~Ten Commandments of Tea~

I am so short on time this morning, so will pull double duty by combining my post for both Tea Things Tuesday and White Wednesday. Visit our lovely hostesss, Kathleen, to see some beautiful whites by clicking on the lovely lady to the right.

Happy Tea Things Tuesday! Please visit Kim and the other participants who are sharing their tea interests. You can find Kim by clicking on the teacup to the right.

My husband, granddaughter and I went to Arizona for 4 days to visit family, and just returned tonight. After driving 14 hours on Friday and another 14 hours today, with only two days in between, I am exhausted, but it was so worth it…family is so important, and we just don’t see each other often enough.

I haven’t had a chance to take new pictures, answer emails, or leave comments on my favorite blogs, but hope to catch up within the next few days. In the meantime, I did want to show off a couple of my teapots, but first, here’s just a little “instruction” on tea!

The Ten Commandments of Tea

1. Thou shall not call it brewed; tea is steeped.
2. Thou shall select water with care. Avoid hard water or even a hint of chlorine.
3. Thou shall respect tea; it is all-natural.
4. Thou shall understand the three different types of tea: Green, Oolong, and Black.
5. Thou shall sanitize equipment before each run.
6. Thou shall use Tea Essence as a flavor supplement to help avoid the formation of unsightly sediment in the container.
7. Thou shall read the Templar Tea Update.
8. Thou shall be guilt free; tea is healthful.
9. Thou shall know how to spell Polyphenol.
10. Thou shall drink tea often.

This teapot is probably my favorite, given to me at Christmas by my Daughter in Love…I had never seen this pattern before, but since getting it, I have added 6 teacups and saucers. It is Royal Albert Old Country Roses Green.

You can see just a peek of the teacups behind the teapot, but I’ll have a better picture next week.

The second teapot was in the antique store that I visited with my tea club when we went to tea a couple of months ago. It is vintage, with no maker or pattern name… I just love it!

I hope you had a wonderful week-end with family and friends, or just quietly enjoying your favorite pastime or hobby. The older I get, the more I know life really is short! I’m trying to enjoy every day, and make every day count.

Please pray for those needing physical healing, and those that have other needs, such as financial, family, employment, etc. Please, please pray for our troops…they really need our prayers!

There is much we can do nothing about except vent and share our anger, worry, and wait, but there are things we can do something about…I hope everyone will continue to become educated about the issues of this country, and speak out…it makes a difference.

God bless you, and God bless America, land that I love. I know there are many countries represented in blogland, and I pray that each and every one of them are pleasing to God so that they, too, will be blessed as this great nation has. I pray that the United States of America will remain free. I remember a quote of Ronald Reagan, that was something like this…we are only one generation away from losing our freedom…He knew how fragile and precious freedom is. I really wonder if we do. Or is it like the old saying, “you don’t know what you have til you lose it”. I pray we don’t find out.

Now…come on over to my cottage and we’ll fix the world’s problems over a cup of tea!

Mary