One of the Many Sad Things About the Family Moving Away
Or Moderation Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
I used to drink a lot of tea, maybe eight cups in a day. And I often shared a cup with a child or two, or made a pot. And we used to drink iced tea with dinner, sometimes lunch and often in between. Friends came and went, but all drank tea, either hot or iced. It was not unusual for us to go through two gallons of iced tea in a day. So to go through 100 teabags in a week was normal.
I’m sure you all remember the little porcelain animals in the Red Rose tea? (Okay, Nae, this is where I get to say it: I was a bad mother! Yes, for the record and all to see, I admit it. I was a bad mother.) When you were growing up and there was general chaos, dealing with those little guys was more than I could cope with. The kids wanted them, wanted the same ones, fought over who got which one, etc. Instead of a creative response, I just said, ‘No one can have any of them’, thinking I would deal with things later. I’m not quite sure what I meant (even to myself) by ‘deal with things’, but that’s what I did. Then I got rid of the almost one hundred of the little guys that I had saved. (I’m sorry, Nae.)
After life calmed down somewhat for me, I started to save the little figurines with the goal of completing a set. I think each series lasts about three years. I know I completed one series; I think it is the endangered species series. I may have the whole circus series too, I can’t remember.
The latest is Noah’s Ark. When I was a child, one of my favorite toys was a little wooden Noah’s Ark, complete with Noah and his wife, and about eight sets of animals. I used to spend hours sitting on the hard wood floor of 26 Narbrook Park, marching those animals up and down the ramp. (Okay, I was easily amused!) So I was eager to collect this newest series. I got off to a good start, but noticed that it was harder to complete than the last set.
This is where the moderation comes in. I have cut down to four cups of tea a day. Daddy and I have both switched to water with meals. Mendon is often not home when I am making a cup of tea or if we do share, we make a pot of non-Red Rose tea, which is okay. Daddy makes iced tea about twice a week instead of daily. A box of Red Rose tea lasts us about a month. The result? We aren’t unwrapping the little porcelain animals quickly enough. I have been working on this set for a year to eighteen months now and have not completed it.
The good news and the reason I am writing this blog is that I finally got my first zebra today! I still need another sheep, another rhino and the other zebra, but it was with great joy that I unwrapped the zebra this morning. Celebrate with me.
Comments
Yay! I remember a while back that you had started giving them out to the little kids that came around your house.
I like that idea, too. I guess it sort of makes me think of things you'll do with my eventual children. :-) See, it goes both ways. You dream about your grandkids, I dream about what you'll do with them, too.
Posted by: Mara | July 18, 2004 10:56 AM
Do you need the girls sheep or the guy sheep? I have a girl sheep and you may have it. You may recall that I have been boycotting Red Rose for the very same reason that you are buying it. I may be a little bit of a nut but the collection bothers me. Every single female animal has it's head down, whereas all the males get to stand tall and proud with their faces up. I mean, Red ROse went to the trouble to actually lable each figure as male or female so they specifically chose those stances for the male and female of each couple! Anyhow...I've got the little statues that I do cause I sometimes all that Giant has is Tetley! Next time I go, I'll try for a Zebra or Rhino for you.
Posted by: Rae | July 19, 2004 7:58 AM
Aw, Rae, it's good to hear another 'crazy feminist' voice. I'm so glad you're my sister.
Posted by: Mara | July 19, 2004 9:35 AM
ya'kno, Rae, I'm not really sure. I have trouble telling the boys from the girls, at least in the sheep. Unless I look at the back of the box. And that seems too much like work right now. I think the zebra is female, rhino too. How do you try for a particular animal? I thought it was just luck.
Posted by: Maman | July 21, 2004 10:41 PM
Well, I think it's an unfair characterization to have the eyes downcast on all of the female animals. I'm probably not a crazy feminist. It was a concept so blatant that I didn't believe it until I visited Maman and she brought out the figurines she did have. *sigh* I wonder if the artist even thought about it. Maybe the artist was trying to make the females look demure. Either way, it made them less fun, and I loved those little Red Rose figurines. I still do, actually, although my love of fancy tea has led me to get mostly loose leaf tea in resealable tins.
I've also discovered that Clipper makes a great cuppa - in spite of the fact that it's one of them Fairtrade Organic teas. I'm suspicious of anything that has Fairtrade OR Organic as a major selling point, as if these are supposed to make up for a price premium on a mediocre tea or allow them to pass on a crap tea at a normal price, but Clipper is a damn fine tea.
I give Clipper to guests; it's popular. PG tips aren't too bad for a back-up, although the Irish prefer Barry's.
For myself, I have a cuppa Clipper or Assam in the mornings and a Darjeeling in the afternoon after work.
Posted by: Nathan Dornbrook | July 22, 2004 9:54 AM
"Nathan is a crazy feminist! Nathan is a crazy feminist!"
Posted by: Mara | July 25, 2004 3:32 AM
No I'm not! Crazy feminists are crazy! I'm stark raving sane!
Ali G is a crazy feminist. Check out what Ali G has to say about feminism here.
Posted by: Nathan Dornbrook | July 25, 2004 7:18 PM
I agree with Nathan. I am not a crazy feminist either. I'm a feminist. crazy feminists are the ones who think all men are terrible and dream of a utopian society without men...or want some sort of revenge for historical/current mistreatment of women.
Posted by: Rae | July 27, 2004 8:15 PM
Uh, guys, remember the first time I used the term it was in quotation marks. That's because it's a label given by other people, not me.
But then, I'm not thoroughly unwilling to embrace it. Calling me a crazy feminist is so absurd!
Posted by: Mara | July 28, 2004 1:27 AM