Simple Beauty-A Visual Meditation

When I was a child and I heard the elders say, "It's the simple things in life that matter" and "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", I knew exactly what that meant to me.  I think of the the dog that I had for my very own for almost a whole month before he was sent to live with someone else.  I think of the floor to ceiling windows of our near downtown apartment in which I stood staring out at the night sky of the Chicago downtown skyline, It was full of twinkling lights and stars so bright that at times it was  difficult to distinguish them from the reflections of the lights bouncing off  of  Lake Michigan.  I also think of the dirty boy who worked with the horses in the hidden stable across the street- a stable, with horses, right there, in the middle of the city! I think about hopscotches draw in thick chalk on the neighborhood sidewalk and I remember that melting cherry popsicle as it blurred the lines between squares 2 and 3 while the wooden sticks that once held the cold confection together slowly transformed into building pieces for my new jewelry box.

That was then and this is now. However, life's simple beauties still prevail in every corner of the Earth if you only pay attention.  This is what I call, visual meditation because when you focus on the wonderful, yet simple things in life; in nature, it's almost impossible to simultaneously worry about  anything.  Try it:

          (All photos the property of KopperRose)

 

The Joy of Tea

Some people like beer. 

Some people like wine.  

Some people like coffee, all the time.  

There's just no comparing the essence of thee, 

my wonderful, elegant, glorious tea! KR

 

Hot Plum Tea with Pine Nuts

For the sake of clarity, when I speak of tea, I am referring to not only the wonderful liquid produced after brewing leaves from the tea family.  I'm also including hot and cold concoctions created from an infusion of herbs or roots, flowers, and/or fruits and berries with honey, marmalade or other natural preservatives. 

This road leads to tea- Insadong, South Korea.

The Old Tea Shop in Insadong- One of my favorite stops for Korean Honey Tea.

Inside The Old Tea Shop, People leave messages on the walls, tables and anywhere else they can find a spot.  I read a few and left a few.

At The Old Tea Shop, I found a message from a girl who wondered if the world would end in 2012.  I took a scan of it with my pmp and will post it here later, if I can find it.  I've taken many of my Korean friends here for their first visit.  

Ah, this is the table that holds my message.

Tea with friends.  Traditional Korean Snacks.

Korea is home to one of the best tea plantations in Asia- Boseong!  I visited Boseong again last summer and it was incredible- miles and miles of rolling hills of tea.  I almost climbed to the top of the highest hill......almost.  I formally introduce to you, Boseong Tea Plantation.  Ta Daaa! 

A sign near the entrance of Boseong.  Notice the cute mud houses?  I did and I love them!

Then, there is Sangsoo's Herbland outside of Daejeon.  There were many herbal tea concoctions to sample down there.  Take a look at Sangoo Herbland:

A Truly Serene Space-The Wishing Well

I have so many pictures from Sangsoo (and other tea locations) but currently, they're on my dear Macbook which has been (sniff, sniff) com.....pro.....mised! :(   (Pray for her.)


If there's tea, I will find it!  These are pics from various tea locations around town, including my place.

Koren Honey Teas at The Old Tea Shop

The Iron pot on the top shelf on the left- I inquired about it and (Gulp) it was $3,000!  Seriously? Mmm, I don't mind paying for tea and tea essentials.  This is where I will splurge but seriously?  No, I don't think so.

Traditional Korean Tea House but honestly, I wish the chairs were more friendly. No, the bottom of me  was not pleased. The tea was delicious though. :D

A quaint little pot of tea in a tiny shop located in Gangnam, South Korea.

This is what my work area looked like when I worked on weekends.  I no longer take work home but I think my desk kind of looks something like this now......

They thought they were a coffee house until I arrived.....now, they serve a descent cup of tea- I'm having Rosemary.

The same shop as above.

The transformed tea house. :D

Earl Grey Chai- I was happy.

While Salerno restaurant doesn't do loose leaf tea, they had a descent selection of teabags. 

The Perfect winter herbal tea -1 tbsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 sml candy cane (These herbs are great at fighting infection and reducing inflammation.)

This is Chrysanthemum. I made this at home as I was a little under the weather. It's very light and mellow. 

Ginger Tea with Pine Nuts and Pear Slithers- Not bad at all.

Iced Punch Tea- You could call it Punch but it's not.  It's made from dried fruits and herbs.

A very robust punch tea but it was a tad too bitter on the end. Tea with an unpleasant after taste, not good but it's pretty. 

AaaHA!  I found you! A Chinese version of my dream pot.  It's not $3,000 either. It's $65.  I know, I know but it's made in Chiiiiiiiii naaaaa.  So what?  The Chinese know more about tea and making pots than the rest of the world.  They've been doing it longer than anyone!

I like the earthiness of this tiny booth.  The seats were comfy too.

Just a picture. For some reason,  I had no desire to enter this place.

Buddah in the tea house window.  Notice the ladies having lunch and tea inside.  They were kind enough to share a wonderful blend with us. :D

This is the tea or shall a say, Meishi.  Supposedly it was fermented for several years.  I know about plum tea but, after it ferments for that long, isn't it more like, say, ...........wine?  Mmm........

Oh, I thought I'd just throw this in. It's no tea house but I thought about having a cup of tea here.  This is a shot from my drive out to Provence last week.

Provence in April.  There is a light show going on so everything's aglow.