Tea Party Girl married Plays with Fire Boy. This means he knows what it is like to be the only man at afternoon tea and I pack life into the woods every now and again. Now that the baby is six-years old, I expect family camping to happen with even more frequency than before. I find myself wrestling through an interesting exercise of letting go of typical comforts as I pack for the weekend.
Now, I packed the loose-leaf tea. But it will brew over the open fire in a cast-off tea kettle. Notice I said, BREW. At home I prepare the filtered water in the tea kettle, brew it in my Elegant Blue Teapot* (with the help of a tea timer), and keep it hot through the morning in a carafe. When I am in the woods, I will brew the tea in the same kettle I boiled the water in with an estimated amount of leaves for an estimated length of time. It is yet to be seen whether I can sneak my carafe past Plays with Fire.
I already decided I can’t sneak past candles, fresh flowers, wine glasses, teacups, or fancy food. As I laid in bed last night on my Englander mattress and French linens I thought through how my senses will be nourished this weekend.
Sight-the beauty of Tahoe National Forest. While I remain a firm believer the Creator’s handiwork paired with our creation produces incredible beauty and goodness, there’s nothing like nature to remind us who bears whose image.
Sound-We only visit non-RV hook-up places. My idea of a new earth includes no automobiles. I relish the sounds of the woods awakening and dead quiet at 2am.
Touch-At 6000 feet elevation, so much remains untouched. Especially the air. Stepping outside a tent in the dawn awakens this sense better than anything else I normally experience.
Taste-It’s really true. Ordinary food tastes better cooked and eaten outdoors. It’s why God gave us summer.
Smell-Pureness. Of air, creation, unpolluted lake and creek waters and Anne Shirley’s Almond Black brewed over the open fire first thing in the morning.
See you Monday, dear readers (and you, my Elegant Blue Teapot)~