Sunday, April 21, 2013

Time for tea


Teatime

Last weekend, my mom and I were the featured speakers at a ladies' tea event at a local church. My mom has plenty of experience with this kind of thing, but I can't recall doing any public speaking before, outside of school. However, it was fun to work together and I felt good about how the presentation went (much easier to speak in public than to sing a solo -- another recent first!!). Since the event was an (indoor) garden tea party, I spoke about tea etiquette, history, and facts, and my mom gave a devotional.

One of my duties included guiding the ladies through the steps of afternoon tea, so I had to do a little research myself! I have to admit, I haven't paid too much attention to tea etiquette in years past, partly because I often come across conflicting advice, and partly because it just doesn't seem that important to me, as a middle-class American in the 21st century, whether I hold my cup "properly" or not. ;-)

Teatime
[Do not loop your fingers through the teacup handle! How gauche.]

I decided to bake some scones and take some photos with which to better illustrate my instructions on how to eat them. The top photo in this post is the "posh" way of crumbling a scone into bite-size pieces, then adding a dab of cream and jam to each bite. Below are illustrations of the Devon vs. Cornish tea -- i.e. whether the jam or the cream goes on top first. It's delicious either way!

Teatime

Teatime

Look at all that tasty cream and jam. And since we got to eat the scones after I made them, it was a win-win situation! My mom and I were both inspired to host a tea party in the near future. Any excuse to consume tea treats is fine by me.

4 comments:

  1. Oh yum! The scones look lovely. Good for you - public speaking can be nerve-wracking, but I find the more you do it, the easier it gets. And a fun topic to speak on too! I didn't know that that was the posh way - I tend to do that because I like to get as much jam and cream on every little bit as possible!

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    1. Yes, I can see public speaking becoming easier if I did it more often! I'm willing to give it another shot if the opportunity arises. (I am also a jam/cream hog so I usually just slather it on, hahah!)

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  2. This post is lovely. Thanks for sharing. Your photography is breathtaking. It's so bright and cheerful. I love to visit your blog. Your posts inspire me and refresh me.

    This sounds like a fun endeavor.

    I just wanted to let you know that I "quietly" visit your blog. Even if I don't comment I really enjoy reading and seeing what you post.

    Have a blessed day!

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    1. Thanks for saying "hi," Leah! I really appreciate your encouragement.

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