Equinoctal Tea

Today is the autumn equinox and it's been cool but sunny all day, with a bit of breeze. Perfect weather for an equinoctal tea! So I made cranberry orange walnut muffins and opened a new tin of orange pekoe I'd bought for a special occasion.

Mom started the family tradition of an autumn equinoctal tea--at least, it was her idea and she often talked about it, but I don't remember if we ever actually found time to do it. That's the problem with things that don't seem all that important: there's always time to do them later, until suddenly there's no time at all.

So as I did last year, I sat down to an equinoctal tea. I used Mom's beloved Royal Doulton china and chose one of her books of horror stories to read.

I miss you, Mom. I miss you most of all in autumn, when the leaves fall on the porch but you're not here to sweep them away.