Simplicity

Today I did something simple.  I had a tea party with a friend.  It was just the two of us, sandwiches and a pot of tea.  It was my friend Amy, who I hadn't seen in a very long time.  I think it was the simplicity of just connecting with someone that made me content.

I have always enjoyed tea and have an amazing collection of tea cups that I have collected from England.  I did buy a few of them when I spent time in Bristol for my MA, but most of them I got at garage sales in the local area.  I haven't had a lot of chances to use them because I was living with my parents.  I have a good portion of them out in my cupboards now, which makes me happy. 

After Amy accepted my invitation, I planned the menu and the china.  I decided on blue and white tea cups with a matching tea pot.  The sandwiches were a bit more of a challenge since Amy is a vegetarian and I am not.  Then I remembered that when I was in Girl Scouts my troop organized everything for the tea party.  I decided on 3 types of sandwiches, which I had made for the GS tea party; traditional cucumber, creamy vegetable and cheddar tomato.  They were all really easy to prepare and for not too much money.  Plus they are all yummy.

The creamy vegetable is essentially vegetable cream cheese.  There is a way to make them with mayo, but I cheated and went with the cream cheese because it had everything in it already.  When pressed for time just go with the cream cheese.  The cheddar and tomato is exactly what it says with a little bit of mayo.  The traditional cucumber is simple: butter and thinly sliced cucumber.  I really enjoyed them and I think Amy did too.

It was great to just chat over a cup of tea (or 4).  It wasn't high tea, but it was tea nonetheless.  Something that was comforting and familiar on a chilly winter's evening.  It was a simply amazing evening to spend with another person.