Teatime with TT & Wendy

 

Welcome to Teatime with TT... Tressie Teegarden.  Today Tressie's niece, Wendy, is stopping by to share some of her most special memories...  Grab a cup of tea and join us!

I loved her so much! She ALWAYS remembered my birthday with a Story Book Doll every year. Though minus the mantilla I still have the Senorita she sent me from her trip to Mexico! I wish I still had the rest. But, in high school I worked a Santa Clause Shop and was appalled at the quality of gifts!  A church friend and I pounced on everybody we knew that had kids and I cleaned up my Story Book collection and we took it all to the Action Center to add to their selection. 

When she found out that I was getting into porcelain dolls, she started a subscription for me to China Painter magazine.  I still have those as well as a big selection of her china works. I have her picture from Bert's 25th Anniversary Party with her plates in my kitchen.

What do you remember of Tressie's & Forrest's trip to Germany to visit your Mom & Dad?  (TT's brother, Ralph, was stationed in Germany and they traveled there to visit.)  I seem to recall that you were there at the same time.

Yes, Bert (TT's sister {the one she left stuck in a tree!}) was with them too! I have some pictures from then. Adam was about 3, I think!  (Sadly, at this time, the pictures have not been located. 😢)

Wendy, Roberta, Ralph, Tressie & Shirley (Ralph's wife, Wendy's Mom) & Adam (Wendy's son)

My favorite memory from that was it was my 30th birthday and I was all The big 30!  Wawawa I'm so old. I'll never forget Tressie telling me, "Ahh, Wend, wait ‘til you're facing the big 70!” I've told myself that every year since! And now here I am!! Next year!

My mom also went with them to Amsterdam, I think. 

When I was fairly new at CDE I had a co-worker from Trinidad that was retiring. I contacted Aunt Tressie about buying a plate with Fishers Peak as a retirement present. She sent me 2! One for me and one for my co-worker! And she refused payment! This is the one I kept. Joan said hers looked just as she remembered it! 

She made me a rose tea set!

Tressie had a natural talent for painting roses.  I have our full set of china set that she painted for us as a wedding gift, porcelain tea pot included, with wild roses, not to mention numerous more plates.

Here are a few Teatime Tidbits...

Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, first practiced the fine tradition of "afternoon tea," in an effort to satisfy her afternoon hunger.  In those times, dinner was served rather late in the day and she was in need of something to hold her over.  She then turned it into a social occasion by inviting her friends over to share this afternoon treat and needless to say, it caught on!

Victorian women were known to be so serious about taking their afternoon tea that when invited out for tea, they would bring their own cup and saucer wrapped carefully in a special box!

There are three kinds of tea:  black, green and oolong.  The difference is in how the tea leaves are processed.  Black tea leaves are fermented fully, green tea leaves are not fermented at all, and oolong tea leaves are partially fermented.

Brewing Tea... the proper way.

It's so easy to dunk a tea bag in a mug of boiling water.  But if you want to enjoy the best possible tea, try brewing it the proper, old-fashioned way.

Start by filling the kettle with fresh, cold water.  While waiting for the kettle to whistle, fill the teapot (ceramic teapots are best for holding heat) with hot water to warm it.  Before the kettle boils, empty the teapot of its "warming water" and add the tea leaves either into a tea sock, infusion basket, or directly into the teapot.  Use one teaspoon of loose tea for each cup and as the saying goes, "one more for the pot."  (If you are using teabags, you should use one teabag less than the number of cups.)

As soon as the kettle whistles, pour the boiling water into the teapot.  (Take care not to boil the water too long as this depletes the oxygen in the water and can result in a flat tasting brew.)  Place the lid on the teapot and allow it to steep inside the teapot.  Pour through a strainer into the cup.  Remove the tea leaves or teabags to prevent further steeping.

Top off the teapot with a tea cozy to keep the pot warm for the next cup of tea.  Enjoy!

And here's a link for a free tutorial from Days Filled with Joy to make a quick and easy cozy for your teapot!  This project is in the radar to be made soon... Thanks Joy!

During our recent Red River trip we visited a tea shop and sampled a variety of teas.  Our youngest daughter made a purchase and shared with me. 😍 While I have a teapot, I have never used it.  But I think I will be trying out this proper method of brewing.  I'll let you know what I think of it.    I think Tressie may have done this on occasion since I have a cute little teapot that I rescued from the discard pile when we were moving her.  It has a small crack in it, but it looks so cute on top of the cabinets in the kitchen... and is wonderful memory of her. 💝

Have you visited Cornerstone Tea Company and seen the wide variety of teas that Stephanie offers? If you make a purchase before July 20th, you can get a 30% discount by using SAVORY as your discount code at checkout.  

How about you?  Do you have a teapot?  

Do you use it?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

The Steps to the Altar pattern is still available at no cost and you have plenty of time to get your blocks made and link up for the chance to win a wonderful prize package from Cornerstone Tea Company.

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch