It's my Cuppa Tea!

January is hot tea month, I don’t know who decides these things, but I’m glad that someone thought of it.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art60425.asp
http://www.gracioushospitality.com/2009/01/january-national-hot-tea-month.html

My tea drinking practice evolved over time from drinking any kind of tea facsimile, to becoming more discriminating in my taste. I imagine myself to be somewhat of a tea connoisseur, with still so much more to learn.

As a child, my parents actually boiled loose tea leaves (Blue Ribbon) in a pot over an open campfire (similar to the picture here). The slightly smoky flavor gave the tea character, occasionally I would have a sip of someone’s tea. But it was not until years later that I began to consume tea as my beverage of choice.

I drink different types of tea over the course of the day. I begin my

day with Matcha tea, a Japanese ceremonial powdered tea. The preparation of the tea helps me begin my meditation. I mindfully whisk the powder in a small ceramic bowl. I pay close attention as the tea becomes frothy and a rich green color. I breathe in and I breathe out, I am present. I sit quietly and drink my bowl of tea. Now I am ready to continue my meditation and my day in perfect balance.

Later in the morning I enjoy a cup of chai, an Indian spiced tea with almond milk and a dusting of cinnamon. There are a number of different chai blends; my favorite is the chocolate, truffle to be exact.

In the mid afternoon, I enjoy my favorite green tea, Genmai. I particularly enjoy sipping this tea while I read. Finally, I like to end my day with a cup of chai roosibos, which also comes in a variety of blends to suit any taste.

The best advice for buying loose tea I can give, is to smell and inspect the leaves. The stronger the fragrance the fresher the tea, color and texture can also be a good indication of freshness.

The links below are some of my favorite places to purchase teas…

http://www.teaontheweb.com/
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/organicgreentea.htm
http://www.granvilletea.com
http://steepstea.com

Notice your surroundings because you never know when the road you take will lead you to the perfect tea store. We unexpectedly came across this tea shop near Melbourne, Australia December 2009. We were stopped to consult a map, and I noticed across the street this tea shop. It has over 300 types of tea and tea accessories.

Go on, make yourself a pot of tea. The pleasure is in every cup, it is refreshing, relaxing, soothing and good for your emotional and physical health. Don't know what type of tea to drink, well read this.

Michael Franks - Popsicle Toes

In a Deep Freeze

You know it is really, really, really, cold when…

1. You are nothing like your former conscientious, politically correct, self.
2. you bundle up wearing anything made of wool, not a care if someone sees you (besides you’re unrecognizable bundled head to toe).
3. You wear a hat, no worries about hat hair (you keep the hat on in the office)
4. you open the front door; the air is nothing but a sheet of ice and you have to blow torch your way through to get to your car
5. your thoughts freeze before you had a chance to change your mind
6. you wear your mom’s old mink, (if someone throws paint on it, you think, great! a layer of paint should keep me warmer, thank you PETA)
7. your car does not start and it is parked in an indoor garage
8. you hug yourself to keep warm, but, because you have no sensations in your hands it feels like someone is hugging you (hmmm, you enjoy it because you have no oxygen in your brain!)
9. you disregard personal space and stand really, really, close to strangers for their body heat
10. all best intentions regarding your carbon footprint is exchanged for making an agreement with yourself to not use air conditioning this summer, in exchange for, keeping the car running, house thermometer set on high, all the electric heaters blowing full blast, taking many long hot baths, logs burning in the fireplace non stop, you do laundry for the extra heat generated by the dryer…
Essentially, you undo a year of energy conservation in one -30, freaking bitter cold week!

Transcending: Words on Women and Strength by Kelly Corrigan

A friend sent me this, today of all days. Today, I learned of another friend's death. I sent an email to my friend's brother because I had not heard from her in a long while. He then told me she had died. What a shock!

Friendships are interesting, we can be apart forever, and when we meet, its like we were never apart. Even though we don't always keep in touch, we often think about one another. Occasionally something in our day reminds us of each other. The connections, coincidences, chance meetings, draw us together but we pay them no mind. Lost connections, lost opportunities.

But never do we expect to hear our friend may be dead. In my mind, I always thought that she would be living a perfect life. In this context, the news is hard to comprehend, even harder to accept. Once again, life reminds us of our mortality.

To my friend Cathy, RIP.

Indigenous Holocaust 2008

indigenous Hip hop artist Wahwahtay Benais music video featuring First Nations United directed by Missy Whiteman.
This music video is dedicated to the children who lived and died in boarding schools.
LYRICS:
Verse 1

Them devils came to the village posing as priests stealing children from
their homes took and placed 'em in a school to replace and undo what they
labeled as savage before the gates ya long hair sheared tossed in a pile like it was garbage
stripped down from ya custom attire ya skin scrubbed till it bleed put his
clothes in a fire and bury his items replace 'em with ours give 'em a bible teach 'em to read bleach 'em indeed if he speaks one word of his tongue no songs sung from the
homeland which he learned as a young buck from a old sage in the village to a school made of brick were they plan was to kill 'em save the man was the modo sodomized dramatized
gettin beat - grueling rations when he ate- many died ...

Sign my guest book!

Real Live Talking Cat #1

Watch all 6, these are hilarious. I love Chessie! http://www.reallivetalkingcat.com/