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Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.
— Chaim Potok
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CBW: cold and hot
Tag: tea
CB&W: Liquid Drinks
When you’re in Ireland, you drink lager (V-man) and Guinness (me),
black tea with (soy) milk,
and herbal tea!
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Morning Ritual
Habits. They might seem dull and boring. But habits also give comfort and peace, as they allow the mind to relax and help to prepare for the day to come.
Every morning the usual and hurried actions: get up, shower while wondering what clothes to wear, get hair under control, eye liner, mascara, head towards kitchen for breakfast. Run, Dutchess, run!
But then the world suddenly stops for a while. You see, downstairs there will be a small tin can waving at me. And it won’t be ignored! It will stamp its metal feet and rattle to get attention if needed. This little innocent object forces me into a ritual each morning. And I love it. The tin contains ‘Morning Tea’, with lemon balm and lemon grass plus dried leaves that give this reviving herbal tea a hint of flowers. And a slightly red hue. The taste is refined, light and refreshing.
The cup of tea accompanies me upstairs to my writing den, where I check my mail and read blogs in the early morning. It’s not the special effect of the tea that is dear to me, for there is none: no caffeine. It is the whole setting: finding my inner balance before the madness of society barges in.
Somewhat later a nonchalant glance at the clock regularly sends me into a slight panic (as I tend to forget the time up there) and kicks me into action again. But I wouldn’t want to miss this morning ritual for the world. It brings me peace.
Do you have a morning ritual too?
A Golden Day
Today wasn’t a spring day, no, it was a summer day in Holland on April 2nd! Glorious sun light and warm air. I’m still too rosy from the sun, the white wine and supper to say much. But just look at the pictures and share this summer feeling with me:
The abundancy of the Japanese rose in my front yard.
Black Knight was fired up…
… to visit Vman’s dad.
The rainbow tulips I just could not resist. I love these flowers.
Finished the Tess Gerritsen omnibus Harvest and Support. I kept on reading until the very end.
Because of this, my son fainted from hunger… or so it seems haha. On the menu were stir fried vegetables with fish, pork in sweet-sour sauce, white rice, cassava crackers and a left-over beef-cauliflower-potato oven dish. And vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries for dessert.
And now Vman is waiting for me downstairs with tea. Life is good, life is golden. Have a wonderful weekend!
Are You A Coffee Or A Tea Person?
It is early morning. Too early. Darkness still stalks the house and your eyelids are unwilling to cooperate. You stumble down the stairs, turn on a tiny light and walks towards the kitchen. Which action will you take next? Turn on the coffee machine or put the kettle on for tea?
My choice would be (herbal) tea. Green tea with a touch of lemon in the morning, liquorice tea in the afternoon and mint tea at night. With all possible melanges in between, except black tea with an artificial fruit flavor.
I have hypoglycemia and coffee makes me feel sick. Decaf cappuccino is quite OK though, with lots of milk and cream… but then again, that is no real coffee right? 😉 But I prefer sipping clear golden liquid, steaming in a glass.
If you want to know more about tea, I advise you to visit Art of Tea, a wonderful website dedicated to tea. I could tell you about it myself, but these nice people have already done it for us.
Now please tell me. Are you a coffee person or a tea person? Do you need the caffeine to wake up or stay awake? Or both? And if you’re a coffee person, do you ever drink tea? If you are a tea person, which tea do you prefer? Is there a difference between coffee and tea lovers? 🙂
Tea & Sleep – The Best Remedy
A sweet gentle
a cup of
and lots of
for my son, who landed on his neck at gymnastics this morning after a heroic backward jump over a rope. Nothing happened yet. But after an hour he got real weird symptoms, like losing the feeling in his hand, black spots in front of his eyes and not being able to read, so I got a call from school to pick him up. Luckily those symptoms are all gone now, but he still has a severe headache, a painful neck and is shivering. The doctor told me to rouse him every hour in daytime, and every two hours during the night, to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion.
He’s half asleep now 🙂 Feel better soon my son!
Figments of a DuTchess 