Tea with Gran

Sometimes a photograph can grab you and transport you back to a familiar place. Perhaps a place that was so full of love that you knew, even as a child,  that you would someday have vivid memories of that time.

Tasha Tudor

My grandmother 'taught me' to drink tea at an early age, perhaps seven. She was not as fancy as Tasha Tudor with her lace ruffles and all, but she always wore a dress and an apron. Her name was Mary.

I can still feel the tea-cup in my hand, warmed from the wood-stove and filled with 1/2 tea and 1/2 milk and a bit of honey. She taught me how to pour tea, to let it steep for 5 minutes and never clean the pot with soap.

"Just hot water and some lemon will do the trick", she'd say.

Along with the tea was fresh bread, toasted on the wood stove, with her home-made strawberry jam.  She always kept the cookie jar filled with home-made cookies.

As I type this I can see her face and feel the heat of the stove on my face. I remember her little brown tabby-cat, Maggie always snuggled in her apron. I can hear the laughter of my cousins, who sat around the summer kitchen making these same memories. We shared stories and listened to music on the old record player. We teased each other and made plans for the next morning; what we'd do and where we'd go. 

Everyday was an adventure at my grandmother's home.

Such wonderful memories of childhood. Summers at the old farm.

My new tea-pot is the prettiest one I own. 

It pours perfectly.

When I saw it I thought of my grandmother.

 We are going to get along just fine.

Freezing rain is on it's way.

Audrey is watching for it.

She'll let us know when it's here by batting at the window.

Thank goodness her days of climbing the blinds are over.

Hugs, Deb