Tonight was a night of lasts -- the last time Chandlord will drop by the cabin for coffee, the last Blood of Lincoln dinner, the last time I will get mildly soused on half a bottle of wine over a three-hour cabin dinner, and the last time Chandlord will sleep on my south bay couch. But, it was also a night of firsts -- although the only one that really matters is that I finally broke down and bought the absurdly expensive teamaker that I've been eyeing for six months. I will use it multiple times per day, much more so than my tv or my microwave or any other appliance, and so from that standpoint I can justify it. And from a Tuesday perspective, it's just about the coolest thing *ever*...but more on that in a moment.
Today wasn't all fun and games; I made it into my ten a.m. training session with Alyssa, who appropriately punished me for not coming into the gym this weekend. Then, I spent the midday and afternoon thinking about the move, talking to Terry about some logistical stuff, procrastinating, and running to Target and Whole Foods to pick up some necessary items for the days ahead. I finished up my errands around 4:15, and Chandlord showed up for 'coffee' sometime thereafter. We actually had no coffee (she had a San Pellegrino limonata, crackers, and cheese, while I nursed my water bottle and made strawberry shortcakes for later), but we did talk for a couple of hours, which was totally lovely. Sadly, she made dinner plans that conflicted with the Blood of Lincoln dinner, so she left about half an hour before John and Jess arrived.
But John and Jess did arrive, bearing salads from Sprout so that I wouldn't have to cook (although I had to make shortcakes -- the last supper couldn't happen without something I made, and strawberry shortcakes are always delicious). We had a v. lovely, v. long dinner (I spent an hour slowly, oh-so-slowly, eating my salad, which John pointed out is a very Marina-girl thing to do), with excellent conversation and plenty of wine (for me and John, at least; Jess didn't imbibe).
During the break between salad and dessert, we played with my new teamaker for the first time. It had arrived on my doorstep when Chandlord left, and so before John and Jess arrived, I was able to clean it but did not have time to make any tea. So, we made some bai mudan (a white tea, with less caffeine than the black tea I usually drink) to test it out. The awesome thing (among many awesome things) about this teamaker is that it allows you to select the optimum temperature and brewing time for the precise type of tea you're making -- for instance, because white tea is more delicate, it should be brewed at 185 degrees rather than at boiling like a black tea. It also allows you to set desired strength and adjusts the brew time accordingly.
For the first part of the cycle, it behaves like any electric kettle, and the water heats up to the desired temperature. But when the water gets to the temperature, the basket of tea leaves slowly descends into the water (which is being held at ideal temperature). The basket stays there for the precise length of time required for that tea varietal, and when the time is up, the basket lifts out of the water and your tea is ready. Then, you can keep the tea warm for an hour without the leaves continuing to steep, which is amazing. I'm so, so in love with this. And, it made the absolute perfect cup of bai mudan -- I appreciated that tea so much more than the times when I've made it using the hot water from my tea kettle, and I think this teamaker will encourage me to try other non-black teas that I haven't had much success with in the past.
Anyway, I'm the only one who's this obsessed with the teamaker, so I shall continue. We retired to the living room with our teas, then returned to the kitchen for strawberry shortcake (awesome, if I do say so myself) before having another tea (and yet another glass of wine, in my case) and retiring to the living room again. Jess was falling asleep by the time Chandlord returned, but at least the full force of Blood of Lincoln was together for a few moments before John and Jess disappeared into the night. And then, Chandlord and I chatted for an hour before Vidya, too, began falling asleep on my couch -- the cabin has a v. soporific effect. Now she's asleep and I should be, since she's going to wake me up at seven so that we can have a shortcake breakfast before she has to go to work. Tomorrow also requires me to clean up the garage before my landlord shows the place in the afternoon, so I should probably get some sleep. Goodnight!
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