Where do you spend the majority of your days? Is it a place of beauty? Where, even in an office cubicle, can you set aside a corner of beauty for a spot of tea?
Mine depends on the season. Currently, I take my cup of tea to the back deck in the quiet of the warm morning, sit on the Adirondack chair and listen to the chorus of baby birds ask for their breakfast. My place is not my ideal~there’s no table for setting a pot or plate~and I would rather sit in an upholstered chair like a Mary Englebreit character than wood, but I can’t complain. It’s a spot of beauty in my chaotic life of feeding, bathing, schooling, and cleaning up after children.
How can you bring beauty to a spot? We talked earlier this week about the choice of teacup, now consider the place. If you work in an office or cubicle, do you at least have a photograph of beauty to gaze upon that allows you to escape in your own mind and heart? (I’m not sure a screen-saver counts). If you are at home with children~do you have a sacred place that is just yours? Is it a place children can only invade when invited? How can you make it a spot of beauty to sit down with a cup of tea on a routine basis?
Please feel free to post a comment and tell us about your “spot”.
June 7th, 2007
When planning a tea-themed event, think through your guest list. Will your event be a sit-down event? If so, remember that intimate is never more than eight and four can be a little too small, unless your guests really know one another.
Use place cards. Sometimes hostesses feel uncomfortable making the decision of who sits where. But for the comfort of your guests, it is best to make this decision for them ahead of time. As you consider the personalities of your guests, try not to sit Chatty Cathy next to Bashful Betty, for example, unless Chatty Cathy is especially good at drawing others out.
Taking time for tea nurtures relationships and its important to keep these few parameters in mind.
For simple and beautiful place card settings, I recommend these.
May 9th, 2007
This morning, as I turned over the calendar page to my birthday month, I delighted in viewing the above picture. Thank you, Mary Englebreit.
I remember a time in life when I scoffed at the simple life relishing quiet moments and uncomplicated beauty. I lived on adrenalin, sought the thrills, and disdained those who weren’t seeking to change the whole world.
But then MY world changed unexpectedly, suffering entered (as it does to almost all of us sooner or later), and I sought the simple life.
Because as a fellow sufferer stated, “Beauty is the only thing that helps”.
Yes, beauty soothes the soul. I find the majority of those who enter my home need the balm of beauty as well. And there are a few beauties I seek to include in everyday life. One is observing nature and the changing seasons and the other is taking tea. As a result, I commit to growing flowers and maintaining a tea table ready at a moment’s notice.
In winter, the tea table lives in the living room, covered with linen and candles, ready to welcome time with a friend. When the weather breaks, the table will move outside. Chairs for lounging over needing to sit up straight are essential. The memories of children’s tea parties can be rekindled (or made with the children in your life) and cracks in the brightly colored ceramic pot add character. (’Course we’ve all graduated from mud pies to REAL chocolate delights, haven’t we?).
Can one think of a better gift than lingering talks with a dear friend over a pot of tea and plate of treats?
Consider keeping an eye out for a “proper” afternoon tea table, one that is low, like the picture above to add this simple gift to yourself and others. Sometimes a friend across the table isn’t available, but remember a good book or time with your journal always is.
March 1st, 2007
