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Well, I've researched it, weighed the pros and cons of it and in the end have decided that yes, I must blog. So, in case you haven't yet gotten enough of me, I encourage you to visit No Cobwebs Here. I have every hope of bringing a smile to your face with my posts and I plan on posting three times a week. You can also subscribe to the blog so that you automatically receive a notice when I post. You can also leave comments. And, I would indeed love to hear what you think. Happy Fourth of July!
Searching for Tea High and Low Of course I went to the tax day tea party in Fort Myers. As a tea and history lover how could I possibly resist? The last page of my book, And Then It Was Teatime, has a diary entry by John Adams (1735-1826), written on December 17, 1773:
This
is the most magnificent movement of all! There is a dignity, a
majesty, a sublimity, in this last effort of the patriots So yes, there was no way I was going to miss such an event in my own backyard and my expectations were high. But, did I understand the original tea party was about taxation without representation? Yes, I believe most Americans from the fourth grade on are aware of that. For the record, I also didn't expect to see the Eleanor, the Beaver, or the Dartmouth sitting at the water's edge. Nor did I anticipate men dressed as Mohawk Indians to be in attendance. Although, personally, I think that would have greatly added to the event. There was a minimal amount of tea on hand, but, for the sake of correctness, it was sealed in large plastic bags and, at an pre-determined moment, "dropped" into the water - only to be immediately fished out. Alas, I found this somewhat anti-climatic. I'd have much preferred, for the drama of the moment, to see someone (perhaps a Mohawk Indian?) break open a wooden box with an axe and DUMP the tea into the water. All of this got me to thinking though. I look for tea high and low - and I don't always find it. Last Friday night Kenny brought home The Darjeeling Limited, thinking it might have something to do with one of my favorite teas. It was an amusing movie and wildly colorful. It also starred Owen Wilson, which completely quelled my disappointment over the fact it had not a thing to do with tea. (Would it have been so hard to at least film a tea plantation in the background) Several months ago tea bag folding caught my attention. Apparently originating in Holland, it's a craft that, as far as I can ascertain, also has not a thing to do with tea - aside from the fact that the woman who invented it was inspired to do so while drinking a cup of tea and fiddling with her tea bag packaging. It is origami gone mad in my opinion, as you are folding insanely small pieces of paper.
I have persevered for you,
my dear readers, and have
However, as it turned out, I barely had time to finish one cup before this project reached completion, and, I must say, I might now be hooked on tea bag folding.
It took only the slightest research on Mr. Diao to discover that I also hadn't grasped the general's "aura of forbidden sexuality or the fact that he appeared to be trapped and subjectified by the loutishly dressed Walter Connelly on his left and the exotically robed Barbara Stanwyck on his right." Hmm... Now, I understand that this particular work of Mr. Diao's, an Americanized Asian gentleman, is aimed at "...allowing the dualism of his personal history and his consciousness of cultural ambivalence to emerge with a trace of anger, of eroticized sadness, and perverse humor." Well, of course! But was anyone drinking tea? No. Apparently, tea does have a pivotal role to play in the movie and I'm eagerly awaiting for it to arrive at my door, complements of NetFlix. So my search for tea, both high and low, continues. Now back to the tax day tea party. Even without the tea, I believe I did find a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity in this...effort of the patriots. When large numbers of Americans are moved enough to step out of their own lives and gather together, it is indeed bold, so daring, so firm, and intrepid. And all raised their teacups and cried, "Amen!" Note: The Bitter Tea of General Yen, silkscreen, vinyl, & acrylic on canvas, 75" x 46". Reprinted here with permission of postergallery.com
To learn more about tea bag folding, also known as kaleidoscope folding or kaleidoscope origami, and to download the papers (called tiles) visit the following websites: http://www.geocities.com/teabagfolding/ Or, look for these books: More Tea Bag Folding, by Tiny Van Der Plas & Janet Wilson Tea Bag Folded Greeting Cards, by Kim Reygate T
From Laurie: Now, here I found
it! Kit’s husband, Shawn, is an “untamed” Irishman, a famous writer of murder mysteries, and a man capable of remaining polite for only the shortest stretches of time. When the couple visits Kit’s hometown of Nashiona, neither are prepared for the chain of events that unfolds following the murder of Kit’s childhood friend, Chatty Phillips. As Chatty was poisoned at an afternoon tea – in plain view of all present – Kit and Shawn decide the only way to draw out the murderer is to invite the guests to yet another tea. Spicy conversation between Kit and Shawn make this fast paced cozy particularly enjoyable for those enamored of tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (1920-1950). Written by Edith Howie, Murder for Tea won honorable mention in the second Mary Roberts Rinehart Mystery Novel Prize Contest in 1941 and was compiled along with two other honorable mentions, Old Fashioned Murder (Marguerite McIntire) and Westbound Murder (C.S. Wallace), into the book Three Prize Murders. Now out of print, the book is available as an inter-library loan. It is a most worthy read.
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Little Ella learns a valuable lesson about other people's things while having tea with her grandma. Click here to order. |
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A
monthly review for tea adventurers 
finished a humble example for your viewing
pleasure. I first feared this project, with its 1" squares, could potentially join the
miniature quilt still resting unfinished in the drawer of my sewing
machine cabinet. In anticipation of angst and frustration, I made a strong
pot of tea (darjeeling, of course!).
, f