Snowed in Under a Cherry Moon

More snow! New Tea! And a tiny bit of tatting.

Valentine's Day has come and gone but I'm still feeling its rosy glow. So I start Tatting Tea Tuesday by brewing up "a romantic tea of tender warmth."

That's what it says on the package of Cherry Moon Decaf Green Tea I purchased as a Valentine's Day treat.

Disclaimer: I do not profit by promoting the teas I drink while tatting on TTT, but I do enjoy describing them.

This one is a relaxing blend of decaffeinated Sencha green tea and hibiscus, plus some unspecified flavor mix concocted by the Eastern Shore Tea Company. I do not taste cherry, but I do detect a light fruit (orange or apple?) and rosehips flavor. A quick check of the company's web site confirms the blend has hibiscus, rosehips, apple pieces, orange, and cherry flavors. Wow, if only I were as good at wine tasting!

The packaging invites the buyer to share this tea with a special friend. And so I shall.

If you would like to try a sample of Cherry Moon Decaf Green tea, let me know in the comment section below and I will mail you a foil-wrapped tea bag. Be sure to email me privately with your contact info!

Now for the tatting.

An experiment is underway. Here's the hypothesis: Can Lyn Morton's Margaret motif (found in her book, Tatting Patterns, page 81) with its six-petal flower, be tatted as a nine-petal flower and turned into a nine-sided motif?

So far I like the way it is progressing in Tatskool's luscious ChocoRaspberry. The five-petal posies are positively cheerful. And would be even more so if tatted in Springtime colors with green chains.

I did make one more change to Lyn Morton's pattern. I threw off a ring from the connecting chains in order to expand the circumference of the circle, allowing room for nine posies and creating a bit more negative space.

Pardon the messy state of the tatting (unclipped strings and what not). I had hoped to be farther along, but with a pirate birthday party planned for later this week, I'm swamped. Aarrgh!

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful.

See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!

Always on my Mind

As Valentine's Day winds down in my corner of Tat Land, I wanted to pop in with a heart day recap.

The lads surprised me with many lovely valentines. First, the Sprout bounded onto the bed bright and early exclaiming, "Happy Bal-tine Day!" and planted a big, sweet smooch on a sleepy mommy. Isn't that just the best way to start a day?

Next was the opening of the cards and presenting of two (one small and one large) heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Good gracious! Mr. Whitman and Mr. Stover, the lads had you both covered!

So far the orange creme curse hasn't reared it's sickly sweet head. (Growing up with three chocolate-loving sisters, it inevitably fell to me to reach into the box and pull out the dreaded orange creme candy every time.)

But there's more! Big Daddy pulled a large gift-wrapped box out from under the bed. Inside was a new Dell laptop computer. It has a 17-inch display. Sweet!

That's my guy, bringing home electronics. Not that I'm complaining. Now, if need be, I can blog from the road or bed.

One of many incredible photos on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
These photos were taken during a January trip to the National Mall where we visited three of the Smithsonian museums. Everywhere I turned I was seeing hearts.

Sailor's Valentine, 1880's

The displays are so well done at the Smithsonian. Even the most staid subjects are brought to life with color and lighting. Check out the bones:

Pacific Walrus - see the heart?

Irish Elk - no heart, just lovely light and graceful lines.

Tyrannasaurus Rex - rrrraaaaaaarrrrr!

Whale suspended from ceiling.

Wishing you all a whale of a day filled with sweet wishes, surprises, treats, and tatting. See you on Tuesday, when I am hoping to show you some of the tatting I managed to do over the weekend.