June 30, 2011

Tea for Two and for You!




My daughter Emma, who shot and edited this little tea-making video, which I think shows promise (she is thinking about a career in film these days), celebrated the last day of school by going out to a local cafe with her friends and enjoying a London Fog - Earl Grey tea with steamed milk and a shot of vanilla syrup. Hold on - when I think about last days of school for the summer, I generally imagine an exodus of kids in shorts and sundresses heading to the convenience store to buy a crushed ice drink. Well, we are still waiting for the summer part of 'summer holidays' to kick in. Every time we look at the two weather websites we frequent, we are assured that even though there is a chance of rain today, two weeks of solid sunshine and warmer temperatures are just around the corner. As my friend Sue pointed out, perhaps the ongoing promise of better weather is a plot by the weather people to prevent the population from harming themselves en masse because those solid two weeks of sunshine have yet to materialize. We, in the southwest corner of Canada have been following the carrot in front of our noses for the past two months and never quite reaching it - so far this spring/summer we have yet to see three days of decent weather in a row. It is still cozy up-with-a-cup-of-tea-and-a-book weather, still 'put on a sweater and let's go for hot chocolate' weather, and we are starting to get, as my mother would say, a bit 'owly'.

They tell us this Canada Day/Independence Day weekend is supposed to be the start of a warming trend. I hope to God that is true because when I was driving my son to the golf course this morning I was forced to turn on the heat in the car, which seems ridiculous in June but in these parts, not unheard of. Our climate is already a humid one. Add pouring rain and cool temperatures and the damp begins to invade our bones. Last year the spring was equally wet and cool, and summer was not that much better. Our tomatoes and garlic and basil all grew, but they never really took off like they have in other summers. On the other hand, the lawn is lush and emerald green and grows like a hay field in this weather, and I don't have to spend my evenings watering the garden amid the mosquitoes which have just hatched with a gleeful vengeance this week.

Canadians are known, I believe, for two things: being nice and well-mannered in foreign countries, and complaining about the weather. Trust me, we complain when it is cool and wet, and when the sun comes out and warms things up we complain it is too hot and dry - though we will apologize for doing so. Even the Tim Hortons coffee and donut chain has commercials on the subject. Now that I think of it, a post lamenting the weather seems like a fitting way to celebrate Canada Day, eh? I have invited some friends for a barbecue tomorrow evening. That seems rather optomistic of me considering the weather, but it won't be the first time my husband has flipped burgers in the rain.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Ottawa today and will celebrate July First in our nation's capital tomorrow. I hope for three things for their visit: 1) The sun shines on them with a nice temperature, say in the mid to high 20's celcius without too much of that awful Ontario humidity 2) The Canadian public behaves as beautifully as they generally do for visiting royals, and 3) that someone makes them a decent cup of tea now and then. My girls are up to the challenge.


I also wish my parents a very happy 52nd Wedding Anniversary tomorrow!

The music for Emma's video is 'Glass of Water' by Andrew Bird.

16 comments:

  1. Tea is a popular drink in much of the world. Earl Grey tea is one of the most popular flavoured tea blends in the world. Earl Grey tea was named after Charles Grey, the second earl in his line.

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  2. When the English make tea they pass the herb near the water. The Irish and the Scots having a better grip on the value of money, stir the tea after it draws to get that last bit of 'goodness' out of it.
    Oddly, the fellow the tea is named causes it not to be imbibed by either Catholics or Dissenters leaving it the exclusive realm of the Tory.
    A nice bit of film work, what age is she again 14/15. Are they doing film studies at school ?.

    On Mr & Mrs Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the feeling is that it will be very unlikely that he will ever mount any chair outside of the UK in an official roll. Some are even saying that the logical conclusion in Scotland is a republic.

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  3. Vince: I don't know...some friends from Yorkshire made awfully strong tea...but Yorkshire's pretty close to Scotland, I believe.
    Emma is 14 going on 15. They don't have film at school, but she bought herself a nice little camera and a video editing software called Sony Vegas. She has a Youtube channel with an equestrian theme -there seems to be a large community of like minded Youtubers, for she has a lot of followers! She and her little sister love to make short videos like the one above. They made a movie trailer that is really funny.

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  4. 15 eh. It might be an idea for her to begin putting together a portfolio. That little film is a bit like a still life and with very little tweaking be shown at a art gallery as a video installation. It might be no harm to nudge her towards the intellectual and metaphysical aspects as well as those that are craft.

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  5. That is a very kind comment, Vince. I really thought her video was very good too. I will pass on your advice to her this morning :)

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  6. I should like you to tell Miss Emma that I would like to order up her lovely tea! Sounds wonderful and I would like a cuppa right now!

    Enjoy your weekend sweet Rebecca!

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  7. Thats a great wee film, very well edited and beautifully shot. Some great talent there.

    While as you know I drink an awful lot of coffee at some Godforsaken hours of the morning, I do like a nice cuppa. While earl grey is a nice sunny day on the patio brew, I like an Oolong for quiet contemplation of an evening, especially outside by the wood burner. Its smokey flavour just does something to the brain cells. It's a chill-pill in a cup!

    Hope you had a nice Canada Day, the BBq stayed dry and that your parents had a great anniversary too.

    Cheers!

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  8. Nice snappy editing and a good choice of music. I do hope your summer gets going soon. Ours is a bit off and on. It suddenly scorched us for two days. Now it is cloudy and humid.

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  9. Jill: Making and sending you a nice virtual cuppa right now!

    Al: I think so, too :) The tea they are making in this video is actually Vanilla Rooibos - a tea that gives a general sense of well being. I drink it nearly every evening in winter. My mom loves Oolong tea and we had it often when I was at home. For me, it's coffee in the morning, earl grey in the afternoon. Canada day was dry and almost sunny, but we ate inside due to the mosquitoes.

    Lucille: Our sunny days haven't reached scorching temps yet, but we could have called Saturday 'hot' in the afternoon. We're getting there.

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  10. nice...love me some earl grey...great vid...i think she does have promise...and congrats to you parents that is awesome! i hope you get some sun...we have had it in abundance...it has been a sizzling summer thus far...

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  11. I think Emma has a future in the film making business. I have never heard of a London Fog, but love Earl Grey and will have to try it.

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  12. Congrats to your daughter on her film and to your parents!! WOW!
    As for the weather, summer is finally here in Ontario and the heat has hit hard. I will not complain because I have waitied for it for so long:)
    Happy Belated Canada Day

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  13. I love Tea. It is one the best drink in my drink list. It is one of my favourite drink. II like black and green tea most.

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  14. Really good post about tea. I love to drink green tea.
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  15. Mostly people drink a tea because It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones.I like this post. After drinking it I feel fresh and relaxed.

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  16. Green tea is very good for health. It improves our health. It controls blood pressure and blood sugar. It also improves digestive energy.

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