Two year tea

"Welcome to my first ever Tuesday Tea, the brainchild of Kimmie at Art in Red Wagons. Please check Kimmie's blog for other Tuesday Tea participants."

These were the first words I wrote on March 23, 2010, immediately before I showed my first Tea Tuesday post. Back then, we had themes, which was even more of a challenge than just figuring out what tea we would drink and what tale our tea cup of the day could tell.


Fast forward two years, or 104 Tea Tuesday posts and here is where we are today. Not much has changed, except possibly the ground cover. My garden will still look basically the same, although it is already in bloom with what looks like hundreds of tulips, so certainly more filled out than the above photo. Coincidentally, that very same tea cup has been in a lot of my Tea Tuesday shots.


This is how I celebrated after 10 consecutive posts. I even had to go out and buy several of the cups and two of the mugs for this shot.


Of course, I love my Taylor and Ng mugs, and I really LOVED my old porch, too, even though it was beginning to fall apart. It was still in better shape than the one I have now.


That first year, I took everyone on a trip to the Spice Merchant,


where you can buy lots of bulk tea and coffee, as well as spices and herbs.


I spent two Tea Tuesdays showing their wares.


One of my favorite posts was the one about the little piggies.


Does anyone remember my Zi6, the camera that took exceptionally good close up photos? Unfortunately, the on/off button not only broke, it fell into the camera, never to be seen again. However, that didn't happen right away,


as you can tell when I visited my friend Billie who served me some Constant Comment tea in a rocking horse mug.


Here are all my Tayor and Ng mugs. I love them so much, and even more now that I know they are discontinued, and that the company has been purchased by someone else, who doesn't have the same quality mugs as these were. Those of you who remember, these mugs, they retailed at around $10.00 a mug back in the early 1980s. I think several of mine even read 1979.


Early that next year, I celebrated my friend Annette's (Voodoo Vixen) birthday (Jan 4, 2011) with some type of fruity cake and cinnamon tea.


There are so few photos before this one because I created this collage on my first anniversary with Kimmie and friends. You can see it in its true size below. So many memories, one full year's worth! You will need to double click to see it in a better size.



I was filling out insurance forms as I made this tea post, while


writing a to-do list when I created this one.


I used to take photos of the tea I would be drinking that week. That was when you could actually read the up-close-and-personal writing. I don't do that now that you can't read the writing on the containers.


I hope some remember this was from Mardi Gras, or FAT Tuesday (also Tea Tuesday) last year.


This is tea I drank when I was so sick in late March of last year and could barely get out of bed, much less make it to Tea Tuesday.


This was a miniature set I found in my basement when my items were returned from storage in May, 2011, after my big flood in January, 2011. I would NEVER get a photo that crisp with the camera I'm using now.


To celebrate my birthday, I received gifts from Gayle of Bliss and Gesso. She lives in Australia, and I was simply overwhelmed by her generosity. And of course, these goodies, and the tea, are all from her home town and country.


Annette (aka Voodoo Vixen) sent the Hibiscus tea (and other goodies) for my birthday last year, and I drank it from my Hibiscus mug my friend Billie brought me from Hawaii.


To celebrate the new porch, I wrote a Tea post about a porch post!


Here I enjoyed some tea with half and half (since I have no milk).


In this photo I wasn't sure whether I was imitating Patty (of Magpie's Nest) or striking out on my own.


A fourth of July celebration with tea and possibly one of my FINAL


posts where I used my Zi6 camera. Gosh I miss those gorgeous close up shots!!


Summer, 2011 was brutal. As bitterly cold as winter had been, summer was even worse. Note my mug I like to use when temperatures hit triple Fahrenheit digits.


It was the hottest summer on record (at least as long as records have been kept), and my outdoor time was limited to early mornings and late evenings.


I was especially proud of this photo that honors my late Grandmother.


With the heat of summer, there was loads of time to dye paper, fabric, and gather tea bags for art. Of course, iced tea was usually on the menu.


I even had tea in bed when the weather permitted!


I showed how an impulse buy can affect our tea drinking habits,


while flowers were nearly non-existent in the back yard where the sun was constant and remorseless.


Here I am trying to capture the tea blossom during a photo session with my ANCIENT Vivitar camera I had to start using again after I broke the Kodak Zi6.


Tea and scones: a right proper British meal, in my opinion. Oh look! I must really love that set of dishes.


The Christmas gift I made for my friend Dana was featured on Inspiration Avenue's private blog. I was thrilled, because I had created both parts of this completed block during IA challenges, although I waited until Tea Tuesday to unveil this assemblage.



Sometime during late September or early October, my friend Sally and I visited that Tea shop, which had all the roses on the walls, the china, and the table tops. Sadly, the shop went out of business right after we visited. I was glad we were able to go, but was not disappointed to not see that wallpaper again!

For Thanksgiving, I always bring out my Grandmother's Old Curiosity Shop china. I use it from Thanksgiving through Christmas. The copper I will use any day of the year.


I made this log for a party I attended before Christmas, so was unable to cut and share it with my Tea Tuesday friends.


Some of you might remember how I manipulated the Tea before Christmas. As I mentioned a couple of Tea Tuesdays ago, the sandwich is a set of coasters. So, yes, I'm sure it looked fake to many of my readers.


Early this year, I participated in Traci Bautista's on-line FREE classes (yes, you can still join at Strathmore) and created this wall hanging I thought reminded me of my snowman mug.


Oh look! Seems like my favorite cup and saucer again. Halle (of Halle's Hobbies) reminded me she sent that tea to me. It took over three weeks, but I have finally got that big tub of gesso open and dealt with.


And finally, the shot at my computer you probably won't see often, since I keep my office off limits to art supplies other than the digital or scanned type.

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, and weren't too bored with this post celebrating two years of Tea Tuesday (for me). I know I have picked up quite a few new followers these past few months, so a recap is sometimes a fun thing to do. Now please go have tea with Kimmie and my Tea Tuesday friends whose blogs I have also highlighted. We would love to have you join us, too.