Advent 2015 First Week

Preparations Underway

Advent Village

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent. Only three more to go before Christmas. We brought out the Advent Village on Saturday and I get to open the first door. Yay!

Here we go.

I wonder what is inside?

A little baker! 

Okay, I knew he was in there. But if you are new to our blog, you may not. :)

Do you do any special baking for the holidays? If yes, what is your favorite treat for advent, Christmas, Hanukkah or other?

Other Advent Calendars

This year we have another type of Advent Calendar. The Lego Friends Advent Calendar. 

It starts on December 1. You have to find the little door marked "1" and build whatever you find inside. 

That's right, Rascal, you found the first door!

Have you seen the other calendars like this? Some have chocolate in them; some allow you to fill them each year.

Advent Tea

This is a fun way to countdown to Christmas. Advent tea or, in this case, a Christmas Collection of teas. 

There are two tea bags for each of the 12 tea blends. That's 24 - one for each day from December 1 to 24. We plan to review each blend. There are some interesting flavor combinations listed here.

Lady Jem gave us this collection for Christmas last year and we were waiting to enjoy it this December.

I'm off to check the brewing instructions for the blends. If you were to make up your own collection, what flavors or blends would be in it?

So glad you stopped! See you again soon! Have a great day!

Thanksgiving 2015

Greetings and Salutations!

From all of us at Tea Time with Melody Q to all of you...

Today we count are blessings and they are many. We are very grateful for our family and friends and followers. 

Thank you for being our inspiration and motivation!

We wish you and your family a day filled with love and fellowship.


Thank you for stopping by and many warm wishes,



#HappyThanksgiving2015

Book Review: Enola Holmes Mysteries #4

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan

by Nancy Springer

A mystery that is not Nancy Drew? I bet you're shocked! Found this at the local library used book sale and had to pick it up. Who could resist Sherlock Holmes' little sister? If she is half as good as her older brother...Let's find out.

Kaya

Confession - we haven't read the previous three books in the series. Did it matter? Not at all. Okay, I'm sure I was missing some background information, but Enola gave basic pieces while thinking about the case. Great action and Enola is brilliant!

Lanie

I really liked the story, but the disguises have me confused...most outfits from the Victorian and Edwardian eras were not easy to put on and take off, yet Enola is able to change her appearance in a matter of minutes. 

Haley

I really liked this story and Enola as a main character and detective. You do have to suspend a bit of reality when you read this though. I can't imagine a 14-year old girl being able to move so easily about a city. I could be wrong.

Kirsten

Action, adventure, mystery, intrigue...what's not to love. The story flowed well and I learned a few new words. 

Melody

I totally agree with Haley and Lanie. 

Some parts of the story were hard to believe. But as we are Harry Potter fans... Enola is a brilliant detective; however, she is shortsighted when it comes to her brothers. Yes, Mycroft may want to see her make a good match, but Sherlock...I think he knows his sister would not be happy in a conventional home. He lets her slip away more than she understands.

Xyra

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a lifelong Sherlock Holmes fan. Not a mega fan because I haven't read absolutely everything in the cannon and I'm not exceedingly fond of other authors using Sherlock in their work, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of me. As is the case here.

In this series (yes, series - I'll get to that in a minute) we meet Sherlock's and Mycroft's younger sister, Enola. She is fourteen but her brothers are already worried about her making a good match so her future is secure. Enola is independent, intelligent, industrious, brave, calculating, educated, well read, and a master of disguise. The last is amazing considering the fashions of the time, especially women's fashions.

Once again, I find myself reading out of order because the publisher couldn't be bothered to put a number on the cover or spine. This is book 4. Luckily the story is not dependent upon the previous adventures, so I was not lost. In other series, one wouldn't be so lucky.

The story unfolds like the pink fan in the title. We meet the victim or client in a ladies lavatory in London and from there action and adventure ensue. Enola works on her case and tries (not always successfully) to avoid her older brothers.

This was a fun read. The story is told from Enola's point of view with great vocabulary (are you familiar with the word "salubrious") as well as interesting near cursing (i.e. there was no cursing). From my description above and, if you are familiar with Sherlock, you'd figure Enola is rather precocious. It is good to have a dictionary nearby.

The reader can learn a lot from this story. The vocabulary...coded messages to solve...and the language of flowers...all very interesting.

Why didn't I give this five stars? First, Nancy Springer tried very hard to use the language and writing style one would find in the late 1800s with a modern twist and sometimes it seemed as if she was trying too hard. Or that Enola was trying too hard to be an adult when she was only 14. Second, Sherlock. Enola bumped into Sherlock two times during the story. Both time she was concerned that he would find out where she was living and try to take her back to Mycroft. It bothered me that she did not know her brother knew exactly where he could locate her and was letting her be as well as placating Mycroft in "trying" to find her. Plus Mycroft would have known what Sherlock was up to as well.

I really liked this book and if I were to happen upon other Enola Holmes mysteries I'd be happy to read them.

Kid Lit Blog Hop

Time to get hopping!

Have you visited any book blogs? Have you found anything interesting?

Happy reading!


#KidLitBlogHop

Tea Review: Lost Pines Part 1

Yaupon (YO-pawn) Tea Revisited

Kaya'aton'my's Research

This is really cool! The yaupon tea Melody found at the Ocracoke Preservation Society can be traced back to Native American purifying ceremonies. Some would travel up to 200 miles to gather the leaves they needed. 

Check it out. Archeologists found traces of caffeine on pottery in the southwest. This type of holly tree is the only caffeine producing plant native to North America.  Looks like it is popular in the southern states but can also be found along the eastern and western seaboards as well as the in the Gulf states. 

Pyewacket, this is really cool stuff! I can't wait to try the Lost Pines Yaupon tea now.

Lost Pines Light Roast Yaupon Tea

Kaya, Melody, both

Melody, would you give me a hand today?
Sure. What are we doing?
Reviewing Lost Pines yaupon tea.
Neat. Looks like we have a choice to make.

Yeah. Should we try light roast or dark?
I'm thinking light first. What do you think?
Sounds good. Hey, this look interesting.
Yeah? Let me take a  peek. 

Hmmm, the crushed leaf pieces are bigger than regular black and green tea leaves.
One of the many ways to brew this tea is in a coffee maker. It's good we have one that never sees real coffee.
Absolutely! The leftover coffee tannins would spoil the water and the tea.
Yeah. Okay, we have water and a filter in the basket.
I'll add 2 scant tablespoons* of leaves. Now we wait.

The website says you can also brew or steep this tea using a tea ball or infuser, French press, in a sauce pot, reusable Keurig, percolator, with the sun, or just cold in the fridge.

That's cool.
(tea maker finishes dripping)
It looks really good. A lot darker than I had expected. Smells nice too. Kind of sweet and a little grassy, but not too much. And something else...

(takes a sip) Oh, nice. I really like it plain. Warm, outdoorsy.

Outdoorsy? (sips) I see what you mean. It kind of tastes like a forest. Reminds me of a campfire without the smokiness.

How shall we try it next?
Let's see...the package suggests with lemon or cinnamon or "your favorite sweetener" or a splash of milk.

Cool. I've prepared three cups. One has lemon. Another has sugar in the raw and milk. The other is honey and cinnamon.

Lemon
I'm not fond of unsweetened with lemon.

No, the lemon is a little overpowering. I bet it would be good in iced tea.

True.

Honey and Cinnamon
Very nice.

Tasty.

Sugar and Milk
This is good. Creamy. Interesting color.

Yeah, it is. I like this a lot.

I have an idea! Let's mix the cinnamon one with the milk one.
Great idea!
Wow! This is really good. As soothing as hot chocolate.

This combination is the winner in my book.

I think I like it plain best.
Tea purists will say yaupon is not really tea since it is not from the regular tea plant.
But it brews, smells, looks, and tastes like a very nice tea blend.
We like it!

* Our scant tablespoons were about 3/4 for one and 1/2 for the other which translates roughly to 4 teaspoons. 1 teaspoon per cup, which is a bit heavy for this tea. We were told 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per cup and wanted to see how it would turn out strong.

Xyra's Notes

• Tea Time with Melody Q received samples of Lost Pines light and dark roast yaupon tea in exchange for an honest review. The above review is comprised of our own words and opinions. Seriously, if we didn't like it we'd say so.
• Using the coffee maker was awesome! I have a small 4 cup one that I use only for tea or tea water. With it I was able to get three good steepings from what Kaya and Melody prepared. The fourth was pretty weak, but still drinkable.
• Whatever was left after filling my travel mug with hot was put aside to drink later as plain iced tea. Good, might try next with a bit of lemon.
• Our brews were a lot more green than the photos on Lost Pines website. A neat dark green that looked dark brown.
• My favorite way to prepare this was with sugar in the raw or honey, milk, and a dash of cinnamon. Fabulous flavor. Creamy and bold. The cinnamon mutes the grassy undertones. I suggest adding the cinnamon to the leaves before steeping so you don't get cinnamon sludge at the bottom of your cup.
• Amusing note about adding milk...as I noted, our brewing resulted in a green brown drink. With the milk (2% milk) it changed to an interesting light teal shade (photo below) that reminded me of the leek soup Bridget makes in Bridget Jones' Diary. Made me laugh. The tea is much better tasting than her soup (judging by her friends' faces).
• The flavor of this blend was different than the yaupon tea found on Ocracoke Island. However, that can be attributed to differences in soil, water, weather, and other environmental conditions. Like the difference in tomatoes grown in a hothouse vs. your home garden.

(Don't let the color fool you, this tastes great!)

So glad you stopped. Best wishes,


#LostPinesYauponTea

Note: Tea Time with Melody Q is not affiliated with American Girl or Lost Pines Yaupon Tea. As stated above, we did receive samples of the tea in exchange for an honest review. The above tasting review is comprised of our own thoughts and opinions and words. Links are provided for educational and informative purposes. No purchase is required or suggested to enjoy the post. Should you be inspired to learn more or to try it for yourself, the links will help point you in the right direction.