Tea for One

Rose’s Tea for One

My tea for one takes place on my upstairs lanai, looking out at the Pacific Ocean with my dog Declan napping at my bare feet. Having moved to rural Hawaii from northern California very recently, I want to combine the best of then and now, here and there. I roll my three-tiered tea cart onto the deck and place my lacy, rose-patterned “R” pillow on the outdoor couch. I drink green tea out of my little one-person teapot, decorated with a small brown bird perched on the lid.  For my food service, I use interesting pieces from my pink Depression glass collection, inherited from three different women who have been important in my life, my grandmother, my mother and my late sister-in-law. My sandwich choice is my childhood favorite, peanut butter and jelly, on seeded wheat bread from the local farmers’ market. As a nod to my new home, I use coconut macadamia nut peanut butter and guava jelly, both also available at the farmers’ market.

If I am lucky enough to have any almond biscotti dipped in dark chocolate from Shelley’s Bakery in Santa Cruz (a birthday gift from my sister and her husband) left in my larder, this will be my afternoon sweet. If not, I keep a stock of coffee shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate from the Honolulu Cookie Company. As I sip my tea and watch the waves crash on the shore and the egrets land in the yard, I reflect in gratitude on the gift of Ohana (family) old and new.