Friday Finds: A Nice Cuppa

A nice cup of tea is to us English, what vodka is to the Russians: a concoction imbued with magical healing powers. As I sit watching the steam rise from my cup in random but enchanting spirals, I think of the joke I have with my mother. According to her, absolutely ANYTHING can be solved with a nice cup of tea.

Feeling downtrodden? Have some tea!

Broke your leg? Have some tea!

Someone decapitated you? Have some tea! [I swear she'd figure out a way]

The steam feel nice on my hands, which are dry and cracked from scrubbing the heck out of my kitchen floor with soft scrub. I'm not a clean freak, but I do like to do chores where there is an actual physical difference afterwards... vacuuming, although it removes the dog hair from the carpet, fails to make the carpet look better, as the dog is the same color as it. Washing off grubby footprints, however, is nice - visual proof of work. Does this make me very OCD, or is there anyone with my on this?

Unfortunately, I had a pretty horrible night last night. A night where I consistently ignored the reasonable side of my brain. One of my best friends convinced me, against my better judgment [including an approaching migraine], to join her at a party at her uni last minute. It was the last time I'd get to see her before Christmas, and, as I said, she's one of my besties... yet...

To say I don't trust her is both completely truthful, and an utter falsehood. I trust her intentions. However, she has a habit of not thinking things through. Long story short, she decided last night was the perfect night to get together with a guy she had her sights on for some time... I would have no problem with this, apart from the fact that I was left rather stranded. Although she finally realized and came back to find me, I had to have my lovely sister pick me up [she's an angel!]. Then I had to have my parents pick me up from my sis' in the morning, and drive figure out a way to get all my stuff and car back [including very time important meds... oops].

But now I sit here, cradling my cup of soothing tea, my panic and hurt seem less important than they did last night. It honestly wasn't surprising that it turned out that way. It just reminds me of a of couple things... you can't always rely on others to be reliable; my family is always there for me, even when I've been stupid; and lastly, that a nice cup of tea really does help. It may not solve everything, but it gives [at least to any Brit] the ability to take a calming break and revitalizes us so we can face problems that previously seemed overwhelming. "Aww!"

...

"HANG ON..." you say. "But Friday Finds? Wha?"

Well calm down, my dears. I just had to get that off my chest. Here's the real treasure: An old and crumbly Michelin Guide to Great Britain, give to me by a different bestie.

[Notice how I tied in friends and the UK into this! Clever, no?]

Probably the best part is the little notes written all over the pages... I haven't managed to work out the scrawl yet, and they don't photograph well, but I'm working on it. You can imagine someone planning out a entire UK holiday using this book many many years ago.