It’s quite alarming, actually. Apparently, if you have a cup of coffee and a nice healthy bran-fiber type cereal, the coffee makes your blood sugar act the way it would if you have a whopping bowl of Sugar Crack Cereal (sorry, that’s what the man called it) instead of the virtuous breakfast. Scary, no?

@Mary Emma, that’s a lovely story. You and I have talked before about the importance of ritual and tradition in life, and especially in a relationship where Alzheimer’s disease has entered… now you’ve got me thinking about how “tea parties” can go a long way to bridge cognitive differences, awkward social moments, generation gaps, etc. Maybe the politicians of the world need to sit down more often, together, with a nice cup of tea?

@Anne Maybus, you’d feel right at home here. Maybe it’s a ‘colonial’ thing, in part – Australians and Canadians do seem to have an enduring addiction to tea. Not that we don’t adore our coffee, too…

@Claudia, oh goodie – a new tea to try! Thanks! I’m thinking – tea must still be fairly big in New England states (home of the Boston Tea Party and subsequent revolution!)? But I do wonder if it’s dying out in the Starbucks generation: my cousins in Maine and New Hampshire still like their cup of tea in the afternoon, but the oldest of their kids are all about the mocha latte grande thing.

Here’s another tea that I want to try, that was recommended by the dietician who set me up on the Heathy Eating challenge — Rooibos tea. Judy says she likes it for a refreshing afternoon pick-me-up. From rooibos berries from South Africa… Anyone tried it?

When I visited my mom in her home, before I had to move her with me as she developed Alzheimer’s, she’d insist we sit and chat over tea when I first arrived. (We lived 275 miles apart.) While she lived with me, we’d have our afternoon tea and reminisce how my grandmother enjoyed this custom.

As Mother needed more care and moved to a nursing home, we had our tea parties there. My grandchildren (her great grands) thought it fun to have tea with her. They would eat their snacks while Grandma and I enjoyed tea and muffins or cookies. (The children liked the goodies, too!) Those are memories we have today, even though my mom and grandmother are gone.