i know, it's just blooming tea in this shot, but i am ever grateful that everyday there's food on the table and there's always a variety and in that i am lucky.
people who know me find it hard to believe that i came from a family with nothing. i have a friend from my grade school days who always gets mad whenever the topic comes up during conversations. she just wouldn't believe that i grew up rat poor! it is because she couldn't remember me coming to school with ragged clothes. my mother always saw to it that we had clean clothes when we leave the house. most of our clothes were hand-me-downs and my mother had this wonderful skill of making anything look brand new.
food was always scarce especially when our father had no work, sometimes for weeks, and what with six children to feed! it was worse when there was rice crisis in the old country. we boiled rice with too much water it was hard to catch any one grain with the spoon when eating. it was no better than the gruel served to the captive soldiers during the march of bataan, according to my father. one day, he's had enough of us eating the watery rice porridge, he took his watch to the pawnshop and asked my mother to go to the market and buy 'food'. that trip to the pawnshop proved fortuitous because he came across a friend who gave him a job, temporary though it was, but it put food on the table until he found a better job.
here in canada, my problem is the abundance of food. that is why i make it a point to send boxes of goodies to my brother and sister, and some extras for the indigent kids that my sister tends around her neighbourhood.
we do have kids in this country who still live in poverty and families who live below the poverty line. it is unbelievable. that's why i do my best to give back in any way i can and do my share and i am thankful for that.
thank you for your kind visits and comments; know that they are truly appreciated.
Very true! I have been given so many wonderful unexpected gifts that I'm always looking for a way to "return it". I love the airy feel of this shot and the beautiful glass teapot. Lovely capture!
I've heard of blooming tea and never seen it so this intrigues me. Also the words you say mean so much to me. My grandmas brother Carl was on the Bataan Death March. I'm pretty sure you knew that before. My Dads family knew poverty like that, 12 kids and then the mom died young. I've never been hungry but a lot of my students are, every day. It's crazy in a country where obesity kills so many that starvation is even an issue.
fabulous capture, I was so lucky to grow up in a well fed family but my grandparents were economic migrants from Ireland and taught us never to waste anything (not even time) nor to forget there are people less fortunate than ourselves. As we come to the cold weather and the holiday season this is a timely reminder.
Such an elegant shot. Interesting contrast with the fervor of the narrative. I love food. Center of life I always think ... but don't often remember its absence.
@olivetreeann - thank you, ann. yes, i always believed in 'paying it forward'.
@pandorasecho - the blooming tea is such a fascinating thing to watch and so comforting to drink on a dark, gloomy day. a tiny ball or clump of herbs becomes what looks like a blooming flower when left to steep in boiled water! yes, i do indeed remember your grand-uncle being in the death march to bataan during the war. and isn't that a shame about the starving children? i always wish i could do more, believe me. thank you, dixie.
@barneyone - yes, i agree, it is a timely reminder. thank you, rita.
@francoise - sometimes i'm afraid that i would forget how it was to have so little to eat; more afraid still if in my old age it would happen again. thank you, francoise.
I really love all the clear glasses and the selective coloring....and the fading on the outsides :) love it all. You're such a kind person too. I'm glad you were able to rise above to be successful and haven't forgotten where you came from
Yes, that is the true meaning of]Thanksgiving, and you have truly proven to have a generous heart! It is all about appreciating what we have and helping others!
@susanalena - thank you, susan.
@olivetreeann - thank you, ann. yes, i always believed in 'paying it forward'.
@pandorasecho - the blooming tea is such a fascinating thing to watch and so comforting to drink on a dark, gloomy day. a tiny ball or clump of herbs becomes what looks like a blooming flower when left to steep in boiled water! yes, i do indeed remember your grand-uncle being in the death march to bataan during the war. and isn't that a shame about the starving children? i always wish i could do more, believe me. thank you, dixie.
@alia_801 - thank you, alia.
@barneyone - yes, i agree, it is a timely reminder. thank you, rita.
@francoise - sometimes i'm afraid that i would forget how it was to have so little to eat; more afraid still if in my old age it would happen again. thank you, francoise.
@claireuk - thank you, my dear claire.
@ceilidh - thank you, margaret.
You are truly a good woman with a pure and generous heart!
@panthora - thank you, osia. very kind of you.
@ithinkithunk - thank you, kristen. very kind of you, kid.
@grammyn - thank you, katy. very kind of you.
@altadc - i am. thank you, kiddo.
A fav.