"In the course of preparing tea..." ~ Jane Eyre

My bedroom smells like jasmine and vanilla and the scent makes me crave jasmine tea, among other things, which is brewing right now as I sit here to breathe deeply and make myself a proper afternoon tea. This is a vacation day for me, and I shall not return to work until Wednesday. I have an entire weekend to myself and am so excited that nothing is planned but time for me and to do things for myself.

Of course this morning I spent with Jack; he is attending "school" for an hour and a half at an amazing child recreation center that holds educational classes. I went to the house and my sister, Jack, adn I had mini waffles, hopped in the car, and then we got to sponge paint, sing, have snack, and play. I watch him in the room and am proud of his patience, his politeness, and how well he gets along with other children. I am going back to another class with him on Tuesday morning, this time a music class called "Broadway Babies" where musicians and actors dress the part from musicals and sing to the children. This Tuesday is Mary Poppins, so there was no way I was missing that experience to see him dance with a character dressed as Bert to "Step In Time."

I am moving again and excited - this time a house. A house I will share with my twin sister. I have not lived in a house since moving out of my parents' home when I was 22, so the idea excites me to no end, especially the idea of a garden. I want to plant flowers, of course, but I also want a vegetable garden of tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. I want tomatoes so I can jar my own sauce, and I want cucumbers so I can make my own pickles. I am procrastinating this afternoon and looking at pickling websites. http://www.pickyourown.org/makingpickles.htm I do have to start packing and boxing, but it will be an easy move - not stressful. The only stressful part to me is picking paint colors. I am thinking long and hard about colors for the bedroom and want to veer away from the golden tone I have had for a few years now. I want something warm and am leaning towards: melon. Melon with brown and blue accents.

I am reading a book about a tea shop called The Tea House on Mulberry Street. Its a good, light, fluffy read for a cold February evening; it's about an Irish couple who own a teahouse in Belfast and about all of the colorful characters whom frequent the shop. There is a cherry cheesecake recipe at the end that sounds delicious and would make if I didnt dislike baking so much.

My tea is ready, my book is here, and I go from one written word to another...