Secret Society of Teachers

Believe it or not, there's a secret society of teachers roaming around out there. And if you're lucky, you might be able to find one of these special teachers. They are the teachers that get apologies when those outside the profession learn whom they teach. People are surprised and in awe that they are nutty enough to perform their job day in and day out. They are called middle school teachers. They teach those young teenagers in grades six, seven or eight. I'm going to give you a few clues to help you spot one of these rare creatures.

1. Fun loving or Good sense of humor- If you spot a teacher that is down right funny or knows how to laugh, you may in fact be in the presence of a middle school teacher. If they laugh at juvenile jokes, it's a good bet you found one. Say duty, ball, dyke, lay, or dongle; if an adult smiles or chuckles, you probably found a middle school teacher.

2.  Energetic- Middle school teachers have lots of energy. They may come home dead to the world, but in class they are anything but dead. They have to be active because they have a million things to take care of in each class. And they'll do anything to keep the attention of their teenage students.

3.  Different- Members of this secret society aren't your kind, sweet elementary teachers. Nor are they your serious, subject-oriented high school teachers. Try to shake them up with a shocking story and they'll probably try to one up you. Some may even call them a little crazy. But when you can laugh and be discouraged all in the same day you're either slightly hormonal or a little different.

4.  Flexible- Some teachers can easily and quickly adapt to change. Those are middle school teachers. Maybe a lesson isn't going well, the internet is slow or there's an interruption in the class. These teachers handle it without batting an eye. That's a real skill.

5.  Patient- You might think elementary teachers have patience, but put them in a 7th grade classroom and watch what happens. All their tolerance goes out the window. These aren't sweet little babies. Middle school teachers must have an abundance of charity to handle middle school shenanigans.

6.  Squirrelly- If you spot a teacher who acts like a young teenager, you've probably crossed paths with a middle school teacher. These adults deal with hormonal kids all day, every day. Their goofiness is bound to rub off. These are the teachers you see talking and laughing during a teacher meeting. They can't help it.

7.  Sarcastic- Try to deal with middle schoolers and not become a little sarcastic. These teachers are probably the ones teaching sarcasm to youngsters. Middle school kids find sarcasm fascinating and like to try it out occasionally in the classroom. Their teachers can dish it right back. But it's all in good fun.

8.  Drinking- Middle school teachers love their coffee and possibly tea. But they are also known to belt down something stronger; not before or during school, though.  Have you ever been to a middle school conference? I'll tell you, it's one crazy adventure. And I'll leave it at that; otherwise I might get kicked out of the club.

Anything I've missed? Have a comment or idea about middle school teachers? Please comment below.

Cashew Chicken, Springfield Style

Today was a good day for some hot tea. The sun was deceiving today. It shone brightly this afternoon, but didn't do much to warm us up. But tea does the trick.

If you've ever lived or visited southwest Missouri, you've probably tried Springfield style cashew chicken. Once you've tried it, you realize it is way different than any other kind of cashew chicken. If you've sampled it, you more than likely enjoyed it. And every so often you get a hankering for it. That's what happened to me. In fact, my hankering lasted a few days.

So I decided to make some cashew chicken at home. I had my trusty Minute Rice, chicken and the secret cashew sauce mix. The only items I was missing was cashews. Please don't laugh. I also didn't have any green onions. But I thought, "What the heck!"

I started by cooking up the rice. When that was done, I got to work on the fried chicken pieces. That's a chore in itself. (See my blog about the dirty chicken.) When the chicken was almost done, I got the wok out and went to work frying some veggies, then scrambling eggs. On another burner I got the secret sauce going. I'm going to admit I was prepping and cooking about an hour and a half.

When everything was done, I put it all together. And it took me a little over 10 minutes to scarf down. And it was okay. It was filling, but it wasn't like cashew chicken in the local Chinese restaurants. And it wasn't the lack of cashews and green onions. I have no idea how those restaurants get such a tasty dish together. But the next time I get a hankering for some cashew chicken, I'm going to get the real thing from a real restaurant and save myself an hour and a half of work.

If you've ever made something that tastes as good as a restaurant, share with us. If you've had a not so great experience trying to do the same, share also. Let me know I'm not alone. Until the next tea break...

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...

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.