Skirted Soldier teas — and a fun family blossom!

On Saturday, Alex and I made a brief stop in Eufaula, Alabama. It's just about two hours south of Newnan, and I was surprised to see how "pink" the town was with all of the azaleas already in bloom! We also did a little shopping at the downtown stores, including Superior Pecans & Gifts, where I bought some tasty Cinnamon Spiced Pecans as well as some Skirted Soldier teas from a female-veteran-owned company!

I got the "Colonel" and "Battle Buddy" blends.

I've tried only one so far, and I was amused that each package is said to contain "two preloaded tea bags." Ha! The Colonel blend is a caramel pecan black tea, and it's the delicious dessert tea I'd hoped it would be! I can't remember where I first heard of these teas (you can learn more here), but this marked the first time I'd actually come across them in a store, and I definitely want more of this Colonel blend and look forward to trying the other one!

Eufaula, however, was merely a pit stop on the way to meet up with some of my hubby's cousins in Fort Gaines, Georgia, who were gathered at the home of his cousin Anne, shown here. An accredited camellia show judge, Anne is a true Renaissance woman, and she is always happy to entertain my many questions about her flowers. She even sent us home with one of her 'Don Mac' ruffled camellias. Isn't it gorgeous? And guess how she readied it for travel?

She popped a grape on the end! Isn't that clever? I think I'll try that the next time I want to give someone a Camellia sinensis branch or two to root. And I'll leave you today with a few more flowers from Anne's garden since hers is so far ahead of mine!