Saturday Morning Tea

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Happy first day of August to you!

It’s a perfect day to celebrate the start of the arrival of the 2009 Assams.

This morning I am sipping a cup of black tea, an Assam from the Halmari estate in northeastern India. The dry leaf is quite dark with a sprinkling of golden leaf tips. A beautiful, earthy variegation.

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I steeped the leaf for 4 minutes in boiling hot (212 degree F) water. The malty aroma is rich and dark.

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Although you can drink an Assam tea at any time of the day, as you prefer, they are best known as a breakfast tea because of their hearty flavor which goes wonderfully with milk and sweetener. I wrote about another Assam tea here.

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The steeped tea liquor’s gorgeous russet color speaks of harvest times and crisper fall days ahead.

The flavor of this tea is quite brisk and lively with notes of malt and a hint of bitter chocolate. As with most Assams, the astringency dries out my throat. Even though there have been reports that adding milk to tea reduces its health benefits, I am more interested in its taste so I will add a dollop of milk to my cup later to smooth out that astringency.

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My DIL and granddaughter arrived this week for a visit from their home in New Mexico. We spent a wonderful day together yesterday enjoying each other’s company. At 9 months old, Ella is a delight! She’s constantly on the move, crawling, standing, exploring, laughing. I forgot how active a baby at that age can be! I was in heaven just being in her company and seeing the world through her eyes, so new and fresh and amazing. Even though she was sitting on the floor surrounded by colorful toys, her favorite thing to do was to crawl over to her car seat and play with its fascinating buckle. I am looking forward to my next visit tomorrow.

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“Seek the wisdom of the ages,

but look at the world through the eyes of a child.”

~Ron Wild

From My Studio

Jul31

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My free-form (free range) vest is almost done. I thought the weaving of the yarn ends would never end! I was playing with them and made this little colorful nest. As I was playing with the strands, an idea popped into my head.

Could I put them outside for the birds to make their nests? Is that safe?

I can’t bring myself to throw these snippets away.

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Instead of adding a band of knitting at the bottom, I single crocheted all around the edges of the vest, including the armholes. It made the bottom a little wavy looking, I’m not sure why. I really like the edging but think that I should add a couple more rows of single crochet.

What do you think?

Here’s a closeup of the back panel of ribbon yarn.

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Even though you need to take great care when stitching and later washing the garment, I love working with ribbon yarn. It’s so scrumptious looking with the way the colors wash into each other and it feels silky and luscious in my hands.

Lately, instead of beads, I’ve started collecting yarns. Oh no, another addiction. Here’s the latest purchase. I think I’ll make another vest in lighter blues, greens and tans.

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Speaking of blues and greens, I started playing with my watercolors last weekend. I’m not painting anything in particular, just feeling the way the colors lay on the paper and swirl and mix into each other. I’m just playing…

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I especially love the “bloom” effect as the colors meet on the wet page. Blue says, “hello yellow, let’s bloom together and make green” Lovely.

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Maybe someday I’ll actually paint some real flowers from my garden but for now I am having so much fun making free-form watercolors.

When I was in kindergarten many moons ago, my most favorite activity was finger painting. I loved swirling the paint around with my fingers.

“The moment in which children relax into the presence of their imagination there is often a collective sigh of relief – of children smiling to each other, knowing that their inner world is not peculiar to one’s self, but a vast gathering of information in everyone, like the richly populated voicing of the sea or a summer meadow.” ~Richard Lewis

Saturday Morning Tea

Jul25

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On this sunny, late July morning, I’m getting off the tea path and venturing onto the herbal path.

This dried flower has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. Here in New England, we commonly see it blooming from August all the way up to the first frost in October.

Have you guessed what it is yet?

You’re absolutely right – it is the chrysanthemum flower. In this case, yellow chrysanthemum. In my research, I have discovered that the Chinese use both the white and the yellow flower for medicinal purposes.

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I steeped the flowers for about 8 minutes in boiling hot water, resulting in a luminous, pale yellow infusion.

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Called Ju Hua, it has a cooling affect on the upper body so it is mainly used in Chinese medicine to reduce or clear heat from the body, such as bringing down a fever or high blood pressure. I have read that it is also a digestive aid, especially for greasy foods and can help with head congestion.

What a beneficial herb! I like to drink it for its honeyed, floral taste with notes of sage and pepper.

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Yesterday I purchased this lovely teabowl. The fabulous texture makes it look like it’s dripping with icing. Mmmm…

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A path dips down into my new bowl and awakens my imagination.

Where will it take me?

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien

Saturday Morning Tea

Jul18

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It’s a wet, misty morning outside that speaks of mystical adventures. I’m almost expecting a unicorn to step out from the line of trees.

I felt like I was in a drippy, green cocoon when I stepped out onto our backyard deck. The trees embrace our backyard world in a protective sway.

This morning’s tea is from the Oliphant tea estate, located in the Nuwara Eliya district on the tropical island of Sri Lanka, better known as Ceylon in the tea world. I have found information that this estate was the first to grow 30 tea plants brought over to the island from China. Sir Anthony Oliphant was a chief justice on the island around the time of his son’s, Laurence Oliphant, birth in 1829. Both men are credited with being the first to grow tea on the island.

Ceylon is well known for its black tea production. Think a “brisk” cup of a well known teabag. However, I have chosen a green tea instead and it is a delight with its large broad leaves and golden yellow tea color.

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At the highest altitude for tea growing on Sri Lanka, the Nuwara Eliya tea growing district is an emerald green world due to its high rainfall.

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The leaf of this tea reminds me of the large leaves found in a China Yunnan tea. Here is one that took on a most interesting shape during processing.

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A duck for a wet day.

The aroma is slightly vegetal with a very smooth flavor with hints of toast and fruit. This would be a perfect green tea for those not enjoying the vegetal quality that a green tea usually posesses. That quality is extremely light in this tea.

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Today I’m off to an Art Fair with a friend. Hopefully, the sun will peek out this afternoon.

Enjoy the weekend!

From the Studio

Jul16

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It has been quite awhile since I’ve shared any creations from my studio. I’m not exactly sure why that is but I think it has something to do with knowing that I will be moving again and I am transitioning towards moving my studio towards a new living space. Even though I don’t have a moving date yet, I feel myself disconnecting from my current studio space. It’s an interesting process.

Has anyone else ever experienced that with a pending move?

The creative time I have had has been mainly spent curled up in a cozy nook in my living room and I find myself more often than not turning to pick up a ball of colorful yarn. In this transitional time, I look for soft, tactile comfort to ground and center myself.

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A pair of beachy colored socks.

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A buttery yellow baby dress.

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A rose garden colored floppy baby hat.

Last week my company had its annual shutdown and I spent a good part of the week transforming the look of some old wicker furniture. A good Spic n Span scrub and light sanding prepared them for some sprayed on primer and then porcelain colored paint. I love their creamy vintage look and am looking forward to fabric shopping so I can create some plump cushions to adorn them with.

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While I’ve glanced at my art journal a couple of times and sorted some beads and jewelry components here and there, I haven’t felt like creating in that direction lately. I’m sure that I will return to them with renewed joy someday in the near future.

My company will be closed down every Friday during the month of August. We started doing this last year as the summertime is our slowest time of year. It gives our staff members extra time to relax and enjoy some free time before the busy fall season starts.

In anticipation of that extra free time, I’ve recently picked up a book, “Watercolor: A New Beginning: A Holistic Approach to Painting”, from the library. The first sentence of an editorial review from amazon.com expresses the book perfectly.

“Lindsay’s approach to teaching watercolor emerges from somewhere between the traditional art world and the deep, mystic spaces of the self.”

The author Ann Lindsay encourages her students to learn watercolor through the kind of playfulness we experienced in childhood. I find that approach immensely appealing so I took myself down to the arts and crafts store to purchase a pad of watercolor paper, 5 tubes of paint and a large palette for mixing.

Time to schedule some watercolor play time for myself!