Tea Time

Two of the many things I remember about my mother is how she loved to bargain shop and how much she loved tea.  

I can’t recount how many times my mother would call me up, when I lived in New York, sounding so excited because “so and so” had “such and such” on sale. She would then implore me to take her to get whatever the “such and such” was.  As a child, I remember her love of sewing. She carved out a small corner in our two-bedroom project apartment where she put her “Singer” sewing machine, because of course Singer had the best sewing machine of that time. It was nothing for her to spend the entire day (usually Saturday) downtown Brooklyn, at either May’s department store or McCrory’s browsing through pattern books and shopping for material – inevitably comparing prices.  As a child I absolutely hated that!!! As an adult I understand her passion. She had an entire wardrobe of clothes all hand made. She was meticulous about every detail. There were mounds of patterns and scraps of material everywhere – not to mention the zippers, buttons, different color threads, pinking shear scissors, bias tape and sewing chalk, bobbins, straight pins, needles, thimbles, measuring tapes that were often strewn about as she perfected each garment to a tee. Under different circumstances, I’m sure she could have opened her own sewing shop. At one point she had to buy a separate stand-alone cabinet where she could put some of her things. Of course, that cabinet went in “the kids’ room” which was already overcrowded with three of us sharing the space. She prided herself in that she made all of our clothes, coats included. That Proverbs 31 industrious, virtuous woman had nothing on my mother!!

After a completely exhausting day, In the quiet of the evening, after dinner and dishes were done, no matter the weather or season, I would find my mother sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea while playing solitaire. She would say “old Sol beat me again today”. At first I thought – wow my mother has imaginary friends just like my little brother, but no, she meant “sol” as in short for “solitaire” 😀. Nevertheless, she would start each day with a cup of tea and then end it, often way into the night, with a cup or sometimes even two cups. She never had a fancy teapot or even a kettle. Her kettle was an old pot where she would heat and reheat the water.  On the kitchen counter sat her teacup with a tea bag on the saucer. 

That memory of my mother drinking tea is forever seared in my brain. So last year, in honor of my mother, just in time for mothers’ day, I opened “EmmasTeaPotShop” on Etsy. I would like to formally invite you to take a stroll through the shop and if you’re so inclined, purchase something or if not, tell someone else about it. Have a cup on me!.  

(Just click the “Shop” link on the top of this page)