Category Archives: Travel

Saturday Morning Tea

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The hint of fall that was in the air at the beginning of the week has now left us and we are finally blessed with a perfectly glorious summer weekend, not too hot and humid, not too cool, juuuuust right. Even though it is officially considered the last weekend of summer.

Many are celebrating this weekend by going away or getting together with friends and family. As I shared in my last post, I am doing both. This time tomorrow I’ll be on my way to sunny New Mexico to visit my son and his family and also to attend a knitting retreat.

This morning’s tea is a black tea, a second flush Darjeeling from the Castleton estate, one of the most esteemed and well known tea gardens in the Darjeeling tea growing district in northeast India.

A “Castleton” is always a special treat.

“Second flush” is the summer harvest of the tea plants, after the leaves “flush” back from the “first flush”, or spring, harvest. The leaves of this tea are larger than normal with a rich variegation of color.

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Speaking of rich color, I am enchanted by the harvest pumpkin color of the chrysanthemum flowers I picked up yesterday to adorn our backyard deck. I must be on a color kick because I picked up that exact color in a skein of yarn while shopping with my daughter last night. I am a color slave. But I digress…

I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes in 212 degree F water (boiling).

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The steeped leaf is another gorgeous fall color. As the leaves are allowed to oxidize during their processing, they turn a dark reddish brown from their original deep green color. I wrote about second flush Darjeelings from other tea gardens here and here.

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The tea liquor is not quite as dark as last week’s China black tea but it comes pretty close, sharing that same reddish brown hue. It leans more towards amber, I think.

The aroma is fruity with a hint of tropical ripeness, reminiscent of a sweet pineapple. How perfect to go along with the CD I’m listening to this morning – a collection of Hawaiian music.

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The fruitiness carries through into the taste, with a pronounced sweetness, but what strikes me the most about this tea is its incredible smoothness, without a hint of that bright, astringent “bite” so characteristic of a Darjeeling tea.

So silky smooth, mmm…

I am sorry to say that I will not be able to join you for Saturday Morning tea next Saturday as I will be away from internet access while in the mountains of New Mexico. That said, I look forward to joining you once again to share tea and stories in 2 weeks.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

It is good to have an end to journey towards;

but it is the journey that matters in the end.

~Ursula K. LeGuin

A Trip to New Mexico and a Knitting Retreat

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With each passing day, my anticipation and excitement is growing and expanding as I think about my coming journey to New Mexico. 2 more days!

The first half of my trip will be spent in Albuquerque visiting with my youngest son and his family. And, yes, my precious little granddaughter! So, I will get some “Ella time” which is always welcome with wide open arms. Heaven.

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The second half of my trip will be spent in Taos where I will attend a Jane Thornley free range knitting retreat. We will be creating a garment of our choosing, a wrap or shrug, using the Feather and Fan stitch and an assortment of colorful, textured yarns in colors reflecting the southwest nature palette.

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I was also very excited to be able to complete my “Come Spring” vest so I can wear it on my trip.

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After I finished my vest, I couldn’t resist starting my granny squares. Here’s a peek at what’s done so far.

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I am just loving choosing different color combinations for the squares so that each one is unique. With 16 different colors and 4 rows for each square, the possibilities are many.

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Now that I’m officially a “granny”, how perfect is this?

I will take loads of pictures on my trip and look forward to sharing tales of my adventures upon my return!

Nantucket Island

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A trip to an island. There’s nothing like it for infusing a deep breath into your life.

Last weekend I traveled to the island of Nantucket.  Located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, its name has been cited to originate from the Native American word “Natockete” which means “faraway land”.

Faraway is a very good place to go for getting away for a few days.

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From the moment I stepped onto the ferry boat, I felt my worries slip off as I left them there on the dock and looked forward to a relaxing weekend with my parents.

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In years past, we have biked around the island but now that my parents are older and so am I, it was much easier to be picked up by a tour van for a jaunt around the island. Our tour guide, a native of 42 years, picked us up at the front door of our bed and breakfast and we set off on an adventure to all sorts of interesting places, both historical and scenic.

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The island’s original inhabitants were the Wamponoag Indians who lived there undisturbed until 1641 when the first English settlers, Thomas Mayhew and his son, received a deed from English authorities in Massachusetts colony.  He later “sold” his interest to 9 men “For the sum of thirty Pounds and also two beaver hats, one for myself, and one for my wife.”

As time went on, more settlers came to the island and their presence led to the unfortunate demise of the island’s Native population.

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From the mid 1700s to the late 1830s, the island became famous as the whaling capital of the world.  During this period, one could find as many as 150 ships making port in Nantucket harbor.

In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Nantucket’s whaling dominance is mentioned:

“Two thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer’s. For the sea is his; he owns it, as Emperors own empires.”

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A great fire in 1846, along with the California gold rush, led many off the island to seek other fortunes and the whaling industry promptly died.

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It wasn’t until the late 1800s that tourism became the principle source of income for many on the island.  During the summer season, the population booms from around 9,000 to 50,000.

And so here we are, joining the rest of the tourists, moseying from shop to shop along the quaint, cobblestone streets.

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A fishing trip with my Dad was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend.

Saturday Morning Tea

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I wanted to share an iced herbal infusion this morning but it’s such a gray, dreary day outside that I will save that for a hot, sunny day in the future.

It’s a perfect morning for a cup of hot tea to ward off the cool dampness.

This morning’s tea was a very pleasant surprise. First of all, the leaf is absolutely beautiful in all of its variegated, tippy glory. It’s a Nepalese tea from the Kuwapani estate. Kuwa means “well” and Pani means “water”. The estate grows tea at elevations of 5,200-6,000 feet above sea level.

Like the Darjeeling district in northeast India, Nepal sits high in the Himalayan mountains. It is the home of Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth, at 29,029 feet above sea level.

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Like a Darjeeling tea, I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes in 212 degree F (boiling) water. The tea steeped to a deep, rich amber with a honeyed aroma and flavor notes of fruit and chestnut.

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For those of you who do not enjoy the astringent “bite” of a Darjeeling, this tea is a perfect alternative. The liquor is very smooth with a tad more body. Mmmmm….

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I love my new bamboo placemats, purchased at Joann Fabric’s at 2 for $5!

Today my parents arrive from Michigan and tomorrow we’ll head down to the beautiful island of Nantucket, located 30 miles off of the Massachusetts coast. A ferry ride will bring us over to go deep sea fishing and shopping, to a whale museum and then a nature hike and, of course, partaking in some fabulous food. I’ll be sure to bring my camera and take lots of pictures so I can share some photos of my island adventure!

“At last the anchor was up, the sails were set, and off we glided. It was a sharp, cold Christmas; and as the short northern day merged into night, we found ourselves almost broad upon the wintry ocean, whose freezing spray cased us in ice, as in polished armor.” ~Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Back from Texas

I returned home from Texas last night, very tired but very happy that I could attend such a special event in my son’s life. It was an amazing experience, one that I now share with millions of parents across this great country of ours. To all of the young men and women making the decision to serve our country, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your proud service and selfless dedication.

I stayed up to watch too much of the Red Sox game last night when I returned home so, in light of this tired stupor I find myself in, I am postponing my Saturday Morning Tea til next week. To all of my loyal tea review readers, thank you for your patience. If there is a specific kind of tea that you would like to see me review, please let me know.