Thursday Tea Time - Breakfast Served All Day - Part 2

After last week's posting about Harney's English Breakfast tea, I went back to a couple of Targets to see if any were

left on the Clearance shelves.  Nope!  But while shopping at Trader Joe's last weekend, I found their brand - 48 teabags for $1.99.  Worth a try!

This week - Trader Joe's English Breakfast Specialty Tea

Cost:   $1.99
Number of teabags:  48, in individually-wrapped paper envelopes
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:    Black
Ingredients:   Black tea
Steeping time:   5 minutes
Add ins:   Splash of Natural Bliss cream
Fragrance:  Tea-y/Fruit-y
Opinion:   While not as strong as the Harney's, this is pretty good. It's not bitter.  I tried using two teabags and running it through the Keurig twice using the smaller cup setting in a larger mug and it was a bit stronger and still good.  However, I think the Community Tea compared to this is better for a basic black tea.
Rating:  3 - Not bad for the price, and with 45 teabags left, I probably won't be buying any more for awhile.

Watercolor Wednesday - "Cookie"

"Cookie"

My first watercoloring of an animal!   It was fun combining all the different colors and watching which ones granulated and blended together.   Cookie lived in Kentucky and crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few weeks ago.  I asked my friend to send me a favorite picture.

Wanna know a secret?!

I sometimes buy seeds for the pretty pictures and artwork on the packet.  Isn't this beautiful?

Rudbeckia hirta

Tom's Thumb Nursery in Galveston has a spinning rack with the Botanical Interests line of seeds, all beautifully illustrated.

Happy me

Biblical Proportions

Of the almost 3 inch size!

This is/was an antique Bible I had as a little girl.  I bought it for 50 cents at an antique show when I was six years old.  It had several little illustrations throughout.  I remember being so excited it was over 100 years old!   I had no idea then miniature books were so collectible.    (Though I did like my mid/late 1960's Big Little Books.)
Depending upon different sources, its value has increased to $50-$200.  Not a bad investment!  It was printed in Sandbornton, New Hampshire in 1835 and gifted on June 25, 1840.  Here's an interesting article about Sandbornton.

I recently gave it to a friend of mine whose birthday was the day after this was inscribed (not the year!)  and is studying to become a Deacon.

mais il faut cultiver notre jardin

Hello Kitty gardening supplies at Target will help!  ($1.99-$2.99 each)

Lavender Blue

Fragrant fresh-cut Lavender from Trader Joe's 

- $3.49 for this huge bunch!

Score - 8!

Just for grins
- and cheap thrills…the rolls are marked down to 29-30 cents each - (oddly one store charged 30 cents)
I checked a few different Hobby Lobby Clearance sections and found these rolls for our initials and for me, my nickname.

No clue what I will do with them now, but I'm sure I will think of something fun later.

For Scrabble aficionados, you already knew the score!
(P-3, G-2, T-1, L-1, E-1)

Thursday Tea Time - Breakfast served all day

This week - Harney & Sons English Breakfast

Pretty tin, too!

Cost:   $2.98 - another clearance tea from Target.  Original price $5.98
Number of teabags:  20
Caffeine:   Yes
Type of tea:    Black tea blend of Ceylon & African teas
Ingredients:   "Hand-plucked black tea leaves carefully blended together"
Steeping time:   5 minutes
Add ins:   Splash of Natural Bliss cream
Fragrance:  Fruity-Smokey
Opinion:    I may just go back and grab another tin!  This is really good.  It feels more fuller-bodied and robust-et than regular tea, without bitterness.   A nice boost of caffeine, too  (40-60mg).  I drank it in the afternoon as a little pick-me-up during a rainstorm.  Perfect!
Rating:  4

Wednesday Work in Progress - Picture Perfect

This is what I worked on…and finished today --

1956 Filter

The original photo was taken in 1956, in black & white!  I added color with Prisma colored pencils to an enlarged photocopy.   I found the 4" x 6" frame at Hobby Lobby.   I think my Mom will be thrilled - she has always carried this same picture in her wallet.   

Here's a link to how I did it - http://thehouseofkent.blogspot.com/2014/03/wednesday-work-in-progress-wintergreend.html

Trader Joe's Five Seed Almond Bars

Yum!  I like to crumble one of these into a cup of yogurt for breakfast, or by itself as a snack.  They are very filing, you couldn't possibly eat more than one at a time.  I thought they tasted like gingerbread!

$3.99 for 8 bars

Calories 110
Calories from Fat 40
Total Fat 4.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Sodium 105 mg
Total Carbohydrate 16 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 8 g
Protein 2 g
Calcium 20 mg
Iron 0.36 mg

Ingredients:
Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Riboflavin, reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, , Folic Acid), raisin paste, seed mix (flax, sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin), butter (cream [milk], salt), brown sugar, sugar, eggs, oats, honey, almonds, omega 3 refined menhaden fish oil (with tocopherols), baking soda (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), cinnamon, vanilla extract, cloves.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

Independence Sale - June 25/July 5

McCall's patterns - 5 for $7
Vogue patterns - $4.99

July 6/12
Butterick patterns - 5 for $7

July 10/12
Kwik Sew pattern - $6.99

My heart breathes on paper. . .

William Woodsworth

Happy Summer Solstice!

The Summer Solstice is a doorway into the second half of the year, energizing the paths that lead within.  Stand on the threshold and reflect upon your unique journey and focus on what you wish to nurture and develop during coming months as we shift back inward.

(Well said, Yoga Haven!)

All this and a bag of chips. . .

Always the optimist!

A stop at Chipolte for their steak salad (love that salad dressing!) and a bag of chips
after grabbing all the large band-aids I could find at Walgreens
FYI of them all, the Band-Aid Flexible Fabric ones worked the best.
No adhesive sticking to the edges of the boo-boo.

If I had to go splat with a rough landing, at least my acupuncturist/herbalist, Clint McCallum, was nearby.   He put sprinkled some Yunnan Baiyao on my scrapes, and it immediately stopped the bleeding and the pain.  

The palm of my hand healed by the next day, and I should be able to go with just a little bandage on my right knee tonight.  The left knee, which took the brunt of the fall is doing much better, had I not put gauze over it yesterday thinking it would be better than a couple of bandaids.  

Thursday Tea Time - Some like it minty, some like it mate'

This week - Tazo Cocoa Mint Mate'

Cost:   Originally $3.29, clearance priced $2.96 at Target in San Marcos, Texas.  But only that one Target.  The other locations still had the shelf slot for it, albeit empty.  Hmm.

Number of teabags:  16

Caffeine:   Yes 

Type of tea:    Herbal yerba mate

Ingredients:   Cocoa peels, yerba mate, peppermint, honeybush, natural flavors, spearmint, licorice root, vanilla extract

Steeping time:   5 minutes 

Add ins:   Tastes great on its own.

Fragrance:  Chocolate peppermint. 

Opinion:   A smooth, wonderful blend, I love it!  I also love the quote on the box - "Cocoa peel throws a party. Shy peppermint shows up early, hides in the corner. When extroverted spearmint bursts in, licorice root is already making eyes at honeybush. Dark and mysterious, yerba maté arrives in a gourd, speaking softly in that beautiful South American accent."   The yerba mate also gives you a little bit a zip when you are starting to dip, or begin your day.  I hope it is not in the process of being discontinued if only at Target.  Check their clearance end caps and grab one if you find one.  You can buy it at Starbucks online and there's a 10% off your first order promo.  Drugstore. com has it cheaper than Starbucks, with a dollar off if you buy 2.  

Rating:  5

Netflix Stars - The Book Thief

5 stars - Finally.  For me at least.  Hubby thought it was a little too long.  At 131 minutes, it was.   However, it was very easy to get swept into the story and I wasn't even aware of the time.   I expect we will see more of  Sophie Nelisse, who played Liesel.

Netflix Stars - American Hustle

0 stars - This didn't even make it past 30 minutes.  And that's only because I left it on in the background while doing other things and even that became a distraction.  It took too long to try and failed get us hooked.  Can someone please tell me why everyone thought this movie was so great?

Patience

Cupcake Wars

First try - not enough contrast
But I like the salt treatment around the cupcake!

Second try - oomphed it up!
Extra sprinkles!

Chocolate!
I used Cerulean Blue and more salt, but the texture is not as noticeable 

Playing around making birthday cards during a power outage this afternoon.  I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I will send them both!    Happy Birthday!