Moving

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Tea Newsletter ~ July 2009

Hello, everybody. I hope the beginning of summer finds you all well and happy. I am including an extra special in this month's newsletter to celebrate the warmer weather! If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them this link and have them reply to this post.

Thank you,

Paula Rutherford
Independent Tea Consultant
kitty.letsdotea.org
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Tea Trivia
Tea should be stored in airtight containers, away from sunlight and moisture.

Let's Do Tea monthly specials:
For July 2009, if you host a party, you receive 15% merchandise credit, and one of the following: a free tin of tea (any tea $10.95 and under), a box of any size Tea Sacs, an Empress tea strainer, or the Stripes Tea for Me set (While Supplies Last)!

MY EXTRA SPECIAL: Book a party now for July or August and receive an EXTRA free tin of tea!

There is also a Customer Special for June: Tiffany Rose and Lovers Three Artisan Teas ~Only $5 ea. Email me for more information.

Summer Seasonals (available until September 30):

#2504 Indian Summer:
Black Tea, Chocolate, Cloves, Cinnamon,
Saffron, Safflowers, Cilantro, Corn Bits, and
Natural Flavors.

#2505 Mojito:
Black Tea, Rooibos, Coconut, Pineapple,
Spearmint Lemon Bits, Rum Flavor, and
Natural Flavors.

#2506 Apricot Vanilla:
Apricot, Rosehips, Apple, Rose Petals,
Vanilla, and Natural Flavors.

Teas are $10.95 each or 28.95 for the Trio.
Trio includes one of each seasonal tea.
Trio #2507 Available July 1st - Sept. 30th

Recipe (you can send me your favorites to be published in future issues!)

Sunmer Fruits in White Chocolate-Lime Sauce

12 oz. white chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups heavy (double) cream
2 tsp. grated lime zest or 1 tsp. lime oil
4 cups (1 lb.) sliced assorted ripe summer fruits such as apricots. nectarines and peaches (1/2 inch slices)
2 cups assorted berries such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries
curls of lime zest or fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Note: Use only the finest white chocolate and sweet ripe fruits. The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated. Soften it in a microwave oven or in the top pan of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl placed over (not touching) barely simmering water.

Place the white chocolate in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or in a blender. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. When tiny bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan, remove from heat and pour the cream over the chocolate. Process until smooth. Add the lime zest or lime oil and process for a few seconds longer. Let cool to room temperature. The sauce should have the consistency of very thick cream.

Arrange the fruit on a rimmed serving plate or in a bowl. Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit and garnish with lime zest curls or fresh mint.
Yield: 6 - 8 servings


Tea Party ideas
How about hosting an "Iced Tea party" for the 4th of July? Many of LDT's teas are especially good iced. One of my favorites iced is Passion Flare Fruit Tea. The evenings are warmer now, so an outdoor after-dinner tea party would be great! Decorate your porch with tiny white (or red whit & blue) Christmas lights and invite your friends over for a tea party.

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If you have any questions regarding Let's Do Tea, hosting a tea party or a catalog party, ordering teas without having a party, or becoming a consultant, please feel free to contact me.

Paula Rutherford
Independent Tea Consultant

If you aren't already, but would like to be on my mailing list, please contact me by responding to this post.

Tea Newsletter for June 2009

Hello, everybody. I apologize for not sending out a newsletter for May. I will make it up by including an extra special in this month's newsletter! If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them a link to this post.

Thank you,

Paula Rutherford
Independent Tea Consultant
kitty.letsdotea.org
================================

Tea Trivia
In 19th century Britain, tea was a valuable commodity and was stored in locked tea caddies for which only the woman of the household held the key.

Let's Do Tea monthly specials:
For June, 2009, if you host a party, you receive 15% merchandise credit, and one of the following: a free tin of tea (any tea $10.95 and under), a box of any size Tea Sacs, an Empress tea strainer, or the Stripes Tea for Me set!

MY EXTRA SPECIAL: Book a party now for June, July or August and receive an EXTRA free tin of tea when your party order is delivered!

There is also a Customer Special for June: Tiffany Rose and Lovers Three Artisan Teas ~Only $5ea. Email me for more information.

Seasonal Teas (available until June 30):

#2501 Enchanted Berry:
Green Tea, Raspberry Bits, Blueberry Bits,
Rose Petals, Malva Flowers and
Flavourings.

#2502 Easter Bunny:
Black Tea, Rooibos, Caramel, Almond,
Chocolate an Easter Candies.

#2503 Lemon Souffle:
Green Rooibos, Rooibos, Honeybush,
Lemon Bits, Calendula Petals and
Flavourings.

Teas are $10.95 each or 28.95 for the Trio.
Trio includes one tin of each seasonal tea.
Trio #2504 Available April 1st - June 30th

Recipe (you can send me your favorites to be published in future issues!)

Orange-Strawberry Shortcake

2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
2 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 Cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Triple Sec or other orange-flavored liqueur) or orange juice
2 Cups biscuit mix
2/3 Cups milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Cups whipping cream
1/2 Cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 Cup sour cream

Combine first 4 ingredients , stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Combine biscuit mix and next 3 ingredients; stir with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed 4 or 5 times. Place dough on a lightly greased baking sheet and press into a 7- x 1/4-inch round.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until done. Carefully remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Beat whipping cream at medium speed of an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Add sour cream, and beat until stiff peaks form.
Split biscuit round in half horizontally. Place bottom half on a serving plate.
Drain fruit, reserving 2 Tbsp. liquid. Spoon 2/3 of fruit mixture on bottom round; drizzle with reserved liquid. Spoon half of whipped cream mixture over fruit. Add top biscuit round. Top with remaining fruit and whipped cream.
Yield: 8 servings


Tea Party ideas
Summer is upon us! How about hosting an "Iced Tea party" in your back yard? Many of LDT's teas are especially good iced.

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If you have any questions regarding Let's Do Tea, hosting a tea party or a catalog party, ordering teas without having a party, or becoming a consultant, please feel free to contact me by commenting on this post.

Paula Rutherford
Independent Tea Consultant

If you aren't already, but would like to be on my mailing list, please contact me by commenting on this post and let me know. If you are on it already, but would like to be removed, let me know as well, so I don't end up annoying anyone accidentally.

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ June 3, 2009

For Today...

Outside my window... windy, foggy, dark, rainy & cold

I am thinking... how blessed I am to have such good children. I love each one of them so much.

I am thankful for... spring rains (almost every day)!

From the kitchen... something with ground beef and red potatoes...

I am wearing... jeans, pink striped shirt, pony tail.

I am reading...whatever i can find about BSA and AHG

I am hoping... to get a lot cleaned up today so the house feels fresher. We've been cooped up with cold and rain outside.

I am creating... clean, empty spaces, hopefully

I am praying... for my husband and his employees.

Around the house... SPRING CLEANING! Laundry, sorting through papers, working on budget, kids are building lego creations.

One of my favorite things... not being sick

A few plans for the rest of the week... working at Dad's garden on Thursday, getting well.


Visit the original Simple Woman at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Simple Woman's Daybook~May 21st Edition

For Today...

Outside my window... lush green, damp & foggy

I am thinking... how blessed we are to live way out in the country

From the learning rooms... counting down the days till the last day of school!

I am thankful for... spring rains!

From the kitchen... roasting chicken for tonight, fresh home made bread.

I am wearing... long black skirt, striped Polo, pony tail.

I am reading... nothing right now. Just trying to finish school!

I am hoping... to get to those letters that I am so far behind in answering

I am creating... a good vegetable and herb garden.

I am praying... for priests

Around the house... making zoo trip and Scottish Parade plans

One of my favorite things... when the girls and I paint our toenails together

A few plans for the rest of the week... getting the lettuce , carrots, beets and turnips planted, setting up the drip system, and Mass tomorrow.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Sigh. Still can;t get pictures off the camera.

Visit the original Simple Woman at http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ May 5, 2009

FOR TODAY May 5, 2009...

Outside my window... Partly cloudy and breezy. The kids are transplanting some catnip they got from Nana's garden.

I am thinking... about the books and items I need to order for next year's school and the kitchen.

I am thankful for... for the gift of forgiveness.

From the learning rooms...finishing up school - only 4 weeks to go!

From the kitchen... have a beef roast in the crock pot. Need to make bread.

I am wearing... light blue cropped pants, blue sweater with hearts woven in.

I am creating... mini- greenhouses over my raised garden beds with my husband.

I am going... outside to plant seeds in egg shells with the kids.

I am reading... Kitchen Garden by Cathy Wilkinson Barash.

I am hoping... to have some tea parties soon.

I am hearing... "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" playing on the stereo.

Around the house... laundry waiting in the dryer (I can't wait to get my clothesline up again), Maria taking a nap, kids eating apples outside.

One of my favorite things... Ian coming home after work!

A few plans for the rest of the week: finish up the week's school, build a bed for the strawberries and plant them!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I am sorry to say that my camera and computer still aren't on speaking terms.

See the original Simple Woman's Daybook here and read other entries: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ April 22, 2009

FOR TODAY April 22, 2009...

Outside my window... Sunny and warm. Had a blizzard the other day with lots of heavy snow, but today is 70 degrees and perfect for being outside, despite a little mud.

I am thinking... about all the little things I need to do - I guess I better write it all down before i forget something important!

I am thankful for... sunshine and snow, and a place to make a garden.

From the learning rooms...back to school after Easter break!

From the kitchen... made whole wheat bread today. making Oriental chicken and mandarin orange salad for dinner.

I am wearing... khaki pants and red t-shirt.

I am creating... a kitchen garden in my mind.

I am going... to plant seeds in egg shells with the kids tomorrow.

I am reading... Kitchen Garden by Cathy Wilkinson Barash.

I am hoping... to have some tea parties soon.

I am hearing... kids popping bubble wrap when they are supposed to be cleaning up and getting in the tub...

Around the house... some dirt in the mudroom from the kids playing outside.

One of my favorite things... Ian coming home after work!

A few plans for the rest of the week: finish up the week's school and finish planning the garden. Help Dad start the garden at his house.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I am sorry to say that my camera and computer aren't on speaking terms, so I will describe the adorable snowmen the kids made the other day after the blizzard. There was a Daddy, a Mommy, two kids and Mommy holding a baby. Daddy's arms were made of a long stick pushed through his shoulder area, and he wore mittens and a baseball cap. Mommy wore a scarf as a baby sling and a sun hat. The kids wore little hats to help keep the sun off. The melted anyway. Today there is no trace of them except for the stick from Daddy's arms.

See the original Simple Woman's Daybook here and read other entries: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Tea For Today

Today: Sunday, April 19, 2009 Divine Mercy Sunday
Outside My Window: sunny! The kids are making snowmen with the wet heavy snow we got yesterday.
Today's Goal: make bread and soup for dinner.
Today's Plan: Dark laundry, REALLY finish putting away all clothes from our trip.
Today's Tea: English Breakfast. This is a classic black tea.
Today's Tidbits: We are starting in FlyLady's Zone 4 (Master Bedroom & Bath). I stripped the bed to wash the sheets, and I am decluttering the trash that I have accumulated by my desk.

Tea For Today

Today: Saturday, April18, 2009
Outside My Window: BLIZZARD! it has been snowing all night and all day. We'll see how much is actually on the ground when the wind stops!
Today's Goal: Get everything from our trip unpacked and put away; sort laundry.
Today's Plan: Make menus for next week and a shopping list.
Today's Tea: Mexican Winter - it is so warming with its pepper berries.
Today's Tidbits: Today is the last day we are in FlyLady's Zone 3 (Main Bathroom plus One Other Room). Since we cleaned the bath room before we left on our trip, it is in good shape. The back room is also in good shape, so maybe just a once over on the counters and vacuuming the floor is in order.

Pantry Basics, Part 4

Mary Kochan has finished her four-part series on how to make and use a pantry in your home. This 4th part talks about saving money by copying favorite pre-packaged and restaurant foods using your own fresh ingredients. Much of the time it only takes a little more time to make a meal from scratch, and you are less likely to waste food if you put out the effort to make it yourself.

Mary mentions that as you build up your pantry and don't have to go to the store more than every couple of weeks, you will notice that you miss fresh fruits and vegetables. This is when growing a garden comes in handy, as well as frequenting farmers' markets and other local produce growers. Maybe you can trade a neighbor part of your chard harvest for part of her zuchini overflow. You will become creative in your cooking when you find yourself holding a huge bag of fresh spinach leaves!

The most important outcome of learning how to keep a pantry is the sense of gratitude you can cultivate. After all, everything ultimately comes from God, doesn't it?

Tea for Today

Today: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Outside My Window: sunny!
Today's Goal: Get everything packed into the van for our trip.
Today's Plan: Pack the dry goods into the kids' lunch boxes, make sandwich packs to put into the cooler in the morning, finish the last load of laundry, and clean up the kitchen.
Today's Tea: 8 Treasures Green Tea.
Today's Tidbits: We are in FlyLady's Zone 2 (Kitchen). The kids are helping me by putting clean dishes away and sweeping while I finish up the dirty dishes, clear and wipe the counters, and mop the floor.

Pantry Basics, Part 3

In this article, Mary Kochan explains how to incorporate your freezer into the pantry system. Mary's system will help you stock up and save money by not having to go shopping as often as you do now. My Mother-In-Law has an upright freezer in her garage which she uses in this way, and her system works well.

At this point, our family is able to go shopping once a week. I do have some non-perishables stored and we could probably survive in our house for a month or so, if we lost power and were snowed in, as long as I start storing water. Mary says I can store enough to only have to go shopping once every 3 to six months and beyond! I am intrigued by this concept and will try it.

Right now we have our kitchen refrigerator and a medium-sized chest freezer. In a few weeks we will be receiving another, larger chest freezer. I am hoping that this summer we can grow a lot of food and freeze or dry the bulk of it. I would love to be able to go "shopping" in my own pantry all winter, and maybe save up for an upright freezer to replace the chest freezers eventually.

The fourth and final part to Mary's pantry article will be coming out next week. I will be out of town until the end of the week, so I won't blog about it until I get back. You can read the article when it comes out at Today's Catholic Woman.

A Family in Need

There is a beautiful family here in Colorado Spring who have given much of their time, talents and treasure to helping men and women choose life. They are Mike and Michele Mason, and they were instrumental in bringing 40 Days for Life to our city time and time again.

A few days ago, they welcomed their 9th child from God! Unfortunately, Mike was recently laid off from his job and after the baby was born, Michelle suffered a stroke. Families in the Colorado Springs area have stepped up to the plate and are providing meals for the Masons in their time of need. There is also a web site set up for receiving monetary donations to help see them through. If you are interested in giving part of your tithe to this wonderful family, click here.

Tea for Today

Today: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Outside My Window: cold and snowy. More to come tonight!
Today's Goal: Exercise and drink more water.
Today's Plan: Order extra Irish Dance socks for the girls.
Today's Tea: How about a pot of After 7 Rooibos? Yummy chocolate & mint flavors! We are sipping it this afternoon after all school is done, while watching a movie from the library.
Today's Tidbits: We are in FlyLady's Zone 1 (Entrnce, Front Porch and Dining Room). The kids are helping me by doing the dusting and cleaning the fronts of the washer and dryer. I wonder if painting them would be a good idea to freshen them up a bit (the washer and dryer, not the kids). Does anyone have any ideas?

Mutant Teletubbies

Rachel over at Testosterhome has posted these hilarious yet disturbing pictures of something she might get for her boys. I can only hope she is joking.

Pantry Basics, Part 2

Here is part two of the article I posted about a few days ago.

This time Mary has gone into detail about how to organize a pantry, including creating inventory lists that your household’s shoppers can work from and how to establish minimum and maximum quantities. Sounds like something I can use. How about you? Enjoy!

Tea for Today

Today: Saturday, March 28, 2009
Outside My Window: cold and sunny. We got some snow so it is all a nice, crisp white in the sunshine.
Today's Goal: Exercise and drink more water.
Today's Plan: Clear the top of my writing desk.
Today's Tea: In honor of the snow, we had a pot of Sweet Christmas rooibos with breakfast.
Today's Tidbits: We are on track with FlyLady's Zone 4 (Master bedroom) cleaning schedule. The kids finished their school work for the week, so they can pick out a movie to watch today.

Praying for Others

Do you have any triggers that remind you to pray for others?

This topic came up on an email list when one friend said she writes the names of people who have asked for prayers on the packets of injections she has to take every 12 hours. She offers up prayers and the discomfort for that person as she injects herself. Another friend offers up her migraines for people on her prayer list.

Another friend prays for the people in cars going by as she waits at a red light and for the passengers in airplanes that fly by overhead. I know many people who pray for the victims and the doctors when they hear an ambulance's siren.

My Mother-In-Law prays for the person who gave her a gift whenever she sees or uses that gift.

I pray for my parents and siblings whenever the clock says 6:19 or 9:16, as these numbers showed up in various addresses we had while I was growing up. I pray for my children when the clock says 1:23 or 12:34: It reminds me of our home school (learning to count).

What reminds YOU to pray for others?

Pantry Basics

Over at Catholic Exchange, Mary Kochan has posted an article on the practicality of having a pantry. Not the small closet in the kitchen we modern women think of - the one with cereal and mac-n-cheese for this week's meals on its shelves. No - a real pantry like our mothers or grandmothers had - its shelves lined with jars of applesauce, green beans and beets she canned - and maybe grew - herself, the goods meant to last throughout the winter and spring until the next harvest.

This is an intriguing concept, one I hope to see revived in today's homes. Mary's article is the first of four, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one. I hope it will have some practical advice about how to start and maintain my own pantry.

Pretty Aprons!!!

I like wearing an apron as I go about my daily duties, but I never thought of an apron as a fashion accessory or as a figure-flattering fashion statement. Until now.

These are just the cutest kitchen gadgets I have ever seen!HeavenlyHostess.com has this same apron in many different prints, and they are all beautiful. Some have matching pot holders, kitchen towels and headbands for sale as well. Some, such as the one above, are available in a matching child size!

This one might make Spring Cleaning something to look forward to:
It is hard to choose, but this one is one of my favorites (bottom picture shows the reverse of the apron). All of the aprons are reversible:With such a pretty apron on, one might consider having one's hair done and wearing heels to vacuum the carpet! Well, maybe not heels, but cute shoes and lipstick are a must!

If they had one in a tea cup and tea pot print I would seriously save my pennies to get one!