Weekends

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends when we have favorable weather, is enjoy my first pot of tea out on the back deck. Not only is it cooler in the shade, but I get to listen to the birds, the fountain, and the assorted wildlife that float or fly by.

My tall California Pantry teapot captured a clean white and my slightly cracked, second-hand Burleigh’s Blue Calico teacup & saucer represents that deep blue of the sky. I was tickled to have found this lovely teacup & saucer at an antiques store last fall. I think I paid something like $20 for it. Looking at their website, the teacup alone is almost $50 new. It has a small crack on the cup, but doesn’t leak. That’s a win for me!

I’m surprised at my new-found affection for this Blue Calico floral pattern. I normally don’t care for tapestry-like, busy patterns. I think because it’s just two colors…and you can’t go wrong with blue and white. A classic!

My perennial favorite tea blend, Fortmason from Fortnum & Mason was in my teapot today. I have loved this tea from the first time I tried it after picking up a tin of loose tea in the UK pavilion at Epcot in 2002. It’s a wonderful blend of China teas with orange blossom. The scent takes me right back to the pub and tea shop at Disney every time I open the tin. And yes, because I can only get the loose tea online from the UK, I DO spend a lot to get it. Because of the joy and delight it brings me…I think it’s worth it. Although my British tea friends probably take great offense that I never put milk in any of my teas. I like my teas strong and black.

For a dash of color, I went out to the highly-overgrown, hardly-maintained flower garden. Since my ruptured brain aneurysm in 2006, my energy level and desire to maintain this garden, which sits a ways from the house, has waned. The weeds are too much. So, I have simply let the plants that do well have a party and do what they want to. Echinacea, heliopsis, day lilies, balloon flower, and daisies have been allowed to freely self-seed. Unfortunately, so have the weeds and the Japanese beetles colonies. I prefer my large container plants on the deck these days. Easier to maintain and enjoy.

Anyway…I digress! I went out to cut any echinacea that hasn’t had too much beetle damage and discovered a single Oriental Lily amongst the tall growth. I was shocked to see it because I thought I had pulled those bulbs due to damage from a tree falling on them years ago. What a lovely surprise! One bloom, but it still packs some powerful scent.

As I write this blog on the deck, sipping my tea, smelling the scent of that fabulous lily, and soothing Baroque music playing on Pandora, the hummingbirds are buzzing around me at the feeder. It doesn’t get any better than that for me. Happy Weekend!