Family Highlights and More

My blog is primarily about tea but every now and again I share highlights about my family.  Last Sunday we went to our youngest son's church in Ann Arbor.  It's a large non-denominational church called 2/42 Community Church - based on Acts 2:42-47.  They have four services every Sunday morning, and we attended the 11:00 o'clock service.

We arrived early before the 9:30 service had ended, so we waited in the large foyer for our family to arrive.  There were coffee bars situated around the foyer and I spotted a tea display for those who aren't into coffee.  Nice for tea lovers to be thought about.  ;-)

The reason for our visit was Isabella and Landon [our grandchildren] were going to be baptized at the conclusion of the service and Jeremy [their dad/our son] was privileged to do it.  Izzy went first, followed by Landon.

What a joy to see them publicly proclaim their faith in Christ and their desire to live a life pleasing to Him. Our other son, Steve [who is a pastor], participated in a grief share service recently for high school students in his community when a 9th grader committed suicide. How sad someone so young had no hope and felt life wasn't worth living.  I'm so thankful my grandchildren know the Giver of life and the hope He brings.

We enjoyed a fun day at their house after church.  Izzy is a 9th grader and attended her first Homecoming dance recently.

Here she is with her mom [Samantha] and younger sister, Ellie.

Steve and Sharon's oldest daughter, Brianna, is home from Nashville until after Christmas and it's great to see her again.  She finished summer courses for her graduate studies, and will resume classes the first of the year.  She's studying to be a Christian counselor.  Below is a photo that was taken since she came home.  Bri is a tea lover so she has an extra soft spot in my heart.  ;-)

Brooke, her younger sister, is a senior in high school this year and below is one of her senior pictures.  Senior pictures sure have changed since I was in high school so many years ago! A lot more casual and true to life than oil portraits.

My hubby finished his 2019 GM retirees student corps job for this summer [teaching inner city kids life skills], so he turned his attention to a project for our daughter and son-in-law - building a fireplace surround for an electric fireplace heating unit they had.

My handyman with his project in the garage [his workshop] before it was delivered.

In Lori & Dave's family room.

They were quite pleased and said they've been enjoying it on these crisp fall nights.

I bought my first Christmas present last week and it arrived in the mail yesterday.  Now to be able to hold off until Christmas before giving it to her. [Lori only reads my blog randomly, so I think I'm safe in sharing it here.]  She was born at 11:11 a.m. and I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the clock when it said 11:11. When I saw this Luca & Danni bangle bracelet I had to get it for her.  Whenever 11:11 comes up on the clock, I don't make a wish [even though this is a 'make a wish' bracelet].  Instead I say a prayer that God will bless and watch over her wherever she is and whatever she's doing, or if I'm in a place where I can text her, I'll do that and tell her she's loved and I'm SO grateful God sent her into our lives. I'm thankful to be her mom.

Below is the view from my office window this morning looking into our backyard.  The maple tree leaves are falling, and Jerry will soon be raking them up marking the end of another fall season.  The tree on the left always drops its leaves before the one on the right.  For what it's worth... I'm not ready for cold weather!

This morning I decided to sample one of the Masters teas Adagio sent me awhile back - Ti Kuan Yin Oolong.  It was harvested in April 2019 so it's very fresh.

It's an oolong from the Fujian province of China.  It's tightly rolled and the notes say it's an extremely time-consuming tea to produce [over 12 distinct steps in processing].

The aroma was slightly vegetal at the onset, but I didn't pick up on the gentle collard greens or spinach taste until after it had sat in the cup for a couple of minutes.  It has a smooth, mild taste and with no astringency.  I didn't detect any toasted nutty or floral taste, but it's very good and produced a light golden color. It'll yield multiple steeps, so maybe a nutty or floral taste will come through then. Taste is very subjective and doesn't always match the descriptions, characteristics, or profiles attributed to it.

I have a busy weekend ahead - a Lucille Ball presentation on Saturday for the Friends of the Warren Library. They advertised in newspapers far and wide [it's a membership and fundraising campaign], and the event filled at 125 with a waiting list.  No pressure for Saturday's presentation, mind you, but everyone loves Lucy so how can I go wrong!  This will be my fifth presentation about her life, and I've written three different scripts.  I'm not going to reinvent the wheel for Saturday.  I've been reading thru all three scripts and will select the one I like best or will combine parts from all three.  

Sunday is my monthly presentation at the assisted living facility - Accessories of the 1912-1929 time period [Downton Abbey].  I did an abbreviated version for The Whitney Downton Abbey tea, but Sunday's presentation will be much more detailed because I'll have more time.  I thoroughly enjoyed this research.

So now you're up to date on all my latest happenings, and I hope I've made up for the fewer and farther between posts lately.