July 2, 2023

My Symbol of Rest: the Black-Faced Sheep

Most often, we think of a sabbath as a day off of work. This is the reason the most dedicated followers of sabbath practices don’t even allow themselves to cook or clean on their days off, and, instead, must do the work ahead of time.
June 27, 2023

Stash Southern Peach Tea: A Teatime Review with Rita

Matt, who I knew would be the biggest critic because of those Chilton County Peaches, got the first cup. He wouldn’t be a make or break for me, but at least I’d know what I was getting into. I can’t say he was awed but I can say he was surprised. “It’s actually good!”
June 15, 2023

The Boy in the Rain: A Book Review

The setting is vivid and draws you in, leading you to forget that you're not in an old painting of London and Nottingham. The characters are mostly warm and compassionate. Some are confusing, others surprising, all extremely well crafted and heartbreakingly developed.
May 28, 2023

Golden Kiwi Tea from Greenfield: A Teatime with Rita Review

The Golden Kiwi tea is a black tea with dehydrated fruit added, and golden kiwi flavoring added. The tea has an almost spicy edge to it when you sip. It’s a moderate to mild edge, though. And the actual fruit used in the tea is pineapple, not kiwi, which is where the edge comes from.
May 16, 2023

The Whalebone Theatre: A Review

The Whalebone Theatre is a long, literary read set in the early decades of the 1900s, shortly after WWI and through WWII. It takes a bit for the title to make sense, but once it does, my fellow theatre lovers will delight in the memories and emotions the tale pulls out.
November 15, 2022

Pecan Praline Tea: A Review by Rita

When you open the bag of loose leaf Pecan Praline tea, you’re instantly transported to the deep south where pecan praline candies are basically a rite of passage. The sweet, indulgent aroma of the nuts and deep, dark leaves, the spices – they all make for the heady scent that recalls childhood and comfort wrapped in a grandmother’s hug.
November 13, 2022

Positivity Corner: Morning Tea on the Patio

It’s a simple thing. It’s something I’ve basically been doing for years. But I’ve never been intentional about it or removed distractions from my morning like this. It has been a fantastic experience. I highly recommend it to others.
November 7, 2022

Positivity Corner: Being Edited

But as I have developed my career as a writer and editor myself, I’ve learned to embrace and celebrate being edited. (And I do use this phrase intentionally; when our words are edited, it feels like we are being edited.)
September 26, 2022

Positivity Corner: A Grey Pearl Accordion

A few years ago, a hurricane demolished the storage shed and several other things on my mother’s property. In so doing, the hurricane destroyed an item precious to my mother - and to me - a marbled, dark brown accordion which she found at a thrift store years ago when she was in college.
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