Tea Break - Tuesday 4

Welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

The longest living cat on record, Creme puff,  lived to be 38 years old and was given coffee at breakfast all his life.  Breakfast for him was bacon, eggs, broccoli and coffee.

The previous owner of the record was Grandpa Rex Allen who\ lived to be 34 years old on the same diet.

Coffee reduces chances of Alzheimers, Parkinsons.  

Tea without adding milk can "tan" your bladder making for many problems  Milk binds the tanic acid making it safe to drink.

Homemade food increases an animal's life span too.  Let's talk about it, okay?

1. Coffee increases a bee's memory and does the same for you.      Bees love caffeinated coffee  flowers.  What do you love about coffee or tea?

I love two cups of tea first thing in the morning with my breakfast and I'm quite fussy about it so like to make it myself. It sets me up for the day.

2. If you opened a tea or coffee shop in your neighborhood what would it be named?  How would you decorate it? Would pastry or cake be served?

I'd have to call it 'Tea Break'. I have no idea how I'd decorate so would have to give my daughters almost free range, but it would have to be cosy and comfortable. And definitely cake...and pastries. And biscuits (U.S. cookies) and scones with cream and jam, (U.S. biscuits).

3. Beethoven required 60 beans per cup of coffee.  How particular are you about your coffee or tea?

I'm quite particular about my tea. I like Dilmah, preferably English Breakfast. If I'm away I'm happy with whatever the hostess gives me but it's always good to get back home to my preferred tipple.

4.Italian clergy in1600s  declared coffee the devil's brew and forbid it.

Pope Clement the VIII wanted to taste it, loved it and blessed it ... today, new research shows black coffee is drunk mainly by psychopaths... 

Sweden banned coffee in 1746 as dangerous and Islam banned it for causing free thinking!

How do you take your coffee you free thinking, radical and what's your favorite brand of devil's brew?

I love my Dilmah tea, none of this free thinking radical stuff for me, mainly because it triggers migraines, unfortunately!

Have a good week, 

blessings,

Diana

I'm joining Tuesday 4 again

I thought I would join in with Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 once again. I have just copied and pasted the questions as before. I'm not sure who is running it so copy from Pam at Closed Doors, Open Windows. Feel free to redirect me. 

Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
We ask 4 questions each week to get you blogging, thinking, discussing and visiting with other bloggers.

The commercial song said "the best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup".

1. What is in your cup in the morning? 

Oh, definitely tea. No milk, no sugar. Just plain black and not too strong but I do like to taste it :) My little mother liked hers weak, we used to laugh and say she just waved a tea bag in the general direction of her cup. And no, I don't leave the tea bag in, I took this pic while I was making a drink to have while I wrote and it was still brewing.

2. What brand of coffee or tea is the best in your opinion and why do you think so?

Call me a Philistine if you like but I had to look up Folger's. I am no longer a coffee drinker although my hubby is. For some reason about two years ago coffee started to trigger migraines so I stopped drinking it. That was hard for a start but I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me. So what brand of tea? Dilmah. English Breakfast or Extra Strong. I prefer the English breakfast though. It's a little dearer than some of the other brands but I don't mind.

3. Where do you drink your cuppa in the morning? Do you have a nice view.

We always used to sit at the kitchen table for breakfast and our early cuppa but since hubby retired we sit in our easy chairs in the lounge, he likes to catch up on the news on tv and so I catch up with any messages I might have on my phone. And at times we even talk to each other :) 

The top half of this picture is what I can see when relaxing in my easy chair. Not very exciting, it is looking south though, which is where our bad weather comes from, so we can see the rain or wind in the trees as it heads towards us. 

4.Besides the morning, do you take little tea or coffee breaks during the day? If you are out and about where is your favorite place to get some tea or coffee?

I like a drink about mid morning and mid to late afternoon. Always one with lunch and if my sisters are here one after tea as well. Tea in that case being our evening meal followed by a cup of tea. When we're out and about in our little town we like to visit Aurora, it has the old fashioned sort of food we prefer and when in the city we go to a little out of the way mall off the main street and visit a little cafe there. It's always busy so not a secret, just out of the way :)

 I'll finish there, 

have a good week. 

Until next time,

Diana

 PS. The Rooibos tea in my picture is my go to for my evening drink as its decaf.

A different sort of week

It started out as a normal week.

On Monday I went out for a very enjoyable coffee date with a lady from church. I haven't known her long so it was a good opportunity to get to know each other a bit better and we found we had a few things in common. Like line dancing, she still goes, I don't. She also goes to an exercise group for older people that I am trying to get back into. Anyway there were other things as well and we'll probably catch up again but she lives in the city and I live in the burbs so possibly not too often.

On Tuesday my GKB and I finally got to go out for my birthday lunch and that was lovely too, even if the rain did decide to bucket down just as we arrived at the restaurant. We both had crumbed schnitzel with onion gravy and chips with salad. I don't know about you but I am not a fan of modern salads, I find them hard to eat unless I've something to mix them with - this time it was either chips or gravy! But don't get me wrong it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal apart from that :) Washed down with a cup of tea for me and a cold drink for my GKB.

Then Wednesday happened! 

I'd done my shift at the shop, come home and had just got changed and sat down to have a hot drink before tea and the phone went. It was one of my friends, she was at her doctors and needed to go to the Emergency Dept at the hospital urgently and would I be able to take her? So of course I did - but I really can't understand why they didn't call an ambulance for her.  Her nearest family are two hours away by car. I sat with her at the hospital until 9:30pm when they decided to admit her. She is a very sick little lady, with a pulmonary embolism on each lung.

I sat in the foyer waiting for my GKB to come back and pick me up, he'd driven us in but I didn't see the point in both of us sitting there with her and I didn't want to go home in case they decided not to admit her. I had the shop again the next day but I also needed to take things like toiletries into her as well as some clean underwear, so that was the morning taken care of.

 Friday I stayed home and caught up on sleep and then did my washing. I wasn't vey interested in doing anything else. Call me strange if you like but I quite enjoy washing and pegging it out on the line - relaxing in the warm sun. Today is Saturday, I've been in for a visit and caught up with friend's daughter who is hoping to take her home with her for a few days when she is discharged. I hope she's sensible and goes with her.

On the way home from the hospital we visited The Warehouse where they are starting to get ready for St Patrick's Day and of course Easter. One of my sisters in Aussie wants marshmallow eggs so we were looking for those for her.

So I apologise that I haven't been visiting as I might, 

I've been a tad busy this week and haven't had the energy :)

Take care until next time.

Diana

Tea and tea

To answer some queries regarding tea, from this New Zealander's point of view - most, but not all, of my generation's ancestors came from Britain so we enjoy morning and afternoon tea (also known as smoko in the workplace). And supper, which is not tea or dinner.

Morning tea  is usually mid morning, a cup of tea (or coffee these days) and perhaps a plain biscuit. 

morning tea

Afternoon tea is slightly fancier in that we might have cake as well as a biscuit with our cup of tea, served on a nice plate. Or maybe it will be a scone or something similar. My mother in law was very disapproving of someone taking a fancy biscuit or cake to eat if they hadn't first had a plain one! Good manners also dictated that you only had two biscuits. I'm not sure we stick to that any more. Afternoon tea is about halfway between lunch and the evening meal, sometimes as late as 4 o'clock. 

afternoon tea

Tea is also our main meal in the evening, usually followed by a cup of tea. Some people are now calling this dinner but when I was growing up dinner was a hot meal in the middle of the day and the evening meal that day would be a light one, still called tea. Followed by a cup of tea of course :) 

tea, the evening meal

Then later in the evening we have supper, another cup of tea and a biscuit before heading off to bed. As someone said, New Zealanders have 6 meals a day if you count all the 'teas'.

supper

I hope all the different 'teas' haven't confused you, and I haven't even mentioned high tea or Devonshire tea yet. Maybe another day :)

And just for fun:

Seen in a tea rooms when I was on holiday a year ago.

Have a good refreshing week.

Diana

Taking five

Five totally unconnected paragraphs but I hope you'll enjoy them.
Joining Amy at Five on Friday

1). Daylight saving finished at the weekend and with it the good weather. Almost overnight. I can't believe it. Even so the temps are still in double figures but 24 C. one day and then talk of snow the next - not my idea of fun. But I am not going to complain as we have been having unseasonably warm weather for this time of the year. It couldn't go on for ever :) It has been a very dry summer and not good for the gardens, even the weeds didn't grow much - but my little mother's sunflowers alongside her garage did. I love this photo of her looking at them looking back at her. It almost looks like they're having a conversation.

2). We've been taking ourselves out for coffee about once a week, my GKB and me. We are not very adventurous when it comes to what we eat and it is usually a case of cheese rolls or scones. I decided to try hot pancakes and maple syrup a few weeks ago, I have wanted to for a while, but I was very disappointed. I won't be ordering them again. These date scones below were very nice though, heated and butter spread on them. I always drink tea or hot chocolate (in winter) and my GKB has discovered that he quite enjoys a flat white, even though they are never hot enough. It was still warm enough to sit outside when this was taken.

 

3). Just over a year ago we were at a family funeral and someone mentioned that it was a shame that we only got together these days at funerals. There are five sets of cousins and some of us haven't seen each other for over forty years. And so because I was retired and on the spot I was elected(?) to organise a reunion of some sort.  So this year I am starting to get into it. We have decided to have a dinner in the town where our grandparents and parents lived and where most of us grew up as well. Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand. It will all take place at Easter 2017  and we are having it in a hotel just around the corner from where I grew up and not far from where some of our cousins lived as well. So far quite a few have shown interest (from Japan, Indonesia and Australia) which is good, as it's a bit daunting in a way to be given the task of bringing it together.

Greymouth CBD

4). My GKB enjoys taking photos and quite often the ones I put up here are his. I love the one below that he took one day while sis and I were walking and he was wandering and waiting. It is very moody I think and the clouds look like the beginning of the Taieri Pet, a cloud formation that appears over the Middlemarch area when certain conditions occur. We never saw the 'Pet' though as it didn't form fully. Anyway I like the starkness of the tree against the cloud and sky.

5). I've been feeling a bit tired lately, I think it's the start of year activity beginning to catch up with me. We have been really busy since Christmas with visits from two of my sisters and two of my nieces and their little ones. We have walked quite a bit on the rail trail and there have been one or two other functions happening as well. And I have thoroughly enjoyed it all. But...I think I need a bit of a rest because my brain doesn't seem to be functioning as it should. Blow it. So if I don't post quite so often in the next little while you'll know why. 



Maybe I'll just be away a few days or a week or two but I will check in occasionally to see what everyone is up to. 
Life is very busy at the moment :)

joining Martha at:

Martha's Favorites

and Amy at:

Five on Friday

with love, 

Diana

A day trip

Saturday last week was our 45th wedding

 anniversary and as it was going

 to be a nice day we decided to drive through

 to Roxburgh to buy some stone fruit from the orchards.

We stopped at Ettrick to have lunch

 at the tearooms we have been frequenting

 for several years whenever we go through.

 It had been getting rather shabby 

and run down so we had almost decided

 to find somewhere new.

But we're both pleased we didn't. 

It has changed hands and is now nice and

 bright, has a modern menu and the outside 

area has been done up as well. There is a

 children's play area, an aviary and plants for sale.

We spent a very pleasant half hour there.

Then we were off to explore the orchard 

roadside stalls. I love it when they invite you try 

the produce before you buy. I usually do, I love 

stone fruit. We went to several and came 

home with apricots and plums for all the family.

At one of the orchards when we pulled 

in to park we were confronted by this gal.

She looked like she was going to challenge

 us for being on her patch, haha. She was enjoying

 the shade and having a munch on some of

 the lower branches while she was at it.

All in all a good day out, we like to 

spend our anniversary together.

Until next time, 
Diana

Kittens, sunflowers and other stuff...

This week I've got some bits and pieces

 to share with you and not a lot of any substance. 

First of all let me show you four of the five kittens 

the next door wee stray cat has produced, only about 

a fortnight after the first litter of the season 

went to the SPCA - the little bisom.

But they are cute!

And on the other side of the house - 

 remember the hedge that was coming down a few weeks ago?

Well here it is now, or I should say, here it isn't now.

Ready to have a fence put up along the drive.

We're looking forward to that.

 Now all this chopping down of the green stuff

 must be catching because this is what has

 happened at our place in the last week.

Before

This part of the yard was getting all overgrown 

and the bushes were taking up more room than we were.

After

Now it looks like this, we took out a

bush that had died in the middle, 

and had all the others cut right back.

A lot more room.

 There's still some work to do, 

like getting the rubbish to the dump, 

and fixing up the furniture again before next summer, but all's good.

Actually my youngest and her  husband 

paid for it to be done for my birthday.

Nice one.

Sunny the sunflower

I sprouted Sunny before Christmas and gave it

 to my girlfriend as a 'pay it forward' gift.

She is producing beautiful blooms 

and when I took this I think she had 11 blooms

 and about 20 more to come out.

She is just glorious and a real talking point 

in the community my friend lives in.

'She' being Sunny, not my friend!

And guess what, I never got my own seeds in! 

Ah well, there's always next year.

And just because I can I will show you another one of my teacups.

I tried to find a green one for St Patrick's Day

 but this was the nearest I had.

It looks Celtic but isn't.

It has Phoenix China, ?F&S Ltd on the bottom and is made in England.

It's not quite a full size cup but it's not a demitasse either...

May the saint protect ye-
An' sorrow neglect ye,
An' bad luck to the one
That doesn't respect ye
t' all that belong to ye,
An long life t' yer honor-
That's the end of my song t' ye!

(an Irish blessing)

joining in with:

Martha's favourites

I'd like to wish you all

a Happy St Patrick's Day,

Diana

Coffee anyone?

My GKB and I went out for lunch today. 

That's not unusual, we often do on a Saturday.

We went to our usual place,  

where we know we can get our coffee 

the way we like it.

Instant, black with a small jug of trim milk on the side.

Today when it arrived, my GKB looked at it and said

'this cup looks dirty'.

We decided it wasn't 

but that some of the instant coffee powder

 had spilt onto the rim and handle, making it look grubby.

The fact that the cups were a pale grey 

and his was chipped didn't help though.

We weren't impressed.

Anyway this reminded me 

of our last couple of trips to Christchurch.

About a third of the way up the road

is a small cafe giving free coffee to vehicle drivers, 

encouraging them to take a break on the trip.

It's quite a nice wee stop, and yes that's our messy table.

Of course I had to pay for my drink,

GKB was driving, 

cona (filter) coffee this time for both of us. 

A bit further up the track we stopped again

and seeing as I'm not really into milk

I had a pot of tea, while he had a fancy (milky) coffee.

I think that was it while we were travelling up, 

we try to limit it to 2 breaks on the journey,

 but we did have a coffee or two out 

while we were in Christchurch.

That's our trim milk on the side there at the right, 

but the coffee was in piddling little (tea) cups.

Oh well, you can't win them all, and it was wet.

But the time I really laughed, 

and my GKB spluttered and nearly blew a gasket,

was while we were waiting for friends in what 

he would think of as an up-market establishment.

We ordered our drinks, tea again for me and coffee for him.

This little demitasse cup of coffee arrived!

Oh dear. His face was a picture.

Splutter, splutter, what the **** is that? he said to me.

I paid ****** good money for that.

What did you ask for, says I.

A short black, says he.

Well, that's what he got.

A shot of very strong, thick, syrupy coffee

that he mixed with about half a bowl of sugar

 and ate with a teaspoon.

Oooh, he was mad!

What he really wanted was a flat white,

 or a long black, and got himself all mixed up.

Oh dear.

He gets himself all in a dither 

when he goes anywhere out of the usual.

What he really likes is this...

...a nice big mug, full of instant coffee, 

with a dash of milk, made by himself or moi.

And why not?

Hoping all is well with everyone.

have a great week,

Diana