No tea today. Sure was pretty outside though. Maybe I'll fix a pot of Lady Grey tomorrow - without a pastry.

My friend up the road offered me some shredded leaves if I wanted to come up with a couple bags. Should have taken five or six bags, there was alot. She is also diabetic and volunteered to get her testing supplies out and see what my sugar count was. I had just eaten lunch an hour before, and she said I should have fasted but anyway.

It hurt! Yikes, I hate needles, even itty bitty ones (don't mention dentists please!). Her machine recorded my count as 116. We waited awhile and took it again and it was 129. I guess that's not too bad. She hung her head and said hers was 199 that morning. That IS bad. But of course I must do proper lab work to get an accurate reading, which I'm doing the week of the 22nd. Wish me luck.

Tea without "sweets" would suck!

Hope all went well at the dentist and your tests come out spot on on the 22nd.
~Annie

Well, hello there Annie.

Hey Annie, how have you been? Glad to "see" you back :)

Schoolhouse- I'm glad you're getting tested. What kind of needle does your friend use? I've seen lots of new "automatic" testers that are supposed to be really easy to use and you don't even see the needle. You just hold it against your skin...and instant number...or so it looks like on TV.

Dentist went really well. I have to get a tooth filled on Monday, but I was afraid I had chipped it and it was going to be a big deal, but he thought it would be fine. I have a few other small cavities that need to be filled, but I found out some good news, too.

A doctor had said my sinuses were making my jaw hurt, due to all the weeds around my kitchen garden area...so I hadn't weeded as much as I would have liked. Turns out, it's just some small cavities at the bottom of my teeth, which were making my jaw more sensitive to cold water. Wow, kind of a relief...and look out weeds! Next year, I will be back with a vengence! LOL

I'm drinking tea right now. It's foggy, cold, wet, and totally a November day, outside today. Hot Earl Grey tea is the perfect way to enjoy the morning :)

The needle is encased in what looks like a tiny flashlight case, hard to explain, and she just pressed down really quickly and drew blood. Like I said, it hurt, but I'm sensitive. Then she takes a little strip of paper with a metal piece that has an absorbent tip. It sucked the blood right up, she then placed it in a hand held device that read out the numbers digitally. In fact, she had to jab me twice because she didn't get enough blood the first time, ugh.

I will be putting on the kettle here in a few minutes for tea and have Yorkshire Gold. Today I bought the "Holiday Bliss" issue of Victoria, so will save that to read with my tea. So far glancing through, it looks very nice; I thought I read that it is actually a collection of favorite articles and stories from past Christmas issues.

Schoolhouse- Let me know what you think of the magazine...I've been debating about whether to get it, for the holidays :)

Let me say, it is certainly inspirational. I am so ready for the holidays now. Beautiful photography from past issues (you really need to know how special the early Victoria was) mostly of decorated rooms, table settings and some recipes, tho not as many as I thought there would be. The pages seem to be a heavier, glossier paper than the regular magazine. If you don't mind paying $7.99 for it, I would say go ahead and indulge.

You'll get lots of decorating ideas - maybe even for your Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in your newly remodeled kitchen (someday!). I love china, so it's always a treat to see a beautiful table.

They are also advertising a "Cottage Christmas" magazine, but I forget if it has anything to do with Victoria. It's in the library right now and I'm too lazy to get up and look! :) You can see the ad in this Holiday Bliss issue.