Crochet and Tea

Time for a little mix berry tea in a pretty pot and cup with saucer. They don't completely match, but that's okay. They were my Grandma's and that's good enough for me. Sometimes I feel like our lives get too busy to stop and do something simple like drinking tea out of bone china or  even making tea in a teapot. Other activities some may call "old fashion" may also be falling away. We take selfies, share gifs, watch Netflix, but do we take the time do real crafts?

Last year I made well over a dozen crocheted snowflakes to give away with my Christmas cards. They were pretty and could hang on Christmas trees, if desired. It took some time to make, but I enjoy crocheting and it made me feel good to make a snowflake for my friends.

This week a friend crocheted something for me. It's so nice to see first hand that I'm not the only person out there crocheting. Over the years I've crocheted scarves, small blankets, and yes way back I used to make doilies. And I find it a relaxing hobby most of the time. When you make a mistake, you can easily rip the stitches out and start over. When you get into a rhythm time just seems to fly. One problem I've noticed though, when you want to combine tea and crochet is that you can get so wrapped up in crochet that your hot tea gets cold. Actually that happens when I'm typing, too.

Here's the cute cup a friend made for me. It can be a little coaster for a tea mug or be placed on top of your cup to keep the tea warm while I'm typing or crocheting. What a clever crochet project!

Crocheting may be an old craft, but it serves purposes today also. It keeps your mind active. Reading those patterns can be challenging.  You do have to learn those abbreviations and stitches. But it's not too hard. Crocheting also keeps your hands and fingers nimble. So you're doing finger exercises as you work. I'd hate to see crocheting fall by the side for more technology oriented endeavors. So I might have to find a new crochet project. Any ideas?

Do any of you crochet? What do you make?

What You Can Learn About the English From Television

 Over the course of my life I've watched a few English television shows. Mostly I can thank PBS for that. I've seen Absolutely Fabulous; I really don't understand what they are trying to portray in that show. It must be way over my head or something. I used to watch Are You Being Served and Keeping Up Appearances. These were shows to which I could relate. If you aren't familiar with these shows, Are You Being Served takes place at a department store and revolves around the workers. Keeping Up Appearances has a female main character who definitely wishes to be someone that she isn't. She pronounces her name "Bucket" like the word "bouquet". You know it's a good episode if she gets her come uppings by the end.

My latest English show comes from Netflix. I love how I can work my way through all seasons of a show on Netflix. I've made it through seven seasons of Midsomer Murders this winter. And between all these shows, I've learned a few things about the English.

First and most important, the English really do like their tea. And they like it hot. There's hardly a kitchen scene without a tea kettle sitting on the stove. And if they aren't inviting someone in for a beer, then it's always for a cup of tea. After tea, the English really do enjoy some pretty flowers. Many flowers are in hanging baskets near the front door of their homes. And I have to admit, I really find them attractive. Rural England has a large amount of murders based on my recent viewing. The English also like their pubs. Pubs seem to be a place for gossip, hanging out and just drinking.

Based on my viewing you can also find a good amount of woods in England. And people think nothing about walking in the woods day or night. And when they go out at night, they don't bother with a flashlight. They must know they are going to get into trouble and don't want to see the trouble first. British men and women in these shows seem to have a good amount of extra marital affairs. But that may be part of the murder genre or rural England. There also seems to be more guns in England than the rest of the world thinks if you believe television. I've seen a good amount of rifles and some handguns in Midsomer.

Some differences with the U.S. are that the older people in England can be more open minded. The English know how to surprise their audience sometimes with something very unexpected. I thought the English knew how to speak English and they do. Maybe I just don't know how to listen. I thought the daughter's name in Midsomer Murders was Kelly. Some people pronounced it as "Cally" and others as "Kelly". When I looked up her name on IMDB, her name was Cully.

Some similarities with the U.S. are that the police do their job well. They may go about it in different ways, but both are thorough. Bad people lie and hide in plain sight. Rural people know everything about everyone in town. And television stars do leave to pursuit other career offers. I have to admit, I'll probably learn more the more I watch, but as long as I get to watch a good murder mystery I don't care if it's from England or the U.S.A. all I care about is having a good show to watch. Until the next tea time...

Connecting to Others

Ready for some tea? I am. One of the best feelings about blogging is when someone comes up to me and talks to me about my blog. Maybe they found something funny or maybe it triggered memories from their life. Whatever the reason, I received confirmation that they connected to something I wrote. That impact is huge to a new writer, like myself.

I don't know what you are doing when you read, but I'm typing and drinking. Do you know the mere act of fiddling with something or fidgeting with something gets people to open up? I learned that today at a conference. I always had the feeling that playing games together brought out great conversation. I remember playing games as a youngster. I started with Go Fish. That was probably the first game I learned, then moved to Monopoly, Aggravation, Checkers, Crazy 8, Uno, War, Nerdz and even Risk. As an adult I played many of these games with my family. And we talked. I'm wondering if people even do this anymore. There's so many solitary games out there, usually video games, that I feel the need to connect to others in some way is beginning to vanish.

I've heard kids say how annoying it is when someone calls them on the phone. I say, "What!?" They'd rather have someone text them. In reality texting is much less personal and honestly, not that great of a communication tool. The majority of communication takes place with body language and voice inflection. Texting bypasses all the fun parts of communicating.

But it's not just texting, it's social media, too. Do we fully comprehend what we are communicating with each post, photo, gif? Can we communicate a thought in 140 characters or less? I find it disappointing that less and less people are picking up a phone to talk, really talk to another person. I wonder if today's young people even know how to play a basic board game. If you want to communicate with someone or you need someone to open up, play a game of cards or a board game with them. I think you might be surprised at what you learn. Connecting with others helps us share our humanity. And there's nothing more human that sharing a drink or a conversation. Tell me your favorite ways to connect with others. Until the next cup of tea...