AWOL No More

 I'm back sadly having to report that I haven't made any progress on any of my sew-alongs. Sigh! Any free time has been spent reading (still working on those Tea Shop Mysteries, though not reporting on them) and writing letters.

There's a challenge on Instagram called #InCoWriMo (International Correspondence Writing Month) in which you endeavor to write a letter every day of February.

I kept up pretty well till last week when I had to work two days of the week the latter of which I injured myself by falling backward off a top bunk ladder as I was making the bed and I hit the left side of my pelvic bone (my "sit-upon") on the corner of a dresser. Needless to say, even after being adjusted by the chiropractor, it's a little uncomfortable to sit for long.

So, I've been kind of taking it easy as far as sitting (I've been laying down to read), but have gotten some deep housecleaning done because that doesn't hurt. 😄 And today it's better, so I've been catching up on some letter-writing as well as driving my daughter to tutoring and doing the grocery-shopping.

Now I'm off to do a little sewing to finish some maternity pants for another daughter.

Monday Musings - Literary Libations - Tea Shop Mysteries - The Jasmine Moon Murder

This fifth book in the Tea Shop Mysteries was a little different in that the person murdered was a relative of one of the main characters. Shockingly he was killed during a "Ghost Crawl" which was an evening historical tour through Jasmine Cemetary. As is often the case, Theodosia and her Indigo Tea Shop crew were catering the refreshments so were on hand to start collecting clues right away.

What I liked:

Descriptions of different china tea pots and their makers inspired me to dig a little further into some of them and that was interesting to me. I also like the tea party ideas in the backs of the books though I have no occasion right now to use them. Maybe someday soon. This book also included ideas on reusing tea bags, a subject near and dear to my old-time missionary heart. (It used to be a joke that people would save up their used tea bags and send them to the missionaries. Once we actually recieved such a package, but it turned out to be a prank from other missionaries. 😄)

The tea:

I didn't buy a new tea for this book because I had a Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail and to tell the truth, I don't care for it. It's too flowery for me. More power to those who do like a flowery tea. I did make some of it again, just to give it another fair chance (and to take the photo), but it's still not to my liking. The label on the tin sure is pretty, though.

What I could have lived without:

I don't know if I just didn't notice it before or if Laura Childs just made a change, but she seems to have forgotten how to consistently form complete sentences. I know it's a literary device to do things like "But the house was big. Cavernous, in fact. And, truth be told, awfully lonely." It creates emphasis and stresses a point, but using said device too often is overkill, annoying, and makes one wonder about the skill of the writer. Often a dash can separate phrases without having to have a non-sentance.

The recipes:

Again, I skipped the recipes because of heat, lack of time, and need to cut calories, but one of these days I'm going to use some of them. Because she incudes a scone recipe in just about every book, I think it would be fun to make and sample each recipe at some point - maybe have a group over and have a scone buffet, or maybe try a different scone recipe every Sunday afternoon for several weeks...

I have a part-time job for the summer cleaning high-end rentals on lakeside properties so my reading time is less than usual, which wasn't a whole lot to start with, but I'm going to keep plugging a long at the pace I can. Join me if you like.

Monday's Musings - Literary Libations - Tea Shop Mysteries - The English Breakfast Murder

Whew! That was a long title to type.

This week's Tea Shop Mystery by Laura Childs was entitled The English Breakfast Murder and was about a surprise finding of the dead body of a member of a friendly group who called themselves the English Breakfast Club. Sadly, the deceased was a friend of Drayton, one of the main characters who is the tea expert and blender at the Indigo Tea Shop. It soon became evident that the drowned man was murdered, but who could have killed the kindly older man and why? Again, Theodosia Browning is drawn into trying to figure that out, especially since it had been she who found the body.

What I liked:
Another cozy visit to Theodosia's Indigo Tea Shop was relished. Getting to learn a little about sea turtles was interesting as well as more of the Charleston history and culture. Instructions on tea dyeing were enticing and I gave it a try. I had a small embroidery that I'd done several years ago and decided to use that. You might not be able to tell it from this photo, but the fabric is nearly blindingly white.

Using a cheap black tea bag, I made a strong tea in a bowl and then immersed the embroidery for an hour.

So, the picture doesn't show much color change, but it is an antique-looking cream now. I might should have made the tea a little stronger, but it was a fun experiment anyhow.

What I could have lived without:

Though I'm kind of getting used to it and so it often slides by, every now and then I again notice how frequently Laura Childs calls her characters by both their first and last names though they've already been introduced as such and there's no need for both names. Annoying, but not earth-shattering. The playing out of the big reveal was a little far-fetched, but, hey, this is escapist fiction, right?! Also, some characters are getting to be annoying, but they're supposed to be, so that's just all part of it.

The tea:

Superb again! Simpson and Vail comes through again with a mellow and delightfully simple English Breakfast tea. 

 I chose a smaller sample of it since I already buy this tea in bulk from Frontier for making kombucha and I just wanted a little taste of another brand. 

(Full disclosure - I made a little pot of the Frontier tea, too, and decided I like Simpson and Vail better.)

Thankfully our weather finally cooled off from being in the 90s to being in the low 70s so I could thoroughly enjoy a hot cuppa or two, or three.

The recipes:

Again, I had trouble getting to the recipes, partly because I'm trying to cut calories (need to take off the quarantine five plus the original extra pounds that I should lose), and partly because it's been too hot to think of baking or much cooking. 

Onward, forward to The Jasmine Moon Murder...

Monday's Musings - Literary Libations - Tea Shop Mysteries - Shades of Earl Grey

Wanting to expand my horizons a little, instead of getting a Simpson and Vail tea this time, I chose to go with Harney & Sons for my Earl Grey. Their tins are very cool and I have a thing for cute containers. But does the tea stand up to the taste test? We shall see.

Shades of Earl Grey is the third book in the Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs. I've been buying my collection through our semi-local used book store, Blue Vase Books, (which right now has a buy 3 get one free with free shipping deal going), Thrift Books, or Abe Books.

What I liked:

As always, the aura of the Indigo Tea Shop is beautiful, cozy, and inspiring. Descriptions of various teas as well as their accompanying goodies make me want to try them. I also like the idea of tea infused bath and beauty products and might try looking up some lotion recipes to make those. I don't often take a bath, preferring showers, so will skip the bath recipes. 

I also like learning online a little about the Charleston Tea Plantation and seeing that Bigelow Teas are produced there. I really enjoy Bigelow's Constant Comment.

What I could have lived without:

Two of the main characters have started somewhat playfully bickering with each other. I can live without that since some of the bickering sounds kind of serious. It's annoying. The antics of the cat burgler seem a little far-fetched, but I guess they could be plausible.

The tea:

Harney & Sons makes a truly superb Earl Grey. It's full-bodied and aromatic. It makes a great iced tea also. I prefer mine hot with a drib of milk. It's wonderful.

The recipe:

Again, I didn't get to the recipes except to look them over. I have made scones as well as Lemon Curd before and thoroughly enjoy them (maybe too much!). There's also a recipe for relaxing Chamomile tea with honey which I've done multitudinous times. So I guess I have tried the recipes, just not really recently except for the Chamomile tea.

Again, I encourage you to come along on this little tea exploration. There are a lot of tea sellers out there to try and I've settled on a few favorites like Simpson & Vail as well as Harney & Sons.

Monday's Musings - Literary Libations - Tea Shop Mysteries - Gunpowder Green

 For the next 20 weeks or so, I plan to keep reading the Tea Shop Mystery series and trying various teas as introduced in the book titles. With life getting a little busier because of summer and reopening of various activities, I might not be able to maintain the rate of a book per week (I'm not a fast reader and can't justify just sitting down and reading for long periods of time), but I'll try.

The second book in the series is "Gunpowder Green" and is about a man killed when the pistol he was shooting to signify the end of a yacht race "accidentally" explodes in his hand. Since Theodosia and crew were catering the event, she was first to reach the victim and was soon convinced that the death was not accidental. Who could want the very likeable Oliver Dixon dead?

What I liked:

Again, I like the camaraderie, the aura of the cozy tea shop, the history and tea education that are included in the book. I like the collection of recipes included at the end. I like that we're getting to know the characters a little more as we go along.

What I could have lived without:

 I feel like in this book, some of the characters could have been more developed and more tying-up questions answered about them at the end. And though Jory is called Theodosia's boyfriend, you really don't get a feel for much of a relationship at all. Maybe that grows as the series goes on.

The tea:

I must confess that I'm not a big fan of green tea despite it's claim to healthfulness. So, it was with some reluctance that I tried Simpson and Vail's Gundpowder Imperial Green Tea. (I like that you can buy small samples of their teas just in case it's not a favorite and you don't want to be stuck with a lot.) Guess what?! I like it. I did, again, pay more attention to how I prepared it, inspired by the teamaster, Drayton, in the books. I didn't quite boil the water and I steeped it only two minutes per the instructions on the sample bag. It turned out milder than other green teas I've tried and is very enjoyable.

The recipe:

I never got to any, though I have in my life enjoyed making and eating scones of various kinds. I do still hope to make the Earl Grey Sorbet as that would be refreshing in the summer heat.

I hope your day is refreshing and that you get to give a try to these books and teas.

Monday's Musings - Literary Libations - The Tea Shop Mysteries - Death by Darjeeling

Besides continuing to read with the Victorian Reading Challenge 2020 and the Historical Fiction Challenge 2020, I've been enjoying revisiting a series that I previously hadn't liked. Hey! It is a woman's perogative to change her mind, right?!

One's tastes do change and seasons of life also lend themselves to different styles of reading. Lately, I've been drawn to lighter sort of writing, maybe because the news around the world seems on the heavy side.

So, I'm collecting and reading the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs. After I'd gotten pretty well into the second book in the series, I decided to buy samples of the various teas that are titles of the books. After looking at the prices and availability of some of them (ie. Dragonwell) I won't be getting all of the teas, but I hope to have a sample of almost all of them as I go along. I also want to try at least one of the recipes in the back of each book. This first book has only one recipe so the choice of which to try was a no-brainer.

Here are my thoughts so far:

The first book is entitled "Death by Darjeeling" and involves the murder of a disreputable land speculator and builder. When a girl who works at the tea shop of Theodosia Browning is accused of the murder, Theo gets involved in solving the mystery of who murdered him and why.

What I liked:

While the characters and dialog are sometimes unrealistic it's all growing on me more. The story itself is pretty good and I'm getting into the decriptions of the historic section of Charleston. The camaraderie between the tea shop people is fun, too. I like what I'm learning about various teas as well as the history of the Charleston area. Laura Childs has a way of keeping the reader in suspense and keeping one guessing as to who the murderer might be all throughout the book.

What I could have lived without:

Again, the pretentious writing and dialog gets annoying as does the author's super frequent use of both the character's first and last names though both names have already been introduced.

The tea:

I had once before tried darjeeling tea and was not impressed, but thanks to these books, I learned that darjeeling must not be oversteeped. So, between that knowledge and Simpson and Vail's quality tea, I enjoyed my sample as did my daughters who kindly joined me in sharing a pot. I discovered that it's good as an iced tea also.

My current favorite tea mug from AFineQuotation on Etsy.

The recipe:

In the back of the book is a recipe for Tea-marbled Eggs that is very simple and tasty. And the eggs turn out looking very cool.

With a few sprinkles of roasted garlic and herbs, they were extra good. I didn't particularly notice that the tea made a big difference in the flavor, but pattern of the marbling was very artsy.

Want to join me? Even if you don't want to buy all the books (but isn't that cover art beautiful and worth having?!) libraries are opening up again for curbside pick-up. I'd love to have you come along.