When we first moved to Austin, back in 2003, we were excited to learn that Austin was also known as the live music capital of the world but we didn’t read the fine print…Austin- the allergy capital of the world 🙁 .
Most Austinites will know what I am talking about. Well, we did not realize this, till our son, now 9 years old, started suffering from severe allergies a few years ago. It could have been partly hereditary, as our son not only shares his birthday with his grandfather, (my dad) but also allergies. Both of them show exactly the same symptoms. When the allergies hit, they can cough to bring the house down!!!
So, not wanting to give him too many medications, we heeded my dad’s advice (a veteran in this matter) of adding a daily dose of ginger-honey-lemon tea. The idea being, that it would slowly build immunity against the allergens and consequently reduce symptoms.
Well, nothing new takes place in our house without ceremony, so first a teapot had to be made solely for this purpose.
Then we encountered a problem: When could the kids make time, on a busy school night, to leisurely sip hot tea?
Solution: What would be better, than to serve it at bed time, along with a good story and lots of cuddles. That should ensure a good night’s rest!
So here’s what happens every evening…
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| I fill up our special teapot with water… |
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| Then I add chopped ginger… |
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| …and microwave it for 3 minutes. It steeps for another 10 minutes… |
As I mentioned before, this teapot was specially made for preparing honey-lemon-ginger-tea and here is why…
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| When you flip the lid it becomes a lemon juicer… |
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| …which fits perfectly on the lip of the pot! |
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| Then I squeeze the lemon… |
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| The lemon juice collects in the lid… |
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| …and is allowed to flow into the teapot. The seeds can go too as they will get filtered by the strainer built into the teapot. |
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| Then I close the lid and let it steep for another minute. |
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| The cups are ready with spoons full of raw, unfiltered honey. I pour the hot liquid into the cups and mix. |
We have an ever growing collection of handmade cups and each night we call out the cups we’d like to use. Drinking out of a cherished handmade cup is an integral part of the therapy. The cups are referred to by the names of the artists and you’ve got to be quick because sometimes there can be a waiting on some high demand cups!
Pictured at the back on the left is a beautiful cup by Todd Van Duren :http://www.toddvanduren.com/
Front left: A lovely little cup by Simon Levin : http://simonlevin.com/
The carved red cup is by Shikha Joshi: www.potterybyshikha.com
And the white and black cup is by Jason Hooper: http://jjhooper.com/ (the first handmade cup our son purchased with his own pocket money)
The tea is ready. Now it’s time to snuggle up, listen to a story and sip away…
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| Sipping hot tea while listening to Jeff Shaara’s Rising Tide, a World War II novel…not the most comforting bed time story, but when your son is a WWII fanatic…what can you do? |
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| The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is what I am reading with my daughter and believe you me, there is nothing more soothing than a good cup of tea, a blazing fire and a great book.
After that, it’s lots of cuddles and goodnight!!! |
Hi Shikha, Great blog. Did your son build immunity against allergies over time? I have a similar story here so was curious!Your creations are amazing, loved the in-built lemon squeezer,,=..that's a blast!Take care,Kanu
Hi Shikha, Great blog. Did your son build immunity against allergies over time? I have a similar story here so was curious!Your creations are amazing, loved the in-built lemon squeezer,,=..that's a blast!Take care,Kanu
Hello Shikha, very nice blog. Just read it with Harshit next to me and he wants you to write everyday new story…..Lots of love,Nidhi.
Hello Shikha, very nice blog. Just read it with Harshit next to me and he wants you to write everyday new story…..Lots of love,Nidhi.
Hi Kanu,So good to hear from you. Well we started doing this religiously starting this winter so it is probably too soon to tell but since all the ingredients that go into it are good for the body, and really relaxing it won't hurt to try it. My dad swears by it. He says that having tried all kinds of medications, this is the only thing that seemed to help in the long run…how long that run is…that's anybody's guess.Take care and thanks for the sweet words.
Hi Kanu,So good to hear from you. Well we started doing this religiously starting this winter so it is probably too soon to tell but since all the ingredients that go into it are good for the body, and really relaxing it won't hurt to try it. My dad swears by it. He says that having tried all kinds of medications, this is the only thing that seemed to help in the long run…how long that run is…that's anybody's guess.Take care and thanks for the sweet words.
Okay that is a big compliment, if Harshit found it enjoyable then I have done something right because kids give the frankest opinions. Tell him that I have set myself the goal to write once every month, and I look forward to his inputs 🙂
Okay that is a big compliment, if Harshit found it enjoyable then I have done something right because kids give the frankest opinions. Tell him that I have set myself the goal to write once every month, and I look forward to his inputs 🙂