Tea Cozies- The Solution

Here is the problem with enjoying tea: you can make tea in a pot or in a cup. Either way there are advantages and disadvantages.

Cup:
Advantages:

• every cup is fresh
• the tea will be warm/hot every time you drink it, unless you forget to drink it...

Disadvantages:

• every time you want another cup of tea you have to boil the kettle again and make a new cup
• must wait longer

Pot:

Advantages:

• you get enough tea for more than one cup
• usually you get a better brew

Disadvantages:

• your last cup of tea is almost always cold
• if you're using leaves and you put them directly into your pot they can be a pain to clean out

Solution:

Make your tea in a tea pot when it is available. This is the more traditional way to make tea and in my opinion (with really no proof at all) this is the better way to do make tea. How do we fix the cold tea issue then? Obviously the answer is to be found in the age old wisdom of the grannies....tea cozies. It has become my life mission to find time amongst work, life and other projects to make a tea cozy before I die. I kid you not, this is now on my bucket list. Some nights/days when I really can't convince myself to do something else, I surf the internet looking for cute cozy pattens that I will some day make. When I'm in tea shops (I mean shops that sell tea and tea pots and paraphernalia) look at the tea cozies that are there and I think and dream and plan....Yes I'm a nut. Anyhoo, there is my random bit of craziness of the day. 

The amazing sights and sounds of York.

Last weekend I returned to York. It was a much better trip than my first one. The first time I went to York it was December. The Christmas markets had just opened and every street was just packed with shoppers. It was absolute insanity. You couldn’t move on the street but to walk forward, following the crowd. If I was claustrophobic it would have been the worst possible situation.

Last weekend was perfect. The weather was really nice: sunny and mostly warm. The streets were not terribly crowded and there was lots to see and do. So much infact that I didn’t get to do half of what I wanted.

When we got there (dragged my friend Luke along since he wanted to sit in the Minster and write) we walked the old Baille wall. The wall is from the 11^th century and circles the old city. 

The view from the wall is gorgeous when facing the river. You can see down the river quite a ways. Also you can see the different guard towers that were built along the river as an early alert system to protect against invasions along the river.

Luke and I didn’t walk the whole wall, but we walked a fair portion, I’d say about a quarter. A little bit of exercise always lifts the spirits. Cheerfully, we headed into the town centre where Luke headed to Minster and I wandered a bit. While in the centre, there was quite a bit of live entertainment on the streets. Early, there was a youth choir. Later on in the day I saw a few different groups that were performing some popular songs. My favourite was the group that was singing 'Walk 1000 miles.' It is such a good song.

Wanderings and Discoveries!

On my wanderings I went down a street called Stonegate. On Stonegate I found some neat little shops. The one most noteworthy is the teddy bear shop. I was over the moon when I saw this shop. The first thing I thought was ‘Oh my god! I have to call mom.’ That is exactly what I did. Out front of the shop is a giant bear that is holding a sign informing passer-bys that they can ‘build a bear’ upstairs.

 When you enter the shop you see a very large bear named Gertrude (£150) that can stand alone.

Inside it is a slightly small shop, but it is magical. There are different types of bears everywhere.

They had Steiff bears. REAL Seiff bears. I was impressed and incredibly charmed by this shop. I just couldn’t help myself. I bought myself a Steiff bear. I told the lady in the shop “that’s it, I can die now. My life is complete now that I have a Steiff.” She agreed with me, well except for maybe the dying bit, although she did chuckle. Honestly, finding that shop just made my day. I was so happy after that.

Three hours later I still couldn't stop grinning...

York Minster

Following the teddy bear shop, I headed to the Minster. It is a must-see if you are ever in York. The history of it is amazing. The architecture is a wonder when you think of all the technology that they didn’t have when it was made. It was all done through manual labour. Visiting it is a very humbling experience. There are graves everywhere within the Minster. There are many different carvings and sculptures as well, that show who was buried in some of them.

There are also different areas of the minster which are dedicated as memorials to servicemen and women from the wars.

I think that my favourite part of the Minster was the Chapter House. It is still used today for the meetings of those incharge of the church in York and the district. There are alcoves in which the different member sit during their meetings. This room also has the most amazing ceiling. I don’t know what it is that captured my attention, but something about lines in the stone and the colours that were pained on it just held my attention.

The floor of Chapter House is an intricate design created by colourful tiles. 

The Minister is a place where hours could be spent exploring it. I spent an hour there since I was meeting up with a colleague. When I go back I’m going to have to visit the tower, both to see the view and to see the gargoyles which are apparently really cool. I also want to have a closer look at some of the windows and I think that I missed an entire area of the Minster altogether. Also, I wouldn’t mind taking one of the guided tours. That way I can hear some stories of some of the different areas, as I am sure that there is lots of information that you can’t get  on a self-guided tour.

Here's the sign that ends your visit in the Minster:

While in York, I also saw Fairfax House. No pictures of that I’m afraid since they do not allow photography. They have had thefts so to prevent that they do not all anyone to take photos. There is suppose to be a very good selection of photos on their website, so I will take a look to see if I can find some that are of the parts of the house that I found particularly interesting.

I learned a great deal while visiting that house. I had no idea of some of the things I learned. For example, in Georgian times (when the house was originally built and used by the Fairfax family) glasses where kept tipped upside down, in dishes of ice during the meal. When you wanted to have a drink of wine, you could pick your glass and hold it out for a portion of wine to be poured into it by a servant. The servant would pour in only enough for a mouthful. That way when you’ve had your drink of wine you would replace your glass into its dish until you wanted more wine. If you are thinking the same thing I was when first told this: “that’s crazy, why be so inefficient?” then I’ll explain why. In Georgian times, glassware was still fairly new and definitely only for the rich. Glassware was all blown glass, which can lead to irregularities. The bottoms of glasses were not perfectly level and flat like they are now. The glasses were kept in these dishes then, to prevent them from falling and breaking, but also to prevent them from falling and spilling wine on table clothes. The table clothes during this time where all damask, imported from Damascus. It was common for wealthy families to spend more on table clothes than on their dinner services. Thus, keeping them in good condition was extremely important. I could go on and on, but I won’t. I will say though, ceiling = awesome. All plaster/stucco. The ones in the main dayrooms and sitting rooms, as well as the entrance hall and grand staircase have intricate sculptures that are rich with symbolic meanings. In each area of the house there is a docent to tell you about the area. They will continue to tell you stories and facts until you get bored of listening to them, and then you simply thank them and continue on your way.

One more thing: The Shambles. This is an ancient street in York. It's rather narrow and has some really cool shops. There are also some good restaurants there as well. It's worth checking out, even if you're just going for a look. 

Here's a good little Italian place at which I had lunch with a friend.

Anyway, enough rambling on about York. My last point is the random cupcake shop that I found on my way back to the train station. It makes a lovely Victoria cupcake. A Victoria cupcake is a vanilla cake with some strawberry preserves just in the hollowed out top, with vanilla buttercream and a small dollop of strawberry preserves on the top. It is just lovely. I enjoyed it immensely when I ate it at home later that night. 

Getting to Scotland.

Here is the thing about train travel: it is wonderful. I was booking my trip online and happened to notice that for a difference of £20 I could travel by train in first class. What this means is that I have a bigger seat with more leg room. The leg room is a little more important to me than a bigger seat, especially since I am lucky enough to have the seat beside me empty (although I’m sharing a table with a very quiet teenage girl). In first class I have been served a complementary cup of tea (in a real cup), later there will be complimentary sandwiches and crisps and it is quiet. I’m enjoying the quiet. The silence might have to do with the fact that I booked a ticket for the quiet coach. I’m not complaining though; after the chaos of the last week I am enjoying every minute quiet that I can get. The contrast of silence to life at work is so startling that when I first arrived home on Friday, I was thrown off balance and felt like there was something wrong. Now that I’m adjusting to it, I am loving it.

Getting ready for this trip seemed like it was going to be a tricky bit of business when I was looking at everything that needed to be done on Saturday. I needed to get a bag to use for traveling since my suitcase is too large to be practical for wandering about for half a day until I can check into my hotel. I also needed to pick my train tickets up from Leeds which meant a trip into another city. I needed to finish planning exactly what I’m doing once I arrive in Edinburgh (still not done although I have some idea of what my first few hours will be like). I also needed to get a belt to hold my jeans up and to visit the doctors.

Yesterday ended up consisting of a trip into Leeds during which I managed to find a duffle bag at a fantastic price (26% of the original price); new sunglasses (since I was brilliant and left mine on the train); no belt, but jogging pants so that I can go for a run and not freeze from wearing summer pants; my train tickets and one man’s attempt to pick me up in the my favourite free art gallery. In the end he was so annoying that I decided to leave, rather than finish seeing the exhibit. I’ll have to go back later next week.

All in all it was a pretty productive three hours. I decided to skip the doctors since I think my body is starting to kick the infection on it’s own and I’d rather give it the chance while I’m not in school to heal on its own instead of pumping another round of penicillin into it so soon. After making myself some disgusting-looking, but delicious-tasting eggs, I took a nap, watched a movie, took a walk and packed.

Now, back to my journey. Catching the 8:30 train out of Leeds on a Sunday means that your day starts at 6am, or 6:30 with a made rush if you sleep in. Catch the intercity bus at 7:15. Arrive on Headrow at 8am. Walk down the to train station and arrive on Platform 8 at 8:15, just in time to wait for the train doors to open.

At the moment the train is passing through some place called Brompton. It is really green. There are some gentle slopping hills and many, many farms. The farm that we just passed had sheep dotted all over the field like fuzzy polka-dots. Seeing al the fields is such a change from being in the cities all the time. It is beginning to remind me of Ireland. There is so much green here that it is hard to believe that it is only February. That is the contrast of climates though. It is amazing to think that in Kitchener right now it is snowy. 

Christmas adventures....a month and a half late.

What to do when you feel all on your own? Well have a glass of wine and write about your holiday. Write about your holiday before it becomes ancient history.

For Christmas I embarked on a lovely journey. I departed my part of West Yorkshire on the 22nd of December. It was evening. It was damp enough that I wore my heavy coat, a sweater, and packed my roomy sweatshirt from back in the days of the daycamps. I took the coach from here, all the way across to Dublin. From there I had to change coaches to get to Cork. I'm talking about Ireland by the way. I went to spend my Christmas with an old friend and her family. It was great fun.

The journey wasn't too bad. I had my own seat for most of the way. Or perhaps it was just part of the way. When you travel at night, things start to blur together. Eventually, the coach filled up and I had a man sitting beside me that was heading home to mother. She bought his ticket because she wasn't putting up with any excuse as to why he wouldn't be home for Christmas. It was quite a decent story the way he told it (until I heard it ten times). He may have been a bit overzealous with his drinking prior to getting on the coach, which is why I think that he told and retold the story. He also kept asking me the same questions again and again, almost like he didn't realise he has asked me several times already.

Eventually we arrived at Hollyhead which is where the ferry is caught. Before getting on the ferry we all had to get off the coach, collect our luggage and pile into this shed. I kid you not, it was a large shed. The door behind us had to be closed before they would check our passports and let us out the other side to board the next coach.

The ferry was nice. I had a full breakfast at 2am.

I went out on deck to see the view (very dark at night-go figure). I also wanted to take a picture of the ferry. I was almost knocked into the sea by the wind. The wind was very impressive.

Getting off the ferry meant a coach change in Dublin. It was about 6 am when we arrived. I had forty minutes between coaches which meant that  I say in the terminal and was bored for that time. There was a nicely decorated christmas tree though. Reminded me of the time of year. It is so odd, after all the years of working retail, I don't notice that it is Christmas time unless I see something like that. I think that also has to do with my lack of television. Television programs and commercials are big informers of the time of year I'm finding. Living without them leaves you a little out of the loop. 

Once I reach Sligo I was greeted by Sue and Phil at the bus station. I was so happy to see them! They took me to this cute little cafe where we had wraps for lunch. This wrap that I ate was amazing. I enjoyed it so much that I wish I had taken a picture. 

Here are some pictures of the Sligo town. I loved how colourful Sligo was. It is such a change from all of the Stone in West Yorkshire. 

 In the picture below is Pepper Alley, the cafe that Sue and Phil took me to for lunch. If is the shopfront that has the purple sign just to the left of the red building (not that you can really see the sign colour). If you are ever in Sligo, go to Pepper Alley.

 Sue!  This is the main river. Just around this area, the town council of Sligo invested a lot of money during the economic boom to fix up the area. They made it into a big pedestrianized area with a beautiful walkway along the river and some really modernized buildings like the one I'm standing in front of in the later picture.

 This carving is in the front of a shop that belongs to M. Quirke. He's pretty much world-famous. He started out as a butcher, and is now a wood-carver. His shop was closed the day I was in town so I had to look from the window. Very cool though.

When in Ireland, one does not ask for Strongbow. Since I don't drink beer I drink cider. You must have Bulmers. It's the closest thing to the national cider as you can get. In England Bulmers is sold under then label of Magners because the name Bulmers was already taken by a different cider. By the way, Bulmers is better than Strongbow.

 My fantastic hosts! This is Christmas eve. We went into the town for a few errands and had lunch at the pub. The pub's name is The Swagman Bar. They had a very interesting menu. My favourite thing on the menu (in terms of description was the Funky Chunky Chips. I didn't order them, but Sue did. She said they were a bit disappointing. My burger, however was not. Irish beef is MUCH better than English. According to the Irish it is because the cows are allowed to roam the pastures and eat grass instead of being grain-fed.

 I just loved how the sky looked!

 This is the village pub. It was down the road from where we were staying with Niall and Jill. What you see in this picture is literally the whole pub. It was pretty quiet that night (Christmas Eve) but we had a nice evening having a pint. I tried Guiness. Guiness in Ireland is not pasteurized, like the stuff that is exported. All of the Irish in the group swore that it made a difference in the taste. Regardless, I was still not a fan. I think what I liked the best about this pub was the open fire place, which is right behind where I'm standing on the right and that it is literally the smallest pub I have ever seen. The pub part is literally all you see in this picture and behind the man who took the picture for me is a partition which divides the front area which is large enough for three people to stand in and sells essentials like flower and dishliquid.

 Over Christmas I saw some lovely and warm temperatures like 12 degrees! Everything was so green. I've always grumbled about green Christmases, but this one was great!

 Boxing day.  Boxing day in Ireland is called St. Stephen's Day. Let's go to Strandhill! This is where Phill and his brothers grew up, not far from Sligo. It's still in Sligo district though. It was pretty rainy Boxing day hence the rainbow. We went for some lunch and to see the ocean.

 Phil suggested that I go for a swim in the turbulent waters. Then I saw the sign that said no swimming, I think he was trying to kill me....
The neat thing about Strandhill is that it is famous for surfing. Being right on the ocean it has good waves.

Cool random sculpture also on the coast. 

 Why is there a connon here? Someone looked this up for me, but I don't remember why. Something history and war related.

 Before dropping me off the next day at the bus station, I was brought back to The Strand for lunch.

 Fish and chips = excellent.

 Back in Sligo.

 Bittersweet: tired from excitement, but not wanting to go because it was so wonderful being in Ireland.

 Food and drink break on the way back to Bradford....

 On the ferry from Ireland...You can get...Scottish shortbread.

In England we love our potatoes!

 Creepy.