Gayle's Mint Tea

You can tell it is summer at our house because we always have a pitcher of Mint tea made. I really shouldn't call it Gayle's Mint Tea because I learned to make it from a good friend of mine who has passed away from Cancer. When I was a very young little girl, Mrs. Mast next door who was an older widow would invite my sister and I over for tea. She would pick the mint from her back yard on North East Street in Bremen and brew us a cup of tea in a beautiful little china tea cup. That was my first experience with tea. I remember it making me feel very lady like and proper. Then many years later the memories all came back when my friend Sherry had mint tea brewing for me. Now I want to share the recipe with you so you can pass it on to some little neighbor girl or a good friend.

I'm not sure how it got started, but we have a mint patch out back. It's grown quite large but we don't mind at all. It isn't bothering any other plants and it's handy right out our back door. '

So here is how I make Gayle's Mint Tea. I cut a large handful of the mint. Usually just the top tender leaves.

Then I wash it off real good. We don't have

any chemicals or sprays on it but don't want to serve

up any little bugs with it. I shake it off real good too

for those kind that hang on tight through the washing.

This is the crucial part of the brewing. I put it in a pot of very good water (reverse osmosis or filtered) and fill it up almost to the top. Then I brew it just until it is starting to boil. Don't let it boil! And don't go sit at your computer or go outside while it is on the stove or it will boil and burn (I've done that). When it is almost ready to boil, turn off the burner and put a lid on it. Let it brew for about 12-15 minutes. I throw in about 4 tea bags to give it a tea color. I use decaf tea bag and get the cheapest ones I can find.

This is the part I always feel guilty about but it's summer right? I add the sugar. Never, never add artificial sweeteners to Gayle's Mint Tea! If you do, you can't call it what it is. It won't be real and it could never taste the same. I add 1/4 cup of sugar to a two quart pitcher. That isn't that much. Too much will ruin it and too little, well, that won't hurt either. Mix in the sugar while it is hot, drain off the mint leaves into a pitcher and there you have it. Pour it over a tall glass FULL of ice and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Stop in anytime and have a glass with me. If you catch me at the right time, you can have a cup of it hot too.

Cherries and Patience

My husband and I ventured out to do one of his favorite things on Fathers Day. He loves to get in the car and drive up to Michigan to gather or pick produce. Right now the Cherries are ripe and plentiful. We have great memories of picking cherries, and peaches in Michigan. We go to the same orchard every year where they are chemical free and safe to eat right off the tree. The weather was perfect and the trees were loaded. We have our own special spot where we sneak off to away from the natural flow of cherry pickers where the trees are more plentiful.

We got two boxes of dark cherries and one box of sour cherries. I ran to the car to get the checkbook while Terry had them weighed. I got back and he informes me that they are $75.00! Since when is getting back to nature and storing up your food become so expensive?! We have reached the pinacle. It is now way cheaper to fill your body with junk than to eat healthy from the earth. We even cut out the middle man! I guess we were paying for the ambiance. Which I have to admit was perfect.

My husband and I have been doing a study on the fruits of the Spirit. For several weeks we have been studying "Patience". Need I say more? One quote that we wrote down in our notes is "Patience is not waiting.... It is how you act while you wait". Ouch! What does patience have to do with picking Cherries? We picked them quit quickly and enjoyed every minute of it. Loaded them up in our car, stopped and got a half regular/half sweet tea and pulled onto I94 to head home. About a mile on down the road. The air conditioning went off, the windows wouldn't roll down and all the lights on the dash were gone on our little old Beamer. We looked at each other and smiled. It was fathers day, we were on the side of the road with Semi's blowing past us. We each had two bars on our cell phones. How were we going to act? Man, this is getting long..... I'm just going to post the pictures and let you finish the story with one final note. Those $2.49 a lb. cherries are currently costing us about $75.00 a lb. and the final bill isn't in yet!

The Briar Patch

Jessica (My daughter) asked me to join her this week-end at The Briar Patch for their annual craft show. Yikes! I have been in a very creative mood, but time just won't allow me go with it. I have, however, managed to work some time in and get a few things ready for the show. I usually do assemblage/collage pieces but that medley of bottles sitting on the window sill in The Loft http://www.loftartgallery.com/ have been calling out to me to dress them. I also have that wonderful rusty can of keys that continue to intrique me. So I won't have a lot to take with me but I will have a few things. I look forward to sitting back with Jessica http://www.jessicaflores.com/ and putting up our flip flops while we watch the crafters mingling around the Briar Patch http://www.thebriarpatchgardenshop.blogspot.com/ . I hope I see some of my friends there.

One of my favorite finds from a garage sale several years back was a rusty can full of beautiful old keys. I know any assemblage artist would go crazy over them. Here is a necklace that I put together with a few of my favorites.

I love glass, beads, wire, paper, etc.... junk!! Stuff! This little bottle is one of my favorites. I may have to keep it. It just seems a little sophisticated to me. Maybe it's the gold, maybe it's the Dr's prescription. Maybe it's the history.

Leafing through my collection of Dick and Jane workbooks takes me right back to 3rd grade. I love the pictures which are so pure and innocent. I love how Dick and Janes mother and father are always there playing with them. This bottle doesn't have Dick and Jane on it, but their pets are running all around it. I will have some Dick and Jane Cards at the show this week-end.

My New Blog

Facebook is boring me. There is so much more to my life. So I am stepping into the world of blogging. I'm not sure why, but I think it will be a good thing. Sometimes when I bake a beautiful pie or sew a little nightgown for my granddaughter, it just seems like it needs to be posted somewhere. I think that would finish it. I'm not eloquent with words and descriptions like my daughter http://www.jessicaflores.com/ is, but I think it will be fun to finish my projects with a little blogging and get on with the next one.