Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving 2009--Wrightsville Beach, NC

Wow it's been awhile! Grad school has officially let me go for the holidays since I've just finished grading the exams for the history class I TA'd for this past semester. I've sadly had little chance to really enjoy any tea, or sleep for that matter!! It's one of my New Years Resolutions to get back to the Tea and to try and have a few moments to myself each day where I can enjoy a cup of tea and not think about the bazillion things that I have to do. So hopefully that will improve my posts as well!

A fellow tea enthusiast, Jason Witt, has written a book, Spirtuality of Tea :God's Blessing for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit , and it's priced for the holidays over at Amazon.com. He's been good enough to send along an excerpt from the book and a short bio.

Tea is God’s Blessing for your mind, body, and spirit. The three are inseparable and none is most important; tea is God’s Gift to your whole person. It will first give you Peace of Mind, reducing the stress that could kill you at a young age, and grant you better focus.

Then tea keeps you young as the Fountain of Youth. Stress would otherwise age you, along with a number of other factors, ending with the major diseases. Tea is known to potentially prevent all that. And it is spiritual virtue to come to God like a child (who doesn’t age.) It’s worthy of Paradise.

Finally tea is revealed as the Tree of Life. It’s the healing Food of Heaven, now available here on earth for these current generations. And pu-erh tea shows itself enlightening as a particularly spiritual tea, a blessing upon those who enjoy it faithfully.

Jason Witt…has God as his Significant Other.

Jason…is an expert on the Spirituality of Tea (with a Western perspective.)

he…likes tea-themed music of all eras.

…is a good listener.

…eats a low-calorie diet.

…has overcome a lot of addictions, including to wine and women.

…doesn't ever want to own a car again or buy his own house (so he's also green.)

…lives the simple life without gathering many possessions.

…nevertheless drinks a lot of tea.

…now resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.

He's been busy it seems getting to know tea! You can read more about Jason, and about his book over at his site.

There have also been several Tea-Sales going on online, so if you're looking to stock up on something that you've just run out of this may be a good time to check and see if there are any specials at your favorite sites!

As for me, I'm content to cozy up on my couch, knit some presents for my friends, and relax with a cup of tea. There might be several papers to write in a few weeks, and loads of books to read, and a whole new set of students to get to know and to help them learn more about history... but right now it seems like a good time to just kick back.

Happy Holidays Ya'll!