Mostly light hearted post, a friend is moving away

Here is another mostly light hearted post from me.
A blog friend completely surprised me with a care package that included this darling antique tea cup from her collection. She also included some Jasmine green tea, and chocolates as you can see. In the vase are the first lilac blooms from my lilac this spring. Thank you Lauren from My Wonderfully Made Blog
All of you blog friends make my life that much brighter during these difficult times.

On a wistful note; one of my longtime friends is moving away from the city where we live, due to financial necessity. She is moving on April 18 and because we are being careful we can't even hug goodbye. Don't tell her ha ha, but I bought her a cute friendship memento. It is ceramic, edged with gold paint, and says "A true friendship is a journey without an end." Actually I am more than wistful, I am sad about her moving. But I need to support her in her journey.

Even the box it arrived in is cute. It says "There is only one happiness in life, to love and to be loved."

You friends will know I don't post many recipes but difficult times call for difficult, or in this case tasty, measures. Shrimp, green bean and bowtie dinner. Delish. I saute the fresh green beans in a splash of olive oil, a splash of soy sauce and a pat of butter for a couple minutes. You can add chopped garlic if desired. Keep the beans a bit crunchy, not all mushy! Boil the frozen raw shrimp 2 minutes and cook the cute bowtie pasta. Drain shrimp and pasta, then stir in the pasta and shrimp into the pan where you cooked the green beans. Voila, it is pretty, easy and healthy.
You could substitute broccoli, add fresh grated parmesan, use other pasta. But don't you just love the bowtie shape? It is called Farfalle in Italian.
More plants from my front yard which I enjoy when sitting on my patio. Actually they make my heart sing, I love their colors.

The red flowers cover my Australian Tea Tree, or Leptospermum Scoparium, which grew from a one gallon size to eight feet tall in 20 years, and the yellow flowers or Leucospermum, are from my new South African shrub, planted a year ago. Many times Leucospermum are wrongly called Australian natives, but they are native to South Africa. The yellow bush will grow to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Above is Bounce, my 14 pound security patrol partner. He inspects many things along the way, and occasionally nibbles on some grass. People are very cooperative about staying far away in this time of social distancing. Some people walk in the middle of the street. There are plenty of people walking and jogging, skateboarding, bicycling, pushing baby strollers, but there are so many streets and sidewalks near the bay that we easily keep our distance. Temperature here is in the 60s with an occasional 70, so we love being outside.

Earl Grey Tea, Favorite Tea Cup and Fun Tea Quotes

This tea cup, a gift from a friend, is lovely inside and out.

This is the same tea cup, plus my current favorite tea, Double Bergamot Earl Grey. I like Earl Grey and sought out the double bergamot, the flavoring made from a special type of orange. Most Citrus bergamia is grown in the province of Reggio in southern Italy, and also in Cote d'Ivoire for the essential oil. Earl Grey tea was first advertised in London in the 1880s, and first appeared in England in the 1820s.
Here are some quotes about tea.
"What would the world do without tea? - how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea." Sydney Smith
 "Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?" Rupert Brooke
And one I like that is quite famous or infamous " Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea!" "And if you were my wife I would drink it!" Winston Churchill
Tea, an important beverage!
And yes, I like coffee too, which I grind fresh from coffee beans.
Do you have a favorite tea or tea cup?
I am praying for safety for all the people in the Houston area where the flooding is, and for the homes and the animals, and for recovery. Think cooling prayers for much of California as a few days of high heat has reached even me on the coast and inland and to the south is terribly hot.