T Stands for Tuesday is ONE today

Today we're having a party.
T Stands for Tuesday is one year old today.  It's time to celebrate.

But while we're in the partying mood, I want to remind you of a few things about T Stands For Tuesday.

I know many of you have been here from the beginning and know I'm NOT about rules.  But I want to reiterate what T Stands For Tuesday is all about and what it stands for.

This is what I wrote one year ago:

What qualifies as a T Tuesday post?  First, let me make it abundantly clear that you do NOT have to drink tea.  And, you do NOT have to photograph your image(s) on Tuesday.  You can take your photo(s) any day of the week, then link your post here.

I went on to explain:

You can talk about anything, enjoy any drink, create a recipe, show journal pages, flower arrangements, encaustics, your favorite pet (which Bleubeard would love), sewing, altered book pages, a shopping trip, a day at the beach, visiting a museum, shoveling snow, skate boarding, combing your hair (you get the idea), and any photos, as long as you can relate them in some way to a T Stands For Tuesday drink.

Don't know what to post?  Have a story to tell, but don't have a tea cup handy? Haven't been anywhere?  Haven't done anything special this week? Don't have a life?  Well neither do I.  So, here are a few ideas.

Stick an empty glass, mug, or cup some place and take a photo.  Photograph one morning, afternoon, or evening when you had a cup of something to drink.  Relate the story you want to share to something drink related, even though there's no mug, cup, or glass nearby.  If you are at the beach, relate T to how the water reminds you of a cool drink.  If you are shoveling snow or making a snowman, relate how you would love to warm up with some hot cocoa.  ANY story can be twisted to relate to T Stands For Tuesday.  In fact, I think those are the entries that will inspire you the most.

Also, to clarify:

Some of you are going to ask why I'm posting on Monday afternoon.  Most of my internet friends live in different places than I, which is in the central time zone of the US.  In the real scheme of things time zones, we are toward the end of the 24 hour day.

And that, my T Stands for Tuesday friends, is why I post every Monday at 4 pm Central Time, and it's also the end of my rant.  Let's get this party started, what say?

And although this isn't my FAVORITE T Stands For Tuesday post, it was one I really enjoyed.
Today's T post begins with this book some of you may have seen me review last Friday for our monthly Artful Readers Club. (Editor's note: this post was originally photographed and published on September 30, 2013)

In case you didn't see the review, the book is called Writing Home and was written by Cindy Leferle.  It has many (over 90) short essays on home, women working, and various other stories most of us can relate to.

Since this is T day, I was intrigued by an essay in the chapter called Kitchen Duty entitled "Just My Cuppa Tea."  I thought the essay was quite appropriate and it had me agreeing as I read each word.

LeFerle provides a bit of history lesson by explaining (as most avid tea drinkers know)

tea originated in the Orient (please ignore the kitty toys under the table),


was first imported to the British Isles (thank you Annette aka Voodoo Vixen for gifting me with everything tea related shown in this photo),
 
then to the US, where it was heavily taxed. LeFerle then reminds us why tea has lost favor in this coffee obsessed world.  According to LeFerle

As most of us recall from our grade-school history classes, it was heavily taxed by the Monarchy and eventually incited the boisterous Boston Tea Party of 1775.  Since then, our country (please note: LeFerle is referring to the United States) has harbored a stubborn preference for coffee (page 108).

She further contends that coffee is quick and all-American, easily being consumed in disposable cups, many of them, in my belief, more than likely styrofoam.

LeFerle admits tea is not easy to prepare.  It requires "that we sit down long enough to assemble its various accouterments (page 108)."  Take these strainers for example.  They go by several names, such as tea balls, strainers, and infusers.  One is needed any time we use tea leaves.

To further quote LeFerle

Drinking tea entails a fussy battery of saucers, spoons, bags, lemon wedges, and pots with lid, not to mention the optional milk, honey, or sugar (pp 108-9).

All that fussing for something that begins with a bit of hot water may be why most waiters don't care for tea drinkers.  Per LeFerle, waiters think

we're a high maintenance bunch and would rather not be bothered with our hot water refills (p 109).      

Show your high (or low) maintenance today and link below.  Your photos don't have to be taken on Tuesday, but they should be somehow T related.  Art, books, stories, or even a good pot of tea will be memorable when you link below and are visited by your fellow T community.


I hope you found a T Stands For Tuesday post that was memorable for you.  Let's truly celebrate today.  So, follow the "rules and guidelines of T Stands For Tuesday," then link below, please.  There might even be a little something-something in it for one lucky linking participant.  After you link, Bleubeard and I will be by to visit, as well as many other T Stands For Tuesday participants who are partying today.  After all, it's a reciprocity thing!