Tea for Two

A lovely young couple is enjoying the "Tea for Two" package this weekend in celebration of their first anniversary. They're new to Kansas, and I'm proud to say they chose Hays for their first weekend getaway. They've been antiquing and spent some time at the Sternberg Museum.

I don't often meet young people who are so enthusiastic about tea. We had the best conversation about all things camellia sinensis. For their afternoon tea I served my house blend, tea and roses, with finger sandwiches and assorted sweets. This evening they have a dessert tea in their room:  green Darjeeling in cut crystal mugs and cheesecake with chocolate sauce. A cheery vase of flowers and a scented candle add to the ambiance and are theirs to take home.

At breakfast I may serve apricot brandy tea, since they mentioned an apricot flavored tea they'd enjoyed somewhere. That should nicely complement the special French toast with berries I have planned for tomorrow.

During afternoon tea the young man commented on the Celtic music I had playing. That led to me mentioning Tinderbox, my musical guests from the U.K. (see May 7 post). We ended up listening to the Tinderbox CD, and they really liked that too, no surprise.

Now I'm enjoying a glass of ICED tea under the ceiling fan at the end of this unseasonably hot day. All in all a very satisfying day.

Tea, hope and renewal

This Easter weekend is a typical one at the Tea Rose Inn in that I don't have many guests here. I guess it's a stay-at-home or stay-with-family kind of holiday. In any case, I can't remember an Easter holiday when the inn was really busy. That leaves me a little spare time to do some outdoor chores on this windy, windy spring weekend.

This evening I will have dinner at someone else's house--a rare opportunity for me on a weekend night! Sunday I will have more leisure time than usual, which is great because I like to spend Easter with family and friends. So tomorrow I am hosting an afternoon tea party.

We'll have darjeeling tea, hot and iced, plus fruit punch. For nibblies I'm making miniature strawberry tarts with fresh organically grown strawberries, poppyseed cupcakes decorated for spring, and some whole strawberries for those who want to keep it healthier. On the savory side there will be asparagus tips rolled up in prosciutto spread with a little herbed goat cheese, cucumber sandwiches (of course!), and egg salad on multi-grain crackers.

Tonight I get to blow out about 18 eggs for our tea party activity. I'll set up a decorating table on the front porch with paints, pens, stickers, etc. Everybody gets to take home an egg they've decorated.

If Easter is a holiday that is important for you to celebrate, I hope yours is everything you want it to be. But even beyond the religious holiday, I love that we all celebrate the arrival of spring together with age-old symbols and activities. I love the community of Easter. The springtime theme of renewal, both symbolic and actual, makes it such a hopeful time.

So here's wishing you hope and happiness this Easter!