The Adventure Begins

 Opening my journal this morning, on the first page I was struck by the quote

I added before beginning this journey.

"Live a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear."

 ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic.

Yes, my live-in gardener and I traveled with curiosity and no fear,

for we were there to experience a life time of experiences we only dreamed of

and will never experience again.  We were creating memories.

 The goal of the trip was also to fill our hearts with flowers,

gorgeous sights, and tea times together and with friends.

 We knew it would be hard on our bodies, as our daughter reminded us,

"you aren't college students that can just jump on a train and carry a backpack anymore"

Yes, Jim had his days with a fever and not  feeling good.

I had a lot of pain in my legs and hips from all the walking.

We guess we walked about 5-10 miles a day on all kinds of surfaces

from cobblestones, grass, concrete, and barkdust.

 But we were greeted with sunshine and flowers as we arrived in Amsterdam

on May 6th at 8:30 in the morning.

 To adjust to the time change we walked.

We visited the Rijksmuseum and enjoyed the art there.

Mostly we enjoyed the sunshine and the flowers.

 We were blessed to have some wonderful places to stay.

The Collector B&B was a delight and definitely filled with

flowers and collections of every imaginable thing.

We could hear the doves and other birds from our balcony door.

 Our room looked out on sweet gardens and we could sit on the deck

with our morning tea.

Oh yes, this was going to be a trip of a lifetime

and truly one we could delight in.

Follow along, as I have lots to share.

Notes from the Garden

 

Oh so much work in the garden when  you travel in Springtime

and return 24 days later.

Tomorrow I will begin digging through photos

and sharing the adventure of a lifetime with you.

For now the garden is overgrown and needs attention.

Keukenhof Gardens

 Tulips are blooming everywhere at the gardens.

 There was one exhibit full of orchids.

 And another full of lilies.

This is me after 4 hours of walking in these beautiful gardens

outside of Amsterdam.

Whew!  My feet will need a rest tonight.

It was quite warm too.

This is a garden I can highly recommend.

Adventure

Tomorrow I step onto an airplane that will carry

me and my "live-in gardener" away across the sea.

For a few weeks in May we will be traveling in four countries.

It is a dream come true kind of trip.

One we have planned for a long time. 

There will be plenty of tea sipping and

a visit to Paris (pictured here),

 it is my favorite place to be.

There will be other stops along the way;

so I may not be here very often.

I will turn off comments today while I am away,

as it will be more difficult to manage.

Stop by once in the while and I hope to leave a few pictures,

if it doesn't work out you will definitely see pictures

on my return. 

Don't be concerned, my friend Joey will be taken care of

by our son.  Thanks, son!

Have a great May, dear friends.

Tea in the Garden

Now tea in the garden takes on a very different thought

when you realize the tea has been grown in my garden.

Last week I plucked the first tea from my two plants

and placed them in the tea baskets I brought home from Taiwan

a few years ago.

I tossed it off and on for several hours, then let it

sit overnight.  In the morning I roasted it on my stove grill

for 10 minutes.

Yes, it looked like full leaf tea.

It smelled like tea.

It looked beautiful spread on the table for it's photo.

Then the real test came with the tasting.

I steeped it at 190 degrees.

It was very light in color.

It was very fresh in fragrance.

The sip was a delight.

Not a grassy note to be found,

but more of a mixture of white or light oolong.

Not overly flowery, but just a touch of sweetness.

I was thrilled with my first adventure into the making

of a nice full leaf tea from my garden.

Happy sipping, dear friends!
Linking to Bernideen at:  http://blog.bernideens.com/

Notes from the Garden

 

Iris

Creamy white dogwood just starting to bloom.

And raindrops on roses!

Have a wonderful month of May!