I am having a delicious cup of tea, sent to me by a dear friend (you know who you are!) as a Christmas gift. I am, normally, a teabag kind of girl but this tea came in the loose form, which strikes me as much more elegant, old fashioned and romantic. It is also so fun for me to finally get a glimpse of the elusive tea leaf itself. I have never really paid much attention to what was inside those little bags but now the entire tea making process has come to life and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I am not certain how much to use for each cup or pot. A teaspoon? A tablespoon? Several? I have experimented here and there and every cup turns out delightfully different and equally delicious in its own way. Anyone with suggestions on how much loose tea to brew can help me out in the comment section.
Tonight, I went to Target and bought myself a new tea kettle as well as one of those modern glass tea "pots" with the glass infuser inside. It really looks more like a little glass pitcher. I needed a new kettle to heat the water and I have grown tired of my father's hand-me-down Corningware 1970's tea kettle which is far too old to google and far too ugly to link even if I were able to locate a photo. I bought this one with a Christmas gift card that a thoughtful relative gave to me.
Anyhow, I am supposed to be taking down my Christmas tree this evening. I have about three quarters of the ornaments off but all of lights are still twinkling. The needles are poking me and falling all over the floor as I take down the ornaments. Tomorrow is trash day so I am up against that deadline. I know, I know, it is not Epiphany yet. I really should leave the tree up until then. But this year, I am taking it down early because I would like to start back to lessons on Monday and I still have my closets to finish. Yes, you read that right, closet"s". The singular closet has turned into plural.
Have you ever started a project only to find that it is contingent upon another project and another and yet another? That is where I am at right now-- in the middle of the gnarled up ball of yarn that is my household closet system. We are purging and we are organizing and we are installing lower bars for the kiddos. We are adding bins and shelves and making a grand old mess all in the name of organization. We are stepping over wooden blocks and books and Lincoln Logs that are all in the hallway now that the clothes are in the closets. Somewhere, down the road a few days, it will all fall into place but right now it feels like the "storm before the calm". Everything must get messy in order to get tidy. Maybe you know that feeling.
But rather than clean up my closets and take down my balding tree, I am thinking of how blessed I am to have real, honest to goodness friends. I am sitting. And sipping. And savoring. And stalling...and smiling.
