It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I attended a friend’s chamei chakai, followed back to back by three Tea Festivals—Tea Gorgeous Equinox, the Northwest Tea Festival, and the Victoria Tea Festival Revival.
Normally, I have the Social Energy for exactly one festival a year, and this’ definitely taken it’s toll on me. I’m pretty content to spend the next couple of weekends recouping in isolation; it’s officially Cozy Sweater and Books weather. Continue reading
This is a dvd set I picked up alongside The Great Teas of China. It’s a serial from the Travelogue show, following the energetic host (whose name I don’t ever remember being mentioned, and isn’t anywhere on the case or online) and his team as they travel along the original road of the Cha Ma Dao, from Yunnan to Tibet.
The serial is broken up into three parts, each just under thirty minutes long. In the set I got, they were each on their own dvd, which seemed a bit excessive for what amounts to a total ninety minutes. Within this, each “part” was split into two to three days.
Continue reading
Spotted this a little while ago and finally decided to give it a watch, since it isn’t very long. Basically sat in bed and watched a documentary on tea while drinking a cup of tea.
This came out last year, which means it’s at least fairly up to date. It was a nice enough watch, covering both a bit of tea history and a bit of tea culture, with a lot of on-sight views of tea gardens and tea houses. There were still a few gripes I had with it, though, which I don’t think detract from it as “a pleasant watch”, but I’ll get into them anyways. Continue reading
My posts are so far and in between that it’s difficult to tell when I’m gone at all. So it may or may not surprise anyone to know that I was gone for a while, on field school, hiking and collecting rocks. Again. And that I forgot to take pictures of tea on mountaintops. Again.
But I did bring back a large bag of rocks. …Surprise.
Since I got back, I’ve started up classes again, finished off a load of tea samples, ordered a whole lot more, and lost my cat. I don’t mean that lightly. About a week after I got back, our two family cats vanished. One showed up again three days later… The other, my perky little tabby, hasn’t been seen for over a week now. I’ve been in contact with our local shelter, put up posters, set out food and litter, and I’m pretty much left at hoping. She’s a very chatty cat, so every time I hear a noise outside (usually children playing) I’m out on the porch in a second calling for her. Continue reading
As per usual, I have no actual article written or interesting things to discuss. I’ve just got some updates to my tea life.
Firstly, a new tea shop has opened up in my area. SOKO Teahouse. They are a very modern-traditional shop. Clean and open and bright, while focusing heavily on Chinese and Japanese brewing utensils and teas. I’ve been in there a few times already, and I really like the feel. Since Tealicious closed down their brick storefront, the only shop near me (most require an hour busride, which I’m willing to make–but only once or twice a month) has been Davids. Which I admit is a guilty pleasure of mine (52Teas fix without having to wait for orders to come in), but does get a bit boring. Though they’ve been branching out into unflavoured teas recently, which pleases me.
Thought I’d update with a few of my purchases. Seeing as I spent a total of one hundred dollars ($CAN) on tea and tea accessories (okay, they were all reasonable prices minus the forty dollars I spent on a freshly-picked 2012 first flush Darjeeling, but getting to that). Continue reading
I write to you today during my lunch hour at work (although I usually write these posts over the course of several days, and this one continues in the public library). As part of my job in the Exploration department, last week we hiked up (again) to the top of Roman Mountain. It’s a wonderful view, and I regret that I did not bring my camera with me on that occasion. I must next time (assuming there is one); in the meantime however, my supervisor did snap some shots, and I was able to take some yesterday when me and some colleagues went flagging up the opposite side of the mountain (not reaching the top ourselves).
Continue reading
I’ve been pretty busy the past few weeks, worrying and working, preparing to leave for my summer job; I will be moving up north to a small mining town in order to work for one of the many metallurgical coal mines in the area. I’m not going to say much more on where. Northern Canada, very exciting. Everyone’s excited. I’m excited.
Just art today. Which I post while listening to Close to the Edge. This first one was just a large image I did in my sketchbook. Pencil crayon. If you haven’t recognized the subject yet, they’re both just of the same large-leafed tea plant centred on the flower.
00:10 this morning, I learned that Nicholas Courtney had passed away four days prior. I suppose it almost fitting that my favourite Doctor Who tea mug should break the day earlier (I consoled myself by purchasing more than a pound of jelly babies), as if foreshadowing the news to me. It makes me sad. But it’s not a subject for a tea-themed blog.
Although I do have something related, but more on-topic. I have been considering relaying some of my tea-themed pieces of artwork here. Nothing new (well, two of them are, but perhaps I will post those another day), at least not this one, but it seemed right to start with it first, partly in honour of such a famous Doctor Who actor dying.
