Snow, Blogs, and Tea Bags

Yesterday was another home-bound day, and even though I enjoy the cozy indoors, I must admit I'm starting to get cabin fever [but not enough to go outside just yet!].

Below are two photos I took from inside my house.  That's hubby snow blowing our driveway. It was a frigid -02 degrees F with a windchill of -15 degrees F.  The phrase "Baby it's cold outside" is an understatement! Temps are supposed to start warming up to 23 degrees F on Thursday - a heatwave!

The second photo was taken from the family room door wall.  You can see the depth of the snow piled up on the patio table and A/C unit.  Doesn't Mother Nature know that Christmas is past, and we don't want snow now?!

I think my tea and blogging friend, LaDonna, from Gracious Hospitality blog should receive honorable mention for being the longest blogger of those I follow. She began blogging in 2005!  Below is her blog banner.  She is also the moderator of a tea e-group, Afternoon Tea Across America, that I belong to.

In 2008 she hosted a 10-week Hospital-i-Tea blog-a-thon. I wasn't blogging then, but wasn't that a great idea, and I liked her creative topics:

• Decor-a-Tea/Incorporating tea into home decor
• Litera-Tea/Sharing tea in literature
• Teacup-a-Story/Favorite teacup and story
• Stitches-for-Tea/Stitching for the tea table
• The Sweet-and-Savory-of-Yummy/Sharing a tea recipe
• Dressed-to-a-Tea/Dressing for Afternoon Tea
• Crazy-for-Teapots/Sharing teapots
• Favorite Tea Rooms
• Creative Afternoon Tea table settings
• The White, Green, Black and Herb of Tea

I thought tea "bags" was one of her categories, but it was a creative post of Linda J's.  It got me thinking about my tea bags/totes and I gathered mine together for today's post.  Do you have a tea bag collection?

My first tea bag came from Magnolia & Ivy when I attended their tea room conference in March 2002.  It was made in Sri Lanka - how fitting is that! 

My second tea bag was given at the American Tea Society conference in October 2002.  I blogged about it here.

When I attended the Take Me 2 Tea Expo in March 2003 [now called World Tea Expo] I received my most durable tea bag.

In November 2004 I attended Southern Lady's Celebration, "A Weekend of Tea and Roses" and got a nice tote.   I also bought a tea-themed evening bag at one of the boutiques that was hand-painted by Phyllis Hoffman DePiano's mother.  The price was $30. 

I previously blogged about my teapot purses here, so I won't include them in this post.

A tea friend made the personalized tea bag below.

My son got me this tea bag at a tea shop while visiting Alaska. 

Below a souvenir tea bag from the Charleston Tea Plantation.  They use "green" bags instead of paper ones.

Two "green" tea bags that I purchased at TJ Maxx and Trader Joes.

So there you have it.  I guess I'm a tea bag lady!