Tea Leaf Reading Dictionary: F – An A to Z Challenge Blog Post

 

Welcome back! Nice to have you here on my blog. Today, I want to talk to you about sweets and tea. Yes, those delightful little treats that make tea time even more interesting. I have found a book for you, that combines both the love for tea, and love for sweet treats. It is called Tea and Cookies: Enjoy the Perfect Cup of Tea – With Dozens of Delectable Recipes of Teatime Treats by Rick Rodgers. If you like making your own treats and want to create them to fit with your new love, tea – or offer these during a tea leaf reading – you should check it out here.

 

 

 

My personal favorite sweets  with tea, when I do not have the time to bake are these delightful French chocolate madeleines, which are delicate and sweet, and fit perfect with any cup of tea. What are your favorite treats to eat with tea?

Now that we are all hungry, we can get back to our Tea Leaf Reading Symbol Dictionary. Today’s letter is “F”. Enjoy!

 

Letter F:

Falcon: be warned, you have an enemy you might not be aware of. Pay attention!

Feathers: depends on the size of the feather: Large feathers symbolize prosperity and success, if you are an author that means literary success, small feathers means that you need to meet your fears with courage

Fence: You are very close to making to success, once you overcome this one last hurdle

Finger: a symbol that asks you to pay extra close attention to the other symbols in the current reading

Flags: warns you of danger ahead – potential unrest in the country you are in, or about to travel to

Foot: the beginning of a journey

Fork: be warned, those who flatter you on a consistent basis have alternative motives that are not in your favor

Fox: you have an unexpected enemy

Frog: time to change your residence! Also, could mean that there is a change in job in order.

Fruit: generally speaking fruit is a positive sign that shows prosperity and furthering in your goals

Disclosure: The above post contained affiliate links. See Disclosure page for details. 

Appreciation, Flu, And “Winter” Blues

Over the last few days I have been MIA from this blog – out of two legit reasons: 1. because my kids and I have been battling the flu, and 2 because this part time job, helping out someone with building a business has been resembling more a full-time job that hope that by the end of next week, all of this will be settled, and I can resume at least a more passing schedule.

But there are also many things to appreciate today. I woke up to the most wonderful notes from my children, wishing me a Happy Birthday, which was so sweet, and then I got to open many emails and social media messages filled with well-wishes and greetings. Every one of those put a smile on my face.

I feel gratitude for the fact that the sun came out to greet me as well, which suits me well, considering the last few days have been dreary, reminding me more of those days when Winter Blues set in, in Germany, and the days were one big sea of continuous grey. Not exactly the best sight. The morning sun, as I walked the dogs, felt like a balm to my soul, exactly when I needed it.

I enjoyed this afternoon’s crumb coffee cake in all of its sweet glory – on top of that, I enjoyed that I did not have to bake it, my family did instead – I am usually the one backing all of the goodies, so that was a nice change in pace.

I am enjoying the fact that I let go of some anxiety that came back this week, with not being able to accomplish as much as I usually would like to, by employing the power of no. I will write about the benefits of this wonderful little tool tomorrow. Let me just tell you now, that it is a sanity-saving tool everyone should apply.

I am  thankful, that my dogs seem to be having no problems with the colder weather, actually I am surprised how much my shorter haired Athena is enjoying it. Still, I am looking for sweater for her – which is harder for big dogs like her, especially for when it gets even colder  than it already is.

A Floral Heart Keepsake Box by Claudia H. Blanton

I am also in appreciation that I was able to design a tiny bit. One of these examples is the heart design I started you just saw. When I create something, at least a little bit of something, I feel a little more productive on a personal level. And that feels good.

So what have you been accomplishing this week? Was your week as crazy as mine, or did you have a chance to relax a little more? I hope you, and all of your loved ones are healthy, and I am looking forward to hearing from you all!.

Check out the following blog hops, that this post is a part of and give the other participants some love!

Thankful Thursdays

Pet-Centric Thankful Thursday

Creative Inspiration’s Linky Party

No Rules Blog Party

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Traditions, Skills And Gratitude

While as a child, having a parent who is very detailed oriented and almost OCD about their space, is not a fun person to grow up around, I did learn quite a few useful skills from my adoptive father’s very exact personality. From how to cut an onion in precise and extra small pieces to careful and detailed gift wrapping, I am grateful for this knowledge and am often asked to teach those little skills to others.

Getting ready for the Holiday season, which in our family happens to be also the season where everyone seems to be having a birthday, I go through tons of wrapping paper and ribbons.

If you are like my friends and family, you probably think a lot less about the wrapping of those presents then the content of them – but I thought you might appreciate a little tutorial I found on youtube that shows a quick and easy way to make your presents more beautiful.

Speaking of gift giving, have you began to plan your shopping for the upcoming holidays yet? No? Me neither, but at least I have a plan in place for everyone on my list. Do you plan your holiday shopping in detail, like I do or are you waiting for whatever is on sale on days like Black Friday (which I do not participate in). I am not I would be able to get everyone a thoughtful gift without this planning ahead – which, by the way, I always do, throughout the year, and make a rule that it has to be done before Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Floral Magnet – Personalize It!

Another tradition, albeit one that was a lot more fun to learn, was making Christmas cookies. I am grateful that both of my Grandmothers were avid backers and usually provided us with at least a dozen varieties each. This year I have to add some vegan varieties to the mix, so my daughter can eat them as well. I, on the other hand, will for that occasion not restrict myself and stick with tradition.

 

Do you have any favorite holiday skills and traditions that you enjoy? What skills did they teach you, even if at the time you might not have appreciated the learning process as much as you do that skill now?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

And check out the custom designer Christmas wrapping collection, I created for you. It includes the most beautiful wrapping papers for this holiday season, I could find on Zazzle.

Christmas Wrapping Paper
by Claudia H. Blanton

 

This blog post is a part of the following blog hops:

Celebrate The Small Things

No Rules Weekend Blog Party

Share With Me

Let me tell you about this dog… – A Weekend Coffee Share Post

 

Coffee Time 

 

If we were having coffee this weekend, I would welcome you, and tell you that I am relieved that my friend’s dog is okay. I was worried about the puppy all day yesterday because she is still so little (and cute), but she seems to be fine now. I would also use this as the major excuse, why I did not get as much work done yesterday, as I had planned to.

I would then make you a coffee in my new French Press. Never owned one before, always went for the traditional machines or the espresso machines, but I decided to try it anyway. Can you taste the difference between this one and a standard coffee machine? I am sorry I can’t. But they take away less space, so when I send my daughter off to college, she will get one of those.

We are having chocolate oatmeal cranberry cookies today (vegan). I am hungry, haven’t had much of a chance to eat, because I had to catch up on yesterday’s slacking, so excuse my manners if I shove a few extra cookies into my mouth. I hope you don’t mind. No worries, there are plenty, I made extra. The apple pie in the fridge (also vegan) is not for us, though, it is for the above-mentioned friend, who could really use a treat right now – and can’t bake worth a darn. Sorry, but being a friend means you know their strength and their weaknesses, and embrace them both.

I would tell you, that I would have three things on my agenda today that are a must:
1. Visit the blogs on my list I did not get to read yesterday
2. Write as much as content for the two holiday projects I have coming up (they are kind of secret, so I have to show you, but I can not let the cat out of the bag over the internet yet)
3. Write the outline for the script I have in my head. It isn’t a complicated script, but it was originally a story idea, that just would translate better on screen than it would in a book. Simply because it has a lot of physical action.

Once I wrote the outline, I will be able to define it better, and present you a short synopsis. Still working out all of the plot holes in my head, which are the size of a Florida sinkhole at the moment.

What are your plans for the day, the weekend? Any special projects you have in place, or something that did not go as planned, but worked  out at the end? Why not add your thoughts and plans to the linky  right here.  (Via Part Time Monster)

I hope you enjoyed your stay, and will join in again next weekend. I am always baking something – I can’t help myself – so always come hungry!

Blessings!

Claudia

Book Review: The Low-Sugar Cookbook by Nicola Graimes

Title: The Low-Sugar Cookbook
Author: Nicola Graimes
Publisher: Watkins Publishing Limited
Publishing Date: August 21, 2014
Rating 4.5/5 Stars

If you are buying this book for the recipes, you are in for a treat. Everything from sweet to savory is covered in this volume, bringing you healthy additions to your table, that are easy to prepare, and to not need ingredients most of us do not usually have in our pantry.

If you are expecting the revelation on how to live with less sugar, you are not going to find anything new. While the information given in the beginning of the book, on the health implications of too much sugar, are true, they are not more than the common person already knows. But this is mainly a cookbook, and in that regard, it has much to offer. From Muesli to Smoothies, light meals to full dinners ( I like the Ribollita, but that is because I love Italian food! – So comforting!) There are vegetarian meal ideas, and those for carnivores, some that take a little more skill, and others that anyone could master.

I am impressed by the variety of recipes, and would highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who wants to eat healthy, but not always the standard fair.

You May Also Like:

Viva Labs Organic Raw Cacao Nibs – Vegan, Natural, And Organic, my favorite nibs to use when creating treats for my hyper-allergic family members.

 

 

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review. The above post contained affiliate links to Amazon, see Disclosure page for full details