Teacup Tuesday

It’s a bit late, I know, but it’s still Tuesday! I’m drinking a hot cup of Lapsang souchong as I write.

We order lots of tea from Upton Tea Imports; they’re located in Holliston, Massachusetts, but we shop online at www.uptontea.com (no we don’t get paid for referrals!). My husband discovered them years ago and we’ve stuck with them for three reasons. First, their tea is superb; second, their service is top-notch: they nearly always deliver within two days; and third, they let you personalize each tea bag or tin with a sticker on which they print your message.

Our friends have enjoyed various gifts of these teas especially because of this feature, which allows my husband to exercise his humor. 

Can you see the labels on these examples?

My husband, Tim, ordered these. I especially love how he customized the label on the middle packet, which is an East Frisian Blend; it reads: “Riddle of the Sands.” His inspiration? Erskine Childers’ 1903 espionage novel of the same name, which takes place in the Frisian Islands of Germany. He labeled his Summer Tea Blend in the spirit of the season: “Dr. T., King of the Weber,” since he is our grill-meister. You get the idea.  

Oh and here’s a bonus: typically, Upton slips a free sample into each order!

Who is your favorite tea supplier?

Mondays seem so full of promise, don't they?

It’s Monday. Maybe because I’m retired, Mondays are mostly quiet, a bit of a break from the flurry of activity weekends usually bring. It’s a great day to map out my week so I can be ready for a bit of entertaining next Saturday...nothing big, but still, I want everything sparkling and tidy. Ok, maybe tidy will have to do.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love it to sparkle too, it’s just that I can’t envision getting it all done because I ache from weeding and mulching and the thought of so much more left to do. Sometimes I wonder if I really look like a tortoise as I plod and crawl across each garden, tugging a straggling weed here or preening a plant there, shaking out mulch stuck between leaf and stem. I sure seem to move like one. I'm oh-so-grateful that Tim and my son, Alan, spent the day with me Saturday concentrating on this daunting chore.

Perhaps next year our schedule—and Mother Nature’s too—will be more conducive to early mulching chores, so we can finish long before our perennials sprout. You see, we traveled to Sorrento, Italy in April this year. It was worth the slip in our garden maintenance, of course, but we’re paying the price now with weeds run amok. That’s why this morning I’m drinking Lapsang souchong tea: its smoky, hearty flavor seems to promise extra strength for the gardening tasks that await. Ever try it?

Note to self: Hurry and finish essential gardening chores: quilting projects await!

This is an appliquéd frog square from the “Infrognito” quilt I made and donated to our community
college raffle (2013). It's also my “Inspiration” to begin another for Tim, who really wanted that one; 

but that, my friends, is a story for another day.

Do you sew or quilt?