sends our imagination on a journey.

~m.miller

Taken not long ago at the Lan Su Chinese Gardens, Portland, Oregon.

What peacefulness and beauty resides there.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

I can't believe another week has come and gone.

Savor each day and make it special.

Longing for Adventure!

 Have you ever been reading and one word, 

yes just one word, hits you in your heart? Recently in a magazine the word "longing" just jumped out and grabbed me. 

What does it mean: yearning, strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant: filled with longing for home. an instance of this: a sudden longing to see old friends.

For me longing means adventure!

I long for adventures.

I longed for adventure even as a child,

to travel to places yet unseen,

or climb the highest tree,

or take off on my bicycle and travel as far as I could go.

Right this moment my longing is to travel.

To tell you the truth it doesn't much matter where,

but just to go, see, savor, learn, and embrace whatever there is out there.

I have thought long and hard about travel.

Where would I want to go?

Well I do love France, yes I do!

But I love other places too.

Places yet unseen are beckoning me,

maybe Cuba, the east coast of the US, Belize, Alaska,

Greece, Turkey, India, China, Japan, Ireland, more of Spain,

Portugal, Slovenia, do you get it?

I want to see it all. 

Don't get me wrong, I have loved all the travel I have done.

But still!

It is the longing in my heart, adventure!

What do you long for?