Tea and a Visitor

dsc_0855

One of my kids’ favorite rituals is afternoon tea.  We used to have a high tea on Thursdays, but as the kids have grown and their needs have changed, we’ve shifted to having a casual afternoon tea any day of the week they want to sit down and have it.

dsc_0879George inevitably wants to have tea every day, whether or not his siblings want to.  He loves getting out the china and his favorite mint tea and feeling very grown up.

dsc_0853

With our tea, we had the last of the Seckel pears from our tree, and the first of the medlars (well, I enjoyed them.  George wasn’t so keen.  He did like the pears – I don’t think anyone can resist a pear whose taste matches its nickname,”sugar pear”.)

dsc_0871

While George enjoyed his tea, Hal got some snuggle time with our favorite houseguest: Annabelle the Pionus parrot.  She is the most sweet-tempered, gentle parrot I’ve ever known (and I’ve known a lot of parrots).  She has such a calm demeanor and likes hanging out with the kids, although she seems to prefer Hal to everyone else – which is a good thing, because he absolutely adores her.

dsc_0857

One thing I really enjoy about tea-time is that I can sit and knit while George and I chit-chat.  Today I finished a remnant hat while we were hanging out.  I seem to have lots of small balls of various greys and yellows  in worsted weight and have made a few hats with grey and yellow stripes – I really like the combination.  I’ve now worked through all my grey odds and ends and George has asked me to make him a cotton hat with red in it, so that’s next on the list for knitting projects.  (I also have a shawl on the needles, but I usually like a mindless, easy project to fall back on at the same time, and hats or socks always fit that bill.)

dsc_0876

I’ll be back tomorrow for Ginny’s Yarn Along.