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...

The Love of a Grandpa

When I was young there was no one I'd rather spend time with than my grandpa. I look back at all the things we did together and listen to older relatives tell stories about us and I realize we had a special relationship. At one point in my life I remember thinking that he was probably the only man I ever truly and completely trusted.

My grandpa loved kids. He loved to hear me sing; he wanted to hear my stories. And when I learned the Big Mac ingredient jingle, he made me repeat it over and over. You can't help but love someone who's that interested in you.

Before I even started school we lived a few houses down from Grandma and Grandpa, just around the corner from their house. Mom used to tell us not to bother our grandparents as we (my brother and I) rode our tricycles on the sidewalk. But one time we get to the corner and guess who's standing around the corner at the end of his driveway-Yes, it was Grandpa! He waves us down there. And we shake our heads and say we can't go down there. He tells us he has some Twinkies and next thing you know, we are at his house. I don't remember getting into trouble for doing that, after all Twinkies are irresistible.

Grandpa was also the one who took me and my brother to St. Therese. This was his Catholic church and as a kid I thought it was great. We'd attend the service and then go downstairs to have donuts and milk. It was a great treat. Grandpa would introduce us to people and I felt we were making out like bandits. One Sunday morning I thought Grandpa forgot about church. At that time we were living in an apartment complex that he and Grandma were managing. I got so worried that I found my Mom's broom and hit the ceiling above where I thought his bedroom might be. What a silly goose! Grandpa didn't forget about church.

There were so many times Grandpa tried to get my brother and me to do crazy things. I laugh to myself every time I think about it. Once we were driving through the city park and Grandpa saw a wedding going on. He parked the car and told us to go over there and get some wedding cake. We said, "No! We don't know those people." He told us we could get some free cake. We didn't crash the wedding, but it was awesome that he tried to put us up to it.

Grandpa with my sons

One time I remember Grandpa himself did the crazy deed. We were in a department store and came across some instant cameras. Grandpa talked to the sales clerk and ended up taking a photo of us in the store. Somewhere we still have that photo. Just like that photo that's probably hanging around in one of Mom's old photo albums, Grandpa, too is still hanging around. Although he's not here in person anymore. He's still here in my memories. He's here every time I decide to do sometime silly. He's here when I fellowship with others. He'll always have a special place in my heart. I know people say that, but as I sit here typing with tears streaming down my face, I know for me that truly means something. And just like Grandpa means so much to me, I know I meant a lot to my Grandpa. I love you, Grandpa!

Tea of the Past

Wow, there's nothing like a few days of below zero temperatures to make you appreciate normal winter weather. I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for some 40 degree temperatures and the sun. Let's not forget about that.

As I enjoyed my spiced tea today, I started wondering about the beginning of tea. How did someone decide to put a leaf in water and drink it? So I did a little research and boy was I surprised. The history of tea involves espionage, wars, ceding of land, drugs and of course the Boston Tea Party.

The legend about how tea began starts in China about 6,000 years ago. A servant was carrying boiling hot water and some leaves from a tree fell into it. His master drank it and liked it. The leaf was from  camellia sinensis, now known as a tea tree.

So tea began in China and when a Japanese monk took a tree back to Japan. Guess what. Japanese monks started drinking tea and growing their own tea farms at the monasteries. They even began their own tea ceremony. During this time tea leaves were compressed together into a brick, then grounded into a powder to put in water. It was during the Ming Dynasty that tea leaves were dried and rolled to place directly into the water.

Tea first hit Europe, not with the English, but with the Dutch. Coffee houses had already formed in Europe by the 1500s. In 1610 the first shipment of tea came to Holland. Of course everything new is so darn expensive and tea was no exception. So who was drinking it? The very wealthy people, of course. About mid 1600s the British were starting to consider drinking tea instead of coffee. But when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza, things began to change. She was addicted to tea and even started tea time at the court.

From here you've got the British East India Tea Company holding a tight monopoly of the tea imported from China. They played a big part in the taxation of tea, which was really high. At one point the British were trading opium for tea. I'm thinking those Brits have got a real hankering for tea. They got so tired of relying on China for those leaves, that they sent a spy over there disguised as a Chinese merchant. He would visit those tea plantations, ask a bunch of questions, steal a few plants and even some tea experts. The East India Tea Company decided to start their own tea farms in India. It was also around this time that the tea wars began with China. I never knew this was how Britain got control of Hong Kong for so many years.

Because of the high taxes on tea in Britain, illegal smuggling of tea flourished. Yes, I'm talking about organized crime. This reminds me of prohibition times in the US. Can you imagine tea was in such demand, but so expensive that people would resort to buying it illegally? Tea is something special! I could tell you some of the crappy things these opportunists would put in the tea because it wasn't regulated, but I don't want to spoil your tea.

Anyway, somehow politicians in Britain decided they better do something about the underground tea. So they dropped the enormous taxes on it and gave it a reasonable tax. And practically overnight the illegal tea syndicate vanished.

Iced tea was an invention of the United States, along with teabags. At the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis a tea seller from overseas set up to give out samples of hot tea. Well, I guess it was pretty hot at the fair and no one wanted hot tea. The tea guy went over to an ice cream stand and got some ice. He dumped it in the tea and served iced tea. What a story! Teabags began with artisans crafting each bag. That sounds expensive. I'm glad they finally made disposable teabags.

I know I gave you a condensed version of the history of tea. But I found it interesting. I hope you did, too. Did I miss anything important in the history of tea? Do you have an interesting tea story. Please share in the comments. Until next time...

Biscuits Anyone?

There's not much better to warm a person up on a snow day than a hot cup of tea; except a big mug of tea! And I'm now on my second snow day. I did venture out today for some staples. Luckily, I didn't have to go far.

I've gotten myself caught up in a Netflix series and had a hard time pulling myself away to Tea Talk with you. Midsomer Murders is a pretty good series. But alas, that's not what I'm going to talk about today. I want to talk about biscuits. Every time I set out to cook up some breakfast sausage, I have this internal debate about whether to make biscuits to go with them; today was no exception. I do like sausage on a good biscuit. I also like biscuits with butter or eggs. Oh gee! I like biscuits.

Sometimes I feel like a biscuit snob, even though I don't mean to be. Really, I don't. I don't actually understand why people use a baking mix for biscuits, when making them from scratch is so easy. You don't have to stock up on exotic ingredients and it doesn't take long to make biscuits the old fashioned way. And I will show you how easy it is.

You start with a flour, baking powder and salt. Then you cut in shortening. I'd say all together, it takes about 4 minutes. Add some milk and mix it up.

This is what mine looks like after I mix. Then I have to give it a little kneading and then ball it up and pat it down on the counter.

From here you can use a standard, round cookie cutter. A long time ago I was known to use a drinking glass upside down. Today, I have a special biscuit cutter from the Civil War era.

I imagine those women making lots of biscuits to sustain their family and soldiers. Possibly even some of my relatives used a cutter like this. I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

Then they go on a baking sheet. Notice I have my special baking mat over my cookie sheet. Bake them for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees. Then you have some wonderful biscuits for whatever purpose you have in mind. What food do you like to make from scratch? 

Here's the recipe in case you want to try it out. 

2 cups flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt (I don't use that much, though)

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add milk and mix. Knead and form into dough. Cut into circles and place on baking sheet. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown in a 450 degree oven.

Compassion for the Odd

Earl Grey was my tea of choice today. But alas I didn't get a photo of my mug. I started writing a blog about compassion today and abandoned it. Writer's prerogative is what I say. I think I've found a better way to write about compassion.

I hope at some point in your life you've had the opportunity to watch the former USA network series called Monk. This show involves an obsessive compulsive former police detective. His wife died in a car bomb and he's spent years trying to find her killer. In the  meantime he has to pay a nurse to help him function as he works as a consultant for the San Fransisco police department where he used to be employed. I almost forgot the most important part, he's a genius detective. He notices clues others overlook.

My family started watching Monk when it first aired in 2002. This was a summer show and we made sure to get inside by 9:00 every Friday night to watch it. My entire family liked it. Come 2003 we had survived a tornado that destroyed our home in May. So we ended up watching our favorite summer show from a television in a pull behind trailer set up in the pasture land behind our former home. That's how important normalcy, including Monk was to me and my family.

At this time I was teaching a summer school class called Murder Mystery. This class involved a staff member committing a mock murder and it was up to the students in the class to find the killer and convict them of murder before the end of summer school. In the late 1990s and  early 2000s we would watch Murder, She Wrote episodes in class. After a few years,  I could sense the students getting bored with the show. Somehow I managed to acquire a season or two of Monk. So I started showing these in my Murder Mystery class. I can't tell you how much these kids liked this show.

Monk is afraid of a multitude of normal items: germs, milk, naked statues, mud, snakes, trash. The list goes on and on. At the same time, he notices things everyone else overlooks. And for some reason junior high students empathized with him. I did, too! But what attracts these modern preteens to someone as odd as Monk? I know 12 and 13 year olds are going through a weird time in their lives. They may feel like they don't belong, like Monk. They may have their own quirks that no one understands. But I'm amazed at the longevity of this series in my classes.

I'm not joking about this. Kids this year have come up to me to tell me that they found Monk on a specific station. Some of these kids are watching this show in their free time at home! I do the same thing. I even got my mom started on watching it. And she loves it. I wonder if it somehow goes back to compassion. Monk claims his ability to solve crimes others can't as a gift and a curse. I hope my students can see that all people, regardless of their oddities, still have something to offer society. And when they love Monk, I feel there is hope for humanity. And I'll bet I'm right.

Student detectives interrogating a suspect (2017)

You can find Monk Sundays on WE from 9 AM to 5 PM. You can also pick up season DVDs at your local used movie stores. I acquired most of mine at Entertainmart.  I don't think you can go wrong with buying a season or two.

A Mirror and an Opposite

I think I drank more tea today than usual. It's probably because I spent the day shopping with my mom. But can a person really drink too much tea? Anyway, I'm not going to talk about shopping today. I want to talk about having a little sister. Having a little sister can be a different experience.

My sister is quite a bit younger than me. Let's just say over a decade younger. So when I was going about my teenage weirdness, she was toddling around the house. She just started school about the time I left for college. So much of my memories of her involve a little girl with high ponytails running around the house or playing with her toys. And I remember she really liked Strawberry Shortcake. :)

What's odd now is getting to know the adult she's become. And luckily we've had quite a few opportunities to hang out together. It's fun to see the similarities we have. We are both mothers. Hers are young and mine are older, but motherhood is the same. We both have jobs dealing with people who act like children. I think she gets cursed out more than I do, though. We both love the beach and spending time in the water. And getting a bargain is a great reason to shop for both of us.

I think the differences are what makes it fun to have a little sister. She's a blonde; I'm a red head. I love to cook and bake, but from my experience sis isn't as into it as I am. Although she did give me an amazing baking mat. It's the best thing ever for my biscuits and cookies. Sis carries her staple purse, Coach. I carry a Thirty-One purse. Hers is huge, mine is small. My sister has a good fashion sense. I'm always wondering if I should be wearing different shoes. Luckily for me I had her shopping with me when I bought my latest boots.

I think because she's younger, she knows more about current pop music than me. I know she was surprised to discover my lack of knowledge in that department. I know some current music, but mostly I listen to radio stations that play 80s music. What's wrong with that? It's good music. My sister's favorite boy band is New Kids on the Block. I actually prefer NSYNC and like Justin Timberlake's current music. My sister found this quite amusing. I don't know why. He brought sexy back! So every once in awhile, she'll send me a photo of Justin Timberlake like I a have a big crush on him or something. Or maybe she's just being funny. I know I laugh when I see them. But it's nice to keep in touch and have a laugh together.

So although it's different having a little sister. It sure can be fun. Too bad for you; she's MY sister.

Relatively Simple

Ah, there's nothing like peach tea in a beautiful cup. The day started at 54 degrees and right now it's 27 degrees. That's a cold front in the winter for you. School had an early release today due to potential winter weather so now I'm home.

I came home to a package at my door. It was my new simply fit board. After yesterday's discussion you probably think I'm crazy. Resolutions are unreliable, etc, etc, etc. And I do believe that. At the same time I'm always wanting to exercise in a fun way. If it was up to me I'd dance for exercise, but I haven't found a class or DVD that I love. If you know any dance exercises that are fun, please share.

 One day on Christmas vacation I saw this board advertised on television. One of the women from Shark Tank was promoting this fit board and it looked fun. I went online and found it on Amazon for almost $30. I was interested, but not that much. I watched a video about how to use it. I will say it looked easy and enjoyable. But I blew it off. Later when I wanted to search for it again, I forgot the name. Ha! That will teach me to use online bookmarks. Eventually I did find it online at a basic department store. "Aha!" I thought. I should do some searching. And I did. The best buy I found was an orange fit board at Target. As I read the reviews I really was starting to think this might be fun. So I ordered it about a week ago.

Notice the curve. It's a balancing act along with a twist. I mean a real twist. You twist. I popped in the DVD, got a chair beside me and stood on it. It wobbled forward and back as well as side to side. The reason it does this is to work your core muscles. The core includes muscles in the pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen. Although that's not all the muscles you can work on this board. But hey, it's a good starting place. I had to get off a few times and rearrange the board. I guess I was leaning one way or another. After a few minutes my legs were tired and I got off and rested. Later I found myself getting back on and I was a little better. I put the chair back and twisted some more. I'm nowhere near proficient on it, but it is fun and I expect to get some good use out of it.

I'm pretty sure the old adage holds true. Practice makes perfect. That will be me soon. Maybe not perfect, but much better than I am today. For those of you working on your health and exercise goals, good luck. It's never too late to try something new.