First Tea Outside

Finally, a warm, sunny weekend to enjoy some tea outside. The first for this year. We had only one lawn chair out so I grabbed that and strategically placed it in a sunny spot on the deck.

Trees and bushes are JUST starting to get spring buds and the grass is starting to green up in spots. The stream is wide open, completely free of ice and many of our feathered friends have returned for the season.

I grabbed some cranberry-oatmeal bites and some delicious Lapsang Souchong tea from Eteaket in Scotland. Yes, it’s been three years since we went to Scotland and yes, I still have some of that tea I purchased there. It reminds me of our trip there each time I open the tin.

This is a very robust, strong tea. One that smells like a campfire. In fact it smells so smokey that my husband thought I had burned something in the kitchen because the scent lingered so in the kitchen after I brewed it.

I took my Brown Betty teapot off the shelf. I go into the story behind the Brown Betty in greater detail in a previous post if you’re interested. Then I grabbed a lovely Royal Albert bone china teacup and saucer with a lovely peach damask pattern. I thought the colors of this teacup bounced off the dark brown, shiny teapot in a lovely way, along with it’s beautiful, gold details.

There was a cool breeze, but I placed my chair in a spot where it was slightly sheltered. The sun was very warm and felt wonderful on my skin. Speaking of skin…I allowed my shockingly, bright white ankles out of their winter cocoon. The birds were frightened, but soon realized they had nothing to fear.

I have been waiting all winter for this. Sitting in the bright sun with tea warming my soul. Watching the jet’s stream across the brilliant, blue sky. The sweet sounds of birds chirping surrounding me as I gazed out over the sparkling water. Ahhh….

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