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Sound Asleep
Photo Meme: Sound (Thursday Challenge)
Tea Time
A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards. ~A.A. Milne
As some of you may already know, I grew up with a very English, maternal grandmother and, therefore, a mother who was quite enamored with her heritage. Whenever I became ill, I was cautiously nursed along to full health with tea and toast. Tea was something everyone could drink. Even a small child could properly drink tea. While coffee was considered an adult drink that my father secretly would allow me to sip when my mother wasn't looking, tea was almost as common as water. So common, I am afraid I quite took it for granted as a child. Of course, summers with my grandmother were spent playing croquet, going for long, brisk walks and having tea and scones. The scones were not something my mother regularly made, so tea was made somewhat special because of them. That and the fact that my grandmother collected odd tea cups and saucers so that choosing a cup for tea was always a pleasure in and of itself.
My grandmother came over from England with her family when she was a child. She and her family boarded the Lusitania in the autumn of 1909 and made the crossing from Liverpool to New York. Six years later, the Lusitania would be torpedoed by a German U-boat with a loss of 1,195 persons. My grandmother's family was from Keighley, Yorkshire, England. Her mother's side of the family was native to the Yorkshire area, but her father's side, being McKniffs, was from Ireland. My grandmother was just shy of ninety-four when she passed from this earth and she still had fond memories of England and of seeing the Statue of Liberty as the Lusitania drew near New York's harbor.
I grew up in New Hampshire and was quite delighted when a New Hampshire tea company offered to send me a large tin of the tea of my choice for my drinking pleasure and, perhaps, a pleasant nod to other bloggers in their direction. Through several e-mails to and from Marshall Malone, Portsmouth Tea Company's president, I learned that he and his wife were actually "southern transplants" living in New Hampshire. Of course, this caused me to be somewhat dubious. I was uprooted from New England to the Carolinas as a teenager and had never even seen a southerner drink hot tea. On one of my first restaurant outings with friends I was served iced tea in an exceedingly large Mason jar and wasn't sure quite what to do with it until my friends noticed my bewildered look and informed me that I was supposed to actually drink from the Mason jar. I thought perhaps it was a quaint pitcher and that my glass would come along shortly. I smile now when I think back to those early days when I still thought a hush puppy was only a brand of shoe.
Before I knew it, though, the UPS man was at my door with my package of Irish Breakfast tea. Preferring my tea strong and able to withstand a more than generous amount of milk, I had debated over choosing the Irish Breakfast or the Milk tea. Mr. Malone assured me that he was quite fond of the Irish Breakfast tea himself and so sent it along to me. My girls and I were quite anxious to try our newly acquired tea and, unwilling to take the time to make scones, we took out a bag of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen and set about making a pot of tea. I have to say that we were quite delighted with our tea that day. And the next day. And the next. I'm afraid we will be ordering more tea from the Portsmouth Tea Company before we know it. A cup of it sits to the right of me at this very moment.
The Irish Breakfast tea is strong, although, instead of the suggested steep time of three minutes, I couldn't keep myself from steeping the leaves for a full five minutes. Having said this, the tea was not bitter in the least. It was full of flavor and stood up well to milk. For those considering converting over from coffee to tea, I think you will find this tea worthy of consideration. To Mr. Malone, I thank you heartily for sending along this wonderful tea. It will complement my great-grandmother's recipe for scones quite well. Here is her recipe:
Scones
2 cups flour
3 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
6 Tbl. shortening
1/2 cup milk
raisins
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Stir in milk. Add raisins.
Roll into circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into pie wedges. Brush tops with a
beaten egg. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400* for 8-10 minutes
until golden brown.
On a side note, I believe that the Malones are a homeschooling family. I can't think of a more delightful business for a homeschooling family to undertake. Unless, of course, they opened an antiquarian book shop that also served their delicious tea.
Happy Birthday To Me!
I've found I share my birthday with some interesting people:
1719 - Leopold Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1787)
1765 - Robert Fulton, American inventor (d. 1815)
1805 - Fanny Mendelssohn, German composer and pianist (d. 1847)
1840 - Claude Monet, French painter (d. 1926)
1900 - Aaron Copland, American composer (d. 1990)
1907 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish writer (d. 2002)
1907 - William Steig, American cartoonist and children's book author (d. 2003)
1948 - Charles, Prince of Wales
1954 - Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State
And a couple of interesting literature-related events:
1851 - Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick was published.
1889 - Nellie Bly set out to beat Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg's time of 80 days to travel around the world. She did it in 72.
Firefly, circa 1400 A.D.
Since my eldest is studying the Middle Ages this year, I thought this might be a fun test to take. Obviously, all those years of Catholic school and yearning to be a nun must have had some affect on me.
You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over.
You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the Lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual.
The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test
Guilty Housewife
I feel somewhat awkward talking about this since I know there are those of you out there who would be happy to have a fifty-year-old kitchen without drawers. I was very happy to have my kitchen and I am struggling with the usual feelings I have about not deserving so much in a world where many have so little. I grew up in a home where we seemingly never could afford anything. So, when I would receive something I had dearly wanted for my birthday or Christmas, I always felt guilty. I struggle all the time with feelings of guilt when it comes to spending money.
Last year, when we were able to put new windows on our home, I didn't feel quite so bad as I do now because it was a home improvement that also would help lower our power bill. It was something that was a blessing for all of us. This kitchen just doesn't feel the same. I am the mother and wife. The kitchen is supposed to be my domain. Especially since it is where our washer and dryer are kept. Unfortunately, though, I heartily dislike cooking and I am not the neatest housewife. Why should I get a new kitchen with all new appliances if I haven't even proved myself worthy of the old kitchen? This is all very grim.
When my husband expects me to be overjoyed and brimming with love and affection for him and our family, I am sitting here depressed. Do I dare let myself be happy? I am not sure I even know how to be happy about this. So, once again, I feel guilty.
I believe I need to spend a little time in prayer. Maybe then I will be able to tell you more of my kitchen story.
