Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

The Albert Stoner building is 118. Good Morning from dark and  still summer-ish Meadow Grounds mountain where a nice cuppa Molkabari is kicking Mrs. Teabody's systems into gear to venture out for the morning perambulation prior to a very busy day at 110 Lincoln Way West. My little enterprise, Tickle Your Fancy Gifts and Tea, has a birthday party today  and there is much to do. As with all such anniversaries, this occasion has given me time to reflect, to look back over the years and to make decisions. To make a plan or two. As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I am not exactly a cutthroat business woman.  My business philosophy is to make enough money to pay my rent, utilities, and property upkeep, to be able to offer unique and exciting gifts and accessories, and to purchase, serve and sell the best tea that money can buy. Ideally, I will have a little something left over at the end of each month and if I can do something to brighten the world along Linco...

"The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change." ―E.B. White, Charlotte's Web Summer 2017 took shape on a steep incline in Ireland. Yes, I (eventually) made it all the way up to the famine cottage and the beehive dwelling, but I was pitifully breathless not to say a bit embarrassed by my graceless ascent. Inspired by my twelve-years-older traveling friend, Siobhan, I decided that day to embark on a walking program and I am proud to report that not a summer day has passed without my logging at least two miles and sometimes as many as seven (!)  of forward movement. As every walker will tell you, one of the great benefits of a daily perambulation is insured reflection time. As every nosey walker will tell you, it is also a great opportunity to look into back gardens. He...

"Fascinator" Darci strikes a pose just outside. Have you ever had afternoon tea in a classy hotel --one where every surface seems to take on a special sheen, where the far-too-attractive staff move about as unobtrusively as air, where every single aspect screams, "I'm special!"? Such is the case of afternoon tea at New York City's Baccarat Hotel discreetly ensconced along 53rd close enough to kiss The Museum of Modern Art. Mr. Teabody and I in the company of our much-beloved niece, Darci, along with fellow members and friends of the Mid Atlantic Tea Business Association (MATBA) had such an experience on Monday last and we won't soon forget the day and its highlights. I'm a fan of tea menus, and I prefer the ones that come inside a little leather book but the unbooked one offered to us was nicely done on a stiff paper with our group's title at the top so that was just fine. There were just enough fancy names to tickle me and...

Truth to tell, I love all the seasons and everything each season brings. Many of my fellow Pennsylvania-born-and-bred friends feel the same way and cannot imagine a year without fall color, without a significant snowfall or without a spring where the barren trees miraculously burst into full leaf and lawns and fields turn green. And then comes June with some of her days so ridiculously PERFECT and with her promise that we can  now count on at least three months of warm--sometimes TOO warm - -weather. This morning I will share twenty out of my top thirty reasons for loving June right here in  Fulton County, Pennsylvania because I want you to think about how very much you also love this month and come up with your own TOP TEN. Then maybe a little later on we can SHARE? Let's get started: #30. Long, Lovely days As I write this, the eastern sky is already starting to color and it will be full daylight before six. In another two weeks the sun will have rolled no...

This morning I made myself a bowl of steel-cut Irish oats to which I added Chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, dried cranberries and honey.  Over top I added yogurt.  What a delicious bowl!  My mind started to work - - as it does intermittently - - and I thought what a wonderful bread could be made of this combination-- much like we were served in Galway at Lawn View Guest House. I started looking for a recipe and came across this one (which I append) and which I altered slightly. (Of course.) I did rely on it for quantities and for procedures. I used Irish oatmeal in place of the sunflower seeds and the rolled oats so it is oats dense. I used almonds  and walnuts for the nuts, honey in place of the maple syrup and almond flour in place of the psyllium. I also threw in a handful of dried cranberries and two tablespoons of quinoa. Everything else and the "how-to" I followed to the letter.  This is not a sweet bread but it is delicious. *The Life-Cha...

* First published May 9, 2012. My mother and paternal grandmother with the firstborn.                                                                                                           "Wisdom from my mother? I know one to the letter: 'You're just as good as anyone  . . . not one iota better.'"   ~ Mrs. Teabody Good Morning, Gentle Reader! A fuzzy, foggy window scene announces this first Monday morning in May, and the day ahead is filled with appointments, duties and fun - - hopefully with the latter component in greater measure beginning with a morning perambulation through the green woods with Lady Glass and the Duchess Ming. This notching down in temperatures and the ambient gloom seem appro...

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert From Dublin to Wicklow to Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny; from Waterford to Tipperary to Munster and Kerry; from Limerick to Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Mayo and Connaught, I traveled south and western Ireland with five of the best traveling companions and the best "Fearless Leader" in Philip Jones as guide/driver/ host/trip planner anyone could ask for. If you would like additional information regarding Philip Jones,  please feel free to message me. Diane, Kathy, Herself, Linda, Chris, "Siobhan" We were met at the airport by our handsome, affable guide and his meticulous and creative planning gave us all a trip to remember.  By the second day, our faces hurt from laughing - - mostly at ourselves as we conquered electrical outlets, got lost on the way to our rooms, wrestled with the knowledge that retail therapy had its direct consequences as added baggage weight...