Tea for two

Perry and I really enjoyed the chrysanthemum tea we had at a Chinese restaurant we had lately. We even bought some of the tea to make some at home (with the hostess reminding us to use lots of honey). I brought the tea home and then pondered how to make it. Did I really want to put the loose chrysanthemum tea into my large tea kettle that sits on the stove all the time? or even putting it in the silver plated tea pot my Dad gave me earlier (yes, it now shines but how clean is it really)? So in the back of my mind a want of a tea set was brewing.

At our school each month a lady (officially the Book Lady) comes in and sets up books, trinkets, photo collages, and the like that teachers may be interested in. It is in the teachers workroom and if we are interested we just sign a little paper with our interest and voila a week or two later our merchandise is delivered. Nothing is ever too expensive. I even have bought a few Christmas gifts from the Book Lady, but usually things are geared toward young children or kind of what I call "dust collectors", but others might call nick knacks.

This past month the Book Lady had a small tea set. It was one that you paint any way you want. It was a small porcelain tea pot, a sugar bowl, four cups, and four saucers. For the price it couldn't be beat and I thought it might be fun to decorate. Then I got home. How should I paint it? I'm not artistic! What was I thinking?

Then inspiration hit (or more like March Madness and Perry's incessant TV watching). Who should be in the playoffs? Florida State University, my Alma mater! So I finished painting my Florida inspired tea set yesterday while Vincent was off with his girlfriend and Perry was off volunteering for Obama. I have yet to bake it (the paint has to be dry for 24 hours), but it was a fun little project, even if the tea set is MUCH smaller than I thought it would be.

--- Stephanie

PS. The above painting is NOT a giraffe, even if both Perry and Vincent thought it was supposed to be. It is supposed to be Renegade!