Eat Away Monday Blues

 During my last trip to Traverse City, I picked up a jar of Blueberry Lavender Jam. 

I put some on my toast and YUMMMMM!!!!

The jam is wonderfully thick and spreads like warm butter. Pieces of blueberry add to the thickness. The flavor of berries is sweet with a hint of fresh northern air. Close your eyes and the taste will carry you away. The final flavor is the lavender. Smooth, gentle and relaxing. You will finish each bit with a sigh, a hum of satisfaction and a smile of contentment.

Make a slice of toast for your sweetie and share the enjoyment. It is great with a cup of joe or tea.

Visit Harbor View Lavender Farm if you are ever in the Traverse City area. Check out their website for all their amazing products. I love their lotions and the jam. I look forward to trying more products.

During Covid, I've taken to doing most of my shopping online. It's been great fun finding small businesses online and purchasing their products. Many small businesses are part of Amazon. Join the movement to keep small businesses alive.

Support small business. Support you local shops.

Visit Harbor View Lavender Farms on Facebook.

Small Business Saturday #SupporLocalBusiness

 

Today may be Small Business Saturday, but make every day of shopping a way to support your local and small business owners. My town doesn't have many businesses but I love my grocery store, Riverside Market, I order take out from our hometown restaurants and I buy jewelry, craft items, and such from local ladies. Check to see if your town has a Facebook Page promoting small businesses.

I love to go to the little towns next to us and support small businesses there. The owners are usually in the shops and over the years I've become friends with many. The warm feeling I get every time I enter is something you'd never get in a big box store.  

Today's list:  

Just Julies - I consider Julie a friend and a local artist makes alot of the jewelry. LOVE! Need to pick up a new Kunky's top that Julie makes.

Cary Ann's Hallmark - The owner is my age and has been ill, his daughter is running the store for him. Mom can spend up to 2 hours in this shop!

Rustic Seasons On Main - The owner, Cindy, is a friend. Our kids went to school together. Amazing shop!!!

If it wasn't for Covid, I'd be stopping in The Elbow Room for coffee. 

I need to run into the Flushing Candy Co for some treats. Oh, so many places to be and all within walking distance. 

Well, I have my step tracker on and I'm ready to shop!

Get out there and join me!

Tea For Two - Friendship and Romance

"A cup of tea shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent" - Anonymous

I've always enjoyed tea. Perhaps, more so after I spent a few weeks with family friends in England when I was a teen. Girlfriends and I would rush home when school let out to grab a cup of tea and watch General Hospital. We loved trying new flavors and blends of teas.

"A cup of tea is like friendship, a special blend of you and me."

Now I enjoy more herbal blends, especially those locally made. I drink "Cassie With a Twist" to ease my fibromyalgia pain. Herbal blends with lavender are very relaxing and often help me sleep. Enjoying cinnamon rose tea on the porch is heavenly.

A gift of tea is always heartwarming and can be romantic. My fly-boy hubby travels the world and brings special blends home to me. I picture him smelling and maybe tasting various teas. It gives me warm fuzzies knowing he is thinking of me when he's thousands of miles away.

Enjoying tea with a special someone can be a romantic moment as well. Specialty teas are made, often with vanilla, rose, chocolate and spices to inspire romance.

Teas can be very healing, both physically and mentally. Those Nature People is a Michigan shop that provides many natural and hand made items. They create wonderful hand-selected blends such as my "Cassie With a Twist" and others for whatever may ail you. Other teas are perfect for meditation or simply enjoyment. Delightful caffeine-free teas with names such as "Sunrise Bliss", "Passionate Kisses", and one of my favorites to enjoy on the porch is "Grandma's Garden". 

CLICK to check out their teas!

Yogi Tea is one of my favorite commercial tea companies. When I was diagnosed with Lupus in 2007, my doctor discussed healthy living and an Ayurveda diet with me. Yogi Teas are blended with purpose and inspired by the Ayurveda philosophy. Visit the Yogi Tea Talk Blog for recipes and tips on wellness. The teas are flavorful and comforting. I love the little tags with words of wisdom and comfort.  

Today's Yogi Tea tag is...

"Experience will give you the power and confidence to be you."

So – tea!

When you are feeling sad and blue
And have no clue what to do
Sit down and have a cup of tea
And a hug, one or two or maybe three
Feel those troubles melt away
And start you on a better day…(Anonymous)