A Few of My Favorite Things: Christmas Tea

One of my favorite things in the world is Christmas Tea. You can have it all-year round, and in that way carry the joy of Christmas around in your ceramic mug no matter the month! This tea actually smells the way Christmas smells at my house. It's a mix of orange peel and rose hips, red and black currants, cinnamon, clove. Mix that with the smell of warm, freshly-baked blueberry muffins at 6 a.m. and that's Christmas, in my house.

When I went to visit L. in Santa Barbara last New Year's, what I had thought was going to be the worst Christmas had just passed. We lost power at our house for 11 days preceding Christmas...it came back on the day we had decided to cancel our annual Christmas Day party, after we had to throw out most of the food we had been saving.
It was a long, dark, and cold week-and-a-half leading up to Christmas, and so on Christmas day L. and I decided it was time I got out of New Hampshire and went to Santa Barbara for New Year's. I was so glad to be somewhere warm and to be able to be on the beach and in the sunlight, and, of course, with my Goose. I thought I would forget about the Christmas-That-Almost-Wasn't and just fly away. But one morning L.'s dad brought me a cup of Christmas Tea (isn't that lovely?) and as soon as I smelled it I remembered how much Christmas at home means to me, electricity or no electricity. Now whenever I drink it I have two-fold memories: Christmas morning at home with my parents and dog and the blueberry muffins, and New Year's with L. and his wonderful, caring parents. Lovely.

[Images from: Most Beautiful Darling,Imperial Tea Garden]