Gracious Hospitalitea

The topic of the week at Gracious Hospitalitea was to discuss which color tea is our favorite.

This year I have been on a journey to discover tea. I have had a lot of fun trying them all; herb, green, red, white and black. The varities that are available are endless. But, I have to admit that black tea is for me! I think that because I have been a coffee drinker all my life, I prefer a stonger tasting tea.

Twinings Lady Grey is my favorite. I like the Earls too. Bigelow English Breakfast, Constant Comment and good old, dependable Lipton can also be found in my favorites collection. I like to drink my tea plain, I don't add milk or sugar.

For awhile, I was on a ginger kick. I liked Eastern Shore Ginger Pear and Tazo Green Ginger. I have not found a white tea that I like yet. I think I like red rooibos, but have found there to be a great variation in it. I recently discovered that Barnes & Noble sells Harney Tea. I found the African Autumn red tea to be nice. Also, Rooibos Sweetheart Blend by SBS Teas was decent. I have come across a some nice herbals too. Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer is a good one. I am still trying to find a fairly affordable chocolate tea that I like.

Just Because It's Tuesday . . .

. . . . it's time for more pictures of my spring flowers.

Did I mention that I really enjoy growing irises?

Sky Watch Friday

Here is my entry for Sky Watch Friday. It is at sunset taken from my back deck.

Happy 8th Birthday Dixie

Dixie 8 years old

Dixie 12 weeks old

Tuesday Is A Good Day For Flowers

Since today is Tuesday, I thought it was a good day to post a few of my recent spring flower pictures . . .

Here's my little buddy smelling the flowers again.

Rust at 6 months

Rush just turned 6 months old. I love this puppy. I am so pleased that he is holding together and has not seemed to change much since he was a younster. I have him entered in his first show next weekend. I have to remember to stretch his rear out more when I am stacking him to better show his lovely angulation.

Camera Critters

I enjoy this time of year. Irises are one of my favorite flowers to grow. I grow about 15 or 20 different varities because it extends the blooming period. As a result, I always find some to photograph in my garden. I think my little buddy enjoys walking in the garden with me too.

He likes to take the time to stop and smell the flowers.

Dogwoods

Sky Watch Friday

Here is my entry for Sky Watch Friday. I took it last year while vacationing in Hawaii with my hubby. We were celebrating our 20th anniversary. It is my version of a "Corona Commercial". The only thing this picture was missing was to complete perfection was a little nail polish on my toes. :o)

Wish I was back there right now.

More Prom Pictures

Kenny's prom date passed off a CD to him with more pictures from last week. Don't they all look fantastic?

I am not sure what they are doing, but these guys always make me laugh. Justin, I love that white tux!

Gracious Hospitalitea Blogathon

The Gracious Hospitalitea topic this week was to discuss our afternoon tea and what we wear. My typical tea time is not really glamorous, but it is consistant and happens every afternoon in my office. Actually tea time starts at around 7:30 am and continues all day. My typical attire is work clothes and I usually use this not-so-dainty mug.
If I had my choice of circumstances, my preferred place is in comfy sweats, in my favorite recliner and shared with a favorite fur-kid on my lap. :-)

2008 CWCCA Nationals

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi Nationals are this week. Its location is rotated every year and always in a different part of the country. Typically, I try to go if the show is in any kind of reasonable driving distance for me. This year it is located in Fort Mitchell, KY. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. Jenna is entered in the Megan and Best of Breed and will be shown for me by her breeder.

My friend will be transporting Jenna for me. When I dropped her off at my friend's house, I found it interesting the color combination of the dogs that were going. All the colors were represented. The only color that we were missing was the blue merle.

Camera Critters

Misty Dawn has started a new Sunday meme called Camera Critters. All you have to do each Sunday is post a photo that you have taken of an animal - any animal! I thought this was a great one for me to participate in because I love taking pictures of my dogs. Here is my entry.

This is Jenna on the first day that we brough her home. This picture was some what prophetic. She was a wild puppy and really has not changed much from day one. Now that she is 2 1/2 years old, she has calmed down some. Jenna is very sweet and loving, but she still is my most active dog.

Just Another Day at the Ball Fields

Saturday Scavanger Photo Hunt

This week's theme was Twisted. I had the pleasure of watching robins build a nest in a maple tree next to my back deck. I was fascinated at the complexity of the nest and how all the materials were "twisted" together.

Of course, I had a great time being so close. I removed one small tree branch and was easily able to watch them develop. I took lots of pictures every chance I could get.

I was surprised at how short the time period was for the babies to be in the nest. The whole process, from when they hatched to when they flew away, was about 10 days. Both the male and female fed the babies.
I was sad to see them fly away. I had bonded with my baby robins. I tried to care of them and make sure the hawks or cats did not get them. Now my babies never call, they never write . . . .

Sky Watch Friday

Here is my entry for Sky Watch Friday . This was taken at sunset from my back deck.

My Little Buddy

I took Rush with me to my son's baseball game tonight. I snapped this while we waited for the second game to start. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this puppy? Look at those sweet eyes. :o)

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

Here is my entry for Photo Hunters. The theme for this week was "Glass".

Red Rooibos

I have moved on in my journey into tea and am now trying Rooibos. I think I like it but am finding there to be a great variation in it. Some of them are quite awful. Does any one have a few favorites that they would like to suggest? I would appreciate comments on it.

Cow Creamers - The Early Years

I came across this as I looked through some old photos albums last night. Our family was already experiencing the problem of duplicating creamers. So, this was my sister's and my first attempt to document Mom's growing cow collection. The back of the photo is dated 1982. I carried it in my purse for several years and consulted it many times until it became obsolete. I know we had several more photo sessions like this over the years. This was the only time when all the cows were able to fit into one picture. I think because of it is so quirky, the cow head in the left hand corner was a favorite of mine. I also favored the one in the middle with the rose colored flowers and golden hooves.

Jenna's Best of Breed Photo

Jenna's photo from last weekend's show arrived. The judge, Jon Cole, has to be one of the tallest judges I have ever shown too. There are not many people that make me feel short, but he sure is one of them. :o)

Afternoon Tea

Brent made a "dainty" cookie to go with our afternoon tea. I think it came out looking more like a pizza. :-)