Exploring with the Portugese

Examples of Swiss wood carving. The original home of the Feuz family - mine- was Brienz, on Lake Brienz, which was especially famous for this and still is today.

This morning was very glittery and silvery, with frost on everything and the sun shining. The swamp and trees past the edge of yard look mysterious behind our trees. Yesterday, our whole small herd of 2 does and 3 fawns was having a picnic on the grass.


Marco Polo was a Portuguese explorer in the 'glory' days of navigational exploration. For some reason, Mariage Freres, that wonderful French tea company, has decided to name one of their teas for him. Their shy and self-effacing description of it is"marvelous fruity and flowery tea.'
Well, what can I say? The dry leaves are a shiny black and brown and it smells deliciously of strawberry candy. There are no hints for brewing, so I did my usual 3.33/212/1 tsp thing. As it brews, there is less candy and more berry aroma. And that is what it tastes like - a pleasant berry tea with overtones of floral and vanilla. I did not care for it, but my husband loved it. I think that is because I am not big on berry/fruity teas and he loves sweet ones. So, if you are a berry loving, sweet tea person, this is right up your alley.

The Sweet Scents of Autumn

Hapsburg priests dressed well - all that glitters is gold!

Ummmm, apples, that wonderful fall gift. Apples scenting the car, round fat red apples on the counter, apples making sauce. The scent fills the house and I am happy. The deer are happy too, as they scoop up the neighbors' crabapples, leaving none for me. They are amazing creatures - all the fawns are now about 1/2 the size of their mothers and all their coats are that funny gray brown for fall and winter. They were standing next to our fence, which is about 4 feet tall, and just hopped over - no running start, just up and down!

Speaking of wonderful aromas - I bought some Mariage Freres Tea - Wedding Imperial. Oh my goodness, to open the can is to go to tea heaven. The combines smell of chocolate, caramel, tea and I swear, hazelnuts is just wonderful. Believe me, it carries through the brewing and on into the taste of the tea. It is just absolutely delicious. It is lovely with milk and I broke my own rule and added sugar, which only made it better! This would be a great wedding present. Actually, there are several companies which make some sort of wedding blend and you could make up quite a nice present with several blends, a teapot and infuser. Just think of the trend you could start!

Mariage Freres, which means Mariage Brothers in English is one of the triumvirate of French tea companies that are available in the states. The other two are Dammann Freres and Hediard. In my opinion, Mariage and Dammann are neck and neck in the wonderfulness sweeps. Hediard is pleasant but doesn't make me crazy with delight.