"Then Mrs. Tiggy-winkle made tea—a cup for herself and a cup for Lucie. They sat before the fire on a bench and looked sideways at one another. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle's hand, holding the tea-cup, was very very brown, and very very wrinkly with the soap-suds; and all through her gown and her cap, there were hair-pins sticking wrong end out..."

--"The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle" by Beatrix Potter

 

 

This is exactly the picture I had in my head as I sipped my tea this evening. It's been a long day. Carley and I went shopping because we were both in desperate need of clothes. I spent a total of ten hours at nine stores today and so you can imagine how utterly exhausted I am. I bought Republic of Tea Peach & Ginger tea to reward myself for surviving this dreadfully long day. And, being the imaginative person that I am, I pretended that I was Lucie and that Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle was the one who served me the tea. That has always been my favorite Beatrix Potter story after all. Of course, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkly didn't just boil water from the tap. She went outside early in the morning to catch the dew dripping from the flowers into her pail. And she steeped the tea with peaches she dried herself, tea leaves from her garden, and freshly grated ginger. She sweetened it with just the right touch of honeysuckle and added enough milk to make it a delicate pink. And then we sat on the bench by the hearth; sipping and talking and pouring ourselves another cup, then sipping and talking some more.

 

And, now you know what is going on my head as I stare of into the never space.