Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 155

Merry Christmas!

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — The Exit Exam

Friends, I hope you all are getting ready to have a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and friends! And for those of you who have followed this series throughout 2016, I now present the final exam. I was going to make the quiz 50 questions, but my husband said that was too hard and he wouldn't do it, so I've whittled it down to 10. 

Anyone who correctly answers these 10 questions between now and 7 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, will be entered in a drawing for a very special gift! Can you answer them? If so, just type your answers, email them to me at angelamcrae at charter dot net (or use the button at right) and you'll be entered to win. Good luck!

1. This state was the first to grant women the right to vote, and some say a tea party helped advance the suffrage effort there.

2. This state is the home of America’s only working tea plantation.
3. A tearoom in this state served meals to scientists working on the Manhattan Project.
4. This state is the home of a town called Edenton in which one Penelope Barker and 51 other women protested the Tea Act passed by the British Parliament in 1773, an event which became known as the Edenton Tea Party. 
5. This state has a city by the name of “Tea.”
6. This state is the home of Stash Tea.
7. Luzianne Tea was founded in this state.
8. One of the most legendary tea sandwiches is the Benedictine tea sandwich, named for a famous caterer, Jennie Benedict, and it is associated with this state.
9. Lots of Depression Glass, including the Art Deco Tea Room pattern, was produced in this state.
10. In which state was Arizona Tea founded?
Tip: If you'd like an easy way to search the old blog posts to help you find the answers, click here.

The Cookie Cup cookie cutter

So it was my last visit to T.J. Maxx / HomeGoods before Christmas, and I was looking for gift ideas for a dear friend I wanted to get a little something extra. I found her a beautiful pie plate with a wreath design inside, and while I was in the housewares section, I found for myself this Cookie Cup cookie cutter that looked intriguing. As you can see, I haven't even opened it yet, but it lets you imprint star designs …

Or a small fluted cookie design …

And small circle designs. That's all in addition to the large (about 3-inch diameter) opening up top. And since some of you like tea-themed kitchen gadgets as much as I do, I wanted to be sure you knew about it. You can also find these here, but I like the HomeGoods price much better!

Tea treats from my pen pal!

A Christmas gift from Sandy, my pen pal in New York, has arrived, and I have had so much fun tucking into the wonderful array of gifts. I especially wanted you to see some of the handmade and tea things she included since those are favorites for so many of us! My favorite was this embroidered piece featuring friends at tea.

It's the perfect gift for a tea-loving pen pal, isn't it?
And some stocking-shaped silverware holders. Aren't these darling? I especially love how she included "paper utensils" to illustrate how they are used!
And a beautiful fabric tote bag that I have truly *needed* to corral some of the tea-themed quilting supplies that have been floating around my office-slash-crafts room.

Sandy also included some cute teacup napkins and a new tea strainer, and also a coloring book, some tea-themed gift bags, framed artwork of a three-tiered tea tray, a china tea bag holder, some pretty flower accents she crocheted for the kitchen sink sprayer, several charming notepads and shopping lists, recipe cards, and a few more things she knew I'd love because they're "quilty" gifts. Honestly, I was pulling so many goodies out of that box, my husband sat in amazement and watched. He said it was like watching all of those circus clowns pile out of a tiny little car and wondering how they all could possibly fit inside. But as we all know, tea friends are some of the most generous of friends, aren't they!

Sampling new teas from a tea friend in Canada

Some of you have clearly been much more industrious about getting out the Christmas cards than I have been this year, and oh, I was so happy when I received one from Margaret in Canada! Not only because she so thoughtfully sent me a card but also because it contained samples of two delicious teas I've never tried before, Northern Delights Inuit Herbal Tea and Basilur Frosty Afternoon Ceylon Black Tea!

First I tried the Northern Delights Inuit Herbal Tea. It had a wonderfully rich, sweet taste (without adding any sugar, which I almost never do anymore). In fact, I tried to detect what was responsible for the sweetness. Cinnamon? A wee touch, maybe, but not the main flavor at all. Finally I looked on the company's website and saw that the tea contains a few things I'd never have guessed in a million years: "sarsaparilla roots, fenugreek seeds, cloudberry, cinnamon, carob, roasted maté, natural flavours, roasted barley, grilled dandelion roots." I loved this tea!

And although it says "Frosty Afternoon," I enjoyed this Basilur Pure Ceylon Black Tea in the evening and so enjoyed the surprise of its bright, citrusy taste! (I taste first, guess the flavor last.) The blend is of black loose tea ("grade FBOP from the lower elevations of Ceylon," the website says) and has cornflower, blue cornflower, and the flavors of passionfruit and orange. A lovely treat from a lovely tea friend!

Bottlebush trees and bell jar ornaments

If you're like me, you probably have some "collections within collections." I knew that among my Christmas decorations, I had a "thing" for bell jar ornaments a few years ago, and I began to notice that many of them had bottlebrush trees inside. Then I realized that I have quite a few little bottlebrush trees as well. This year, they're all lined up on the mantel in the living room.
I usually pick up a new bell jar ornament or two most years, and I love how these tiny little worlds all have something different inside. 
I've never really collected a Christmas village (although I'm jealous of my friends who have villages of tea shops!), but I do use ornaments like this one as village pieces. Can this count?

And of course when I'm going all Shabby Chic, my cream-colored teapots and candle holders are never far away, and neither is one of the vintage teapot ornaments I collect.

One of my favorite little trees is this one under glass, which I nabbed the minute I saw it at a Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic store in Atlanta a few years ago. The store didn't stay in Atlanta long, so I'm glad I got this when I did!

Another bottlebrush tree with a Santa, and another bell jar ornament with tiny bottlebrush trees inside.


Another vintage teapot ornament gets worked in here as well, alongside another doodad with a tiny bottlebrush tree and, in a nod to our Wisconsin family, a Green Bay Packers ornament that lights up and turns all different colors at night. It's the one "modern" addition to this vintage grouping, and I think our little Packers snowman fits in quite well!

How to have a (turquoise) blue Christmas

I seem to be adding to the Christmas decorations day by day this year, and I thought some of you might enjoy seeing a few more of the "teatime" touches I've worked in, so I'll be sharing a few more this week. The teapot ornament hanging on the bride's basket above was a *perfect* fit for this turquoise vignette, and it was one I was delighted to receive from Margie in California last year.

The butterflies on the ornament are the perfect shade of turquoise, and the ornie reads, "When in doubt, make tea." Good advice, always!

And just to show you that I do occasionally follow through with the things I *say* I'm going to do on this blog, here is the bride's basket full of mini-ornaments that I was inspired to gather after reading an article in that Christmas issue of Flea Market Décor. I didn't want to decorate the living room and dining room entirely in turquoise this year, so the turquoise is confined to this little table in our foyer, but I've enjoyed having a splash of turquoise to enjoy.
I found a beaded turquoise tree at Marshalls, I believe, several years ago, but it's a little too new for my tastes, so I accessorized it by adding right on top this tacky/gaudy/lovable (choose one) rhinestone Christmas tree I found at an antique mall years ago.
Now these stars are some pieces I found at Target the year I first got into decorating with turquoise, and they are pretty, but they are lethal. In fact, I started to toss them this year, but the glitter looks so pretty with the other stuff, I decided they get to stay for another year.
And last but not least, there's the dollar store nativity that remains one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received. If you haven't read the story behind it, it's here.

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — Wyoming

Women's suffrage, a political scandal, and a world-famous national park. Who knew Wyoming would be such a great state to explore for its tea history!


Esther Hobart Morris

• Did a tea party help give women the right to vote? Wyoming was the first US state that granted women the right to vote, and Wyoming’s Esther Hobart Morris is believed by some to have helped bring this to pass. One story has it that in 1869, two candidates for the legislature were attending a tea party at the home of Mrs. Morris, and after tea was served, she asked that whoever was elected introduce a woman’s suffrage bill. Later accounts dispute that story, but there is no disputing that Mrs. Morris was quite active in the suffrage movement. In fact, soon after the bill became law, Mrs. Morris was appointed the first female justice of the peace in this country. (And I still think it likely that tea may have played a role in all this!)

• One of Wyoming's famous rock formations, the Teapot Rock in Natrona County, Wyoming, became the symbol of a bribery scandal, popularly known as the Teapot Dome Scandal, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. All I really knew about this was that Wyoming had a famous rock formation in the shape of a teapot, and I gathered that "Teapot Dome" was once spoken in the manner in which we say "Watergate" today. Here's the Wikipedia version of the scandal: "Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two other locations in California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. In 1922 and 1923, the leases became the subject of a sensational investigation by Senator Thomas J. Walsh. Fall was later convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies and became the first Cabinet member to go to prison. No person was ever convicted of paying a bribe, however." (I have to wonder how someone could be convicted of accepting a bribe yet no one convicted of paying a bribe.) Numerous books have been written about Teapot Dome, and I probably need to read one or two.
• From the New York Public Library's digital archives comes this stereoscopic image of The 'Tea Kettle,' boiling hot from Mother Earth’s hidden fires, Yellowstone Park, U.S.A." in Wyoming. The image is believed to date from around 1901-1904. You can click here to see an image of Teakettle Spring that's a bit more modern in appearance.
And that, my friends, wraps up our exploration of tea in the good old US of A this year! Next week: the pop quiz. Will you be ready?SaveSave

The sticky notes/calendar giveaway winner is …

Sandie of the Crazy 'Bout Quilts blog! And Sandie, if you'll send me your snail mail address, I'll get these goodies headed your way. Congrats!

The tea tree is up!

Actually, the tea-themed Christmas tree was up on Sunday, I just didn't take the time to stop and blog about it until now. This year I have it on my tea trolley, and although I realized years ago that I have too many ornaments to hang on this one tree, I did get a good many of them on there.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who bought this 2016 set of ornaments from Hallmark, featuring a Santa teapot and, just behind him, a green teacup.
Another Hallmark favorite is the "Alice in Wonderland" ornament I got in 2010, the year that I got my niece Cari one just like it for Christmas since we had seen the movie together that year.
The best part of decorating this little tree, though, is the many happy memories of ornaments that were given to me by tea friends over the years, so following are a few of the ornaments (but certainly not all) that I have been blessed to receive!










 
And no, this ornament isn't on a tree, but I was tired of the 1980s-era tassel I had attached to this old skeleton key in my great-grandmother's secretary, and I realized I should use the key as another means of displaying teatime ornaments year round. I have tea ornaments from friends displayed elsewhere in my home, too, and sometime I probably need to do a post on that!