Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

Happy Leap Year or intercalary or bissextile year, Gentle Reader! All is dotted ebony to Mrs. Teabody's  left, and the promise for the day ahead is rain so perhaps a spectacular sunrise is not in the offing. Sixty-eight degrees declared the  new Susquehanna Bank sign yesterday afternoon as Mrs. Teabody tossed expired tea leaves into the pansy bed. Has there ever been a milder February, Gentle Reader? And here it is the twenty-ninth day, Leap Day as some call it. Don't squander it, Gentle Reader. Leap Day comes around only once every four years and even a person of Mrs. Teabody's advanced years has had very few. Mrs. Teabody was an adult before she met someone who had a Leap Day birthday. Mon Dieu! A dreadfully unlucky fate. He had the unlikely name of Frances and  claimed to be celebrating his SIXTH birthday even though he was a third year law student. Can you fathom it, Gentle Reader? A birthday cake every FOUR years? Even though Mrs. Teabody does not embrace the relen

"The night has been unruly." Good Morning, Gentle Reader! A little isosceles triangle of daylight peeps through the ominous gray cloud cover just now, and if one can believe the weather prognosticators, today will grow warmer and less unruly.  Mrs. Teabody trusts her mention of wolverines yesterday was not the source of a restless night for anyone? Mrs. Teabody enjoyed a refreshing slumber and had planned to discuss all the new organic, single garden teas that have arrived at Tickle Your Fancy. Teatulia is a region of Bangledesh where these extraordinary teas are grown and harvested and thus the name. Mrs. Teabody is working her way through their "canon" and  is happy to award  high marks for both Lemongrass  and Peppermint herbal infusion. There is so very much to tell you, Gentle Reader, but Mrs. Teabody shall reserve the discussion for another day. When you are not so distracted. Mrs. Teabody thinks you are ripe to plan an adventure, Gentle Reader, and she h

Good Morning, Gentle Reader! What a nice surprise to see the forrest floor illuminated with snow! One would not fear venturing out into such a landscape, would one? After all, where could the wolves, bears, coyotes, wolverines and other animals bent on human dining possibly hide? No, the forrest would be ever so much less frightening, do you not agree? Pity it is too cold. Mrs. Teabody has had an exceptional dream in which things went very badly for her. Of course, Mrs. Teabody's bad dreams are never of the magnitude and horror of others who routinely find themselves being shot while driving their cars or trapped beneath an avalanche ! Quelle horreur! On the contrary, Mrs. Teabody, every two years or so, dreams about showing up at a largish social function inappropriately dressed or, as was the case in last night's dream, being dreadfully inconvenienced. Attend. Mrs. Teabody was ensconced at a well-placed table in some hotel lobby in some indeterminate city enjoying the dec

Happy FRIDAY Morning, Gentle Reader!  Mother Nature is offering a rain-soaked pre-dawn, but in spite of the sogginess ahead, Mrs. Teabody can almost hear the smiles forming on your faces as you realize that after you survive today - - and you will! -- and its demands, you will once again be master of your universe, and the risk of an unpleasant encounter with the forces that hold dominion over your workaday world will fade to airy nothing. Mrs. Teabody herself once worked in the real world and her experiences with bosses ran the gamut from  bright, intuitive, and compassionate to clueless, misogynist and incompetent, and she hopes your workaday world is in the masterful hands of the  former sort. Everyone is happier  working for a  leader who actually knows what he or she is doing, after all, do you not agree, Gentle Reader?  And if you are one of those bosses , Mrs. Teabody knows you are of the very best type. Mrs. Teabody wonders if any of you physically "punch" a time

Good morning! Bonjour! Buongiorno! Goedemorgen! abāḥul kẖayr! Guten Morgen! Gentle Reader, do you communicate in any language other than that of your birth country? If your answer is   yes, oui, ja, si, ha,  Mrs. Teabody applauds you. How wonderfully clever you are! Mr. and Mrs. Teabody often travel to other parts of the world but would not dream of doing so without a phrase book, a very helpful thing when  having newly arrived at Gare du Nord train station in Paris so you do not put your debit card into a train ticket dispensing machine hoping to get cash in return, or, for that matter, make an hotel reservation. Mrs. Teabody on her first visit to Paris so many years ago had to look up the meaning of "Sortie" as it was posted  with such frequency and prominence. A very red-faced Mrs. Teabody. Of course, if one takes the time during a long visit to a foreign city one does learn the expressions of conventional  civility. One would be churlish not to, do you not agree, Gen

Bon Jour, mon petit tete de chou! And so the delightful, benign winter continues, and who - - other than children wanting sled time - - is disappointed not to greet the day with trepidation, Gentle Reader? No driving person, surely. Winter brings fear to even the best drivers as one does not always share the motorways with other "best drivers," is that not true? Mrs. Teabody's little shop, Tickle Your Fancy, looks out onto one of the busier streets in the village so she is witness to some extremely fast driving, some extremely reckless driving, and some extremely distracted driving as easily seventy percent of drivers who are driving solo have a cellular phone attached to their petit tete de chou. Mon Dieu! Mrs. Teabody is not a fan of slippery roads so she was happy to greet an iceless and snowless day yesterday in Dover, Delaware,  as she and her sister, the Duchess Tilly were in transit homeward by dawn's earliest light. And shortly after sunrise there was a most

It is an absolute ebony sky this morning as Mrs. Teabody greets the day as well it should be. After all, it is just two hairs past a freckle - -no, no, that cannot be right. It is hard on four ayem, Gentle Reader, and Mrs. Teabody and the Duchess Tilly have an early morning engagement. If Mrs. T wishes to speak with you in this manner, she must do so at this hour. Please forgive her this dull prose as the grey matter feels wayward and spongy. Perhaps it will be revived by the steaming cuppa "Bon Jour" once the steeping process is complete. But to the purpose: As "Downton Abbey" fans know, the regrettably short season drew to a close last night as the Crawley household celebrated the new year: 1920. In almost Dickensian fashion, all the loose ends were rolled up but only basted together--not sewn in place so one has an entire year to wonder over the fate of Mr. Bates, the comeuppance of Thomas, and most importantly, the outcome of the love relationship between Matt

If you were sitting here next to Mrs. Teabody, Gentle Reader, (and you were awake) you would see the promise of yet another  beautiful morning to your left. The bare forrest gives Mrs. Teabody a mountain-meets-the-sky horizon as far as the eye can see. A slender sickle moon hangs against a grey-blue still-night sky a little above the horizon just now gathering pale orange, pale rose. Mrs. Teabody hopes you greet the day with a sight that gives you such indescribable hope and joy. Mrs. Teabody shared her growing up years with  three sisters in a large, east-facing bedroom with three windows turned toward the sun, one window to the cold north, and one window to the sunny south. How fortunate! Do you not agree, Gentle Reader? If you were sitting here, Mrs. Teabody would make you a nice cuppa Adagio "Irish Breakfast," and once you had imbibed its heartiness, you would be ready to "whip your weight in wild cats" as Mrs. Teabody's father was wont to say. Mrs. Teabod

Good  Friday morning, Gentle Reader! Mrs. Teabody is aware that today is actually a holiday for many of you and the beginning of a four-day hiatus. Jolly good! Whatever diversion tickles your fancy, by all means embrace it with abandon and live in the moment. Whatever you do, do NOT think about Tuesday. Tuesday will arrive without one drop of effort from you.  Once commerce ceased yesterday, Mr. and Mrs. Teabody swanned off to a neighboring village to purchase a printer/scanner/FAX machine for Tickle Your Fancy. Always concerned with expanding your knowledge base, Gentle Reader, Mrs. Teabody wishes to inform you that this "combination printer" ranges in price from fifty-six dollars all the way up to four hundred dollars. And, as is the case with all electronic equipment, there are no fewer than nine cables one must purchase to make the machine actually function and these can ratchet up the costs exponentially. Truly, Mrs. Teabody has so many attachments on her computer alre

Good Morning, Gentle Reader.  Mrs. Teabody trusts your dreams were not compromised by "American Idol" drama or the forecast for a rainy Thursday. Mrs. Teabody rose at 1:00 A.M. but was able to renew her slumber by meditation, and in what seemed the wink of an eye, it was 5:30 and time to greet the day. This morning, Mrs. Teabody is having Thai Chai and it is delightful. On Facebook this morning, Mrs. Teabody noted that today is the birthday of Reed Runk, a fellow "Ridge Runner" whose sister Bonnie was one of Mrs. Teabody's excellent good friends, whose brother "Jimmy Dale" was as much a part of Mrs. Teabody's family during her growing up years as any of her siblings. Good people, the Runks, and thinking of them brought back a memory that renews itself every so often, a memory of a walk so terribly inconsistent with everyday life of the time that it never ceases to bring a sense of wonderment to Mrs. Teabody, involving as it did two women, Mrs. Te

Good Morning, Gentle Reader!  Did all your Valentine's Day dreams come true? Mrs. T. hopes they did. Mr. Teabody is ever romantic and "spot on" with his gift giving, and a lovely silver medallion reminiscent of Mayan culture now hangs lightly at Mrs. T's throat. Mrs. T regrets calling him a churl, and she regrets even more his behaving like one. His much more regal self is now firmly in place, and Mrs. Teabody adores him for it. Mrs. Teabody wishes you could smell ( and Taste!) the delicious new tea with which she greets the day. It is  Tea Forte's "Cucumber Mint" and it tastes like summer. Lovely fragrance that puts all sorts of plans in motion in Mrs. Teabody's "grey matter." There is nothing like a few mild days to inspire change. One finds a new energy in this benign winter, an energy that needs to be directed at change. First off,  it is time to "Think Spring" at TYF.  The need to un-decorate the bulkheads at Tickle Your

(This was written on Valentine's Day, 2012 but bears repeating in light of the season and for those who think a perfect mate has to be, well. . .perfect. :)) Good Morning, Gentle Reader! Freezing temperatures are the order of the day and every seven minutes on the television, some company is urging everyone to engage in commerce to celebrate romantic feelings. A dangling heart pendant from Zales? Why not? Edible fruit arrangements? How appropriate! A Lexus? Make that a double. Mrs. Teabody adores her  very own Valentine who is rustling magazine pages in the adjoining room, refusing to watch Sunday's missed episode of "Downton Abbey" at this "absurd" time of day.  If Mr. Teabody persists in this unyielding mode, there is little hope of his having a heart-shaped pancake for tomorrow morning's breakfast. Churl. (Mrs. Teabody means that in only the most endearing way.) Does the advent of  Valentine's Day dredge up the smell of construction paper a

Good Saturday Morning, Gentle Reader! Nature is a study in black and white under a milky gray sky as Mrs. Teabody greets the day, and she hopes you, too, have cardinals, juncos, woodpeckers, chickadees at your feeders to remind you the life in its infinite variety still exists and you are a part of it. The Teabodys embrace these ephemeral snowfalls and give them their full approval. Anything that brings a smile to the Teabodys' faces merits mentioning. Fridays at Tickle Your Fancy have an indescribably vibrancy. The village has become quite a popular destination for thrift shop afficionados, and McConnellsburg has some real treasures in that regard with Fulton Antiques, Lost Treasures, Better Days and Dorothy's Attitudes. TYF hosted visitors from Huntingdon, Chambersburg, Gettysburg and Winchester yesterday as well as a skiing couple en route to Whitetail and in late afternoon one of Mrs. Teabody's FAVORITE friends Lady W_. Lady W_ needs to have her own talk show on te

Bonjour, Hola, Hello, Gentle Friends! "Friday at last!,"   some of you are thinking as you bustle about readying yourself for life in the working world, and Mrs. Teabody spent long enough -- thirty-five years! --  in that tension-fraught workplace to understand and feel compassion for you. She highly recommends work that is fun and interesting -- to wit: running a gifts and tea shop such as Tickle Your Fancy. Who knew a February Thursday could be so much fun? First off, the Teabodys have made being completely idle an art form. Truly. No one can do absolutely nothing with such abandon as the Teabodys. Mrs. Teabody  highly recommends it, but yesterday was NOT an idle day. Attend. The snow moon was far from setting when Mrs. Teabody donned her apron, fired up the nob and set to the tasks at hand: first, scones. Mrs. Teabody was trying a new one, "Hearts Afire" so sultanas wanted plumping and the flour, butter, sugar, salt, baking powder wanted crumbing and then t

"The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave a luster of mid-day to objects below . . ." Good Morning, Gentle Reader! For this day only, Mrs Teabody hopes you had a somewhat restless night or a late bed time because the  almost full moon shining on the ermine snow was quite magical. Perhaps it is because it is so rare-- the combination of moonlight  and snow. One waits years for such a sight. In fact, even though Mrs. Teabody is a lady in advancing years, November was the first time she ever watched a full moon SETTING on the sea. Nature is all the sideshow one requires, do you not agree, Gentle Reader? Mrs. Teabody has had the good fortune to meet so many interesting people at Tickle Your Fancy . One never knows who will come through the front door, and Mrs. Teabody adores surprises. The chance to share a cuppa with new and/or old friends is vastly under-rated in this world. Mrs. Teabody grew up in a time when "visiting" was fashionable. On any gi

Bonjour, mon petit chou! Did the moon keep you awake last night? It was a persistent one hanging aglow throughout the slumbering hours "tipping with silver" rocks and branches and keeping Duchess Ming sitting vigilantly by the French doors awaiting the opportunity to thwart any danger threatening Chez Teabody. A canine of the first order, Duchess Ming. Squirrels quake in her presence. Mice write their wills. She can be as formidable a foe as she is loving and generous as a friend. Good weather continues to prevail as days lengthen, and before anyone can say "Bob's your uncle," spring will waken the world again. Mrs. Teabody trusts you have begun plans for gardens. Mrs. Teabody grows only a few vegetables as Duchess Tilly and Lord and Lady Henry maintain a massive vegetable garden at the ancestral home, but she has a deft hand when it comes to roses. Mrs. Teabody's father was inclined to stand in front of Mrs. Teabody's borders and declare, "You

Gentle Reader, Good Monday morning, and Mrs. Teabody extends her sympathies to those of you who must venture out into the workaday world. Mrs. Teabody herself is feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed having had at least a dozen hours of sleep, and what perfect weather for such a marathon of idleness! Mrs. Teabody trusts, you, Gentle Reader, had an hour or more of determined sloth sometime on the weekend as that is, after all, the best use of a winter weekend. One need not be a perpetual whirlwind of activity, must one?  Mrs. Teabody has read the news of the SuperDuper Football Game, and while the name of the winning team now eludes Mrs. Teabody, she is happy for those who are happy about the outcome and  sad for those who are sad.  Mr. and Mrs. Teabody shared a noon meal with Mrs. T's siblings at the ancestral home yesterday, and Mrs. Teabody is happy to report that conversation about the SuperDuper Football Game was kept to a minimum. Truth to tell, she cannot recall a single sni

Good Sunday morning, darling Gentle Readers! Mrs. Teabody greets the day in ebullient spirits as she is most refreshed after a late afternoon and evening of idleness brought on by the lovely "ermine" snow and a blank appointments diary. To note: As you should recall - -'twas only yestermorn after all ( Mon Dieu! ) - -Mrs. Teabody had a journey of more than TWO HUNDRED miles to undertake solo. Happily, she can report arriving at her destination without incident and with time to spare having as her traveling amusement a hands-free dialogue with Duchess Carol of Faringwell Farm in Connecticut. The Duchess brought many smiles to Mrs. Teabody's face as she plugged along. Pardon, Gentle Reader, as the odious cat sits inconsolable cat-er-wailing whilst wearing the most annoying cat expression. Often as not, the odious cat itself does not know what she wants and she is merely engaging in attention-grabbing behavior. She has been fed, watered, "treated," and now

There is not a single vestige of light in the sky outside Mrs. Teabody's window. Were it not for lights scattered along country lanes and a cluster of brighter lights in the village below, Mrs. Teabody would look onto opaque blackness, Gentle Reader, and it is unsettling to think that all too soon Mrs. Teabody will be hurtling along though that blackness along the highway in her ancient motorcar. Mrs. Teabody shan't be greeting the dawn until somewhere close to the Susquehanna River. It is comforting to think that as she motors, much of the rest of the world will slumber on and Mrs. Teabody shall have the company of Mr. Paul Simon and Mr. James Taylor as accompaniment on her journey. All shall be well. Mrs. Teabody has been sent a large amount of printed materials for this "training" and she has dutifully read, comprehended and promptly forgotten most of it. Of paramount importance to Mrs. Teabody on such an outing is looking smart and  enjoying meals taken afar. Mr