Spring Time and Tea Time

Happy first day of Spring! Seems to have been a long time in coming.

I have always known it but here is the evidence. Lifted from an AAP article in The Canberra Times 15 August 2009 (read while sipping the beverage referred to in the text):

Feeling stressed out or anxious? Go put the kettle on and make a cup of tea. A study by an Australian university professor has finally confirmed what many tea drinkers have long believed a steaming cuppa can help sooth in a crisis.

Malcolm Cross, a psychologist working at City University London found drinking tea reduced stress levels and could make people calmer. For his study, 42 volunteers were subjected to a timed mathematics quiz with half the group given a glass of water and the other half a cup of tea afterwards.

While the stress of the test caused water drinkers’ anxiety levels to soar by 25 per cent, the tea drinkers recorded a 4 per cent fall. Having a cuppa helped the tea drinkers feel they had been ‘cared for’ while the actual process of tea making created ‘solidarity’ among the group.

And the perfect recipe for a soothing cuppa? Exactly 1.6 cups of English breakfast tea missed with milk and one and a half sugars did the trick.

Professor Cross said many people turned to tea in times of stress because they had strong memories of its comforting qualities. Bit he did not believe taking time out for a coffee had the same calming effects as tea.

Well, there you have it. I certainly have strong memories of the calming effects of tea and the phrase ‘a cup of tea, a Bex and a nice lie down’ has long resounded in my memory. When things get too much I will retreat with fine china and perfect brew to either sun lounge or bed. I give the Bex a miss but the lie down and tea make for a calming return to a stress free day. Of course, I partake more often than just the stressful moments. What would life be without the morning green tea at breakfast (after the jolting cafe au lait), morning tea, afternoon tea (preferably with Shelley and cake) and a light night cap of white tea.

Yesterday was one of those days where things had to be done but they were all as exciting as drying paint. First the visit to the doctor who advised that no, my back ache was not the result of a particularly nasty tumour, necessitating an urgent rewriting of will and settling of affairs but the result of old age, arthritis and too much accumulated laziness; then the excitement of photocopying at Office Works and replenishment of the ink cartridge supply; and then an afternoon of important paperwork by David and essential reading by me (thus adding to the accumulation of laziness-induced back ache!). But there was one highlight: lunch at one of our favourite spots which had, among other things, my favourite chocolate biscuits for a little pre-lunch treat. And then we took some home for an afternoon treat! Thankfully, a pedestrian day, the sort we all have to endure sometime or other, was able to present a flavoursome ray of sunshine (and mega calories).

After his important paperwork, David decided to escape by heading off to do the shopping. A bit urgent as we like to eat occasionally and I am having a friend to morning tea tomorrow so needed essential chocolate cake making ingredients. I don’t know how anyone else copes with shopping lists but ours are idiosyncratic to say the least. They usually consist of half a dozen bits of paper with unreadable scrawl indicating what is running low in the cupboard, not necessarily what we need. For instance, if I have been cooking, the list may read the good organic SR flour, the good organic butter, Bourneville cocoa and 'girl’s milk'. And that is all I will put on it all week, tho' the fridge may be empty. If a non-householder saw this, what on earth would he or she think! They would be ok with the cocoa but ‘girl's milk’? what would that particular beast be? And why would you buy the bad butter? And what constitutes good butter anyway? To get actual food items requires a bit of luck. David usually heads out the door with a scrubby bit of paper and picks up things he thinks he can read and thinks we might need. Like cat food and 'boy’s milk'. Five minutes after he leaves, I think it might be nice to have some of those good dried apricots again. So I ring David and he asks what brand. I say I don’t know but the label is orange. I am not too good on brand names but I remember labels. Unfortunately, when the manufacturers change a label, I am in a quandary. Brand loyalty goes by the wayside as I can’t find the right label!And as for fruit and veg: David thinks he can get me to wax lyrical about our veggie needs first thing of a Saturday morning before the markets open, before I have had my cup of coffee! Needless to say, I always forget to mention the good potatoes, the good juice and more oranges for the freshly squeezed morning juice! It is a wonder we ever get fed and watered in our household the way we go.

Food (or lack thereof) aside, it is a wonderful time! There is nothing quite as softly lovely as Spring. Finally, bright blue skies, mild days and milder nights (tho not for a few days yet as we are predicted -2 tonight) and the softly scented air of spring blossoms (which could be responsible for my first ever bout of sinus). David has spoilt me with a bunch of jonquils and a friend presented me with a pre-spring treat of a bunch of Daphne. Heavenly scent.