Rosemary Hibiscus Tea- Unicorn Donuts- Stations of the Cross- and Happy Mail!

Yes, that’s a whole lot of food for thought, but it was a wonderful bit of fun and blessings for us today.

I knew I wanted to go to one of our local churches again to share the “Stations of the Cross” with the daycare Littles (faces hidden for privacy) and today the discounted bakery items at WalMart included the prettiest lavender “unicorn donuts”, so I decided today was the day!

Of course, I wanted to make it more special with tea!

I had recently purchased some Hibiscus Tea on sale and knew I wanted to add my fresh Rosemary to it, because that is a blend I had tried from another vendor before and really enjoyed.

If you are not familiar with all the health benefits of Rosemary, I found a great article here: https://www.organicfacts.net/rosemary-tea.html that shares “drinking rosemary tea include optimizing digestion, increasing cognitive function, preventing cancer, treating skin conditions, reducing inflammation, and easing the pain associated with it. It also aids in eliminating anxiety, improving liver function, and boosting hair health, among others. However, there are some [possible] side effects – see article. Rosemary tea is made by brewing the leaves and stem of the rosemary herb, which has the taxonomic name Rosmarinus officinalis.” Read even more at the above link.

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Traditional Medicinals always has fun quotes on their teabags.  They are individually wrapped as well, which makes for great "tea mail" tuck-ins to friends!

I brewed my stem along with 2 teabags and a heaping tablespoon of local orange-blossom honey in a thermos, for probably around 3 or 4 minutes then removed the stem and bags.  It was quite strong and the Littles absolutely loved it!  So did I.  We had it warm this time, but I love this one over ice in the summertime.

We enjoyed our tea-time outdoors near the water fountain before heading inside.  

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Each year the artists never fail to amaze me! It was such a blessing to read the full story of Holy Week to the Littles and look over each art piece. At the end, they were invited to stamp a block on a giant wall indicating one of the following: light green – I am inspired to tell others about God, orange – I feel closer to God, dark green – I learned something about God.  The littlest one choose dark green. The middle one choose orange. The eldest choose all 3 colors and carefully stamped them into a square.  So precious!

 

In addition to all this April is National Card and Letter Writing Month.  I take the Littles to the Post Office often, and each time I ask them to lay hands on the mail and pray over it. We pray that it travels safely along the way and that the Lord would bless the hands that touch it (postal workers) and the hands that receive it (happy mail recipients).  It is one more way I can instill Godly values and practices in their little hearts.  Why not send some happy mail this month and pray over it too?  I know it will bless your heart!

Until next time,

Hugs and a cup of tea,

This is some "animal tea" that the boy made me today! ;)

Tea Towels and TARDISes and more

Welcome back to Team Darjeeling.  If you have not been following this, I am joining the FB group Afternoon Tea Across America and hostessing a traveling teapot for the month of June.  I have so many thoughts swirling in my head that I wish to share with you all.  I hope to get it organized and flowing nicely here for all of my happy readers!

First, a special thanks to Rainy.  She sent the TARDIS through time and space to me, along with some lovely gifts.  There was a passport journal book so hostesses can share travel logs, a pair of bohemian style earrings, a sample of Red Rocks tea from The Tea Spot (click here to learn more), and a hand written recipe (see below).

During its time with her in May she affectionately called the TARDIS Tardy.

If you are any sort of Whovian (people who watch Doctor Who and the TARDIS (click here for details), you know the TARDIS has had many names, and each incarnation of the Doctor comes with a new incarnation of the TARDIS. Some names have included: The Box, The Ship, Blue Box, Sexy, Old Girl and Snog Box.

In that spirit, I thought it would be fun for each Team Darjeeling hostess to call the TARDIS whatever name she likes for the month.  Rainy already told me to call her what I wish :)

And so, I have dubbed her Tilly for this month.  It sounds old fashioned to me, much like the TARDIS and the custom of Afternoon Tea :)

(click photo to enlarge Rainy's recipe for
Mexican Pots du Creme)

In my photo of Tilly, you may have noticed the wonderful crisp white, flour sack style tea towels.  I ordered them with a personalized touch after seeing them on the FB page Afternoon Tea Across America, when another member shared hers.  Here they are close up: 

(2 HAND EMBROIDERED towels $16 + $2 shipping
 from WA, or $5 priority w/tracking # emailed to you)

She normally creates these in pink, but I had the color changed to red as it compliments my kitchen better. She kept the flowers pink and pale blue, which I quite like.  I had the days of the week changed to 'Blessed' and 'Set Free'.  Lovely reminders of what God has done for me.  There are several other designs in this series.  If you are interested in ordering from her, click her name to investigate here: JoAnn Dunlap Bayne at Scene Through My Eyes Blog.  Email her at: joann.bayne@gmail.com She accepts paypal. 

Additionally, I ordered her book which is her own story and one that seems very interesting.

$10 and she will autograph it if you wish!

Now for even more tea fun with Tilly!  Friday, June 5th, 2015 was National Donut Day.  If you don't know, you may think, "Oh brother, another dumb holiday." But friends, this one has a precious history dating back to WWI, 1917 when the Salvation Army sent 'Donut Lassies' into the trenches to bless the soldiers with a little hospitality.

Please click the 3 min. video to play or open in another window by clicking the link below the video.

Click Here: The Salvation Army National Donut Day & Donut Lassies

HOW WE CELEBRATED

First, my daycare Littles and I headed to "The Barn"; a local sale held in a lady's back yard every few months, featuring crafts and vintage items.

children's faces blurred for privacy

There were teawares (which I normally come home with, but not this time), a tea tin re-purposed into a succulent planter, pallets painted like flags and much more.  Olivia is proudly holding Tilly TARDIS next to 'the barn' sign.  In the upper left she found a music book on a stand, so she stayed there for the longest time conducting music!

After browsing, we headed to the best donut shop in town, as we have many to choose from!

children's faces blurred for privacy

Tilly posed proudly next to her sign in support of WWI veterans, and the Littles did the same.

This shop features a play kitchen and toys so, much fun was had by all!

I purchased a blueberry donut with lemon icing which was a special donut made for the day.  I saved mine to bring home and enjoy while the kiddos napped ;)

I would love to tell you I was over-the-moon happy with this donut.  The premise sounded quite tasty, but, um, nope.  I can not tell a lie :)

It was just ok.  I also tried Lady Gray Tea for the first time.  It was a gift from the gracious Juanita following our tea earlier this month.  I had no idea it would be so different from Earl Gray (of which I am not a fan), but it was decaf (yay!), and had citrus notes against black tea.  It was quite pleasant.

I have another tea coming up this Sunday with family members (6/14/2015) where Tilly and I will travel through time and space until we arrive at the Aquarium!  Won't that be fun?!

The Sea Otters are my favorite! (photo courtesy of Pinterest)

And 2 weeks following on 6/27, some ladies from the ATAA group will gather in my home to share tea and discuss tea themed books as I close out my traveling teapot hostess duties.

Click here for my Pinterest Board: 

TEA READS

“He brewed his tea in a blue china pot,
poured it into a chipped white cup with
forget-me-nots on the handle,
and dropped in a dollop of honey and cream.
He sat by the window, cup in hand, watching the first snow fall.
"I am," he sighed deeply, "contented as a clam.
I am a most happy man.”
― Ethel Pochocki, Wildflower Tea

Thank you for joining me.  I pray you have a very blessed rest of your week!

Until next time, hugs and a cup of tea!

~Heather Elizabeth

Guest blogging over at 

http://ataatravelingteapot2.blogspot.com/

I may also be sharing at the following parties:

Teacup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites

Friends Sharing Tea at Bernideen's Blog

Tea Time Tuesday w/Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

Tuesday Cuppa Tea w/Ruth at Antiques and Teacups
 Roses of Inspiration Tuesday w/Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose
Share Your Cup Thursday w/Jann at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olson