I wish I had a Tea Set

I don't know why I am writing this. Tea nowadays is a mug of water with a teabag tossed in and somebody asking you what you want in it.
I have some teapots but why bother id no one is around to take the time to relax. Maybe that's what I miss. People took time back in the day to sit down and have a cup of tea and a bit of something sweet. It was just the normal thing to do.

I can remember my "first cup of tea" when my mother and aunties were around, maybe a few other people. Teapot was out, cup and saucers and always some home-made cake. Usually plain cake but then some people didn't just make fruit cake for Christmas, they made it around the year. Momma would slice the cake and put it on a plate cut narrow, like "fingers".

Somebody decided at 8 years old I needed to learn how to drink tea so they set me up with a proper china cup and saucer, some milk and a couple of teaspoons of tea stirred in. I think that's how everybody was introduced to tea and you better not drop anything!!! You learned to respect bone china and not to break anything of Momma's nice tea set.

In Home Economics one of the first things I had to sew was a simple tea tray cloth. My mother still has it. It was hemmed and had blue embroidery (simple running stitch with "X's" in between. My stitches had to be perfectly straight if I wanted to get a decent mark. I was proud of it anyway.

When I went home in May my mother and I visited an old family friend and her husband and we were in time for tea. Every afternoon around 4 they have tea together with some cake just like the old days. She had a nice pot with a cozy, tea cups and saucers, and fruit cake and digestive cookies to nibble on. As well as the creamer and the sugar bowl which had sugar cubes rather than regular sugar and silver tongs to use with it!!!

When I don't feel good a cup of tea makes me feel better, even if it's just a mug with a tea bag thrown in. I still have some loose tea in the cupboard somewhere and my mother gave me a tea ball but I don't take the time.

Maybe I should.

There's something I am missing. Maybe life is going way to fast. Maybe if I had a tea set, pretty English china with pink roses, matching teapot and a pretty cozy to keep the tea warm, creamer and cubed sugar (and the silver tongs!!) and a tea strainer and all the rest you need for 4, I would feel better. Even if I never use it, at least it is there just in case

here is a link to tell you something about serving tea and the reasons why tea is served the way it is. Then there's the Etiquette. To me Etiquette is just plain common sense just like good manners. Everything you learn is for a certain reason. Once you know the reason, the rest is easy!!!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm