Shall we have tea?

Most people associate the British with drinking tea, ourselves included.  But this past trip, actually being in the homes of English people we got to experience first hand the ritual of tea-drinking.

I read something in a book once about how it was something the English did when they didn't know what else to do, and our hostess while we were there brought up that very thing.  "You can always make a cup of tea."  No matter the situation, the crisis, the problem, you put the kettle on.  You sit down and figure it out over a hot cup of tea.  

Our host said he probably drank 8 cups a day.  You start the day with a cup, a mid-morning cup, a cup with lunch, after lunch, afternoon, dinner, at the close of day.  It really is a ritual.  It's calming.  It's a nice way to slow down in the middle of a hectic day.  And it's kind of an easy habit to pick up, though we're far from 8 cups a day.

This is the fourth Sunday in a row I'm missing the Sunday service at church. We were gone, I had nursery duty, Ella was sick, and now James is sick.  I treated myself to a slow start to the day that made me smile.

We also picked up the habit of topping off the top quarter of our cup with milk, something I never thought I would do, but I now love the creaminess of it.  It makes it even more of a treat.  This is actually a re-creation of an amazing chai I had in Paris.  Adding milk made it just right.

When it's brewing it smells like Christmas:  ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg.  Sweeten and add milk, and it's not a bad way to start another day home with a sick baby.  Not too bad at all.

"In everything give thanks..."