The Great Tea Panic and the Joy of Old Friends

I've developed a bit of an addiction. I can no longer live without Whittard of Chelsea tea. In fact, I travel with my own tea, as the stuff supplied by American hotels (and the cafeteria at youth camp) tastes like garbage in comparison. I've become a Tea Snob.

My parents feed my addiction buy me tea, as they go to England frequently to see their grandbabies. But on their most recent trip, they could only find 1 of the 4 tea flavors I'd requested from Whittard's. The entire company was out of stock of English Rose, which is my favorite. To make matters worse, I'd given my last reserve box to a friend since I was going to get more soon. (Friends who willingly drug your cat while you're out of town deserve the best tea in the world!)

Panic.

On a seemingly unrelated note, I love Facebook. It's put me back in touch with so many old friends, which is especially nice, as mine are spread all over the globe, and I'd lost track of most of them. That's what happens when you move a lot and finish high school in Europe in the pre-internet age.

When I mentioned on Facebook my disappointment about my parents not finding my tea, my friend Joanne asked what flavors I like. Turns out, she went searching for me, as she lives in England. (We met because we went to school together in Norway way back when.) Sweet friend that she is, she found someone selling boxes of my tea flavors on British Ebay, bought them, and is sending them to me! What an unbelievably kind thing of her to do!

Naturally, I wanted to send her something in return. She went to college in Utah, so the American thing she told me she misses is Big Red Gum. No problem! I sent her several packs, along with some crafty goodness. (She's a crafter, too, which is cool. Neither of us knew this about each other in high school, but then, we probably didn't know it about ourselves at that time!) While I do enjoy receiving gifts, I really like giving them! This was a fun package to put together. Included: gum, an American craft magazine (because I love it when my sister sends me British ones), a lavender sachet (really, a tutorial is coming), and a ton of paper punches (I got a little carried away with my Martha Stewart bird punch).



Be sure to check out Joanne's blog! I've had a blast reading through her previous posts and getting reacquainted with my dear, old friend. Old friends are the best! And not just because they buy you tea.