Chili

“A bowl of blessedness,” that is what Will Rogers called chili, and the motto of the Chili Appreciation Society International insists that “The aroma of good chili should generate rapture akin to a lover’s kiss.” Chili is good any time, but when winter’s chilly winds blow, a bowl of red is of special comfort.

To a Tea

Whether it is green, black, white, or oolong, what makes it true tea is the shrub it comes from, Camellia sinensis. Legend says that in 2737 B.C. Shen Nunn, the second emperor of China, discovered tea accidentally when leaves from the Camellia sinensis bush blew into some boiling water. Others claim that Shen Nunn experimented with herbal infusions of many kinds.

Afternoon Tea

Diaries from Maine in the late 1700s contain many references to tea in the afternoon, served with pie or cake, but it was not until 1840 that Anna Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford, introduced tea as an afternoon snack and social event in England. Teatime became a ritual that many in Britain still follow today, while in America, tea parties are an echo of the past.

Victorian Tea Party

When Charlie and Gloria Morton purchased the Inn of Many Faces in 2001 from sisters Pat Gunter and Judy Johnson, they bought not only a beautifully restored and furnished Victorian home, but also a collection of faces scattered throughout the house. Many of the faces are carved in the lovely old pieces of furniture, not glaring out at you, but quietly waiting for you to find them.