Tag Archives: tea
Like my own heart
…box of tea, like my own heart you arrived bearing stories, thrills, eyes that had held fabulous petals in their gaze and also, yes, that lost scent of tea, of jasmine and of dreams, that scent of wandering spring. —Pablo Neruda Ah, no wonder I love tea so much! Once again, the poet distills deep wells …
With little effort
“Whatever the season, and with little effort, your kitchen can be as headily fragrant as groves, orchards, gardens…bakeries, brasseries, coffeehouses, and tearooms. If you view food and beverages as simply substances to be eaten and drunk quickly, you’re missing more pleasure than you could imagine.” — Sara Ban Breathnach Let’s just say I’m no gourmet …
Tea being made
“The sounds of the tea being made invite the peach blossoms to peep in through the window.” —Sasaki Sanmi, Sadô Saijiki If you are reading this anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, chances are I have the kettle on, or just now made tea, or will be making tea in a …
Greatness in small things
“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things.” — Muriel Barbery Okay, so it’s now definitely winter– if you’re very far north of the tropics, that is. Despite the deceptively warm days of this past December, cold weather will be our frequent companion for …
Poetry and fine sentiment
“There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson I agree with Emerson. Beyond the delicious taste and health benefits, tea provides a pleasant daily ritual that requires pausing for at least a moment or two in preparation, and hopefully a few more minutes of pure enjoyment, …
Nonetheless
Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless. — Terri Guillemets Even in summer, I love sleeping late. My aversion to getting up in the morning is much greater in the winter, when the cold weather makes a snug warm bed all the more appealing. Despite this, …
A lot of comfort
“The most trying hours in life are between four o’clock and the evening meal. A cup of tea at this time adds a lot of comfort and happiness.” — Royal S. Copeland I don’t know about you, but I agree with Copeland that late afternoon is the most difficult time of the day. By four …
Imagine a time
“…I like to close my eyes and imagine a time when life was simpler. I like to think about a time when no one would choose text messaging over good, live conversation. I think about sweet tea or perhaps an after dinner cup of coffee enjoyed in time to the rocking of an old cane …
No faster or firmer friendships
“There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.” ― Irving Stone OK, think of how to describe the friend of your dreams. The best friend you can imagine. First, and this is a big one – someone who lives close enough that you can get to …
When we sip tea
“When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity.” — Alexandra Stoddard With all the bad weather this winter has brought us, it’s definitely tea time. So I couldn’t resist repeating my offer from one year ago today (which you can read about at the link below). Anyone who would like me to …
Divine pleasures
“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o’clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.” ― Thomas De Quincey Before Jeff’s surgery in November, when he was disappointed …
Exciting today
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?” “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.” ― A.A. Milne I …
Any tea
We had a kettle; we let it leak: Our not repairing made it worse. We haven’t had any tea for a week… The bottom is out of the Universe. — Rudyard Kipling …and speaking of reasons I love to be in England, I think the top three would be tea, tea and tea. Of course, …
Delicate enjoyment
“Another novelty is the tea-party, an extraordinary meal in that, being offered to persons that have already dined well, it supposes neither appetite nor thirst, and has no object but distraction, no basis but delicate enjoyment.” — Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Whatever else can be said of contemporary culture, it seldom suggests “delicate enjoyment” or for that …
Tea will
“If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.” ― William Ewart Gladstone My day would not be complete without tea. For those of us who grew up in the South, …
The dew of little things
“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”― Kahlil Gibran I have always appreciated this particular passage from Gibran’s work, because it has proven true in my own life for as long as I can remember. …
Never far
“Tea is quiet and our thirst for tea is never far from our craving for beauty.” —James Norwood Pratt It seems contradictory that a chatterbox such as I would love silence as much as I do, but there it is. Perhaps it comes of having lived with Jeff for so many years. Or perhaps, in …
Neatly-arranged and well-provisioned
“Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly-arranged and well-provisioned breakfast-table.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne I certainly agree with Hawthorne. Perhaps the beautifully bountiful breakfast was as special in his age as it is in ours; likely even more so. I’m sure the time to enjoy a leisurely morning meal was a luxury for his generation, …
A poet in January
“When one reads a poet in January, it is as lovely as when one goes to walk in June.” — Jean Paul Friedrich Richter If you’ve been reading this blog very long, you know how much I love walking, especially in mild weather. But I think Jean Paul was right about poetry and January, which …
Linger in the beautiful
“Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.” — Okakura Kakuzō Exactly five years ago tomorrow, I published the …
Leisured coziness
“The cup of tea on arrival at a country house is a thing which, as a rule, I particularly enjoy. I like the crackling logs, the shaded lights, the scent of buttered toast, the general atmosphere of leisured coziness.” ― P.G. Wodehouse Autumn is a wonderful season for tea lovers, and “leisured coziness” is a …
Something possible
“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order…a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.” — Kakuzō Okakura It seems to me …
On gray days
“On gray days, when it’s snowing or raining, I think you should be able to call up a judge and take an oath that you’ll just read a good book all day, and he’d allow you to stay home.” ― Bill Watterson In the winter it’s so easy to become gloomy and depressed. Not surprisingly, I’ve had …
Like my own heart
…box of tea, like my own heart you arrived bearing stories, thrills, eyes that had held fabulous petals in their gaze and also, yes, that lost scent of tea, of jasmine and of dreams, that scent of wandering spring. —Pablo Neruda Ah, no wonder I love tea so much! Once again, the poet distills deep wells …
With little effort
“Whatever the season, and with little effort, your kitchen can be as headily fragrant as groves, orchards, gardens…bakeries, brasseries, coffeehouses, and tearooms. If you view food and beverages as simply substances to be eaten and drunk quickly, you’re missing more pleasure than you could imagine.” — Sara Ban Breathnach Let’s just say I’m no gourmet …
Defeat Despair 