Did you know that January is Hot Tea Month? No, me neither.

But it is, and I have signed up to share my love of tea with you throughout the month as part of the Hot Tea Month Blog-a-thon. Each week will bring a question or theme to speak to.

This week’s query:

“Tea as a mood lifter: How does tea improve your day? What is your favorite time for a nice, hot cuppa?”

I admit it: If you came to me upset or distressed or in need of comfort in some way, my first action after giving you a hug would be to put the kettle on. A hot cup of tea might not be able to cure what ails you, but it certainly will help make it more bearable.

I drink tea all day long. Rudi is usually the first one up in our household and he nearly always makes my first cup of tea. This is probably the crucial cup of the day, the one that lures me out of bed with the promise of a hot mug to wrap my hands around as I sit in front of my happy light. It helps me adjust to the idea of being awake and serves as a reminder of the nice things in life that sometimes seem far away during the early part of the day.

The last cup of tea before sleep is also a good one. It serves to relax me, to give me a final chance to pull my shoulders away from my ears before heading to bed. Caffeine doesn’t seem to affect me, so again it’s the warmth of the cup cradled in my hands that helps lull me through to the next stage of the day.

There are other times, of course, that call for tea: after a chilly walk, on a rainy afternoon, when chatting with a friend — either in person or on the phone — or curled up with a good book. That cup (or pot) of tea seems to be one of several puzzle pieces that fit together to just make the scene come together correctly.

Tea is, after all, a magic elixir. It’s just dried leaves and water, maybe with a little sugar and milk mixed in. It doesn’t sound like it could be the drink of gods. And, yet, it can in turn offer strength, comfort, energy, or relaxation. What mere mortal could ask for more?

Rudi and I returned to D.C. tonight after a week up in Connecticut. Our cats still had food and water (thanks, Amani!), the Burrow wasn’t flooded, and a pile of Christmas cards awaited our arrival.

I would tell you more about the day’s adventures, but I have to go to bed so we can get up early to run past the police station for a temporary parking pass and then figure out our movie marathon schedule/lineup.

Check back tomorrow for the final three beautiful things of the year and later in the week for some round-up type posts for 2009.

G’night!

I’ve done this before, but was reminded by reading Nan’s post that today might be the ideal time to post my year-end retrospective by sharing the first paragraph of each month’s initial post:

January: “Well, Day 1 of 2009 has reached its close. If it’s how the rest of the year goes, I’m going to be pretty happy. We cooked, we did a few chores, and otherwise we generally spent the day making merry.”

February: “I’m in love … with the library.”

March: “March 1 and 2: Snow! It started snowing Saturday as Rudi and I were walking home from our late night pizza dinner. It mixed with rain and sleet, so by morning we were still without accumulation. It picked up again around noon when we were at the market, but the temps were just too high to allow it to stick. It kicked in off and on all afternoon and evening, and finally around midnight started to stick to the ground. Around one, Rudi and I went out to play for a few minutes before returning home for hot tea and bed.”

April: “Fifteen years is a long time: It’s the amount of time it takes for a newborn to age enough to acquire a learner’s permit to drive.” (This post referred to the final episode of E.R. but more spoke to a nostalgia for my college friends and our weekly gatherings.)

May: “I promise to regale you with stories of my weekend — filled with embassy visits, tea drinking in the rain, and a small fiber gathering — a bit later.”

June: “We’ve enjoyed the May’s Masterpiece Theatre Mystery series, Wallander, starring Kenneth Branaugh. The haunting theme music, I discovered on Ravelry, is ‘Nostalgia,’ written and performed by Emily Barker. See if you don’t agree…”

July: “Once upon a time there was some yarn. It was Blue-faced Leicester yarn [in dk weight from Yarn Pirate]. Wool from Blue-faced Leicester sheep makes very soft yarn, much like merino — perfect for a baby’s sensitive skin.”

August: “You may have noticed I am not a good traveler. I’m a great visitor. I love being other places and seeing new sights and meeting new and old friends. But I’m terrible at the traveling part, probably because it relies on things I’m not especially good at — timeliness and organization.” (Off to the Sock Summit, where I also proved not to be a particularly good in-real-time blogger…)

September: “Soooo tired! Must type Three Beautiful Things and then fall into deep sleep…” (I really ought to re-read my TBT posts more often. They really do help to remind me of how much beauty surrounds my life.)

October: “As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, Mia had cajoled me to come out to Berryville earlier this fall. Unfortunately, it looked like there would be conflicts (an out-of-town friend in town for the marathon and a bike weekend away for Rudi), so I told her I probably wouldn’t be able to make it. Clearly, those two situations ultimately did not prove to be a sticking point, and when she heard I thought I’d be coming, Mia offered to give — yes, give — me a skein of her handspun yarn.” (This reminds me that you haven’t seen the lovely yarn Mia brought me for Christmas earlier this month. All lovely pinks and pastels. It’s sat on my desk at home being pet each day like a pampered kitten.)

November: “I had hoped to be able to show you today photos of Mum’s birthday present, completed and modeled, but that was predicated on having finished it. As it is, I am still knitting away, although she did gamely drape the unfinished shawl over herself Thursday night when I delivered it still on the needles. Last night I suggested that it was long enough to stay in place if I let her wear it with the circular needles attached and tied in a jaunty bow.” (After a blog-low of ten posts in October, I picked up my keyboard with renewed interest in November. I’d like to say that’s why Mum’s shawl is still not done, but I’m not sure that’s the truth. Here’s hoping for today…)

December: “Oh, I meant the apartment, not this post, but still…” (This cryptic remark referred to the post’s title, “disorganized hodgepodge of stuff,” which also might be a good summary of 2009 — and my life — in general.)

Here’s hoping 2010 holds lots of interesting things to blog about, too!

I hope you all had a nice and relaxing Boxing Day. We spent it just the way such a day ought to be experienced: with loved ones, relaxing over food, books, conversation, and movies, in front of a fire, after sleeping in late.

Tomorrow, I might try something strenuous like knitting or finishing my Christmas cards. Or maybe I’ll catch up with some of my northeastern friends. Either way, I’m definitely going to be all-out crazy and take a shower.

I know! It’s good for a girl to dream big.

What do your plans include?

Happy Boxing Day!

From our house to yours, Merry Christmas. May your celebration be filled with love and peace and joy.

Not every day can be filled with romping in the snow or reading your favorite novels. Sometimes an Alexander kind of day comes along, and all you can do is weather it and know that a day only lasts 24 hours, even if sometimes it feels so much longer.

I am not surprised that such a day would occur on the darkest day of the year. We should be glad that it was a short day because I wouldn’t have wanted to cram in any additional missed shipping deadlines, cat vomit, scones that didn’t rise, burnt cookies, forgotten meals, deleted material, and crabby attitudes. All I can say is thank goodness today was a snow day. I can’t begin to imagine what would have happened if I’d had such a calamitous day while in the office.

Tomorrow is a new day, after all, full of promise and hope. May it be better than today was!