A Christmas Tea

During the weekend before finals, my best friend Elena and I decided to do what the British do when times are difficult ... drink tea, of course! Last year at this time, Elena and I treated ourselves to an end-of-the semester tea party at a tea room in Ellicot City, Maryland - which, by the way, is a lovely place to visit during the Christmas season! [Ellicot city is a historical little mill town which has retained much of its whimsical, old-city charm. It is a gold-mine for antique lovers and a hidden gem for fantasy-creature fanatics. There is a three story shop in the city center filled with supplies for aspiring fairies, including sequined wings, dainty wands, glittery pixie dust, etc. All of the shops on main street have a store-front window-decorating competition each Christmas. During our visit there last December, we even had the pleasure of passing a group of carolers singing sweetly on the sidewalk].

That being said, Elena and I were a little low on funds this year since we are saving to study in England this winter! As a result, we decided to take the more cost-effective (and more creative) option of hosting our own tea party on campus. We sent out invitations to our friends and invited them stop by our room for some tea and snacks as a break from (or an opportunity to procrastinate - ha!) studying.

Our menu included two types of mini-scones from Wegman's: cranberry-orange and pumpkin walnut. We also served some Almond Spekulatius cookies, assorted chocolates, candy-canes, orange slices, almonds and craisins. Our tea menu was another story altogether since we always keep a supply of various blends and flavors. The favorite tea among our friends was Celestial Seasonings "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea" a festive blend of roasted barley, orange peel and vanilla bean. It gives off a comforting, savory scent of sugar cookies fresh from the oven.

Our tea party was a definite success and though our focus for the gathering was food and hot tea, the best part was having the opportunity to sit and talk with friends before the end of the semester - and the end of our time in the U.S.!

A Harvest Tea

Wish I could be sipping tea out of this cozy kettle as I am currently cramming for my Philosophy Exam -- Thanksgiving vacation in 2 days!


Our Felt Sources - The Crafts Dept.

"Delicious Autumn"

I haven't much time to write these days, but I thought I would at least post some photos of my trip home to Massachusetts during October. I had a short break from classes so I decided to fly up north to spend time with family and experience a taste of New England in the fall! These are some pictures from Cambridge, MA on the day of the famed, "Head of the Charles Regatta" (an international crew competition on the Charles River). The delicious looking pastry in the top picture is a pumpkin scone from Starbucks lightly glazed (I know, thats an understatement - its practically covered!) icing!





"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
— George Eliot

Back to class.

After spending three bittersweet months in Massachusetts, I have now returned to Pennsylvania for my junior year of college. This semester I will be living with three other friends in a "quad" dorm room. Our room is really large! As you can see, we bunked all four beds and pushed them up against the walls to create lots of floor space. By the way, my courses for this semester include...

Composition, Theory and Pedagogy
(English)Medieval Renaissance Drama
Educational Psychology
Problems in Philosophy
Introduction to Theology

"Where the mountains meet the sea"

One of my end-of-summer adventures included a camping trip to Maine with my parents, sisters, brother-in-laws and close college friend, Elena (my cousin Tristan joined us for a portion of the trip as well!) We camped along the coast of Casco Bay at our favorite campground, Recompense Shores. Recompense Shores is located in Freeport, Maine on an organic beef farm (Wolfe's Neck Farm). Fortunately the cow pasture was far enough away from our own campsite for us to smell the cows in our sleep! However, it was neat to visit the animals when we were closer to the barn - other than cows, Wolfe's Neck is home to chickens, roosters, goats, sheep, turkeys, rabbits and more! (http://www.wolfesneckfarm.org/)

One of the highlights of our stay in Maine was a visit we made to the town of Camden, which is home to Mount Battie. We drove our cars up to the top of the mountain so that we could soak in the breath-taking view of the Maine landscape provided from its peak. Above is a picture of Camden harbor (Penebscot Bay) as seen from the top of the mountain.

Another trip highlight was my visit to Bath, ME with my parents and Elena. On the final morning of our stay, my parents took Elena and I out to breakfast at a very quirky little cafe in Bath called the Twilight Cafe. Elena, a blueberry muffin lover, ordered a blueberry muffin served grilled! I, of course, ordered a scone! In addition to finding a great place to eat in Bath, we also came upon some interesting antique bookstores. My mom discovered a copy of the "Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay," our favorite Maine poet! A portion of her beautiful poem, Renascence is printed on a plaque which stands on the top of Mt. Battie.

Here is the first stanza of Renascence written on the plaque:

"All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood;
I turned and looked another way,
And saw three islands in a bay.
So with my eyes I traced the line
Of the horizon, thin and fine,
Straight around till I was come
Back to where I'd started from;
And all I saw from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood."

Camden, ME is often referred to as the city "where the mountains meet the sea," - a reference made to Renascence!

Styleboards

I recently discovered this website called Kaboodle where you can browse alot of your favorite products and clothing items! Kaboodle has a special "styleboard" function which site-members can use to creatively arrange pictures of items they like on a virtual display board. Here is one I created based around the theme of "organic" and "eco-friendly" items. In addition to the organic chai tea (a favorite tea flavor of mine!) the make-up brushes and cozy chair are also made of organic materials. I am submitting a few of these styleboards in a contest to win a gift certificate to one of my favorite online clothing companies, Modcloth (www.modcloth.com).

Life on the... by jennamae12

Shakespeare on the Common

Last weekend, my parents and I drove into the city to see Shakespeare's Othello performed on the Boston Common. It was a lovely summer, Sunday evening - perfect weather for an outdoor play. Before the show began, we plopped our lawn chairs on an open patch of grass where we could see the stage and dined (actually, "supped" sounds more Shakespearean), on ham sandwiches and cantaloupe.

The show was entertaining, though I wasn't quite in the mood for such a gruesome production (unlike his comedies, I find Shakespeare's tragedies sometimes easier to read than to see) The Boston common is a nonetheless a prime people-watching venue, and I found the sights and situations going on around me to be just as amusing, if not more amusing than the plot that was unfolding on stage!

Members of the play's audience varied greatly in race, gender and age. In front of me sat a group of asian adolescents, sprawled out on a blanket, playing cards. Near them were two European couples, apparently on a double date. On my left was a party of twenty-something twenty somethings, all of whom were females. They sat circled around a chocolate cake, nibbling and chatting cheerfully as they passed around endless tupper-ware containers of snacks to accompany their desert. A dark-skinned woman and a light-skinned man sat together on my right. How interesting, I thought, that they were witnessing another racially - mixed relationship on the stage.

It seems to me that live theatre truly is a "slice of life" experience; both the actors on the stage and the members of the audience can be involved in presenting a picture of everyday reality.

http://www.commshakes.org/shows/current_show/Othello/shows_current.html