About 40 years ago, my friend Adele, bought a teapot for 50 cents at a neighborhood yard sale. Today, she has the most wonderful and interesting collection of all things tea: old tea tins; teapots of every shape, era, color; books; clocks; miniature dollhouse-sized tea themed items; jewelry; cards and notepapers; linens, prints and clothing; and of course: tea!
Little did she know that one purchase was going to open the door to:
- a lifetime of learning about the custom of making and drinking tea; and
- giving talks to quilt guilds and women’s organizations throughout eastern Ohio. Since she retired sixteen years ago, she has given over 25 talks on tea to groups throughout eastern Ohio, southern Virginia and West Virginia.
A year -ago June, I was elected president of my quilting asociation and while visiting Adele, surrounded by all things tea, I had the bright idea to invite her to be our guest speaker at our 2014 annual end-of-year June luncheon. She accepted and ...
On Monday, June 9, she came, bringing with her examples from her ever-growing collection - to which, I must share, she added more items during her visit.
Now, this was a really big event for my friend Margaret and me, because though we've known Adele for over forty years, we've never heard her talk. We have, of course over the years, contributed our share of items to her always growing collection.
At the luncheon, we had delicious food: ranging from wonderful tea sandwiches, exoctic one-dish items to cookies, mini-cakes - all but clotted creams - and an assortment of delicious teas. Members dressed the tables and themselves for the occasion and we all had a delightful time.
Adele ended her talk with a show of flowering teas: one teapot per table. T'was a beautiful, fun sight and great way to drink up a presentation filled with lots of interesting and fun facts.
Thanks Adele for making the journey and as my dad would say, " Come back anytime."
Cheers, Friend~