Lapsang Souchong Tea Saturday

[Kittykatt]

Triple Dog Dare!

Pick 3 things
Do them
Post your TaDas!

»»—-Cheers! WTG! Ygg!—-««

Don't think about it. Just do it!
~~ I Triple Dog Dare ya! ~~
Good Morning!
»»————　✼　————««

[Kittykatt]

Lapsang Souchong is a highly distinctive black tea from China’s Fujian province, famous for its bold, smoky aroma and flavor. The tea leaves are traditionally dried over smoldering pine wood fires, imparting notes that resemble a crackling campfire, charred wood, or a fine single-malt whiskey.

Originating from the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian (specifically Tong Mu village), the tea's smoking method is often said to have been discovered by accident. According to legend, during the Qing Dynasty, an army marching through the region forced farmers to flee. Upon returning, the farmers found their tea warehouses occupied, and to quickly dry the leaves so they could get them to market, they resorted to drying them over pine fires.Name

"Lapsang" roughly translates to "smoky," while "souchong" refers to the older, broader leaves located further down the tea plant's stem.Taste
Lapsang Souchong delivers a clean, sweet, and rich smoky profile without typical astringency. While purist varieties lean heavily into deep wood and resin flavors, you may also pick up underlying notes of plum, caramel, or floral undertones depending on how heavily it was smoked. Some Western tea drinkers compare its depth to the rich, savory flavors of smoked meats or bacon.

To enjoy a perfect cup, the traditional method requires the following:Quantity: Use about 1 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams) of loose tea leaves per cup.Water Temperature: Use freshly boiled water between 90°C and 100°C (195°F – 212°F).Steeping: Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Be mindful not to over-steep, as this can make the smoky flavor overpoweringly strong.
Because of its distinct flavour, Lapsang Souchong is a favorite among foodies and chefs:It is excellent paired with rich, traditional English breakfast foods, salty cheeses, or dark chocolate.The leaves are often used as a rub or infusion to flavor savory dishes, such as smoked salmon, duck, braised meats, or vegetarian stews.

Beginning in the early 21st century, an unsmoked variety of lapsang souchong was developed in the village of Tong Mu Guan in the Wuyi mountains. The unsmoked variety has become increasingly popular, particularly in the Chinese domestic market.

[Kittykatt]

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday!

Trissie, I hope you enjoy the film when you get to see it with DH.

Helia, I hope you had a lovely dinner date with DH.

What did Little Bit cook,.L.Ann?

I'm sorry (3w rerrwrwrerwwreéée³ - Matilda's contribution!) about you finger, KitKat, that sounds very painful!

Dogged, I'm glad your DBro was able to help with your chair.

I'm glad you're enjoying all the events at church, Gma. You're a very good friend, especially at this very difficult time.

I never made it back here yesterday, but I had a very good session in my garden. I stayed out longer than I probably should have, but I wanted.to get as much done as possible before the rain returned. So, the grass is cut, the hedge and honeysuckle trimmed, everything that needed deadheading has been attended to, I've topped up.some bark, inspected the Virginia stock (it's.coming up already, so I sowed a little more), trimmed back some ivy, pulled out more forget-me-nots,. swept the patio and fed the pots.

We had rain overnight and it's looking grey this morning , so I'm very glad I made the most of a dry day yesterday, even if it means.I need to play catch up round the house today.

Today I need to concentrate on the house,.as I got nothing done there yesterday, except the wool wash. DH is meeting his brother, who is coming.down for the day, so I should have some uninterrupted time.

[Kittykatt]

SHEM:

"You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." — C.S. Lewis

[Kittykatt]

To do:
Cuddles and treats with Matilda, Freddie and Jude
QT
Update latest Waitrose order
Cup of tea
Get up!
Shower/wash hair/moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
S/S bathroom
Physio exercises
Get dressed in casual clothes
DH launched
Make bed
Scoop cat trays and give everyone fresh water
Cat breakfast and meds /supplements
Breakfast and meds /vitamins for me
Quick kitchen clean up
Load DW
Quick PUPA downstairs
Quick dust and Hoover downstairs
Wind clock
Quick PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
15 minutes in tiny front garden
15 minutes in back garden
Go for my walk
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Head rubs with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Play with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Run DW when full
Unload DW
Lunch
Cats' supper
Our supper
Sort out lunch for tomorrow
Bake something?
Text DF E re coffee tomorrow
Towels in machine
Towels hung up to dry
Clothes laid out for tomorrow

Extras:
Fold and PA laundry from yesterday
Clean shoes
Polish bag
Try on t-shirts and leggings I ordered, decide whether to keep or return
Cut Freddie's nails?
Run cleaning cycle on washing machine?

Garden extras:

[Kittykatt]

DH has made a chilli for tonight's supper, which will sit and mature today before being related this evening. We've had coffee together, and he has been successfully launched into the rain.

The towels are in the washing machine, and I'm going to finish my breakfast before I pick something from the list to do.

[Kittykatt]

To do:
Cuddles and treats with Matilda, Freddie and Jude
QT
Update latest Waitrose order
Cup of tea
Get up!
Shower/wash hair/moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
S/S bathroom
Physio exercises WIP
Get dressed in casual clothes
Coffee with DH
DH launched
Make bed
Scoop cat trays and give everyone fresh water
Cat breakfast and meds /supplements
Breakfast and meds /vitamins for me
Quick kitchen clean up
Load DW
Quick PUPA downstairs
Quick dust and Hoover downstairs
Wind clock
Quick PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
15 minutes in tiny front garden
15 minutes in back garden
Go for my walk
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Head rubs with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Play with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Run DW when full
Unload DW
Lunch
Cats' supper
Our supper
Sort out lunch for tomorrow
Bake something?
Text DF E re coffee tomorrow
Towels in machine
Towels hung up to dry
Clothes laid out for tomorrow

Extras:
Fold and PA laundry from yesterday
Clean shoes
Polish bag
Try on t-shirts and leggings I ordered, decide whether to keep or return
Cut Freddie's nails?
See if I can fix the wonky airer (or add it to the list for MJ in the autumn?)
Run cleaning cycle on washing machine?
Unpack and PA Amazon S&S stuff
Measure loop stakes I need more of
Order above - eBay?
Take recycling packaging down to wheelie bin

Garden extras:
[/quote]

[FrenchFlybebe]

◕‿◕ * * * Good Morning! * * * ◕‿◕

Very wise SHEM, kittykatt. Thanks for the start. I love Lapsang Souchong Tea, especially in the afternoon, when I get back from work and it's not too late for a last cup of tea. I think smoked tea is an acquired taste, though. Are you getting rid of the forget-me-nots ? I was happy to find a bunch of them in our garden, they must have been migrating from the right-hand neighbours' garden into ours.

Busy week, rainy night. DS10 came back from his 5 day school trip, had a good time. As I kissed him goodnight he said he felt happy. I think I had never heard him say so before.
MrNG is working all afternoon for his consulting business. I have to take the kids to pick up the weekly grocery order and add a shopping trip to the large store for produce (online shopping for produce ends up with overripe or ugly fruit and vegetables in my order ). Saturday afternoons mean crowded stores but the shopping list is short. I would also try and find a package of hair dye, I've finally decided I would dye my hair.

TADAs
up, trip to convenience store for three items
also bought basil seeds
bfast and tea with MrNG and the kids
cooked a stupid recipe that took a long time, required three pots / pans, didn't use up much of the wilting vegetable we need to use, and ends up with only one dish (the total opposite of what I try for when cooking on weekends)

TODOs
settle a fight before it's really started
start a lol
if no rain, some dandelion busting
prep a meal for the kids and I, see MrNG off to work
cuop...
and catch up on the house tasks and other to-dos

[Kittykatt]

Good morning, FFB! I'm so glad DS10 had a good trip. I leave the forget-me-nots until they have finished flowering and the leaves start to develop mildew, so they no longer look pretty. At that stage they are easy to pull out, and I always give the a good shake, so any remaining seed will be deposited on the garden. That way I have an almost guaranteed show of forget-me-nots for next year. (although not always in the places I would choose ). I'm sorry about the Saturday dish that created so much clean up work - I'm definitely with you that Saturday supper should, if possible, provide another meal for next week.

We have rain today, so I don't think I'll be doing much outside unless the weather dramatically improves. But I have plenty to do round the house, and.now DH has been launched for a day out with DBIL and some other friends, some uninterrupted time in which to do it!

[trissie]

Yay for dinner being taken care of before the day even properly starts, kittykatt!
Frenchie, have you heard back from the interview people? I get not wanting to online shop for fresh produce, and the same goes for meat!

Since we are two kids down, evening was a breeze - we just sent them upstairs after dinner and opened a bottle of wine (from the winery we visited in May) and watched Dinner with Friends, a 2001 HBO comedy-drama exploring the bittersweet evolution of relationships and marriage, centered around an unexpected divorce revelation that forces a seemingly perfect couple to reevaluate their own twelve-year bond (I had AI write the summary for me ) It's based on a Pulitzer winning play that I saw recently and I really wanted to share it with DH, so being able to watch it as a movie was good. It's very relatable and it gives a lot to think about, and I definitely recommend it! (for the food for though, it's very obviously an adapted play, though Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette do their best, which is a lot)

Anyway, a beautiful, sunny day ahead. Slow morning, breakfast on the patio listening to birds singing while drinking my cofee and reading a magazine, and now it's time to get going big!

TaDas
- sleep in and reading in bed
- showered to shoes
- breakfast and coffee in the garden
- internet time

ToDos
- morning routine
- errands (drop off green waste, garden store, strawberries?, pick up package from parcel locker)
- lunch

Braindump
routines
- midday routine
- afternoon routine
- evening routine
food
- lunch
- dinner
- bake something sweet
organization
- pay remaining balance for the summer hols
- homework and backpacks
- DBD's speech therapy
- update land contract
- 15 on filing
- plan for June
cleaning
- clean office
- clean out / reorganize attic
- spiff up DBD's room
- spiff up twins' room
- spiff up DS15's room
- spiff up master bedroom
- spiff up master bathroom
- spiff up kitchen
- spiff up living room
- spiff up downstairs bathroom and hallways
laundry
- load of darks
- load of towels
- ironing
- folding
- mending
- laundry put away
garden and outside - weekend
- repot seedlings I bought
- weeding in veggie garden
- weeding in front garden
- work in raspberry patch - pruning, fertilizing, replanting
- prune fruit trees - blooming pit fruits
- prune bushes
- prune/tie/shape climbing roses
- pick up - front garden / porch
- pick up - backyard
- work on cleaning out the carpool
- work on cleaning out the garage
- fertilize fruit trees and bushes
- fertilize conifers
- oiling garden furniture
- fertilize vegetables
me time
- 15 of exercise
- Bible study
- reading