WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?

I began collecting stamps from a very early age. It was a fun and easy hobby then as my parents received a lot of mail and one could purchase packets of stamps from stationery shops. My first album was divided into countries – I learned a lot of world geography from that – and it would be so exciting to find stamps from all over the world! This was a hobby that required patience: soaking stamps from the envelopes, drying them carefully and affixing them to the album pages with those fiddly little hinges. Much later on, I developed an interest in arranging stamps in themes rather than countries – that was a fascinating exercise – and even later, began collecting first day covers instead.

Collecting books probably also began when I was very young and treasured the books I received as gifts. Once I began working, my collection of both novels and non-fiction grew … and grew! Even though our home is choc-a-block with books, I still purchase the odd new one and love receiving books as gifts. Mostly though, I read books bought at our local charity shop – and, mostly, return them to be resold.

How did my collection of teapots grow? I cannot tell how that happened, but it did. I have large ones and small ones, silver ones and ceramic ones … I have one-cup teapots … really pretty ones and merely practical ones. Somehow, I have received teapots as gifts and, to be honest, I have purchased more than one that has winked at me.

What do you collect?

DRINKING TEA

Regular readers will know my fondness for tea. Given the chilly weather we have been experiencing of late, I was pleased to purchase this large red mug:

In spite of enjoying using one of my several pretty teapots, I find mugs are more practical to drink tea from – especially when I am outdoors or am drinking tea whilst reading:

Mugs were the order of the day too, even when hosting a friend to a ‘silver teapot’ tea in the garden for her birthday:

I collect different teas from wherever we happen to be. Most are in the form of tea bags, yet I find the tea with the most flavour is loose:

Pretty tea cups and saucers – with matching plates – have their place, as another friend illustrates:

I end this look at drinking tea with a nostalgic picture of Meneer, the Common Fiscal, who used to help himself to whatever I was having for tea. Sadly, he has gone to the happy hunting ground. I wish him insects and caterpillars galore:

AT HOME IN MARCH

Apart from having been away for a few days and my anticipated trip away for a while soon, things have been rather quiet at home this month. When the weather is fine – which it usually is – I like to either breakfast outdoors or to enjoy my mid-morning tea in the garden. On this particular day I had baked banana muffins:

The bird feeders hang from a tree very close to where I like sitting in the shade:

I enjoy the early blossoms of the Vachellia karroo against the blue sky that is the norm for this time of the year:

It has been so very dry here that there has been no point planting either seeds or seedlings in my barren flower pots. A local fleshy weed has obliged to provide some greenery instead:

During the hot days and nights, the sound of crickets – mostly in the garden – is a common one. However, one evening, I found this large cricket perched on my butter dish in the kitchen:

Lastly, for now, even though I am reluctant to admit it, autumn is creeping closer and this is becoming more evident as the nights are a lot cooler than they used to be. For this reason, a large cup of tomato soup is most welcome:

A COLLECTION OF TEA POTS

While I was in Gauteng I was treated to a delicious brunch at a nursery chosen specifically for this interesting collection of tea pots:

I BOUGHT A NEW TEA POT

I couldn’t help it. As I walked into the charity shop where I volunteer once a week, sorting books, pricing and shelving them, this tea pot winked at me. I didn’t even put my bag down in the workroom, but went straight to the tea pot, lifted it up … and paid for it on the spot!

“As if you need another tea pot” teased my husband when I brought it home. I know I don’t for I already have quite a happy collection of them that fill my kitchen windowsill, the windowsills in the short passage leading to the dining room and, indeed, some even grace our sideboard in there.

What is it about my interest in tea pots? I don’t really know. Just as I never really set about collecting different teas, the tea pots in my collection simply grew. I had a large teapot to begin with. Although this isn’t my first, it is an example of a ‘family sized’ one that gets used when our children come to visit.

Over time I needed a smaller one because obviously the size of the tea pot used will depend on the number of people drinking tea – sometimes there are a lot of us and these days it is mostly only me. I have received tea pots as gifts … a couple have smiled at me at fairs … and this one ‘told’ me it needed a happy home. There you have it.

There are several factors which influence the pleasure with which one can use a tea pot, whatever its shape. One of the most important for me is whether the tea pot pours well without dripping. Another might seem strange, but, is the lid secure enough not to fall off while one is pouring the tea? I might have mentioned before that I was once given a ceramic tea pot the lid of which fell inside the tea pot when the pot expanded as a result of the hot liquid inside it – and the lid didn’t.

I always like to feel the heft of a tea pot: one that is easy to hold will be used far more often than one that isn’t. This applies particularly to silver tea pots: I have one with a silver handle that gets far too hot to hold. Fortunately others have handles made of various materials that remain cool to the touch.

Some people regard the ease with which one can clean a tea pot important. Yes, one should easily be able to discard the tea leaves – if one has been using loose leaves – but here one comes across some differences of opinion. There are tea drinkers who wear that merely rinsing a tea pot is enough and that the build-up of tannins inside adds to the flavour of tea. Then there are those who like to scrub the insides of their pots until they look like new.

Naturally enough, a tea pot needs to be attractive to the eye of its owner. This particular one, featuring Elizabeth I, attracted the eye of my husband. It brews tea well, pours reasonably well, cleans easily enough and the lid doesn’t fall off, but aesthetically it is not really my cup of tea. I do use it now and then though.

Still, a look at these tea pots on one of the passage window sills shows that tea pots of all shapes, colours, sizes and patterns can be used to hold a really good cup of tea – so much depends on what tea goes in!