it's not really tea

they're "shrubs"it was something I heard on the radio from a local blogger(Cook Local)she was talking about a drink she makes for parties and get togethersit's another choice for her friends who don't drink alcoholand when paired with foods it's as interesting as wineperhaps a more elegant choice than diet coke, lemonade or iced tea


now don't get weirded out: It's made with vinegarbut by the time you actually drink it the vinegar is no longer vinegar
here are the links to her recent posts about shrubs: (and recipes)Rosemary Orange Drinking VinegarShrubs (or Drinking Vinegars)


they're easy to make, and once made, will keep in the fridge for several monthsone jar will make about 25 servingsthese pictures are of my shrubs after the first stepthe green one is lime/basilthe middle one is rhubarband the last one is cherry blueberry


I'll show you a finished one next week .... and I'll be happily sipping it mixed with sparkling water


... and that's my tea on Tuesday post for today ...what are you having for tea? Or not?if you've posted it on your blog, just mention it when you leave a commentand we'll be happy to come around and ooh and ah over it :)

hens and chicks tea

I'm taking my tea in the company of hens and chicksthe weather has finally turned summeryand the garden is where we all want to be
august is a special time for usthis year we will have been married a sweet sixteen yearsand it's been eleven years since we moved to the pacific northwestit seems that we mark the years with months of august

a life without love is like a year without summer- swedish proverb

what is your tea today?

thank you, as always, for stopping by!happy tuesday and happy august too!

tea break

I'm having cherry, rose hip iced tea todaywith a whole baby lemon sliced thinand a side of paint water


a few clunky chunky rocks too ... and there you have the perfect tea time menuno crumbs!


I've taken a little break from chores todaymade myself some iced tea and am sitting down to re-paint the rocks of my kitty memorial marker


are you going to take a break from your chores too?I hope your summer is going well .... I know it's been awfully hot for most of you ... a perfect excuse to skip out on chores and sip some iced tea :)
do you have a tea post today?mention it when you leave a comment, and we'll stop by to say hello!

tea with my shadow

... or as I usually say, "my little shadow."
my youngest child is usually as close by as any shadow isin fact, when I was getting ready to photograph my tea today,(Twinings, "Herbal Revive" or some such "herbalicious, lemony, gingery, yummy" tea)there she was across the table with her "every single flavor mixed into one big cup" slurpeemuch more interesting than tea :)
what is your tea today?maybe you're having a slurpee too!if you have a tea post on your blog, just mention it when you leave a comment, and we'll be sure to pop round and say hi!

lemonade standers

I had a completely different tea post planned for today, but came across this picture in my camera from a couple of days ago. It made me grin - and I thought you would like it too. It's a good day for lemonade, don't you think?



they sold crystal lite lemonade and homemade chocolate chip cookiesraising $18 towards "the new dog fund"don't worry, our current boy is alive and well - as are the 3 guinea pigs and the teddy bear hamster - but the youngest girl wants a small sized dog she can show in 4Hour Bouvier is too big and too stubborn and too hard to handledon't tell him that though .... he's just doing his job



I hope your day is a good one ... maybe there's a lemonade stand in your neighborhood!leave a comment about your tea today, visit the other blogs who do that too and we'll all get around to say "hi!"

mornings with joe

on a morning like this (last night was a very late night), joe is my morning friend


it's possibly the best coffee I've ever had - a locally roasted coffee I bought through a little league fund raiser.


I would re-order it, but I'm not sure if they have an organic blend :(


anyhow, as I sit with joe and look at my day I can see at least one thing on my list .....


... the lavender harvest.


I hope your 4th of July (and Canada day last Friday) was safe and fun! I love the way summer stretches ahead in these early days of July. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we relish these days! Morning sun! It's a few and far between event!

What are your plans for the today, for July, for the summer? Share your tea and your thoughts with us :)

p.s. I have added a couple of comments myself from friends who posted their tea early ...

bookends

do you have any summer reading that you would recommend?

I keep a running list in my notes so I can put books on hold at the library

I'm still reading (savoring) 

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms 

by Gail Tsukiyama

I love a book that sends me off to learn about something I had no idea about beforehand

like: the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945

that anyone survived those days at all is a miracle

maybe my next book to put on hold will be something to make me laugh

Mark Twain or Garrison Keillor

how about you?

I can't seem to get Mister Linky to work today

so, for today, we'll just go back to our old way of making the rounds

(using the comments as a guide)

working tea

today my workdesk is bathed in warm sunlight

a good day to make a birthday present for my sister

and drink some iced tea

a combination of:

irish breakfast tea (NOT decaf)

red zinger tea (rosehip and hibiscus)

p.o.g. juice (pineapple orange guava)

now if I could just bottle up this color and use it for paint!

what are you up to today?

hot tea?

cold tea?

coke?

lemonade?

whatever your beverage is,

 I hope you're also having a good day to go along with it!

* * *

blossom tea

tea on tuesday

(in reality, posted on monday night)

this is the amount of light we have at 8:30 at night

needless to say, it's hard to nod off to sleep until about 11:00

so I've brewed a cup of "Relaxing Tea"

(San Francisco Herb and Natural Food Co.)

and am digging into a new book:

I'm hoping it will be a good one.

Gail Tsukiyama also wrote

"The Samurai's Garden,"

a book I dearly dearly love

a love story that takes place in post WWII Japan.

So I'm off to bed now with my tea and my book.

I will see you all in the a.m.

(p.s. please drop Nancy an e-mail, she is at her wits end with blogger and has been unable to post, but would love to hear from you. Visit her blog and click on her profile to get to her e-mail address. She misses everyone.)

***

sun tea in the garden

... we have had three days of sunshine now ...

how quickly all is forgiven

:)

the herb garden was calling to me

I wish I had taken a "before" picture!

this was a mass of forget-me-nots

and was actually much prettier!

but at least now it is back to a state of

restraint

order

and

manageability

how nice it was to have thyme to work in the garden today!

and carefully tend to things in need of attention

this is the marker I made several years ago for our beloved

kitty witty

these poor stones need a re-painting I think!

***

are you enjoying thyme for tea?

I hope you are!

link your tea post here - we all love to pop around and say hi!

tea tome

well, it's not really a "tome"

but it is to a kid

the book is "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

and the kid says she is a power reader

"I'm on page  231 mom!"

the tea is Montana Gold

there is nothing better than a really good book and an equally good cup of tea!

do you have a tea post for today?

put your link here and be sure to visit the other blogs that link here too

it's fun!

tea and gifts

it's funny cuz I played in a chain e-mail a little over a week ago

it was called "moneybags"

it promised that if you forwarded the e-mail, in four days you would get all kinds of moolah oolah

I may have even sent that e-mail to you

:)

carefully packaged handmade goodies

well, I DID win Becca's giveaway on her blog

lavender sachets

(and I also won a raffle at the type-in last weekend)

mini-tart pincushion

some things are better than money

sweet tag and lace crochet

like handmade, beautiful and thoughtful gifts

:)

thank you Becca!!!

* * *

if you play tea on tuesday, I can't promise any "moneybags,"

but I can promise you will make some new friends :)

tea and minor details

as I was having my morning cuppa,

I read over my previous post

and thought I was short on a few details about that so-called super easy box to make

o.k. - laugh at my book

it was FREE

on the FREE BOOKS shelf at my used bookstore

so detail number one is: 

use a book that you (or just about anyone else) won't be needing later

(if you needed this book - sorry, it's too late now)

next detail:

cutting the corners out is easiest done using crummy scissors that cut through ANYTHING

and then:

score your lines on the FRONT side of the book

(also, it WILL have an imperfect and ragged appearance - do NOT strive for perfection)

and lastly:

if you are covering the top edges like I did,

do it BEFORE assembling (folding) the box together

*

now, before you go looking for your local used bookstore and their shelf of free books,

put the kettle on and make yourself a nice hot cuppa

those old books aren't going anywhere

oh,

and thanks ever so for stopping by for tea!

I love it when you do!

(p.s. I'm on a school field trip today, so I'll stop by the blogs later on this afternoon)

***

"t" is for typewriter ...

... my new old typewriter that is.

I've been scouting around for one for a little while

and saw this blue one from the 60's.

I had to get it

I like the way my tea cup matches it

(Good Earth Tea - bracing and cozy all in one sip)

I'll be cleaning it,

first with rubbing alcohol and a stiff paint brush,

then I'll oil the gears.

It will be ready just in time for the Type-In downtown this weekend

(I hope it will be ready)

***

... and speaking of getting ready for something ....

I think these guys were getting ready all day ... all week ... all month ... all year

(senior prom kids .... the scene across the street on Saturday)

***

thanks for dropping by with your tea today

I love it when you do that

:)

the arrival of color

the gray days are lessening

and color is making an appearance

soon, it will take center stage

summer is a diva

*

I took this picture in Langley WA

regretfully, I do not know the name of the shop

it's on 2nd Street between the firehouse and the book store

*

welcome to tea on tuesday!

I'm so glad you could pull up a kettle and stay a while

:)