Jun 30, 2007
But there may be a “U” in tea. July contest!The name of one lucky commenter will be drawn at random to receive two beautiful issues of Southern Lady’s Tea Time magazine, chock full of recipes and tea lore, a Maine treat and some other sweet stuff. You’ll have to supply your own cup of tea. I’ll be having mine iced on vacation, so look for a new post with the winner after July 11.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis
I’m a tea drinker. Although I love coffee, it doesn’t seem to always agree with me (Coffee ice cream seems to be okay, though *g*.). My favorite brand is King Cole tea, which is manufactured in New Brunswick, Canada. So, sometimes foreign intrigue has been involved when I want to purchase it.
I came across this tea when I was working in another school district. The school nurse walked by, and she smelled terrific. Actually, it was her mug of tea. Her mother lived in Calais, Maine (pronounced “callous” here—sorry, Francophiles) and she went grocery shopping in Canada every time she visited. My friend CeCe knew someone who worked on the railroad, so we had this poor guy smuggling tea into Maine. Anytime one of us went to Canada on vacation, we were given cash to bring back boxes. Tea mules, as it were, but fortunately the gauze sachets were not secreted in any uncomfortable places. Last summer I went to Montreal, and the only souvenirs in my suitcase were six boxes of tea. King Cole can also be ordered online, which somehow takes all the fun out of it.
Tea is the new “hot” thing for health. According to the website:
A growing body of research indicates that the tannins in tea are naturally-occurring flavonoids that have strong antioxidant properties. Drinking tea is a natural and pleasant way to increase dietary intake of antioxidants.
There is mounting evidence that suggests that antioxidant-rich foods may play a role in reducing the risk of certain cancers, heart disease and stroke.
Sign me up.
Tea has been a regular part of English life since the 1660s. It gained in popularity when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza. She was a teetotaler who preferred tea to wine and ale, and soon everyone at court was drinking tea. Eventually, the public sipped along with the aristocracy.
English people take their tea seriously. The London Times printed letters for months whether one should add milk before or after the tea is in the cup. Opinion was mixed. And heated.
Tea rooms in Britain today serve “full” tea from three to five o’clock. On the menu: savories (small sandwiches and appetizers), scones with clotted cream and jam, cakes, cookies, shortbread and other sweets. And tea, of course. I guess I’ll have to skip dinner.
Drinking tea is obligatory in most historicals, even though the heroes always mutter that it’s swill. Sebastian in Suzanne Enoch’s Sins of a Duke drinks tea that is “awful, something bitter and tasting like old sticks.”
Classes are taught in tea etiquette. There are rigid and mysterious rituals associated with it in China, Korea and Japan. Apparently tea had something to do with the founding of a country, too. I just know I like to drink it, hot or cold.
What’s your pleasure? Coffee, tea, or both? If tea, milk or lemon?
What ritual do you have that makes you happy? Any exercise/health hints you swear by? Do you take vitamins? Thank goodness for Centrum Silver.
If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. ~Japanese Proverb
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
Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane. ~Honoré de Balzac
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Jun 27, 2007
Romance. We’re addicted to it. We think we can never get enough of it, either in fiction or real life. But like a steady diet of anything, I wonder if we’d really like it if we ate it all the time. I do like to read other stuff—mostly mysteries, thrillers, the occasional “women’s fiction” (whatever that means), history. I don’t do self-help books. I’m either perfect or beyond saving, not sure which.
And the man in my life? We’ve been talking Tall, Dark and Handsome all week long, and he qualifies. He can be quite a romantic, too. Examples will follow. But I’d probably think he was a pod person if he behaved too well. Would we really like a guy to anticipate and take care of our every need, gush how great we are everywhere he went? Think Tom Cruise. Think couches. Poor Katie. Kate.
When I met my husband, he was a college student. I had already graduated and was working in New York City. He’s still older than I am, if you were wondering. For our first date, he sold blood to finance dinner and a movie. He then took a two-hour bus trip from New Jersey to the Port Authority, walked over forty blocks, bought me cheap champagne and flowers. When we walked to the restaurant, he asked me if I liked chicken. I said yes. “Take a wing,” he replied, extending his elbow. So hokey, but that first Friday night date lasted the whole weekend and we are extremely married.
When I turned 40, he sent 40 red roses. Okay, so every one of them died the next day. I thought it was an omen, but it wasn’t his fault.
He gets my car filled with gas Saturday mornings while I sit in my pajamas typing. If they didn’t yap about it on the news, I’d never know gas prices are outrageous. And then he grocery shops, which I hate.
There are lots of little things he does for me. Maybe not grand gestures like heroes do in books and movies. We’re not dancing in the dark like Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse (You thought I’d say Ginger Rogers, didn’t you? But I looked it up.) and he’s not swinging me around the factory floor like Richard Gere does to Debra Winger. But he does our taxes. Sometimes we even get a refund.
What’s your most memorable romantic moment? Something that happened to you, something in fiction or film? Let’s get a little mushy.
Check back July 1 for the next contest!
Jun 25, 2007
I am not an evolutionary biologist. I am definitely not remotely scientific. I was an English major with a minor in Speech. I don’t even know how a toaster works. But intrigued by the recent Tall Dark and Handsome results from the Beau Ideal post, I set off on a scientific exploration to discover why TD & H rules.
After wandering like Moses through the Internet (even coming unfortunately upon what was evidently a Neo-Nazi site), I’m still not sure. But here are some interesting facts:
According to National Geographic, female lions prefer their males to have dark manes. Dark-maned lions are hotter. And I don’t mean cute. They actually suffer from heat stress, but they’re tougher and stronger—they can take it. Female lions think they’re cool.
A Polish study showed that taller men had more children. Women liked them for the hard-wired evolutionary biological characteristics: tall=good health, social status, protection and strength. Tall men cannot be easily dominated by smaller men. Tell that to Napoleon, who, I understand was not really so awfully short. “The Little Corporal” was just an affectionate appellation; it didn’t mean Boney was short. He was, at 5’6”, actually taller than the average Frenchman (and yes, I know some say he was 5’2”, but there’s some kind of measurement mix-up according to Ask Yahoo, my source).
So, there you have it. Most of us like tall, dark and handsome men, and have since we were cavewomen. But I wouldn’t turn away a tall, fair and handsome guy—he’s got feelings, too.
Thanks to all of you for your participation in my “research,”not only how you like your men to look but how you like this blog to look! I’m a creature of habit, so it’s back to “normal.” But tomorrow is another day.
Do you know any myths you’d like to bust? Want to share a scientific fact? Enlighten me.
History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon. ~ Napoleon
Jun 24, 2007
I went to college with a girl who once declared, “I love little guys.” Unlike most of my contemporaries, she preferred short men. I, on the other hand, was plagued by guys who made me feel too big. I was 5’6” (notice, I say was—somehow I’m now down to 5’4 and almost ½” as I pack on the decades and the pounds) and rather robust. I wanted to feel delicate and petite. My 6’3” husband finally did the trick (but I think he’s shrinking too).
And I think opposites attract. I’m blonde (now courtesy of my hairdresser) and my husband is dark. Most of my heroes fall right into the tall, dark and handsome cliché, although Hart from Paradise is blond because he’s kind of an angel. Just like me.
What does your ideal man look like? I don’t want to hear any nonsense about good personality and sense of humor, kindness to kids and kittens. If you were creating a hero, tell me what color his eyes are and if he has a devilish grin. I’m assuming he has all his own teeth.
I require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid. ~Dorothy Parker
