Teatime Tale #47 — A Family Thanksgiving

A Family Thanksgiving

          Was it wrong to be glad your sister-in-law couldn’t come to Thanksgiving dinner? Kathy felt guilty, but secretly, she was thrilled that Lisa, wife of her older brother, Ted, would be away on her girlfriends’ cruise and couldn’t make it.

            Lisa was so competitive. No matter what was being discussed, Lisa could top it. If Kathy was praised for a recipe, Lisa knew how to make one that was tastier. If one of Kathy’s children had earned an honor in high school, Lisa’s college-age children had earned something better. No matter how hard Kathy worked to make Thanksgiving special, Lisa always managed to spoil the day.

            That year, no Lisa at Thanksgiving meant no drama, and Kathy was so pleased. Even after waking at five a.m. on Thanksgiving so she could stick her hand up a half-frozen turkey’s rear end to get it ready for baking, she was humming Christmas tunes and cheerfully assembling sweet potato casseroles when Stan got up.

            “Why are you in such a good mood?” he asked.

            “No reason,” Kathy said.

            The doorbell rang at eleven a.m., and Kathy was still humming when she opened the door to find Ted on her doorstep—until she saw Lisa beside him.

            “Darling,” said Lisa, air-kissing Kathy. “Our ship had engine trouble, so all of us on the girlfriends’ cruise made it home for Thanksgiving. I told Ted it would be a surprise.”

            “It certainly is,” Kathy said.

            “Besides, I didn’t want you to worry about having enough food. I don’t eat as much as you all anyway, you know.” Lisa was fond of letting the family know that her “fat” clothes were a size four.

            Kathy laughed. “It’s Thanksgiving, Lisa. One more mouth would hardly be noticed around here.”

            “Oh, you’re sweet,” she said, “but I do remember that year you ran out of dessert and Ted couldn’t have that second piece of pumpkin pie he wanted. Ah, family memories. Right?”

            “Right,” Kathy said, grimacing. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on the turkey.”

            “No problem. I know how hard you try to cook one that’s not too dry,” Lisa said.

            Kathy bit her lip and walked away. She had a troubled look on her face as she scooted Stan away from his nibbling around the stove.

            “Something wrong?” he said.

            “Just something Lisa said,” she replied.

            “Honey, don’t let her get to you. If you can’t ignore her, just give it right back to her. There’s no use letting her ruin your Thanksgiving.”

            Suddenly, Kathy thought, He’s right.

            By noon, the dining room was full, and everyone was standing around enjoying appetizers. In addition to Stan and Kathy and their teenage sons, Sean, fifteen, and Lee, thirteen, there were Ted, Lisa, Stan’s parents, Kathy and Ted’s parents, and three assorted aunts. Stan’s Aunt Mabel, a real sweetheart, had already complimented Kathy on setting the dessert table with the pretty harvest-themed teapot Mabel had given her as a hostess gift last Thanksgiving. Kathy had known Mabel would notice that. Every time Kathy used the teapot, she recalled the gracious woman who had given it to her. Soon, everyone was seated around the table. Stan blessed the meal and carved the turkey, which Kathy noted was slicing with ease.

            “Mmm,” said Ted. “This is the best turkey you’ve ever made, sis.”

            “Yeah,” said Sean. “Dad, can you cut me another slice?”

            “Can I have another roll?” asked Lee.

            “Kathy, your green been casserole is especially tasty this year,” said Aunt Mabel.  “Did you grow the green beans?”

            “Oh, heavens no. Those are straight from the produce aisle of Kroger,” Kathy said.

            “If you want some good green beans, the organic ones at Publix are great,” Lisa said. “They’re not that much more than the ones on sale at Kroger.”

            Kathy had had enough. She cleared her throat, took a sip of her iced tea, and said, “Lisa, what’s really bothering you?”

            Lisa sounded surprised. “Bothering me? Nothing’s bothering me. Why would you say that?”

            The men around the table looked nervous. The women looked intrigued.

            “Every year, you make these comments about the meal, or the house, or the groceries, and I’m just wondering if I’ve done something to upset you.” Kathy’s voice wasn’t shaking, her face wasn’t red, and she was perfectly in control. It felt great. “If I’ve done something to bother you, let’s clear the air and get it settled. If I haven’t, then what can I do to get you to stop your criticism?”

            “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lisa said, getting up from the table with a stunned look on her face. “I’m feeling rather nauseated, probably because I’ve just returned from sea. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish this meal. I think we need to go, Ted.”

            Looking embarrassed, Ted rose from the table.

            “Are you sure that’s all it is?” Kathy asked.

            “I’m sure,” Lisa said. “Please forgive me.”

            Kathy looked her in the eye and said, “Of course I forgive you.” And to her brother, she said, “Let me at least send you home with some food. We’ve got enough to feed an army.”

            She sent Ted and Lisa off with a shopping bag full of Tupperware and then returned to the table. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

            After lunch, the men headed off to watch ballgames while the women helped tidy up. Mabel walked over and squeezed her arm. “You handled that beautifully, dear.”

            Kathy smiled. “Did I?”

            “Lisa has never had anyone stand up to her, and you did it kindly but firmly. It was just what she needed.”

            “Thank you,” Kathy said. “That means a lot coming from you, Aunt Mabel.”

            Mabel gave her another squeeze and said brightly, “Now, let’s use that pretty teapot to make us all a nice pot of cranberry tea—to celebrate a most happy Thanksgiving.”

            “I’ll drink to that,” Kathy said. And she did.

Rereading my vintage November issues of Victoria

I've been trying to clean out a bunch of old magazines at my house, but every time I even *think* about getting rid of my vintage issues of Victoria, I start rereading an issue or two and I'm charmed all over again! One thing I absolutely love is that I always, always find mentions of teatime in Victoria. This week, I pulled out the November issues from 1993-1995, and something on the cover struck me for the first time. Do you see it? All three of these issues say "Come Gather at Our Table." Interesting that they would use the same cover line three years in a row, isn't it? And yet year after year, I gobbled up each Thanksgiving issue because each one had gorgeous new photos and articles!

I had forgotten that they had a regular feature titled "The Charms of Tea." In this 1994 issue, that feature was about Angeline Goreau's love of the Angelina tea salon in Paris. She writes of returning there for 20 years and "looking for my earlier selves." Isn't that pretty? Considering the horrid news out of Paris one week ago, I was so pleased to view the city through a much lovelier lens thanks to this 21-year-old magazine.

The article I read with the most pleasure, from November 1995, was "A Grandmother's Table" by M. J. Andersen. I can't find a copy of the entire article online, but it is included in the Victoria book "The Quiet Center," and I searched online and found that many libraries have this book available, so you might want to search it out. Andersen and an aunt were charged with cleaning out the possessions of her late maternal grandmother, a woman who collected a lot of things, including "Grandma's great love … dishes." (Imagine that!)  Here's an excerpt: "One night, exhausted and stretched out on the living room floor, I noticed a cabinet under the TV that we had overlooked. Inside was an entire set of Limoges. We laughed until we were tearful. Grandma's formal china, familiar from holiday dinners, was a Hutschenreuther set, beautiful violets on a white background. Where and when had she ever come up with this gold-rimmed Limoges with its pale-green flowers?" Oh, how I love that story! Do any of you like to go back through these old Victorias as well?

Sleepytime Peach Tea from Celestial Seasonings

The other day, a writer friend, as opposed to a tea friend, posted about this great new tea she had tried, the new Sleepytime Peach flavor from Celestial Seasonings.

While I don't know exactly how "new" this tea is, it's certainly new to me, and I was intrigued to find that the Celestial Seasonings classic chamomile blend of herbal tea is now offered in a peach flavor as well.

While I like chamomile tea just fine, I love this new Sleepytime Peach! The peach flavor somehow softens the chamomile, and frankly, I will drink this all day long. Now I don't have a problem with caffeine, since I can drink the strongest tea and go straight to sleep if need be, but for those of you who are affected by caffeine, this might be a nice new blend to try at your own sleepytime!

The pop-quiz giveaway winner is …

Margie in California, who will receive a brand new set of terry cloth towels with a Christmas teacup and tea mug theme! (I have a set just like them that I bought last year, shown here.) I must say I am delighted that so many of you remembered that we save our tea tins for … storing Christmas ornaments! Congrats, Margie, and I'll have these towels headed your way shortly!

The "Abundant Blessings" teapot

Holiday decorations are so much fun because we use them for a short while, put them up, and then it's almost like reopening a present when we discover them again each year! One of the items I'm decorating with this Thanksgiving season is a teapot I won in a fabulous giveaway from Bernideen back in 2009, some six years ago now. I actually won a boatload of goodies in that giveaway (some of them long since eaten or sipped), but the teapot is the piece that most reminds me of that generous giveaway and my good fortune in winning!

I love the corn, grapes, cherries, pumpkin, and pears on this teapot. The colors are earthy yet cheerful, and I plan to use this when entertaining with family who will start arriving this weekend!

I thought it fitting that the teapot itself says "Abundant Blessings," and I was reminded of all the blessings I have received thanks to teatime, including the wonderful fellow tea lovers I've met through a shared love of tea! I'm grateful for meaningful teatimes I've been able to experience with family and friends, and I'm grateful that tea is what they call a "cheap luxury" (per cup, it's one of the best deals around!). I'm also grateful that the accoutrements of teatime are such beautiful pieces, adding so much loveliness to our lives. What "tea blessings" are you grateful for?

A pop quiz!

Today's blog post is something of a pop quiz with a pop-up giveaway attached. For those of you who've been reading this blog for more than a year, this should be easy peasy! Okay, here is a tin of Pumpkin Spice Tea from Harney & Sons, right?

Wrong. It's actually an empty tin of Pumpkin Spice Tea. But why do I save my tea tins, especially at this time of year? It's something I've mentioned several times before. If you remember, leave your answer below, and tomorrow I'll select a winner from all (or any) correct entries. The gift will be a nice teatime surprise, something I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy having!

Christmas teawares from T.J. Maxx

Saturday was the monthly meeting day of my writers group in Smyrna, and as usual, I left with lots of inspiration and my head full of writing ideas. Authors, it turns out, are supposed to have an email newsletter, and I've never done a newsletter for myself before. So I can just about promise you I will be offering a free tea newsletter in the new year simply so I can learn how to publish one! As is also my custom after each meeting, I immediately headed to the best T.J. Maxx and More in the state, the one at Cumberland. Women were loading their shopping carts with Christmas decor (I wanted to ask one woman, "Exactly what are you going to do with those giant gold antlers?"), and I was thankful I'd already started scoping out the teawares. While they had a huge display of beautiful black chintzware (teapots, teacups, sugar bowls, creamers), I didn't see any Christmas things I just had to have. So I continued on through the store, but before I left, I decided to buzz back by the china aisle "just in case." And it just so happened, an employee was unboxing teacup candles and these pretty poinsettia chintz teapots! The teapots were $12.99, the teacups were $5.99, and one of each went home with me.

I love the graphics on this teapot and how they incorporate bits of ornate drawings and sheet music.

It's subtle, but I really like the mix of this and the poinsettias and holly.

I debated over this teacup, because the cup itself looked more like a common Japanese teacup, not fine bone china made in England, but I do mix and match, especially at Christmas. The Winter Berries candle smelled heavenly, and the Christmas design on the cup and saucer was pretty, no matter where it was made, so home with me it went.

And guess what I found on the bottom of the teacup when I got home? Made in England! Who knew? I'm still wondering if maybe only the candle was made in England and the cup and saucer were made elsewhere, but at any rate, I'm glad to have this set. I'm hoping to have a big Christmas tea at my home one year, and I don't have nearly enough Christmas teacups to plan such an event just yet. Maybe next year?

Teatime Tale #46 – Knickknacks

Knickknacks

            Louise had hoped such a day would never come, but after she had taken one fall too many, her children had insisted it was time for her to either move in with one of them—a fate she saw as worse than death—or move to that upscale new “independent living facility” in town. They could call it whatever they liked, but “old folks’ home” was what it was.

            How did I get to be eighty-seven so quickly? I don’t feel eighty-seven on the inside. And I’m a very young and healthy eighty-seven, nothing like all those old people who live at Sunrise Senior Living. Louise shook her head. It seemed like only yesterday that she was growing up on a farm out in the country, then going to primary school, junior high, and high school. After secretarial school, she met the man she would marry, the love of her life, Ronald Fairchild. Together, they’d had a wonderful life. Ronald was president of the local bank, and when their two daughters and a son came along, Louise stayed home to raise the children.

            Ronald had tragically been killed by a drunk driver back in 1977, and Louise had thought her life was over. To her surprise, the grief subsided—although she still missed Ronald, every day—and she created a new life for herself, one built around her church, her friends, her clubs, and of course, her family.

            But today, she would start packing away a lifetime’s worth of memories and downsize to that small, pricy new apartment at Sunrise Senior Living. It was a lovely place, one she’d visited many times since so many of her friends had lived there over the years. They were dropping like flies, though. Just the other day, she’d told a young friend, who was in her sixties, “I’ve got more friends in Heaven now than I do down here.”

            How many more days did she have on earth herself? Only Heaven knew. She was in good health, her bursitis notwithstanding, and unlike some of her friends who liked to moan about their aches and pains, Louise simply pretended hers didn’t exist. It didn’t make them any less real, but it helped her not to focus on them. Besides, who wanted to hear about someone else’s aches and pains anyway?

            She massaged her shoulder and went back to sorting through some of the paperwork she’d accumulated over the years. As she flipped past another yellowed newspaper clipping, she paused to study a new age spot on her wrinkled hands. Too bad the cosmetics companies could never come up with a good solution for age spots. Or wrinkles, for that matter.

            She had kept her Christmas card lists for the past fifty years, and she enjoyed reading over the names. Then she smiled as she came across an invitation to the 1964 Women’s Civic League Ball. She could still remember Ronald in his handsome new tuxedo and how it complemented her black-and-white-striped gown from Lord and Taylor. Those were happy times indeed.

            Then, Louise came across a stapled stack of papers titled simply “Bridge Club.” She got a faraway look in her eyes. After Ron Jr., Carol, and Lillian were in school, Louise got more involved in the community. She sat on boards and volunteered for various causes, and then she was invited to join her mother-in-law’s bridge club. Louise hadn’t known whether to be thrilled or offended. The most well-connected women in town were in that bridge club, but they were also the oldest women in town. Most of them, including her mother-in-law, had long since passed.

            Louise shrugged. She refused to spend too much time mourning those who’d “crossed over,” as she liked to say. Instead, her mind’s eye went to the little Craftsman-style cottage at 17 Burton St. where her mother-in-law had hosted countless bridge parties.

            She rose from her living room chair and walked over to her china cabinet. She looked in the back right corner on the second shelf. Yes, there it was, that Dainty Pink sugar bowl and creamer by Shelley.

            That was the set her mother-in-law had used at bridge club for nearly thirty years, and when she got to where she couldn’t play bridge anymore, she had passed it on to Louise. The Shelley set was so lovely. Louise reached in and removed the cream pitcher. Eggshell thin but surprisingly strong, it had served beautifully at all of Mother Fairchild’s bridge parties and then, later, those hosted by Louise herself.

            “Mother, why don’t you get rid of those old knickknacks?” Lillian had asked one day.

            “Yes, Mom. Sunrise has nice dinnerware for you to use if you decide to host a party there. You won’t need those knickknacks there.” Carol had agreed.

            “Knickknacks,” they called them.

            I may be eighty-seven, but I’m not dead yet, and I fully intend to live with the things I love until my last dying breath, Louise thought.

            She knew they were only “things,” but that Dainty Pink sugar and creamer were her last visible ties to some of the people she’d loved most. Get rid of her knickknacks? Not hardly.

            A knock sounded at the door, and Louise went to open it. “Hi there, sweetheart,” she said, giving Ron Jr. a kiss on the cheek. Ron, a banker like his dad, had told her he’d come over on his lunch hour to take her to sign the papers that would make her the newest resident of Sunrise Senior Living.

            “Are you ready, Mom?”

            “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

            In one more week, she would have to pack up all those memories and oversee their transport to the new place. It would be tiring, but she knew she could do it. And like that Dainty Pink sugar and creamer, she was much stronger than she looked.

The tea towel giveaway winner is …

Karenann Sharrott! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the email button at right, I'll get this headed your way. Congrats!

The Christmas issue of Tea Time magazine

Like many of you, I like to settle in with a cup of tea and enjoy the new issue of Tea Time. The last few weeks have been crazy busy for me, but this week has been much calmer, and I finished my latest book edit yesterday, so now is the time for me to take a deep breath and catch up on the niceties of life … like Tea Time! I had to wait for this issue to arrive at Barnes & Noble since my subscription expired, and I'm waiting on them to offer me a sweet "deal" before I re-subscribe. This Red Velvet Peppermint Cake on the cover is just beautiful, and though I don't believe I've seen red velvet and peppermint paired before, they're actually a natural fit, aren't they?

I always love the page of featured teas in each issue, and I love to read about the teacups as well as the teas themselves. I would love to own a set of every single china pattern on this page!

And since it's not even Thanksgiving yet, I thought it was great that they featured a Thanksgiving tea as well. This brown transferware teapot is beautiful and reminds me of the many lovely ladies in tea-land who collect transferware.

Inspiration always comes from these pages. This time, it's something very simple. I have a cookie spritzer that makes these Christmas cookies in all the cute shapes, but I've never colored my dough. Now, I think I will. Thanks, Tea Time!

The prettiest napkin fold ever!

Earlier this week, my dear friend Susan, who loves roses as much as I do, shared a video with me that I absolutely love. Now some of you may already know how to fold a napkin into a rose, but I did not. This was my first effort, with a sloppy, floppy pink linen napkin, and I promise you I had it folded in just under a minute! Can you imagine a garden club luncheon with these in pastels? Or red napkin roses for Christmas? Oh, the possibilities! Click on the video below if you'd like to watch it for yourself!

A Bigelow tea that's perfect for Veterans Day!

The tea aisle seems to be expanding just about everywhere I've shopped lately: Ingles, Kroger, Publix. And at my local Publix over the weekend, I came across this American Breakfast blend of tea from Bigelow.

Now I'm a "coffee first" kind of girl in the mornings, and I don't normally have my first cup of tea until about 11 a.m., mainly because I want the caffeine I get from coffee. Then I read "50 percent more caffeine" on this tea and decided I would give it a try.

And then I saw something I really loved, a yellow ribbon noting that some of the proceeds from this tea support our troops! I'm happy I found this tea, because it really does seem to give me an extra kick of caffeine on these rainy days we've had for what seems like forever. The instructions said to steep the tea for four minutes, and I did so to begin with. As expected, that was a tad too brisk for me. I steeped the next cup of this tea for just three minutes, and it was just right. The tea has a pleasantly brisk black tea taste with a nice touch of lemon, and I predict I'm going to be drinking a lot of this one—so I'm delighted to know I'll be supporting a great cause as well!

Gertie's cup

Pieces of glass, china, and silver speak to me for different reasons. This 2-1/2-inch tall tarnished silverplate cup caught my eye at Goodwill on Saturday because of the bleeding hearts! I absolutely love bleeding hearts, and I think their design, like all of what God creates, is simply amazing.

And that looks like blackberries on the back. Take a look at the top rim of the cup. Would you believe about half of it is separated from the cup? I didn't know that that could happen to silver, and I must admit I'm rather fascinated by it. It's obviously a sturdy piece, not fragile at all, so I wonder what makes a silver rim separate from a cup? (Any thoughts?)

But what really spoke to me on this cup was the name on the left of the cup as I'm holding it: Gertie. Who was Gertie? Was that a baby or a little girl? How did the cup land at the Goodwill store in Carrollton? If I hadn't already planned all my Teatime Tales for the rest of the year, I would have to make up a story about Gertie's cup!

The other interesting thing about this cup was that it's marked James W. Tufts Quadruple Plate, and if you look the maker up online, you'll fine some beautiful tea sets made by this company. Through a little online research, I learned that James W. Tufts started producing his silverplated items in 1875, and they were called quadruple plate, as you might expect, because they were made with four times the amount of silver used for standard silverplate wares. You'll note the $1.31 price, but I must hasten to point out that because this piece was marked "Y" and yellow items were half off that day at Goodwill, Gertie's cup cost me just 65 cents. I think I've already had more than 65 cents' worth of fun with it!

November Giveaway: Whittard of Chelsea Tea Towel

For this month's giveaway, I'm offering this Whittard of Chelsea tea towel. I found this online (eBay or Etsy, can't remember which), and I think this navy-blue tea towel is quite striking!

If you'd like it to head to your home, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and  7 a.m. EST this Friday, November 13, and you'll be entered to win.

Please note: I've had a couple of readers in recent months tell me they have been unable to leave comments. I've gone through all the help tips I can find on Blogger and cannot find any reason for this (still searching!), but meanwhile, if you try to enter and can't leave a comment, please feel free to send me an email via the email button at right, and I'll be happy to enter your name myself. Thanks, and good luck!

Teatime Tale #45 - High Tea

High Tea

            Lynn, Nan, Bernie, Felice, and Mary were beside themselves. A full-page ad in the Colorado Springs Daily News touted a local charity’s “high tea” planned for that Christmas. The five longtime friends, out enjoying their monthly custom of gathering at a local tearoom, bemoaned the fact that the good people of their area persisted in referring to afternoon tea as high tea.

            Lynn, a recently retired tearoom owner, pantomimed banging her head on a table. “I’ve flat given up,” she said. “I called mine afternoon tea for years, even explained what high tea is, and yet women called me every single week wanting to make reservations for high tea. Every. Single. Week.”

            Nan, a certified tea educator who taught classes on teatime, said she would continue to teach that afternoon tea was the leisurely afternoon tea meal consisting of savories, sweets, and scones. “And yes, I will continue to tell them that high tea is actually a lowbrow affair that was taken at a high dining table, a meal consisting not of tea sandwiches and scones but of meats, cheese, and the like.”

            “You’re not educating them fast enough,” said Bernie, short for Bernadette, a registered nurse. “Every time I wear my teapot pin on my scrubs at the hospital, I get asked if I’ve ever been to high tea. I once tried to correct a patient, but when some middle-aged woman is trying to recover from a heart attack, it’s not a good idea to get her riled up over the definition of high tea.”

            “Humph,” said Felice, an accountant. “They’re going to give me a heart attack if they don’t quit calling it high tea!”

            Mary, a retired teacher, just smiled and didn’t say a word.

            “Why are you so quiet, Mary?” said Bernie. “Usually, you’re madder than anyone when people refer to afternoon tea as high tea.”

            “Ladies, I have a plan,” Mary said.

            “I’m all ears,” said Felice. “Spill it.”

            Mary looked around, and all eyes were on her. “Now our state’s been in the news ever since marijuana was legalized for recreational use a few years back, right?”’

            “Yes, but what’s that got to do with anything?” Lynn said.

            “How many middle-aged women like us are into marijuana?”

            “Well, now, there was that one time that I—”

            “Don’t go there, Felice,” said Mary. “We don’t need to be reminded of how you ‘experimented’ back in college. That doesn’t count. We’re talking about regular marijuana use here.”

            The others looked on, intrigued, and Mary continued. “Just think about it. What if we convinced everyone that high tea really meant … HIGH tea!”

            “How would we do that?” Bernie asked.

            “Easy,” Mary said. “We’re going to use our powers for good and spread a rumor that high tea is really just code for a good old-fashioned pot party. And what proper afternoon-tea-loving gal is going to go for that?”

            “I don’t know,” said Nan. “We know that’s not really what high tea is …”

            “Yeah, and look how far that’s gotten us,” said Lynn. “I’m in.”

            “Me, too,” said Felice. “If it gets everyone to stop calling afternoon tea high tea, then I’m all for it.”

            Slowly, the others came around.

            “We’ll start with the tearoom owners,” said Mary.

            “But the tearoom owners already know what high tea is, they just don’t know how to politely inform their customers,” said Lynn. “Believe me, I know. I’ve talked to plenty of them about it over the years. They’re so afraid of offending someone, it’s easier for them to remain silent.”

            “I think most women want to know what’s correct,” said Nan. “I don’t think those tearoom owners are giving them enough credit.”

            Soon, a plan unfolded. Mary assigned each of the women a tearoom or two to call and inquire whether it was true that they offered high tea. If the tearoom owner said yes, then the woman asked her to describe the menu. If the “high tea” menu included typical afternoon tea fare, the caller would say, “Oh, I always thought that was called afternoon tea. My women’s club heard that high tea referred to teas where they serve marijuana brownies and things like that. You’re sure your tearoom is on the up-and-up?”

            Naturally, some of the tearoom owners were horrified that patrons might think they were engaging in anything even remotely scandalous.

            The next month, the five friends met again at a local tearoom and filled each other in on their campaign to curb the misuse of the term “high tea.”

            Felice said one tearoom owner had hung up on her, thinking the call was a prank, but Lynn and Bernie both had good responses from businesswomen who suddenly wanted to clarify that what they offered was actually afternoon tea, not high tea.

            Mary had called the newspaper that ran the “High Tea” ad and asked for the advertising director, then inquired if he knew whether high tea was referring to marijuana use at that upcoming charity tea. There in the tearoom, she whipped out for her friends a full-page ad for the festive Christmas event suddenly featuring “English Afternoon Tea” rather than the “High Tea” advertised earlier.

            “We’re obviously starting to make some headway here, so I think we need to do something to celebrate,” said Mary. She turned to her friends, who were all sipping tea from their bone china teacups. “Suggestions?”

            “Yes,” said Bernie. “I think we should have a true high tea!”

            “Perfect,” agreed Nan. “Let’s decide on a menu while we’re all here.”

            And soon enough, the ladies were offering to prepare meat pies, hot buttered toast, plain scones, fruit, cheese, chocolate cake and other foods for the meal.

            “To high tea,” said Mary, holding her teacup aloft.

            Four others quickly joined her, lightly clinking their cups together and laughing as they said, “To high tea!”

Some new Christmas teacups

I've had a T.J. Maxx gift certificate for weeks now and hadn't found anything to spend it on, but then I came across these great oversized teacups for just $6.99 at my local T.J. Maxx this week.

I don't think I've ever had a teacup that says "Merry Christmas" before, so I was excited about that one most of all, even though those stars give it a sort of sixties vibe. (Maybe I'm drawn to that decade because it was the one in which I was a little girl?)

And of course this teacup with a Christmas chintz design greatly appealed to me, and I'm going to be on the lookout for the regular size cup and saucer in this design as well. I've developed pretty good sales resistance when it comes to buying random teacups, but I do make an exception when it comes to Christmas decor! So am I the earlybird here, or have any of you started Christmas shopping as well?

My November teatime column in The Coweta Shopper

When I was researching this month's teatime column for The Coweta Shopper, I realized that I'd never shared my one and only turkey teapot here on the blog! So that was my inspiration this month, and here's a link to the column for those of you who aren't local but would like to read it!

"Five o'clock tea" by C. M. McIlhenny

I am always drawn to images of teatime, and I came across this print from 1888 on the Library of Congress website. One of the first things you'll probably notice is that there are no teacups in this print. When I enlarged the image to fill my 21-inch computer screen, however, it appears that maybe the lady standing at back (the hostess?) is presiding over a tea service.

At the front of the table, I notice what appears to be a pedestal bowl of fruit, and I also note that the ladies seem to have shallow bowls as well as plates. The lush greenery hanging overhead makes me think this is a warm weather scene, so perhaps that's why some of the ladies have fans.

And while I love to admire those pretty dresses with all that lushly draping fabric, I cannot imagine enjoying any sort of teatime wearing that garb! The dog (I don't know dog breeds, sorry) seems to be resting politely, and I wonder if that dog really was that well-behaved or whether this was a fantasy picture. Oh, and the last thing I noticed was that the tablecloth appears to have either a ruffle or fringe, I can't quite tell which. It's fun to find things like this on the Library of Congress website, images I almost certainly would never have seen if they weren't online!

Lady Lipton Tea

 

Recently I came across a new-to-me blend from Lipton, their Lady Lipton Tea flavored with "bergamot and citrus." I'm a bit puzzled by that description since my understanding is that bergamot IS a citrus.

Quite a few tea companies seem to be changing their packaging these days, and I think this one looks like a throwback to the 1970s. I can just see this woman in a Virginia Slims ad, and I'm curious who this is supposed to appeal to. (I bought Lady Lipton because I liked the name of the tea and wanted to give it a try, not because I  particularly liked the look of the package.)

And am I detecting a pattern with the message here? Irresistible Lady Lipton … affair … and then…


Flirt with more flavor? I don't want to have an affair with my tea, I just want to drink it, thank you very much! But enough of all that. So how does it taste, you ask? I  tried this tea at several different steeping times, trying to find one that worked for me, but each time I found this tea a bit weak, and I much prefer Lady Grey from Twinings. Have any of you tried this tea yet? If so, what did you think? (And even if you haven't, I'm curious: do you like the package design?)

Pumpkin-Caramel Harvest Bite Cakelets

On the one hand, I probably shouldn't be jealous of the friend who reported on Facebook that she had 800 (!) trick-or-treaters on Halloween. I believe we've had precisely one trick-or-treater in the nine years we've lived at this house, but our subdivision seems to have a lot of middle-aged folks like us and not a whole lot of families with young children. The downside to not having any trick-or-treaters, however, is that we don't have any leftover Halloween candy to enjoy, so when I wanted something sweet this weekend, I realized I had a good excuse to a) break in a new Nordic Ware pan I got on clearance two years ago and b) use up some caramel icing left over from a cake I made last week.

I used the Pumpkin Chai Tea Bread recipe I've already made several times this fall, and I used some leftover caramel icing to sandwich together the cakelets made in this pan, which I found on clearance for just $5.29 at Kroger, one of my best baking pan bargains of all time!

Pumpkins, pinecones, walnuts, and acorns make for some cute, just-enough-to-know-you've-had-a-sweet cakelets, and I liked the combination of pumpkin bread and caramel, so I think this combo is going to be a keeper. What are you all baking this fall?